Chapter 61#
The small car, worth only tens of thousands, was not spacious. It was a bit cramped for Lu Lin. He bent down to sit in the driver’s seat, his head almost touching the roof, and his vision was also considerably blocked.
Yan Heqing was not small either. With both of them getting in one after another, the car felt even more crowded.
The air seemed to thin considerably.
Yan Heqing pulled the seatbelt. The original car’s buckle had a small problem; it wouldn’t click in after several attempts and would pop out when he let go.
He turned slightly to the side and fiddled with it with his head down.
The soft, fluffy top of his hair had a faint scent of shampoo, a very clean smell.
It diluted the smell of gasoline in the car.
Lu Lin’s eyes moved slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Heqing had already fastened the seatbelt. He looked up and said, “This is your first time driving such a low-spec car, isn’t it?”
Their eyes met. Lu Lin looked away first. He started the car. “No. My first bicycle was an old antique from my grandmother’s middle school days. It was high-spec in her time, but low-spec by mine.”
Yan Heqing paused, “Your grandmother’s bicycle…”
“A pink ladies’ bicycle.” Lu Lin looked ahead, his hands bent and resting on the steering wheel. “On the first day of junior high, I ran into Xie Yunjie and his friends, and he made fun of me.”
A brief pause. “I ignored him. He said he was the king of Nanshan District in elementary school and dared me to meet him after school.”
It was the first time Lu Lin had talked about his past. Yan Heqing didn’t know what he meant, so he went along and asked, “Did you go?”
“No,” Lu Lin said faintly. “I don’t waste time on boring things.”
“Mr. Xie doesn’t seem like someone who would give up easily.”
“On the third day after school, he brought people to block me at my classroom.”
Yan Heqing didn’t say anything. Lu Lin wouldn’t tell this little anecdote for no reason; he had a purpose.
He didn’t have to wait long. Lu Lin slowly spoke again, “I’m not special. I can ride an ordinary bicycle, I got into fights and trouble when I was young, and instant noodles at two yuan a pack were a common meal.”
Yan Heqing was quiet for a few seconds, then suddenly said, “I’m particularly good at cooking instant noodles. I’ll treat you sometime in the future.”
He said it lightly.
Instant noodles were once his most important staple food, cheap and convenient.
During his growth spurt, he got hungry quickly and had a large appetite. Zhao Huilin strictly remembered the amount of rice in the rice container and would scold him for eating too much if it was less, demanding more living expenses from him.
So Yan Heqing bought several boxes of instant noodles and hid them under his bed. When no one was home, he would cook two packs, add a few vegetable leaves, and occasionally, if Zhao Huilin didn’t know about the eggs he saved from cooking, he could even add a fried egg.
Waking up hungry in the middle of the night, he could also eat them dry with the seasoning packet without going to the kitchen and disturbing the Zhao-Yan family.
He got through that period of extreme hunger like this. Although it wasn’t nutritious, fortunately, Yan Heqing’s height still shot up like bamboo after the rain, growing a lot in one spring.
He probably took after his mother. He vaguely remembered that his mother could easily pick the big red pomegranates at the top of the tree.
Yan Heqing thought of something else. “You and Mr. Xie fought. Who won?”
Turning a corner ahead, Lu Lin didn’t remember this past event very well. He recalled for a moment, “Broke half of his tooth, or two teeth?”
Yan Heqing fell silent.
He had also encountered unreasonable students in junior high.
A girl gave him a love letter. During gym class, several boys blocked him and dragged him into the bathroom.
They surrounded him, punching and kicking, warning him not to accept the girl’s confession.
He wasn’t as strong as Lu Lin. When beaten, besides protecting his head, he could do nothing else.
At that time, he didn’t even think of fighting back.
He had read in a book that everyone is born with a pair of claws to protect themselves, which, with age, develop into great, indestructible armor.
A child’s claws are tender. His had just sprouted a tip before being broken by Yan Shengbing’s abuse.
At the age of 7, Yan Shengbing hit him for the first time.
He resisted then, pushed Yan Shengbing, and immediately tried to escape the house.
Almost at the door, he was caught by Yan Shengbing.
The drunken man was furious, his fists raining down on his face and body.
“Run again! I adopted you, it’s my right to hit you! Fuck! You, a nobody’s bastard, dare to look down on me, I’ll beat you to death! Beat you to death!”
He had never been in so much pain. His eyes could only see a sea of blood.
He was really scared.
So he hid his claws and endured the beatings in silence. This would cause him a little less harm.
This led him to forget for a long time that he actually had claws, and even if they weren’t sharp, he could still resist.
Fortunately, on his 18th birthday, heaven sent him an unparalleled gift.
He found his claws again.
“What are you thinking about?” Noticing Yan Heqing was distracted from the corner of his eye, Lu Lin broke the silence again.
“Thinking about getting my driver’s license soon.” Yan Heqing turned his face, his eyes slightly curved. “Can I treat you to instant noodles that day? With ham, beef, and a soft-boiled egg.”
Lu Lin’s voice was steady, “Okay.”
The practice site was set up exactly like the exam site, probably a private training ground.
The site was open and flat, with only Lu Lin and Yan Heqing.
Yan Heqing passed all the Subject 2 items on his first try. The rest was just clocking in the hours.
Every 15 minutes, Lu Lin would take a picture of him practicing and upload it.
Time passed. After a day’s worth of hours were clocked in, Yan Heqing got out of the car.
The sky was at the moment between light and dark, not so bright, but not dark enough to be invisible.
Lu Lin held up his phone and took a snapshot.
Then he casually put the phone back in his pocket.
The car was left at the practice site. The two walked out side by side.
Lu Lin’s driver was waiting outside. Yan Heqing pointed to the subway entrance not far ahead. “No need to send me. I can take the subway directly; it’s very convenient.”
Lu Lin didn’t insist. “Be safe on the road.”
Nodding and shouldering his backpack, Yan Heqing walked towards the subway entrance. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back. Lu Lin was still standing there, watching him.
Yan Heqing suddenly waved at Lu Lin. “Lu Lin, see you on Saturday.”
School started tomorrow, so the next time he could clock in hours would be this Saturday.
The streetlights by the road lit up at that moment, falling on his slightly raised lips.
This row of lights seemed to be lit just for him.
The corners of Lu Lin’s mouth uncontrollably lifted. An action he had never done before, he raised his hand and waved at Yan Heqing.
Getting into the car, Lu Lin was silent. But the driver, who had witnessed everything, slowed down very tactfully when passing Yan Heqing.
Through the car window, Lu Lin watched Yan Heqing walk into the subway entrance before withdrawing his gaze. He lowered his head and enlarged the snapshot.
In the photo, only half of the young man’s side profile was visible as he got out of the car. The light and shadow intertwined, and there was some distance, so Yan Heqing’s face was actually blurry and indistinct. Yet, Lu Lin’s fingertips accurately landed on the corner of his mouth, caressing it very, very lightly.
After a moment, he set it as his screen saver.
——
Yan Heqing returned to his residential complex. At the entrance, he saw the small supermarket that was still open and went in.
He walked to the shelf with instant noodles. Nowadays, there were countless flavors of instant noodles, but Yan Heqing still picked the most common pickled cabbage beef noodles.
He then went to the fresh food section, picked a small piece of beef, a head of lettuce, and a small bunch of scallions.
After paying, Yan Heqing walked into the residential complex.
Approaching the apartment building, the sensor light on the third floor was on, while the second and fourth floors were dark.
Yan Heqing didn’t wait long before a call came.
He took out his phone.
It was Lin Fengzhi, who had been missing for many days.
Yan Heqing didn’t answer, put it back in his pocket, and walked unhurriedly.
The call went through but was never answered. Lin Fengzhi was very puzzled. Not at home and not answering the phone, where did Yan Heqing go?
The phone automatically hung up after a while. Lin Fengzhi moved the phone away, about to dial again, when footsteps sounded downstairs. He glanced and saw Yan Heqing had returned.
“Brother!” Lin Fengzhi gripped his phone, ran downstairs, and grabbed Yan Heqing’s arm. “Come with me for a bit!”
Yan Heqing didn’t move. He said calmly, “I haven’t eaten yet.”
Lin Fengzhi’s gaze fell on his hand, only then noticing he was carrying groceries. Lin Fengzhi was stunned for a moment. “It’s already eight o’clock, why haven’t you eaten yet?” He then saw his backpack. “Peking University hasn’t started school yet, where have you been?”
“Just came back from driving practice,” Yan Heqing answered all his questions at once.
Lin Fengzhi finally remembered that Yan Heqing had mentioned he was going to get his driver’s license during the holidays. He bit his lip and let go of Yan Heqing. “Then you eat first, I’ll wait for you.”
Yan Heqing didn’t ask him what was the matter, went upstairs, opened the door, changed his shoes, and went into the kitchen. He asked, “I’m making instant noodles, do you want some?”
Lin Fengzhi never ate instant noodles; he couldn’t stand the strong MSG taste. He always ate ramen. He walked to the sofa and sat down. “No.”
Yan Heqing didn’t say anything else.
The sound of cooking came from the kitchen. Lin Fengzhi felt very annoyed listening to it. He had something urgent to do now. His eyes wandered, and suddenly, he noticed the Cube of Light on the coffee table.
He picked it up curiously. It was heavy.
He recognized it at a glance as natural crystal.
Crystal wasn’t expensive, but such a large, uniform, and transparent piece of crystal was at least hundreds of thousands. How could Yan Heqing…
Lin Fengzhi’s breath hitched suddenly.
It was a gift from Lu Muchi…
A fragrance wafted from the air. Yan Heqing came out with the instant noodles and saw Lin Fengzhi staring blankly at the Cube of Light.
He approached without changing his expression, put down the instant noodles, took the Cube of Light from Lin Fengzhi’s hand, put it in the drawer, and said calmly, “A gift from a friend. If it were mine, I wouldn’t mind giving it to you.”
Lin Fengzhi felt the words were familiar, but couldn’t remember where he had heard them. However, he was only concerned about another matter now, so he didn’t pay attention and asked tentatively, “This friend… is it Lu Muchi?”
Yan Heqing smiled slightly, “Why do you think so?”
Lin Fengzhi blurted out, “This crystal ornament is at least hundreds of thousands. Besides him…” He didn’t continue. Given Yan Heqing’s identity and environment, who else besides Lu Muchi could afford to give him a gift worth hundreds of thousands?
Yan Heqing was also surprised. Hundreds of thousands? But it was very brief. He put away his surprise, calmly picked up his chopsticks, and ate his noodles. “I wouldn’t accept his things.”
Lin Fengzhi heard another meaning in these words. He stared at Yan Heqing intently. “So you didn’t agree to be with Lu Muchi, right?”
Pausing his chopsticks, the corners of Yan Heqing’s lips curled up before he started eating again. His voice was bland, “Didn’t he give you an answer?”
Yan Heqing avoided answering several times, and Lin Fengzhi was tormented by curiosity. He couldn’t help but think, could it be that Yan Heqing had fallen for Lu Muchi and was jealous? It was very possible. Lu Muchi had always been popular, with many men and women infatuated with him.
Then should he ask Yan Heqing to go to the Lu family?
Lin Fengzhi suddenly hesitated.
He didn’t speak, and Yan Heqing didn’t rush him, burying his head and eating his noodles quietly.
The room was silent, with only the occasional slight clatter of bowls and chopsticks. For Lin Fengzhi, it was a silent torment, as if several cat claws were scratching at his heart at the same time, an unbearable and difficult itch.
There was no other way. Besides the knowledgeable Yan Heqing, no one else could help him.
Lin Fengzhi took a deep breath and confessed, “I didn’t have a chance to ask him. He rejected the marriage in public for me and was locked up by his grandfather.”
“Brother, now Grandpa Lu seems to know that Lu Muchi likes me. I’m not allowed to enter the Lu family. Please do me a favor and go to the Lu family to pass a message to Lu Muchi for me.”
Yan Heqing chewed the beef granules carefully, drank a mouthful of soup, then put down the bowl and said, “You can’t enter his house, why can I?”
Lin Fengzhi took it for granted, “You are just an ordinary friend of Lu Muchi. Grandpa Lu won’t stop you.” He anxiously hugged Yan Heqing’s arm and pressed against him coquettishly, “Please, brother, no one can help me but you.”
Lin Fengzhi was terrified. Lu Changcheng knew that Lu Muchi liked him, so he would never accept him marrying Lu Lin in the future…
It was different from the warmth in his memory.
The former Yan Mingsong, holding him, was soft and warm. Now, it just felt cold.
Yan Heqing turned his head to look at him. “What message.”
“You agreed!” Lin Fengzhi was happy and excited. He said hurriedly, “Tell Lu Muchi not to like me anymore. I will only ever love…”
“Lu Muchi knows that person. If this continues, it won’t look good for anyone. Even if it’s for my sake, he should find someone else to like!”