Work Text:
Fei Fei looked up from her laptop as her husband slammed the door to their apartment.
It was a very dramatic slam, projecting great misery and some kind of universe-shattering crisis. But she knew her husband well, for him those personal apocalyptic events occurred at least once each month. Anything could trigger these calamities, from serious governance related problems and political conflicts with actual adversaries, to the fact that Li Feng saw too many pigeons on his way home. Her husband kept showing boundless creativity at those times, coming up with assumptions that could rival a good telenovela but oddly enough, sometimes he was right. About 5% of times. But it was enough to keep him going in his full drama queen glory.
"The interview didn't go well?" she asked, quickly wrapping up what she was doing, knowing well that Li Feng would soon talk her ear off about whatever allegedly happened or was about to happen to him.
Fei Fei had a lot of patience for her husband. Endless patience. She has been a recipient for his venting for a decade already, but somehow Li Feng still was able to surprise her. Admittedly, she did find him funny. Even endearing. But the truth was, as she listened to him, she found it shocking she actually married a guy like that.
And she married him for love, not the money, which was even odder. But she had no excuse, he was kind of cute, even when he blabbered for three days about one side eye a journalist gave him or that logistics company that sabotaged his political career because the gift bags for his event were yellow and not red as he wanted.
But at the end of day, she liked it. At least he was talking about his feelings unlike her ex who always kept it in and then got mad at her for no reason.
Li Feng didn't reply to her question, probably gritting his teeth by the door. She stood up and walked to the hallway. Of course, Li Feng was still taking off his shoes. For once he decided to wear sneakers and not the fancy loafers he preferred and now he was struggling to untie them because he was too tense and boiling with rage.
Fei Fei did not blink, she was used to it. But, she did blink a second later, realizing that something or rather someone was missing.
Li Feng was trying to get reelected as the governor of the province and today he was supposed to do an interview about local parks and recreation areas that were renovated during his cadency. He was planning to include a sweet scene of playing soccer with their son Li Zheng, so that he could show off their family life. She was invited to join as well but she had been tired after the work week so she welcomed having a couple of hours at home for herself so she just let him take their Li Zheng along and relaxed.
Was it a mistake? Did Li Feng actually lose A-Zheng when he was busy with the interviewer?
She paled.
"Where is A-Zheng?" she asked.
"Our son is on a mission, he's spying for me," Li Feng announced, as he finally managed to pull the tight snickers off his feet. Quickly he exchanged them for soft slippers but their fluffiness didn't manage to diminish his gloom aura.
She sighed. Deep breath in and out. Hear him out, hear him out, hear him out, she repeated to herself. No way he actually sent Li Zheng somewhere dangerous, he's not that irresponsible.
Li Feng and his theories were fun but only when they didn't involve their only son.
"Honey," she said as gently as she could given the circumstances. "I don't think it's a good idea to leave him somewhere unsafe, he's only eight."
"He's safe, he's with A-Min," Li Feng explained.
"You brother Li Min? Chang Geng?" she made sure.
"Yes! Because A-Min is conspiring against me!" Li Feng burst out, raising his hand to face level and gesturing with it dramatically. "He probably finally decided that he wants to go into politics after all and he's going to run against me in the election! So I sent our son there to get me an intel," he scoffed.
Instantly, she felt relieved. Li Feng's youngest brother was responsible and always got along with their son. He wasn't very close with Li Feng but she saw him every other month so he wasn't exactly a stranger.
Having ensured her child's safety, she moved away from the corridor and took care of her second responsibility - the man-child she married.
"Come, I'll make you some tea and you'll tell me all about how he's conspiring against you, how does it sound?"
She hoped he didn't notice the amusement in her voice. It was hard to fight it, Li Feng's flair for the dramatic always made her smile.
"I was once right about my brother conspiring against me," he mumbled as he followed her.
"You were, love. You're very vigilant, just sometimes too much and you rush with interpretations."
It was true that Li Feng's other brother did try to run a scam using their family influence but that was the mean brother she never liked. Li Min was the cute little brother whose only problem was that he was maybe a little too smart and distant sometimes.
"I have proof. And today he gave me another one!" Li Feng insisted. "Wait here."
She made them the tea and sat down with her steaming mug and after a few minutes he did come back with his tablet.
"My flat, the one where I lived back when we started dating, A-Min lives there now, right?"
"Right," she confirmed with a nod.
"Look! I got the opex recon invoice and it turns out he almost didn't use the water and heating for the last few months! Same for electricity! Do you know what it means?"
She had a vague idea. Li Min was young, of course he was living like many young people, hanging around different places, traveling, staying over at friends or lovers instead of going home.
"Probably that he's dating someone? He's an adult, there is nothing wrong with that," she shrugged.
Li Feng shook his head with a grim expression.
"A-Min doesn't date. He can't really look at women like this because of his abusive aunt. You know, the toxic sister of my father's mistress that raised him for a couple of years," he once again explained that part of his tumultuous family history.
Fei Fei thought to herself that if Li Min told Li Feng that he couldn't look at women that was just him softly coming out as possibly gay and testing for Li Feng's reaction but she thought it wasn't her place to break it to her husband, Li Min could do it on his own.
To be frank, she did hope Li Min was actually gay. Because if it was true, she could watch Li Feng have a meltdown over it. He certainly would, because that's what he always did. She remembered when they met Li Min's trans friend, Cao Niangzi, Li Feng was confused at first but then he spent the whole night afterwards watching movies and documentaries about trans people, then he raged about why so many queer movies are sad and then he actually did something good, he sponsored an LGBTQ+ friendly psychological helpline and pushed forward revision of the name laws related to sex affirmation.
And then he developed an unhealthy obsession with drag queens and watched all seasons of drag race but that was a different story.
"And even if...!" Li Feng continued. "It doesn't make sense. My old place is big and comfortable, it has a terrace and few rooms, the commute is perfect. If he's dating someone, it's more likely for him to invite them over, not the other way around. The other person would have to have a better place which is unlikely."
Fei Fei strongly believed that the reason could be just that simply the other person's home would be actually livable. Li Feng's old place was devoid of any soul and looked like an abstemious ikea with only what you needed at home and not what you wanted. When the two of them were dating, if not for her loud roommate, she would also be trying to convince Li Feng that they should stay over at her place, not his.
"So... if he's not staying at his place, where do you think he is?" she asked.
Li Feng got deadly serious.
"I think... I think he has a second life in another city and he's going to run for the office from there, trying to beat me in the election!"
Fei Fei gasped, stunned by her husband's creative mind. The corners of her lips twitched, fighting back the laughter.
"Oh no!"
Li Feng wasn't done.
"Today, I got the proof! I was doing an interview and he sabotaged me! And the worst, I think Gu Yun is on it with him!"
"Gu Yun, your friend from school? Beautiful hair?The one that has a pet rat?"
Gu Yun, who was another reason why she thought that Li Min could be gay? His eyes always followed Gu Yun religiously, the gaze so intense, more than once she found herself looking away, blushing in embarrassment.
"Exactly! So today I was doing the interview, our son was supporting me by looking cute next to me and suddenly the interviewer lost focus. I look behind me and you know what I see? Gu Yun and Li Min doing taichi together. Taichi with swords! Of course Gu Yun was absurdly good at it, he's always been great at sports even if he can't find the tip of his own nose without his contacts." Li Feng scoffed angrily. "And then A-Min noticed me and walked up to say hello, as if it was an accident that they were there! The interviewers realized it's my brother so they actually included Li Min and Gu Yun with their swords. To show the use of parks. And! It means my interview and the soccer part is going to be shorter! If that's not sabotage, I don't know what it is."
"Maybe an accident? If they both own swords they have to be doing it quite often."
"Oh, Gu Yun likes to buy all sorts of trinkets, he probably has a ton of martial arts equipment in his closet, that's kind of his special interest," Li Feng waved her off as if owning multiple weapons was on the same level as collecting Pokemon cards or her personal Jigglypuff shrine he was adding to on her every birthday. "And A-Min wasn't that good at it, just passable. He's been practicing for a few months tops."
"Isn't it exactly as long as the OpEx has been low?" she asked with raised eyebrow.
She would have to congratulate her brother-in-law for scoring his crush, that was a great achievement especially after so many years of longing stares. Gu Yun was a good catch, handsome, charismatic, funny, the list went on and on. Li Feng could probably come up with just as many faults in Gu Yun as she found superlatives but that was just her husband's typical behavior. The solid proof that Gu Yun was a good person afterall was that at the end of the day, Li Feng was still hanging out with him, despite everything.
But their friendship was odd, one of those that came from habit, from being forced to be around each other for years in school and now it stuck. She doubted that if they met as fully grown adults, they would become friends. Whatever they've been through in school, made them stick together for life. Even if it wasn't the closest of the friendships, it was stable. Would it remain stable if she was right? That was uncertain, there were just few stable things in Li Feng's life and she wasn't sure this one was on the list.
"Because they are on it together!” her husband got agitated. “Plotting hostile takeover of the province! I need to know Li Min's strategy, so I suggested that if A-Min is free, he should take A-Zheng in for the afternoon. And now, our son is spying for me. A-Min wasn't expecting it so maybe he didn't hide the clues, or maybe even incriminating evidence and our son will be lucky enough to find it."
Fei Fei sighed.
"He has a phone, right?" she asked, a bit resigned.
"Of course! He needs to report to me after all."
Li Feng pulled out his own and showed her a stream of messages on his chat with his son.
Zheng Zheng
Daddy his fridge is empty
The bathroom is a bit dusty
I think Uncle is not as put together as he seems I guess
Dad, they are talking if we should go to Uncle Gu Yun's place, he has games
Uncle Min has nothing here, just some books and clothes
Can I go to Uncle Gu Yun's?
Dad
THEY?
Gu Yun is still there?
Zheng Zheng
Yeah
He didn't even mention leaving at all, he just went with us after you left
Dad
Stay a bit more. For the mission.
You'll be paid in chocolate.
Zheng Zheng
Dad, I'm grateful and I don't want to be greedy
But that's cheap
Could I get switch games instead?
3 of them
Dad
1 for the effort
2 if you'll find something useful
3 only if you uncover the whole truth
Zheng Zheng
🎉🎉🎉
You're so generous Dad, thank you!
Having safely secured his new games, Li Zheng put his phone down. Uncle Gu Yun and Uncle Min were discussing something in the kitchen in hushed voices, it seemed that they were discussing the 'no food' problem. Li Zheng tiptoed by the door and snuck into the bedroom.
His daddy wanted him to find something showing Uncle Min was plotting against Daddy but Li Zheng seriously doubted it was true. He liked Uncle Min. He didn't want Daddy and Uncle Min to fight but it was clear as day that something was up, he was almost certain that no one had been in this flat for weeks. The air was stale when they walked in, there were no plants. Uncle Min always kept plants.
And there was no sign of myna bird that Li Zheng liked to play with. He was scared to ask after it, what if something happened to the bird? He hoped Daddy was right and Uncle Min didn't really live here because then maybe myna bird was at his new place and it was safe and well.
But Uncle Min was too nice so he probably didn't actually plot against Daddy. So Li Zheng was on a serious mission to save his family - he needed to find the reason why Uncle Min didn't live here anymore and why he didn't tell Daddy.Then he would convince him to tell Daddy and they wouldn't fight. And he would get 3 switch games and maybe more if Dad appreciated his work.
And he would play with the myna bird.
In the bedroom, the bed was made and there was a faint, lingering scent of the calming herbs Uncle Min always kept under his pillow. He did find a sachet of it in the nightstand drawer, but there wasn't much else in there, just some lip balm. Li Zheng wasn't sure what he was looking for so he started opening all the closets and drawers in the bedroom and suddenly he found Uncle Gu Yun's Halloween costume among Uncle Min's things. It was really cool steampunk armor, Li Zheng remembered it well.
Did they go together because they were friends? And Uncle Gu Yun left it here?
He shut the closet door and scanned the rest of the bedroom. Having found nothing suspicious there, just some clothes, he sneaked into Uncle Min's workshop.
This place didn't change much. It was tidy for a workroom but it fit so many of Uncle Min's passions. There was woodcarving, needle work box, yarn for crocheting, he could go on and on. He started opening the boxes, trying to find something useful when he heard footsteps. He quickly closed the box and put it away, just in time for Uncle Min to open the room.
"It seems you found the only place in the whole apartment that has some cool stuff," she smiled warmly. "Would you like to build a music box together? Or we could paint some figures."
It truly sounded awesome, Li Zheng once again confirmed that Uncle Min was super cool. But that was also why he had to fight for him and Daddy to stay on good terms!
"Yes! But, uhm, Uncle Min..." he braved up, realizing that maybe he wasn't a good spy but Uncle liked him so maybe he'd tell him the truth. "Do you... not live here anymore?"
"You're a perceptive little one," Uncle Min ruffled his hair gently, not mad at all. "I know it's a lot to ask for, but could you not give me out to your dad yet? I will tell him, I just need to prepare the ground a bit. He'll be upset if he finds out too soon."
"Uncle Min..." Li Zheng's saddened. "Dad knows... and he is upset."
Uncle Min's eyes opened wider.
"Hah..." he pondered. "And what does he think?"
Li Zheng didn't want to betray his Dad so he evaded the question. His Dad would be proud.
"You know Dad, he has.. ideas, " he said equivocally. "Where do you live now, Uncle Min? In another city? And that's why you had to move away? Is your myna bird there too? Is it fine?"
"Oh no," Uncle shook his head and answered almost immediately, although Li Zheng noticed a small pause that usually wouldn't be there. Was Uncle Min telling him only a part of the truth? "I didn't move far away, I just stay with Uncle Gu Yun. He's so clumsy with his sports, he claims he's good at them but ends up hurt more often than he doesn't. And if something hurts him, I have to take care of him. And because he gets hurt all the time, it was just easier than coming over to cook for him all the time. And there is also the problem that Uncle Gu Yun can't really cook on his own, he's like his rat, could and would survive on trash," Uncle Min's expression turned grim. "And I like Uncle Gu Yun so I can't allow that. Just imagine it, how tragic it would be if his hair started falling out because his terrible diet gave him deficiencies. It would be so tragic."
Li Zheng pondered for a moment and it made a lot of sense. He doubted it was the whole truth but he was ready to accept it. He knew Uncle Min was always looking after Uncle Gu Yun. Whenever he saw the two of them in one place, Uncle Min was always very caring, making sure Uncle Gu Yun's plate and glass was full, that he was entertained, that his clothes and hair looked nice. Daddy told him that Uncle Min has always been like this, Daddy claimed that Uncle Min had been blinded by Uncle Gu Yun's coolness the first time they met and never got healed. Li Zheng thought it wasn't true, what he said just now was perfect proof that he didn't think Uncle Gu Yun was super cool all the time; but it was proof that Uncle Min respected and liked Uncle Gu Yun. And that was a perfectly good explanation for living together.
Li Zheng also wanted to live with his friends when he'd grow up.
"Oh, so you love me for my hair?" Uncle Gu Yun appeared out of nowhere and leaned against the doorframe like the cool people do. "How superficial of you, dear."
A scowl appeared on Uncle Min's face and he looked as if he was about to scold Uncle Gu Yun. Li Zheng stepped in to talk them down, he didn't like it when people argued.
"If you live with Uncle Gu Yun now, Uncle Min, maybe let's go there," he suggested. "I want to see the myna bird."
Uncle Min's face shifted again, he looked like he was calculating something at incredible speed. Eventually he bit his lips and said, "I don't think we should. Your father will get a wrong idea."
"I bet he already has a bunch of wrong ideas," Uncle Gu Yun commented. "Come on, A-Zheng. Share a few. I know he probably told you."
Li Zheng dropped his eyes. He felt intimidated. He didn't want to betray Daddy's but also, it was very stressful to worry about Uncle Min planning even worse betrayal. He gulped.
"Uhm... Uncle Min... Can you please tell me the truth? Are you planning to become a politician like Daddy?"
Uncle Min was smart so he did understand that this question was important. He leaned down so that his face was at the same level as Li Zheng's.
"Not really," he said. "Maybe if there was something I really cared about and couldn't get it any other way. But for a job, it's not really my thing. I have much better things to do. I'll let you Dad do the work for the society. I'll just work for my household."
"Okay," Li Zheng breathed out. "Because Daddy thinks you want to run against him in the next election," he shared hesitantly.
Uncle Min for a second hid his face behind his palms and sighed. Li Zheng was relieved, this was usually people's reaction to Dad's crazy theories, not the ones that actually were true.
"It's not true," he said in an exhausted voice.
"So what's true, A-Min?" Uncle Gu Yun teased him in overly sweet tone.
"Zixi, we talked about it," Uncle Min hushed him. "He won't take it well."
"Do you care?" Uncle Gu Yun shrugged. "You know Li Feng, he'll scream for a week or two and then he'll pretend the drama never happened as long as we're all friends."
"Maybe you're right," Uncle Min agreed.
"What's the truth?" Li Zheng cocked his head.
"That me and Uncle Min are really good friends. Like very, very. Your dad won't like it," Uncle Gu Yun explained casually.
Yeah, Li Zheng could see his Dad getting jealous over that. He nodded with understanding.
"Can I go see the bird?" he asked then, perking up. "Is it far?"
"Bird first, huh?" Uncle Gu Yun challenged him. "Not my rat brother?"
Li Zheng carefully reflected on how to answer. Uncle Gu Yun's rat was living like a rat prince, his cage was a palace full of luxuries but the rat itself was less capable than the bird who could talk. But he didn't want Uncle Gu Yun to feel sad.
"Of course I want to see both," Li Zheng smiled politely.
Group Chat (Chen Qingxu, Shen Yi, Gu Yun, Chang Geng)
Gu Yun
Dears
The time has come
Place your bets
What will Li Feng do when he finds out how horny for me Chang Geng is and what I did about it?
Chen Qingxu
You're finally letting Chang Geng's family know you two are together?
I'll get a hospital bed ready for you, just in case
Shen Yi
My bet is that he'll scream
Then he'll throw something at you
Physical object, not the grooming accusation
Gu Yun
If anyone was groomed here, it had been me, not the other way around
Right, darling?
Chang Geng
Yes, it took a lot of effort
Years
This relationship is really labor of love project for me -.-
Shen Yi
I'm scared to ask what you meant by this last kaomoji
Chen Qingxu
I know
Because I had to listen to him loose brain cells over that man for years
Seriously, who wifes so hard over a guy he's not even dating and he did it for years, everything, cooking, cleaning, thoughtful gifts, complements and desperation
Gu Yun, appreciate what you have, Chang Geng's a treasure
Gu Yun
I say it, I was groomed
He had to cook me slow, otherwise I wouldn't be so mellow now
Chang Geng
Why do you have to make it sound so bad
THERE WAS NO GROOMING
Just me having a crush, confessing
And trying to convince you to return my feelings through endless care and love
Gu Yun
And making me crotchet rats
And the rat-shaped cross body bag that stole my heart
Chang Geng
I was supposed to steal your heart not the bag
Chen Qingxu
Why didn't you two get together when he kissed you for the first time, it would be so much simpler
Gu Yun
BECAUSE HE WAS EIGHTEEN
Sure he was cute but no way I'm even considering dating a child
Cheng Geng
My bad, that kiss was way ahead of my plans but I just couldn't help myself
Zixi was so beautiful and smelled so nice, I lost my head for a moment
Gu Yun
I tend to do that to people, not your fault, baby
I'm just that handsome
Shen Yi
Li Feng is going to bonk that handsome face of yours with a broom
That's my bet
Gu Yun
Oddly detailed
Chen Qingxu
He'll yell and throw his slipper at you
Unless his child is present, then he will not yell
But the slipper will fly
Gu Yun
Bets had been accepted.
Now the second level of bets
So we've decided to slowly increase intensity and obviousness instead of telling him directly
We start slow but if by the end of the night he doesn't address the elephant in the room, Chang Geng would be happy to make out with me in front of his face
Chang Geng
I never said that (>\\\<)
Gu Yun
Darling, you are always happy to make out with me, no matter the circumstances, you're not fooling anyone
Not in this groupchat
We all know
Shen Yi
I think Li Feng will need something solid to act
Oh no, it sounded bad, I didn't mean actually getting hard or sth
Why am I like this
Anyway
I mean he needs solid evidence. Like a hand in a place where no friend's hand should be.
Chen Qingxu
I assume he'll connect dots faster but he will wait until he can no longer take it
A kiss will do the job
Gu Yun
Thank you all for your input
I'll gladly report later
Chen Qingxu
Assuming you will be able to write and not on the way to the hospital
Li Feng knocked on Gu Yun's front door with a sour look on his face. Earlier, A-Zheng sent him the results of his search, he claimed that Li Min moved in with Gu Yun. Li Min himself confirmed by asking him over a text to pick up A-Zheng from Gu Yu's place in the evening.
He knew Gu Yun and Li Min were getting along. They have been getting along since they met through Li Feng years ago and Li Min was still in high school. He knew that Li Min talked to Gu Yun often, especially in the recent years, both of them mentioned going to events and spending time together so it wasn't like Li Feng didn't know they were friends but living together? That was new.
And uncalled for. Li Min didn't like living with other people, so he moved out of the family home as soon as he could. He had a perfectly good flat now, why live here instead?
A-Zheng mentioned in his text that it was to take care of Gu Yun. Li Feng thought about it and came to a perfectly reasonable conclusion that maybe Gu Yun was dying. Or he convinced A-Min that he was dying just to get free meals out of it.
Whatever it was, Li Feng was going to get to the bottom of this.
His face was stoic but the quiet panicked voice in the back of his head was running at full speed, projecting his fears.
And what if Gu Yun is actually sick? And dying? Is it cancer? Will he lose all his hair? Will he ask him and Fei Fei for some to make a wig? Should he make a donation for Cancer Fighters? Will it impact his campaign?
He still hoped it was just an elaborate scheme. He liked Gu Yun. He'd miss him if he was gone.
Just maybe not the scheme involving any of them running for the office against him, that would be a nightmare demanding for blood. But he wasn't convinced that Li Min's food was worth pretending to be dying, it was good but not that good.
Gu Yun opened the door, standing in his stupidly thick glasses, full set of black adidas sweats that somehow ended up looking good on him instead of lame and a fat rat on his shoulder.
"Hi Feng Feng," he welcomed his guest with a smirk.
"Why am I here?" Li Feng asked. "Why are we here and not at Xiao Min''s place?"
"Because I have games."
"I'm trying to cut down the screen time for A-Zheng."
"Well, you should have told us earlier." Gu Yun shrugged. "Fortunately, we were playing boardgames. Wanna join? A-Geng made dinner, it just needs some finishing touches, we've been waiting for you. You can bring some home for Fei Fei too, we thought she'd be coming with you."
Li Feng bit his lip at the familiar name for his brother that Gu Yun has used. Li Min didn't really use his old name, the one he was born with and lived with before he was officially acknowledged by their father. Only his oldest friends, people really close to him called him Chang Geng. Did Gu Yun earn that spot? Since when did he have those privileges?
"She'll join in a moment, a friend called her," Li Feng said, still hesitant if it had been the right choice to bring her along but she had promised to help him get to the bottom of this.
Just as being summoned, Fei Fei appeared on the stairs, catching up to him. She smiled at Gu Yun brightly like the sun and hugged him, not minding the rat.
Li Feng never understood the vast sea of love Fei Fei had in her heart for everyone, even the rat bastard that Gu Yun was. But he was thankful she was like that, after all it was comforting to know, she would always love him too.
"You smell so good, new perfume?" Gu Yun asked, again shamelessly flirting with her. Li Feng could only roll his eyes.
"Oh yes! Glad you like it," she smiled.
"A-Geng made dinner. Do you like fajitas?"
"Who doesn't?"
Gu Yun moved aside, allowing them in. He gave them slippers, basic boring ones for Li Feng and fluffy and nice white ones with flowery patterns for Fei Fei. Li Feng frowned. He knew that, as always, Gu Yun was leading him into a trap. Technically he could either let it go and settle for uglier slippers or allow Gu Yun to mock his dignity and get nicer ones. Today was the day he chose the second option and fortunately not violence because Gu Yun complied, a little bit too easily for Li Feng's liking. It made him think that maybe Gu Yun had some hidden agenda.
But after a pair of beautiful slippers adorned with fluffy red dragon heads that bounced a bit as he walked ended up on his feet, he had no complaints. Even if Gu Yun planned to undermine his dignity with childish design, he didn't care, because the slippers were cool enough to make up for it. He might have been biased but he really liked dragons.
They moved into the living room where they found Li Zheng and Li Min sitting on the floor on opposite sides of the board game. Li Min's infamous myna bird greeted them by shouting 'welcome! welcome!', a parlor trick to impress the guests that Li Min taught it ages ago. Between Li Zheng and Li Min, a bunch of cards, pawns and dice was sprawled out, it looked like a complicated strategic game, exactly the type both Gu Yun and Li Min would enjoy. The two of them loved games like that, especially the ones that took hours and days to win. Li Feng made a mistake once and allowed Li Min to drag him over to Gu Yun's for a board game weekend. It went terrible, he wasted over ten hours on one game that he had lost and he was still feeling sour about it.
It was a surprise that Li Zheng was able to keep up with the two of them but Li Feng thought it was much better than the games he expected Gu Yun to give him (Mario Kart or something similar), at least the kid had some brain exercise.
He just hoped Li Min and Gu Yun wouldn't destroy his little boy like they destroyed him on that cursed weekend that should be buried deep in his memory as one of his greatest humiliations.
Upon seeing his parents Li Zheng lit up and moved to the side, inviting them to join the game. It turned out that they were almost done and were about to start over so it was a good time to join. And this time, it was a normal game, they would be able to wrap it up in less than twenty minutes. They all agree to play one more game before the dinner.
It was something about resources, steampunk armies, Li Feng didn't really pay much attention to the rules, just barely to get by. Partially because the wounds on his honor from the previous gaming weekend still hurt and it impaired his hearing. Or rather ability to focus on the rules without remembering the humiliation.
But also, he was too preoccupied by whatever was going on between Li Min and Gu Yun.
He couldn't quite put a finger on it but something was different in the way they acted towards each other. Well, Gu Yun was Gu Yun. He had this touchy, flirty attitude sometimes and today he was clearly in the mood, Li Feng felt fortunate he was never the target of his sweet talking. Clearly, Li Min wasn't as lucky, although Gu Yun's yapping seemed to amuse him.
And that was exactly the problem. His cold baby brother, the one who always kept poker face and distance, laughed when Gu Yun moved his pawn away from Li Min's toy army, saying their commander was 'too hot to handle'. He laughed or at least smiled at all Gu Yun's terrible flirty comments. This could only mean one thing.
Li Min was pity laughing. Because Gu Yun had cancer.
Typical Gu Yun, even dying at the most inconvenient time.
Li Feng had very conflicting emotions about this. Sadly, it was worse than Li Min running against him in the elections.
Gu Yun stood up, offering to bring everyone drinks and Li Feng almost ran after him to the kitchen. He could feel A-Min's watchful eyes on his back, just as if his brother already realized he had connected the dots.
"Here to help? Wonderful. Grab water for your wife from the fridge," Gu Yun ordered him as soon as he realized he was not alone. He had already filled his own glass and took a sip from it.
Li Feng ignored the task, he just breathed out and said rapidly, "Are you dying? Is it cancer? Or something else? What are your chances?"
Gu Yun choked on his juice and started coughing. Li Feng patted him on the back, although gently, since he knew he was dealing with someone in dire physical condition even if Gu Yun didn't look like it.
"Feng Feng. What the fuck?" he asked in hoarse voice.
"No, seriously, you can tell me. I'll help you draft out a will and everything."
Li Min rushed into the kitchen like a guarding dog that heard a whisper close to his home.
"Zixi? All okay?" he asked immediately when he passed the threshold, worry painted all over his face.
Li Feng gulped. Was the disease already so advanced that Li Min expected the worst?
"Li Feng fucking thinks I'm dying," Gu Yun deadpanned. "I know my hospital bingo is a meme among everyone that knows me but damn, that's a lot."
"So you're not dying?" Li Feng asked him sternly although instantly his heart felt lighter.
"Absolutely not!"
Li Feng was overwhelmed with relief. He wasn't ready to deal with that dark scenario yet, he liked Gu Yun, despite how annoying he could be. The relief was so great that without thinking, he leaped forward and hugged him tightly. He let go after a few seconds, feeling a bit awkward for having given into his feelings like this. He cleared his throat.
"So...If you're not dying... Why does A-Min live here? I thought it was to take care of you! And he laughs at your terrible jokes!"
Gun Yun gasped, offended for the sake of his terrible jokes. He was ready to fight for them but abruptly Li Min interjected.
"Feng-ge," Li Min said calmly, a bit cutely, pulling on his sleeve in the same way he did sometimes when he was a kid. "I really like him. So we live together. I'm sorry for not telling you I moved out but you know, I didn't know if it would work out."
Li Feng sighed.
"So you do live here?" he confronted Li Min with resignation.
His younger brother nodded with a guilty look on his face.
"Fine," Li Feng decided to be a bigger person this time around. "We'll discuss the apartment arrangement another day. Let's get everyone their drinks."
When they came back to the living room, for a moment, Li Feng thought it was all okay but in reality, he could not shake off the uneasy feeling Li Min and Gu Yun gave him. And their proximity. When they sat down again, their legs were touching.
Accident. Probably an accident.
But then again, a few minutes later, Gu Yun leaned against Li Min, complaining that his back was hurting. And Li Min let him, even though he wasn't dying.
It was suspicious.
They finished another round of the weird steampunk game. Li Min stood up and went to the kitchen again to finish up on fajitas. He grabbed Gu Yun's wrist and dragged him along for help. Li Feng bit his lip. This proximity, again.
He couldn't even remember when Li Min touched him last time and suddenly he was all over Gu Yun. And they were family! How did Gu Yun create an even closer bond with him behind Li Feng's back? What could Gu Yun give him that Li Feng couldn't?
Li Zheng disappeared too, he went to play with the rat in another room. Li Feng used this opportunity to discuss his concerns with his most trusted ally, his wife.
"Fei Fei, don't you think they are acting strange?"
"What do you mean?" she cocked her head.
"Li Min usually doesn't like people touching him that much," Li Feng pondered.
"And when you went to the kitchen... did they tell you why they live together?" she whispered, eager to know the details.
"He just said he really likes Gu Yun and that's it," he shrugged.
For some reason, Fei Fei's eyes opened wider and glimmered with excitement.
"Oh," she just said.
Was it that weird? It was a known fact that Li Min liked Gu Yun a lot. Li Feng wondered if his wife could be so oblivious that she didn't notice their friendship, but quickly he discarded this thought. She wasn't stupid, of course she noticed, it must have been something else.
"'Oh' what?" he asked her.
"Nothing. But... this explains a lot. And Gu Yun?"
"What about Gu Yun?"
"He likes him back, doesn't he?" she made sure.
"No idea. But clearly he lets him stay. And Li Min makes sure his ego stays as big as Huashan mountain, not a centimeter smaller."
"Hah," she made an odd sound again. "I need to tell them something. Don't follow me."
His lips twitched in grimace and eyebrows arched in a frown.
"Fei Fei... Are you hiding something from me?"
That would be the worst betrayal. She was the one person he fully trusted and who he knew would never plot against him.
"Oh honey, I just have an idea about what's going on... If I'm right you'll probably figure it out soon enough!" she ensured him and then she distracted him with a quick kiss before running to the kitchen.
"Run! Run fast!" The myna bird encouraged her from its cage. Li Feng glared at it and the bird looked back at him. "Feng Feng! Pathetic! Can't swim!"
"How do you know that? And it's not a necessary life skill!" he argued with the bird, for a second forgetting it was just a bird who probably hardly understood what swimming meant for humans.
"Can't swim! Can't swim!" the myna repeated.
Gu Yun was a very bad influence on this bird. Was he running a brief on all Li Feng's faults for it? Otherwise, how the bird would know such random
He sighed and focused back at his real problem. Something was escaping him. What could be the reason for that would make Li Min touch anyone? Therapy maybe? Was he finally working through his childhood traumas? If yes, it was nice that Gu Yun was helping him, still a bit upset that he went to Gu Yun instead of his family.
He stood up and first went to check up on Li Zheng. The boy was still playing with the rat, so happy that Li Feng started again leaning forward the idea of getting him a puppy. It would teach his son some responsibility too so maybe it wasn't a bad idea.
But definitely not a rat. He had enough rats in his life with just this one here and his owner.
Seeing that Li Zheng was okay, he turned around and approached the kitchen. He could hear voices there, chatting lightly. The door was left slightly ajar so before walking in, he took a look inside.
The three people inside were so invested in their chat, they didn't notice him. Gu Yun was telling Fei Fei something about the living room decorations, nothing that interested Li Feng, especially since the flat decor was affected by Gu Yun's horrible, irreformable fondness for shiny trinkets.
His eyes stopped at two figures by the counter. Li Min was leaning back against it and cradled in his arms, fully supporting his weight on Li Min's chest, was Gu Yun. Li Feng's eyes opened wide.
Never in his life has he seen his little brother share so much body with anyone. Li Min did not hug other people longer than a few seconds. He did not cuddle.
He was cuddling Gu Yun, there was no way of denying it.
Li Feng took a step back.
Fine, he thought to himself, if it helps him, then fine.
He reluctantly came back to the living room, still processing the image that imprinted in his mind.
The therapy was one thing but...
They looked too comfortable. Way too comfortable.
He has never hugged a man like that, they were either extremely confident with their masculinity or just gay. Or was it Li Min taunting him to make him consider if he was confident enough in his own masculinity to do something like that?
No.
Li Feng bit his lips, allowing the intrusive thought he had had earlier to resurface.
And he had a brilliant idea how to verify it.
He turned around and walked straight toward the bird cage. He glared at the bird and the bird stared back at him, clearly confused. It let out a harsh squawk as if to tell him not to look at it like that.
"Susie," he addressed the bird, trying to start on the good foot by mentioning its name. "What is the relationship between Gu Zixi and Chang Geng?"
He used the names they called each other on purpose, hoping that it would trigger birds neurons right and will make it speak.
"Sunshine! And rainbows! Meow!" myna bird announced confidently.
Promising. But the last bit was just disappointing. He wasn't sure if he trusted this bird.
"Love?" he asked ambiguously, lowering himself to the bird's verbal level.
Susie looked at him with confusion, blinking and cocking her head. She was clearly processing, trying to generate the most accurate output based on the input. Finally, she chippered.
"Chang Geng wife! Zixi beautiful! Wife! Wife! Horny beast!"
Li Feng froze.
That was the confirmation. Gu Yun, Gu Zixi has seduced his innocent, unexperienced baby brother. And that poor bird was exposed to their flirting.
"Is Li Min gay?" he asked sternly, just to be sure.
"Ge! No ask! Rude! Bird no tell!" Susie replied, much more confidently.
Of course Chang Geng trained her to hide his private life. He was lucky the previous questions were vague and skipped his brother's defences.
Li Feng was satisfied with her service, she turned out to be a better spy than Xiao Zheng. He gave her a piece of fruit as a reward. He stepped back from the cage and plomped heavily on the couch, thinking about the bird's reply.
Li Feng wasn't blind. He had eyes and he saw how Li Min looked at Gu Yun.
(If it was true, his brother had terrible taste, absolutely disastrous!)
But the actual problem was that Gu Yun was a trashy playboy, flirting with everything that was pretty and moved, including Li Feng's own wife. He was a fine friend but absolutely did not deserve his brother. He would just break Li Min's heart!
Li Feng swallowed hard.
It was not certain yet. It was just Li Min's bird talking. And maybe the cuddling in the kitchen happened because they were confident men who maybe liked cuddling now. Maybe it was one sided. Maybe it was just Li Min having a crush. Maybe.
Or maybe Fei Fei showed him too much of her danmei ships and it was all in his head. He had no proof that Li Min wasn't straight, aside from his bird outing him as a 'wife' and him being touchy with Gu Yun and saying he really likes him. Which he did for a couple of years, it was no surprise. Li Feng still remembered when he found the two of them together on a balcony during his own birthday party, just chatting for hours. He was a bit jealous back then that Li Min was stealing his friends but soon after he met Fei Fei and he forgot all about it.
If it was around the time he met Fei Fei.... It has been so many years already! Did his little brother love that trashy rat menace all this time?!
Li Feng gritted his teeth. Gu Yun should better beg for his forgiveness if it was true.
He was distracted by Fei Fei calling him over to help with setting the table.
Through the dinner, he got more and more confirmations of the wild danmei theory, as he called it in his head, in honor of his wife's hobbies.
Stealing food from each other's plates, more touching and leaning towards each other. The way A-Geng blushed when Gu Yun praised his food. But when Gu Yun's hand rested on Li Min's leg, much too high for his liking, Li Feng dropped his cutlery on the table and crossed his arms over chest.
He quickly glanced to the side, checking if Li Zheng was gone. The boy finished his food like it was a race and ran back to the other room to play a bit more with the rat before he'd have to leave. Fei Fei was with him, only the three of them remained at the table. Perfect conditions for a confrontation.
"I'm done watching it quietly. Explain yourselves. Now." he demanded.
"Explain what?" Gu Yun asked innocently.
"You know well! How dare you grope my brother in front of me?! He's not one of your bimbos!"
"Of course he's not," Gu Yun agreed, too easily for Li Feng's taste.
"Are they even real, by the way?" Li Min raised his eyebrows. "I've never seen any, it's as if your playboy fassade is just sweet talking."
"Well darling, I wonder how that could have happened?" Gu Yun smiled flirtariously at Li Min. "So accidental that the end of my playboy era aligns so perfectly with your presence in my life."
That was too much for Li Feng. He took off his dragon slipper, stood up and circled the table to bonk Gu Yun on his head with it. Just because he was absolutely unbearable.Then, having let out part of his anger, Li Feng sighed and leaned back against the table edge, looking down at Li Min and Gu Yun.
"Explain yourselves. What the hell is that?" he demanded.
Gu Yun's face turned serious. He also stood up, to look Li Feng in the eyes through his ridiculously thick glasses.
"Feng Feng," Gu Yun started grimly. "I've been groomed by a horny teenager!"
Li Min's eyes went wide, clearly this part didn't match whatever script for this conversation he had in mind. He hastily rose to his feet.
"Ge, he's just joking, you know how he is," he insisted. "But we are together."
Li Feng took a deep breath in and out. His grip on the slipper tightened and before realized what he was doing, he hit Gu Yun with it again.
"My baby brother!" he seethered through his teeth. "You have no honor!"
"What are you so outraged about even? I'm a good catch," Gu Yun scoffed.
"Yes, if you're doing dumpster diving!"
Li Min groaned.
"Both of you, please stop. Ge, this relationship is extremely important to me. It would mean a lot to me if you approved it."
"And if I don't?" Li Feng asked with a frown.
Li Min looked up at him, and instantly, Li Feng knew this was serious. Li Min would execute whatever he was threatening with, no remorse.
"Then I'm afraid our family ties will loosen. And it is possible I will actually run against you for the office, as you were always afraid I would. But it wouldn't even be for you, it would be just a side quest on the way when I will work on legalizing gay marriage in this country. And you know I would be able to pull it off. I'm good with strategies and legislation. I would win against you and run the governor's office in a way you'd never be able to."
"Are you threatening me?" Li Feng was taken back by the directness, it was opposite to how Li Min usually handled everything.
"Frankly? Yes, I am," Li Min said, his dark eyes piercing through Li Feng.
It didn't help that Gu Yun was looking at his brother as if he hung the moon, with an additional layer of casual horniness. Absolutely disgusting, in Li Feng's opinion. He gritted his teeth.
"Gu Yun, out," he commanded.
"Why? Can't take two against one?" Gu Yun mocked him, making Li Feng want to slap him with the dragon slipper once again, this time on the shoulder.
"Just go. It's between A-Min and me," Li Feng insisted.
Gu Yun looked at Li Min, waiting for confirmation. Only when he received a nod, he mumbled a few complaints but promptly exited the room. As soon as he was gone, Li Feng reached out and ruffled Li Min's hair in an unwanted brotherly love gesture. Li Min let out an exasperated gasp but the tension in his body seemed to have lessened.
Li Feng would never admit it out loud but sometimes he found Li Min terrifying. His little brother was ridiculously smart and meticulous, planning and strategizing was one of his strongest suits. He was always acting in this calculated, thought through manner and was oddly calm, never letting his emotions impair his judgement.
And now there he was, instead of preparing a ten year long plan plotting for Li Feng's demise, he was directly threatening him if he didn't approve of his boyfriend.
It was the most human Li Feng has ever seen him. It brought Li Feng a lot of comfort, so much it negated the threats and even the gay drama.
He smiled and ruffled his hair in a tender gesture. To tell the truth, gestures like that were few between them, but it did feel right at the moment.
"Xiao Min," Li Feng said to him. "I'll do my best to legalize that gay marriage for you," he promised.
Li Min blinked in surprise and looked up at him. Suddenly, Li Feng was taken back to the day when their father brought Li Min home for the first time. There was this small glimpse of vulnerability back then and now in his brother's eyes, one that he usually kept well hidden.
"I didn't expect you to come to terms with it so fast."
"Well, I say I hate him but he's not that bad," Li Feng admitted slowly. "Annoying, vain, lazy, dramatic but also very reliable in crisis. But I've never seen him pull off a relationship that lasted longer than two months, just so you know."
"We've been together for four years," Li Min deadpanned. "Well, almost. It will be four years in October."
Li Feng looked at him, for a moment questioning Li Min's ability to measure time correctly. And then he frowned, doing some other calculations.
"Are you telling me the flat you allegedly occupy now could have been rented a long time ago? What a waste of money! Couldn't you tell me sooner?!"
"I used to go there from time to time," Li Min argued. "Only recently he said I can just stay here full time."
"Recently?"
"Like... eight months ago."
If there was anything Li Feng didn't like, it was wasting money for stupid things. Like ineffective taxes. Funds frozen due to paperwork. Gu Yun's ridiculous headpieces. Rentable spaces remaining unoccupied.
"You will clean out that place within two weeks. And I will rent it out as it should have been done," he announced harshly.
"Sure. I apologize for keeping it away from you."
"I mean you are dating Gu Yun. That is embarrassing, no wonder you kept it a secret."
Li Min clearly didn't agree but also he didn't argue. Which Li Feng thought was enough. But a second later he understood that what was really enough was the small smile, playing on his brother's lips.
Li Feng sighed.
“Fine. Dumpster diving or not, I admit you could have done worse. He may be a lazy fool but I know I can count on him to take care of you if something bad happens. Also, you do you, A-Min. You rarely truly want something, if that’s my school menace, so be it.”
The grin on Li Min’s face grew bolder and Li Feng couldn’t take his eyes off it. It was new to see Li Min so sincerely happy. But Li Feng was glad. It was the Li Min he wanted to see every day from now on. Much less likely to backstab him or plot against him, if he was occupied by his own love life.
Li Feng approved.
Fei Fei expected many things to happen in her household after Li Min’s coming out. She thought Li Feng may run a homophobic campaign. She thought Li Feng may run a pro-queer campaign.
She kind of expected the Drag Race marathon to return to their lives, Li Feng always loved that this series ran on constant drama.
But she did not expect her husband to start stealing her danmei novels. Exclusively those that had juicy political drama. It’s been very long since she has seen him so passionate about a new hobby.
At first she tried to give him mild novels with a lot of politics, first the safe choices but gradually bolder ones. And he devoured all. Lord 7th, Peerless, Thousand Autumns, Ballad of Sword and Wine…
Each night, after Xiao Zheng went to bed, they were watching The Winner is King, the adaptation of his favorite novel so far. He started buying her second hand danmei as a nice gesture just so he could read it later.
It was a pleasant change. Unexpected but pleasant. She waited patiently, expectantly for several months to be certain that Li Feng settled properly into his new hobby and he wouldn’t abandon it easily. Only then she dared to ask about the cause of his odd behavior. Of course, proceeding the talk with getting him some danmei merch so he could be distracted by it and answer truthfully.
“Dear Husband… I love that you watch danmei with me and you clearly enjoy it but… I was wondering why. You were never interested in my books before and suddenly you started reading all of them.”
“Because knowledge is key,” he said, happily playing with his new gay keychain.
“You’re learning politics from danmei?” she asked.
“That too, it can get surprisingly complex,” he hummed in appreciation. “I like that. But, to be honest, I started because of A-Min.”
“Oh, to understand him better?” she smiled. “That’s so sweet of you.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “He was always so guarded, a mystery. I could never predict what he would do. But now I know! He totally acts like a danmei character! Finally, I can understand him! Unfortunately thanks to Gu Yun’s presence as his main love interest, but I’ll live with that. And now I’ll finally be able to tell if he’s plotting against me because I understand danmei men's motivation!” he bragged. “He’ll do anything for Gu Yun! And Gu Yun will do anything for him! It’s that easy!”
Fei Fei smiled placidly, not betraying the cackle inside of her head.
“We could also hang out with them more often. I bet that would help you understand them better,” she said. “And how far he’s actually willing to go for Gu Yun.”
“Maybe,” he consented. “But first we need to finish The Winner is King, that’s a priority. And when we will you, would you…?”
“Yes, I will watch Drag Race with you,” she promised much to her husband’s excitement.
“Gu Yun loves the third season, we could invite them over for that part,” Li Feng suggested. “Spending a lot of time with them will allow me to test my danmei knowledge.”
“Good luck, honey,” he said, ridiculing him only a little bit.