The next morning, Sun Fang was halfway back to feeling like a functional person again. He stayed sleeping until almost two in the afternoon, curling up under the duvet and refusing to move. Ivy didn’t bother him, simply smiled at him when he finally emerged for breakfast. Ivy must have heard him in the bathroom, or noted the motion sensors in the hallway, because it already had breakfast all laid out on the kitchen counter when he came in.
Sun Fang tried to smile at it. He thought he maybe even succeeded.
”Thank you for the breakfast,” he said, sitting down in front of a bowl for cereal. He tapped his finger on the marble counter while Ivy poured the milk for him and then the cereal into the bowl. When it was done, he picked up a shining silver spoon and began to eat.
”No problem, Young Master,” Ivy said, standing back and watching him eat. It would be unnerving, if he didn’t know that Ivy was probably simultaneously reading an instruction manual of some kind.
Still, he scowled when he realized what Ivy had said. ”Nu-uh,” Sun Fang shook his head and waved his spoon at Ivy, gratified when Ivy’s eyes followed the movement. ”Don’t think I don’t remember what you called me yesterday,” he drawled, slouching in his seat and dragging his bowl closer. He narrowed his eyes at Ivy, ”I know what you did.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
”I am hurt that you would accuse me so viciously, without any hesitation, Young Master. I thought we had a true bond,” Ivy answered. Not a muscle in its face moving, and Sun Fang had to turn away so he wouldn’t smile at it. His lips twitched anyway, and he ignored that.
Huffing dramatically, he said, ”Well, just because we have a bond doesn’t mean that you’re above the law, Ivy. I understand that I have given you allowances in the past, but really, you must know better.”
”You’re right, Young Master,” Ivy agreed. ”I am beholden to the law as much as any human.”
Scowling, Sun Fang rolled his eyes. ”That wasn’t what I meant and you know it, Ivy,” he huffed. He bit down on a spoonful of cereal and chewed resentfully. ”You’re playing dirty,” he accused as soon as he’d swallowed the whole bite, waving his spoon again.
Ivy smiled. ”I have no idea what you’re talking about, Young Master,” it said guilelessly.
Sun Fang narrowed his eyes, and continued to eat with large and spiteful bites, biting down extra hard every time. Even though it sometimes jarred his teeth and made him scowl even harder. He wasn’t going to give up his dramatics for anything, not even when it made him feel a little foolish. In fact, he thought, a little foolishness was good for you. Everyone should have some in their lives—in moderation, of course.
When he was done, he pushed away from the counter and stood. He placed his hand on the counter, swaying a little as he waited for the sudden dizziness to leave him. He waved away Ivy’s concern when he regained the ability to stand straight and headed straight for the balcony.
Outside, the sunshine was fierce. It felt like a personal attack, like it particularly hated Sun Fang. Sun Fang leaned his head back back as he grabbed the bottle of sunscreen from the little shelf it had and started putting it on, working down from his face and covering all visible skin. When he was somewhat satisfied, he put it down and picked up his parasol (one of them, that was) and held it up over his head. As he walked over the the balcony’s railing and propped his hip against it, he started spinning the parasol around.
Like this, the view was gorgeous. It had been a not inconsiderate part of why he’d bought this specific apartment, even. There were more floors above, some of them bigger or more modernly renovated. But this… yes, this was the view that he’d wanted.
He heard Ivy enter, pulling the balcony door closed behind it. Glancing over his shoulder, Sun Fang asked, ”Finished in the kitchen?”
”Yes, Young Master,” Ivy confirmed and walked closer. It didn’t prop its hip against the railing like Sun Fang, it just simply stood there and looked at him. Sun Fang smiled, but turned back to stare at the view.
Finally, Ivy said, ”Are you feeling better now, Fang’er?”
Sun Fang’s eyes widened and he grinned. ”So you admit it,” he drawled, turning to face Ivy again. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, ”You did call me Fang’er.”
Ivy said, ”It’s what you want me to call you. I shouldn’t…” Ivy paused and furrowed its brows. It continued, ”You call me the name I want to be called, so I should call you the name you want to be called.”
”Xiao Fang was good, too,” Sun Fang pointed out, remembering what Ivy had called him repeatedly that night. Ivy’s eyebrows furrowed and Sun Fang had to memorize it; he wasn’t used to this level of expression from Ivy.
”But not A’Fang?” Ivy asked.
Sun Fang shrugged. It reminded him of Mianmian, to be honest, but he couldn’t seem to actually say that. Instead, he curled a little over the railing and stared down at the roads below, at the plants that surrounded every side of it. The grass down there was green, a veritable nightmare to water despite the fact that they had been genetically engineered to need as little water as possible.
Ivy nodded. ”I understand,” it said solemnly. ”But are you better now?”
”I’ll be okay, Ivy,” Sun Fang said, both of them fully aware that he didn’t say he was fine now. He didn’t want to lie to Ivy, didn’t want to deceive it. And—he would be fine. This was a bump in the road, yes, but Sun Fang was human. He woulda always have those. Learning how to deal with them, how to slow down so he wasn’t thrown around as much, that was the true art.
Thanks for the chapteer~
thanks for the chapter <3
Ivy is my fave 😍
same
Love Ivy !!!💮💮💮❤
Thank you for the chapter 💜