Fang Zichen, licking his lips, asked gossipily: "Who was that? I feel like there's something a bit off between you two."
"Then your feeling is wrong," Li Yisheng said.
Fang Zichen looked back. The little fatty was still standing in the courtyard. Although he was fat, his features were pleasant, and his facial lines were soft, completely lacking the hardness typically associated with men.
Fang Zichen made a bold guess: "Is he a ger?"
Li Yisheng, unaware Fang Zichen was an outsider to this world, just said: "Isn't that obvious?"
"Does he like you?" Fang Zichen asked.
Li Yisheng's steps halted. He laughed coldly, self-deprecatingly, and muttered under his breath: "How could that be possible."
The street was noisy, and Fang Zichen didn't catch it clearly. He just assumed this was another case of 'I love you, but you don't love me, you love him, but he loves me'.
Thinking back to what Li Yisheng had said that night in the broken-down temple – this guy was one who judged by appearances – and recalling the poorly concealed disappointment on the little fatty's face earlier, Fang Zichen asked: "Is it that you don't like fat people?"
Li Yisheng wanted to refute, but then Fang Zichen continued: "Finding a little fatty is good too! For the same amount of money, you pick the biggest one. What a great value! As people, especially as charismatic men, we can't be so superficial. Good looks are only temporary. We need to be good at discovering people's inner beauty. You're my brother, your standards need to rise to my level. Otherwise, you'll lower my grade, and I'll beat your brains out."
Li Yisheng: "...Don't misunderstand. He is my cousin's fiancee."
"Ah~" Fang Zichen choked, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed. "Brother, I'm really sorry."
Li Yisheng's nose tingled slightly. He shook his head slightly, his voice hoarse: "It's nothing."
It was normal for others to misunderstand. After all, even he had once mistakenly believed it himself.
Xie Xiaoyu was outgoing and enthusiastic, treating everyone well. Back then, Li Yisheng was ten years old. That year, after learning he had no hope in the imperial examinations, he had been depressed and dispirited for a while. Xie Xiaoyu appeared around that time.
He was as warm and cheerful as a little sun. His father and the Li family were old friends. That year, he came to Huainan Town to visit relatives and stayed at the Li family for a while. Seeing that Li Yisheng looked 'special', he loved to stare at him during meals and even secretly told his father that this older brother was so pitiful because he had no eyes.
Li Yisheng happened to overhear this. Resentful, he hid in the courtyard, even less willing to go out and see people.
Xie's father scolded Xie Xiaoyu and ordered him to apologize to Li Yisheng. Xie Xiaoyu went to find Li Yisheng, but Li Yisheng ignored him. Xie Xiaoyu had been stubborn since he was a child. The more Li Yisheng ignored him, the more he loved to pester Li Yisheng, running to his courtyard every day. When Li Yisheng didn't speak, he would chirp away like a sparrow. He said he came to apologize and beg for forgiveness, but the words he used to coax him were always infuriating.
'Brother Sheng, you ignored me yesterday and didn't let me into your room. I didn't see you all day. I missed you so much that when I saw the big yellow dog at the gate, I even thought it looked a bit like you.'
The big yellow dog was a dog Li Yisheng kept.
Li Yisheng was so angry his head throbbed. But facing the chubby little fatty, he couldn't bring himself to hit him. He could only comfort himself: a child's words carry no harm, a child's words carry no harm.
But this self-hypnosis was completely useless.
A roar came from inside the room: "You're as fat as a pig!"
"You... you're insulting me?" Xie Xiaoyu charged through the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges. He pointed at Li Yisheng and scolded: "You're the one who looks like a pig!"
Li Yisheng: "Whoever is fat is the pig!"
The two children argued noisily, almost coming to blows.
When Xie's father finished visiting his relatives and was about to return, Xie Xiaoyu, having not received Li Yisheng's forgiveness, stubbornly refused to leave the Li family, unwilling to go back.
He was just a child, and his tantrums were annoying. Xie's father could only leave him at the Li family.
Li Yisheng's father settled him in a small courtyard next to Li Yisheng's.
Xie Xiaoyu lived at the Li family for half a year. Li Yisheng's impression of him gradually changed from 'this annoying little fatty' to 'this little fatty is actually quite likable.'
The children's bond grew quickly. After that, every year, Xie Xiaoyu would beg his father to let him stay at the Li family for a while, saying he missed Li Yisheng.
During times when they couldn't meet, they corresponded by letter.
Knowing Xie Xiaoyu loved food, Li Yisheng would always find some snacks to send him.
The year Xie Xiaoyu turned sixteen, during the New Year's Painting Festival night, they went out to have fun. When they reached the moat, the crowd was packed. A few flower lanterns floated on the river. Xie Xiaoyu wanted to get a closer look, but was bumped by children running and playing, and started to fall into the river. Li Yisheng grabbed him and pushed him back to safety, but in doing so, lost his own footing and fell into the river.
He couldn't swim and flailed desperately in the water. Xie Xiaoyu was so anxious he cried, shouting for help. Several men ran over, jumped in, and only then managed to rescue Li Yisheng.
Li Yisheng, having caught a chill and been frightened, developed a high fever.
He woke up once in the middle of it. Xie Xiaoyu's eyes were red. He suddenly told Li Yisheng that he was very good, and that he liked him. When he said this, there wasn't a trace of shyness, and he seemed very casual. Li Yisheng momentarily wondered: what kind of 'like' did he mean?
Was it the 'like' between a man and a woman? Or the 'like' between brothers? Or perhaps it was a reckless, impulsive thing said out of gratitude because he had saved him?
Before he could ask, Xie Xiaoyu received a message from Li Yisheng's father, saying there was an urgent matter at home and he needed to return as soon as possible.
Li Yisheng was worried and sent someone to inquire. Two days later, news came that Li Yisheng's Second Aunt had sent a matchmaker to the Xie family to propose marriage. The Xie family had agreed.
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