Chapter Text
“I’m not going,” Chi Cheng answers firmly.
“That attitude is exactly why you don’t have a say in this,” his father says. He mainly talks to whatever he is scrolling through on his phone. His voice is so calm, it ignites a fire in Chi Cheng.
“Why did you bother calling me down, when you are even less interested in talking than I am?” Chi Cheng wonders aloud. But the look his father gives him, make him regret it instantly.
A mix of disappointment and raw spite hardens his father’s features. Shame stings in Chi Cheng’s chest, but he doesn’t want to take it back. He never does.
And he surely won’t apologize.
“How dare you…?!” his father begins, but he doesn’t hear the rest of it, because he storms up the stairs and slams the door behind him.
Then, he hears more shouting that he doesn’t understand. His forehead collides with his bent knees as he crumples together, back pressed against his bedroom door.
**
They don’t talk for the entire car ride to the farm. But that’s normal – they often have days like that, where both are too tired of each other.
Chi Cheng rolls his eyes, hating every aspect of his life. He looks out of the window, letting his thoughts wander. They are driving through green fields and small wooden houses everywhere.
It’s strange that his father insisted on driving himself. He expected that the driver would just drop him off and pick him up again once the summer break was over. And for the first time since he started university, he wishes the vacation would end in the blink of an eye.
The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that he hasn't been worried enough. Because his father announced that he will be spending his only two months of freedom entirely working.
A noise of frustration leaves him, and his father gives him a look. Chi Cheng keeps his gaze focused outside the window. The last thing he wants to worry about is what his father thinks about him.
But it hasn’t always been like that. He used to only care about what his parents think of him, of being a perfectly obedient son who would make both proud. Until his mother…
Another noise of frustration, this time louder. He still refuses to look at his father, who finally talks to him.
**
His father left in a hurry after dropping him off in front of a very old-looking house, unsure how far from the actual farm and cornfields it is. Now, he’s staring at the peeling paint on the facades, trying to figure out where the entrance is.
He clicks his tongue as the frustration grows. He’s sweaty, and his clothes stick to him. The air is unbearably hot, and the chirping of birds makes him realize that he isn’t just stuck in a nightmare.
He pulls his suitcase and adjusts the bag on his shoulder as he steps forward, wanting to walk around the house because maybe the door is at the other side.
He wipes drops of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand when he hears…
…a chicken screaming? Or is it a very shrill voice?
The closer Chi Cheng gets to the corner, the louder the noises get.
Just when Chi Cheng rounds the corner and looks up, a chicken flies straight at him. He narrowly avoids it and looks over his shoulder in confusion. He shakes his head, unsure about what to do, but just when he turns his head back, a new obstacle occurs.
“Watch out!” he hears, too close, but it’s already late.
Something, no someone, collides into him at high speed and lands on top of him with their full body weight.
He drops his luggage and lands in the gravel, banging his head into the ground. A scream of equal parts embarrassment and anger slips from Chi Cheng’s throat.
The person isn’t exactly heavy, but it still knocks the air out of him.
“Oh my god! I am so, so sorry,” a concerned voice above him says.
A boy. Probably, the boy.
Instead of using the ground for support, he uses Chi Cheng’s chest to push himself upward – his hands press firmly against Chi Cheng’s shoulders. And he stays there, on top of Chi Cheng. Straddling his lap.
A pair of huge eyes stares down at Chi Cheng, their gaze lingering. Then, he presses Chi Cheng’s shoulder’s down, and leans forward, until their faces are only inches apart. Chi Cheng breathes in, but it’s not the smell of dirt or sweat like he expected. It’s not bad at all; the boy smells good – earthy and warm, like a hug from your favorite person.
“I’m sorry. Are you okay?” he asks, clearly oblivious to his sitting position. Suddenly, the heat between their thighs becomes uncomfortable…or maybe too comfortable. Chi Cheng feels the weight of his thigh presses against his own, small stones digging from behind.
The boy exhales, dangerously close to Chi Cheng’s neck, making his pulse jump.
“Get off of me,” Chi Cheng grits out. The urge to murder someone is evident in his tone.
“Oh,” is all he says this time, as if genuinely hadn’t realized what he was doing until Chi Cheng pointed it out. “My bad,” he says as he gets up, this time using the ground for support. Then he giggles and reaches his hand out to help Chi Cheng.
But Chi Cheng slaps it away. He gets up from the ground on his own, dusting off his clothes as best he can, and picks up his luggage.
Chi Cheng exhales heavily. “Are you Wu Suo Wei?” he asks, tired of how every second here makes him hate his father more. Yet, he can’t help but chase the other boy’s eyes, who is desperately gasping for air, clearly tired.
He scratches the back of his head, laughing nervously. “You must be Chi Cheng.”
**
When Wu Suo Wei shows Chi Cheng the entrance, he realizes that the house has its backside to the road, or rather the gravel path. Ridiculous.
He plumps down onto a sofa in the rather sparsely furnished living room. Wu Suo Wei promised he would be back shortly, after hunting down the chicken.
For the millionth time that day, Chi Cheng sighs in frustration, tired from the very warm welcome he got – how is he going to survive a whole day of physical work on top of that?
But he doesn’t get the chance to rest much before Wu Suo Wei burst in, startling Chi Cheng, who rolls his eyes.
“Did you catch it?” he asks, uninterested, looking at the other boy.
He looks so small standing in the door, with the sunlight behind him, making it glow around him. He is rather skinny and around a head shorter than Chi Cheng, currently covered in thousands of tiny scars and feathers, and a lot of dirt.
But Wu Suo Wei only giggles in response. He hurries over to Chi Cheng. “Let me show you your room!” he beams. Then, he takes Chi Cheng’s big suitcase and runs up the stairs.
Still in shock over Wu Suo Wei’s strength, Chi Cheng gets up and stiffly follows him up the stairs.
“This is my room,” Wu Suo Wei points to one of three doors in the narrow hallway that the stairs lead up to. “And this is yours,” Wu Suo Wei says, pointing to the door directly across his own room.
Chi Cheng nods, tired.
“That’s the bathroom,” Wu Suo Wei says next, pointing to the door at the end of the small hallway. “But your room has its own bathroom. I thought you would feel more comfortable like that,” he explains. “And don’t worry,” Wu Suo Wei continues, as he opens the door. “We had everything professionally cleaned and newly furnished.”
The room is simple, everything held in white. There is a cupboard against the wall just beside the door, a huge bed and a small desk against the wall just beside the entrance, with the door to the bathroom right across it and finally a big window adorning the wall directly across them.
Chi Cheng feels a pang of guilt. Regardless of his father’s choice, whoever is responsible for the visit at the farm, as well as Wu Suo Wei, are doing their best to make him feel at ease.
“What do you think?” Wu Suo Wei asks from behind him.
Chi Cheng turns around, looking down, while Wu Suo Wei looks up. Their eyes meet. And their faces are impossibly close. They share a breath.
An unfamiliar feeling makes Chi Cheng’s stomach tingle, and the heat flushes his cheeks. Before he can stop himself, Chi Cheng’s eyes move from Wu Suo Wei’s gaze to his lips. But it barely lasts a second, not even enough time to blink. Then, the distance feels too small.
Wu Suo Wei steps back a bit, but still looks at Chi Cheng, expecting an answer.
“Uh…” Chi Cheng begins. “It’s nice,” he says. “I mean, it’s good. Everything is great,” he elaborates. “Thank you,” Chi Cheng adds, sincerely.
Maybe the summer isn’t going to be that bad. Because Wu Suo Wei is very pretty.