The Long Night - Chapter 7

The word tuo is hard to write, and Guo Tuo-tuo, the Tree Planter is just as hard to memorize.

The weather on the field was perfect during lunchtime. The sun was gentle, neither too hot nor too cold.

Yan Liao was sitting on a long bench under the shade of a tree, reciting a passage over and over again. A few strands of his hair even fell out.

Tang Shaocheng was also sitting next to him, looking at a recitation booklet, but he didn’t look flustered at all. He even had time to roll up his book and fan Yan Liao.

Yan Liao was so sleepy he was on the verge of dozing off. He said in a hoarse voice, “I’m so tired, I feel like I’m about to become an immortal.”

Tang Shaocheng continued to fan him, his voice soft. “Do you want to take a nap?”

Yan Liao glanced at his shoulder, his throat bobbing. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he still acted reserved. “That’s not a good idea.”

Tang Shaocheng laughed. “It’s not like you haven’t slept before.”

Yan Liao almost choked on his saliva. He wanted to ask, “What do you mean?” but when he saw Tang Shao-cheng’s calm, lake-like eyes, he was too embarrassed to ask. If he did, it would seem like he was overthinking… He drew out a slow “Oh,” and tentatively rested his head on Tang Shao-cheng’s shoulder. He suddenly smelled the light scent of his school uniform.

In a flash, Yan Liao remembered that night when he took Tang Shaocheng’s jacket home, pestering his mom to ask what kind of laundry detergent it was. After being unceremoniously dismissed, he went to the supermarket downstairs and sniffed for a long time. He even used his charm to get two saleswomen to help him, but he still came back empty-handed.

—At that time, Yan Liao could never have imagined that he would do a similar thing many years later: holding the overcoat Tang Shaocheng left in a hotel and going to a department store to ask every counter what kind of perfume it was.

He raised his hand to shield his eyes. His ears were a little red, and he suddenly wasn’t sleepy anymore. He muttered in a low voice, “…I don’t think I can fall asleep.”

“Really,” Tang Shaocheng picked up the recitation book he had put aside and recited in a very light voice, “All trees have an inherent nature, which is to grow freely…”

His voice was like a soft, gentle willow catkin that refused to land. The person leaning on his shoulder fell asleep in less than three seconds, as if he had taken a powerful sleeping pill.

The April breeze carried the fresh scent of green grass. Yan Liao’s hair rubbed against his neck, and his warm, gentle breath blew on his skin, causing a slight itch.

Tang Shaocheng was afraid of waking him up. He suppressed the laugh that was about to come out and adjusted his posture to make Yan Liao more comfortable.

He casually flipped through Yan Liao’s study guide and unexpectedly saw a lot of familiar notes that Yan Liao had copied meticulously from his own notes. In some places, he had even drawn five-pointed stars to highlight important points.

Maybe it was because Yan Liao was an art student, but the stars looked cuter and prettier than any he had ever seen.

Tang Shaocheng lowered his eyelashes slightly. The breeze blew, and Yan Liao’s messy black bangs fluttered gently, revealing his fair, full forehead. He looked so well-behaved when he was asleep… Tang Shaocheng suddenly had a strong urge to secretly kiss him.

But before he could do anything, he heard the sound of footsteps running from a distance. It was Lu Xiao, who had just finished playing basketball and was carrying a ball, coming over to say hello.

Tang Shaocheng turned his head and put a finger to his lips, his expression one of helplessness. Lu Xiao saw Yan Liao leaning on his shoulder and immediately nodded in understanding.

For the first city-wide mock exam at the end of the month, the school handed out over a dozen sets of papers in one week.

The study hall at 10 p.m. was filled with the smell of coffee. It was as if his body had a black hole; no matter how much he drank, he would fall asleep as soon as he lay down.

Yan Liao was biting the end of his pen. Tang Shaocheng picked up a water-based pen and tapped the back of his hand lightly. “You had it right the first time.”

The test paper was a mess of corrections. Yan Liao had originally chosen “B,” but had crossed it out with two diagonal lines and changed it to “D.”

“How can this be?! And I even calculated it two more times…”

Tang Shaocheng shared his experience. “When you’re not sure, your first instinct is often correct.”

Yan Liao was confused and ruffled his already messy hair even more. “Oh… okay.”

—He only half-understood it at the time, but later, Yan Liao would apply this phrase to many crossroads in his life.

But his first instinct was often too reckless, which led to many unexpected outcomes for both of them.

Summer was coming soon. At the beginning of the semester, it was pitch black outside even before school was over, but now the days were getting longer. The sky was still bright after the bell rang.

The sky was a mix of different colors. The area closest to them was a light blue, a little farther away was a heavier dark blue, and the distant horizon was a yolk-like orange, a beautiful sunset with fiery clouds.

The world was a color palette.

Yan Liao didn’t look at the scenery for too long. He put on his backpack and walked through the entire hallway, just in time to see Tang Shaocheng and Lu Xiao walking out of the classroom together.

Ge Dong-lin had been sick and had taken a leave of absence for the past few days, so Lu Xiao had been free and had come out of the classroom with his arm around Tang Shaocheng’s shoulder.

He belatedly realized that Tang Shaocheng had other friends. He instinctively stared at Lu Xiao’s arm on Tang Shao-cheng’s shoulder, squinting as if he were nearsighted and wanted to see more clearly. Then he became very unhappy.

He was very upset. When Tang Shao-cheng walked by and greeted him, he kept a straight face and responded with a cold “Hmm.” His rosy lips were pursed into a thin line, and his face clearly said, “I’m angry.”

Tang Shaocheng couldn’t help himself and ran a hand through his soft hair.

Yan Liao had just been looking like a person who was full of grudges and should not be approached. Now, he looked like a bristling kitten whose tail had been stepped on, his eyes wide. He was so embarrassed his face was red as he covered his head. “Why are you touching me!”

His tone sounded like he was accusing a hooligan.

“No reason,” Tang Shaocheng said with a smile. Before Yan Liao could get angry and hit him, he grabbed his wrist and calmly and clearly changed the subject. “Want to go home together?”

“…Aren’t we going to the study hall?” He was easily distracted, as expected.

Tang Shaocheng said, “We have an exam tomorrow, and we don’t have homework tonight, so no.”

“Okay… then let’s go home. I’ll go home, too.”

Yan Liao hadn’t recovered from his blushing face. He was like a small steam train that was about to let out steam from his head and ears, and he just needed to honk his whistle—which he had already done in his mind.

“You two…” Lu Xiao stared at them with a strange expression for a while. “When did you two get so close?”

Yan Liao suddenly straightened his back as if he had been pushed from behind, and his eyes became alert.

“We knew each other in middle school, we were classmates,” Tang Shaocheng said unhurriedly. “He lives on the floor below me now.”

Lu Xiao’s expression was a little complex. After a moment, he nodded, still half-believing. “Oh, so that’s what it is.”

Yan Liao moved his lips, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

That was what it was… but it also wasn’t.

The two of them had barely spoken a few words in middle school. The total number of words they had said to each other over the past five years was not as much as they had said in the last two months. Maybe they became closer after they became neighbors?

Yan Liao’s mind was racing for a while. When he looked up, he saw Tang Shao-cheng looking at him with a half-smile, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

It was as if some unspeakable secret had been discovered.

He was afraid of the other person finding out, but at the same time, he wanted him to. These conflicting feelings intertwined, but they didn’t become a confusing black color. Instead, they were more like a light pink.

It was dark by the time they walked back to the residential area. The lights in the high-rise buildings lit up one after another, like fish swimming in the deep sea.

They walked to the bottom of the building. The elevator going up lit up “15” and “16.” The silver door was like a mirror. In the reflection, the two people were wearing the same blue and white school uniforms but had very different temperaments.

The person in front was lazily carrying his backpack on one shoulder and was standing crookedly. His expression was a lazy and impatient one, as if he was deliberately trying to be cool. The person behind him had handsome features and a calm, deep gaze that held a gentle light. His tall figure was straight and upright, and his backpack was neatly on his back.

Yan Liao remembered how his mom would say when she saw Tang Shaocheng, “When you two stand together, it’s easy to see who has good grades.” Sometimes, she would even directly replace the word with “excellent.”

In contrast, when she talked about her own child, she would just shake her head, almost saying, “My family is a disgrace.”

Yan Liao pouted. He suddenly stood up straight, thinking of something. After realizing he was still a head shorter than Tang Shaocheng, he slumped back down in disappointment.

The elevator door opened with a “ding.” Yan Liao stepped out first. Tang Shaocheng’s voice came from behind him. “Get some rest early.”

He perfunctorily said, “Got it, got it.” His stomach was already rumbling even before he reached his front door.

Yan Liao turned the key and pushed open the door, finding the living room empty. He yelled towards the bedrooms a few times, but it was so quiet he could almost hear an echo. He walked around and finally saw a small note on the coffee table.

He picked it up and saw the words “Dad and Mom went on a date. The braised beef noodles are in the cupboard.”

The word “date” was deliberately written very big, as if to show off. The whole sentence was followed by two affected wavy lines and two exaggerated hearts… He didn’t even have to think about who wrote it.

…

Yan Liao felt a wave of vulgarity. He shook his wrist as if ants were crawling on it, and the note spun twice before fluttering back to its original spot like a leaf. He closed his eyes and opened them again, thinking that his dad had not inherited any of his artistic talent. And of course, he didn’t want to eat instant noodles.

There was no beef in them at all.

Yan Liao stood there in thought for a moment. He decided to take matters into his own hands and, after putting down his backpack, walked out of the door and “thump-thumped” up the stairs.

Tang Shaocheng heard a loud knock on the door. He opened it and saw Yan Liao, looking a little surprised.

“My parents went out,” Yan Liao peeked inside like a thief. “…Why are you home alone, too?” He realized there was no chance of getting a free meal and was so disappointed he wanted to scratch the walls. “Do you also eat instant noodles?”

Tang Shaocheng knew why he had come upstairs. He pursed his lips and smiled. “Come in,” he said. “I’ll cook.”

“Can you even do that?” Yan Liao gave him a doubtful look but still obediently changed into slippers at the door.

He followed Tang Shaocheng into the kitchen, even wanting to help out, but in less than two minutes, he was discovered to be unable to even peel garlic properly and was politely asked to leave.

Tang Shaocheng told him to go to his room first. After Yan Liao went in, he realized there was nothing fun to do. There were no video games, and he couldn’t even find a single comic book on the bookshelf. He suddenly saw what looked like a newly bought martial arts novel on the desk, and his eyes lit up as he picked it up.

While Yan Liao was in the room reading, Tang Shaocheng took out a block of curry and beef from the fridge, found some carrots and potatoes to make a rice dish, and quickly stir-fried some shrimp with vermicelli and garlic. There were also some ingredients a neighbor had given them at home, so he skillfully heated the pan and fried a plate of salted egg yolk chicken wings.

Before he could even finish, the person in the room, whose nose was very sharp, smelled the food and ran out. He happened to see Tang Shaocheng skillfully flipping the pan with one hand. Yan Liao’s throat bobbed, and he was almost drooling. Even though he knew Tang Shaocheng was handsome, he had never seen him look so handsome before, and his legs felt weak.

“You’re so amazing. You can do anything.”

Yan Liao sat at the dining table, looking up at him. His voice had a hint of unconscious admiration.

…Tang Shaocheng felt a long-lost sense of accomplishment.

Yan Liao was so hungry he was dizzy. When the fragrant food was brought out, his eyes almost turned green. He ate ravenously, his words slurring as he asked, “How did you make all my favorite foods?”

Tang Shaocheng poured him a glass of grape-flavored sparkling water. “I guessed.”