The Long Night - Chapter 34

Life was proceeding on its routine track.

Tang Shaocheng was steadily advancing in his work. Li Yi-yun was an excellent leader—capable and ambitious, and he was willing to mentor and support the people under him. In mid-August, Li Yi-yun suddenly said to Tang Shaocheng, in a mysterious way, that he wanted to introduce him to a client and wanted to find time to arrange a meeting. But Tang Shaocheng was so busy all month that the matter was temporarily put on hold.

Yan Liao had never deliberately pandered to any particular group. Although he wasn’t humble and always took things as they came, he was at least never condescending, nor did he feel the need to give others guidance just because he had achieved a bit of success. Perhaps it was because he had the capital to use his looks to get away with things, but he had slowly accumulated a number of fans who liked him.

Tang Shaocheng had to work during the October holiday, so he took a week off in mid-September instead, which was perfect for traveling during the off-season.

After graduation, Yan Liao saw many people traveling all over the country on social media and had always regretted not having a so-called “graduation trip.” So, when Tang Shaocheng asked him if he wanted to go on a trip, he didn’t hesitate and said yes.

Yan Liao’s account was experiencing a surge in traffic, and Shen Yi-ran had just told him last night to record more content and try to maintain a bi-daily update frequency. However, Yan Liao had directly replied to the message, “I’m going on a trip. I don’t have time to paint.”

He really lacked good professional qualities like dedication, not troubling others, or having a big-picture perspective. Anyone else who had a collaborator like him would probably be angry, and a hot-tempered person might even get into an argument with him.

But Shen Yi-ran simply called him and said that the crisp autumn weather was perfect for off-season travel. He heard he was going to the Greater Khingan Range and talked about how the person who planned the route, from the September Siberian cold front, had excellent taste. It wasn’t until the atmosphere became harmonious and Yan Liao was completely relaxed that he changed the topic. “Sketching outdoors can be very interesting.”

Shen Yi-ran’s voice was filled with a gentle laugh, as reassuring as soft floorboards soaked in the sun. “You can also try filming some things yourself. I’ve seen the photos you’ve taken before; the composition and colors are great,” he paused, and smiled softly. “I’ve even used a few of them as my phone wallpaper.”

Having worked his way up in the professional world for so many years, he was well-versed in the principle of finding a way to handle every person. He coaxed Yan Liao by stroking his fur the right way, making him so happy that he promised to film some scenery and sketching videos during the trip.

Working with Shen Yi-ran was a very easy experience. When they encountered a problem, this person would always provide many solutions immediately instead of getting caught up in pointless arguments or procrastination. Their collaboration was also becoming more and more seamless.

Yan Liao happily bought a camera and also received the good news that Tang Shaocheng had rented an SUV. The two of them took a plane and then a bus to the destination before picking up the car from the rental agency, beginning a week-long road trip.

The autumn colors were like a thin layer of golden glaze, unevenly applied to the endless sea of forests.

Yan Liao sat in the driver’s seat. He usually didn’t like driving on the congested city roads, but now he couldn’t wait. He was wearing a black windbreaker, and his skin was still fair after a summer. When he squinted his eyes, his long, dense eyelashes were like a forest surrounding a lake. “Can we go faster?”

Tang Shaocheng, in the passenger seat, nodded with complete trust. “You drive as you see fit.”

Yan Liao was very touched by his trust and promised with great conviction, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you crash through the windshield.”

There was only their car on the highway. Yan Liao floored the gas pedal and sped for a while, cautiously checking Tang Shaocheng’s expression in the rearview mirror. After a while, without anyone saying anything, he consciously slowed down. The high-saturation yellow on both sides of the road was painted like an oil painting, and it would be a shame to rush past such a beautiful scene.

The car window was rolled down a little, and the rich scent of pine resin filled the air. The golden leaves on both sides of the road surged in the wind, like the sea that parted for Moses in a myth.

Yan Liao propped his camera against the car window and recorded a video with a sense of professional purpose. By the evening, the two of them parked the car at a campsite by a stream, found a secluded and spacious spot, and set up their tent. They hadn’t seen many people on the way; they had only come across a few groups of tourists with tour guides.

For dinner, they simply ate canned saury and bread. The surroundings were a subtle blue, like being trapped in an empty blue ink bottle.

They took some photos and lay on the grass by the stream for a while. The sky slowly grew darker, and the two of them began to set up their tent.

The narrow space was pitch black. Tang Shaocheng found a small, battery-powered night light in his backpack. He fumbled in the dark for a long time before finding the switch and turning it on. When the orange-yellow light came on, Yan Liao also felt as if he had been lit up. He lightly kissed him on the face.

“Will any wild animals come to attack us tonight?” Yan Liao asked with a serious expression, his hands behind his head. “Who do you think has a better chance of winning in a fight between me and a wild boar?”

“You.”

Tang Shaocheng didn’t hesitate for a second. He organized the inflatable mattress, pillows, and blankets. The atmosphere was a little like survival in the wilderness.

Yan Liao pouted at his answer and pulled open the transparent plastic window at the top of the tent. Far away, there were dazzling stars, and a bright moon hung high in the sky. He could see it as soon as he looked up.

In moments like this, where one can feel the vastness of the night sky and the immensity of the earth, it’s easy for people to feel their own insignificance and even feel a sense of emptiness or an inexplicable sadness.

Yan Liao suddenly called out Tang Shaocheng’s name, as if to confirm that the other person was still there. His voice was very soft. Tang Shaocheng turned his head and casually pulled him into his arms.

A cool hand slid to his lower back, causing a shiver to run through his skin. Yan Liao’s eyes suddenly widened. “…How can we do this outside?”

Tang Shaocheng pinched his chin and gently lifted it, lightly kissing his lips. “Why can’t we?”

The surroundings were quiet. The fresh and clean scent of plants was in the faint breeze. The moonlight was serene and bright. Occasionally, they could hear the short chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves as the wind blew. Yan Liao closed his eyes, his adrenaline surging. His body betrayed his will, and he actively raised his hands to wrap them around Tang Shaocheng’s neck.

Tang Shaocheng leaned down and licked and sucked on his rosy lips. When Yan Liao’s lips slightly parted, his agile tongue slid into the other’s moist and soft mouth, licking his rising and falling teeth.

The shadows of the two of them slowly moved. The air was filled with humid, warm mist, as if they were on a boat in a sea of foam, rising and falling in the surging waves.

After a moment of weightlessness, everything returned to silence.

The corners of Yan Liao’s eyes were still a little red, and his hair was stuck to his porcelain-white cheeks with sweat, like a newly hatched bird, with a fuzzy fragility. His dark pupils dispersed and then refocused, finally settling on Tang Shaocheng’s face. He complained in a hoarse voice, but it was too mumbled to be heard clearly.

Tang Shaocheng’s bare chest was still beaded with fine sweat, and there was a faint tooth mark on his collarbone. He leaned down and kissed Yan Liao’s eyelids.

Besides kissing his lips, he loved kissing Yan Liao’s eyes the most. It was as if only when Yan Liao looked at him could he feel that he was truly in this world.

The sticky sweat was slowly blown away by the cool night wind. The two of them lay side by side under the vast galaxy and unconsciously started talking about topics like the universe. They finally brought up the hypothetical question of “what if we didn’t meet in a parallel world.”

Yan Liao tilted his head back, staring at the top of the tent. The light from the lamp outside cast a warm yellow glow in his pupils. He tilted his head slightly, his gaze vaguely fixed on Tang Shaocheng’s face, and he said slowly, “In any case, it definitely wouldn’t be as happy as it is now.”

He thought Tang Shaocheng would agree or be touched, but the person next to him held his hand. “How can you say that? Even if you didn’t meet me, you’re the kind of person who has the ability to make your life very happy.”

“I don’t want that… I can’t even imagine what I would do without you.” Yan Liao intertwined his fingers with Tang Shaocheng’s and made a romantic declaration. “I want to be with you every day, like gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe.”

“…Mhm.”

Living one life makes you fantasize about the possibilities of another. So the most important thing is to make yourself believe that what you have now is the best.

Tang Shaocheng rubbed Yan Liao’s fingers. After a long while, he suddenly said, “I have imagined what life would be like without you.”

“What?”

Yan Liao tilted his head, and before he could hear the answer, he suddenly felt a hand reach over and cover his mouth and nose. Another hand, cool to the touch, covered his eyes. For a brief few seconds, his vision was completely black. He couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t breathe.

It was like being in a glass bottle that was falling deeper and deeper into the abyss, with only his unimpaired sense of hearing being exceptionally clear. Yan Liao heard Tang Shaocheng whisper in his ear, “It would be like this.”

After their week-long trip, they returned to Pingcheng, just in time for the rainy season of late autumn.

The leaves of the梧桐 trees downstairs rustled as they fell, forming a thick layer on the ground after the rain, like a yellow carpet.

Yan Liao began planning his first art exhibition in mid-October. It was in an underground corridor in a cultural and creative park, with a coffee shop right above it. The manager, David, had just returned from studying abroad in London. He often spoke Chinese with a few English phrases mixed in and was very interested in the paintings that had been moved in downstairs, saying that he also loved art.

He excitedly talked about how he had given the coffee in his shop very artistic names, with an average of more than eight characters each and two to three adjectives.

He also wanted to draw inspiration from Yan Liao’s work. He pointed to a painting on the wall that showed a seagull soaring over a flyover at sunset and said with great anticipation, “This must have a very elegant name, too.”

Yan Liao stared at it for a while, then nodded decisively. “A Big Bird.”

David’s smile briefly froze on his face. He laughed awkwardly. “…It has a very post-modern, direct beauty, doesn’t it?”

The art exhibition still needed some paperwork to be approved. It was probably just sitting somewhere waiting for a signature. Shen Yi-ran was helping him with all the running around.

At Tang Shaocheng’s reminder, Yan Liao bought some gifts for Shen Yi-ran to show his gratitude. It was nearly half a month later that the organizers finally confirmed the time and place.

After that, Yan Liao was uncharacteristically nervous. The closer the date got, the less courage he had to start a new day. In the mornings, he would roll around in bed wrapped in his blanket, unwilling to get up.

Tang Shaocheng still had the routine of a middle-aged person. He would run in the morning and go for a walk in the park after dinner. At first, he wanted to get Yan Liao to also develop good habits, but this kid considered playing a video game after a meal as exercise. He was lazy and boneless all day, preferring to lie down rather than sit.

After the two of them finished dinner and cleaned up the dishes, Tang Shaocheng walked to the window in the dining room, looked outside, and then turned back and said with a hidden meaning, “The weather is very nice.”

The four words “the weather is very nice” were like a leash to be taken out when it was time to walk a dog. Maybe this person’s sports watch had a reminder named “Walk Yan Liao.” And as long as it wasn’t hailing, the weather was considered “very nice.”

Yan Liao, as if facing a formidable enemy, took a step back and shook his head seriously, then twitched the corners of his mouth. “Be a good boy, I have to work.” He paused, walked over to Tang Shao-cheng, and pointed to an old man playing chess with a flashlight under a tree downstairs. “You go play with your peers.”

Tang Shaocheng gave him an amused glance. “What kind of work are you doing?”

“Very important work. The great cause of liberating all of humanity.”

Yan Liao’s work was to curl up on the sofa and watch the videos he had recently posted. In reality, he was secretly checking the number of clicks. Shen Yi-ran always mentioned these things, and now he was also unconsciously anxious about the data. He had even learned to read line graphs. It was all because he could read. Yan Liao closed his eyes, pretending to be nonchalant, and then felt a little heartbroken.

Tang Shaocheng had already changed his clothes and walked to the sofa, kicking his calf. “Go wash the dishes.”

Yan Liao opened his eyes, his gaze full of resentment. “Can’t you tell I’m feeling sorrowful and dejected?”

Tang Shaocheng walked to the entryway to change his shoes, saying slowly, “I can tell that you’re sitting down right after you ate. Be careful, you’ll get a beer belly.”

This threat was very effective. Yan Liao scrambled off the sofa and immediately went to the kitchen in his slippers to wash the dishes. From behind, he heard Tang Shaocheng say, “I’m leaving,” to which he replied with a sound. The soap foam created bubbles between his fingers, like a frog’s palms.

He wanted to see Tang Shaocheng from the window, but after looking for a long time, he couldn’t see him. Below was a children’s playground in a sandbox. The neighborhood was next to an elementary school, and sometimes when he woke up late, he could hear the broadcast for the eye exercises.

Yan Liao heard the sound of water splashing and also heard a few children loudly arguing downstairs. One of them was so angry that his face turned red, and he screamed, “You are no longer my good friend!” Another child was also very angry. He threw something on the ground and shouted back in the same tone, as if mimicking him, “You are not my good friend either!”

Even from the sixth floor, he could clearly hear the crisp conversation of the children below. He could even imagine the heavy footsteps they deliberately took as they turned to walk away.

By the time Yan Liao had washed all the dishes and stacked them up, the two children had already made up. They were playing on the slide, one behind the other, showing a lot of courtesy. He stood by the window for a while and wanted to laugh.