Chapter 4: 4

“Were you asleep when you made this thing?” Yan Hang looked at his dad.

“Yan Jidao? How am I supposed to use this? Why not write my date of birth as ‘Song dynasty’? Might as well have added two words on top.” [1]

[1] Yan Jidao, along with his father Yan Shu, was a famous Song dynasty poet.

“What words?” Dad asked with great interest as he ate.

“‘FAKE ID’,” said Yan Hang.

Dad laughed and finished his final mouthful of pasta. He lay down on the sofa and laughed for a good while more. “Our prince really did go to primary school after all…”

“Let me see yours.” Yan Hang reached out.

“My what?” asked Dad.

“Your ID. You always make two, so you should have one this time too.” Yan Hang put his phone down and walked over to him. “Take it out, let me see.”

“Jeez!” Dad sighed and reached into his pocket to pull out his ID.

Yan Hang saw the name in a glance.

Yan Shu.

He couldn’t help but scold: “Shameless.”

“What? Can’t I use it?” Dad picked up the remote to change the channel, propping his feet on the coffee table.

“Let’s switch, Yan Shu sounds better,” said Yan Hang. “You be Yan Jidao.”

“No can do.” Dad shook his head.

“Why not!” said Yan Hang.

“Yan Shu is Yan Jidao’s father!” Dad stared at him. “How ignorant!”

“…no wait, you want your fake ID to be historically accurate?” Yan Hang stood speechless. He finally went back to his seat and asked dumbly, “Was Yan Shu really Yan Jidao’s father?”

“Yeah, want to hear about it?” said Dad.

“Sure.” Yan Hang nodded.

“Yan Jidao was Yan Shu’s seventh son,” Dad said solemnly. “He had seven children, understand?”

“Okay.” Yan Hang looked at him.

“He had another six kids, the eldest was Yan Yidao, the second, Yan Erdao, the third Yan Sandao,” Dad counted. “And in the same pattern, there was Si, Wu, and Liudao…” [2]

[2] Dad joke – Ji 几 in Jidao means “how many”; Yi 一, Er 二, San 三, Si 四, Wu 五, Liu 六 are one to six.

Yan Hang gaped wordlessly.

“But after having so many kids, he was confused and lost count of them.”

Dad slapped his thigh. “So he named the last one Yan Jidao, you see?”

Yan Hang nodded. “I almost believed you there.”

“Alright, class dismissed.” Dad waved.

Yan Hang stood and stretched. “I’m gonna lie down for a bit.”

“Go ahead,” Dad said. “If you can’t sleep, come chat with me.”

“No, you can sleep.” Yan Hang went to the toilet.

Dad looked a bit tired, probably from staying up for the past two days. To Yan Hang, sleep was incredibly precious.

He went on runs every night because he liked running, but it was also to tire himself out so he could sleep well.

But today he chose the wrong path and came back too early, so when he lay down in bed, he felt no hint of sleepiness.

Dad had gone to sleep in his room ages ago. Yan Hang envied his dad’s ability to sleep and wake as he pleased.

When his back had grown numb from lying down, he flipped over and took a look at his phone: 3 o’clock.

Sleeping pills it was.

Yan Hang turned again and groped the bedside table. After feeling about, he withdrew.

Maybe he could try again.

Dad once said, worriedly, “Try not to take too much of this drug, or you’ll have one less option when you try to commit suicide again.”

Yan Hang closed his eyes and chuckled.

Chu Yi cradled his chin. The teacher rapped the blackboard and lectured on, but his eyes had been fixed upon the tree outside the window for the past half-period.

The teachers never bothered him. He didn’t sleep or speak or move, and never bothered other students – he only spaced out. The teachers may not have even noticed him.

Especially not the English teacher standing at the front of the class now, who probably didn’t even know his name.

At the thought of English, Chu Yi drew his gaze back to the blackboard for a few seconds. The lines of English words made him dizzy.

It didn’t look as classy as Yan Hang’s feed.

Maybe because there were more words he didn’t know.

This was the final period. School would end in a few minutes.

Today, he’d decided to stand outside the staffroom for a while and wait until Li Zihao’s group left before he went home.

Yan Hang was too strong. There was no way they would give Yan Hang trouble, so they would only bother him if he was alone.

Chu Yi leaned back in his chair to tidy up the books in his desk. The moment his back hit the rest, he felt a prick of pain. Shocked, he sat up straight.

Behind him came a few quiet giggles.

It was probably a thumbtack. He was quite used to this. Chu Yi didn’t turn around or feel behind him, merely leaned forward onto the table.

He couldn’t show any reaction. Anything that might attract their attention would just make things go on this way.

If only he could be invisible.

It was a little wish he’d once made in the tree hole, but even after all these years he was never graced with the ability.

The bell rang. The students rose hastily and headed for the door; everyone was hungry and either rushing home or to buy food at the school gate.

A few people rapped him on the head as they passed. Chu Yi ignored them.

He put the things on his desk into the drawer and stood up.

Finally, he scanned the backrest of his chair.

It really was a thumbtack, stuck on with a bit of tape.

Chu Yi pulled it down and bent its point against the metal frame of his chair before throwing it into his desk.

Just as he left the classroom and headed for the staffroom, someone blocked his way.

“Where’s your boss?” asked Li Zihao.

Chu Yi neither spoke nor looked at him, turning to go.

“Isn’t your boss here to escort you?” Li Zihao’s pals blocked his retreat.

He sighed and stood still.

“Come on, let’s go home.” Li Zihao pushed him towards the school gate.

Chu Yi wasn’t particularly willing, but the group of them brought him to the gate.

He didn’t really care what they might do next, but it so happened that he was planning to go to the stationery store to buy an exercise book.

Now there didn’t seem to be a chance to do so.

“Weren’t you all cocky before?” Once they were out the school gate, Li Zihao pushed him again.

Chu Yi wanted to say, I wasn’t cocky, when have I ever been cocky, wasn’t it Yan Hang who was cocky… Li Zihao really wasn’t cut out to be a big boss if he couldn’t even find the right target.

Li Zihao rested his arm on Chu Yi’s shoulder. “Didn’t your boss say he was going to protect…”

He hadn’t finished his sentence before it was interrupted by a whistle.

The clear whistling was very familiar. Besides Yan Hang, Chu Yi had never heard anyone whistle so cleanly before.

Li Zihao must have had the same thought. He stilled the moment he heard it.

Chu Yi raised his gaze and saw someone sitting on the sidewalk railing.

He was there, garbed in track bottoms and a mask, elbows propped on his thighs and looking in their direction. The phone in his hand faced their direction.

“Fuck.” Li Zihao expressed his dismay in a single syllable.

Chu Yi hesitated. He wasn’t sure whether Yan Hang was here to “protect” him, or to record a video or livestream.

He’d never been “rescued” before, anyway.

They stood at a deadlock. It wasn’t until Yan Hang put his phone in his pocket and beckoned him with a jerk of his head that he lowered his head and hurried over.

Yan Hang hopped down from the railing, turned, and walked on without a word.

Chu Yi followed behind, head slightly bowed.

Up till the main road, Yan Hang was pondering whether to bring Chu Yi to the noodle shop he had visited with his dad, when Chu Yi spoke from behind him: “H-here.”

“Hm?” Yan Hang turned to look at him.

“I go t-this way.” Chu Yi pointed to the right, away from his route home.

“Thank you.”

The lowlifes were still trailing far behind, so Yan Hang didn’t quite comprehend Chu Yi’s words. He pointed at himself. “If you’re heading that way, what about me?”

“Go h-home,” Chu Yi said.

Yan Hang stared at him. After several seconds he said, “I think I’m gonna sock you in the face.”

Chu Yi gazed at him silently.

“…why are you headed that way?” asked Yan Hang.

“To get exercise, books,” replied Chu Yi.

“Exercise and books?” Yan Hang stood stunned for a while, and then waved.

“Come on then, I’ll go with you.”

“Exercise b-books,” Chu Yi tried again.

“Oh!” Yan Hang lifted his head and exclaimed, and then sighed. “Right, you’re getting exercise books, not exercise.”

“Mhm.” Chu Yi nodded.

Whenever they moved to a new place, Yan Hang would be especially bored for the first few days, unsure of how to kill time.

But butting into Chu Yi’s affairs, waiting on Chu Yi after school, and putting up with the occasional irritation he felt towards Chu Yi wasn’t all because he was bored.

Dad had always wanted him to “socialise” more. Though he would contend that he socialised a lot at work, he understood what Dad actually meant.

He had no friends.

Aside from the obvious reasons, he just didn’t seem to have the disposition for making friends. This much was clear to his father, so he never forced the issue after raising it.

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Outside of work colleagues and estate agents, Chu Yi was probably the most interesting person he’d interacted with in the past two years.

Chu Yi led him to a small stationery shop. He paused and looked at Yan Hang. “Here.”

“Mhm.” Yan Hang nodded. “I’ll wait for you outside, treat me to lunch after this.”

“I d-don’t have money,” said Chu Yi.

“Noodles cost a tenner,” said Yan Hang.

“Oh,” Chu Yi replied, before heading into the shop.

Yan Hang looked into the shop. There was a bench next to the cashier. He brought the bench out and sat by the door, enjoying the view.

The shopkeeper stuck his head out and peered at him. He looked back.

“Hm?”

The shopkeeper said nothing and went back into the shop.

Stationery shops are hell for the indecisive. He didn’t know if Chu Yi was indecisive, but surely it would take a while to choose.

Yan Hang took out his phone to check his notifications. Just as his screen lit up, a shadow stood next to him.

He looked up. It was Chu Yi, books in hand.

“That fast?” Yan Hang was taken aback. “This isn’t just being decisive – are you blind or something? You just went in and took the ones you touched first.”

“If you want, you,” Chu Yi met his gaze, “can s-sit, for longer.”

“…do people bully you for your smart mouth?” Yan Hang stood up and returned the bench to the shop with a word of thanks to the shopkeeper. He tilted his head at Chu Yi. “Let’s go eat.”

Chu Yi followed behind him without a sound.

Yan Hang was joking about Chu Yi treating him to lunch. He was planning on finding a place to eat, with Chu Yi if the latter was willing.

They walked in silence until they reached the beef noodle shop. Chu Yi suddenly stopped.

“Noodles?” asked Yan Hang.

Chu Yi dug into his pockets and pulled out a folded ten-yuan note, handing it to Yan Hang. “Here.”

“What for?” Yan Hang was surprised.

“Eat your n-noodles,” said Chu Yi.

“While you watch?” asked Yan Hang.

“I’m going h-home,” Chu Yi calmly replied.

Yan Hang stared at him for a long while before asking, “Are you even from planet Earth?”

“M-mars,” Chu Yi said, smiling, “Prob…ably.”

Yan Hang had no temper left to lose. He took the money and looked at the prices outside the shop. “Ten’s not enough.”

“Vegetarian’s a t-tenner,” said Chu Yi without looking.

“…I can’t live without meat,” said Yan Hang.

Chu Yi thought for a bit, then beckoned to him. “Come.”

Yan Hang followed him to a little street and down an alleyway. He couldn’t help but ask: “Where are we going?”

Chu Yi didn’t speak. They proceeded a little further before he raised his hand and pointed to a shop nearby. “Look.”

Yan Hang turned.

It was another beef noodle shop, more rundown than the other and much smaller. The counter was by the door. It bore the sign: “Beef Noodles – ¥10”.

“…fuck me.” Yan Hang really was left speechless.

“Didn’t, exp-pect that, huh?” said Chu Yi. “Are you surp…” [3]

[3] This is a popular reference to a scene in 1992 film All’s Well, Ends Well, where Stephen Chow’s character, expecting to surprise his love interest in her hotel room, dramatically utters the words without realising that it was someone else at the door. Chu Yi is being cute with him, as usual.

“Shut it,” said Yan Hang.

Chu Yi was just about to buy the beef noodles when Yan Hang reached out and pulled his arm. “Mr Chu Yi.”

“Hm?” Chu Yi turned to look at him.

“I was kidding,” said Yan Hang. “K-I-D-D-I-N-G.”

“Huh?” Chu Yi’s calm demeanour was ruffled. Then he “oh”-ed in a tone of sudden realisation.

“Go home.” Yan Hang leaned against a tree. He took out a box of cigarettes and stuck one in his mouth.

When he looked up, Chu Yi was still looking at him.

“What are you looking at,” Yan Hang said. “I’m recovering from shock.”

“Thank you,” said Chu Yi.

“Thanks? What for, you’ve thanked me twice now.” Yan Hang lit his cigarette.

“D-don’t come, to,” Chu Yi muttered, “school, anymore.”

Yan Hang’s eyes swept over him.

“There’s a year and, a h-half, left,” said Chu Yi. “Would you c-come every d-day?”

Yan Hang suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Chu Yi smiled. He turned and left.

Leaning on the tree trunk, Yan Hang finished his cigarette and dusted himself off before heading back.

Chu Yi’s words disconcerted him.

When he got home, Dad was making dumplings.

“Hey, how did you make those goldfish-shaped dumplings last time?” said Dad.

Yan Hang washed his hands and sat next to the coffee table. He took a dumpling skin, wrapped a goldfish dumpling, and put it in front of his dad.

“What’s up? Weren’t you going out to be a defender of justice?” Dad eyed him closely. “Did you fail?”

“Oh,” Yan Hang replied with a smile, “yeah.”

Dad didn’t speak. He took another dumpling skin and tried to form a goldfish.

“Lao Yan.” Yan Hang leaned back in his chair and looked at him. He felt his pocket – the ten yuan he’d forgotten to return to Chu Yi was still in there.

“Have you ever met someone who just calmly accepts their life, completely unaffected by other people?”

“Yeah, you.” said Dad.

“I’m not calm.” Yan Hang tch-ed. “I just don’t care about anything.”

“What makes you think they’re different?” Dad laughed. “Everyone has their own inner thoughts.”

Yan Hang was quiet.

“You went job-hunting this morning?” asked Dad.

“Yeah, with Yan Jidao’s ID,” said Yan Hang.

“How was it?” Dad asked with a smile.

“I start work tomorrow,” said Yan Hang. “It’s very close by; it’s the coffee shop next to 846.”

“Pretty smooth. What did you say?” asked Dad.

“This and that. I asked if they were hiring, they said what can you make, I said everything you serve,” said Yan Hang.

“Well done. That’s the sort of shameless self-promotion you need.” Dad nodded. “And then?”

“Then they asked me to bake cheesy butter cookies, so I did,” said Yan Hang. “Then the owner asked me if I wanted to work in the kitchen.”

“And you said no, I want to be a waiter,” said Dad.

“Yup.” Yan Hang nodded.

After a short silence, he and Dad burst into gales of laughter.

“You’re getting better and better at putting it on,” Dad said as he laughed.

“I’m only 17.” Yan Hang propped his legs up on the coffee table. “It’s a pretentious…”

Dad kicked his legs off the table.

“…age,” Yan Hang finished.

Chu Yi’s grandparents and mother were sitting in the living room when he reached home. Mum’s face was gloomy.

As far as he could remember, Mum never did smile much. Most of the time, she kept the corners of her lips downturned. As she grew older, those corners merged with her laugh lines, making her look even more unhappy.

“There are dumplings in the freezer, go cook them,” Mum said when he entered.

“Mm.” Chu Yi set down his books and sorted the messy pile of shoes onto the shoe rack before going into the kitchen.

“So there’s no hope for the water station?” asked Pops.

“They said they’ll tell us this month. Now even the shop front is gone,” Mum said, “what hope could there be?”

In the kitchen, Chu Yi boiled the water for the dumplings as he eavesdropped on the conversation in the living room.

Mum had always worked at the water station. Last month, when the station closed for half a month due to lack of business, Mum was afraid it would go under — now it sounded like her fears had come true.

“Er Ping said she’d find you a job, so did she?” asked Nana.

“She asked me to be a childcare worker at her nursery,” Mum said with clear distaste. “She’s just trying to piss me off! How could she ask that!”

“She’s a teacher, and she wants you to be a childcare worker?” Pops yelled.

“What nonsense is this!”

“Didn’t she say they were hirin’ teachers? Why’s it childcare work for her own family!?” Nana screeched in deep dissatisfaction. “She’s obviously pickin’ on you!”

Very gently, Chu Yi closed the kitchen door. He stood by the stove and stared at the pot of water, lost in thought.

When the water boiled, he opened the freezer and took out the two bags of ready-made frozen dumplings.

If he remembered correctly, he had bought these from the mini mart opposite at least three months ago.

He looked through the freezer. There were no other dumplings; these must be the two that Mum meant.

He opened the bags and looked. The dumplings had clumped into a single mass.

Reluctantly, he opened the door and stuck his head out. “The dumplings are, r-really old.”

“How old could they be! They haven’t gone bad.” Mum frowned. “It’s fine as long as they’re edible. Don’t make a fuss like you’re some young prince. Go to your Auntie’s house if you want to grumble.”

Chu Yi silently retreated into the kitchen. He dumped the dumplings into the pot.

As he waited for the water to boil again, he took out his phone. After a long psychic connection, he sent out a single emoji.

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