For most things in life, Chi Yu often adopted a “go with the flow” attitude, but when it came to getting a tattoo, he was every bit the picky, difficult rich kid you’d expect.
If it wasn’t that the tattoo artist’s skill wasn’t up to par, it was that the shop’s decor was too tacky. Despite his rough appearance, Travis was a patient guy, picking Chi Yu up from school after work and practically touring half of Chicago’s tattoo parlors over the past few months. But one day, as Chi Yu climbed into the car at the back gate of his school, he found that Travis wasn’t the one in the driver’s seat.
Li Che glanced back at him, his eyes lingering on Chi Yu’s face for a moment before he tapped the steering wheel twice. “Travis has something to do today.”
Chi Yu didn’t plan on chatting with Li Che; after all, Li Che had just as bad a personality as he did.
The car’s air conditioning was set to a low temperature, making the leather seats’ smell more pronounced. Chi Yu cracked open the window a bit, letting the humid air rush in. Just as Li Che was resting his eyes at a red light, he suddenly opened them, turning his head to say coldly, “Close the window.”
“I’m cold,” Chi Yu grumbled, tugging irritably at his collar.
Li Che shot him a glance in the rearview mirror, nonchalantly raising his hand to activate the car’s window controls. Once the right rear window was tightly sealed, he said indifferently, “I’m hot.”
The wait for the red light seemed endless. Each green light barely allowed three cars to pass, and after ten minutes, they were still stuck at the back of the line. As the car lurched forward in fits and starts, Chi Yu started feeling nauseous. He turned over, curling up against the door.
“Travis thinks it’s romantic to have my name inked on his body,” Li Che murmured softly, more to himself than to Chi Yu. The car’s engine noise nearly drowned out his voice. Chi Yu heard Li Che say, “But I don’t think so.”
I’m not happy, Chi Yu heard Li Che say.
After crossing the intersection at Sixth Street, the car finally picked up speed, and before long, the bumpiness of the ride ceased. Chi Yu sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, not moving an inch, and Li Che didn’t say a word either. After a long while, Chi Yu heard the car engine start again. The tattoo parlor Travis had found was in a remote location, and by the time they returned home, it was already dark.
“How was the shop?” Travis asked with a smile as he opened the door. Seeing Chi Yu’s dark expression, he looked toward Li Che, who stood at the doorway, expressionless.
Li Che bent down to take off his shoes and said, “He didn’t get it.”
“Why not?” Travis couldn’t hide the confusion in his voice. “He was looking at designs just yesterday.” Li Che focused on taking off his shoes. Realizing he wouldn’t get an answer from him, Travis turned to head upstairs and get to the bottom of it. But he froze when he felt a cool touch on his wrist. The cool fingers slowly slid down from his wrist until they intertwined with his own.
Li Che clasped Travis’s hand and led him to the bedroom, walking quickly as he said, “You’ve been neglecting me for too long.”
The tattoo matter wasn’t completely dropped. Chi Yu tried to bring it up a few times during his voice calls with Fu Zhi’an, hoping to get his opinion. But Fu Zhi’an always seemed so tired, and sometimes, if the calls went on too long, he would even fall asleep in the middle. Fu Zhi’an had always been a good student, but Chi Yu could tell he was working harder than ever. To ease the pressure on Fu Zhi’an, Chi Yu suggested they reduce the frequency of their calls.
“Not happening,” Fu Zhi’an’s voice was hoarse. He glanced up at the camera, the tip of his pen pausing over his exam paper. “I don’t agree.” Chi Yu looked at the screen, seeing the boy’s pale face and the dark circles under his eyes, so heavy they looked like bruises. Even his eyebrows carried a trace of exhaustion. Chi Yu lowered his eyes, mimicking Fu Zhi’an’s earlier tone and grumbling, “I don’t agree.”
Fu Zhi’an didn’t react at first, continuing to write on his paper, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve up.
This routine continued until a few days before the college entrance exam. During one of their voice calls, Chi Yu noticed how much thinner Fu Zhi’an’s face had become. Chi Yu reached out, tapping the screen with his knuckles, and Fu Zhi’an looked up at the sound, his eyes red. They stared at each other through the camera for a moment before Chi Yu said, “You’ve lost weight.”
Fu Zhi’an let out a low hum, scribbling down a formula on his paper as he replied, “It’s because I’ve grown taller.”
“When we meet again, you might have to look up at me.”
Chi Yu shot a glare at the screen, just as Fu Zhi’an put down his pen and looked into the camera. Their gazes locked. Slowly, the corners of Chi Yu’s eyes drooped, his long, straight lashes nearly brushing his lower eyelids. Chi Yu felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. Fu Zhi’an tilted his head slightly, and a soft chuckle escaped his lips, his fingers hesitating in mid-air.
They only laughed for a moment before falling silent again.
Who knows when they’ll meet again.
Chi Yu hated waiting and guessing, and since Chi Yue Di gave him more pocket money than he could ever spend, he decided to indulge himself and fly back home the day before the college entrance exam, just to see Fu Zhi’an. Chicago High School’s classes ended early, and the day after he turned in his essay, Chi Yu began packing, filling his room with the clatter of belongings being stashed away.
“When are you coming back?” Li Che appeared at his door at some point, hands in his pockets, standing ramrod straight.
“Thursday,” Chi Yu grumbled as he tried to stuff a set of European-style tableware into his suitcase. After several failed attempts, he finally responded, “I have a presentation on Friday. I need to be back.”
Li Che tapped a few times on his phone screen before looking up again, his voice calm. “I have a meeting on Friday.”
In other words, no one would be at the airport to pick him up. Chi Yu had nearly finished packing his suitcase. Standing upright, he flashed a half-hearted smirk at Li Che. “I thought you were Travis’s babysitter, always cooped up at home cooking.”
Li Che shrugged indifferently, taking an eco-friendly bag off the doorknob and tossing it to Chi Yu. Chi Yu tried it out and found it fit the European tableware set perfectly. He looked up to say thanks, but Li Che was already gone.
Chi Yu’s return coincided with the second day of Fu Zhi’an’s college entrance exam. He thought about it for a long time but ultimately didn’t tell Fu Zhi’an that he was coming back. Because he left in a hurry, what should have been a 12- or 13-hour trip stretched out to nearly 18 hours with a six-hour layover at a connecting airport. Chi Yu curled up in a chair, clutching the oversized tableware set in his arms, the corner of the box digging into his chin, but he didn’t let go.
Long-haul flights were like vampires, sucking the life out of you. By the time he retrieved his luggage, Chi Yu felt like he was walking on air.
Chi Yu had already figured out where Fu Zhi’an’s exam center was. After leaving the airport and seeing the long line for taxis, he impatiently tugged at his collar. A man wearing a gold chain suddenly appeared out of nowhere, speaking in broken Mandarin, “Hey, handsome, ride with me. No need to wait.”
Chi Yu wasn’t keen on the dirty-looking Santana, but after a moment’s hesitation, he got in. It was just as he expected—the seat cushions were so filthy you couldn’t tell their original color, and the air reeked of cheap tobacco.
Halfway there, Chi Yu caught a glimpse of his reflection in the tinted car window. His hair was sticking up, and his eyes were dull, revealing the exhaustion from his journey. He gleefully unzipped his backpack, pulling out a black baseball cap and placing it on his head, feeling proud of his foresight.
During the college entrance exam, there were fewer cars on the road, so it didn’t take long to reach Fu Zhi’an’s exam center. Chi Yu casually pulled two hundred yuan out of his pocket and tossed it onto the front seat. The driver grinned from ear to ear, quickly hopping out to retrieve Chi Yu’s luggage from the trunk. Chi Yu dragged his suitcase under the blazing sun, sweat trickling down his neck and soaking into his collar, making his clothes cling to him, but he still felt good.
The scorching sunlight made it hard for Chi Yu to keep his eyes open. People started streaming out of the school gate, and Chi Yu couldn’t help but stand on tiptoe, straining to see inside. Amidst the crowd, Chi Yu easily spotted Fu Zhi’an in a white T-shirt. He had grown taller, standing out even in the throng. Chi Yu watched as Fu Zhi’an walked closer and closer, his steady pace suddenly interrupted.
A girl in a black dress tapped Fu Zhi’an on the shoulder, and he turned to face her. Whatever she said made him smile.
It felt like someone had lit a fuse in Chi Yu’s brain, and with a bang, it exploded, leaving nothing behind.
Clenching the eco-friendly bag in one hand, Chi Yu raised his left hand, yanked off his cap, and hurled it at Fu Zhi’an with the strength of an Olympic discus thrower.
“Fu Zhi’an, you piece of sh*t!”
Chi Yu heard himself shout, then saw Fu Zhi’an’s pale face shift from cold indifference to shock before he walked straight toward him, eyes locked on his.
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