Chapter 76

Whether it was because he found out Old Du had a girlfriend, or because of Kang Che’s words, Qin Zui felt off the entire night.

A vague restlessness clung to him, making him desperately, achingly want to see Jiang Chu.

Not the kind of “see” you get through a video screen where you can only look at a face.

It was the kind of “see” where he could touch him immediately, where he could firmly grasp Jiang Chu in his hands.

“When do you guys get on break? I heard Liang Xiaojia’s school lets them go home this week.” Jiang Chu was also paying attention to this question.

Actually, after New Year’s passed, it was only about a month until the New Year itself.

There was a lot of trivial stuff before the holiday. Before, he’d be busy until he looked up and realized it was time for the New Year break. Qin Zui would only have another two or three weeks at most before he could come home.

But originally, back during the National Day holiday, he had thought he could see Qin Zui again at New Year’s. The result was he didn’t, and this feeling of “prolonging the wait” felt especially strong.

“The 23rd.” Qin Zui confirmed with Mao Sui, then, sitting in front of the computer, he scrolled through the calendar on his phone, frowning slightly.

“The 23rd… let me see.” Jiang Chu repeated, his voice sounding happy. “That’s soon, two weeks. You can start buying your ticket now.”

“You want me to pick you up at the station, Puppy?” Before Qin Zui could reply, he asked another question.

“Missing me that much.” Qin Zui let out a soft laugh, still staring at the calendar. He curled his index finger and rubbed his brow. “But I might have to stay at school a few extra days.”

Jiang Chu hummed a questioning tone. “Gonna go hang out with your classmates somewhere?”

“No.” Qin Zui explained, “The small project from the lab assignment is almost done culturing. I wanted to stay and finish writing the paper.”

“Alright then.” Jiang Chu laughed. Qin Zui was so driven he felt like giving him an award. “Your tuition this semester was seriously money well spent.”

As long as he heard the laughter in Jiang Chu’s voice, Qin Zui felt completely comfortable from the bottom of his heart.

“Brother.” He called out to Jiang Chu.

“What is it?” Jiang Chu replied.

“Miss you.” Qin Zui said.

“I knew you were going to say that. Once a day, every day.” Jiang Chu was used to it by now. He followed up by reminding him about the ticket. “Plan it out yourself. Figure out roughly what day you can come back, and buy the ticket in advance. Tickets are hard to get during New Year’s. Let me know once you’ve booked it.”

“Mm.” Qin Zui laughed and hung up the phone.

By mid-January, once the final exams were all over, the atmosphere on campus instantly relaxed.

Mao Sui went home for a bit and brought back a couple of couplets his dad had written himself, one small scroll for each of them.

Then he slapped a giant “Fā” (Get Rich) poster on the outside of their dorm door and a “Cái” (Wealth) poster on the inside facing the room.

“Everyone from the first floor to the fifth floor posts ‘Fú’ (Blessing), only we have ‘Fā’ on ours,” Kang Che said, coming in from the hallway with a laugh. “And apparently there’s even a ‘Cái’ inside.”

“The Head of This Dormitory’s wishes and blessings are just this practical.” Mao Sui sat straddling a chair, rocking back and forth. “I sent the Winter Break Location Form to the group chat. Remember to fill yours in.”

Qin Zui was the last to fill his out. He only opened the form to look at it after coming back from the lab with Kang Che.

Mao Sui and Xu Bowen were both going straight home, but Kang Che filled in the local school area.

“You’re not going home?” Qin Zui turned his head to ask him.

“Not this year. Too many people at home, too much trouble.” Kang Che sounded completely indifferent.

This guy was always full of mysterious plans.

“Where are you gonna stay?” Qin Zui didn’t pry any further, just concerned himself with the most basic issue.

“I can stay anywhere.” Kang Che grinned. “Just join any random school group chat right now, they’re all full of people looking for short-term winter sublets.”

“Or you could stay with me.” Kang Che put his arm around his shoulder and patted it. “In case your brother kicks you out, your senior will let you crash.”

“Learn how to talk or keep your mouth shut.” Qin Zui jabbed him away with his elbow.

Gao Xia’s school had its break a week earlier than Qin Zui’s.

He originally wanted to go home with Qin Zui, but when he found out Qin Zui was gonna be holed up in the lab for who knows how many days, he just scrapped the idea and decided to grab a meal together before he left instead.

When Qin Zui answered his phone call, a familiar female voice came through the receiver: “Handsome! Guess who this is!”

“Do you have a problem? Calling him ‘Handsome’ right in front of him!” Qin Zui heard Gao Xia cursing beside her.

“You have a problem! Say that again!” The female voice yelled back at him.

Qin Zui listened to them bickering and swearing at each other, laughing. Once the commotion on the other end died down, he said, “You two met up?”

“We’re almost at your school gate,” Lu Yao said, still full of energy just like back in the 27th High School days. “Hurry up and come out, you’re treating us to dinner!”

Qin Zui met them at a barbecue place near the school gate.

When he walked in, Gao Xia and Lu Yao had their heads together, taking selfies.

“Over here!” Lu Yao was holding a pretentious, aloof expression. Seeing Qin Zui come in, she raised her arm and waved, then immediately turned back to the camera and struck the same pose.

“Stop taking pictures, your handsome guy’s here.” Gao Xia slid his phone onto the table.

“You’re ridiculous?” Qin Zui sat down across from them.

The three of them stared at each other for a moment, then all inexplicably felt like laughing.

They ended up laughing for a good while like three idiots.

“Alright, stop laughing, my eyeliner is gonna run!” Lu Yao laughed so hard she had to press a finger to her eye. She lowered her head and patted Gao Xia’s arm.

Gao Xia, being understanding, flipped the phone to the front camera and handed it to her.

After Lu Yao finished checking her makeup and hair, she took a satisfied sip of her drink, leaned back against the sofa, and sighed, “This is so amazing, this feeling.”

Qin Zui felt it too.

Time always seemed to fly by when you looked back.

They hadn’t really been apart that long. From the end of the Gaokao until now, it was only one semester, give or take.

Not to mention that Gao Xia was in the same city as him, so they could meet up for a meal whenever they wanted.

But in just this one semester, everyone had been quietly changing.

Looking back at half a year ago, Gao Xia was still hesitating over the distance, unsure whether or not to confess to Lu Yao. Now, he almost never mentioned that worry anymore.

Half a year ago, Du Miaomiao never thought his uncle would have a girlfriend during his repeat year.

Half a year ago, Qin Zui never thought Jiang Chu would actually compromise under his constant, encroaching tests.

And even less did he think that after the surprise of Jiang Chu’s compromise, there would be more feelings of frustration and anxiety.

Watching Lu Yao and Gao Xia sitting across from him, for a split second, Qin Zui felt like he was in Jiang Chu’s shoes.

He wondered what Jiang Chu felt, every time he was with his “normal” friends, watching his peers one by one have “normal” lives, get married, start families.

These were questions Qin Zui had never considered before.

At least, not before he knew about Fang Zi and Old Du having girlfriends, not before Kang Che said, “Your brother’s spoiled you so much you’ve lost perspective.” He simply didn’t think about it before.

He didn’t care about others, didn’t care about Qin Shuman or Jiang Liantian. He just wanted Jiang Chu, wanted Jiang Chu to wait for him.

All his emotional concern and attention was focused solely on Jiang Chu as a person. He had never actually thought about what Jiang Chu was facing from his perspective.

Jiang Chu had told him once, in the hotel room during the National Day holiday. He had wanted to tell Qin Zui about all the pressure he was under, but Qin Zui had forcefully interrupted him with his own line of thinking.

He had taken it for granted, telling Jiang Chu to not think about it either, just like him. He forced Jiang Chu to wait for him, and Jiang Chu never brought it up again.

Qin Zui stepped out of his own perspective and thought about Jiang Chu again. Suddenly, an ache of sympathy hit him hard in the chest.

He really had only just realized that when he was feeling upset, at least he had Kang Che to talk to.

Even though, from the time he and Kang Che met until now, they were like two aliens whose communication relied entirely on telepathy, always stuck at the stage of shared consciousness.

Jiang Chu didn’t even have a single person he could confide in.

Not one.

After that meal with Gao Xia and Lu Yao, Qin Zui started working overtime in the lab.

Kang Che, who originally was just hanging around in the lab with nothing to do, was dumbfounded by Qin Zui’s intense drive.

“It’s not like you’re counting on this little experimental paper to be your life’s work. Why are you acting like the house is on fire?” he said, propping his chin on his hand and yawning as he watched Qin Zui take notes.

“In a hurry to get home.” Qin Zui didn’t look at him, focusing on transcribing the data into a document.

He was pushing to meet the deadline at school. Once the 23rd passed, Jiang Chu was at home, counting down the days on his fingers.

Qin Zui had already stayed an extra whole week at school.

It had been snowing the past few days. It was cold, and the roads were terrible everywhere.

He wanted Qin Zui to come back sooner, but he knew Qin Zui was doing real work at school, so he couldn’t really rush him.

On the day of the Laba Festival, Jiang Liantian called Jiang Chu to come over for Laba rice porridge, saying Qin Shuman had made it herself.

“Isn’t Qin Zui supposed to be on break?” he asked at the dinner table.

“He is. He’s doing some research project at school. Just needs to finish up the last little bit, then he’ll come home,” Jiang Chu explained. He subconsciously glanced at Qin Shuman.

Qin Shuman looked as if she had just remembered she had a son in university. Following Jiang Liantian’s lead, she asked with some surprise, “Is medical school really that intense? Freshman year and already doing research?”

“Qin Zui has always had high standards for himself.” Jiang Chu smiled.

His dissatisfaction with Qin Shuman had transformed into a feeling that she was just bizarre.

After all, Qin Zui was her own son. She had the time and energy to make Laba porridge, but she didn’t even think to ask how Qin Zui was doing.

Looked like the Laba porridge was her real child.

“More ambitious than you were when you were in school.” Jiang Liantian handed his bowl to Jiang Chu, asking for a bit more.

“Of course he is.” Jiang Chu nodded as he took the bowl.

He never held back when praising Qin Zui, more enthusiastic about it than anyone else.

After eating at Jiang Liantian’s place, Jiang Liantian shoved a whole bunch of random gift boxes into Jiang Chu’s car. They were all gifts of food and supplements people had brought before the holiday.

Jiang Chu looked at them and his head started to ache. It was only seven or eight o’clock, so he decided to swing by his mom’s place and dump them all there.

“That kid still not on break?” his mom had just gotten back from work. She asked Jiang Chu to sit and eat with her again, and asked the same question.

“Soon.” Jiang Chu could only repeat himself.

His mom and Fang Zhou chatted with him about this and that for a bit, then suddenly she said, “Is he spending this year with you again? Didn’t Qin Shuman say anything?”

“I’m not annoyed, so why are you in a hurry?” Jiang Chu laughed and took a sip of his soup.

“It’s not about being in a hurry, it’s that your dad and his wife are being unreasonable.” His mom frowned and put a piece of lamb on his plate.

“I’ve never seen a mother act like this,” his mom said, easily getting worked up when she was busy around New Year’s. “His studies are eight years long. So he’s just gonna be hanging on you like this, year after year?”

“Let Jiang Chu eat first.” Fang Zhou helped him dodge the topic. “You’ve been talking ever since he walked in, he can’t even pick up his chopsticks.”

Jiang Chu didn’t bother saying he was already full from Jiang Liantian’s place. He really couldn’t eat any more right now. But he sincerely shot Fang Zhou a “thank you, uncle” look.

His mom was quiet for the time it takes to finish a bowl of soup, but then couldn’t help asking, “So Fang Zi is getting married?”

“Hey, Mom, it’s snowing again.” Jiang Chu, hearing the weather forecast on the TV, completely sidestepped her latest topic.

His mom got annoyed and smacked him on the arm.

After making the rounds to both houses, when he finally got back to his own place, Jiang Chu stood dumbfounded in the living room for a moment. Then he took off his jacket, threw it over Zhou Teng, and collapsed heavily into the sofa.

“Why am I so tired today.” He rubbed his face, tugged at his clothes to let Zhou Teng, who was scrambling with his butt in the air, crawl out.

Zhou Teng stared at him and shook his fur.

Jiang Chu lay there with nothing to do for a while, then pulled out his phone again.

21:52. Qin Zui hadn’t called him today, nor sent a WeChat message.

Actually, he hadn’t called yesterday either. Qin Zui seemed to have a lot going on these past few days, just chatting with him on WeChat before bed.

Jiang Chu fiddled with his phone. He wanted to call Qin Zui, but he was afraid he was in the lab.

He tossed his phone onto the sofa, turned on the TV just for background noise, and went to wash up, deciding to call before bed instead.

At 10:40 pm, he dialed Qin Zui. Qin Zui didn’t answer.

Jiang Chu sent him two messages, but there was still no reply.

“Guess I’m not getting to sleep anytime soon.” Jiang Chu stared at his phone, frowning.

At around eleven, still worried, he called again. This time, Qin Zui finally picked up.

“Brother.” Qin Zui’s voice sounded a bit breathless, and there was the sound of a car horn in the background.

“Did someone chase you down and beat you up?” Jiang Chu was stunned.

“No.” Qin Zui laughed. “Are you asleep yet?”

“Asleep my ass. Why didn’t you answer my call? What are you doing running around outside so late?” Jiang Chu was still frowning, staring out the window.

The weather alert on his phone was still set to Qin Zui’s city. They were close by, and it was snowing in both places.

“My phone died, just charged it.” Qin Zui let out a breath. It sounded like he was climbing stairs now, with a faint echo. “Brother, do you miss me?”

“Cut the crap,” Jiang Chu said. Suddenly, a strange feeling washed over him. He instinctively sat up straight, staring at the bedroom door, his throat tightening. “Where are you?”

“I miss you, so much.” Qin Zui said, breathing heavily. “Open the door.”

Jiang Chu’s heart leaped into his throat. He cursed under his breath, “Damn,” feeling like he’d been kicked out of bed. He almost tripped over his shoes as he scrambled up, flicked on the light, and rushed to the entryway to pull the door open.

The sound of running footsteps from the phone receiver merged with the sound coming from the hallway in an instant.

Jiang Chu only had time to see the black jacket in front of him still dusted with snow before Qin Zui, wrapped in the sharp, cold aura of a winter night, surged in and wrapped his arms tightly around him.