Chapter 28
Under a patch of shade by the lotus pond, a row of bicycles was neatly lined up. Next to them was a large piece of cardboard with the words “Bicycle Rental, 10 yuan per hour” written in crooked marker.
The last time Pei Yunle had ridden a bicycle was when she was rushing to the lab for class. Since graduating from college, she hadn’t even touched a handlebar.
The two of them rented for two hours, riding the heavily scratched bicycles around the lotus pond, squeezing between two green mountains, passing the black-canopied boats swaying on the water, and weaving through several winding alleys. The tires rolled over melon rinds and vegetables, from the wet market filled with the sweet and rotten smell, all the way back to the lotus pond.
The two of them rode side by side, with little interaction, except for when Pei Yunle would occasionally try to kick Chen Qingtang’s rear tire. Chen Qingtang would get angry and pedal faster. Watching her skirt flutter in the wind, Pei Yunle had to stand up and pedal to catch up and coax her. After several repetitions, Chen Qingtang finally couldn’t take it anymore, got off, and pushed the bike to return it.
“Aiya, aiya—” Pei Yunle whined behind her, “Let’s ride a little longer. I won’t kick your bike anymore.”
Chen Qingtang didn’t listen. She grabbed Pei Yunle’s handlebars, not letting her ride either. One person held two bikes. Pei Yunle looked at her puffed-up cheeks and found it not intimidating at all, but very cute.
She followed behind her, watching Chen Qingtang’s hair fly up as she walked quickly, every strand vivid and free. Pei Yunle took out her phone and, even with the backlight, had to capture this moment.
“Chen Qingtang, Chen Qingtang, look, isn’t this funny?”
Pei Yunle jogged to catch up and handed her the photo she had just taken as if it were a treasure. The frame contained the blue sky and white flowers, and Chen Qingtang walking under the green trees, no longer as serious as usual. Even when she was angry, she was very lively.
Chen Qingtang didn’t want to pay attention to her, but she couldn’t resist the interesting photo she had taken, because in the bottom right corner, a tongue-sticking-out Pei Yunle had photobombed it.
Chen Qingtang, who didn’t like taking pictures, for the first time began to take an interest in it. She asked Pei Yunle, who was still adjusting the filter with her head down.
—Can you take these with just a phone?
“Of course, but different brands of phones take different pictures. The most important thing about taking pictures is to commemorate, right?”
—So what kind of phone takes good pictures?
Pei Yunle thought for a moment. “They all think that Apple phones take realistic pictures. I think it’s okay. Compared to using a phone, I prefer to use a camera. Whether it’s a digital one or a Polaroid, they’re both good, each with its own characteristics.”
Chen Qingtang remembered how skilled Pei Yunle was with a camera at the wedding banquet, unlike her, who didn’t even know how to use the buttons. When she was serious, Pei Yunle was completely different from her usual carefree self, exuding a different kind of confidence.
Chen Qingtang really liked that Pei Yunle. If only she had had a camera to record it at that time. She began to understand why some people liked taking pictures so much. She began to want to record every minute she spent with Pei Yunle.
After returning the bicycles, her balance was instantly reduced by 40 yuan. Pei Yunle held her phone, her heart aching. For the first time, she felt how difficult it was to live without money.
Walking out of the bustling crowd, Chen Qingtang was going to a small clinic to buy medicine. She said that her grandmother’s knee was hurting again and she couldn’t sleep at night.
The small clinic was only one story high and not very large. Inside was an iron stove, and a few tattered, peeling stools were placed against the wall. Old people, dressed heavily, were huddled on the stools. A few children with IV drips in their heads were wailing in their mothers’ arms.
Pei Yunle had only taken one step inside when she was so shocked by the lion’s roars that she quickly retreated. It was crowded inside, and everyone was wrapped in a mixture of sickness and heat. She couldn’t accept it. Leaving aside her identity as a medical student, she was not a naturally compassionate person.
Chen Qingtang didn’t force her to go in, just told her to wait obediently for her to come out.
There were three relatively low steps outside the clinic. Pei Yunle’s feet were on the bottom step, and she sat on the top, her elbows on her knees, boredly watching a group of old ladies under the tree playing mahjong.
The sound of the mahjong tiles hitting the wooden table was very clear. The sounds of “one bamboo” and “two dots” continuously poured into her ears. People were constantly winning, and people were constantly losing money. The colorful bills were scattered on the mahjong tiles. Pei Yunle was a little tempted.
Not to rob, but to play.
People were constantly coming in and out of the clinic. Pei Yunle felt that she was in the way, so she stood up and went back into the clinic. Watching a person in a white coat changing someone’s dressing, she walked up to the doctor with her hands behind her back.
“Sister, are there usually a lot of patients here?”
The doctor didn’t even lift her eyelids to look at her, just felt that she was in her way. “Of course there are.”
“So are you hiring?”
“You want to come?”
Pei Yunle hadn’t really thought it through, just asked casually. “Yes.”
“I don’t know. Don’t block me from getting things.” Even with a mask on, Pei Yunle could see the impatience and frustration underneath. She understood this feeling and obediently made way and left the cubicle.
When she turned around, she saw Chen Qingtang with a plastic bag.
“You’re done? Are we going home?”
Chen Qingtang nodded. The two of them left, one in front of the other. The people under the tree had already started a new round of mahjong. Pei Yunle nudged Chen Qingtang with her elbow. “Hey, do you know how to play mahjong?”
Getting a negative answer, Pei Yunle was a little disappointed. Her dim eyes immediately lit up again. “How about I teach you? It’s very fun.”
—Isn’t this gambling?
Chen Qingtang was repulsed by anything related to yellow, gambling, and drugs. She was even repulsed by things she had never tried before, except for dyeing her hair with Pei Yunle last night.
Pei Yunle shook her head. “I don’t think so. My roommate and I often played in college, for ten cents. We would only lose about ten yuan a day. As the saying goes, a little gambling is for fun, but a big gamble is harmful.”
“Do you want to learn?” Pei Yunle leaned in again, almost pressing her face against Chen Qingtang’s.
If someone else had tried to persuade her to learn, Chen Qingtang would have refused without hesitation. But seeing Pei Yunle’s expectant face, it seemed that she just wanted to take her to try something new.
She had already dyed her hair. Playing mahjong for ten cents didn’t seem like a big deal.
Chen Qingtang nodded as if in a trance.
“Then we’ll download an app to play when we get home. After I teach you, I’ll take you out to fight the sixty-year-old ladies.”
The sun was setting in the west, and a brilliant light was generously scattered from the distant horizon. Chen Qingtang didn’t dare to hold Pei Yunle’s hand in public, but she really wanted to be close to the person she liked in this warmth. So she followed what Pei Yunle had said and reached out to link arms with her, to draw warmth from Pei Yunle’s body.
Pei Yunle looked back at her and, with a grin, slowly slid her ten fingers into the gaps between Chen Qingtang’s hand bones.
Chen Qingtang pulled her hand back and shook her head at her.
“Why? Aren’t we a couple?” Pei Yunle hooked her little finger in public.
Chen Qingtang pointed to the side. Pei Yunle followed her slightly upturned finger and saw the traffic raising dust, the curling cooking smoke in the distance, the child being chased and beaten by his mother, the couple arguing on the second floor, and the various people surrounding them.
Above them was the boundless sky, and below them was the concrete ground that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Their every move was hidden in the crowd, and yet it stood out in the crowd.
Pei Yunle knew what Chen Qingtang, who had grown up in a small town, was afraid of—the worldly gaze that was sharp enough to break a person’s back, invisible yet a sharp knife, scraping away at a person’s heart inch by inch.
“Then why did you agree to be with me?” her mumble was squeezed out of her throat, making people feel stuffy.
Chen Qingtang stopped. The sunlight shone on her face, and her high, well-defined features were divided into light and shadow. She didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything. But in the very bright light, Pei Yunle saw something else in those eyes that were like pebbles washed by water.
Because she liked her so much, even though she knew that the other person was a fire, the moth still couldn’t control its wings and flew towards the light. So the two moths were by the flame, carefully embracing each other.
Pei Yunle let out a long sigh and had to link arms with Chen Qingtang. “Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re being rational or crazy.”
She wanted to lead her forward, but Chen Qingtang was like a clay statue and wouldn’t move. Pei Yunle turned her head in confusion.
The summer wind blew on her cheeks, and a fleeting soft warmth fell on the corner of her lips. She felt Chen Qingtang’s nose against her face, tingling and itchy.
Pei Yunle felt a sweetness welling up in her mouth. It was the berry sparkling cold brew she had had from Chen Qingtang before. The bubbles rushed to the bottom of her heart, bursting one by one, the force shaking her heart. Countless small, tinkling joys trembled in her body.
The heart begins to beat around the 30th day of embryonic development and only stops beating at death. When Pei Yunle read this sentence in a textbook, she was shocked by the resilience and strength of the heart. But she didn’t expect that it also had a fragile moment, at the moment of being loved.
The two of them walked towards the sunset, and as if by telepathy, they both chose a long way home. The small alley was quiet and had few people. They held hands in the deserted places and let go of their sweaty hands at the corners. They kissed carefully and boldly under the shady stone bridge, and linked arms and entered the house together in the crowded places.
In the evening, Pei Yunle was not hungry and didn’t want to eat. She was probably full from the bubbles. She lay on Chen Qingtang’s bed and played on her phone. On a whim, she opened her Moments and chose a photo of Chen Qingtang she had taken during the day. Of course, at the bottom was still her with her tongue sticking out.
In the past, she had disdained posting about her relationships on her Moments. She always felt that it was like announcing it to the world. Other than love rivals or ex-girlfriends, who would care about their relationship? But at this moment, she just wanted to be that clueless person.
Even if she was blocked, even if she annoyed people like her who would secretly dislike her but still send blessings, Pei Yunle didn’t block anyone. She posted that silly photo without even a caption, just like that.
Comments appeared quickly under the photo. Most of them were just a “99” like a bot. Other than Ji Mingzhu, who was a breath of fresh air, who sent a “hehe.”
Pei Yunle frowned and replied with a “?”.
Ji Mingzhu replied in a second: Congratulations on finally announcing a well-known secret.
Pei Yunle rolled her eyes and just opened the full-sized picture, carefully scanning every inch to make sure that Chen Qingtang’s beauty was restored to 100%.
Suddenly, the screen went black, and an incoming call immediately covered the original screen.
Pei Yunle pouted, answered the phone, her voice lazy, “Hello, Mom.”
Lin Zilan didn’t waste any time with pleasantries and went straight to the point, “What’s the meaning of this Moments post? Are you in a relationship?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re in a relationship in your current situation? Is this girl from Pingshun? Is it the one I saw last time?”
Pei Yunle dodged the question. “I’m in my twenties, can’t I be in a relationship?”
“I’m not saying you can’t, but how can you dare to be in a relationship when you haven’t even solved the most important thing? If you had used this free time, you would have found a job long ago!”
“Aiya, I have my own sense of propriety.”
Lin Zilan almost shouted on the other end of the phone, “You have a sense of propriety my ass! You’ll see if you don’t pass the written exam next month!”
Pei Yunle clicked her tongue and perfunctorily said a few words to get by. The phone was hung up, and the room returned to silence.
