Chapter 20

Around nine in the morning, Jiang Chu and Qin Zui picked up Chen Linguo outside the McDonald’s near her house.

Chen Linguo was carrying a few bags of breakfast. When she saw Jiang Chu’s car, she raised her arm and waved, then smiled at Qin Zui in the passenger seat. She opened the back door and climbed in, squeezing in next to the mountain of snacks she’d left in the car yesterday.

Qin Zui lifted the corner of his mouth in a polite smile, then swept his gaze across Jiang Chu’s face.

On the way there, he’d actually wanted to go straight to the back seat and leave the passenger seat for Chen Linguo. Jiang Chu had already been thinking about making her his future sister-in-law, so he figured he should be self-aware and give the guy some opportunities.

But Jiang Chu had seen through his intentions and told him to stay put.

“If she sits up front, it’s easier for you two to chat,” Qin Zui said.

“We can chat no matter where she sits. You stay here so I don’t get distracted driving,” Jiang Chu shot back, dismissing the idea.

The truth was, compared to Chen Linguo, he still preferred having Qin Zui in the passenger seat. He didn’t have to worry about taking care of him, and he didn’t have to keep up his image every second.

“Have you guys had breakfast? I grabbed some on the way,” Chen Linguo said, handing a paper bag each to Jiang Chu and Qin Zui from the back. “Here, Brother Chu, and little bro.”

“I figured there was a ton of food in the car, so I didn’t buy any.” Jiang Chu took it, but since he didn’t like this kind of stuff, he passed it straight to Qin Zui. “Thanks.”

“No need to be so polite.” After the hotpot last night, Chen Linguo felt a lot more comfortable around Jiang Chu. “I originally thought the drive wasn’t far, so I didn’t plan on eating. But as soon as I got here, my stomach started feeling kind of empty and uneasy.”

Jiang Chu casually replied with a “Yeah,” while Qin Zui opened the cup of soy milk, took a couple of sips, put on his headphones, and tilted his head back to nap.

He didn’t really get solid sleep anyway. They hadn’t been on the road long, and in the middle of it, Jiang Chu got two phone calls, coordinating with Benzi and the others about the route.

Chen Linguo started a game in the back, chattering on about this and that. First she asked Jiang Chu if he usually played games, then she wanted to add him as a friend, then she asked about the younger brother.

Jiang Chu chatted with her to keep her company. Even though they both kept their voices pretty low, human ears are weird like that. Sometimes, the more you don’t want to hear something, the more those tiny, faint sounds just drill their way into your ear canal.

He didn’t even know if he actually fell asleep. The noises outside were getting more and more chaotic, and the speed of the car was dropping. Jiang Chu flicked Qin Zui’s ear, signaling they’d arrived.

This farm stay was pretty big. It was up on a mountain, but you didn’t have to drive up. You parked the car at the service center at the foot of the mountain, and the boss sent a car down to pick everyone up.

Da Ben, Fang Zi, and a few others had already arrived. A bunch of grown men were huddled in a circle, smoking while they waited.

Bao Li and another girl Jiang Chu didn’t recognize were sitting on the hood of Benzi’s car, chatting. Chen Linguo reached out the car window to wave at them. Bao Li called out to her, raising her arm and waving back.

Benzi whistled at Jiang Chu. “Chu! Over here!”

Jiang Chu parked the car steadily and got out with Qin Zui. Before he could even say anything, Benzi came over and clapped Qin Zui on the shoulder. “So this is the little brother!”

“He’s so handsome,” Bao Li and the other girl said, laughing.

“Well, what did you expect? Look whose brother he is.” Jiang Chu stretched his arms beside them. All these people already knew how this ‘little brother’ of his had suddenly appeared, so there was no need for a long explanation. He just focused on introducing him to Qin Zui. “This is Benzi, and this is his wife. Brother Ben and Sister Li. They’re the ones who wrote on your cake.”

“This is Fang Zi. Same workplace as Bao Li. The Modern Woman’s Best Friend. These two are Old Du and Hua Zi. One sells flowers, the other owns a restaurant.” Jiang Chu continued. “We all went to school together back in the day, ride-or-die. Just call them all ‘Brother’.”

Compared to Benzi and Fang Zi, Old Du and Hua Zi were the quieter types. Old Du was the cool one; he tossed a cigarette to Jiang Chu and then gestured towards Qin Zui. Qin Zui had just woken up from a nap, wasn’t craving one, and didn’t want to be seen as the little brother smoking around these old nicotine addicts.

Hua Zi was the more steady, reliable type. He smiled and said, “Bullshit ‘restaurant’. It’s just a crappy little diner.”

“The gift was from me too. Your brother told you, right?” As soon as the conversation lulled, Benzi couldn’t wait, raising an eyebrow at Qin Zui.

“Can you stop bragging about that crappy gift of yours?” Fang Zi cut in. “There are ladies present.”

“Yeah, Hua Zi didn’t come alone today, you know. He’s got his own missus now.” Bao Li pulled the girl she was sitting with over. “This is Mei Zi. Here, this is Jiang Chu, and this is Chen Linguo.”

“Oh, so you guys are…” Mei Zi smiled, pointing between Chen Linguo and Jiang Chu.

“No, no,” Chen Linguo waved her hand. “I’m just tagging along for fun. Still working on it.”

That “still working on it” line showed a lot of emotional intelligence. It was honest, but it also left things nicely ambiguous.

Jiang Chu couldn’t really say anything in front of so many people. If this group really got going, they’d say anything under the sun. The more you tried to hide it, the more they’d egg you on. It was better to just let it be.

They waited at the foot of the mountain for a bit. Those who needed to use the bathroom went, those who needed to grab their stuff grabbed it. Just as the boss’s minivan was coming down the mountain to pick them up, Old Du suddenly kicked one of its tires and said, “Let’s go. Get out.”

“There’s more of us?” Chen Linguo was stunned.

The others didn’t seem particularly fazed. Jiang Chu took the duffel bag Qin Zui had pulled from the trunk and stuffed it into the minivan. Benzi gave him a confirming look. He explained quietly to Qin Zui, “Old Du’s nephew. A kid. A bit of a fussy kid. Doesn’t like meeting people.”

Qin Zui originally thought it would be a little kid, but the person who got out of the van looked like a high schooler too.

Wearing a sun hat and a white t-shirt, with slender arms and legs. His face was scrunched up in a pout, looking unhappy. He had big headphones around his neck and was clutching his phone, playing a game.

He didn’t greet anyone, not a single word. He just handed the small bag carrying his clothes to Old Du, then followed right on his heels towards the minivan.

Old Du tapped him on the head and confiscated his phone, stuffing it into his own pocket.

This minivan traveled up and down the mountain roads every day, picking people up. The body and wheels were all scratched up, looking like it would fall apart any second. To maximize passenger space, all the back seats had been removed and replaced with two rows of small stools. Only the passenger seat was left. Benzi, being the biggest guy there, squeezed into it, hugging several bags.

The three girls linked arms and sat in the back row. Jiang Chu and Qin Zui sat opposite Old Du and the fussy kid, one on each side. Hua Zi hunched his shoulders, squeezing between the four of them in a half-crouch, half-sit position. He didn’t even have a handrail to hold onto, so he had to just grip Jiang Chu’s calf.

The minivan bumped as it rolled over a rock. Jiang Chu lost his balance, steadying himself on Qin Zui’s thigh and nearly kicking Hua Zi out the door.

Qin Zui held his arm, listening to Hua Zi say bitterly to the driver, “My ass is practically scraping the ground through the floorboards here. Don’t bounce me off on a bump.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” the driver said with a laugh. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“If you do, he can just run alongside,” Benzi turned his head and cackled. “Like in a cartoon, growing a pair of legs under the car.”

“No way,” Mei Zi immediately laughed. “Brother Ben would have to run with him. Two fat legs and two skinny legs, otherwise it wouldn’t be funny enough.”

“You dreaming? With Ben’s build, he’d just anchor us all to the spot,” Bao Li said.

The group burst into laughter. Jiang Chu chuckled, using his toes to steady the little stool under Hua Zi’s butt. He looked up, wanting to say something to Old Du, when he suddenly noticed that Old Du’s fussy-nephew was staring at Qin Zui.

Jiang Chu felt that ever since this heaven-sent brother, this Qin Zui, had come to him, his whole way of thinking had changed. He was like a dad now.

Seeing the fussy kid sizing up Qin Zui with curiosity, his first reaction was that even though Qin Zui was about the same age as the fussy kid, with Qin Zui’s personality, he probably wouldn’t hit it off with Old Du’s nephew.

But before his train of thought could even form, the fussy kid, very suddenly and directly, said to Qin Zui, “You’re from the 27th High School, right?”

Everyone in the van immediately turned to look.

Ever since Old Du’s brother and sister-in-law had died in an accident a few years ago, and Old Du had taken in his unlucky nephew, every time he brought the kid out to eat or hang out, the kid was always prickly with everyone. He’d never voluntarily started a conversation before.

Hearing him say this, Jiang Chu and Old Du exchanged a look. It suddenly occurred to Jiang Chu that this kid was probably also at the 27th High School.

Qin Zui’s gaze had been unconsciously fixed on Hua Zi’s hand, which was resting on Jiang Chu’s calf. Hearing this, he lifted his eyelids and swept a glance over the fussy kid, letting out an “Mm.”

“I’ve seen you around.” The fussy kid sat up a little straighter. “I’m Du Miaomiao, from Class 15.”

Jiang Chu looked at Qin Zui. Whether Qin Zui was trying to remember or not was unclear, but his face was expressionless as he let out another “Mm” and said nothing.

Du Miaomiao stared at Qin Zui for a moment, seeming a bit wronged by his apathetic reaction to meeting a schoolmate. He pouted and then turned to glare at Old Du.

“His name is Qin Zui.” Jiang Chu had to speak up for him.

“Kids these days… interesting,” Old Du said with a squint and a smile, handing Du Miaomiao back the phone he’d just taken away so he could keep playing.

When they got up the mountain, the first thing to do was assign rooms.

The rooms here had been renovated pretty nicely. It wasn’t a multi-story building, nor was it a big, flat courtyard house. The living quarters were built along a gentle slope, in a row of log cabins. Bunches of garlic and chili peppers were hanging by the doors. Inside, the rooms had big, brightly patterned bed sheets and comforters. When you pushed open the window, you were greeted by the gentle slope covered in little pink and purple flowers.

“So, how are we pairing up? Two to a room?” Fang Zi leaned against a wooden post, counting heads.

“With you paired up, that still leaves one odd man out,” Hua Zi said.

“What are you talking about?” Benzi counted again. “Me and Bao Li, Hua Zi and Mei Zi, Old Du and the big nephew, Chu and our little bro, you and…”

There was still Chen Linguo.

Chen Linguo and Fang Zi looked at each other, both a little awkward and both wanting to laugh. Together, they looked back at Jiang Chu.

Jiang Chu didn’t meet their eyes. Bao Li was the one who’d brought her, and no matter how they split it, there was no way he was ending up in a room with Chen Linguo.

He just picked a room on the edge and tossed Qin Zui’s bag on the table.

“Who’d share a room with you?” Bao Li pulled Chen Linguo over. “We settled this last night. Me, Mei Zi, and Guoguo are taking the big room. It even has its own bathroom. You and Hua Zi can figure it out for yourselves.”

“The smaller rooms don’t have private bathrooms?” Old Du opened a door and looked inside.

“The bathhouse,” Fang Zi pointed to a large, single-story building in the distance. “Reliving your student days.”

With the rooms decided, they still had about half an hour before lunch. Everyone went back to their own rooms to settle in and put their stuff away.

Jiang Chu had gone to bed a little late last night and had driven for over an hour today. While he wasn’t exactly tired, he felt like lying down for a bit.

Qin Zui pulled two pairs of slippers suitable for outdoors from his bag and threw them on the floor.

“You’re pretty thoughtful,” Jiang Chu said, rolling over on the bed. He propped himself up on an elbow, half-reclining as he watched him. “Have you seen that Du Miaomiao kid at school before?”

“No memory of him.” Qin Zui twisted the cap off a water bottle and took a big gulp. He genuinely didn’t remember. He hadn’t even looked that closely at the faces of people in his own class, let alone someone from another class.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him initiate a greeting with anyone.” Jiang Chu crooked a finger at Qin Zui, signaling for him to pass the water bottle.

Qin Zui handed him the bottle while sizing up the bed. They called it a king-sized bed room, but it was really just a standard double bed. They’d be shoulder-to-shoulder if they lay side-by-side.

Jiang Chu leaned back against the headboard, drinking water. Qin Zui leaned against the low dresser by the bed, his line of sight falling right on Jiang Chu’s bobbing Adam’s apple.

“Are you sleeping on the inside or the outside?” his gaze traced down from Jiang Chu’s Adam’s apple before pulling away to look at the corner of Jiang Chu’s mouth.

“Do you need to get up in the middle of the night?” Jiang Chu was about to say “I’m fine with either” when their window was tapped twice.

“Qin Zui?” Du Miaomiao’s face appeared, half-obscured by the floral curtain. He rolled his big eyes, peering into the room. Seeing Jiang Chu and Qin Zui, one lying down and one leaning against the dresser, both turning their heads to look at him, he waved at Qin Zui. “Want to go to the bathroom together?”