As fine snow blanketed every corner of the city, it signaled that deep winter had arrived.
The university had let out for winter break, with just a week left until the New Year. Shen Yu no longer required his students to remain in the lab, agreeing to reconvene after the holiday.
“Professor Shen!”
Shen Yu was about to leave his office, laptop bag in hand, when he suddenly heard someone call out to him.
Turning around, he saw it was his most senior doctoral student, the “senior sister” of his research group.
She stopped in front of Shen Yu, blinking with a mysterious smile on her face as she produced a small USB drive from behind her back.
“Happy New Year in advance,” she said. “Professor, this is a gift from our entire group.”
Shen Yu lowered his gaze to look at it, accepting the USB drive with slight confusion. “Is it a new paper you’re preparing to publish?”
“…No,” the senior student replied. “Ahem, it’s actually nothing much, just a little memento for you to take home.”
With those words, she quickly ran off.
Shen Yu held the USB drive quietly for a moment. He felt that his students… seemed a little too lively recently.
He slipped the drive into his pocket and walked to the school gates, where he found Qi Fang waiting outside, head down, playing with his phone, an inconspicuous car parked nearby.
There were few people leaving campus at this hour, so Qi Fang caught sight of Shen Yu’s approaching figure out of the corner of his eye before he got close. He looked up and asked, “All done?”
He took Shen Yu’s laptop bag and placed it in the back seat, where Shen Yu noticed several boxes of gifts.
“Lao Qi called me,” Qi Fang muttered. “He told us to drive over before dinner. Otherwise, all we’ll have left is instant noodles.”
Hearing this, Shen Yu glanced at the time on his phone and said, “We still have two hours.”
“There’s a traffic jam,” Qi Fang replied, opening the passenger door for him. “It usually takes an hour, but today who knows.”
As Qi Fang drove, Shen Yu opened his phone and diligently filled out the follow-up form Chen Ke had sent him.
Not long ago, Shen Yu had learned about the concept of “Munchausen syndrome by proxy.”
“Is that what I have?” Shen Yu asked at the time.
Qi Fang gently rubbed his head, answering seriously, “Your previous behavior was unusual, so we suspected you might have this strange condition. But lately your situation has been gradually improving. It’s been a while since I’ve received your care.’”
After suspecting Qi Fang had some form of male sexual dysfunction, Shen Yu had occasionally thought he had high blood pressure, a herniated disc…
There were even a few days when Shen Yu believed Qi Fang had depression. He’d taken leave from the university to stay by his side constantly.
However, it had been a full month since Shen Yu’s last bout of unusual behavior.
When Qi Fang, Chen Ke, and others tentatively brought up his previous symptoms, Shen Yu didn’t seem averse to discussing them. His headaches and dizziness had also improved.
“Professor Shen is a very intelligent patient,” Chen Ke told Qi Fang. “He’s aware of his issues and actively fights them on a psychological level, which is why his condition improved so quickly.”
“For now, we’ll continue weekly follow-ups. Keep an eye on Professor Shen’s behavior and let me know immediately if anything seems off.”
She added, “After three months of stability, we can essentially consider him cured. Then, we’ll extend the follow-ups to once a month. I’ll continue to stay in touch with Dr. Watson on my end.”
Shen Yu finished the form and sent it back to Chen Ke via WeChat.
Looking up, he saw a long line of traffic had formed on the elevated highway. Fine snow drifted through the air as the vehicles inched forward.
The car’s heater kept them warm. Qi Fang glanced at Shen Yu, who seemed to be observing the traffic outside. Worried Shen Yu might be bored, he asked, “Shen Yuyu, want to listen to an audiobook?”
Shen Yu knew Qi Fang had recently taken up listening to audiobooks daily. In Shen Yu’s mind, this meant Qi Fang had finally recognized the importance of learning and was ready to study seriously.
“Sure,” Shen Yu replied.
Qi Fang turned on the car’s audio system.
[On a rainy night, he staggered away from his abandoned car, his legs weak. After a short distance, he collapsed to the ground.
He looked back, terrified to find the man had caught up.
The towering figure, nearly two meters tall, drew closer. The man had chiseled facial features and deep purple eyes. His fierce pheromones instantly engulfed the entire wasteland!
“Did you think you could escape?” the man said coldly. “You’re carrying my child. Where do you think you can run?”]
Shen Yu: “…?”
Qi Fang coughed and switched to another book, awkwardly explaining, “Xiao Lin downloaded these for me. I had no idea what he’s been reading every day.”
The next book: [Xiao Su was forcefully pressed against the wall, passionate kisses raining down until he could barely breathe. He could only stammer, “President Li… no more…”]
Shen Yu: “.”
Qi Fang: “…”
Just as Qi Fang was about to change books again, Shen Yu stopped him, saying, “I want to keep listening.”
For the rest of the ride, Shen Yu approached this new discovery with academic curiosity, learning about things in this world he’d never known existed.
As they got out of the car, Shen Yu thought for a moment, then humbly asked Qi Fang, “Is everything written in those audiobooks true?”
“Why can they have sex continuously for three days and nights?” Shen Yu inquired, puzzled.
Qi Fang, who was drinking from a water bottle, promptly spat it out upon hearing the question.
“Shen Yuyu, don’t misunderstand,” Qi Fang choked, hastily explaining, “I don’t have anemia or a sheep’s tail. Really, I don’t have any problems. If you look it up, you’ll see I’m way above average! Those audiobooks are exaggerated. They’re not real.”
Shen Yu nodded, then said, “It’s okay if you don’t reach the average time.”
Qi Fang: “…”
Qi Fang exclaimed in frustration, “Shen! Xiao! Yu!”
*
Qi Fang’s parents lived in a suburban villa complex, in a three-story house that was modest in size and unremarkable in appearance.
As Old Mr. Qi would say, if the house were too big, living with his wife would feel like they were in a long-distance relationship, unable to see each other even when looking up.
Qi Fang parked the car in the yard. After a few minutes of red-faced debate with Shen Yu about “duration,” he suddenly noticed someone crouching in the nearby bushes.
“?” Qi Fang looked over and asked curiously, “Dad, what are you doing there?”
Old Mr. Qi slowly replied, “Your esteemed mother told me to come greet you two, but seeing you both so lovey-dovey, practically glued at the lips, I thought it best to make myself less noticeable.”
Qi Fang: “…”
Even the usually slow-to-react Shen Yu felt his ears turning red.
They stayed for a few days, with Qi Fang’s mother dragging them to watch TV series together, and Old Mr. Qi pulling them to watch spy thrillers.
During the day, they helped clean the house. After dinner, they played mahjong and “Fight the Landlord.”
Shen Yu knew neither mahjong nor “Fight the Landlord,” but he had incredible luck. Every card he drew for Qi Fang was spot on, winning quite a few red envelopes from the two elders.
On New Year’s Eve, the mahjong and card games were temporarily suspended. Qi Fang bought three large bags of groceries, ready to show off his culinary skills. He coaxed Shen Yu out of the kitchen when he tried to help, and then dragged his own father in.
Old Mr. Qi, who had been leisurely drinking tea: “???”
Shen Yu stood outside for a while, then remembered something. He went upstairs and searched his coat, finding the USB drive his students had given him. He then opened his laptop.
After opening the folder, Shen Yu was surprised to find it full of photos.
There were group photos from academic conferences, pictures in front of the university lab, photos from various projects…
There were also snapshots of him giving PowerPoint presentations with a stern face during group meetings, his focused profile while guiding students through experiments, and his silhouette daydreaming in a corner of the cafeteria…
There weren’t many photos, just a few dozen. Shen Yu scrolled to the bottom and saw several photos of two people.
He opened the images to find pictures of him and Qi Fang walking on the school’s track field.
He wasn’t sure which student had taken them. The shots were from a distance and not very clear.
In the photo, Qi Fang was raising one hand to smooth down Shen Yu’s collar, which had been ruffled by the wind.
The other photos also captured Shen Yu and Qi Fang walking together in various corners of the campus.
Shen Yu exited the full-screen view and noticed a small document at the end. Upon opening it, he found only one sentence:
[Professor Shen, these are photos of you that students have collected or taken. We weren’t sure if you’d mind, so I’ve made sure they deleted any shots taken in secret. These are just for your memories. Please don’t be too stern with us in the new year — Your loyal disciples]
Shen Yu looked at the photos again, transferring the couple shots of him and Qi Fang to his phone and saving the rest on his computer.
Just then, Qi Fang came upstairs and knocked on the door. “Shen Yuyu, dinner’s ready.”
New Year’s Eve dinner consisted of nine dishes and one soup, totaling ten dishes, almost all prepared single-handedly by Qi Fang. His father had languidly washed a few vegetable leaves on the side.
“Xiao Yu,” Qi Fang’s mother asked caringly at the dinner table, “Is Dr. Shen not coming back for the New Year this year?”
Shen Yu nodded and replied, “She has work. She’ll come back when she has time after the holiday.”
“We should all have a meal together then,” Old Mr. Qi interjected. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
They chatted about various topics, with Qi Fang’s parents mostly asking questions and Shen Yu answering.
After dinner, the dishwashing was left to the dishwasher. While Qi Fang was putting dishes away in the kitchen, Shen Yu wiped down the table with a cloth.
— After multiple experiments, Shen Yu had become quite proficient at table-wiping and had developed a fondness for it.
By the time they finished cleaning up, it was 9 p.m. Qi Fang glanced into the living room, seeing his mother engrossed in chatting with her friends on a tablet while his father was immersed in watching the Spring Festival Gala.
“Shall we go for a walk?” Qi Fang asked Shen Yu, turning away from the scene.
The two bundled up in large down jackets and scarves, then quietly slipped out of the house.
The roads in the villa complex were neatly planned and spacious. As they stepped outside, Shen Yu tilted his face upward, noticing the snow was falling a bit heavier now.
Fortunately, the wind wasn’t too strong, so it wasn’t terribly cold outside.
They strolled along the lakeside.
A thin layer of ice had formed on the lake’s surface. A few children were playing with sparklers nearby. Shen Yu watched for a moment, then suddenly said, “That child looks a lot like you.”
“?” Qi Fang immediately looked over. “Which one?”
Could someone really resemble the incomparably handsome Xiao Fang?
Shen Yu pointed and said, “The chubbiest one.”
Qi Fang: “…”
As they passed by the group of children, Qi Fang paid special attention to the little boy bundled up like a ball.
“Not alike,” he grumbled. “Even when I was chubby, my features were still a bit more handsome than his, weren’t they?”
Shen Yu didn’t answer. Qi Fang turned to look at him and saw his eyes crinkled with mirth, the corners of his lips slightly upturned in a smile.
Just as Qi Fang was about to argue his case further, he heard Shen Yu say:
“Mm, you were a bit more handsome.”
Qi Fang paused, his face reddening slightly, which was rare for him. He cleared his throat, “I was just joking. I didn’t mean to compete with a child.”
Shen Yu looked at him, and from those dark eyes, Qi Fang thought he could read: You’d better not.
They walked halfway around the lake when the snow began to fall more heavily. Qi Fang suggested, “Let’s head back.”
Shen Yu nodded, then suddenly looked at him, his gaze sweeping upward.
“Your hair has turned white,” Shen Yu said.
“Hm?” Qi Fang touched his head, feeling the cold, unmelted snow.
“Yours too, Shen Yuyu.” Qi Fang reached out to brush the snow from Shen Yu’s hair. As he did so, Shen Yu spoke again.
“It’s like we’ve grown old,” Shen Yu said.
Qi Fang raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Shen Yu also raised his hand to pat the snow from his own hair. After a moment’s thought, he explained seriously, “We both have white hair now, as if we’re very old.”
Qi Fang paused, then mused, “Shen Yu, I now think you’re the real poet here.”
The snow was falling too thickly to clear from their hair completely, so Qi Fang gave up and took Shen Yu’s hand as they walked towards home.
“When we’re older, we could move to a different city or build a small house somewhere with mountains and water. It would be easier to clean…”
Hearing this, Shen Yu chimed in, “Can we keep fish?”
“Where would we keep them?”
“In a pond,” Shen Yu gestured with his hand, “connected to a small stream.”
Qi Fang readily agreed, “We can dig one ourselves. I’ve seen many videos on pond-digging lately. We just need to first…”
As they walked, they quietly planned, soon mapping out a vivid picture of their retirement life.
As they neared their front door, Qi Fang suddenly stopped.
“Shen Yu,”
He turned to face him, his head covered in snow, and asked with a straight face:
“Now, 80-year-old Comrade Qi Fang wants to kiss 79-year-old Professor Shen. Can this request be approved?”
Shen Yu looked at him for a long while.
Finally, he tilted his face up slightly and kissed Qi Fang.
Before Qi Fang could react, Shen Yu stepped back half a pace and said softly, “Request approved.”
“Permanently valid,” he added.
-The End-
Raine: See you in my next project.
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