TA •Chapter 73

Jiang Yuduo’s kiss was extremely perfunctory. He bit down on Cheng Ke’s lips and hurriedly pulled away. As he stepped back, his head even bumped against the car roof with a loud thud. Cheng Ke found it a little funny to hear.

"Let’s go," Cheng Ke said.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo answered, walked around the front of the car, and got in.

Cheng Ke glanced at the three of them still standing by the roadside with their backs to the car, smoking seriously. "You’re just leaving those three behind?"

"Drag them back and dump them in a pond," Jiang Yuduo said with a frown as he honked the horn.

Only then did the three of them turn around. Chen Qing even said something, and from the shape of his mouth, it looked like, "That was fast."

Cheng Ke glanced at Jiang Yuduo from the corner of his eye. For some reason, maybe because he was embarrassed or something else, Jiang Yuduo sat very upright, staring straight ahead.

After Chen Qing and the others got in the car, Jiang Yuduo did not even wait for them to settle properly before he drove off.

"What’s up?" Chen Qing asked blankly. "You chasing someone?"

"Chasing who?" Jiang Yuduo was blank for a moment too.

"Cheng Yi," Chen Qing said. "Aren’t we chasing him? Fuck, chase him! Break his other leg too…"

"…Why would I chase him?" Jiang Yuduo was a little helpless.

"We’re not chasing him? Fuck, why are you driving so hard if we’re not," Chen Qing said.

"Sit there and shut up," Jiang Yuduo said through clenched teeth.

The back seat immediately went quiet.

Cheng Ke held back his laughter, cleared his throat, and leaned back in the seat to look out the window.

His mood right then was hard to describe as good or bad. He just kind of wanted to laugh. He didn’t have any other thoughts.

Jiang Yuduo drove back to his place. After they got out of the car, Chen Qing sent Da Bin and the others back.

Right before he got back in the car, Chen Qing called out to Jiang Yuduo, "Third Brother."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo responded.

"That…" Chen Qing frowned and said with great difficulty, "when you’re free, let’s have a meal together. Just the two of us."

"Tomorrow," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Okay." Chen Qing nodded, then glanced at Cheng Ke and lowered his voice. "Just the two of us, okay?"

"I know!" Jiang Yuduo yelled.

Chen Qing scrambled into the driver’s seat and drove off.

"He’s going to have a heart-to-heart with you?" Cheng Ke smiled.

"Probably wants to ask what happened," Jiang Yuduo said. "After all, I never dated anyone before either."

"Mm." Cheng Ke followed him into the house.

The light was still hanging in the back courtyard. When Cheng Ke walked over, Miao followed too. In just a couple of moves, it climbed up the clothes pole, jumped onto the light, and kept swaying back and forth.

"Hey!" Cheng Ke pointed at Miao. "Don’t you dare shake it loose for me!"

"How much does it weigh?" Jiang Yuduo went over and picked Miao up. "If it breaks, I’ll make another one. I’ve got experience now. The next one will definitely be better than this."

"Make another one for my birthday next year," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo said nothing.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Ke clicked his tongue. "So next year you’re not celebrating my birthday?"

"No," Jiang Yuduo said. "I… never thought about next year."

Cheng Ke let out a soft sigh and walked up to him, rubbing Jiang Yuduo’s face with his left hand. "You can think about it when you have time. I’ll still be here next year."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

Next year.

For Jiang Yuduo, it was a pretty distant word. Or rather, from some angles, next year did not even exist.

What he thought about most was "day." One day, two days, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, right in front of him, something he could grasp, a distance close enough to hold.

Next year, later, the future, these words rarely appeared in his head. Even when they did, they meant nothing. They were just a simple unit of time.

But now, suddenly, it was different.

Next year was no longer an empty word.

Next year had Cheng Ke’s birthday.

Suddenly, there was something to look forward to.

Jiang Yuduo felt a burst of joy, but soon after, he fell into unease again.

A year was too long. Once time was no longer measured in hours and days, how many things would happen?

Mental illness.

Jiang Yuduo heard Cheng Yi’s voice in his ears again.

"I have a mental illness."

When he said that to Cheng Yi, his hands had even been shaking. That phrase was so unfamiliar it scared him. Let alone saying it to someone else, even when he was alone, he had never allowed that word to linger in his head.

He didn’t care how Cheng Yi found out. What made him panic was that Cheng Ke knew.

Even though he had told Cheng Ke that he was already better, and Cheng Ke had not asked him any related questions after that, he had been working hard to ignore people he simply could not ignore. But when Cheng Yi said the words "mental illness" in front of everyone, he still felt like his whole body had gone blank.

How long could he stay "better"? How long could Cheng Ke believe him? How long could he keep silent?

Could it last until… next year?

Jiang Yuduo had been sitting on the sofa in a daze for nearly half an hour. Cheng Ke sat beside him and felt like he was about to stroke all the fur off Miao.

His phone chimed. Cheng Ke opened it and saw a message from Xu Ding.

-Resolved?

-Resolved

-Okay. We’re opening on the first of next month. I put together a simple schedule. Want me to send it over for you to take a look?

-Okay

Xu Ding quickly sent the schedule over. It was roughly about what needed to be prepared before the opening, the event plan for opening day, and some promotion after the opening.

Cheng Ke looked it over, added a few points, and sent it back to Xu Ding.

Xu Ding sent another message.

-Are you free to come over tomorrow? We can eat together while we’re at it.

-I’ll go over in the afternoon

Chen Qing wanted to ask Jiang Yuduo about things, and Xu Ding probably had similar questions for him too.

But the focus should be different. Chen Qing was probably thinking, "Fuck, Third Brother got together with a guy," "Fuck, Third Brother kissed Ji Jia." As for Xu Ding… Cheng Yi had probably already made sure everyone who knew Jiang Yuduo also knew he was mentally ill. Cheng Ke’s boyfriend was a lunatic.

Maybe Cheng Ke had gone crazy too, going on a rampage at Cheng Yi’s company with his lunatic boyfriend, and even beating Cheng Yi into an open fracture.

Cheng Ke turned his head. Jiang Yuduo was still blankly staring into space, as if he were thinking something through.

He reached out and lightly flicked Jiang Yuduo’s ear.

Before his hand could even pull away, Jiang Yuduo had already grabbed his wrist, pressed his thumb down on the back of his hand, flipped it back, and twisted his arm onto the sofa backrest.

It didn’t hurt, but it was extremely sore and numb.

Before Cheng Ke could figure out whether this was a conditioned reflex or some kind of reaction related to "them," Jiang Yuduo had already let go.

"You…" He took Cheng Ke’s hand and rubbed it. "You startled me."

"It doesn’t hurt." Cheng Ke looked at him.

But Jiang Yuduo did not meet his eyes. He only stared at Cheng Ke’s hand. "I spaced out."

"What were you thinking about?" Cheng Ke pulled his hand away and ruffled Jiang Yuduo’s hair twice.

Jiang Yuduo was silent for a while. "Your matter with Cheng Yi, is it considered settled? Will he still come looking for you in the future?"

"He probably won’t," Cheng Ke said with a smile, though his mood sank a little again. "Didn’t he say the thing he hated most was having an older brother?"

He did not feel that bad when Cheng Yi said something like that. Between the brothers, apart from the earliest few years when he had no memory, there had basically never been any deep brotherly affection.

It was just the first time he had heard someone say they did not want him to be born, did not want him to exist. Even though in his past life he had never felt like anyone was still waiting for him, hearing something so blunt still made him somewhat depressed.

"Go out for a bit," Cheng Ke said. "Let’s check the account."

"Check again?" Jiang Yuduo was stunned.

"The money in that card," Cheng Ke said. "See how much there is."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo answered, stood up, and took his coat. "He probably wouldn’t give less. This concerns his reputation."

"I just want to see." Cheng Ke smiled.

"You threw away a watch worth over a hundred thousand like trash, and you’d still run out just for a measly million?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"Measly your ass," Cheng Ke said.

"I really haven’t seen that much money before," Jiang Yuduo said. "Let me count the ones, tens, hundreds, thousands first in a bit."

"Then just transfer it to you," Cheng Ke said.

"Huh?" Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

"Didn’t you say you hadn’t seen it before?" Cheng Ke said. "I’ll transfer it to you so you can see it."

"Okay." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

Cheng Ke had already guessed he would nod. Jiang Yuduo’s reaction was always this amazing. He laughed. "Then take the card. We’ll go to the bank and transfer it later."

Jiang Yuduo said nothing, just stared at him.

"What is it?" Cheng Ke walked a couple of steps, then came back to stand in front of him.

"Either you don’t care about this little bit of money," Jiang Yuduo said, "or…"

"I know that even if I really gave it to you, you wouldn’t spend it recklessly." Cheng Ke patted his face.

Jiang Yuduo wrapped his arms around him and buried his face hard into Cheng Ke’s shoulder.

"…Are you that moved?" Cheng Ke rubbed his back.

"Moved my ass," Jiang Yuduo mumbled.

"Then what is it?" Cheng Ke wanted to see his expression, but Jiang Yuduo was holding him too tightly. Cheng Ke rubbed his back again. "Don’t cry. We still have to go out."

"You’re the one crying all day," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Really?" Cheng Ke smiled and casually rubbed his butt again. "Let’s go."

"Quit touching me like that, I’m warning you." Jiang Yuduo said.

"Didn’t you say you liked it when I touched you?" Cheng Ke laughed.

"Not like that," Jiang Yuduo let go of him. "You’re touching me like you’re harassing me."

"It is harassment," Cheng Ke slapped his butt again. "Then show me a non-harassing butt-touching pose."

"Cheng Ke!" Jiang Yuduo turned around and pointed at him. "You’re being all cocky just because you’re injured, huh?"

"Birthday boy’s got the right to be cocky." Cheng Ke laughed as he walked out.

This card was pretty old, still a magnetic stripe one, but maybe because it had been kept well, it still worked when it went into the ATM.

"Do you remember the password?" Jiang Yuduo asked softly from the side.

"I do," Cheng Ke said. "It’s my mom’s birthday."

"Oh." Jiang Yuduo stared at his hand.

As Cheng Ke entered the password, he said, "Third Brother, do you know that when someone is entering their password, staring at them like this is more asking to get hit than staring at their phone screen?"

"Then don’t press it," Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke laughed and finished entering the password. "Remember it?"

"Remembered it." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

Cheng Ke pressed balance inquiry.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands…" Jiang Yuduo watched the screen with him, then froze. "Why is there still a remainder?"

The remainder was a little over five thousand.

Five thousand exactly was the money Cheng Ke had originally deposited into it, the appearance fee he had earned from his sand painting performance.

Cheng Ke suddenly felt a little empty inside.

Cheng Yi using this card to save money for him was probably meant to achieve this effect.

To let this intention, which had slept for many years, finally be returned to him in a way that looked almost unclaimed.

"Did you bring your card?" Cheng Ke asked. "Let’s transfer it over."

"I don’t want it," Jiang Yuduo said quickly. "I didn’t really mean it. I was just saying it casually."

Cheng Ke looked at him.

"Really!" Jiang Yuduo was a little anxious. "What would I need that much money for? It’s not like I don’t have money."

Cheng Ke laughed. "Idiot."

"You’re the smartest one, smartass," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Get lost," Cheng Ke tapped a few times on the screen and withdrew five thousand yuan. "This is for you."

"Rent?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"No." Cheng Ke put the card away and placed the cash in Jiang Yuduo’s hand. "This money…"

"This was the first money you made from sand painting, right?" Jiang Yuduo understood.

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded.

"Wasn’t it given to your mom?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"She didn’t use it. The card just sat there the whole time," Cheng Ke said with a smile. "These five thousand yuan are still pretty meaningful to me… I’m giving them to you."

"Okay." Jiang Yuduo took the money. "Is this a gift?"

"It is a gift," Cheng Ke said. "And it also means a lot of other things."

"What other meaning?" Jiang Yuduo put the money into the inside pocket of his coat and patted it.

"I probably officially became a waste from that day on," Cheng Ke said with a smile.

"You’re not a waste," Jiang Yuduo frowned, very serious. "You’re… you’re…"

Cheng Ke looked at him.

"You’re…" Jiang Yuduo slapped a hand down. "My boyfriend."

Maybe this was the answer Jiang Yuduo had struggled to come up with for a long time, so he sounded a little excited. He didn’t even control his volume. As soon as he shouted it, several people nearby turned to look.

After noticing the gazes, Jiang Yuduo’s expression changed completely. He dumped his boyfriend and turned around and vanished like he had some divine power.

When Cheng Ke walked out with a smile, Jiang Yuduo was standing outside in complete embarrassment. "Did they hear it?"

"Yeah!" Cheng Ke shouted. "They all heard that I’m your boyf…"

Jiang Yuduo wrapped an arm around his head and dragged him forward. "Shut up!"

Cheng Ke felt that he really was a bit childish sometimes. Just because of Jiang Yuduo’s words, he stayed in a pretty good mood until bedtime that night.

As soon as Jiang Yuduo lay down, he immediately rolled over and rested the plaster on Jiang Yuduo’s stomach. "Hey, I want to ask you something."

"No." Jiang Yuduo sat up holding the plaster.

"What do you mean, no?" Cheng Ke asked.

"What do you want to say?" Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

"What do you mean, what do I want to say?" Cheng Ke looked back.

"You asked first!" Jiang Yuduo raised his voice. "Hurry up and ask!"

"…I wanted to ask if tying my hand to the table yesterday was because you were afraid I’d go through things randomly?" Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo was stunned. "No, it was because your plaster hit me in the face."

"Oh." Cheng Ke could not hold back his laughter. "Sorry."

Jiang Yuduo lay back down and put his plastered arm back on his stomach.

"Your turn," Cheng Ke said. "What did you mean by no?"

"Nothing," Jiang Yuduo closed his eyes. "Turn off the light and go to sleep. I’m tired."

Cheng Ke did not move. He just looked at him.

Jiang Yuduo held out for a while, then opened his eyes. "What the hell are you staring at?"

The corners of Cheng Ke’s mouth started to lift uncontrollably.

Jiang Yuduo glared at him.

"Are you," Cheng Ke said, unable to stop laughing, "are you trying to say no to sleeping together?"

Jiang Yuduo said nothing. After glaring at him for two seconds, he sprang up, slapped the wall at the head of the bed, and turned off the light.

Cheng Ke laughed alone in the dark for a good minute, his face almost aching from it.

"Cheng Ke," Jiang Yuduo said, "I really didn’t notice before that you’re such an idiot. What the fuck are you laughing at!"

Cheng Ke let out a long breath, forced down his laughter, and rubbed his face. "Ah…"

Jiang Yuduo clicked his tongue.

Cheng Ke propped himself up on one arm, lowered his head to look at him, and then slowly leaned down. Even with the light from outside the window, he could see Jiang Yuduo’s eyes following him, gradually crossing focus.

This kiss was much steadier and clearer than the one from yesterday.

Maybe because it was very quiet around them, there was no alcohol, and their moods were calm, every step from lips and teeth to the tip of the tongue seemed to be written onto sensitive nerves.

When Cheng Ke left Jiang Yuduo’s lips and lay back on his pillow, he heard Jiang Yuduo let out a soft breath.

"Your lung capacity sucks," Cheng Ke said.

"I hadn’t dared breathe the whole time," Jiang Yuduo said.

"…Why?" Cheng Ke rolled over and laid his arm across Jiang Yuduo’s stomach.

"I was afraid I’d make noise when I breathed," Jiang Yuduo rubbed his nose. "You made noise yesterday."

"My nose made noise? It talked?" Cheng Ke was stunned.

"Are you saying your IQ got eaten by Chen Qing or what?" Jiang Yuduo sighed. "You were breathing all ragged."

"…Oh." Cheng Ke laughed. "Well, obviously. At a time like that, if I wasn’t breathing hard, then I’d have been so overexcited I’d have passed out."

Jiang Yuduo said nothing.

"Breathing hard is normal," Cheng Ke added after thinking about it.

"I know!" Jiang Yuduo said. "I’m not three and a half!"

"Then why didn’t you dare breathe?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Embarrassing," Jiang Yuduo said, and before Cheng Ke could speak, he immediately added, "Laugh again and I’ll throw you out to sleep on the sofa!"

"Good night," Cheng Ke said.

"Good night." Jiang Yuduo patted the plaster, then found his arm and patted that too.

Maybe because the last couple of days had been so busy, Cheng Ke did not sleep very soundly. In the middle of the night, when Jiang Yuduo got up lightly from the bed, he felt it.

He did not move. His eyes opened a groggy slit, and he saw Jiang Yuduo leave the bedroom and close the bedroom door.

Cheng Ke woke up four or five times that night. The bed beside him was always empty.

Jiang Yuduo did not return to the bedroom again.

When he woke up in the morning, Cheng Ke sat on the bed in a daze for a while, then got down and went to the door. He peeked out through the crack.

Jiang Yuduo was standing by the living room window, looking outside.

Cheng Ke returned to the bed and sat down, then picked up his phone.

After tapping Xu Ding’s name, he hesitated for quite a while before sending over a message.

-Help me check the call records for a number