Chapter 36: Game Rewind

Introverted? Who? Me?

Zhu Zhixi’s eyes widened. He turned to stare at Fu Rangyi, his gaze conveying his utter shock.

Seriously, when are we going to fix this old habit of not rehearsing the script before we act? Even a seasoned actor couldn’t handle this.

Fu Rangyi looked equally troubled. He lowered his head, quickly typed a line, and showed his phone to Zhu Zhixi from under the table.

[They’ve been curious ever since they found out I was married, trying all sorts of ways to get you to come out. I could only make excuses.]

So what if they want to meet me? Am I not presentable?

Zhu Zhixi wished he could turn back time to the moment he entered the restaurant and replay the whole thing. He would have kept his mouth shut, sat quietly next to Fu Rangyi, nodding and smiling like a little pendant.

Since it had come to this, Zhu Zhixi could only try to salvage the situation. “Well, actually, I’m not usually like this. It’s just that I was so late today, I felt really bad. It made even an introverted person like me liven up…”

After he said that, everyone was stunned for two seconds, and then they laughed even harder.

Fu Rangyi also looked helpless. He half-lowered his head, a thin smile playing on his lips, and his left hand, propped on the edge of the table, rubbed his eyebrow.

Still laughing? It’s all your fault. Zhu Zhixi was extremely embarrassed, but when he inadvertently saw him smile like that, he couldn’t help but look a few more times.

An ice mountain’s face really is handsome when he smiles.

Professor Zhang, sitting diagonally across, pointed a finger at Fu Rangyi. “See, what did I tell you? I said back then that Xiao Fu was hiding a beauty in a golden house. What introvert? He just didn’t want to bring him out for us to see!”

“Oh my, Xiao Fu usually looks so scholarly and reserved, so focused on his academics. Who would have thought that after getting married, he’d be so protective.”

“Who said Xiao Fu doesn’t seem like a top Alpha? Look at this possessiveness!”

“Oh, what do you guys know? It’s just because he likes him so much!”

The colleagues chattered away, one after another, making Zhu Zhixi’s ears burn. He thought Fu Rangyi would at least come out and argue a few words, but he didn’t say anything either. He just sat there with his head half-lowered, holding his chopsticks, trying to pick up a corn kernel that he couldn’t seem to get.

So you didn’t rehearse the lines beforehand, and your lie was exposed, huh? It was the first time he had seen Fu Rangyi so embarrassed. Thinking about it, it made sense. The usual Fu Rangyi was serious and rigorous at work, like a robot that never made mistakes. Now that he was caught in such a big lie, how could he bear it?

Zhu Zhixi didn’t know what to say either. After all, he was the one who had made this huge mistake. So he mimicked Fu Rangyi, half-lowering his head, picked up his chopsticks, and reached over to help him, only to find that he couldn’t pick it up either. The four chopsticks clinked and bumped against each other, none of them working.

The two of them were cornered. Every one of their opponents was older than them, and they were all teachers. It made Zhu Zhixi feel like a high school student caught in a puppy love affair and forced to write a self-criticism in the office. And the one caught with him was the top student in the class, the cold and aloof scholar who was most liked by the teachers.

The corn kernel slipped and slid under their two pairs of chopsticks. In the end, one of them used too much force, and it slid right off the plate.

Fu Rangyi turned his head and stared at him.

Why are you looking at me? I was trying to help you. Zhu Zhixi didn’t dare to open his mouth, afraid of ruining his already collapsed persona. He could only glare back.

Then Fu Rangyi picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of cheese corn, and put it in his bowl.

“Don’t snatch mine if you want some,” he whispered.

“Who’s snatching yours?” Zhu Zhixi was quite aggrieved.

Professor Wang, sitting opposite, saw this and laughed heartily. “Xiao Fu isn’t usually like this. He’s like a child.”

Zhu Zhixi looked over. The little old man speaking sat in the middle, looking kind and cheerful. He was almost bald and old enough to be Fu Rangyi’s father. He was clearly a high-ranking leader.

“Exactly, he’s always like this. You should discipline him.”

As soon as he said this, everyone laughed even harder, especially the high-ranking leader, Professor Wang. Zhu Zhixi felt like he was performing a skit in the Spring Festival Gala. No matter what he said, everyone laughed. Everyone at this table except Fu Rangyi was his accomplice.

Fortunately, the others at the table didn’t dwell on the “introvert” matter for long. They laughed it off and soon moved on to a new topic, although most of it still centered on the gossip about the two of them.

Fu Rangyi remained very quiet, silently adding a lot of meat to the grill, mostly fatty cuts. When the dishes arrived, he quietly grilled the meat with tongs, flipped it, and cut it into small pieces, placing them on Zhu Zhixi’s plate.

Soon, a small mountain of grilled meat piled up on his plate.

Zhu Zhixi didn’t pay it any mind. At home, when Fu Rangyi occasionally cooked fish and seafood, he would also debone the fish or shell the crab legs and arrange them neatly. He thought this was the fun of Fu Rangyi’s obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Plus, he was really hungry now, so he ate the grilled meat in large mouthfuls while chatting with his colleagues.

When he ate something delicious, he would suddenly turn his head and point with his chopsticks, “This is so delicious!”

Fu Rangyi lowered his voice and reminded him, “Talk less, it’s getting cold.”

You think I talk too much? I’ve already said very little! Zhu Zhixi sulked in his heart and secretly decided to remain silent for three minutes. No matter who asked a question, or what question they asked, he would not answer, and let Fu Rangyi deal with it himself.

“By the way, how did you two meet? Through a friend’s introduction? Or a blind date arranged by your elders?”

Fu Rangyi glanced at Zhu Zhixi and found that he was drinking from his cup, as if he hadn’t heard. Just a moment ago, he had been chatting enthusiastically, not letting a single word fall to the ground.

He couldn’t remain silent, so he smiled and replied, “We met on a blind date.”

“So you met your ideal type on a blind date!”

“Hey, I’m curious then. Was it love at first sight? Did you get married right away without much dating?”

“Are there any more detailed love stories? I’m so curious.”

Zhu Zhixi’s bright eyes darted around, stealing glances at Fu Rangyi while drinking.

That’s what you get for provoking me. Let’s see what you do now.

Fu Rangyi put down his chopsticks and lowered his hand. He still looked very composed, but his right hand was secretly fiddling with the wedding ring on his left ring finger under the table.

Facing a table of gossiping colleagues, he spoke warmly, “It’s actually nothing special. Our parents arranged for us to meet in a coffee shop. He even went to the wrong table at first.”

Everyone laughed, except for Zhu Zhixi, who was extremely quiet, his heart pounding.

A grudge-holding fellow.

However, the next second, he was stunned.

“Later, we chatted and found that we had very similar interests and hobbies, and we hit it off right away. We were so engrossed in conversation that we forgot to eat. We left the coffee shop, bought some mulled wine, and walked and talked on the street until it got dark.”

Zhu Zhixi’s breathing slowed. In Fu Rangyi’s unhurried “narration,” he vaguely heard his own voice, every sentence, every word, intersecting and overlapping with Fu Rangyi’s at this moment in different time and space.

“I couldn’t sleep that night. I immediately asked him out for a second date, and then a third, a fourth. I told him about my archaeological experiences abroad. He said he knew some Turkish and even said a few words to me.”

Fu Rangyi even smiled slightly and repeated the Turkish phrase he had said at that time.

“He said in Turkish that he was Chinese, and that he liked puppies and kittens very much. I tricked him, said I didn’t understand. He said it was better that I didn’t understand, that he was secretly cursing me.” As he said this, Fu Rangyi turned his head and gave him a faint smile.

Zhu Zhixi stared at him blankly, his mind a blank, his heart so full that something was about to overflow.

The guy who had resolutely said “impossible” back then was now recounting the “imagination” he had woven, but had added a truth that even he didn’t know.

He felt as if he had turned into an animal that had lost the ability to think. Fu Rangyi had laid out a fluffy carpet for him, and he just pounced on it, rolling around with a blank mind.

What should I do?

How could there be such a person.

Zhu Zhixi stole a glance at Fu Rangyi’s profile, from his eyelashes to the bridge of his nose, finally sliding down to his slightly parted lips.

“Then I don’t know what came over me, I suddenly asked him: ‘Would you consider marrying me?'”

At this, the Omega colleague at the table covered her mouth and let out a small gasp.

Everyone started to interrupt, jeer, and tease. When Fu Rangyi couldn’t handle it anymore, he just squinted his eyes, still smiling. After a while, he finished his lie.

“Then we got our marriage certificate and got married. It was indeed a bit rushed, so we haven’t had a wedding yet.”

“You’ll definitely have one later, right!”

“So sweet, how could you not have one?”

“Hey, in the summer, have a beach wedding in the summer. It would be so beautiful.”

“Summer is so hot. Autumn is better.”

Hearing the colleagues’ enthusiastic suggestions, it was as if it was something that was about to happen. But in terms of time, it had already exceeded the six-month limit.

The smile on Fu Rangyi’s face gradually faded, and he also came out of the rewind of this fantasy game, ending this one-man show.

“Come on, everyone, let’s toast to the young couple’s long and happy life together.”

The colleagues raised their glasses one after another, so he also picked up his teacup and clinked it with everyone else.

He noticed that Zhu Zhixi was still unusually quiet and a bit slow. He didn’t immediately retract his hand after clinking glasses, so he clinked his glass with his again, separately.

With a clink, Zhu Zhixi’s soul was called back. He immediately retracted his hand, lowered his head, and chugged his drink, really downing a cup.

He was not good at reading minds and didn’t understand what Zhu Zhixi’s silence at this moment represented. He also didn’t dare to guess.

Listening to the lively voices of his colleagues, Fu Rangyi felt like a foolish butterfly specimen pinned to a wall. He had accidentally seen a splendid, vibrant tropical rainforest in a movie, silently remembered it, and then vividly described it to passersby, saying that this was where he had once lived.

One really shouldn’t mix too much sincerity when lying.

I almost even tricked myself.

He didn’t participate in any of the subsequent topics, once again reverting to his taciturn self. He listened to everyone chat, occasionally chiming in with a few words. Meanwhile, Zhu Zhixi had returned to his previous liveliness, even more so, becoming the undisputed mascot at the table.

Fu Rangyi tried to stop him from drinking several times, but he couldn’t stop him at all. Helplessly, he watched his face get redder and redder, and his eyes become watery and moist.

But he didn’t hate it, because the drunk Zhu Zhixi was more dependent on him than before. He would hug his arm, rest his chin on his shoulder, and beg him in a very small voice to buy him ice cream.

“I want the kind with three colors that I used to eat as a child, the one in a box. Do you know it?”

“Nothing else will do?” Fu Rangyi asked.

Zhu Zhixi shook his head. “I just want that one.”

Fu Rangyi had no choice but to get up. He asked the Omega colleague sitting next to him to help take care of him, and he himself put on Zhu Zhixi’s dirty jacket and went out to buy him ice cream.

“Xiao Fu is so considerate.”

“He wasn’t like this when he was in school. So many Omegas chased him, but he never got involved with anyone. He was completely devoted to archaeology. We all thought he would never get married!”

“In school?” Zhu Zhixi raised his head slowly, his muddled brain only catching a few words. “Many people chased him?”

“Yeah, he used to have long hair, tied in a small bun at the back of his head. Hey, wasn’t Lao Yang his senior?”

“That’s right. Back then, when he went to the field, he would be gone for half a year at a time. He said he had no time and no place to get a haircut, so he just let it grow long. He mesmerized all those junior and senior students…”

Zhu Zhixi held his face in his hands, his head almost unable to support itself.

Long hair, a small bun… He tried to imagine, but his imagination was limited by the alcohol and couldn’t be brought to life.

I wish I had met him earlier.

I hate those people who revolved around him. I hate everyone who has seen Fu Rangyi with long hair.

Zhu Zhixi suddenly stood up, holding his wine glass, and swayed over to Professor Wang. He clinked glasses with him and downed it in one go.

“I’ve never seen anyone so genuine. Xiao Zhu is really, so much fun.”

After running to four small supermarkets, Fu Rangyi finally bought the ice cream that matched Zhu Zhixi’s description. He returned to the restaurant with a chill, only to find, as he approached their table, that Zhu Zhixi was already sitting next to the lab’s big director, Lao Wang. Both were completely drunk, playing a strange finger-guessing game and pouring drinks for each other like brothers.

Fu Rangyi immediately felt a headache and quickly pulled him up. Zhu Zhixi was like a small magnet, sticking to him with a thud.

“Eh? You’re back…”

“Ice cream.” He half-supported and half-carried him back. Looking at the table of colleagues that Zhu Zhixi had drunk under the table, he sighed and called the waiter, deciding to end the dinner party.

When it was time to pay the bill, Zhu Zhixi was bouncing around like a shrimp, albeit a soft-legged one. He used Fu Rangyi’s strength to scramble to the checkout counter and fought with Professor Wang to pay the bill. The two drunks argued and even started pushing each other.

“How much? Me! I’ll scan!” Zhu Zhixi shouted grandly, taking out his phone, which had long since become a brick with a black screen, and “scanned” the QR code for a long time. The dead phone, of course, didn’t react. He got so anxious that he messed up his hair.

Professor Wang immediately seized the opportunity, slurring his words as he pushed him aside. “Xiao Zhu, look at you, you can’t do it. Let me!”

Zhu Zhixi’s competitive spirit was aroused. After being pushed, he instead spread his legs apart, clinging to the counter, his chin almost poking it. “N-no, I’ll scan. This time it will definitely work!”

Fu Rangyi also didn’t understand how a man in his twenties and a man in his fifties could both manage to move their age’s decimal point one place to the left at the same time.

He gave a wry smile to the waiter behind the counter, brought the QR code board in front of Zhu Zhixi, and encouraged him softly, “It’s okay, try again. Maybe you were too far away just now.”

At the same time, his other hand raised his own phone, scanned the code through the gap in Zhu Zhixi’s shoulder, paid the bill, and showed it to the waiter.

“Okay, sir.” The waiter immediately understood, bowed slightly, and said loudly to Zhu Zhixi, “Sir? Your payment has been successful. Thank you.”

“Success? That’s great.” Zhu Zhixi raised his head, and smiled happily. He turned his head and said loudly to the drunk Professor Wang next to him, “Brother Wang, don’t be polite… take, take care of our family’s Xiao Fu.”

“That’s a must, Xiao Zhu ah, Xiao, Xiao Fu is very good. You two live a good life.”

Xiao Fu stood beside the two of them, looking helpless. He half-supported Zhu Zhixi and followed the main group out the door. It was cold outside. He wrapped Zhu Zhixi’s coat tighter around him and watched him enthusiastically say goodbye to his colleagues one by one.

After everyone had left, Fu Rangyi finally couldn’t help but tease, “Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were all your connections.”

Zhu Zhixi vaguely heard him, and it was unclear if he understood, but he just giggled foolishly and leaned against him.

“I’m so dizzy.”

“Are you cold?” Fu Rangyi touched his face with the back of his hand. It was ridiculously hot.

“Hot…” Zhu Zhixi pressed his face against his chest and leaned there for a while. People came and went on the street, many of them in pairs.

Fu Rangyi somewhat enjoyed this moment, as if they were also a couple in the midst of a passionate love affair, so he didn’t leave immediately.

After a while, Zhu Zhixi suddenly looked up, his moist eyes staring at him without a word.

“What’s wrong?” Fu Rangyi looked down at him, his hand gently resting on the small of his back.

Zhu Zhixi blinked slowly. In the flickering night, a hint of something akin to seduction flashed in his moist pupils, like the wind, untouchable and uncatchable.

His rosy, full lips parted slightly.

He said, “Kiss me.”

Fu Rangyi was taken aback, his whole body freezing for a second.

“You’re drunk.” He released the hand that was holding Zhu Zhixi.

Zhu Zhixi was relentless. He even stood on his tiptoes, trying to reach up. “Xiao Fu, kiss.”

Passersby couldn’t help but look over. Fu Rangyi, with his back to them, could also feel it. He pressed down on his shoulders and said in a low voice, “There are so many people.”

“What are you afraid of?” Zhu Zhixi frowned, turned his face to the people watching the show, and slurred softly, “What are you looking at? We’re married.”

He even showed his wedding ring, but he raised the wrong hand.

The passersby walked away quickly.

Zhu Zhixi slowly turned his face back to Fu Rangyi, stared at him unwillingly for a few seconds, then suddenly held his face. “You, what’s wrong with you?”

He struggled to raise his index finger, passed it through the frame of his glasses, and pressed Fu Rangyi’s temple. “Is the network lagging? I said…”

Standing on his tiptoes again, Zhu Zhixi leaned close to his ear. His breath was ambiguous. “Kiss me…”

---

Author’s Note:

Happy Lantern Festival, babies!
The next chapter will have lots of kisses! The little drunkard’s (little pervert’s) proactive attack