TA •Chapter 46

"Liang Yi’s ideas for the third floor were way too much. We still had to be practical," Cheng Ke said as he headed up the stairs.

After talking over the place with Liang Yi for half the day, and then with Liang Yi gone, he and Xu Ding kept walking back and forth through the store, looking it over.

"Think about it some more," Xu Ding said. "I still think it should not be completely open to the public, something more private. It could work as a salon, and then the lounge on the third floor wouldn’t be disturbed."

The place was much bigger than Cheng Ke had expected, three floors, each one fairly large. The floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped around the building, with a nice view outside, wide open, and one side faced a large stretch of greenery.

But for now, everything outside looked white.

Cheng Ke did not really like snow. Even sitting in the warm indoors, basking in the sun while looking out at a snowy scene, he would feel lonely. After a long time, it became exhausting.

He pushed open the lounge door and went in, standing by the window. He still had not come in here to sit for a while.

"If someone wanted to live here now, they could. Everything’s already set up. It’s just that it’ll definitely be noisy during the day, and the renovation still isn’t finished," Xu Ding said. "And the air isn’t great either."

Cheng Ke turned to look at him and smiled. "Were you studying me the whole day today?"

"You looked off as soon as I saw you today," Xu Ding said with a laugh. "Just tell me, are you moving, or do you need somewhere to stay for a while temporarily?"

"I’ll probably move after New Year. I’ll make do for now," Cheng Ke said.

"Not renting Old Third’s place anymore?" Xu Ding asked.

"…Mm," Cheng Ke answered very quietly. "But the contract isn’t up yet, so I’ll return it when it’s due."

"Still paying rent?" Xu Ding laughed.

"Yeah." Cheng Ke turned his head away, a little unable to smile.

"Fine," Xu Ding did not ask any more. "If you can’t find anything suitable, I’ll help you ask around."

"Thanks," Cheng Ke said.

After having dinner with Xu Ding and going home, the security guard greeted him when he entered the building. "Mr. Cheng, you’re back."

"Yeah," Cheng Ke said.

"Mr. Jiang came by today and took the cat and everything else with him," the guard said.

"Mm, I know." Cheng Ke nodded.

"That cat only stayed here for two or three days, but it seems like it put on a whole circle of weight," the guard said. "The day you brought it over, I looked and its head was barely bigger than my fist. Today it’s the size of my fist."

"It eats a lot," Cheng Ke said with a smile, pressing the elevator button and hoping it would come faster.

"Over here!" The guard pointed at the elevator door beside it.

Only then did Cheng Ke realize the door next to it was already open, and he hurried inside.

When he opened the door and went in, everything was basically the same, except for the cat’s things and the bag where Jiang Yuduo had kept his change of clothes.

After showering, Cheng Ke carried his laptop to the sofa and sat down.

It had been a long time since he had worked this late at night. When he opened the laptop, he felt a little annoyed. The feeling reminded him of the few months before he had been kicked out of the house.

Every day after coming home, he would still stay in his own room, staring at a pile of files and spreadsheets, slowly sorting through them, and in the end he had ended up a useless wreck.

He let out a soft sigh and opened a document.

Halfway through, he fell asleep.

For some reason, these past few days he had been like when he had first come to this area. He felt sleepy all day long, and no matter how he lay, he slept like a pig, as if only some unexpected disturbance could wake him from a long, deep sleep.

School was on break, New Year was almost here, and every day he could hear the sound of kids laughing downstairs as they set off firecrackers.

This year, the feeling of New Year was more obvious than in previous years.

In the past, he had not paid much attention to whether it was New Year or not. He did not need to take part in the family’s holiday preparations anyway. Usually he either went out with friends or stayed in his room, and he had to wait until New Year’s Eve before he could hear any firecracker sounds at all.

Sometimes he would stand by the window and look down. A bunch of kids, big and small, would be running around like maniacs, making him dizzy just watching them.

Occasionally he would also look around, the corners, behind cars, in the small garden, but he had never once seen Jiang Yuduo.

Part of him felt relieved. He really did not want his existence to make Jiang Yuduo keep acting like that. But at the same time, he also felt inexplicably disappointed.

His phone had been ringing on the coffee table for quite a while before he finally went over and answered it.

It was the hotel front desk, calling to tell him that the room he had reserved earlier was available for check-in today.

"Thank you." He hung up.

Today?

He opened his phone’s notes app and checked the date. It really was the day he had booked… but he had not even packed yet.

After standing there with the phone in his hand for a long time, he sighed and slowly went into the bedroom.

Luckily, he had not bought too many things. He could just stuff his clothes and daily necessities into a suitcase and take them there first. The other appliances and things… he would deal with those later.

"Third Brother," Dabin said as he finished a phone call and walked over, "Jijia’s gone out. Two suitcases, got a car."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"Do you want us to follow him and see where he’s going?" Dabin asked.

"No need," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Then I’ll tell them to leave him alone?" Dabin asked again.

Jiang Yuduo nodded.

After Dabin walked away, Chen Qing crouched by the flower bed and edged closer to him. "Is he trying to dodge rent? Did he go broke again?"

"He hasn’t stayed a full month yet," Jiang Yuduo glanced at him. "Dodge my ass."

"Then did he not give notice to end the lease?" Chen Qing asked softly.

"No," Jiang Yuduo said. "When this month’s up, call him and ask when he’s moving out."

"Okay." Chen Qing took out his phone and looked at the calendar, then leaned in by his ear again. "Third Brother."

"Not for any reason," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Damn," Chen Qing sighed. "Forget it, don’t ask. Anyway, people like that aren’t on the same path as us. It’s not like he was the first one. I even thought he was different from the others, not putting on airs, not looking down on us. Turns out he was still…"

"Shut up," Jiang Yuduo said in a low voice.

Chen Qing froze, looked at him, and did not speak again.

Jiang Yuduo tugged his hat lower and looked at the little brothers nearby, a whole bunch of them hunching their necks, bouncing around and laughing as they chatted. He did not know what they found so funny. Quite a few of them did not even have enough money to buy a single new piece of clothing for New Year, so they shamelessly waited one by one for their lucky money before going off to spend it recklessly.

"Third Brother." After Chen Qing finished a cigarette, he came over again.

Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

"Are you still going to my place this year?" Chen Qing asked. "My mom asked yesterday too. She said for the two of us to go buy New Year goods."

Liu Qian went home every year for New Year to keep the old lady company, and Jiang Yuduo usually spent New Year at Chen Qing’s place.

But this year…

"No," Jiang Yuduo said. "I’m leaving in a couple of days."

"…What?" Chen Qing stared. "Where to?"

"A recuperation trip," Jiang Yuduo said.

"No," Chen Qing looked blank. "You never used to go for recuperation during New Year. Why pick this time?"

"I felt like going, that’s all. I didn’t pick the time on purpose," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Damn, then pick another time. Who the hell has time to recuperate you during New Year?" Chen Qing frowned.

Jiang Yuduo did not continue the topic. "Tomorrow, call a few people to watch the apartment building downstairs. It’s almost New Year. Leave those who aren’t going home alone, but don’t let the ones who owe rent run off."

"Alright," Chen Qing said. "We’ll need to send more people. Last year they nearly started a fight."

"Arrange it yourself," Jiang Yuduo said. "If you don’t have to fight, don’t fight. We still have New Year to get through."

"Don’t worry," Chen Qing said. "Even if I can fight, I might not be able to fight."

Jiang Yuduo laughed, stood up, and slapped the top of his head. "I’m heading back. I’m tired."

"Mm." Chen Qing nodded.

Jiang Yuduo had only gone a few steps when Chen Qing called out from behind him, "Should the cat stay at my place?"

"No need, I’m taking it with me," Jiang Yuduo said, then thought about it and came back. "You drove here, right?"

"Yeah." Chen Qing took out his car key. "It’s parked over by the row of spaces at the intersection, the third car."

"I’ll drive it back to the shop tomorrow night," Jiang Yuduo said, taking the key.

The car Chen Qing had driven out today was the one that had nearly accumulated enough traffic violations to buy a yearly pass. It was parked as the third car by the roadside.

Jiang Yuduo saw it as soon as he turned out of the intersection, but after taking two more steps forward, with several meters still between him and the car, he suddenly stopped. The hand in his pocket clenched hard.

This was the first time in so long that he had come face to face with these people at such close range.

That person was standing on the left side of the car hood, facing him.

If this were not on a public street, Jiang Yuduo would have thought he was standing in front of a mirror.

The man was wearing the same coat as him, the same hat, and his left hand was also in his pocket.

Only, the brim of this man’s hat was pulled very low, burying his entire face in shadow. Cars kept passing by nearby, and even the headlights sweeping over him could not light up his face.

Jiang Yuduo did not hesitate. He drew the knife from his pocket and charged at him.

When he planted a hand on the hood and leapt up, the man turned and ran across the street, and the kick Jiang Yuduo sent flying missed.

After landing, he heard a sharp blast of a horn right beside his ear.

When he withdrew his gaze from the man, he saw a car stop beside him. The driver looked furious, hammering the horn until their eyes met, and only then did he let go.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" The driver got out of the car and pointed at him. "Are you blind?"

Jiang Yuduo said nothing, narrowed his eyes, and looked at him.

The driver cursed under his breath, glaring at him from head to toe, probably trying to figure out the odds if they got into a fight.

Jiang Yuduo helped him calculate it. Probably zero.

When the driver’s eyes dropped to Jiang Yuduo’s hand, his mouth, which had been moving nonstop, stopped. Then he turned around and quickly got back into the car.

As he started the engine and was about to drive forward, he poked his head out again. "Can’t you at least move out of the way?"

Jiang Yuduo said nothing and lifted a leg to kick the front of his car.

"Damn it." The driver ducked back inside, reversed a little, and drove around Jiang Yuduo before leaving.

The person who had run across the street was already gone. Jiang Yuduo lowered his head and looked at his left hand.

His left hand, the one holding the knife, was covered in blood.

He turned and looked at the hood again. There was a bloody handprint on it.

He opened the car door, searched around inside, and pulled out a few wipes from a wet tissue canister. He held two in his hand and squeezed them tightly, then took two more and wiped the blood off the hood.

He wiped it very carefully. Only after confirming there was absolutely nothing left did he sit back into the car and carefully wipe the knife as well.

He had originally planned to go straight to the station to buy a ticket, but now it looked like he had to go back first and bandage his hand.

For him, bandaging a wound was a very simple thing, especially for an injury this shallow. He could not even count how many times he had done it.

After taking care of his hand and feeding the cat and cleaning the litter box while he was at it, he checked the time when he went out. Less than half an hour had passed.

He parked the car at the corner, and when he walked over, he looked around but saw no one.

After getting in, he smoked another cigarette before starting the car and driving to the station.

The station was a long-distance bus station. He rarely went out, and if he needed to leave, he would choose the most ordinary long-distance coach, the kind that stopped at many stations. If anything unexpected happened, he would not be trapped inside the carriage.

While lining up to buy a ticket, he checked the calendar on his phone. If he left the day after tomorrow, his time would be more plentiful, but in the end he still bought a ticket for tomorrow, early in the morning.

After leaving the station, he went into a small general store at random. "Do you have a phone?"

The shop owner pointed to the far end of the counter, where an old landline sat so faded it was almost impossible to tell its original color.

Jiang Yuduo went over and picked up the phone to dial.

He had never saved this number. He barely called it once a year, but he always remembered it clearly.

Ringing came from the receiver. After several rings, the call connected, and a woman’s voice came through. "Hello."

Jiang Yuduo glanced at the shop owner, who was sitting by the door, staring intently at a small television and laughing to himself. He lowered his voice into the mouthpiece. "Sister Luo."

"Xiao Jiang?" Sister Luo asked immediately.

"Yes," Jiang Yuduo replied.

"It’s been so long since I heard from you, nearly two years, hasn’t it?" Sister Luo’s voice was steady, but there was obvious surprise in it. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good," Jiang Yuduo said. "I just bought a ticket."

"Are you coming over?" Sister Luo asked.

"Mm," Jiang Yuduo said. "Do you have time?"

"What day are you coming?" Sister Luo asked again.

Jiang Yuduo paused. "What day are you free?"

Sister Luo let out a soft sigh, then smiled and said gently, "Any day you come is fine. Call me ahead of time, and I’ll make time for you, okay?"

"Okay," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Then I’ll wait for you," Sister Luo said.

Jiang Yuduo hung up, then pressed the incoming call search and deleted the number.

Back in the car, Jiang Yuduo took out the ticket and looked at it again before putting it into his wallet.

It had started snowing again. He stared absentmindedly at the snowflakes outside the window.

After standing there in a daze for a long time, he took out his phone and tapped at it a few times.

His mind was a little messy right now. He did not want to drive, but after checking his Moments feed for a bit, he only felt more uncomfortable.

There was not actually much difference in Moments compared to usual. The difference was that there were more New Year goods than before. Chen Qing’s shop had events, prize draws and the like, and they had posted almost ten ads.

He scrolled further down, hesitated for a moment, then backed out and tapped on Cheng Ke’s name.

Cheng Ke’s Moments feed was empty. Not even a punctuation mark.

He sighed and put the phone back in his pocket.

When he went home, he bought a big bag of food. He would be stuck on the bus for almost a whole day tomorrow, and he was not used to the food along the way.

"Tomorrow we’re going on a trip," he said casually as he packed two pieces of clothing and put them into a small bag. "To a pretty far place, and we’ll have to take a long-distance bus."

Miao jumped onto his bag and lay there.

"Don’t worry, I won’t make you stay in the luggage compartment," Jiang Yuduo said. "I’ll hold you while I sit, but you’d better behave. Otherwise I’ll throw you out the window."

Miao rubbed against his hand and wandered off.

When Chen Qing’s call came in, Cheng Ke had just closed his laptop and wanted to lie down for a bit. When his phone rang, he had originally planned to pretend to be asleep and not answer, but after glancing at the screen, he saw Chen Qing’s name.

"Hello?" He answered.

"It’s Chen Qing," Chen Qing’s voice on the other end sounded a little irritated. "That apartment of yours, are you still renting it or not? If not, tell me and I’ll go return your deposit."

"I…" Cheng Ke did not know how to say it for a moment. "How about I… return it next month instead?"

"So you want to rent it for one more month?" Chen Qing asked.

"…Yes," Cheng Ke said. "I haven’t finished moving my stuff out yet."

"Fine, I’ll contact you next month then." Chen Qing hung up right after speaking.

Cheng Ke held his phone and stayed stunned for a long time.

He had originally wanted to ask indirectly about Jiang Yuduo’s situation, but the great guardian did not even give him a second.

Cheng Ke sighed, tossed the phone aside, and lay back on the bed.

Forget it. What was there to ask anyway?

He had left in the first place to avoid Jiang Yuduo continuing to lose control because he was trying to "protect" him. If he went asking around now, and Jiang Yuduo found out, there would not only be no benefit, it would probably just make Jiang Yuduo think he was being pretentious.

He had barely lain down for two minutes when the phone rang again.

"Hey!" Cheng Ke rolled over and answered. "Hello?"

"Ge." The familiar voice came through the receiver.

Cheng Ke immediately regretted not checking the caller ID before answering. He stayed annoyed for several seconds before speaking. "What is it?"

"Ge, it’s like this," Cheng Yi said. "I’m coming to pick you up and take you home in a couple of days."

"Take me home to where?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Home," Cheng Yi said with a smile. "Where else?"

"I have plenty of places I can go," Cheng Ke frowned. "Just say what you mean."

"Nothing much," Cheng Yi said. "I’m just picking you up and taking you home. Aren’t you going home for New Year?"

"Who told you to pick me up and take me home?" Cheng Ke asked.

"…Ge, don’t worry about that," Cheng Yi said. "I’ll come get you, you just come back…"

"Cheng Yi," Cheng Ke interrupted him. Cheng Yi’s obviously awkward tone made him extremely annoyed. "Can we please stop pretending when it’s just the two of us? Isn’t that exhausting?"

"I just want you to come home and spend New Year there!" Cheng Yi’s voice sounded a little angry.

"Don’t say things like that. No one wants me to go home for New Year. Mom and Dad don’t want that, and neither do you," Cheng Ke said. "Why don’t you put it on speaker and take the phone to Dad so he can hear it for himself?"

Cheng Yi sighed and said nothing.

"Or you can record it," Cheng Ke cleared his throat and said word by word, "I am not going home for New Year. I am not going home for New Year."

After saying that, Cheng Ke hung up and smashed the phone hard onto the pillow.

The phone bounced off the pillow and landed by his leg.

"Fuck your damn…" Cheng Ke picked it up and hurled it at the pillow again.

The phone bounced back once more. This time it landed a little farther away, by his feet, and he kicked it straight off the bed.

Jiang Yuduo was sitting with Miao in his arms beside a table near the back door of the tea bar, staring at the people coming in through the entrance.

When Sister Luo got out of the car, he saw her at a glance through the window.

There was not much change. She had put on a little weight, her hair was cut shorter, and she still looked like a dignified, calm middle-aged woman.

After Sister Luo came in, her gaze swept straight toward the corner. After seeing him, she smiled and waved before walking over and sitting down.

"Sister Luo." Jiang Yuduo stood up.

"Sit," Sister Luo said, patting his shoulder and pulling out a chair to sit beside him. She also glanced at Miao in his arms. "Did you raise a little cat?"

"Mm," Jiang Yuduo said as he sat down. "I picked it up."

"So cute," Sister Luo said with a smile. After the waiter came over, she ordered two coffees and a plate of crisp biscuits. "You still like crisp biscuits, right?"

"Yeah." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

After everything was served, Sister Luo looked at him. "Why did you come out at this time? Not spending New Year at a friend’s place?"

Sister Luo did not know Chen Qing’s name, only that he had a very close friend.

"I wanted to talk to you," Jiang Yuduo said, picking up a crisp biscuit and taking a bite.

It did not taste good, and it was salty too, but he had always told Sister Luo that he liked crisp biscuits.

"Talk about what?" Sister Luo asked.

Jiang Yuduo took another bite of the biscuit and said nothing.

"Still see them often?" Sister Luo asked softly.

Jiang Yuduo paused, then looked up at her. "No, I barely see them anymore."

"Less than before?" Sister Luo asked again.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

Sister Luo was silent for a moment. "Then would you be willing to come to my place and do some small tests?"

Jiang Yuduo said nothing.

"Xiao Jiang," Sister Luo gently patted his hand. "It’s okay. If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. We can just chat like this. You set the time and place, and I’ll come out, okay?"

"I’m basically fine now," Jiang Yuduo said. "I don’t need tests or… all kinds of evaluations. I just came to talk to you. Just ordinary chatting, anything at all."

"Okay, then let’s just chat normally," Sister Luo said, looking at him.

"Don’t talk like a psychologist. Don’t pay that much attention to your wording, and don’t pay that much attention to my reactions," Jiang Yuduo said, looking back at her. "I’m not your patient. I’m not a patient."

"Alright," Sister Luo laughed and took a sip of coffee. "You’re not a patient."

"I’m not," Jiang Yuduo said, then quickly added, "not now."

"Xiao Jiang, if you want us to chat like ordinary acquaintances, then let your sister ask casually?" Sister Luo looked at him.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"You came to me because you wanted to tell me you’re already better now," Sister Luo’s voice was very gentle. "Or because you wanted me to see how you’re doing, and then tell you that you’re already better?"

Sister Luo’s words were a little roundabout, but Jiang Yuduo still understood immediately. He looked at Sister Luo and said nothing.