Chapter 11#

Extra: Gentle Waiting

Yan Wei was sleeping on the sofa, snoring comfortably. When he turned over, the towel blanket covering him fell to the floor. He rubbed his eyes and barely opened them a slit. The sunlight illuminated the entire balcony, with tiny floating particles dancing in the beams of light. The person reading the newspaper on the balcony sat in the bright light.

“Yu Lin.”

“I’m here.”

“Yu Lin.”

“What’s wrong?”

Yan Wei squinted at him and called out several times, but couldn’t make Yu Lin look away from the newspaper. Yan Wei rolled his eyes twice and suddenly asked, “What day is it today?” Yu Lin was stunned for a moment before saying, “Sunday.” Yan Wei jumped up, hurriedly stood up, put on his belt, draped his jacket, washed his face, brushed his teeth, came out, and then started putting on his shoes. Yu Lin folded the newspaper and put it aside, stood up as well, and asked gently, “Weiwei, are you going out? I’ll drive you.” Yan Wei stood straight, turned his head and glared at him: “You are not allowed to follow.” Yu Lin looked at him quietly, saying nothing, just watching. Now he had finally forgotten his newspaper. Yan Wei raised his eyebrows and chuckled: “I’m going to meet an old friend.” As he spoke, he combed his hair with his hand twice, “How is it? My charm hasn’t diminished from back then, right?” Yu Lin lowered his eyelids and after a while, whispered: “I know all your old friends, let’s go together.” Yan Wei put both hands on Yu Lin’s shoulders, laughing loudly, refusing to let him walk to the door no matter what: “No, you stay home and watch the house. I have serious business to attend to.” As he spoke, he took a few steps back, closed the door with his backhand, and strode down the stairs. Looking up, he saw Yu Lin still standing on the balcony watching him, so he waved his hand vigorously with a beaming face: “Don’t follow me, watch the house well!” Yu Lin suddenly turned his head and went back to the living room. Yan Wei was startled, touched his nose, and muttered in a low voice: “He won’t really not come, right?” Just as Yan Wei thought this, he heard the sound of the door closing. Yu Lin’s footsteps were urgent and fast, becoming clearer along the spiral staircase. Yan Wei tilted his head and laughed for a while, then ran off and got into a taxi. Seeing Yu Lin’s new car following closely behind, the smile on his face grew even wider. The driver turned his head and glanced: “Want to shake off the car behind? Just add twenty bucks. I’m a professional, my skills are solid.” Yan Wei looked at him seriously: “Why shake him off? We are traveling as a group.” The driver glared at him angrily through the rearview mirror: “Then why don’t you take one car?” Yan Wei smiled sheepishly: “For the mood. Watch the road, watch the road, turn left ahead.” The taxi arrived at the location. Yan Wei paid and got off, seeing the Mercedes behind also quietly parked at the street corner. He happily trotted over, one hand in his pocket, the other leaning on the car window, knocking on Yu Lin’s car with his finger. Yu Lin rolled down the window, his eyes rarely evasive: “I wasn’t following, I just happened to pass by.” Yan Wei didn’t expose him: “My appointment with my old friend is at two o’clock,” he said, pretending to look at his watch, “There’s still half an hour, want to stroll around together?” He dragged Yu Lin out of the car. Yu Lin hadn’t come out of the following mode yet, his face full of restraint: “Where to stroll.” Yan Wei chuckled: “Anywhere, anywhere.” He pulled Yu Lin into a hypermarket, which was full of discounted goods. Yan Wei picked out a piece of clothing in no time and asked enthusiastically: “How much is this?” The salesperson said while eating a boxed lunch on a chair: “Fifty.” Yan Wei’s eyes suddenly revealed a fierce light: “Twenty-five!” The salesperson was used to people bargaining fiercely and didn’t even raise an eyebrow: “Fifty.” Yan Wei was still resisting stubbornly: “Thirty! Fifty is too expensive, if you don’t believe me, ask him.” Yu Lin was looked at by Yan Wei’s pleading eyes and subconsciously took a step forward: “I also think it should be twenty-five.” When Yu Lin was serious, he looked murderous. The salesperson immediately felt the food in his mouth was hard to swallow. After a good while, he swallowed that mouthful of food with difficulty: “Take it for twenty-five, you guys are ruthless.” Half an hour later, Yan Wei happily walked out of the hypermarket carrying seven or eight shopping bags. Yu Lin suddenly said: “Didn’t you say you were going to meet an old friend?” Yan Wei nodded repeatedly: “Right, right, I would have forgotten if you didn’t mention it.” He stuffed all the bags into Yu Lin’s hands, ran a few steps forward, then turned his head and said: “Don’t follow me, I’m serious!” Yu Lin watched Yan Wei run into a coffee shop and followed to the outside of the coffee shop. He didn’t dare to go in, so he had to stand outside the coffee shop with a sullen face, staring with gloomy eyes, holding the shopping bags. The stream of people that was originally flowing endlessly took a sharp turn when they reached him, avoiding him to move forward. More than ten minutes later, the door of the coffee shop opened. Just as Yu Lin was about to turn around, he heard Yan Wei say behind him: “Yu Lin, I want to invite this old friend of mine to stay at our house for a few days.” Yu Lin had his back to Yan Wei, his tone pleasant, but his eyes were spewing fire. He said: “Since it’s an old friend, staying for a few days is fine.” Yan Wei said grinningly behind him: “Blockhead, give my old friend a hug too.” Yu Lin’s voice became even more cheerful, hating it so much in his heart: “Okay…” Before he finished speaking, he staggered under the weight of a heavy, furry thing. That guy occupied his neck, its tail lying across his eyes. Yu Lin was about to throw it off when he suddenly froze: “Is it Fugui?” Yan Wei laughed twice: “Dr. Cui couldn’t keep raising it, so he returned it to me. I was holding it just now, thinking in my heart that this little brat couldn’t have forgotten me. Others always tell me that cats are smarter than anyone, but holding grudges is their bad point.” Yu Lin turned around, looked at him for a while, reached out and rubbed Yan Wei’s head: “Who would forget you.” Yan Wei lifted Fugui’s paw with his hand and chuckled: “True. My heart, my treasure bowl, my little money tree, shake hands with your master.” Fugui squinted, staring at Yan Wei motionless, then slowly turned its head away.

Yan Wei suddenly said: “Fugui, don’t be angry,” he said, smiling again, holding Fugui’s paw and shaking it gently: “Didn’t I come back? Come, shake hands.” Yu Lin stared at him fixedly, and after a long time said: “Cats can only live for a few years in total, about eight or nine years.” Yan Wei took Fugui down from Yu Lin’s neck, hugged it tightly in his arms, and said hoarsely: “Stop talking, Yu Lin, you’re about to force my tears out. You make it sound like Fugui spent its whole life waiting for me.” Only then did Fugui make a vague sound in its throat, its claws hanging tightly onto Yan Wei’s shirt. Yan Wei held the cat, Yu Lin carried the shopping bags, and the two walked slowly towards where the car was parked.

Yan Wei laughed in a low voice: “Yu Lin, I suddenly feel very happy in my heart.” “Why.”

“Do you remember the past? You, me, Fugui, a bicycle, an old house.” “I remember.”

“Look at now, we are still two people and a cat, have a car, have a place to live, we are still the same.”

——End of Text——