Spoiled - Chapter 25

Fang Baijing had always loved playing basketball. On the day after the college entrance exams (Gaokao), he could officially bid farewell to that thick stack of workbooks, and excitedly called his friends to go play basketball.

The basketball court was crowded. The examination classrooms had cold air conditioning, so Fang Baijing was still wearing his school uniform jacket, but since he was about to play basketball, he casually unzipped and took it off. His classmates all hung their uniforms on the nearby wire fence, but Fang Baijing found it dirty. He went to the trouble of running out of the court and placing his uniform on a public bench some distance away.

Fang Baijing originally thought it was just a school uniform and no one would steal it, but when he finished playing and went to retrieve it, he found that something absurd had happened—the uniform he had placed on the chair was gone.

He cursed the uniform thief silently in his heart, and looked around in disbelief before he could confirm that his school uniform was truly missing. But there was a small, square gift box on the seat, wrapped with a white silk ribbon and a small flower.

Fang Baijing approached and saw it was a watch.

It was a watch model Fang Baijing had always wanted to buy, but the price was not cheap, nearly a hundred thousand [Yuan]. Fang Baijing was still a student, and his family, afraid that too much money would lead him astray, wouldn’t give him that much.

Fang Baijing wouldn’t take someone else’s watch, but he hesitated, and finally sat down on the chair.

After all, losing the uniform was a minor issue; he had already graduated, and if there was any sentimental value, he still had another one at home. However, the watch was expensive.

Fang Baijing decided to sit on the chair for a while to see if the owner would return to look for it.

But the sunset glow in the sky turned from pink-purple to black, and no one came. Fang Baijing had no choice but to take the watch and hand it over to the school’s gatekeeper.

He had thought that the uniform was gone for good, but he never expected to see it in a cabinet in Fu Feng’s house.

Fang Baijing rubbed his eyes, initially thinking he was hallucinating, but when he looked closely again, the blue-and-white uniform was still right there.

He skeptically turned the uniform sleeve inside out.

When he saw the already smudged handwriting on the cuff, Fang Baijing was certain: this was his uniform. The handwriting left inside the white uniform lining was scrawled. Fang Baijing remembered writing it when he was half-asleep—”So annoying, don’t want to study.”

It was his handwriting, and it was something he remembered doing.

He inspected the uniform up and down again. Even if he didn’t want to believe it, this was undoubtedly the one he had lost.

Fang Baijing was completely shocked. He simply couldn’t figure out why his school uniform was with Fu Feng.

He thought of the watch again. What was that watch? Could Fu Feng have given it to him?

This was the first time Fang Baijing had fallen into such a panic. It was as if all the secrets suddenly rushed at him like a tide, threatening to drown him.

Fang Baijing pressed his lips together.

He had just opened one small cabinet and now stood hesitantly in front of the others.

Finally, Fang Baijing gritted his teeth, reached out, and cautiously pulled open another cabinet next to him. He only glanced inside and was instantly shocked again, frozen in place.

Inside were several photo frames, and the photos in them were all of him.

He remembered the first photo; it was of him playing the piano at the welcoming gala, wearing the suit his mother had meticulously chosen. But Fang Baijing didn’t even remember when the rest of the photos were taken.

The photos must have been secretly taken. The photographer’s skill was inconsistent; some photos were very clear, while others were just blurry images.

The collector was very dedicated. From the welcoming gala onwards, Fang Baijing’s features gradually shed their childishness, and his height slowly grew taller, showing the transformation from a boy to a young man.

Fang Baijing could only roughly determine the time of these photos based on the clothes he was wearing. The earliest one was already seven years ago, when he had just entered high school, which was also when Fu Feng had just graduated.

His hand trembled as he closed the cabinet. The light in the collection room was dimmer than outside.

Fang Baijing fumbled a phone out of his pocket and called Xiao Jing.

As soon as Xiao Jing answered, his voice became boisterous: “Damn! You’re finally ready to come out and play, right? I call you every day, and you keep making excuses!”

“Xiao Jing.” Fang Baijing sat cross-legged on the floor. He interrupted the chattering Xiao Jing and asked, self-doubt mixing in, “Fu Feng is three years ahead of us, right?”

“Yeah, he graduated when we entered first year of high school.”

“Then have we ever met him before?”

“No, never!” Xiao Jing said. “I heard he went abroad right after graduation, how could we have met him!”

Fang Baijing anxiously tugged at his sleeve. The shock he experienced today was too great. He asked, still dazed, “Really never met him?”

Xiao Jing’s question also started to doubt himself. His initial certainty began to waver: “Should… should be never. I truly don’t recall.”

Fang Baijing realized another issue.

He asked, half-believing and half-doubting, “Then how did you and Fu Feng meet?”

“Me and Fu Feng?” Xiao Jing thought for a moment, biting his finger, before replying, “Didn’t I tell you before? I don’t even know why Fu Feng became friends with me. I’m clearly just an idle rich second-generation, which doesn’t fit his rules for making friends at all, though he doesn’t make many friends anyway.” Xiao Jing frowned and racked his brain for a long time. It was too long ago. It took him a while to recall his first meeting with Fu Feng: “I remember now! We met at a banquet. I accidentally stepped on his foot. I was just about to apologize, but he asked me if I wanted to exchange contact information right away. It completely stunned me. I originally thought he added me on WeChat because he wanted me to pay him for the damage, but when I messaged him asking how much, he ignored me. I figured he wasn’t short on cash, so I didn’t press it. Had that incident not happened, we probably wouldn’t have met, but since then, we’ve known each other and occasionally say hi when we run into each other.”

Xiao Jing blinked and thought for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands: “The most recent time I had contact with him was for my birthday. My dad helped me send out invitations, inviting almost everyone who could be invited, and Fu Feng received one too. The Fu family and my family have a decent relationship, but Fu Feng doesn’t seem to like attending these events. I heard it’s because he has an alcohol allergy, and people always like to toast him at these occasions.”

“Wait!” Fang Baijing’s brow twitched. He seized the key point and asked, “He has an alcohol allergy?”

Fang Baijing suddenly remembered that at the celebration banquet where he met Fu Feng, Fu Feng didn’t touch a drop of alcohol. He refused every toast others offered him. Fang Baijing had thought Fu Feng was putting on airs, but it turned out it was because he… had an alcohol allergy.

But Fu Feng clearly… clearly drank the wine he offered, and Fang Baijing personally watched him drink it. He didn’t hesitate at all when he drank it.

Xiao Jing paused and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Fang Baijing rubbed his temples, adjusting his emotions: “You go on first.”

“Later, Fu Feng uncharacteristically sent me a message, basically asking me who was coming,” Xiao Jing said. “I thought he wanted to see if there was anyone he wanted to avoid, so I sent him the guest list—” Xiao Jing suddenly realized. In the deathly silence, he spoke tremulously: “Fang Baijing, I have a terrifying guess.”

“Don’t say it.” Fang Baijing closed his eyes, interrupting him, and hung up the phone.

He sat on the floor leaning against the cabinet, his thoughts a tangled mess, his hair gripped into a bird’s nest. Without Xiao Jing’s voice, Fang Baijing could only hear the rise and fall of his own breathing.

Xiao Jing’s guess was similar to what Fang Baijing was thinking. He also had a very terrifying, very terrifying guess, and it wasn’t narcissism or paranoia.

Fang Baijing’s guess: Fu Feng had liked him for many years.

He was lost in thought and didn’t even hear the footsteps in the hallway.

Only when Fu Feng spoke did Fang Baijing jolt awake:

“What are you doing here?”

Fang Baijing’s pupils contracted sharply. He realized only then that he hadn’t closed the door when he entered. Fu Feng must have been looking for him after getting off work and, noticing the collection room door was open, came in to check.

“I’m… I’m here.” Fang Baijing stuttered when he spoke, quickly making up an excuse. “I was bored, so I came up to play the piano.”

Fu Feng glanced at the open piano lid, then at Fang Baijing sitting on the floor.

Fang Baijing started to look away the moment their eyes met. He was terrible at hiding his emotions, and Fu Feng understood him too well.

He took a few steps forward and finally squatted down in front of Fang Baijing.

Fang Baijing subconsciously bent his legs, making space for Fu Feng.

Fu Feng suddenly spoke in the silence: “Did you see it?”

When he said this, Fu Feng’s expression remained unchanged, and his tone was flat, as if the uniform in the cabinet was not his private collection, and the photos were not secretly taken by him.

“See what?” He still wanted to pretend he didn’t know, but Fu Feng didn’t want to give him the chance.

Fu Feng knelt beside him and suddenly kissed him.

Fang Baijing was caught completely off guard and instinctively leaned his head back. He nearly hit the cabinet behind him, but Fu Feng reached out to shield him.

Fu Feng’s knuckles ultimately knocked against the cabinet.

The air was silent, and the sound of kissing was quite loud. Fang Baijing’s ears couldn’t help but turn red.

Fu Feng stopped and asked again: “What did you see?”

Fang Baijing couldn’t help it and bent his legs, shrinking back further. He now had nowhere left to retreat. In front of him was the looming Fu Feng, and the back of his head was resting on Fu Feng’s palm.

There were more than two cabinets in this collection room, but Fang Baijing only dared to look at these two. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he felt. He was scared, afraid that everything hidden in this collection room was related to him, and from what Fu Feng was saying now, that seemed to be the case.

Fang Baijing’s lips were red from Fu Feng’s kisses, even a little swollen, making him look utterly bullied. He widened his eyes. Not just his ears, but his whole face was flushed.

Fang Baijing pushed Fu Feng’s shoulder and said, “Fu Feng! Are you a pervert!”