E ⋆ Chapter 15

The embrace didn’t last long. The moment the car stopped, Yu Zhinian ended it on his own.

Yang Ke seemed to still be in a daze, his hand resting on Yu Zhinian’s, not knowing what had happened. He lifted his head and looked into Yu Zhinian’s eyes.

“We’re home,” Yu Zhinian said to Yang Ke.

The driver opened the car door for them.

Yang Ke nodded and got out of the car beside Yu Zhinian, walking into the house.

Yu Zhinian felt that from the embrace just now, his body had absorbed Yang Ke’s scent. Even the air seemed to smell like Yang Ke.

The temporary nature of this closeness stirred in Yu Zhinian a faint pain and jealousy. Because the drunk Yang Ke in the future wouldn’t be his; his rare moments of dullness would be given to someone else.

The moment they stepped inside, Yang Ke’s phone rang.

He said somewhat unhappily, “Who is it?” and pulled it out to look, then answered, “Dad.”

Yu Zhinian looked back. Yang Ke handed his suit jacket to the butler and, while taking the call from Zhao Sibei, tugged at his own tie.

“Just got home,” he said to his father. “We went out to dinner.”

Whether it was because he was using only one hand or because he’d been drinking, Yu Zhinian watched him tug at it several times without success.

Yang Ke raised his eyes to look at Yu Zhinian, then suddenly reached out, grabbed Yu Zhinian’s wrist, and pulled it toward his tie. Yang Ke’s hand was somewhat warm. He looked at Yu Zhinian without courtesy, his chin slightly raised, as if commanding Yu Zhinian to undo the tie for him.

Yu Zhinian was startled and hurried closer, realizing that Yang Ke must have used the wrong force and gotten the tie stuck. He was just about to help untangle it when he heard Yang Ke chatting with his father, saying, “It’s not work.”

“I took three days off,” Yang Ke’s voice was very close to him.

“I’m not alone.”

“Yu Zhinian?” Yang Ke lowered his head to glance at him and said, “He’s at home. What’s wrong?”

Yu Zhinian heard his own name and stopped, looking at Yang Ke.

Zhao Sibei said something on the other end that Yu Zhinian couldn’t hear. Yang Ke listened in silence.

They hadn’t sat down; they stood the whole time under the soft light.

Guilt rose in Yu Zhinian’s heart. He should have left long ago; he shouldn’t have stayed.

He recalled what Zhao Sibei had said when they parted that day, and felt he had betrayed Zhao Sibei’s trust and expectations.

He felt like an excellent student caught cheating on a final exam, walking down the hallway to the dean’s office escorted by the invigilator, dreading the look of disappointment in his homeroom teacher’s eyes.

“He rented a house, but the pipes in that house are broken,” Yang Ke suddenly answered Zhao Sibei. Then he patted the back of Yu Zhinian’s hand, signaling Yu Zhinian to continue helping him with his tie.

Yu Zhinian was startled and carefully undid Yang Ke’s tie. Yang Ke said again, “Don’t know how long repairs will take. Is there a problem with that?”

“Got it,” Yang Ke said to his father, then hung up the phone and turned to Yu Zhinian. “So clumsy.”

“It takes you this long just to undo a tie,” he said, reproaching Yu Zhinian in a tone that didn’t quite sound like reproach.

Zhao Sibei’s call made Yu Zhinian feel that accepting such drunken intimacy was actually shameful, a violation of unspoken ethical rules. He looked at Yang Ke and found it difficult to continue being around the drunk Yang Ke. He said he wanted to sleep, and without waiting for Yang Ke’s response, he went upstairs.

Back in his room, Yu Zhinian took a shower and came out to find a message from Zhao Sibei.

Zhao Sibei said, “Zhinian, would it be convenient to give me a call back?”

Yu Zhinian was drying his hair. He turned on speakerphone and called Zhao Sibei back. Zhao Sibei answered quickly, saying, “Zhinian.”

“I’m going to move right away,” Yu Zhinian said proactively. “After I came back, I first went to Yang Ke’s house to get my things, but the lock on the basement door was broken, so the moving company couldn’t move them. Then the real estate agent called me and said the pipes in the rental house were broken and I couldn’t live there. I was planning to stay in a hotel, but the housekeeper asked me to stay, and Yang Ke probably felt sorry for me, so he had the housekeeper bring my suitcase upstairs.”

“I’ve only been here two days,” he assured Zhao Sibei. “My classmate said I can borrow his place. I’ll move over as soon as possible.”

“…That’s not what I meant,” Zhao Sibei said. “Zhinian. I’m not here to blame you.”

His tone carried a sense of helplessness, as if Yu Zhinian had misunderstood him far too deeply.

“I just wanted to tell you that if you have any difficulties, you can come to me,” he said. “Whether it’s financial or in life.”

“I don’t have any difficulties,” Yu Zhinian said.

“Did you and Yang Ke go out to eat tonight?” he asked Yu Zhinian.

Yu Zhinian said, “Yes.”

“The restaurant is run by one of his investors,” Yu Zhinian explained. “He invited Yang Ke to bring someone along to try the dishes. I happened to have just come back, so he brought me along.”

“Zhinian…” Zhao Sibei paused for a brief moment. He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn’t, and told Yu Zhinian to sleep early and rest well, then hung up the phone.

Yu Zhinian had dried his hair halfway. He sat on the bed and sent a message to Shao Xilin, asking, “Are you asleep?”

Shao Xilin said no, so Yu Zhinian said, “Would it be convenient for you to let me stay tonight? (I’ve already washed up.)”

“Sure,” Shao Xilin replied quickly and asked Yu Zhinian what time he’d arrive, then said, “I sleep late. Did you finish organizing the shorthand notes from February? Show me.”

Yu Zhinian checked the ride-sharing app and told Shao Xilin he’d arrive in about two hours.

Shao Xilin said “No problem.”

Yu Zhinian checked the time; it was already past ten-thirty.

The housekeeper had already washed his clothes and hung them in the closet. He took them out, folded them neatly, put them back in the suitcase, and zipped it up. He called a car through the app, and suddenly there was a knock at his door.

He pushed the suitcase to the side of the cabinet by the door and went to open it.

Yang Ke was standing outside, wearing a gray athletic long-sleeve loungewear top.

He must have just finished showering too. His hair was dry, and his body no longer carried that scent from the car, but his expression still held a trace of the alcohol, making him look more approachable.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Zhinian asked him.

Yang Ke looked at him for a while and said, “Nothing.”

The drunk Yang Ke and the usual Yang Ke seemed like two different species, though the behavior of both versions left Yu Zhinian equally bewildered.

Yu Zhinian stood facing him for a moment, then tentatively asked, “So, good night?”

“Yeah,” Yang Ke said. “Good night.”

Then he turned and left, walking along the hallway toward the staircase, back to his room on the third floor.

Yu Zhinian closed the door. His head ached a little, and he couldn’t figure out what Yang Ke had come for.

He hadn’t even sat down when the driver he’d booked called, saying he’d arrived at the villa’s gate.

Yu Zhinian went to get his suitcase by the door, and as he picked it up, he thought about how he should tell Yang Ke he was leaving this time.

Either way, both times he’d left here it had been as messy as fleeing for his life. Because as far as Yu Zhinian understood, Yang Ke didn’t need a ceremonial goodbye with him. A simple word would do.

He carried the suitcase downstairs, opened the front door, and dragged his luggage outside.

On a May night in He City, the wind was still cold. The driver’s Ford was parked outside the gate, its headlights shining on the iron railings and carved stone. Yu Zhinian thought it was a bit too bright and very conspicuous.

The driver was a middle-aged man in a jacket of indeterminate color. He was leaning against the car door smoking. Seeing Yu Zhinian come out, he flicked the cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it with his foot, and said, “Just one piece of luggage?”

Yu Zhinian said yes, and the driver opened the trunk.

He was putting the suitcase in and hadn’t closed the trunk yet when Yu Zhinian heard someone call his name from behind.

He turned around and saw Yang Ke standing not far away. In the darkness, Yang Ke looked even taller. He was still wearing the pajamas from when he’d said good night, looking at Yu Zhinian, and took a couple of steps closer.

The car headlights happened to illuminate half his body, so Yu Zhinian could see half his face, and he also noticed that Yang Ke was wearing house slippers.

“What are you doing?” Yang Ke asked quietly, his tone almost confused.

Yu Zhinian thought for a moment and said to Yang Ke, “I think it’s better if I move out.”

“Why,” Yang Ke asked. “Is there a problem with staying here?”

Yang Ke’s face was expressionless, but because he was dressed so casually and his words weren’t as barbed as usual, Yu Zhinian thought he looked almost innocent.

“It’s not really appropriate,” Yu Zhinian said. “I don’t know when the house will be fixed. If I keep staying here, it’s like I’m still trying to get the inheritance.”

“What’s wrong with wanting the inheritance?” Yang Ke asked again.

The night wind blew past. The driver stood quietly at a distance without speaking.

The asphalt road behind the Ford was wide and long, looking like a still black river under the dim streetlights.

“Is it good to want the inheritance?” Yu Zhinian countered. He paused, unable to control his emotions. “Do you think it’s good that I’m bothering you here every day, chasing after you constantly?”

Yang Ke seemed to freeze for a moment. After a few seconds, he asked Yu Zhinian, “Then are you going to chase someone else?”

Yu Zhinian didn’t understand Yang Ke’s logic and felt completely confused. He said, “No.”

“Yang Ke,” Yu Zhinian looked at him, and thinking about how Yang Ke had come to find him just now but said nothing, he felt that Yang Ke had been very strange these past two days. He thought for a moment and asked, “Do you have something you want to tell me?”

Yang Ke looked at Yu Zhinian. After a while, he made a sound. “Mm.”

“What is it?” Yu Zhinian asked him.

Yang Ke still didn’t speak, as if what he wanted to say was extremely difficult for him to voice.

Yu Zhinian waited patiently for a while, but Yang Ke still said nothing, yet he persistently stood in front of Yu Zhinian. Suddenly, a rather absurd guess flashed through Yu Zhinian’s mind.

Since he’d come back, Yang Ke had been willing to let him stay at home and had kept bringing up the trust. Between the lines, it seemed he very much hoped Yu Zhinian would inherit this bequest. And some gestures of retention that now seemed perhaps stiff, even coming out of the house in the middle of the night to call him back, made Yu Zhinian think of another possibility.

Yu Zhinian opened his mouth slowly and asked Yang Ke, “Do you need to marry me?”

“Do you need the money?” Yu Zhinian asked him.

Yang Ke looked at him silently but didn’t deny it, as if allowing Yu Zhinian to continue.

“If you need that inheritance, I can register a marriage with you,” Yu Zhinian said. “I mean, go through the legal procedure.”

“And then think of a way with Attorney Li to see how to transfer it to you,” Yu Zhinian looked into Yang Ke’s eyes and said softly. “If that’s the case, you don’t need to feel embarrassed telling me. I won’t use this to threaten you with anything. That money should have been yours anyway.”

“Yang Ke,” Yu Zhinian asked seriously, “do you need it?”

The Ford driver lit another cigarette. Yu Zhinian smelled the smoke. From the corner of his eye, he saw faint, wispy smoke drifting from the glowing orange cigarette tip into the surrounding darkness.

After waiting a short while, Yang Ke said to Yu Zhinian, “Yeah.”

Observation Analysis Diary (II)

Topic: A funny moment when Yang Ke got angry

(Recorder: Yu Zhinian Date: 2016.10.15)

In the afternoon, I was with Catherine. We were leaving the library and heading to class when we ran into Yang Ke by the elevator.

Yang Ke and two other unknown students had already entered the descending elevator ahead of us.

After Catherine and I got in the elevator, Yang Ke didn’t speak up on his own again and stood quietly to the side. The two other unknown students discussed their homework with him, and he responded occasionally with single words.

Catherine linked her arm with mine and kept talking the whole time, chatting about the number of likes her photos got on social media and the characteristics of each photo. At one point she even pulled out her phone to show examples, wanting to figure out the secret to getting the most likes on a photo.

Both sides talked for quite a long time, and then suddenly everyone collectively realized the elevator wasn’t moving.

Turns out no one had pressed the button.

Yang Ke got angry. He personally reached out and pressed the button for the first floor.