Watching the Setting Sun Along the Same Path - Chapter 21

Waking up to find it was already four o’clock, Lu Ketong lay on his side, scratching his face. He realized there was a benefit to wearing an eye mask—it avoided eye contact and spared him from feeling so embarrassed.

“Fei Yuan, I love taking naps with you!”

Fei Yuan didn’t respond, not a single sound. He was probably stunned. Lu Ketong steeled himself—so what if it was embarrassing? What did it matter? He took off the eye mask, only to find Fei Yuan wasn’t even there.

The tent flap was half-open, and mosquitoes had gotten in, leaving several itchy bites on him. Rubbing his eyes, he stepped outside. The beach wasn’t as lively as it had been in the morning. Sitting on the sand with his legs together, he zoned out for a moment before remembering he hadn’t told his family about coming out to play.

Wen Ning didn’t answer her phone—she was probably still shopping. Calling Lu Ruopei was out of the question. Now that he knew Lu Ruopei had lied, he was afraid talking to him would just ruin his mood.

After waiting five minutes, he tried again, and she finally picked up. “Lulu, what’s wrong?” Wen Ning’s voice sounded a bit tired. Lu Ketong scooped up sand and smeared it on his feet, saying, “I’m camping at the beach with my classmates. I won’t be home today.”

Wen Ning asked worriedly, “Is it safe? It gets cold by the sea at night. Did you bring enough clothes? What did you have for lunch?”

“Don’t worry, the beach is full of people, and lots of classmates from our class are here too.” He wiggled his toes, remembering how Fei Yuan had held his ankle and brushed the sand off for him. “Mom, um…”

“What is it?”

“Nothing much. I took all the sunscreen from your dressing table, and some moisturizer too.”

Wen Ning was probably too heartbroken to nag further. Lu Ketong scratched his arm again—the mosquito bites were unbearably itchy. Why had he taken so many bottles and jars but forgotten the mosquito repellent?

“Lulu!” Jian Xin ran over from a distance, now also wearing a pair of floral shorts—his fashion sense was hopeless.

“Brother Yuan said you were sleeping. Did you just wake up?” Jian Xin sat down beside him, his whole body flushed and radiating heat. “We were playing beach volleyball over there. Want to join?”

Lu Ketong turned his head, frowning as he glanced at the palm trees on the floral shorts. “I don’t feel like moving. I want to enjoy some air conditioning and surf the internet.”

Jian Xin laughed. “Then why did you come to the beach?”

To make trouble, of course. He insisted on coming when he wasn’t supposed to, and now he regretted it. “I also wanted to go swimming with him after waking up, but he went off to play by himself. Probably thinks showing off on the court is more fun than being with me.”

“So, you’re upset.” Jian Xin said, actually just taking a break before heading back to the game. Now he was a bit conflicted. After thinking for a moment, he said, “How about I go swimming with you? I’m pretty hot anyway.”

“Really?” Lu Ketong perked up, standing and shaking the sand off his feet. “Wait for me, I’ll change into my swim trunks and we’ll go. Jian Xin, I really like you.”

Jian Xin waited outside the tent, but just as Lu Ketong went in, Fei Yuan arrived. “Brother Yuan, Lulu wants to go swimming.” Fei Yuan handed Jian Xin a bottle of ice water from the ones he was carrying and said, “I’ll go with him. You go ahead and play.”

Jian Xin hesitated. “But I promised him. He even said he liked me.”

Fei Yuan said casually, “Is that so? Then forget it. Anyway, Wang Haoyan is over there treating some girls to ice cream. It’s pretty annoying.”

“Really? Then I’m off.” Jian Xin glanced in that direction, scrambled to his feet, and ran off, shouting as he went, “What are you up to, you dog!”

Lu Ketong changed into his swim trunks and immediately started wreaking havoc on Wen Ning’s cosmetics, pouring a handful into his palm and slathering it all over himself. Fei Yuan grew impatient waiting and pulled open the tent flap, only to find the guy twisting his arm to smear the stuff on his back.

It wasn’t very cool for a guy to be doing this, and Lu Ketong felt a bit embarrassed. He blustered, “Did you even knock before coming in? What if I was butt-naked!”

Without a word, Fei Yuan twisted him around, squeezed out some more lotion, and rubbed it on his back. “You sleep like a pig, and as soon as you wake up, you start causing trouble. Go get your Doraemon.”

Once he was ready, Lu Ketong stood guard outside the tent, waiting for Fei Yuan to change. After Fei Yuan came out, the two headed off to swim. “Want to ride a jet ski?” Fei Yuan asked. Lu Ketong nodded vigorously. “Yes! And I want to try surfing too.”

“You’re already plenty ‘surfy’ as it is.”

The sea was different from a swimming pool—it surged and swelled with waves. Fei Yuan held his hand as they slowly swam out into the water. Lu Ketong clutched a swimming ring with his other hand, trembling slightly. “I think I’m seasick. I must’ve drowned in my past life.”

Fei Yuan pulled him closer, scooped up some seawater, and splashed it on his face. “Were you the Little Mermaid in your past life?”

“Not that extreme. At most, I was a salted fish.” His heart was racing, purely from fear. He wrapped his arms tightly around Fei Yuan’s neck and suggested, “How about we just kiss and then go back to shore…”

“Kiss what? You’re all salty.” Fei Yuan had no choice but to pull him back toward the shore. After they got out, they went to rent a jet ski. Once they’d rented it and picked up life jackets, Fei Yuan couldn’t find Lu Ketong anywhere. Scanning the area, he spotted him lining up at a cold drinks cart.

“I want pineapple iced tea,” Lu Ketong said, dripping wet, the ten-yuan bill in his hand soaked through. As soon as he got his drink, he took a big gulp, then ran back to let Fei Yuan have some. After drinking, he whispered, afraid others might hear, “I’m not salty anymore.”

Fei Yuan swallowed the scolding he’d prepared for Lu Ketong running off and silently helped him into the life jacket. Once it was on, he leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Don’t go looking for trouble on purpose.” Then he kissed the tip of Lu Ketong’s ear.

Later, whether it was the speed of the jet ski or something else, it felt like they were flying.

That night was freezing cold. The group of students had taken over a large section of the barbecue area for a gathering. Lu Ketong was wearing one of Fei Yuan’s black jackets, which made his face look especially pale. The class sports committee member snatched a skewer of grilled mushrooms from him and said, “Lulu, did soaking in the sea make you even paler?”

“Yeah, you’d turn pale too if you soaked.” Exhausted, Lu Ketong didn’t even have the energy to joke around. He quietly picked up another skewer to grill. The sports committee member, after finishing the mushrooms and finding them tasty, sprinkled a handful of chili powder on the skewer Lu Ketong had just started grilling.

“What are you doing?!” Lu Ketong flared up. “Stealing my food is worse than stealing my dad!”

Fei Yuan, who had been drinking beer with the class monitor and others, heard the commotion and brought over two skewers from another table. He said to the sports committee member, “Can’t keep your hands to yourself? Go buy us a carton of milk as an apology.”

In the end, Lu Ketong drank the milk and ate a whole plate of grilled mushrooms. Fei Yuan sat beside him, leaning close to whisper, “Have you grown taller recently?”

Lu Ketong grinned. “Almost two centimeters. A pound of milk a day makes a strong Chinese person.”

With those skinny arms and legs, strong my foot. Fei Yuan didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble. After Lu Ketong finished eating, they went together to the service station to wash up. The line was so long it curved around the corner. Lu Ketong was tired and cold, sniffling constantly.

“Your sinusitis will act up again in a bit. Go brush your teeth with the mineral water first, then head back to the tent and wait for me.”

“I need to wipe my face. My mom uses makeup remover even after applying sunscreen.”

Fei Yuan kicked him lightly and said, “Got it. I’ll bring you a hot towel in a bit. Go back and wait.”

The beach, which had been lively all day, was now quiet except for the sound of the waves. A few people were strolling along the shore, but most had returned to their tents to rest, preparing to wake up early the next day to watch the sunrise.

Lu Ketong lay down, bored and drowsy, and sent a boastful message to Qiu Luomin: “Qiu, I went surfing this afternoon.”

Qiu Luomin replied five minutes later: “I surf the web.”

Lu Ketong sent another message: “I’m so sleepy I can barely keep my eyes open.”

This time, Qiu Luomin replied instantly: “If you’re sleepy, just sleep. Why tell me?”

“It’s because I was thinking of you, geez.” He rolled over, tossed his phone aside, and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. By the time Fei Yuan finished showering and returned over an hour later, he was holding a warm, wrung-out towel.

When he unzipped the tent, he was speechless. Lu Ketong was sprawled on top of the sleeping bag, fast asleep, having completely forgotten about wiping his face. Fei Yuan zipped the tent back up, then flipped Lu Ketong over. Despite looking thin, he was surprisingly heavy.

With a bit of effort, Fei Yuan lifted him into his arms. First, he wiped Lu Ketong’s face with the towel, smoothing his messy hair and revealing his forehead. Then, he undressed him, leaving only his underwear.

Lu Ketong felt cold but didn’t wake up, instead snuggling deeper into Fei Yuan’s embrace. Fei Yuan started wiping his neck with the warm towel, then moved to his chest, back, and finally his legs. Even after all this, Lu Ketong didn’t stir. If someone called him a pig, even the pig would take offense.

After wiping him down, Fei Yuan tucked him into the sleeping bag. Exhausted, he felt like shaking Lu Ketong awake but ended up just smiling helplessly. Before turning off the light, he kissed Lu Ketong’s forehead.

The night passed, and before dawn, noises outside stirred. Though not woken by the sounds, Lu Ketong was roused by the urge to use the bathroom. “Going to the restroom?” Fei Yuan opened his eyes, his expression hinting at a bit of morning grumpiness.

“Yeah, are you getting up?” Lu Ketong blushed as he realized he wasn’t wearing any clothes. “The sunrise is about to start. Should we watch it?”

Fei Yuan said, “Of course. I’ll hold you while we watch.”

Lu Ketong tried to act calm but couldn’t keep it up for more than two seconds. He leaned over, kissed Fei Yuan, then dashed out of the tent. After using the restroom, he washed up, spending a long time trying to smooth down a stubborn tuft of hair sticking up.

The parking lot behind the service station was filled with cars—all visitors who had come early to watch the sunrise. Lu Ketong bought two warm hamburgers, and in that short time, the beach had already crowded with people.

“Let’s go over there. It’s less crowded.”

“Okay, whatever you say.”

Lu Ketong froze. A familiar voice lingered in his ears. He turned and saw two men walking toward the shore. He recognized the dark-colored trench coat—it was the new style Wen Ning had bought in spring.

And the one smiling gently was Lu Ruopei, who had lied about being in a meeting.

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