The next day was Friday. Once his morning classes were done, Xu Ye didn’t even stop to eat — he got straight into the car and left.
That was because Chen Qingqing had messaged him that morning to ask when he’d be over. Her sight-singing and ear training lecturer had called in sick, and the afternoon’s class had been pushed to the following week.
She messaged him again after lunch, and when he still hadn’t replied she guessed he must be driving and left him alone.
She scrolled through Weibo and glanced every so often at the time in the top left corner of her phone, muttering to herself all the while: why isn’t he here yet, why isn’t he here yet.
When a man is sunk in love, he may still break free.
When a woman is sunk in love, she cannot. [TL: from “Mang,” in the Classic of Poetry (《诗经》), China’s oldest anthology of verse. The character 说 in these two lines is read as 脱, “to get loose.”]
That is how girls are. Once they sink down into love, more often than not they can’t pull themselves back out.
It was the first time Chen Qingqing had known what missing someone actually felt like.
Xu Ye turning up in her life had been like a shaft of warm sunlight breaking suddenly into a cold winter.
Since he had barged his way into her life, everything had changed.
She put the phone down and propped her cheek on one hand, thinking back over the funny things that had happened since she met him.
Meeting by the lake, running into each other at the bar, holding hands for the first time… the more she thought about it, the sweeter the smile that spread over her face.
And then she thought of the day she had said I like you, softly, right against Xu Ye’s ear.
Chen Qingqing’s pretty face went pink all over again.
How did I ever get anything that cheesy out of my mouth?
There must have been something wrong with my head.
I am never saying anything that cheesy again.
Chen Qingqing said all of it to herself. Just as her thoughts were wandering further and further off, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
She snatched it up, saw that it was Xu Ye calling, and was on her feet and out on the balcony in a moment. His car was parked below the dorm. She hurried out of the room and jogged the whole way down.
Xu Ye got out of the car and watched her come out of the building. “Did you miss me?”
It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “I did~”
She regretted it the moment the words were out.
I really am an idiot.
I just got done telling myself I’d never say anything that cheesy again.
Ugh. I’m going to lose my mind.
Xu Ye rubbed his stomach and laughed. “I drove over the second class finished and I haven’t had lunch yet. Come and eat with me?”
“Mm.”
They got into the car, and Xu Ye started it, turned it around and pulled out, all with practiced ease.
His left hand was on the wheel. They hadn’t gone far when his right hand, which had been resting on the gear stick, made its way onto Chen Qingqing’s thigh without a soul noticing.
Chen Qingqing looked down, picked his right hand up with both of hers and put it back where it had come from.
A few seconds later it came over again.
She puffed out her cheeks, jabbed the back of his hand with a finger a few times, and then let it be.
“Are we going home for Labor Day?”
Chen Qingqing shook her head. “I don’t know. Do you want to?”
Labor Day in 2015 came without any working days shifted around to lengthen it, so it was only three days off, and one of those would go on the trip there and back. Xu Ye thought about how short the first half of the year was — summer break was only two months away — and decided against going home for it at all.
“Let’s not, then. We’ll go back when the summer break starts. Time goes fast anyway.”
“Only the weekends go fast. Monday to Thursday goes really slowly.”
Xu Ye laughed. “Find something you like doing and the time will go faster.”
Chen Qingqing thought: there isn’t anything I like doing at the moment. She used to read comics when she was bored on her own, but these days she couldn’t concentrate on them no matter what.
From Monday to Thursday, the one thing she looked forward to was the voice call or video call with Xu Ye in the evening.
But she certainly wasn’t going to tell Xu Ye any of that.
…
At around four that afternoon Qin Zhiwei called to ask whether Xu Ye had gone over to see Chen Qingqing. Told that he was already there, Qin Zhiwei couldn’t get the words out fast enough: come and pick me up.
Ever since he’d held Shen Xinyi’s hand, this idiot had turned up without fail every weekend, and on any afternoon he had no classes, he came over as well. He was exactly like a peacock that had found a peahen he liked, desperate to spread that gaudy, brilliantly colored tail in front of her every single day.
Xu Ye had nothing else going on, so once the call was over he took Chen Qingqing along to collect him.
Qin Zhiwei was standing at the school gate with his backpack on, and the moment he spotted a white Mazda coming up the road, still a good way off, he started waving.
Xu Ye pulled over at the side of the road, waved him into the car, and asked, “Are you going home for Labor Day?”
“No. Three days off — what’s the point of going home? Are you two going?”
“No.”
Something occurred to Qin Zhiwei and he asked quickly, “Chen Qingqing, could you ask for me? Find out whether Shen Xinyi’s going home for Labor Day.”
Chen Qingqing hadn’t even opened her mouth.
Xu Ye swore at him straight off. “Get lost. If you want to know, ask her yourself. Why should my Qingqing be doing it for you?”
Chen Qingqing chimed in at once. “Exactly. Xinyi and I are the ones on the same side.”
Hearing the two of them back each other up like an old married couple, Qin Zhiwei could only manage a sheepish laugh. He dug his phone out of his pocket, meaning to message Shen Xinyi, and then had no idea what to say.
Over the past couple of weeks he had been messaging her more often than Xu Ye messaged Chen Qingqing, and he had run clean out of anything new to talk about.
“Xu Ye.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you two even talk about?”
“Family, friends, values, food, how we’re feeling, the scenery on the way somewhere, funny things that happen around us, good films, what’s changed since yesterday. And a bit of sweet talk now and then. Why — have you run out of things to say to Shen Xinyi?”
“Yeah. I’m not good with words.”
Xu Ye laughed. “Let me teach you a technique.”
“What technique?” Qin Zhiwei asked at once.
“When you’re talking to someone, start with what they want to hear. Then what they’ll be willing to hear. And only then the thing you actually wanted to say.”
Qin Zhiwei was completely lost. He hadn’t really taken any of it in.
“Here’s an example. Say you want to see Shen Xinyi’s legs. You can’t just come out with ‘let me see your legs’ — that makes you a creep.”
Xu Ye said it with total conviction. “You start with ‘I bet jiejie has lovely legs.’ Then ‘I bet jiejie’s legs are long and fair.’ And then ‘jiejie, could you let me see your legs?'”
Qin Zhiwei rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Xu Ye, you bastard. Messing with me again.”
Chen Qingqing reached over and pinched Xu Ye’s thigh too. “You,” she said quietly. “Shut your mouth.”
An hour there and back.
By the time they got to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music the sun was close to going down.
“Did you message Shen Xinyi?”
“I did. She says she’ll be down in five minutes.”
When a girl says five minutes, five minutes is never going to be enough. Xu Ye pushed the door open. “I’m getting out for some air.”
Seeing him climb out, Chen Qingqing and Qin Zhiwei got out of the car too.
Something came back to Qin Zhiwei and he asked, grinning, “Xu Ye, tomorrow’s your birthday, isn’t it?”
“Why? Are you getting me a present?”
“I’ve got no money,” Qin Zhiwei said, all grins. “Usual arrangement. Tomorrow night I’ll treat you to a bowl of crossing-the-bridge rice noodles.”
All through middle school and high school, whichever of the two of them had a birthday, the other treated him to crossing-the-bridge rice noodles. After all, they were both broke students back then, with barely anything in their pockets.
Xu Ye stretched and laughed. “I suppose that would do.”
“You’re kidding,” Qin Zhiwei said at once. “You’re this rich and you’re still making me pay?”
“You dog. It’s your old man’s birthday and you can’t even bring yourself to spring for one bowl of rice noodles?”
Xu Ye stepped up and got an arm around Qin Zhiwei, and while he was still talking he closed a hand hard on his shoulder.
Qin Zhiwei grabbed at his hand, trying to get loose, but Xu Ye had him fast.
The two of them were soon “scuffling” at the foot of the dorm building.
And while they were tussling —
An unopened box of condoms dropped out of Xu Ye’s pocket without any warning at all.
All three of them looked at the ground at the same moment.
“Natural Latex Rubber Condom…” Qin Zhiwei had only just made out the words and was opening his mouth to speak when Xu Ye clapped a hand over it. “Zhiwei,” he said, in a voice of shock. “I had no idea you were that kind of person.”
Qin Zhiwei fought to explain, but Xu Ye had his mouth clamped tight, and all that came out was a muffled mmph, mmph, mmph.
(End of Chapter 223)