E ⋆ Chapter 50

Yang Ke arrived at the hospital at noon the next day. He walked into the ward, and the three people who had been chatting fell silent by unspoken agreement.

He exchanged brief greetings with his father and Professor Xu, then looked toward Yu Zhinian.

The day before, he had called Yu Zhinian, and Yu Zhinian had reluctantly told him what had happened over the past few days.

He didn't seem angry that Yu Zhinian had conspired with his father to hide his condition. He only said he would come as soon as possible, and when they met, he didn't look like he was preparing to demand an explanation. He was just somewhat silent.

The ward had no lights on, the curtains were drawn open, and light rain was falling outside the window. The sky was filled with gray clouds, and the light in the room was a pale gray-white.

"Yang Ke is here, so Lao Xu and I will get going," Zhao Sibei spoke up, breaking the silence. "You two talk." He then waved the ethnographic introduction that Mei Qi had typed out for Yu Zhinian: "Zhinian, I'll take this back with me."

Yu Zhinian said okay, feeling Yang Ke's gaze concentrated on his face. A little shame and unease rose in his heart, and he glanced at Yang Ke.

Yang Ke went out to see them off, leaving only Yu Zhinian in the room. Yu Zhinian lowered his head, looking at his wrist and the back of his hand, with needle marks and bruises visible through the cuff opening of his blue-and-white striped hospital gown. He was still uneasy.

Yu Zhinian was clear about it himself. If he were to probe deeply into why he hadn't told Yang Ke about his condition, it was less about fearing Yang Ke's worry and more about thinking it was a hassle.

Yu Zhinian was someone who only reported good news and not bad news, accustomed to bearing unpleasant things alone. He only liked sharing happiness and life experiences with Yang Ke. To ask him to open his mouth and speak about the illness he was currently going through was truly difficult.

Not long after, Yang Ke came back.

When he entered, Yu Zhinian was coughing. He closed the ward door, walked to Yu Zhinian's bedside, leaned down to steady the cup in Yu Zhinian's hand, and very gently rubbed Yu Zhinian's back with his hand.

As Yu Zhinian's cough gradually subsided, Yang Ke placed the water on the cabinet, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked down at Yu Zhinian with lowered eyes.

Yang Ke didn't ask why Yu Zhinian hadn't said anything. He very gently pulled Yu Zhinian's arm, and Yu Zhinian leaned toward him, pressing his face against Yang Ke's shoulder.

"Yu Zhinian," Yang Ke called to him.

Yang Ke's shoulders were broad, his white dress shirt had some creases, and one button was undone. When he spoke, his Adam's apple moved slightly. Yu Zhinian reached out and wrapped his arms around Yang Ke's waist. Yang Ke's back seemed to stiffen for a moment, and then he let out a sigh so faint it was almost inaudible.

Probably because he had been rushing all day, Yang Ke's voice sounded somewhat tired. He said to Yu Zhinian: "If you're sick, you can tell me. It's not like you don't tell me everything otherwise."

Yu Zhinian, knowing he was in the wrong, said nothing.

After a while, Yang Ke said again: "Forget it."

"I had someone contact Sanwen Municipal Hospital," he said. "We'll transfer this afternoon and do a more thorough check."

Yu Zhinian lifted his face and saw Yang Ke's chin, letting out an "mm." Yang Ke lowered his head, pressed Yu Zhinian's shoulder, pushed him back a little, looked at his face, and kissed his lips.

Yang Ke's kiss was forceful and didn't last long. It was very much like he was angry with Yu Zhinian but was holding it back, not losing his temper.

Yu Zhinian looked at Yang Ke again, wanting to ease the tension. He forcibly changed the subject and said: "I looked at the proposals you sent me."

"I like the one with the lawn glass chamber," Yu Zhinian said. "But I don't want so many decorations. Just lights will do."

Yang Ke probably saw through Yu Zhinian's intention but didn't call him out on it. He looked at him for a while before saying: "Then that's the one."

"How should we set the date?" Yu Zhinian asked proactively. "After I get back, how about January?"

Yang Ke's expression relaxed slightly, and he said "okay."

That afternoon, after Yu Zhinian completed the transfer procedures, Yang Ke accompanied him to Sanwen.

Yang Ke fell asleep in the car. Yang Ke's assistant received a work call and turned back wanting to ask Yang Ke for his opinion. After saying just one sentence, he realized Yang Ke had his eyes closed and wasn't moving, so he quickly fell silent.

Yang Ke was sleeping deeply. Yu Zhinian touched the back of his hand and then his face, but he didn't wake.

Yu Zhinian rarely got to see Yang Ke sleeping in the light, so he looked for a long time. He felt that Yang Ke in deep sleep was much less cold than usual, almost like he could be freely taken advantage of. The more he looked, the more confident he became. He couldn't resist and pinched Yang Ke's face. Yang Ke suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him.

Yu Zhinian was caught red-handed and panicked, leaning back. Yang Ke raised his hand, pressed down on Yu Zhinian's wrist, and without much expression said he was childish. Then he gripped his hand tightly, their fingers interlocking.

After Yu Zhinian's check-up in Sanwen, the doctor said his recovery was going well. He just needed to rest properly for a while.

Yang Ke stayed with him at a newly opened resort hotel in Sanwen for over a week, working with a reversed schedule each day to manage the time difference. Midway through, according to the original plan, he went on a two-day business trip, then immediately returned to Yu Zhinian's side.

Yu Zhinian rested well, gained back some weight, almost stopped coughing, and began to feel like returning to Dangzhuang.

That afternoon, Sanwen had a cooling rain. The sun peeked out a little from behind the clouds. Yang Ke had just woken up, and Yu Zhinian had just finished reading a paper that Shao Xilin had highly recommended.

Yu Zhinian had a sudden idea and asked Yang Ke if he wanted to go see the school he had attended in middle school.

They went to Yu Zhinian's alma mater. After getting out of the car, a cool breeze blew against Yu Zhinian's shirt, and Yu Zhinian smelled the familiar scent of Sanwen Middle School, a mixture of various plants he had known long ago.

The school was still on summer break, and the security guards weren't very strict. When Yu Zhinian said he was coming to visit his alma mater, he gave the names of a few teachers from back then, and they let him and Yang Ke into the school.

The campus had undergone considerable renovations in the ten years since he left. The main road had been repaved with asphalt, the gymnasium had been rebuilt, and the empty space that used to be overgrown with weeds had been incorporated into the school grounds, with a multimedia building and teaching buildings constructed on it.

The school was empty. They walked along the tree-lined path, passed the statue of a great man, and came to the multimedia building. They discovered that on the south side of the building, the gray wall had gold-plated three-dimensional characters reading "Deqin Tower."

Yu Zhinian was startled. He pulled Yang Ke over and saw that next to the building stood a marble plaque with an introduction to the building's history. It stated that the building was constructed in 2014 and was donated by Yang Zhongyun, Chairman of Deqin Group.

Yang Zhongyun had specifically written a few words of encouragement for Sanwen Middle School, urging students to study hard.

After reading it, Yu Zhinian turned to look at Yang Ke, as if observing him, worried that Yang Ke might be unhappy.

Actually, Yang Ke didn't feel much of anything. In any case, Yang Zhongyun donating a building was a good thing for the school. The two of them stood for a while, and Yang Ke said to Yu Zhinian with candor: "I haven't thought about him in a long time."

Now when Yang Ke recalled Yang Zhongyun, it was mostly his appearance when he was gravely ill.

In his later years, Yang Zhongyun was tormented by illness. Every time Yang Ke went to see him, he became increasingly pained and emaciated, losing his former authority bit by bit, losing the ability to care for himself, becoming more eccentric, suspicious, and jumpy.

Yang Ke sometimes confronted him, and sometimes sat in silent company at his sickbed.

Yang Zhongyun's affectation, hypocrisy, his private eccentricity and controlling nature ran through Yang Ke's childhood and adolescence like an unbroken shadow, always making Yang Ke feel oppressed and powerless. As a result, he harbored boundless anger toward Yang Zhongyun and was accustomed to closing himself off. Yang Zhongyun's selfishness destroyed most of Yu Zhinian's grandmother's life.

But it was also his pathology and obsession that had sought out Yu Zhinian from Sanwen and brought him into Yang Ke's life.

No one's life is completely without obstacles, entirely smooth.

Standing in front of the Deqin multimedia building of a remote mountain city school, Yang Ke realized that as he had grown into adulthood, he had at some point become able to calmly accept the fact of Yang Zhongyun's charitable acts.

Perhaps it was because of Yu Zhinian's loveliness, because of the confession Yu Zhinian had written on paper, Yu Zhinian's sweetness and courage, even because of Yu Zhinian's timidity, because of those actions of Yu Zhinian's that Yang Ke had once not wanted to explicitly acknowledge liking, yet could not resist.

Because Yang Ke confirmed that he was free, because Yang Ke reached out and plucked Yu Zhinian's love, fresh and lively like a small bird, he no longer clung to the past. He made peace with the rebellion of his youth and became calm.

Yu Zhinian leaned against Yang Ke's side. After a while, he said to Yang Ke: "I also haven't thought about it in a long time."

"It feels like it was so long ago," he reached out and touched the characters on the plaque, speaking lightly, "thinking back to high school feels like those images you see in movies, not quite real."

Because he had just recovered from an illness, Yu Zhinian's hand seemed even thinner. His fingertips rested on the marble, and then he turned his head to look at Yang Ke.

The sun in the sky was covered by clouds, and the light looked gloomy. But Yu Zhinian's eyes were bright. He said: "You were very fierce when I first came to Ning City."

Yang Ke suddenly remembered what Wei Chi had said at the club and asked Yu Zhinian "really," then said: "I ran into Wei Chi a few days ago. He said you said back then that you liked me."

Yu Zhinian was taken aback and obviously became flustered. He said: "I never said that."

"Someone confessed to you, and you said you had someone you liked who was chasing you," Yang Ke looked at him and asked deliberately, "if it wasn't me, was it someone else?"

Yu Zhinian clearly hadn't expected such a distant old matter to be brought up. His expression was guilty as sin, his eyes evasive as he denied "no," and then said quietly "where would there be anyone else."

Yang Ke cupped his chin and pressed him: "How were you chasing me? I didn't feel you chasing me at all."

Yu Zhinian looked at Yang Ke, hesitated for a moment, then said: "I just said it casually to turn that person down. How would I dare chase you."

"I thought back then that it would already be great if you could just keep me as a good friend," he looked away and said to Yang Ke.

He lowered his eyes and very gently patted the back of Yang Ke's hand that was cupping his chin, saying it hurt.

Yang Ke loosened his grip and kissed Yu Zhinian. Yu Zhinian's lips and tongue were soft and moist, gently reciprocating Yang Ke's kiss. He was Yang Ke's only treasure.

They stayed in Sanwen for two more days, and Yang Ke sent Yu Zhinian back to Dangzhuang.

Over the next two months, through intermittent signals, they confirmed the date of the wedding and finalized the guest list for the wedding plan. The wedding would be very simple, with only important and familiar guests attending. Because January was very cold, the wedding planners arranged to seal up the glass chamber and hang many colored lights around it.

Yu Zhinian looked at the renderings and thought it looked like the inside of a Christmas tree.

In October, Shao Xilin, finally freed from his studies for a week, came to Dangzhuang to see Yu Zhinian.

Yu Zhinian invited Shao Xilin to attend the wedding, and Shao Xilin happily agreed. He asked Yu Zhinian what wedding gift he wanted and if there was a gift list. Miao Miao, who happened to come find Yu Zhinian to play, overheard and pestered Yu Zhinian to show her photos of the bride.

That evening, eating in Yu Zhinian's small courtyard, Miao Miao enthusiastically brought it up again. Xiao Chang suddenly seemed very casual as he corrected her: "It's not necessarily a bride though."

Then he looked at Yu Zhinian, smiled somewhat bashfully, and said "anyway, it's all the same."

Shao Xilin also said "mm" from the side, "it's all the same."

In mid-December, Yu Zhinian ended his fieldwork earlier than planned, and Yang Ke came to Sanwen to pick him up.

At Li Lu's request, they returned to Ning City once to handle some of the business in Yang Zhongyun's will. After signing the documents, they decided to visit Zhao Sibei at his university on Christmas.

Yang Ke drove himself. They drove over the cross-sea bridge. The fierce early-winter wind churned up the waves, making Yu Zhinian think of the last time he had passed through this stretch of road, but his mood this time was very different.

They ate roast chicken at Professor Xu's house, turned off the lights, and projected a Christmas movie.

Professor Xu's living room wasn't very large, with a sofa that could seat exactly seven people. The heating in the room was turned up quite high. When the movie finished, music filled with Christmas atmosphere played. All around was darkness, and Yang Ke very gently covered Yu Zhinian's hand. Yu Zhinian watched the projection and also leaned slightly closer to Yang Ke.

After ten o'clock that night, they returned together to the hotel next to the school. A moment later, it snowed on the island. Fine snowflakes drifted down from outside the window.

Yu Zhinian watched for a little while by the window. Yang Ke came out after showering, embraced him from behind, and kissed his ear and neck.

At twelve years old on Christmas Eve, Yu Zhinian was rushing about the hospital for his grandfather's illness, not knowing he would meet Yang Ke, never imagining that a fateful encounter that would change his destiny was about to arrive. At twenty-three years old on Christmas Eve, Yu Zhinian spent it writing his thesis, not knowing that his timidity could be met with reciprocation, that he would have the courage to try again.

But the new year was different.

From that moment on, like many others kissing under the Christmas tree at that same instant, the two somewhat lonelier people on Earth also found their companion.

Observation Analysis Diary (VII)

Theme: Thank You, Yang Ke

(Recorded by: Yu Zhinian, Date: 2016.8.2)

Didn't catch sight of Yang Ke anywhere at school all day. Don't know where he went.

Finished homework at the library in the evening and came out. It was raining. Didn't bring an umbrella, but the rain wasn't heavy. Pulling up the hood of a hoodie made it manageable enough to walk.

To jump over a huge puddle, nearly got hit by a car coming around the bend. Fortunately the car wasn't going fast and stopped in time.

The driver went around and rolled down the window. It was Yang Ke.

Yang Ke's face looked very unhappy. He said "what are you doing running around in the rain like that," and asked "where are you going."

Answered: "Back to the apartment."

Yang Ke said: "Get in." Urged: "Hurry up."

Was thus sent back to the apartment.

End