Deep Desire

 

At the café:

Feng Ting cautiously glanced at Lu Jingchen, while Feng Si was teasing her, “Don’t keep staring; it’s not like he’s yours.”

“…,” the girl pouted and asked Lu Jingchen with a smile, “Brother Shen, what’s your relationship with my brother?”

“Friends.”

“Boyfriend.”

Lu Jingchen and Feng Si practically said it in unison. After saying it, Lu Jingchen’s expression stiffened for a moment. Feng Si glanced at him and changed his words, “I’m just kidding; he’s my boss.”

The girl exclaimed, “Oh…”

Lu Jingchen lightly pressed his lips and insisted, “We’re friends.”

The girl didn’t know what to say for a moment, and Feng Si laughed, “Alright, what the boss says is true; we’re friends. To be friends with the boss, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Lu Jingchen’s brows slightly furrowed, and he fell silent.

Feng Si took the opportunity to lecture his sister, “Next time when you see me, don’t jump onto me without even saying hello, and don’t call me directly by my name; it can easily lead people to misunderstand our relationship.”

The girl made a face at him, and Feng Si introduced her to Lu Jingchen, “She’s studying at the university here, majoring in music, so I’ve been to this city several times before. If you had asked me earlier, I would have told you.”

Feeling dissatisfied, the girl complained, “Brother, you came here to have a vacation with your friend and didn’t tell me. Just now, when I saw you at the church entrance, I thought I was mistaken. Are you afraid that I’ll disturb your private time?”

“You know it’s just a friend,” Feng Si said with a smile.

The girl retorted, “I thought you find me annoying. I don’t even want to see you.”

It seemed that both siblings were confusing the distinction between friend and boyfriend, perhaps unintentionally. Lu Jingchen couldn’t get a word in, so he let it be.

He discreetly sized up the girl. There was indeed some resemblance between her and Feng Si; the same restrained and narrow eyes on Feng Si’s face appeared lively and spirited on her, which was quite fascinating.

Suddenly, Lu Jingchen remembered a morning when he overheard Feng Si speaking tenderly and smiling on the balcony during a phone call. He had never known who was on the other end of the line, but now he was almost certain it must have been his sister.

Thinking about this, Lu Jingchen felt a subtle and indescribable feeling, as if a trivial doubt that had been bothering him was silently resolved, making him feel inexplicably relieved.

Curious, Feng Ting asked, “I heard someone playing the piano outside the church just now, and then I saw you both coming out. It must have been Brother, not you, playing the piano, right?”

Feng Si nodded, “Yes, it was him.”

“Really?” The girl looked at Lu Jingchen with admiration. “Brother Shen, you play so well. Are you also studying music?”

Feng Si reminded her, “I’ve already said he’s my boss, the CEO of a big company. He doesn’t have time to study music.”

Lu Jingchen explained, “It was just a coincidence. My skills are not good; I only learned for a short time before I stopped.”

“No, no, no,” Feng Ting disagreed. “Brother Shen, you don’t have to be modest. Skills are secondary; the key is spiritual expression, which comes from talent. I feel that the music you played had a lot of spirit. If my mentor heard it, he would say the same and regret that you didn’t pursue it further.”

Lu Jingchen didn’t know how to respond to such direct praise from a girl who seemed to have no ulterior motive, especially when she was Feng Si’s sister. It made the situation quite tricky for him.

Seeing Lu Jingchen’s confusion, Feng Si intervened to rescue him, changing the topic to talk about other things with his sister, asking if she had received the postcards. Feng Ting happily nodded and took out the postcards Feng Si had sent her, saying she thought she wouldn’t be able to complete the set, but luckily he bought the missing one during his trip to Northern Europe.

Feng Si casually said, “I happened to come across it and bought it to save you from worrying.”

Lu Jingchen’s gaze fell on the postcard she showed him, one of the two postcards Feng Si bought that day at the restaurant.

Feng Ting then took out another postcard and handed it to Lu Jingchen, saying, “Brother Shen, could you write a good luck message for me? Write it on this postcard.”

“Write a good luck message?” Lu Jingchen asked.

Feng Ting folded her hands together and pleaded, “I’m going to have exams soon, so I want to collect good luck messages to help me pass.”

Although Lu Jingchen couldn’t fully understand her somewhat superstitious mindset, he didn’t refuse. He looked at the postcard, on which Feng Si had drawn a smiley face. He remembered that day at the restaurant; the person seemed to have written for quite a while, but on a different postcard.

“Write it in English,” Feng Ting reminded him.

Lu Jingchen took out a pen and started writing on the postcard. Feng Ting noticed the pen in his hand and asked curiously, “Is this my brother’s pen? I asked him for it before, but he said it’s hard to find and refused to give it to me. Did he give it to you?”

Lu Jingchen lightly grasped the pen cap and handed the pen along with the completed postcard to her, saying calmly, “If you want it, take it.”

“Oh, how can I accept it? Are you really giving it to me?” Feng Ting asked in disbelief.

“It’s okay, take it,” Lu Jingchen replied.

Feng Ting didn’t refuse further and thanked him with a smile, taking the postcard.

Her brother had been looking for the owner of that handwriting for seven years since he returned from Africa, where someone had written a page of travel notes in his notebook.

As she had expected, her brother had finally found the person he was looking for.

Feng Ting asked casually, “How did you and my brother meet, Brother Shen?”

Lu Jingchen took a sip of coffee and replied calmly, “He is the captain of my private plane.”

“Oh, I see…” She put the postcard away and didn’t ask further.

 Feng Si, who had gone to buy cake, came back with the cake, he interrupted their somewhat awkward conversation.

“What are you talking about?”

Seeing the pen on Feng Ting’s table, he reached out and took it, and Feng Ting tried to grab it back. “Brother Shen said he’s giving it to me.”

“I don’t agree,” Feng Si said, putting the pen in his own pocket. “I’ll keep it then.”

Feng Ting exclaimed, “You’re so petty! It’s just a pen; what’s the big deal about giving it to me?”

Feng Si ignored her and was resolute that he wouldn’t give her the pen, no matter what.

Feng Ting sought help from Lu Jing Shen, “brother Shen, please talk to him. You were the one who said you’d give me the pen.”

Lu Jing Shen hesitated, glancing at Feng Si, but before he could speak, Feng Si interrupted, “I won’t give it.”

His smile seemed even more indifferent than before. Lu Jing Shen fell silent for a moment, and lowered his head to look at the coffee cup in his hand.

After having coffee, guided by Feng Ting, they continued exploring the city.

Lu Jing Shen seemed absent-minded, while Feng Si kept chatting and laughing with his sister along the way. Although he didn’t give her the pen, he bought her various treats and gifts, making the young girl very happy.

After dinner, they dropped Feng Ting off at her place and left in the car.

With no one else in the car, Feng Si drove rapidly and didn’t say a word. Lu Jing Shen glanced at him several times and hesitated before saying, “Are you angry? Is it because I gave away the pen you gave me to someone else? Or is it because I didn’t tell the truth when your sister asked about our relationship? Do you think it’s necessary to make our relationship public?”

“What relationship do we have?” Feng Si retorted nonchalantly.

Lu Jing Shen fell silent immediately.

Twenty minutes later, Feng Si parked the car in a hotel parking lot and gestured around him, saying, “Let’s stay here for the night.”

Lu Jing Shen didn’t bother asking why they wouldn’t go back. He quietly followed Feng Si out of the car, into the hotel, and upstairs to the room.

As they entered the room, Lu Jing Shen still looked troubled. Feng Si took off his coat and called out to him, “Alex.”

Lu Jing Shen looked up and saw Feng Si leaning towards him in a relaxed manner, returning to his usual playful demeanor. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

Lu Jing Shen was speechless. Feng Si put the pen back into his shirt pocket and patted it lightly, saying, “Here, I returned it to you. Keep it well and stop giving things away just because someone mentions they want it.”

“But wasn’t it for your sister?” Lu Jing Shen reminded him.

Feng Si chuckled, “So what? Does my sister deserve special treatment from you? I didn’t realize you cared so much about her.”

As he teased, he continued, “Alright, no need for that. Just be good to me, and don’t worry about others.”

Though it sounded like a joke, Lu Jing Shen felt a bit suffocated.

Feng Si’s gaze fell to the side of his neck, where there were marks he had left the night before, and he could see them when Lu Jing Shen slightly tilted his head.

He squinted his eyes, watching for a moment before reaching out and gently touching the area.

The ticklish sensation made Lu Jing Shen turn his head away, his brows furrowing even more.

Feng Si withdrew his hand and casually rubbed his fingers together.

Suddenly, Lu Jing Shen approached, and his breath stopped just inches from Feng Si.

Their eyes met, and Feng Si calmly asked, “What do you want to do?”

 Lu Jing Shen replied impatiently. “Since it’s part of your job, it’s not quitting time yet.”

“Is that so?” Feng Si raised an eyebrow and circled one arm around his waist, lifting him up and sitting him on the table. Then, with agile fingers, he started unfastening Lu Jing Shen’s belt.

While he pressed against him, Feng Si said, “Remember to pay me overtime.”