Chi Yu’s flight was scheduled for 6 PM, which meant he had to be at the airport by 4 PM to allow for the 40-minute check-in process.
But, as luck would have it, the school had scheduled exams that day, running from 8 AM until 7 PM. Before the test started, Lin Jing approached Fu Zhi’an’s desk, tapping lightly on the surface. She furrowed her brows and spoke softly, “Stay focused. You’re the top name on the school award list.” Fu Zhi’an understood her concern; the school was counting on him to score well in the college entrance exams and maybe even make the news, which would be even better.
After giving her advice, Lin Jing turned to leave. She had barely taken a couple of steps when Hu Yushan poked his head over, whispering, “Fu Ge, don’t block your test paper later, alright?” This time, the school hadn’t arranged the seating by rank, and Hu Yushan, by some miracle, ended up sitting right behind Fu Zhi’an. This was probably his one and only chance to score decently enough to avoid a scolding at home.
But Fu Zhi’an crushed that slim hope.
For some reason, Fu Zhi’an finished his test at an unusually fast pace. Hu Yushan was barely halfway through the reading comprehension section when Fu Zhi’an stood up and handed in his paper. The invigilating teacher gave him a suspicious look, quickly scanning the paper, but before he could finish, Fu Zhi’an asked, “Can I get my phone?”
Fu Zhi’an’s hand hovered in mid-air, holding his black phone. The inside of his elbow was smudged, probably from accidentally brushing against the answer sheet.
“Aren’t you going to check your answers? You finished pretty quickly.”
Fu Zhi’an shook his head without lifting his gaze. He asked again, “Can I take my phone?”
Technically, students aren’t allowed to take their phones if they hand in their tests early. But there was something about the boy’s pale face that made the teacher, a grown man, feel a pang of sympathy. Fu Zhi’an slipped his phone into his pocket, nodded slightly at the teacher, and walked out, completely oblivious to Hu Yushan grimacing in the back row.
The deserted staircase cast long shadows at the corner, where Fu Zhi’an, dressed in his loose school jacket, stood in the corner. He dialed a number and held the phone to his ear. It didn’t take long before the voice of a boy, slightly hoarse—either from just waking up or from a sleepless night—answered on the other end.
“Aren’t you supposed to be taking exams?”
The straight posture Fu Zhi’an had maintained seemed to collapse as he let out a quiet “Mm.” He leaned the back of his head against the wall and continued, “I finished.” A brief crackle of static filled the silence between them before Chi Yu, sounding puzzled, asked softly why he was done so quickly. Fu Zhi’an didn’t respond, just lowered his head, smiling silently. His back slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground, knees pulled up to his chest.
The silence stretched on for several minutes before Fu Zhi’an finally asked, “Have you finished packing?”
There was a rustling sound on the other end, which Fu Zhi’an assumed was Chi Yu moving around on his bed. He heard Chi Yu’s muffled reply, “Almost.”
“Did you pack your allergy meds?”
“Yeah, I packed them.” Chi Yu wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear as he tossed a white box of medication into his suitcase.
“What about liquid bandages?”
“They sell that stuff in the States.”
Another pause followed, filled only with the sound of their breathing, gradually syncing up as if their rhythms were aligning. Fu Zhi’an pressed the phone tighter against his ear, trying to hear Chi Yu’s breathing more clearly, but the harder he tried to focus, the more it seemed to elude him.
“I’ll come to the airport after the exam to see you off.”
“No need,” Chi Yu replied quickly, almost laughing. “I’m not a kid anymore; I don’t need you to see me off.”
Despite his tough talk, Chi Yu looked back four times as he headed through the gate with his luggage. Afraid of missing that familiar figure, he even hopped on his toes a few times like an idiot, but Fu Zhi’an didn’t show up.
Maybe it was for the best. Chi Yu sat in his airplane seat, slipped on his eye mask, and stayed still. When the flight attendant came by to ask if he wanted something to drink, he just shook his head.
Fu Zhi’an had gone to the airport, standing outside, staring blankly at the plane growing smaller and smaller in the sky. With all his intelligence, he couldn’t quite figure out if Chi Yu was on that flight.
For the last exam, Fu Zhi’an took just over half an hour to finish. Ignoring the stares from his classmates, he placed his paper on the podium and started to leave. The teacher by the door, a man named Liu who had high expectations for Fu Zhi’an, took off his glasses and signaled for Fu Zhi’an to bring his paper over. After a quick scan, the teacher pointed to the blank space on the last page with the arm of his glasses. “Why didn’t you do the extra credit problem?”
“I didn’t know how,” Fu Zhi’an replied confidently, his gaze unwavering.
“You know that every point counts in the college entrance exam, right? A single point can drop your rank by hundreds.” Liu, clearly frustrated, threw the paper back at Fu Zhi’an and put his glasses back on. “Do the extra credit problem.”
Fu Zhi’an stood at the door for about a minute before turning back, grabbing his pen, and leaning over the podium to finish the problem. He hadn’t intentionally skipped it; it was just too time-consuming. And time was the one thing Fu Zhi’an couldn’t afford to waste.
But fate seemed to be working against him. After finally getting out of school and catching a taxi, Fu Zhi’an found himself stuck in traffic on the highway leading to the airport. The line of cars stretched endlessly, suffocating in its density. Fu Zhi’an pulled a red bill from his pocket, placing it on the seat in front as he opened the door. “I’ll get off here.”
“Hey, kid!” The driver turned, holding the money. “You think you can just get out? I’ll be stuck here for another hour.” Fu Zhi’an understood the hint and slipped another hundred-yuan bill onto the seat.
The overpass was jammed with cars, horns blaring, making Fu Zhi’an’s ears ring as he jogged along the narrow shoulder. Every breath he took was filled with the scent of turpentine. His toes were going numb, and his heart pounded as he weaved between the cars, feeling like it would burst from his chest. Finally, he reached the airport lobby, his eyes fixed on the LED screen displaying the flight information.
He didn’t make it in time.
He must have just missed the check-in. Fu Zhi’an walked out of the airport, hands stuffed into his school jacket pockets, staring up at the not-so-blue sky. He didn’t know how long he stood there before finally lowering his gaze, rubbing his eyes as he stared at the worn, colorless tiles beneath his feet.
That taxi driver had swindled him. As Fu Zhi’an walked back along the overpass, the wind whistling past him and cars speeding by, the traffic had cleared. Fu Zhi’an sniffed, his trembling fingers shoved into his coat pockets as he muttered under his breath.
“Chi Yu, my heart feels stuck.”
The flight arrived sooner than expected. Chi Yu stiffened as he was greeted with two enthusiastic hugs. The man in a baseball cap loaded his luggage into the trunk, then turned back to face Chi Yu’s cold stare, asking in broken Chinese, “Why are your eyes so red?”
Chi Yu opened the car door, sliding in before answering, “Allergies.”
Chi Yue Di had done his best to play the good father in arranging this move abroad, even choosing a host family that spoke Chinese. Sitting in the backseat, Chi Yu glanced at the two men up front, catching the driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror as he turned. He smiled politely, taking the coffee handed to him by the man beside him.
The airport wasn’t close to the city, and at first, the two men up front tried to engage Chi Yu in conversation. But after a few awkward exchanges, they realized Chi Yu wasn’t interested and fell silent. Chi Yu pulled out his phone, and as soon as the signal bars filled up, several messages popped up.
They were from Wang Xiao, Lin Chuan, Hu Yushan, and his homeroom teacher, Lin Jing, all full of well-meaning words. Chi Yu saved the pinned contact for last. There were only two short messages.
— Did you take off?
— Let me know when you land.
In total, they barely added up to ten characters. Chi Yu placed his phone facedown on the seat. The car was too small for him to vent his frustration. He wasn’t sure why he was angry—was it because Fu Zhi’an didn’t come to see him off? But he was the one who had insisted on it. It was normal that Fu Zhi’an didn’t show up. He picked up the phone again, rereading Fu Zhi’an’s messages several times. They were brief, but they conveyed everything that needed to be said.
Fu Zhi’an really was a good student—his ability to summarize was top-notch.
The internal struggle didn’t last long before Chi Yu gave in. He opened the chat, typing out a long message only to delete it. Just as he was at a loss for what to say, his phone buzzed.
Chi Yu hesitated. It was around 4 AM back home, and while Fu Zhi’an often stayed up late, he hadn’t expected him to be awake this late.
— You’re still up?
The dark room was lit only by the dim light from the bed’s corner. Fu Zhi’an was still in his school uniform from that morning, curled up with his legs pulled to his chest. He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at his phone, but it felt like his eyes were losing focus. It wasn’t until the chat window indicated that the other person was typing that Fu Zhi’an straightened up and asked if he had landed.
Chi Yu, apparently startled by the timing, replied quickly, asking if Fu Zhi’an hadn’t slept.
Fu Zhi’an’s body, stiff from a night of tension, relaxed as he rolled onto his back, typing out two words: “Just woke up.”
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