Chapter 60: CH 60

He looked at Lu YunFei and thought: he probably only took the bus a handful of times. Someone like him was never meant to take the bus.

After staying on the bus for about half an hour, Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan got off the bus. Bian JinYuan led them along a road and into a small alley when they came to a crossroads. It was the Spring Festival now, and the stalls who would usually be hawking their wares had gone home to celebrate, resulting in a rare peace and quiet.

Lu YunFei followed Bian JinYuan into another fork in the road. The pavement seemed to narrow as they moved forward, and it was littered with discarded food wrappers and small puddles of water. Bian JinYuan lowered his head to indicate that he should watch his step.

Lu YunFei acknowledged with an “Oh” and walked beside him uncaringly.

They stopped at a metal door. Bian JinYuan took out his keys to unlock it, pushed the metal door, and revealed a small cement house next to a communal basin.

Lu YunFei looked at the little josie and asked Bian JinYuan, “What’s that?”

“Toilet,” Bian JinYuan replied, “Come here if you need to use the restroom.”

He didn’t make eye contact as he spoke to Lu YunFei, but Lu YunFei didn’t notice, as he nodded his head and said “Oh, oh”  in acknowledgement.

Bian JinYuan led him to his house. Along the way, they met another resident in the estate who asked, “Xiao Yuan, is this your friend?”

Bian JinYuan nodded his head.

The other party teased, “He’s also another handsome boy.”

Lu YunFei laughed, “Jiejie you’re pretty too.”

“Hahaha, you’re more interesting than Xiao Yuan. Fruit?” She shook a stainless steel pot containing some apples.

“No thanks,” Lu YunFei with a smile, “I’ve just eaten.”

“I see, then I’ll be off to wash the fruits,” the woman said and walked past them to wash her apples.

The yard wasn’t large. The entire estate held four households. Bian JinYuan’s family rented the largest house apart from the landlord’s house, but it was still smaller than the average home fit for three, not to mention when compared to Lu YunFei’s house.

He opened the door and switched on the light, baring this home to Lu YunFei’s eyes.

Cramped, Sparse, and cheap.

Bian JinYuan turned to look at Lu YunFei. He said, “This is my home.”

Lu YunFei looked at the house and thought: this was the home which he had spent an entire semester in. It was smaller than he had expected, and yet he felt a simultaneous strangeness and familiarity to it.

He looked at the table propped against the wall where Bian Jie made food; he had also seen that set of sofa and coffee table which were completely at odds with each other, where Bian JinYuan would sit to organise his materials. He had seen so much of everything in here, as well as the people living in it, that he was familiar with them, yet felt a certain strangeness to it. What was familiar was what they were at home, but what was unfamiliar was when they had left home.

He blinked and said gently, “It’s smaller than I expected, but it looks warm.”

Bian JinYuan didn’t reply.

Lu YunFei walked inside and sat on the sofa before putting his bag down. He had always wanted to feel this sofa, but he realised after sitting on it that it was a lot softer than he thought it would be.

He patted the sofa and said to Bian JinYuan, “What are you standing there for? You should sit too.”

It was then that Bian JinYuan closed the door and sat down.

Lu YunFei was very curious about this house, but Bian JinYuan seemed a little uncomfortable.He stood up to search for snacks and fruits to place them in front of Lu YunFei.

“I’d like a drink,” Lu YunFei said.

Bian JinYuan searched for a disposable cup and poured some hot water from a vacuum flask.

Lu YunFei received it and drank from it, holding the cap between his hands to warm them up after each sip. He realised that Bian JinYuan’s home didn’t have air-conditioning to adjust the room temperature. They only had a little radiation lamp on.

“Are you cold?” Bian JinYuan asked after noticing the way he held the cup.

“I’m okay.”

Bian JinYuan bent down to adjust the radiation lamp towards him, and Lu YunFei felt a lot warmer.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Lu YunFei suggested. He took out his phone and waved it in front of Bian JinYuan, “We don’t have anything to do anyway.”

“Shouldn’t you inform your family first.”

Lu YunFei only realised that he hadn’t informed his parents that he was staying out tonight, and so he sent a WeChat message to the family group chat. Father and mother Lu were probably busy and didn’t reply, but Lu YunShang had asked, “Why not?”

“Bad traffic, and we haven’t finished going through the papers. Teacher Bian’s family are all away and it’s just him left, so I’m staying over at his place temporarily.”

Lu YunShang: Alright, don’t make trouble for them.

Lu YunFei replied: Don’t worry, I’m such a gentleman.

After chatting with Lu YunShang, he started selecting movies, “What would you like to watch?”

Bian JinYuan didn’t have a preference, “Up to you.”

Lu YunFei thus selected a mystery detective movie and set his phone in the middle of the coffee table as he and Bian JinYuan snacked and watched the movie.

The winter night was dark. The both of them sat on the sofa and concentrated on the movie. As the movie reached its climax, a knock suddenly sounded at the door, which coincided with a knock on the door in the movie, giving Lu YunFei a fright. He turned to look at Bian JinYuan and realised belatedly that the both of them had been sitting close together. Bian JinYuan had turned to look at him after hearing the knock on the door, and the both of them locked eyes with each other, causing the space between them to be imperceptibly small.

“Your family is back?” Lu YunFei asked.

“No,” Bian JinYuan said, “I’ll see who it is.”

Now that they were so close to each other, Lu YunFei could feel Bian JinYuan’s breath landing on his face as he spoke. He shifted backwards a bit.

Bian JinYuan stood up and opened the door.

It was the woman whom they had met earlier, who asked if she could borrow a wrench from them.

Bian JinYuan shook his head, “Perhaps the landlord would have it.”

The woman gave her thanks and left.

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“It was the neighbour,” Bian JinYuan explained, “here to borrow something.”

Lu YunFei nodded.

Bian JinYuan looked at him. Perhaps it was due to the radiation lamp, that Lu YunFei’s face was flushed like a lantern.

“Are you warm?” He worried that Lu YunFei had never used a radiation lamp before, and worried that he would be uncomfortable from using it. “Would you like a drink?”

Lu YunFei nodded. He suddenly felt thirsty now that Bian JinYuan had mentioned it.

“I’d like to drink something chilled.”

Bian JinYuan’s hand, which had been holding the vacuum flask, halted. He asked, “Are soft drinks alright? Cola.”

“Sure.”

And so Bian JinYuan retrieved a large bottle of cola and poured him a cup. It was lukewarm.

Lu YunFei stretched his hands out to take it. When their fingertips touched, Bian JinYuan realised that his hands were chilled.

He was slightly puzzled at how Lu YunFei’s face was flushed from the radiation lamp, yet his fingertips were cold, “Your hands are cold?”

“It’s okay,” Lu YunFei said, “ My hands are always cold, it’s normal.”

Bian JinYuan heard the explanation and sat back down. After he was done drinking his cola, he held his hands. They really were cold. If he had known about it earlier, he would have bought a hot water bottle.

Lu YunFei looked at his hands which were covered by Bian JinYuan and looked at Bian JinYuan questioningly.

“Keeping you warm,” Bian JinYuan said, “We don’t have a hot water bottle in the house. Otherwise I’d have gotten you to hold it.”

“No problem,” Lu YunFei said, “I’m used to it.”

However, Bian JinYuan didn’t release his hold. He looked at their clasped hands and left it at that, continuing to pay attention to the movie.

Bian JinYuan looked at him and then down where he felt the softness of his hands. He had held Lu YunFei’s hands many times before, and vice versa, but this was the first time that he had seriously looked at Lu YunFei’s hands.

Lu YunFei’s hands were very fair, with smooth skin stretched over his long fingers. This was a pair of soft hands which had never done any housework, without a hint of scarring. It was a pair of hands which were vastly different from Bian JinYuan’s.

Lu YunFei finished the movie after an hour and forty minutes. He complained unsatisfactorily: “There was so much foreshadowing at the beginning, but none of them were explained at the end. What’s the point of the rabbit? How did Xiao Dīng murder Āh Huá? Who was the person with Xiao Ding? And what about the weapon? Where’s the weapon which was used to murder Old Liú?”

Bian JinYuan watched his agitated rant and chuckled. Lu YunFei snorted, “I’m so angry. This was supposed to be a mystery detective movie, but it’s just an illogical plot littered with mysteries! Was the detective portion fed to the dogs? Lousy director. Blacklisting.”

“Don’t be angry,” Bian JinYuan released his hand, “Do you still want to watch another movie?”

“No, I’ll go use the restroom,” Lu YunFei stood up.

Bian JinYuan hurriedly stood as well, “I’ll accompany you. There’s no light in the yard, I’ll help you to shine a torch.”

“Sure.”

He switched on the torchlight on his phone, locked the door, and accompanied Lu YunFei to the toilet.

The toilet was set up as an afterthought, and so it wasn’t equipped with a plumbing system. Bian JinYuan opened the door and switched on the light. He pointed to a pail in the corner and told Lu YunFei, “Use this pail to flush after you’re done.”

Lu YunFei nodded and closed the door after entering.

Bian JinYuan waited outside and heard the flush after a while. He suddenly thought about the hands that were just in his palms under the light of the room.

Lu YunFei’s hands had played basketball, written homework, and peeled oranges, but they had probably never had to flush a toilet like this before. He was a veritable wealthy young master, with a driver to ferry him to places and an aunty who would cook for him. Yet now, he was here, holding a pail which many other people had held before, to flush a toilet.

This wasn’t befitting of Lu YunFei, Bian JinYuan thought. He lived like a little prince. A prince doing this was inappropriate and unacceptable.

Lu YunFei emerged from the toilet, switched off the light, and headed towards the communal basin.

Bian JinYuan watched him, and just as he was about to touch the tap, suddenly said: “Lu YunFei.”

Lu YunFei turned to look at him.

Bian JinYuan walked over, the light from his phone illuminating the path ahead of him, as if he was walking towards the light. He stopped beside Lu YunFei and reached out to turn the tap, saying, “Go ahead to wash.”

Lu YunFei didn’t understand his actions, and washed his hands as he said, “Why did you help me to turn on the tap? I’m not a child.”

“Those younger than eighteen are children,” Bian JinYuan replied, referring to their earlier conversation.

Lu YunFei laughed, “Not for this.”

Saying that, he reached out to close the tap, but Bian JinYuan had closed it first.

Lu YunFei looked at him perplexed, but Bian JinYuan said softly, “Dirty.”

Lu YunFei looked at him, his eyes a hint of surprise. He didn’t find communal taps to be dirty, and neither did he think that this place was dirty. He wondered if Bian JinYuan had misunderstood him.

“I’m not that particular,” he said, “I’m not that spoiled.”

Bian JinYuan looked at him, the light from his phone shining on both of their feet, bright and warm.

He said, “Then, you can afford to be more spoiled.”

His eyes were full of warmth.

Like a sea full of stars.

At that moment, Lu YunFei felt that Bian JinYuan’s eyes held something deep within them, yet somehow it also seemed to be just within the surface. It was hidden under a reef, unwilling to surface, yet somehow emitted a shimmering light from within the darkness, enticingly.

This was a Bian JinYuan that no one else had seen, and only appeared in front of Lu YunFei in his spring of seventeen.

The young man who was aloof and who couldn’t be bothered to say more than necessary to others was now, on this night, on a night when romance hadn’t yet begun to bud, was now saying things as if he was meant to say in his entire life, to the person whom he wished to hide and protect like a priceless treasure–then, you can afford to be more spoiled.

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