Chapter 87 — The Handsome Brother from 201
If nothing had changed, Yu Fan should already be in Nancheng by now.
Now he was going back with a bunch of old friends, and for some reason it felt different in a way he could not name.
Wang Lu’an had planned to fly back a few days later than the other two. The second he heard Yu Fan was coming along, he changed his ticket without a second thought.
Wang Lu’an chattered nonstop in their group chat. Yu Fan did not reply. He reopened the suitcase he had packed days ago and checked it again.
Then he thought for a moment. While Chen Jingshen was not looking, he slipped the button he had avoided wearing these past few days back onto a chain and hid it under his collar. Only then did he stretch out on the couch and finally answer the group.
“Should I book the tickets?” Chen Jingshen, curled on the sofa coding, inched a little closer without making it obvious.
Yu Fan: “No need. Yesterday’s flight got delayed to the morning and then canceled. The platform sent me a few compensation vouchers.”
“You didn’t refund the ticket?”
Yu Fan lifted his eyelids and ignored him. Who the hell would think to refund a ticket at a time like that.
Chen Jingshen stopped typing. Tilting his head down, he rested his forehead against Yu Fan’s. He glanced at Yu Fan’s screen and said, “Pick a better cabin? One you can lie flat in. More comfortable.”
“…”
Yu Fan tapped economy, bought the ticket, chose a seat, then reached over and pushed Chen Jingshen’s head away. He turned and said, “Chen Jingshen, no need. You’re just okay. Pretty average. My ass stopped hurting this afternoon.”
“…”
Chen Jingshen looked down at him, face unreadable.
Yu Fan savored his own burn and decided to press the advantage. In a cool voice he consoled, “Don’t be sad. You still did great.”
A hand came over, turned his face, and Chen Jingshen leaned down and kissed him.
Yu Fan spoke into the kiss, words blurring, “Chen Jingshen, gagging me won’t work. I’m not changing my mind…”
“Yu Fan,” Chen Jingshen said, perfectly sincere, “you are really cute.”
“…”
Early Monday morning, the five of them set off for Nancheng.
It was Yu Fan’s first time on a plane, and he was calm the whole way.
They had deliberately chosen seats in the same row. Yu Fan had the window. From takeoff on, he stared expressionlessly outside.
Chen Jingshen looked at the back of his head and, not for the first time, offered a line. “Dizzy?”
“No.” Yu Fan lifted his DSLR and snapped the cotton-candy layers of cloud outside. “I’m busy. Don’t bother me, Chen Jingshen.”
Chen Jingshen: “Okay.”
The two cities were not far. The flight was only an hour. Soon the outline of the city surfaced through the clouds.
Yu Fan tucked the camera away and looked down as the buildings went from ant-sized to matchboxes. His heartbeat started to quicken.
Six years.
He had been born in Nancheng, raised in Nancheng. He sometimes even dreamed of its people and places. Now he was really going back, and a wave of timid homesickness rose in him.
After a brief jolt, the plane came to a smooth stop. Yu Fan stared at the giant “Nancheng Welcomes You” banner at the terminal until someone brushed his fingers and he came back to himself.
“Time to get off,” said Chen Jingshen.
Both Wang Lu’an’s car and Chen Jingshen’s were parked in the airport garage. It was Monday and everyone had to rush back to work, so they were already setting up their next meet-up as they walked out.
Yu Fan did not follow the conversation. Head bowed, he texted Wang Yue to report he had landed, exactly as she had told him to do a thousand times when he took leave.
An arm suddenly draped over his neck. Wang Lu’an came barreling in and hooked him close. Having grown up trailing after family to business meetings, he asked without thinking, “Yu Fan, that old apartment you lived in, is it still there? You got a place to stay? Want me to set you up at a hotel?”
Yu Fan paused, then mumbled without looking up, “Still there. No need, I’ve got a place.”
“Oh? You haven’t been back in years. That place still livable? Want me to drop you off? Let you admire the luxury car your bro earned with years of hard work, heh heh.”
Yu Fan turned and gave him a strange look.
Wang Lu’an: “?”
“I’m not going back. I’m going to Chen Jingshen’s place,” Yu Fan said. “To take a tour.”
“…”
Talk about picking the worst topic. All three instantly remembered that big bag of unmentionables, and the fatigue of the flight evaporated.
“Wang Lu’an, you talk too much,” Zuo Kuan clapped his shoulder. “If you love giving rides so much, take me and Jing-jie. Luxury car? Did you forget the study god drives a Bentley?”
“No,” Chen Jingshen said as he pressed his key. A car not far away blinked its lights.
Wang Lu’an glanced over. “An Audi A6? Not bad.”
“Company car. Just a runabout,” said Chen Jingshen. “We’re heading out.”
Suddenly light, Yu Fan lowered his phone. “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t touch my suitcase, I’ll push it myself. Chen Jingshen, don’t hold my hand, there are people!”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine for me. Let go.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll bite.”
Chen Jingshen offered the back of his hand.
Yu Fan: “… forget it. You’re salty.”
The three of them stared blankly as Yu Fan climbed into Chen Jingshen’s car with a face full of refusal, the door shut, and the car took a turn, leaving them with a vanishing taillight.
Back in their own car, Wang Lu’an could not help asking, “Uh… do you think Yu Fan got too skinny and lost his edge? He just let the top student haul him into the car like that.”
Zhang Xianjing: “I don’t know. Why don’t you try sticking your face in front of him next time and see?”
“…”
Yu Fan turned his head to the window the whole drive. Every building looked unfamiliar. He only recognized certain roads when he spotted a landmark.
It was not until they passed near Nancheng No. 7 High that a true familiarity returned.
“That rice noodle shop is disgusting. How is it still not out of business?” Yu Fan drawled.
“It is. Went under your first year away,” said Chen Jingshen, slowing the car. “It’s a malatang shop now.”
“‘Cool Boy’ is gone?” They passed the most familiar stretch of road, but the familiar internet cafe was nowhere to be seen. Yu Fan frowned.
“Yeah. Got swept up with the rest.”
Propping his elbow on the window ledge, Yu Fan clicked his tongue. Then he saw the school gate to No. 7.
The same old iron gate. A security booth next to it. It was class time, so there were not many people around. Through the gate you could see the mottled walls of the sophomore building.
Yu Fan was lost in that fleeting glimpse for a long time. At last Chen Jingshen said, “School hasn’t changed much.”
Yu Fan pulled himself out of it and grunted. After a bit he added, “The leaders are so cheap. That busted iron gate, I could kick it in with one shot, and they still won’t replace it.”
Chen Jingshen’s building was obviously a new complex. The car pulled into the underground lot, most spaces empty.
While they waited for the elevator, Chen Jingshen’s phone rang.
He answered, “Mm.”
“Why aren’t you at the office yet? Did you forget the 3 p.m. meeting?” Luo Liyang asked.
“It’s not three yet,” said Chen Jingshen. “I’ll come after I get my boyfriend settled.”
“Isn’t your boyfriend a local like you? Settle what?”
“None of your business.”
“…”
Luo nagged twice more and hung up. Yu Fan pressed the button for the first floor. “Go to work. I’ll go up myself.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Chen Jingshen, it’s 2:47.”
“The office is close. Five minutes if I run.”
“…”
Yu Fan pictured him jogging to work with that deadpan face. The elevator opened on the first floor and Chen Jingshen was shooed out.
Yu Fan went up alone, punched in the code Chen Jingshen had given him and opened the door, then froze.
Chen Jingshen had warned him the place was bare, but…
[-: Chen Jingshen, it looks like somebody broke in and cleaned you out. Should I call the cops for you?]
He stood in the living room, sent the message, and attached a quick video.
Aside from the most basic furniture, the place had nothing. Some pieces were still sealed in boxes. One glance showed a large, empty space without a single trace of lived-in air.
[s: Saw the video. Looks like nothing’s missing.]
[-: You just got the place yesterday?]
[s: A year ago. I usually don’t stay at home.]
[-: Then where do you live?]
Chen Jingshen sent a photo, apparently already at the office. In it was a simple cot set up next to his desk.
[-: Why buy a place if you don’t live in it?]
[s: I’m moving in today.]
Yu Fan stared at the line for a while, tossed the phone on the bed, and started unpacking.
He was only staying seven days and had not brought much. Once he finished fussing with everything, he pushed the suitcase into a corner and headed out.
He got into a cab. The driver looked back. “Where to?”
“83 Changyang Street, Nanming Complex,” Yu Fan rattled off, then froze a little himself.
The driver did not notice. He shifted gears and shot forward.
Yu Fan kept the same posture he’d had when he got in. Only after a long time did he slowly recline.
He had come back to take care of things. The apartment had sat in Nancheng for six years. Yu Kaiming could have knelt till his head broke and Yu Fan would not have agreed to sell. Back when his grandfather transferred the property into Yu Fan’s name, it was exactly to guard against that.
He had originally thought to rent it out, but worried the debt collectors would not find him and would hassle the tenants. He had also already picked up a part-time job with Wang Yue and did not lack for living money, so he dropped it.
But letting it sit forever was not a plan either. Six years had passed. The debt collectors had quieted down. He intended to find someone to clean it up and then a reliable tenant. Before that, he needed to check the state of the place.
Several high-rises had sprung up since then, but Changyang Street was still the same narrow lane where two cars meeting head-on had to clog for ages.
The cab idled for five minutes. Yu Fan scanned to pay. “Pull over. I’ll get out here.”
Beneath the tangle of power lines, Yu Fan walked deeper into the street. A wave of steaming white, scented with meat, rolled over him as someone lifted the lid off stacked baskets of soup dumplings.
The grill joint was not open yet, but its shutter was up, and the proprietress lounged at the threshold scrolling through lowbrow short videos. When he walked past, he looked familiar enough that her gaze followed him, just like the other old neighbors, for a long stretch.
Outside the barber shop, a few spirited kids with hair dyed every color dragged out a stool to play cards. One of them glanced over and froze, then called, “Hey!”
Yu Fan turned and met their eyes.
“Well look who it is!” the kid grinned, his face creasing into lines. “Weren’t you gonna get twin dragons shaved on your head? How are we supposed to do that if you grow it out this long?”
Yu Fan stood there, dazed, as if time had rewound and he had just gotten out of school.
Back at the complex, Yu Fan stood before the old wooden door for a long time. He put on a mask, slid the key into the lock and turned hard. With a click, the door finally opened.
Dust hit him in a wave. The mask barely helped. He turned away and coughed, forearm over his nose. He went in and opened all the curtains and windows. Sunlight finally poured into the long-abandoned room.
A thick layer of dust hid the knife gouges and dents on his desk. The wall was starting to peel. The little balcony his grandfather had built was blackened and grimy after six years of wind and rain. Its original look was gone.
The forecast had called for snow. Thin, cold wind slipped through the security bars and poured steadily into the neglected place.
Yu Fan stood on the balcony. One moment he remembered sitting here smoking and drinking, the next he remembered leaning back to kiss Chen Jingshen here. The images clicked by like frames in a film. The neighbor stepped out to hang clothes and, seeing someone suddenly standing motionless next door, dropped her pole with a clatter. Yu Fan snapped back to himself.
He downloaded a housekeeping app and studied how to use it as he headed out. On the stairs he bumped into a girl.
She was pretty, with delicate features. Elementary school uniform, ponytail, bangs in a mess. When she saw Yu Fan she first froze, then gasped on instinct and clapped a hand over her own mouth.
Two seconds later she spun around and hurried up. At her own door she whipped out her phone and typed, so excited she hit the wrong keys again and again.
“What are you up to?” drawled a lazy voice behind her, making her almost drop the phone.
She pressed the screen to her chest and turned to those clear eyes she knew so well. “B, big brother!”
“You remembered me? Then what are you running for?” Yu Fan glanced at the closed door beside them. “No dinner again?”
The girl was speechless. “Brother, I’m in sixth grade. I’ve been able to cook for ages!”
“Oh.” Yu Fan nodded. “Who are you texting?”
“No one!” She answered too fast.
“The handsome brother in 201,” Yu Fan recited the contact name she had set, and raised a brow. “Isn’t 201 where I live?”
“…”
“Uh, the other handsome brother.” The girl pouted and, under his stare, obediently lifted her phone to show Chen Jingshen’s profile photo.
Yu Fan blinked. “How do you have his WeChat?”
“Our whole building has it.”
“…”
Yu Fan was lost. “What do you mean?”
“You moved out in secret back then,” the girl said. “That brother waited for you at your door every evening.”
Yu Fan blinked several times. “… Every day?”
“Not every day, but maybe three or four times a week. He sat on the steps. He even taught me homework problems.”
Yu Fan’s head buzzed. He felt like he did not quite understand.
“At first he always knocked on your door,” the girl whispered, “and then the auntie next door reported him. Said it was scary. Security came up and chased him off.”
“…”
“After that he stopped knocking. But he still came. For almost a year,” the girl said. “Later that brother said he was going to college and he came to our door with fruit, told us to tell him if we saw you come back. That day the whole building got fruit.”
She finished and waited. The person in front of her only lowered his lashes and gave no reaction. She tilted her head. “Brother?”
“He…” Yu Fan paused. “Did you see him often back then?”
“Yeah. I would run into him when I went to my evening classes.”
“Was he okay then?”
The moment he asked, Yu Fan felt like laughing. Chen Jingshen had the same expression anywhere, anytime. Who could tell if he was okay or not?
“Not okay. Really not okay,” the girl said after hesitating.
“He cried a lot in secret. Just stood at your door and cried.”
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