True or False - Chapter 9

Chu Xi-ang’s sleep was far from restful.

He was trapped in a relentless cycle of dreams, one after another, leaving him unable to break free even when it was time to wake up. When he finally opened his eyes, his palms felt numb and a heavy dullness sat at the base of his skull. After a few seconds of contemplation, he threw the quilt off his head and took a cold shower, refusing to dwell on the dizziness. Fortunately, today was Saturday, and he only had a half-day of classes.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he glanced at the opposite door before heading downstairs.

The morning air was still brisk, biting through his jacket and making him shiver, though the chill did help disperse some of the mental fog. After a muddled morning at school, Chu Xi-ang was preparing to leave when the girl sitting in front of him turned around.

“Chu Xi-ang,” Ling Wu called out.

Chu Xi-ang didn’t move, merely offering a questioning look.

Ling Wu pulled a notebook from her desk and handed it toward him. “This is for you.”

Chu Xi-ang didn’t take it. “What is it?”

“Key points from the teachers’ lectures this week,” Ling Wu explained, her eyes falling on his injured arm. “I figured it might be inconvenient for you to take notes.”

“No need, thanks.” Chu Xi-ang gave her a brief nod and turned to walk away.

Ling Wu remained still. A girl nearby sighed and said, “Why do you even bother helping him? You knew he’d refuse.”

Ling Wu shook her head without a word and tucked the notebook back into her desk.

“It’s a waste of such a handsome face; look at how he never talks to anyone,” the other girl muttered.

Ling Wu laughed. “What are you talking about? He sits right behind you every day with that handsome face, yet I don’t see you turning around that often.”

The girl pursed her lips and fell silent.

Chu Xi-ang usually went back to his old home on Saturdays. After some thought, he decided to drop off his bag at his mother’s shop first and then walk the rest of the way.

That was the plan, but when he arrived at Gu Xiaoyan’s shop, he found Grandmother Lin Fang sitting on a chair, gazing outside.

“Grandmother,” Chu Xi-ang called.

Lin Fang stood up, her face brightening with a smile. “You’re finally back.”

“Have you been waiting long?” Chu Xi-ang pulled her back down to sit.

“Not at all, your mother was just keeping me company.” Lin Fang pointed to two bags on a nearby chair. “I made some more buns meat, vegetable, and glass noodle ones.”

Chu Xi-ang knew his grandmother enjoyed making buns and dumplings whenever she was free. He tilted his chin up. “Why are there two bags?”

Lin Fang lowered her voice and leaned in closer. “One is for the boy across from you.”

Chu Xi-ang glanced at Gu Xiaoyan, who was busy working, and whispered back, “Got it. I’ll take them to him.”

After finishing lunch with Lin Fang, Chu Xi-ang carried the two bags upstairs. His pace was a bit fast; the mental fog from the morning had suddenly cleared. The sound of his heartbeat felt a bit too loud in his ears.

Standing before the door, a tangle of inexplicable emotions surged within him. He steadied himself, let out a shallow breath, and knocked.

After only three knocks, he heard footsteps from inside. When the door opened, Chu Xi-ang looked up to see Shen Hengxi looking somewhat disheveled.

The boy blinked, slowly turning his head to look behind Shen Hengxi. “Brother… are you feeling nostalgic for your childhood?”

The floor was littered with clumps of loose soil, surrounded by pots of various shapes. Shen Hengxi held up a pair of mud-stained gloves, looking a bit helpless. “I never actually did this as a kid.”

Chu Xi-ang let out a laugh and held out the bags. “Grandmother wanted me to bring these to you. Buns.”

“Tell her thank you for me.” Shen Hengxi stepped aside. “Come in. Quickly, help me deal with this mess.”

Chu Xi-ang followed him inside. “I’ll put these in the fridge for you first.”

“Alright.” Shen Hengxi went to wash his face.

Ever since having dinner with the kid the night before, Shen Hengxi had been tossing and turning in bed, thinking about how monotonous his life had become. Passing a plant shop during his morning walk, he’d had a sudden whim and ordered a heap of succulents to be delivered.

It wasn’t until he was sitting on the floor trying to figure it out that he realized he hadn’t actually asked how to pot them.

When the door knocked just now, the back of his neck had let out a loud “crack” as he straightened up. By the time he reached up to touch it, he’d forgotten he was still wearing the gloves.

“Brother, the back of your neck is still dirty,” Chu Xi-ang said, walking over and pointing from a distance.

Shen Hengxi bent over and tried to wipe it with a towel, but without being able to see, he only made it worse. A perfectly clean towel turned black in an instant.

Chu Xi-ang smiled, hiding his amusement as he drew closer. “Brother, wash the towel. I’ll help you.”

Shen Hengxi let out a sigh, wanting to laugh at himself. “This is a first for me.”

Chu Xi-ang took the towel with a smile, saying nothing.

The dampness traced line after line across the back of Shen Hengxi’s neck, leaving a cold trail in the air, yet the sensation of being touched felt like a slow burn. Shen Hengxi couldn’t help but shrink back slightly before straightening up and reaching out to Chu Xi-ang. “Alright, give it here.”

Chu Xi-ang handed it back and returned to the living room. “Are you planning to plant all of these?”

“Mhm. I overvalued my own abilities,” Shen Hengxi said, shaking his head.

“There isn’t much to it, but you have to mix the soil first, otherwise the succulents won’t have any nutrients to absorb.” Chu Xi-ang was already sitting on the floor, struggling to pull on a glove with his good hand. “I’ll help you mix the soil, then you can just put them into the pots.”

He finished speaking and looked up at Shen Hengxi.

The overhead fluorescent light cast patches of brightness across his face, making it look clean yet strikingly deep, with half his features seemingly translucent in the glow.

With a face like that, who knows who he’ll end up ruining when he grows up, Shen Hengxi thought as he squatted down. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The boy’s left hand paused in its soil-mixing motion, then quickly resumed. The shadows cast by his eyelashes flickered. Shen Hengxi heard him say:

“Just living.”

Shen Hengxi’s cavernous living room now featured several rows of succulents. Before the boy left, he’d added: “If the weather is good, take them out for some sun. If it’s drizzling, let them get a bit of rain too.”

Recalling those words now, Shen Hengxi sighed. His eyes rested on the plants, but his mind was fixed on the kid’s expression. A tiny little brat acting all deep and profound, he mocked internally.

Yet the following day, as he ate the steamed buns while listening to the sounds of fighting and screaming from across the hall, his heart tightened inexplicably.

The argument had begun while Shen Hengxi was steaming the buns. Initially, the two were just tossing sarcastic barbs at each other. By the time he brought the buns to the table, the hallway was filled with the sound of crashing objects.

He cracked his door open to take a look. As expected, it was the neighbors.

Shen Hengxi didn’t linger. He closed the door and returned to the table, but looking at the steaming buns, he let out a heavy sigh. The noise outside grew louder, and doors began opening all throughout the building, yet not a single soul stepped in to intervene.

Shen Hengxi lowered his eyes and bit into a bun the ones Chu Xi-ang had put in the fridge yesterday. Separated only by a door, the people causing that earth-shaking commotion were Chu Xi-ang’s parents.

He wasn’t staying here long. This wasn’t his business, let alone a domestic dispute between a husband and wife. From any logical perspective, Shen Hengxi should have just sat there and quietly finished his meal.

But that “just living” echoed in his ears.

The boy’s smile, his clean face, the aura he projected.

“Sigh…” That was the third sigh.

Shen Hengxi set down the bun, stood up, found a wooden rod in a corner, and opened his door.

The door opposite was already damaged, with a jagged hole in the middle through which he could see the floor littered with broken belongings.

He slammed the rod against the wall three times. “Any more noise and I’m calling the police.”

The man inside turned around, his face flushed with rage. He looked ready to curse, but upon making eye contact with Shen Hengxi, he forced a smirk. “Sorry about that. Just a little domestic trouble. Sorry to disturb you.”

Shen Hengxi held the rod firmly. As he turned to leave, he dropped one last line: “Don’t just do whatever you feel like. If I hear it again, this rod is coming through next.”

As he went back to his buns, Shen Hengxi marveled at the fact that he’d come to a small town only to experience life as a thug. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually intimidated them, but it didn’t feel bad. He might as well “kidnap” someone later.

When the sound of footsteps approached once more, Shen Hengxi checked the time it was nearly 10:00 PM.

He opened the door nimbly just as Chu Xi-ang was walking up. Seeing the boy’s smile, Shen Hengxi spoke first: “I just got a new coffee machine. Want to come in and try it?”

Chu Xi-ang’s smile stiffened. His gaze landed on his own door, took in the damage, and then shifted away. “Sure. Thanks, Brother.”

After “kidnapping” the person into his house, Shen Hengxi shook his head with a silent laugh. Who drinks coffee this late at night?

“Are we really drinking coffee, Brother?” Chu Xi-ang asked, looking up.

Shen Hengxi shot him a glance. “You can come over and drink it during the day on the weekend. For today, just look at it.” He gestured with his chin. “Make yourself at home.”

Chu Xi-ang didn’t stand on ceremony. He took off his bag and sat on the sofa. “Brother, I’ll do some homework here for a bit.”

Shen Hengxi waved a hand. “You do your thing; I’ll get you some water.”

“Brother.” Chu Xi-ang called him back. When Shen Hengxi looked over, the boy said a solemn “Thank you.”

While pouring the water, Shen Hengxi tried to figure out what he was feeling. He couldn’t quite name it, but he felt more and more that the kid’s parents were garbage who did nothing good. With these thoughts, he didn’t even notice the frown on his face as he set the glass on the table.

“Brother, what’s wrong?” Chu Xi-ang froze when he looked up.

Meeting his gaze, Shen Hengxi cleared his throat and handed him the water. “It’s nothing. Drink more. Don’t you know how dry your lips are?”

Chu Xi-ang smiled as he took the glass, his eyes crinkling. The water felt inexplicably sweet, like honey warming his chest.

He tried his best not to think about what he had just seen at his door. But homework eventually ends, and time waits for no one.

After putting away his pen, Chu Xi-ang stared at the succulents in silence for a moment. He stood up and said to Shen Hengxi, “Thanks for tonight, Brother. I’ll head out now.”

Shen Hengxi nodded. As he walked the boy to the door, he called out, “In the future, if you want to come over, just come over directly.”

Chu Xi-ang froze, then smiled and said “Okay.”

The moment the door closed, Chu Xi-ang looked at the shattered remains of his own entrance. He knew clearly that what awaited him wasn’t light, but rot.