Dao Of The Salted Fish

Half a year ago, Wen Zhihao had narrowly missed being hit by a speeding vehicle. His meaningless life had flashed before his eyes.

The “Staff Wanted” poster at a new, as-yet unopened cooperative cat cafe next to a florist shop was like a sign.

Wen Zhihao applied, got the new job, and was freed from the shackles of his unreasonable boss. He didn’t look back.

Having now worked at the cat cafe for half a year, it had become Wen Zhihao’s second home. From the cat-manager Huang Jialing and main chef Zhang Wu; to their next-door florists, Aunty Liu Jing and Old Tang. Both places had more staff besides, all of them familiar with each other, culminating in a warm and friendly environment.

The cat-cafe was currently at a quiet time of the day, as most school and university students were in class. The part-timer Wang Li Wei was greeting and looking after the few guests, so Wen Zhihao unfetteredly sat with Aunty Liu Jing and the little Sun Fuyu and ate two meat buns in a row.

“Xiao Yu, try the drink,” Wen Zhihao coaxed once Sun Fuyu had finished the noodle soup. “It’s a milk tea, guaranteed to be delicious.” Wen Zhihao had made it himself—it was one of his jobs.

“En,” Sun Fuyu nodded obediently. He picked up the glass and sipped it. His eyes widened. So sweet! So creamy!

Seeing Sun Fuyu’s undisguised surprise and enjoyment, Aunty Liu felt even sadder.

With concern, Aunty Liu asked, “Sun Xiao Fuyu, if you don’t have a home, where have you been staying? The city is a harsh place…”

Sun Fuyu’s expression turned gloomy. He reluctantly put down the glass of sweet milk tea and raised his head to reply, “I...I can’t remember properly.”

While he was eating, fragments of the original body’s memories had appeared.

He truly had died. Yet his soul had somehow been transported to this world.

The body he now wore belonged to a temporary martial arts stunt actor, who had been an orphaned child. The original person died from the fall during the martial stunt scene due to improper equipment and improper training...and somehow Sun Fuyu’s soul had replaced him. Sun Fuyu’s last amounts of otherworldly qi had healed the body.

Disjointed pieces of information appeared, like the existence of phones and the internet. He could recall the ‘home’ the original lived in. But as to its location—that was a blur.

Aunty Liu Jing’s face darkened. To her, ‘not remembering’ meant that Sun Fuyu didn’t want to say that he had no home to go to. “I see. Your clothes, give them to Aunty to mend later, okay?”

Sun Fuyu lowered his head. “...They’re not mine.” He rather not mend and wear these inferior robes.

“Then Aunty will mend them so that you can return them,” Aunty Liu insisted.

Recalling how he’d yelled at the leader (director), Sun Fuyu gloomily lowered his head. He glanced at the cup of sweet tea, but he didn’t feel like he could impolitely drink it.

Aunty Liu Jing and Wen Zhihao glanced at each other.

“Sun Xiao Fuyu!”

Sun Fuyu lifted his head, looking at Aunty Liu Jing.

Aunty Liu tapped the table surface near Sun Fuyu. “The florist shop can have a new assistant. Old Tang wants to spend more time making pottery vases, we could do with another person standing at the counter instead. You stay with Aunty, the sofa is big enough to sleep on until we get you a proper bed.”

“Or, I could turn my bed into a bunk bed, and Xiao Yu could stay with me,” Wen Zhihao offered.

Aunty Liu raised her eyebrows at Wen Zhihao. “Tch, and eat takeout for breakfast every day? Unhealthy! Better that he lives with me and so I can feed him properly.”

“Sometimes I eat at the cafe,” Wen Zhihao protested. “Or the leftovers that you give me.”

“Then it’s better that Xiao Fuyu lives with me so that he can eat fresh food, and you can have his leftovers.”

Sun Fuyu’s chin went all wobbly, his chest tightening, his heart aching. Aside from the person who had taken him back to the Golden Sun Sect as a potential cultivator, no one there wanted him.

But these two people...did? They were even fighting over who would host him…

Sun Fuyu swallowed, his eyes going red. His hands curled into fists in his lap.

In the end, Wen Zhihao lost.

Aunty Liu Jing smiled victoriously. She got to keep him! She now turned to the child in question. “So, Xiao Fuyu, do you accept? If you reject, you must give me three good reasons! It is very impolite to reject me. Xiao Wen, give Sun-didi those meat buns, don’t eat them all yourself.”

Wen Zhihao laughed and pushed the plate closer to Sun Fuyu. “Eat. If you work next door, I’ll bring these over whenever you want. Bro Wu makes them super quick.”

Sun Fuyu searched Aunty Liu’s face and Wen-ge’s face. Both of them were earnest and warm, smiling directly at him, for him…

“Y—” Sun Fuyu felt choked, a suspicious wetness in his eyes. “En. I accept.”

Wen Zhihao pursed his lips. He moved up and rubbed Xiao Yu on the head. “It’s going to be alright now.”

Aunty Liu also got up and wrapped Sun Fuyu in a hug.

With that, tears dripped down Sun Fuyu’s face. The warm hand massaged his head, while warm arms held him for the first time in memory.

Things happened with Sun Fuyu in a daze. Aunty Liu and Wen-ge took him to buy the clothes of this world. Then, he followed Aunty Liu to the florist shop for the rest of the evening. He had dinner there and followed Aunty Liu to her home.

This was the start of Sun Fuyu’s new life.

He slowly started to understand more things about this world. Things like the internet and that cultivation was only found in fictional stories. And how hard it was for the original body to find a job in this society.

Sun Fuyu was so deeply grateful for Aunty Liu Jing. He worked hard, listening to everything she said, watching how she tended to the plants, how she smiled at customers, how she cooked, how she…

The other flower shop staff smiled whenever they saw Sun Fuyu following behind Aunty Liu.

“Like a little tail,” Old Tang said smartly.

“Like a little duckling behind his mother,” Wen Zhihao countered.

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“Don’t be mean!” Aunty Liu retorted, hiding Sun Fuyu behind her. “If the day comes that Xiao Yu calls me ‘mum’...”

Sun Fuyu pressed his lips together but didn’t refute anyone.

One day, when Sun Fuyu had been sent out on an errand by himself, he suddenly recognised the place as ‘his’ old home—only to see all ‘his’ meagre belongings by the bins.

Evicted.

Sun Fuyu’s eyes darkened. Ignoring other eyes, Sun Fuyu searched through them.

All of the truly important documents had been in the original body’s bag. As an orphaned child moving between orphanages and multiple foster carers, he hadn’t owned much at all. SUn Fuyu found the few educational certificates that the original had cherished and other miscellaneous old toys.

The original owner of the body had truly died. But keeping these was the least Sun Fuyu could do to thank him for the second chance Sun Fuyu was now living.

“...Is this okay?” Sun Fuyu gripped the wooden sword in his hand. He was wearing new cultivator style robes that Wen-ge had gotten for him from Huang Jialing’s wife, the calligraphy master Qian Jiarui.

“Super handsome,” Wen Zhihao praised freely. En, Sun Fuyu looks exceptionally handsome today…

Sun Fuyu blushed under the fitting mask on the lower half of his face, which matched the golden colour of his robes. Wen-ge always praised him, always said he was a handsome didi. When Sun Fuyu searched this up on the internet, netizens told him it meant that Wen-ge was interested in him…

Sun Fuyu’s heart couldn’t help but speed up at how Wen-ge was looking at him now.

“Okay, let’s begin!” One of the photographers working at the florist shop and cat cafe was behind the camera.

They were in the local park. It was early, and not many others had gathered aside from them.

Sun Fuyu refocused. After a deep breath, Sun Fuyu began. His sword cut through the air.

Sun Fuyu hadn’t forgotten his past. During the times he wasn’t needed at the florist shop, Sun Fuyu trained his new body with his old skills. Some things had to change—without the ability to fly with qi, for example—but the overall moves were the same.

Aunty Liu thought he had looked really handsome, and that led to the other aunties and uncles and big brothers and big sisters wanting to watch him.

...which now led to this: Wen-ge wanted to film him. And since Wen-ge wanted to, Sun Fuyu had immediately agreed.

Wen Zhihao watched Sun Fuyu, while absently rubbing his chest which had an unusual feeling.

While robes might hide the movements of others, they only enhanced the beauty and power in Sun Fuyu movements. His sharp eyes, strong movements were eye-catching and dazzling. Wooden props broke with crisp sounds under Sun Fuyu’s assault.

The photographer took many shots from different angles and promised to make great videos out of them.

“One more picture,” Wen Zhihao said. He took out a small bouquet of red and pink roses and gave them to Sun Fuyu. A handsome young man in robes holding roses was truly a heart-stealer, and Wen Zhihao felt that flowers went well with Sun Fuyu.

Sun Fuyu stood in a daze as the photographer framed the composition.

Red and pink roses...as a florist assistant, Sun Fuyu knew exactly what they meant. His eyes grew soft, his heart overwhelmed. His eyes curved in a smile.

Click! went the camera.

This image would indeed later capture many a netizen’s heart.

But right now, Sun Fuyu was overwhelmed with the fact that Wen-ge loved him.

The moment after the photo was taken, he ran into Wen-ge’s arms and hugged him tightly. “Wen-ge, Wen-ge,” he mumbled. He was happy he couldn’t speak words, only tightening his arms.

Wen Zhihao’s eyes softened as he hugged the young man in his arms and patted his head. Such a good, hardworking, and handsome young man...