Chapter 54#
Twenty minutes passed. Yan Heqing ran out of the unit building carrying his fishing bag, a bucket, and bait.
Lu Lin was still waiting in the same spot.
“Sorry for the wait.” Yan Heqing curved the corners of his mouth. His equipment was not small. He walked to the trunk and was about to put down the bucket to open it when the tailgate slowly opened first.
Lu Lin had opened it from the front.
Yan Heqing wasn’t surprised and deftly put his things inside.
Lu Lin’s black eyes were deep. His feeling was correct; Yan Heqing was no longer reserved with him. Calling him by his name just now wasn’t an auditory hallucination.
Yan Heqing finished putting his things away and was about to close the tailgate when it lowered first.
Lu Lin simultaneously went around and opened the passenger door.
After getting in the car, the heating inside was sufficient. Yan Heqing buckled his seatbelt, and his gaze fell on the center console box, where there was a dedicated spot for a thermos cup. Yan Heqing looked up, a smile floating in his light-colored pupils. “You brought ginger soup.”
That time when Yan Heqing fell into the ice hole, he drank ginger soup from this thermos cup.
Lu Lin was quite surprised. “You were conscious then?”
“A little, not much.” Yan Heqing raised his left index finger and thumb, simply gesturing a small arc.
If Yan Heqing was like a piece of art, his hands were the only “imperfection”.
The calluses between his fingers had faded a lot, but were still noticeable.
Yet there was also another kind of real perfection.
Lu Lin withdrew his peripheral vision. The car drove out of the community gate. Just like last time, it went forward for a while before turning around to get on the highway.
The sky was dark and heavy. They were the only ones driving on the highway, silent and quiet.
Yan Heqing suddenly said, “Next time you can call, no need to make a special trip.” The corners of his lips raised slightly. “The emergence of communication is to facilitate contact.”
Lu Lin tapped the steering wheel lightly with his index finger. “This is only the second time I’ve made a special trip.”
The first time was on New Year’s Eve.
Yan Heqing nodded. “It seems I have to thank my bait.” He smiled softly. “How many fish did you catch with the bait last time?”
“A lake full.”
Yan Heqing was genuinely surprised. “A lake full? Was the concentration too strong?”
Lu Lin gave a deep “Mm”. “Even people would get drunk.”
Yan Heqing didn’t continue. He looked ahead into the pitch black, illuminated only by the faint headlights, driving towards an unknown direction.
He didn’t ask about the location or the duration of the drive, but Lu Lin spoke first, “There are snacks in the console box. It’s still a three-hour drive. If you’re hungry, eat something to pad your stomach first.”
Yan Heqing wasn’t hungry, but he still turned his upper body slightly, lowered his head, and opened the console box.
The exceptionally deep console box was filled with small snacks.
Chocolates, dried pineapple, dried mango, small sweet buns in transparent packaging…
Yan Heqing took a bag of dried pineapple.
Having eaten pineapple shrimp fritters last time, he suddenly grew a bit fond of the taste of pineapple. He tore open a corner of the packaging bag. It was a small bag with only two or three pieces. He took out one piece and asked Lu Lin first, “Want a piece?”
“Okay.”
Yan Heqing handed it over, stopping on the right side of the steering wheel. Lu Lin freed his right hand, took the dried pineapple, and put the whole piece into his mouth.
Yan Heqing hadn’t eaten yet, holding the second piece in his hand. “Want more?”
His thumb tip rubbed against his index finger tip. The dried pineapple seemed to be dusted with icing sugar, leaving a residual touch of sugar. A moment later, his hand fell back to the steering wheel. Lu Lin turned left off the highway. “Eat it yourself.”
Yan Heqing withdrew his gaze, turned to the window, took a bite, and chewed slowly.
Silence returned to the car. Lu Lin reached out and turned on the music.
The next instant, the soft Wu dialect was gentler than the spring breeze.
[Green bricks accompany tile paint, white horses tread on new mud…]
It was that Pingtan song.
Separated by glass, outside the window was endless darkness. Yan Heqing finished chewing the dried pineapple, took out the last remaining piece, ate it quietly, and didn’t touch any other snacks.
Buzz buzz buzz.
After a while, Yan Heqing’s pocket vibrated. He took out his phone; the caller ID was 3.3.
On March 3rd of the year he turned 21, he died in a car accident.
Lu Muchi’s contact name was 3.3.
Yan Heqing hung up, then turned off the phone.
——
At the same time, Lu Muchi heard, “Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy…”
Dialing again, it became—
“The number you dialed is switched off, please try again later.”
Yan Heqing cut off his call and turned off his phone directly!
Lu Muchi was upset and stuffed his phone back into his pocket indiscriminately.
Today Lin Fengzhi brought Yan Heqing to visit the sick. Apart from realizing he hadn’t thought of Lin Fengzhi for too long, he understood a fact even more clearly—
He missed Yan Heqing crazily.
The moment he saw his back, his heart clenched tightly. The moment he grabbed his shoulder, he actually wanted to hug him.
It was Lu Changcheng who interrupted him.
Lu Muchi pinched his knuckles, unable to bear it any longer. He turned and strode towards the hospital bed, starting to act coquettishly, “Grandpa, I want to go back and take a shower.”
Lu Changcheng knew his little schemes. He reminded him, “As long as you don’t go find those scoundrel friends of yours, go back and shower.”
Lu Muchi grabbed his coat and ran. “I’ll come early tomorrow!”
Lu Changcheng shook his head. Waiting for the footsteps to run far away, he ordered the woman, “Call the bodyguard following the young master to see me.”
Before long, the bodyguard ran in sweating profusely.
The woman brewed tea, lifted the lid, blew on the hot steam, and then served the tea to Lu Changcheng’s hand.
Lu Changcheng took it, took a sip, and spoke slowly, “I ask, you answer.”
The bodyguard repeatedly said yes.
“Has the young master often gone to find Lin Fengzhi recently?”
Lu Changcheng had known early on that Lu Muchi treated Lin Fengzhi differently.
Adolescent rebellious love, he didn’t need to intervene. With Lu Muchi’s character, he would get tired of it himself after a while. If he stopped it, Lu Muchi would rebel instead.
Later, when the two didn’t make any news, he forgot about Lin Fengzhi.
Today, when Lin Fengzhi came to visit, he remembered this matter.
After so many years, Lu Muchi was still interested. It wasn’t a good sign.
The bodyguard dared not stay silent, yet dared not tell everything. He figured since he only asked about Lin Fengzhi and not Yan Heqing, it wouldn’t be wrong, right?
He lowered his head. “Yes.”
Lu Changcheng’s face immediately dropped.
He smashed the teacup fiercely.
Crash, the teacup broke into two halves on the ground, with half a cup of tea remaining sloshing in the broken cup body.
By the dark and silent lake, only an orange outdoor lamp was lit.
The empty grass stretched endlessly, and the lake was hidden in the darkness, its width invisible. Just the illuminated area in front of them showed it was a vast body of water.
Indeed a good place for wild fishing.
Yan Heqing put down his water cup. Next to it was Lu Lin’s thermos cup.
The two sat on chairs on the left and right, separated by a small table.
A fire was burning in front of the table, with a fine wire mesh rack over it. On one half sat a small bronze kettle boiling water, and on the other half, several sweet potatoes were roasting.
After roasting for a while, the sweet potatoes emitted a rich, sweet aroma.
The bait was scattered into the water; now they just had to wait.
Lu Lin leaned against the back of the chair, flipping through a novel with one hand and turning the sweet potatoes with the other. Smelling the fragrant sweetness, he placed the novel face down on the table, took a few layers of pre-folded tissues, picked up a sweet potato, turned back, and handed it to Yan Heqing. “It should be cooked.”
Yan Heqing didn’t say thank you this time either. He was fiddling with the fishing net, freeing his right hand to take the sweet potato.
Even through the thick tissue, he could still feel the scalding heat.
Up close, the aroma was even more pungent.
Yan Heqing tucked the fishing net under his arm and carefully peeled the sweet potato skin with his left hand. The golden potato flesh was visibly soft and glutinous. He took a bite, or rather sucked a mouthful. The fine, fiber-free flesh was rich in milky fragrance, sweet and glutinous but not cloying.
In the past, when working part-time until midnight, he often encountered roasted sweet potato stalls on the road, the aroma filling the whole street.
Once, Yan Heqing was too hungry and picked a small sweet potato.
Peeling it open, he didn’t smell the aroma. The flesh was dry and fibrous.
He took another bite.
Just as he thought, once tasted something too sweet, one couldn’t help but continue.
Suddenly, he felt water dripping on his head. He looked up slightly, and a drop of rain fell right into his eye.
Moist, with the unique chill of late winter.
Yan Heqing looked at the lake surface.
A few steps ahead, the water reflected the light. Ripples splashing in circles were visible to the naked eye.
“It’s raining,” he said softly.
Hearing this, Lu Lin turned over the sweet potato and stood up. “There’s an umbrella in the trunk.”
Yan Heqing had seen it when putting things in the trunk.
The car was parked not far away. The rain was getting heavier. Lu Lin came back with not only an umbrella but also a cashmere blanket.
The cashmere blanket was thrown directly over Yan Heqing’s head, and Lu Lin opened the umbrella.
Surprisingly large, it covered their small fishing spot. Shortly after setting it up, raindrops hit the umbrella surface, crackling. The rain fell.
Rain threads dripped down the edge of the umbrella. There was no wind, and the sound of rain wasn’t loud, just pattering.
The water boiled at this time. The kettle lid was bumped by the steam, gurgling.
Yan Heqing gripped the sweet potato tightly. The scalding heat warmed his palm, but he didn’t feel cold either. His hands weren’t free, so he just tilted his head slightly, and the cashmere blanket slid onto his shoulders. Wearing a down jacket, he could still feel the warmth.
“Bad cervical spine, yet twisting around?” Lu Lin looked over.
There was a faint glimmer in Yan Heqing’s eyes. He looked at the sweet potato, his voice calm. “Knowing too sweet is bad, I still can’t help but try. Perhaps human nature is like this.”
Only a small half of the sweet potato remained. He lowered his head and finished it in one bite.
“This is natural sweetness. Eating a few more won’t have much impact.”
Besides pineapple shrimp fritters and mint mung bean water, Lu Lin discovered Yan Heqing’s preference for the third time.
He hadn’t eaten yet and handed his sweet potato to Yan Heqing. “Human nature also includes trying more.”
Yan Heqing stared fixedly for 2 seconds and accepted it.
Next, neither of them spoke again. One quietly gnawed on the sweet potato, and the other quietly read the novel.
It was raining heavily in the mountains, but there was no movement in the city, just cold, especially cold.
Coming out of the hospital, Lu Muchi didn’t drive. He took a taxi to buy a gift first, then went to Yan Heqing’s residence.
Holding a cardboard box, he squatted at Yan Heqing’s door, shivering.
He wanted to knock on the door several times.
When he arrived, the window on the third floor was dark. He checked the time; it was 11 o’clock. Yan Heqing should be resting.
In the past, he would have banged on the door without a word.
But now he was here to explain, to explain that his feelings for Lin Fengzhi were in the past.
This morning in the ward, Yan Heqing’s attitude was cold. He thought for a long time and finally understood.
Refusing his calls, staying away from him, being cold to him, were all because of Lin Fengzhi.
Yan Heqing and Lin Fengzhi were biological brothers. He wouldn’t covet everything of Lin Fengzhi, including him.
Even though Yan Heqing liked him so much.
So, he couldn’t wait to chase after him, just to tell Yan Heqing that he had figured out his thoughts and was sure of where his heart lay now.
He liked him; he had unknowingly liked Yan Heqing long ago!
The hand to knock on the door never raised. He took a coat instead of a down jacket. The empty window in the stairwell kept pouring in cold wind, but he couldn’t bear to leave. He wanted to be the first person Yan Heqing saw when he opened the door.
Something moved in the cardboard box, making a thin sound. Lu Muchi looked down, lifted a piece of the cardboard lid, and a fluffy kitten popped out. Lu Muchi shushed it, pressed it back, and looked up at the dark window again.
Let it be dawn soon!
——
The rain stopped near five o’clock. Before long, light fell on the horizon, showing a faint trend of the sun coming out.
No fish floated on the lake surface.
It rained last night, and all the bait was washed away.
Packing up things to return to the city, Yan Heqing turned on his phone before getting in the car.
Turning it on, a WeChat message popped up immediately.
sep12, Lin Fengzhi.
1:02 AM, one message.
[Did you agree to him?]