Chapter 93: Extra (I)
“My sweet-and-sour ribs!”
In a KTV room near No. 7 High School, Wang Lu’an ground his cigarette into the ashtray, could not hold it in anymore, grabbed the mic and roared, “I still haven’t gotten my F***ing sweet-and-sour ribs!!!”
Zhang Xianjing was ordering a fruit platter. She kicked his calf when she heard that. “You scared me. What is your problem? Did I not order you a portion back at the restaurant?”
“How could that be the same?! I want the taste of home! The taste of school! The taste of the cafeteria auntie!”
Zuo Kuan: “What, is the cafeteria auntie your mom?”
Wang Lu’an: “Get lost.”
After Hu Pang booted them from campus, they decided it was rare to be together, so why not grab dinner, then find a place to hang out.
Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen had nothing that night, so they agreed.
Yu Fan was sitting with one leg propped on the table, not exactly proper. But in a place like this, everyone sat like that.
He was almost leaning on Chen Jingshen, zoning out at the MV on the TV. His head was still full of South City No. 7 High, Zhuang Fangqin and Hu Pang. Someone poked his arm. Chen Jingshen handed him a cup.
Yu Fan accepted absentmindedly and took a sip, then froze. “Chen Jingshen, you gave me hot water in here??”
“You had stomach pain last night,” Chen Jingshen said.
Yu Fan had nothing to say. Lately, under Chen Jingshen’s watch, he ate three meals on time and the gastric trouble rarely flared, but now and then it still would. He was good at hiding it, yet Chen Jingshen always noticed.
Then Chen would hold him and warm his belly with his hands for ages. Even if they both got hot, Chen refused to do it, settling him with his hand instead. And the next day he got nothing but porridge.
His train of thought was derailed by Wang Lu’an’s “Zuo Kuan, what gives you the right to delete my song?” Yu Fan snapped back and nearly slapped himself. What the hell was he thinking in public…
“Stop singing and play something.” Zuo Kuan shook a dice cup at them. “Top student, feel like settling a grudge from six years ago?”
Before Chen Jingshen could speak, his neck was hooked and dragged back like a mob boss’s girl. Yu Fan lazily leaned his head over and told the other side, “Not playing. Go play with Wang Lu’an.”
“What is the fun in just the two of us? Seriously, if you two do not play or drink, what are we even doing here, listening to Zhang Xianjing sing?”
“Other people have to send gifts if they want to hear me sing. You better appreciate the favor!” Zhang Xianjing said. “Besides, can’t you call a few people who can drink?”
“I want to, but…” Zuo Kuan said, glancing at the pair snuggled on the couch.
Too damn weird. Back in school these two were lone wolves, all attitude and no interest in others. How come once they started dating, they got so clingy they had to be pressed together when they sat??
“Why are you looking at me?” Yu Fan lifted his eyes. “I don’t care. Call them if you want.”
“Really?” Bored out of his mind, Wang Lu’an came back to life. He also glanced at Chen Jingshen.
“Whatever,” Chen Jingshen said.
And that was that. Zuo Kuan and Wang Lu’an started dialing.
They had kept in touch with several people from high school and occasionally met to eat or hang out, but year-end was busy and it had been a while.
The first to arrive was Zhu Xu, neat buzz cut and an even sunnier smile than before. He saw Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen, and before his grin could fade he blurted, “Holy Sh***!”
The second was Wu Si. He burst in, windswept. “Man, I am jealous. I have been at work all day and came straight from the office. My boss is inhuman… huh? The top student is here too, holy Sh***, Yu Fan?”
Then the class monitor Gao Shi. Big-hearted, he sat down and chatted for a bit, turned his head and met Yu Fan’s eyes. His hand shook. “Holy Sh***,” he yelped. Half his drink sloshed out and Wang Lu’an scolded him for wasting alcohol while filling him up again.
Several more familiar faces trickled in, the same guys who used to cut class together. Every single one reacted with shock and a “Holy Sh***,” even though none of them had cursed like that in ages since joining the workforce.
…
The only calm one was the last to come. She wore a gray trench and a black turtleneck, full lawyer vibe, a pretty face with a touch of heroics.
Without her glasses she looked so different that it was not until she sat beside Zhang Xianjing that Yu Fan realized this was her soft-spoken old deskmate, Ke Ting.
In just half an hour the once quiet room was packed. Two had no seats and bent over the table to play dice with the rest, curses and laughter tumbling through the cigarette haze.
It was dark, and few noticed how close Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen were sitting. The sofa was crowded, so Yu Fan’s arm hung lazily around Chen Jingshen’s shoulders, holding him. Chen rested contentedly in his boyfriend’s arm, head turned, chatting idly with Wu Si.
In the background, Zhang Xianjing had dragged Ke Ting to sing “One Like Summer, One Like Autumn.” Zhang sang with feeling, voice pitched sweet. Ke Ting was cool, steady, never leaving one key.
Yu Fan watched them play dice. After a bit he could not stand it. He tugged Zhu Xu’s sleeve. “Are you drunk? You are still raising the call like that?”
Zhu Xu grinned and said he was fine, then threw back a mouthful of liquor.
“Leave him,” Zuo Kuan clicked his tongue. “It is almost that day. He just wants to drink.”
“What day?” Yu Fan asked.
“His anniversary with his ex. That deskmate from high school, remember?”
“…”
How could he not. He had even seen them kissing.
Wang Lu’an remembered too. “Why ex? Did you not say you would get back together after graduation?”
“Too far. She went abroad. Said she felt insecure… haha.” Zhu Xu gave a wry smile.
“What is the big deal? There are plenty of fish in the sea. Hey, seriously, with your build now,” Zuo Kuan slapped the muscle on his arm, “you are afraid you cannot find a girlfriend?”
Zhu Xu joked, “I can’t. As soon as they hear I am a fitness coach, they think I am gay. Where do I look gay?”
A real gay man heard that and instinctively tried to take his arm back from around someone, but as soon as his fingers twitched Chen Jingshen caught them and he did not pull away.
The room was amped. A few drinks in and everyone’s voices rose. They were all twenty-something office drones, yet at this moment they were as loud and cocky as seventeen and eighteen.
Sitting in the middle of the noise, listening to them bicker and one-up each other, Yu Fan felt it was unbearably loud, and also a little thrilling in a way he could not name.
Later, nearly everyone had some degree of a buzz, and the drunkest was Zhang Xianjing on Yu Fan’s other side.
Sober, she was brash and would goad people into drinking contests. Drunk, she softened, and even her words sounded like a pout.
“Play! Wang Lu’an! One more round. I am not drunk. How could I be drunk? A beauty does not get drunk!” She wobbled and started to tip toward Yu Fan. He reached to catch her, but another hand pulled her back first.
Zhang Xianjing slumped onto Ke Ting’s shoulder and caught the faint, cool scent of her perfume. Eyes half-closed, she sniffed for a while, then heard Ke Ting say, “You are drunk. Stop drinking.”
“I am not, Ting-bao.” Zhang liked that scent so much she simply wrapped her arms around her.
“…”
“But I am a little dizzy,” Zhang lifted a hand and showed a tiny gap between her fingers, “a little, a little… come outside with me for some air?”
This clearly was not the first time Ke Ting had dealt with it. She turned her head and met Yu Fan’s eyes watching them.
Yu Fan: “Need help?”
“No,” Ke Ting said. “Excuse me. Thanks.”
“What is it?” Sensing his head turn with the two going out, Chen Jingshen asked.
“Nothing. Feels like Zhang Xianjing’s deskmate has changed a bit,” Yu Fan said casually, then shook their linked hands. “Let go. I am going to the restroom.”
“I will go with you.”
“?” Yu Fan was baffled. “Go with me for what? Serve me in the bathroom?”
Chen Jingshen was silent for two seconds, then looked at him. “That is not impossible.”
“…”
Yu Fan met his eyes. Chen Jingshen’s were very black, especially bright in the dimness. A few seconds was all he could take before looking away. He slipped his hand free and pushed Chen’s head back to face front. “No need. Do not be so clingy, Chen Jingshen.”
When he came out, Yu Fan did not hurry back. There were a few friend requests on WeChat he had not checked, so he accepted them one by one while walking toward the KTV’s outdoor balcony.
Just as he neared the door, it began to snow. The freshly wiped tables and chairs were soon dusted white again.
Yu Fan tilted his head up for a couple seconds, then turned to go.
“It is snowing,” a cool voice outside said. “Let us go back.”
“In a… minute, my head is still spinning. If I go back now, Wang Lu’an and the guys will make me drink again. If I refuse I will look like a coward. Let me stand a bit longer, just a bit,” Zhang Xianjing drawled.
Yu Fan frowned, stepped to the door, and peered around the frame.
In the soft flurry, Zhang Xianjing was slumped against Ke Ting, clearly drunk. Her head leaned on Ke Ting’s shoulder. Ke Ting stood with her back to the wall, trench coat sheltering the both of them.
Yu Fan shoved his phone into his pocket and started forward to help. He saw Zhang lift her head, that pretty black hair fanning out.
“Ting-bao,” she said, “I am bored… Let’s pass the time. Like before.”
Ke Ting said nothing. Drunk and languid, Zhang leaned in and brushed her lips, then pulled back.
Yu Fan blinked. So this was what Zhang’s drunk self was like now?
He was about to speak when Ke Ting leaned forward and kissed her again. Lips parting, it was Zhang, drunk out of her mind, who let out soft little sounds.
Snow drifted. Yu Fan looked away and quietly slid the balcony door shut for them, while next door the off-key wailing continued.
A little dazed, Yu Fan headed back. He had barely pushed the door open when the sound system blasted Wang Lu’an’s howl: “He is here! He is back!!”
Yu Fan’s ears rang. He looked up to see flushed Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan coming at him, cracking their knuckles.
Before he got dragged off, Yu Fan shot a look at Chen Jingshen. “?”
“I texted you to come back later. You did not see it?” Chen Jingshen asked.
“No—” As if he had any mind for his phone just now???
Chen lifted a brow, very slight. Nothing to be done then.
Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan were well past tipsy and not the least afraid of Yu Fan. He was thin and did not try to fight them, so they easily hauled him to the TV.
Zuo Kuan threw a hand up. “Hit it!” he shouted to Gao Shi at the song console.
“On it!”
Before Yu Fan could figure out what they were doing, the song was cut off. Guitar rang out. A new title popped up on the screen.
“Brothers, Hug It Out,” by Pang Long.
“…”
Yu Fan turned to leave.
Wu Si and Gao Shi grabbed him and pulled him back.
Wang Lu’an snatched the mic, turned with a melodramatic hand reach and sang mournfully at him, “Brother, you got thinner, you look so tired. Dust of the road cannot hide the years on your face…”
Zuo Kuan popped out behind him, slung an arm over his shoulders and joined in, “Brother, you changed, you got quiet. Tell us all the things you keep in your heart—”
Yu Fan fought so hard he was kicking. Four guys worked together to pin him back down.
Wang Lu’an: “Brother, our youth lives deep in the heart. Only after wind and rain can it bloom…”
“Brother, you said it, no more grinding yourself,” Zuo Kuan turned and opened a palm toward Chen Jingshen, “you only want to be a fool for love, only want a steady home—”
Chen Jingshen turned his head. His shoulders started to shake, light then heavy.
Yu Fan: “……………”
He did not have time to see Chen Jingshen’s face before they hoisted him up. Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan each hooked an arm over their shoulders, and Yu Fan was forced to sway along with them, heads bobbing.
“Brother, give a hug! Tell us what is in your heart!”
“Tell us all these years of hardship and change—”
The swaying gave Yu Fan a headache. Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan were singing themselves into tears, even sadder than Zhu Xu’s solo “Love’s Line of Defense” earlier.
“Brother, give a hug! If there are tears, then cry!”
“Let out all the bitterness and the sour and the spice buried for years…”
Yu Fan turned and saw both their faces wet, cheeks flushed an absurd red, neck veins bulging as they sang.
He let go of the strength he was about to use. Forced to sway with them, his eyes burned. He stared at the lyrics, his voice swallowed by their singing. “You dumb***es!!!”
“Brother, give a hug! For the ties of time!”
“For the surging waves that once rolled in our hearts, for the years we walked side by side as brothers—”
“Let the buried words soothe those long-missed tears…”
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