Under Clear Chapter 4: Add on Wechat?

Chapter 4: Add on Wechat?

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Tang Heng said “just walk around” and Li Yuechi really did just bring him to walk around. The two circled the building and arrived at the walls surrounding the factory, strolling along it.

Li Yuechi walked in front of Tang Heng, keeping half a step between them the entire time. Just as Tang Heng was ready to find something to talk about, he suddenly said, “How long will you guys stay here?”

“Around 10 days,” Tang Heng said.

Li Yuechi nodded and didn’t say anything else. His back was to Tang Heng, overflowing with a coldness that stopped all conversation.

Tang Heng wanted to find another topic. Anything. Even chatting about this factory’s profits—but suddenly, he felt like he was being stupid. He and Li Yuechi met again here on accident, while Li Yuechi was called here by the factory leaders to kiss up to him. He probably wasn’t willing either. In the end, he was the one holding Li Yuechi back.

“Whatever,” Tang Heng said in a low voice. “Let’s go back. They’re probably done eating soon.”

“Mn.”

Li Yuechi finally turned around, his face still tensed and expressionless. The two soon arrived at the cafeteria entrance. Even outside, they could hear Lao Huang and Sun Jihao acting chummy with one another. Tang Heng couldn’t help but stop and ask, “How much did the motion sickness patches cost?”

Li Yuechi replied with unmoved eyes. “Fourteen-fifty. And the bottle of water you drank last night, one-kuai.”

“…Where did you buy the patches?”

“Pharmacy.”

“Which pharmacy?”

“Teacher Tang,” Li Yuechi said with annoyance, “why do you have so many questions?”

Tang Heng was taken aback. “I need to buy more in a few days.”

“No need.” Li Yuechi tossed behind that strange remark and entered, pushing the door in.

The afternoon’s schedule was tighter than the morning. The group visited three food factories, Lao Huang and a few officials accompanying them the entire time. Their attitudes were even more enthusiastic than the morning. Surrounded by them, Tang Heng had to observe the factory while responding to their flattering remarks. Time flew.

By the time they came out of the last factory, it was already dusk. The clouds were like wisps of smoke at this high altitude, floating lazily in the auburn sky.

They were led to a two-floor restaurant. The students ate a buffet on the first floor; Sun Jihao and Tang Heng were invited into a private room on the second floor. Perhaps because of what happened at noon, Lao Huang cleverly called, “Hey, Liu Jing, call Xiao Li over.”

“I saw him standing outside the door just now. Wait a second, I’ll go find him.”

Lao Huang handed two menus to Sun Jihao and Tang Heng. “Teachers, what would you like to eat? This restaurant makes the local specialty dishes, like stewed goat, mutton noodles. It’s delicious! Order whatever you’d like.”

The menu was new and light reflected from the satin cover. Tang Heng opened it to the first page, discovering that the prices weren’t labeled for any of the dishes. He suddenly thought of how Director Xu told them beforehand that they couldn’t have expensive ingredients when eating with the locals. Otherwise, they could be accused of accepting bribery if the locals came up with a crazy price.

Sun Jihao coughed and put the menu back on the table. “No rush. Not everyone is here yet.”

“Xiao Li will be here soon. Let’s start ordering first,” Lao Huang said solicitously.

Tang Heng put his menu down too. He used more force and it made a thud. Then he stood up and said coolly, “I’ll go check on the students.”

Lao Huang exclaimed, “Hey, Teacher Tang—”

Ignoring him, Tang Heng pulled the door open and left.

The students were eating their buffet on the first floor. Tang Heng strolled around. The dishes were diverse, but it was just poultry and fish and the like. This reassured him a bit. When they came in, he’d noticed the small mart by the restaurant. He was about to go buy a pack of cigarettes when he saw a tall, thin figure push open the glass door and walk in.

Li Yuechi also saw Tang Heng and halted.

“I’m going to buy cigarettes.” Tang Heng didn’t know why he was explaining. “President Huang called you over, right?” But then he felt so fake. He purposely asked that, just to hint that it wasn’t he who called Li Yuechi over—it was President Huang. But in the end, he was still the reason why President Huang invited Li Yuechi.

Li Yuechi nodded. “Then, let’s go.”

Tang Heng: “Huh?”

“Aren’t you going to buy cigarettes?”

“…Oh.”

The two entered the mart next door. The glass shelf of cigarettes was right next to the cash register. The packs were put one next to another—a colorful, dazzling array.

Tang Heng lowered his head to choose. Huanghelou, Diamond, Baisha… He hadn’t seen all these Chinese brands in a long time. In Macao, the convenience store outside the teacher’s dorm only sold foreign brands. He’d always chose randomly, smoked randomly.

Li Yuechi stood on the side, not saying anything. Tang Heng’s eyes moved between Huangguoshu and Hongtashan for a moment. In the end, he said, “Excuse me, a pack of Zhonghua.”

“Sure, 65.”

He didn’t have special feelings for this brand. It’s just that he suddenly remembered how, one night after a performance some year, Li Yuechi had gone to buy cigarettes and he’d followed. “Smoke something expensive,” he’d said casually. “Xuezhang, my treat—is Zhonghua nice?” And Li Yuechi had turned and smiled at him and said, unintentionally awkward, “It’s too expensive. I’ll go with Hongtashan.”

Tang Heng accepted the cigarettes and change. Inside, he wondered how to start the conversation—If Li Yuechi still smoked, he wished he could smoke a Zhonghua.

Like he owed Li Yuechi a Zhonghua cigarette.

“Have you smoked this before? I haven’t—” But the words he’d planned in his head for a good few seconds was interrupted by a giggle.

A woman’s voice behind the shelf said in dialect, “Hey, didn’t Lao Huang tell you to look for Xiao Li?”

“What’s the hurry? He knows to call me when he gets here—like he dares to go in!”

“Oho, you underestimate the fancy student! Don’t they say he knows that official?”

“You believe that?” The two voices got closer. “That’s the official being polite and greeting him. You think this counts? There aren’t that many people in a school. They’re just acquaintances!”

Tang Heng was taken aback. There was pain on his wrist and realized with a start that Li Yuechi was gripping him. Before he could think, he was dragged out of the mart by Li Yuechi.

The two women who’d spoken walked over to check out. Through the plastic curtains, Tang Heng saw a pair of round black heels. It was the woman Lao Huang had instructed to go find Li Yuechi. Was she called Liu Jing? Without giving Tang Heng time to think more, Li Yuechi pulled him along as he strode forward. He only vaguely heard the last few sentences.

“Lao Huang’s brain must’ve stopped working—even if you wanna get close to an official, you can’t get someone from jail!”

“Shush, or else if someone tells him, he’ll stab you too…”

Li Yuechi didn’t let go until he pushed open the door of the restaurant.

He was so strong, leaving red marks on Tang Heng’s wrist. Tang Heng looked down dumbly at the redness. He’d thought that after being released, Li Yuechi returned to his hometown, got a girlfriend, got a small store, and was living a stable nice. Last night when he couldn’t fall asleep, he even thought that, maybe, this wasn’t too bad. Li Yuechi was one of the few university graduates in this remote town, at least.

“Did I hurt you?” Li Yuechi wasn’t as cold as before. With his eyes lowered, his voice was more cautious, “They would’ve seen us if we didn’t leave.”

“Is that how they talk about you usually?” Tang Heng asked, looking up.

Li Yuechi scoffed. “Not in front of me.”

Tang Heng was silent for a few seconds. He offered the red pack of Zhonghua that he’d squished to Li Yuechi. “Do you wanna smoke?”

Li Yuechi accepted it and didn’t say anything.

The two went upstairs, into the private room. Tang Heng and Sun Jihao sat in the hosts’ position, right across from the door, while Li Yuechi came late, so he could only sit in the lowest position, next to the door. The menus on the table had been replaced with copies labeled with the prices. Sun Jihao didn’t have a dark expression, but he wasn’t as friendly as before. Lao Huang and the other minor officials were busy smiling nervously.

Lao Huang politely greeted, “Xiao Li, you’re here! I just asked Liu Jing to go pick you up downstairs!”

Li Yuechi nodded. “Thank you.”

“Oh?” Tang Heng suddenly said from the other side of the round table. His voice was half an octave higher than before, sounding very bright. “I didn’t see that—Liu Jing? I was the one who brought xuezhang up.”

Everyone fell silent at that. Lao Huang and the others all looked at him with wide eyes. Even Sun Jihao turned around, as if asking with eyes, Xuezhang??

Tang Heng rose in the shocked silence of the room. Despite the effort, he circled around half the table to stand before Li Yuechi.

“Xuezhang.” His voice was lower again, cautious as if fearing rejection. “It’s so difficult to meet again… Let’s add each other on Wechat?”

Li Yuechi wanted to get up, but Tang Heng pushed his shoulders back into his seat. “Just sit.” Then he bent over and offered his phone to Li Yuechi.

Li Yuechi turned and glanced at Tang Heng, an unclear emotion in his eyes. One second, perhaps two seconds, without moving.

The next instant, just as Tang Heng was about to speak, Li Yuechi laughed. He pulled his phone out and said simply, “Sure, xuedi.”

Then he scanned Tang Heng’s contact code. With a crisp sound, the friend request popped up. His profile picture was dark blue, blurry and unclear what it was. His username was just Li Yuechi. Tang Heng accepted the request. The dark blue profile picture appeared in his list of messages, a red dot in the right corner. The chat history said, You have added Li Yuechi and can start chatting now.

Tang Heng returned to his seat in a bit of a daze. Lao Huang reacted, smiling at Li Yuechi. “Xiao Li, you’re Teacher Tang’s xue…xuezhang?” He was smiling, but his smile was filled with undisguisable shock.

Li Yuechi replied with “mn” as if he didn’t want to explain further.

Tang Heng said, “Yes, he’s my xuezhang.” Not his schoolmate, not an old friend, and not his shixiong. That year, he’d met Li Yuechi in his uncle’s office and it dawne don him that Li Yuechi was his uncle’s grad student. He’d just finished the final exams of his junior year at that time.

Li Yuechi had greeted him, calling him “shidi.” Li Yuechi’s hair had been long, pulled into a low ponytail with a few loud red-orange highlights. He’d been annoyed and spoke with thorns in his words. “Don’t call me shidi. We’re not close, are we?” After that, he never called Li Yuechi “shixiong,” but he called him many times, countless times: “xuezhang.”

From elementary school to his doctorate degree, in those 20 years of studies, he was the only xuezhang.