Under Clear Skies Chapter 26: “Wuhan” 

Chapter 26: “Wuhan” 

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

Tang Heng followed Li Yuechi and Tian Xiaoqin on the visits for many consecutive days. Wuhan in the dog days of summer was both hot and humid. Merely taking some steps under the sun was enough for him to be able to wring sweat out of his t-shirt. Plus, they were mostly going to the urban villages or the teetering old residential buildings. Everything was broken down; the air was filled with the smell of dust.

Not only was it hot and tiring, they frequently got the doors slammed in their faces too. Wuhan people all had fiery tempers. Often, they’d start yelling after a few exchanges and scream at them to get out of there through the door—after climbing seven flights of stairs, this kind of situation was depressing without a doubt.

Fortunately, Tang Heng didn’t have to do the talking. The reason was simple. Neither he nor Tian Xiaoqin knew the Wuhan dialect. Tang Heng had lived in Wuhan for six years, but he’d always been in school and everyone spoke Mandarin. Plus, nobody from his uncle’s family was from Wuhan. Tian Xiaoqin was from Hunan. She’d only done four years of undergrad studies in Wuhan and didn’t learn much of the language. The most miraculous one had to be Li Yuechi—he was from Guizhou, but he could actually understand most of the Wuhan dialect.

Tang Heng asked where he’d learned it. He said, Learned it while working.   

Then Tang Heng asked how his back injury was. He said, It’s mostly recovered.     

It seemed to be the case. These days, Li Yuechi was always the one who arrived the earliest and did the most work. He even had to carry his backpack and go teach at the tutor academy after each visit—what kind of damn body and spirit did he have? Tang Heng was in awe. He also understood why his uncle told him to learn from Li Yuechi now.

“Yuechi is too amazing,” Tian Xiaoqin lamented.

Looking at Li Yuechi’s distant backside with his bag, Tang Heng said, “Why’s he working so hard for money?”

“Studying costs money,” Tian Xiaoqin said.

“But there are student loans and scholarships. It can’t be that bad, right?”

“Then, I wouldn’t know, but I think he… has a girlfriend.” Tian Xiaoqin blinked. “I’m not sure though.”

The next day was the weekend. He could finally rest for two days. An Yun was treating them to dinner at night. Of course, it was mainly for Tian Xiaoqin. As the saying went, the alcoholic wasn’t about the liquor—Tang Heng and Jiang Ya were there as extras. They went to Xiao Min food stall to eat crab-leg noodles, roasted crawfish, and extremely soft and fleshy chicken feet. Dapaidang food stalls were always packed at night with the hustle and bustle. An Yun and Tian Xiaoqin chatted while Jiang Ya studied Tang Heng boredly. “You’re really working with them these days?”

Tang Heng: “Duh.”

“Wow.” Jiang Ya lowered his voice, “You’re the only hope now!”

Tang Heng: “Huh?”

“Them two!” Jiang Ya wriggled his brows at Tian Xiaoqin like a calculative rat. “So, do you think they got a chance?”

Tang Heng lowered his voice as well. “Don’t know.”

“Is she dating anyone?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then they got a chance.”

“…”

The image of Li Yuechi helping Tian Xiaoqin carry her bag appeared before hi eyes, as well as Tian Xiaoqin’s tone when she called him Yuechi. This couldn’t prove anything though—he and An Yun even slept in the same bed—but it was indeed a bit different. It was hard to say.

Having eaten his fill, Jiang Ya couldn’t sit still anymore and went to flirt with the girls at a neighboring table. On the other than, An Yun was using flowery words to invite Tian Xiaoqin to watch the performance with them. Tang Heng stared at the leftover fried clams and suddenly had a bad mood.

Because he realized that he was thinking of Li Yuechi again—not exactly “missing” him but just purely thinking of the boy. Some meaningless thoughts. Like, it’s already past eight now, so was the workaholic Li-laoshi off work? Like, how exactly was the injury on his back now? Could he be energetic during the day and have a high fever at night? And like, like, what kind of girlfriend would someone like Li Yuechi have? He couldn’t imagine what kind of magical girl would be able to tolerate his face that had get out of my way written all over.

But if he wanted to treat someone nicely, he could be very gentle too, Tang Heng thought.

After the four finished eating, they went to the live house on Jianghan Road to watch the performance. It was raining at night again. Gazing through the window of the taxi, he could see patches of colorful puddles on the ground. Jianghan Road was quite a lively part of Wuhan, but when it rained, the road’s potholes still showed. It was no wonder that students called Wuhan The nation’s biggest county town. Everyone wanted to leave after coming. Tang Heng was no exception.

The band performing tonight was SMZB, a classic hardcore punk band. A bright red banner hung across the stage: Rock entertains you and me, China entertains on, ROCK & ROLL! The performance hadn’t started yet, but the group of fans were already swaying and getting hyped. Even with the air conditioning, you could still smell the intense sweat.

It was Tian Xiaoqin’s first time at a live house. She gazed at everything with novelty and asked An Yun, “Are your performances like this too!” It was too noisy, so she had to yell.

“We don’t have so many fans!” An Yun replied with a laugh.

“But also so—lively?!”

“Kinda! Depends on the song!”

“Do you have your own songs too?!”      

“Not yet!” An Yun turned back at Tang Heng and Jiang Ya. “We’re writing it!”        

By the time the band came onstage, Jiang Ya was already holding the hand of a girl with a high ponytail and swaying with her. The girl looked familiar to Tang Heng, but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen her. But nowadays, rock music had become a subculture and there was a set group that loved watching shows. It wasn’t strange to find someone familiar.

The music swelled in his ears—the bass, drums, guitar, and there was even a part with bagpipes. The white magnesium lights flashed to the beat. This was the first song of the night, Wuhan.

I’m born here, this hottest city

Eight million people live here

The Wuchang Uprising was started here

I’ll forever remember Sun Yat-sen’s name in my heart

…

She will have freedom, she will become beautiful

This place will not be like a jail forever

Break through the darkness and there won’t be crying anymore

A seed planted in the heart

…

She will have freedom, she will become beautiful, this place will not be like a jail forever—the fans’ voices converged like flowing water, like the roar of the Yangtze River. Tang Heng sang with them. It felt like getting drunk. He didn’t want to do anything other than listening to music and singing. He was sweating so much, but it felt like his body was about to float.

The performance ended after 10. The rain had stopped, but there were still puddles on the road. Their group of four had become five—Jiang Ya was hugging that ponytailed girl. Tang Heng’s voice was a bit raspy and he was tired too. After singing his fill, he just wanted to sleep.

They hailed a taxi on the side of the road. An Yun and Tian Xiaoqin got into a car first, heading to the school’s South Gate. That was where Tian Xiaoqin’s rented apartment was. Hugging the girl, Jiang Ya arched an eyebrow at Tang Heng. “Hey, we’re not going in the same direction, right?”

“I’m going home,” Tang Heng said.

“We’re going to a hotel.” Jiang Ya cackled. “Lulu, which one do you wanna go to? Your choice.”

The girl named Lulu looked up and gave Jiang Ya a long, public kiss. The image was very not PG. It was already past 10, but Jianghan Road was always busy. The central hospital wasn’t far either, so there was high traffic here.

Tang Heng took a few steps back and pulled out his phone, pressing random numbers and pretending he didn’t know them.

He stared as the time on the screen changed from 22:24 to 22:20. Finally, Tang Heng couldn’t stand it anymore and looked. “Are you done yet?” He just wanted to remind Jiang Ya that they had practice tomorrow noon and he shouldn’t sleep in.

Jiang Ya was still stuck to that girl and didn’t reply, but Tang Heng’s eyes widened. He looked past Jiang Ya to an intersection in the near distance—it was a very small crossing with no traffic lights. Even the streetlamps were dim.

A few men were shoving at someone until that person was pressed into a corner. They surrounded him.

They quickly started fighting. There was some distance between them, but Tang Heng seemed to hear the muffled grunts from the person getting hit.

“Damn.” Jiang Ya saw it too. He squeezed the girl’s shoulders. “Let’s get the taxi further up.”

The girl nestled into his arms. “Okay…”

“Tang Heng! Stop watching!” Jiang Ya said. “Walk away and call the cops.”

“No… That person,” Tang Heng said as he started running, his exhaustion evaporating, “that’s Li Yuechi!”

Translator’s note: “urban villages” are literally translated to “village within the city” and usually translated to ghettos, but it’s not entirely accurate in terms of social stigma.