Under Clear Skies Chapter 21: Wild Stallion

Chapter 21: Wild Stallion

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

The next morning, Tang Heng was woken up by his phone’s ringtone. Still sleepy, he felt for his phone with his eyes closed. “Hello?”

“Tang Heng, did you register for the GRE?” Fu Liling’s voice was unclear. Probably drank wine again.

“…You checked my bank card?”

“Yours? Where’d you get a bank card if I don’t make money?” Fu Liling said, actually choking up. “You don’t want your mom anymore? Tang Heng, you’re the only one I have and now, you don’t want me either?”

It was this trick again. Tang Heng was instantly annoyed. “I’m just going to study abroad for a few years, not immigrate!”

“I won’t allow it,” Fu Liling yelled. “Or else, don’t spend my money!”

“Fine. If I don’t spend your money, then you’ll—”  

“Honey, Mommy is begging you.” Her voice suddenly dropped, as if begging him. “Mommy will support anything you do, as long as you stay in the country.”

“You’ll support me even if I’m gay?”

The other end was quiet for a few seconds. “Honey, that’s all make-believe.”

Tang Heng hung up.

It was close to 11 now and Jiang Ya and An Yun were still deep asleep—these two never got up before noon. Tang Heng got up by himself and washed up. He took out the clothes from the dryer. Getting dressed, he walked to the sofa and kicked Jiang Ya. “Wake up and lend me some money.”

“Mm… Library, drawer,” Jiang Ya mumbled. “Card.”

“I need cash.”

“My pocket…”

Tang Heng picked up the jeans tossed in the corner. “Not enough.”

“Why’re you so fucking needy?” Jiang Ya complained, sitting up. “The bottom drawer of the wardrobe in my bedroom! Take my money and fuck off!”

“You want to humiliate our love with just a mere 50 million…” An Yun was awake too. Her eyes were still closed, but she was speaking quite clearly. “Tang Heng, where you going? Get some food back too. I wanna eat duck palm rice.”

“Me too!” Jiang Ya chirped.

“Keep sleeping,” Tang Heng said expressionlessly as he grabbed the money. “You can have everything in your dreams.”

 

It was another clear day. Standing on the ground, he could vaguely feel the steaming hot air. You couldn’t tell that it had rained last night at all. Tang Heng’s mind was in a mess by Fu Liling’s call and, paired with the hot temperature, he had no appetite at all. He sat in the subway station for a while and answered a call from his uncle telling him to argue less with his mom and report to the project group tomorrow.

Tang Heng agreed distractedly. After hanging up, a train happened to arrive, so he followed the crowd in. Line 2 was always filled with people. Fortunately, it was only two stops from Huquan to Jiedaokou. Tang Heng bought a diffuser from the Creative City and then took a cab to Donghu Village.

He was looking for Li Yuechi, but thinking of the trash pile outside the building… He decided to buy the diffuser, hoping it would help a bit.

Passing by the clinic, Tang Heng went in and asked the doctor, “Did he come to change the salve?”

“Yeah.” The doctor was eating noodles again. “Came early in the morning and seemed really energetic.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Did the lad get a fever last night?”

“…No.”

“He has great health, huh.”

Inside, Tang Heng thought, He didn’t get a fever, right? If he did, how could he come energetically in the morning to change the salve? How could he teach the tutor classes? How could he pass out the flyers? He probably doesn’t even dare to get a fever, even if he wanted to.

Tang Heng strolled aimlessly through the alleys. The noon sun was at its hottest and he was thirsty, so he bought some rice wine from a breakfast shop. Just as Beijing had sour plum soup and Guangzhou had milk tea, breakfast shops in Wuhan had rice wine. Iced rice wine had a tinge of sweetness in the sour and was cold—a perfect match for the hot dried noodles.

But Tang Heng still didn’t have an appetite. He knew that Li Yuechi wouldn’t be home—perhaps, coming to find him was just so he could have something to do. Even just waiting aimlessly helped him stop thinking of those frustrating things for a bit.

 

He made his way to Li Yuechi’s building. The trash pile was still there. After getting drenched with rain and dried by the sun, the smell was even stronger. Tang Heng climbed the stairs, brows knitted. He couldn’t see clearly last night, but it was clear now. The green paint on the metal stairs was mottled and a few rods were rusted, shedding yellow metal flecks. He climbed all the way to the door and saw an umbrella hanging from the uppermost railing. It was a long, old-fashioned umbrella with four small words printed on the handle: Youth Grad School Tutoring.

Was it a set with the T-shirt? This cram school had quite a lot of merch.

Wait—

The umbrella was here.

Tang Heng froze for two seconds, then knocked on the door.

No reply.

Maybe the boy forgot the umbrella when leaving this morning.

He knocked twice more.

Still no reply.

Whatever, that guy doesn’t seem like the type to be scared of the rain.

Tang Heng wanted to leave, but just as he took a step, he heard faint footsteps behind him.

They were long, dragged-out steps.

The door opened. Li Yuechi stood before Tang Heng. His upper body was bare and even though he was wearing a pair of jeans, it was obvious he’d pulled it on in a haste—he hadn’t done the button on the fly and the waist was slightly open, revealing a portion of abs that Tang Heng hadn’t seen last night.

Tang Heng felt his temple throb. “Can’t you put your pants on properly?” he couldn’t help but say.

Li Yuechi buttoned it up and said slowly, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m here to return the money.”

“Oh, thanks.” But he stood there without moving, not showing any intention of inviting Tang Heng in.

Tang Heng pulled a few hundred-kuai bills out of his pocket and offered them out.

Li Yuechi lowered his head and glanced down without accepting it. “That’s too much.”

“Just take it,” Tang Heng. He didn’t actually know how much money this was. He was too lazy to count.   

Li Yuechi didn’t speak and reached out to take two bills out.

Tang Heng was speechless. “How’s your injury?” he asked.

“It’s fine.”

“Did you get a fever last night?”

“No.”

“That’s good.”

“Mn—”       

Li Yuechi looked at Tang Heng and, surprisingly, slowly smiled. His smile was like a shadow cast by the midday sun, a bit absentminded. Tang Heng was taken aback. The next second, he watched as the other fell right towards him!

 

His forehead burned, his entire body burned, but when he lay in bed, he whispered, “I’m kind of cold.”

“Where’s the fever medicine?!” Tang Heng asked anxiously.

“Finished them.”

“Fucking hell,” Tang Heng said. “Wait here!”

“Don’t go.”

“I’m buying medicine for you!”

“I want water.”

“Where’s the water?”   

“…”

Tang Heng looked everywhere and only found a plastic Fuguang cup by the foot of the bed. Empty. “I’m fucking done,” Tang Heng cursed again.

Li Yuechi’s dark eyes stared at him without blinking, like the eyes of some animal.

Tang Heng hesitated for an instant and asked, “Do you drink rice wine?”

He said, “Yeah.”

Tang Heng looped an arm around his shoulder and propped his upper body up. He used his other hand to bring the rice wine to Li Yuechi’s lips.

He silently held the straw that Tang Heng had used in his mouth and started gulping with big mouthfuls, so fast that his chest heaved up and down. It was like there was no other sound in the room, other than the sound of him gulping. Tang Heng felt more and more that he was like an animal—his eyes, and the way he drank the rice wine.

He drank the entire large cup of rice wine.

“When was the last time you drank water?” Tang Heng couldn’t help but ask.

Li Yuechi lay down again, turning around with his back to Tang Heng. His body was wrapped messily in bandages and his wound was still swollen. He didn’t answer when Tang Heng asked him questions—he’d actually fallen asleep. Perhaps because he was uncomfortable from the fever, his breathing was rapid. His two shoulder blades trembled with his breaths.

A horse, Tang Heng suddenly realized. Not the tall, sturdy horses from stables that were raised for humans to ride, but a wild stallion from the mountains, bony and thin. They’d gallop through the dust as long as they were alive. Even if they died, they’d still be a resilient skeleton.

Of course, he didn’t mean to curse Li Yuechi.

 

Tang Heng took the key from Li Yuechi’s table and went to the clinic to buy medicine for him. Fever medicine, fever patches, antibiotics… He bought everything he could. Then he went to the corner shop and bought a dozen bottles of water. The day was at its hottest and his shirt was quickly soaked with sweat.

Returning to his home, he patted his arm. “Get up and take the medicine.”

Li Yuechi was quite cooperative now. He obediently swallowed the medicine and drank water. Then he stared straight at Tang Heng as if he couldn’t process what had just happened.

“You know who I am, right?” Tang Heng asked tentatively. He hoped the boy hadn’t gone stupid from the fever.

“I know.” But Li Yuechi smiled and said with abnormal clarity, “You’re the person who sang Summer Night’s Breeze.”