Xu Ye couldn’t be bothered listening to Zhang Hong nag at him. He said “yeah, all right” in the most perfunctory way possible and hung up.
Chen Qingqing had no idea what had been said, but she knew perfectly well who was on the other end of that call. The moment Xu Ye hung up, she raised a small fist and thumped him several times across the back, then stalked off ahead of him, furious.
“What’s the hurry? Do you even know the way?”
Chen Qingqing turned and glared at him — but she did stop where she was. Once he’d caught up she warned him, quietly, “If you say one more thing like that, you’re dead.”
“When did I say anything?”
Xu Ye shamelessly took her hand again and grinned. “Everything I said was true.”
At that, Chen Qingqing pulled her hand straight back out, stamped on his foot, and went to walk with Zhang Ruowei and the others.
Qin Zhiwei watched all this and started snickering.
Xu Ye gave him a flat look. “What are you laughing at?”
“None of your business.”
Xu Ye said, with total conviction, “Hitting is affection, scolding is love. Do you know nothing?”
Qin Zhiwei couldn’t be bothered engaging with him and quietly fell in behind Shen Xinyi.
They took the subway back, and it was half past seven by the time they reached the school. In winter it was fully dark by six, and there was hardly anyone about even on campus.
Xu Ye and Qin Zhiwei walked the girls to their dorm building, then turned around and got a twin room at a hotel about five hundred meters from the school.
Having slept solidly all afternoon, Xu Ye wasn’t remotely tired now. He lay on the bed studying the candlestick charts of the stocks on his watchlist, while Qin Zhiwei sat on the other bed playing a mobile fighting game called Spacetime Hunters.
He was still lying there past eleven when Xu Ye suddenly rubbed his stomach and asked, “Zhiwei. Are you hungry?”
“A bit.”
“Come on. Let’s go and get something.”
“Are you serious? Do you have any idea how cold it is out there?”
“Stop talking. Are you coming or not?”
Qin Zhiwei weighed it up for a few seconds, then got up and left the hotel with him. They found a skewer place nearby and went in.
Qin Zhiwei went straight for a table next to the air conditioning unit. Xu Ye stood at the chiller picking out skewers.
“Boss. Can we get two plates of fried noodles to start?”
“Egg or shredded pork?”
“Both.”
The owner turned the gas on and set about the noodles with practiced ease. Once Xu Ye had finished choosing his skewers, he came and sat down opposite Qin Zhiwei.
Qin Zhiwei put his phone down and said with a sigh, “Xu Ye. Something’s been bothering me.”
“What?”
“Zhang Ruowei’s family and your girlfriend’s family are both that well off. Do you think Shen Xinyi’s family might be as well?”
Xu Ye nodded. “Arts students generally come from decent backgrounds. Is this you worrying that you and Shen Xinyi aren’t from the same kind of family?”
Put anyone else in the seat across from him and Qin Zhiwei wouldn’t have raised the subject at all. It was only ever with Xu Ye that he said what he was actually thinking.
Qin Zhiwei nodded. “Yeah. Your girlfriend’s mother thinks you’re worth something, but Shen Xinyi’s family might not feel the same way about me.”
“It’s fine. We may not be second-generation rich kids, but there’s nothing stopping us being first-generation rich.”
“First-generation rich? Give over. I know exactly what I’m worth. No connections, no ability. Honestly, lately it feels like the gap between us just keeps getting wider.”
Looking at the worry on Qin Zhiwei’s face, Xu Ye found himself thinking about a lot of things that hadn’t happened yet.
In his last life, the two of them used to come out for late food in the middle of the night exactly like this — two men whose marriages had both gone wrong, who never ran out of things to say to each other. Qin Zhiwei had worn this exact expression every time he drank. And on the night he finally divorced his wife, he had cried until there was nothing left in him.
Qin Zhiwei looked simple enough from the outside, but underneath he was extremely fragile. In front of other people he would act as though nothing touched him, however badly he was hurting; alone, or with Xu Ye, whenever he got onto the things that hurt, his face would end up wet with it.
And Xu Ye would never forget that last night before he was reborn: thrown by the car, lying in the road with his awareness draining away, and Qin Zhiwei holding him — tearing his throat open at passers-by to call an ambulance, and howling with grief.
“What the hell are you scared of? Just stick with me. Before we graduate I’ll make sure you’ve got a respectable position, and then there’s no chance Shen Xinyi’s parents look down on you.”
“Here’s hoping.”
The owner brought the noodles over, and the two of them pulled a pair of chopsticks each out of the holder and started eating.
It was gone twelve by the time they left. They went back to the hotel, brushed their teeth, washed their faces, and got straight to sleep.
The next day Xu Ye didn’t take Chen Qingqing anywhere in particular — just a walk in Xiangyang Park near the school, and then several hours of wandering the shops with the rest of them in the afternoon. The day went quickly.
Early evening. The school gate.
Xu Ye stopped walking and said to Qin Zhiwei, “Zhiwei. Go on ahead and wait for me.”
Qin Zhiwei looked at Xu Ye, then at Chen Qingqing, worked out that the two of them wanted a private word, and set off toward the subway station by himself.
Once Qin Zhiwei was some distance away, Xu Ye smiled. “This time next month we’ll be about ready to break up for the holiday. I should be revising for finals this month, so…”
Chen Qingqing knew that final exams at an ordinary university actually mattered, so she took the sentence off him. “Then spend the month revising properly. Don’t come and see me — it’s nearly the holiday anyway.”
“When your school announces the holiday dates, tell me in advance so I can book tickets early. And message me if anything comes up. If I don’t reply straight away, ring me — my phone’s on loud all the time except when I’m in class.”
“I know.”
“I’m going, then.”
“Mm.”
Xu Ye scratched his head. “Feels like I’ve forgotten something.”
And with that he stepped forward and pulled Chen Qingqing into his arms — and for the first time ever, she didn’t struggle. She’d known perfectly well he wasn’t going to just walk away like that, so she didn’t move at all, and one hand came slowly up to rest at his waist.
He’s taken liberties already anyway. And the next time I see him is a month from now.
So he can take one more.
Chen Qingqing said it to herself, silently.
“Right, I really am going.”
“Mm.”
“Remember to miss me.”
“Sure.”
Xu Ye smiled faintly, waved, and headed off toward the subway station.
Chen Qingqing watched him until he was a good way down the street before turning around and going back to her dorm.
At the entrance to the station, Qin Zhiwei saw him coming and asked sourly, “What took you so long?”
“She couldn’t bear to let me go.”
“Give it a rest.” Qin Zhiwei sounded exasperated. “Are you coming back over this month?”
Xu Ye shook his head. “Probably not. Finals are almost here.”
Qin Zhiwei asked immediately, “Are you going to fail?”
Xu Ye said, “Under normal circumstances… guaranteed.”
Qin Zhiwei was about to laugh when Xu Ye added, “But there should be some room to maneuver. I might pass the lot of them.”
“There’s room to maneuver in an exam?”
“Ask me when they’re over.”
(End of Chapter 176)