Under Clear Skies Chapter 41: So Dumb

Chapter 41: So Dumb

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

 

Tang Heng and Li Yuechi separated on Line 2—Tang Heng going to find Jiang Ya and An Yun, Li Yuechi going to the hospital. The subway drove into Huquan Station and Tang Heng murmured, “I’m leaving.” They were surrounded by people. He couldn’t do anything.

“Mn.” Li Yuechi waved his phone at him and didn’t say anything else.

Tang Heng walked out of the subway. Then he stopped and turned around, while Li Yuechi was standing near the door. They gazed at each other over the distance of a few steps. Soon, the warning sound rung out and the security gates and subway doors slid shut. In Tang Heng’s vision, Li Yuechi’s image grew narrower and narrower, narrower and narrower. The last second, he smiled at Tang Heng.

That image was still frozen in Tang Heng’s mind until he swiped his card, exited the station, and walked into Jiang Ya’s neighborhood. Li Yuechi was wearing a steel-gray shirt. His slender and lean forearms were bare, tanned by the sun. His brows were black, his eyelashes were black, his eyes were an even brighter black. His face seemed to have been sketched with thick ink by a hard brush—so distinct, so unforgettable.

Tang Heng called his counselor. Then he went upstairs and knocked on the door.

 

Jiang Ya opened the door. He studied Tang Heng and said sarcastically, “Aha, that happy glow!”

“Jealous?” Tang Heng replied.

“Jealous my ass. It’s not like I’m single.” Jiang Ya cast a knowing look inside the apartment and said gleefully, “As for other people, I’m not sure.”

An Yun walked over and lifted her leg to kick Jiang Ya’s ass, but he dodged to the side. “Seriously, Lao-An, what step are you and Tian Xiaoqin at?”

An Yun ignored him and stared unhappily at Tang Heng.

“I truly thank you,” Tang Heng said sincerely.

“I’m so done,” An Yun growled. “Couldn’t you say that he was next to you when you answered the phone?”

“It was… special circumstances.”

“So how was it?” Jiang Ya nudged Tang Heng’s shoulder and drawled ambiguously, “Like dry firewood rubbing against each other?”*

“Fuck off.”

“Daddy is experienced,” Jiang Ya said. “Your lips are still red. Ah—our cabbage got pushed just like this.”*

Tang Heng pursed his lips awkwardly and said to An Yun, “Li Yuechi knows you weren’t targeting him.”

“What the fuck, so what if I was?!”

“Why would you target him?”

“He’s unreliable, seriously.” An Yun looked pained. “He was playing you! First he has a girlfriend, then he doesn’t anymore. Do you just believe everything he says?”

“That woman is his teacher.”

“Teacher? I thought it’d be his relative or something.” Jiang Ya frowned too. “He borrowed from a loan shark for his teacher?”

“He said that he’s indebted to her.”

“What debt? She saved his life? Is this a fucking drama?” An Yun spoke faster and faster, sounding like a machine gun. “He’s a lot smarter than you. You have to be careful!”

“I know.” Their words annoyed Tang Heng. “I’ll ask later.”

Of course, he also wanted to know more about Zhao-laoshi, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to ask. It wasn’t like he could say, I secretly went to the hospital one night and saw her leaning against you. He honestly couldn’t say this. Plus, Zhao-laoshi was in a critical condition now.

Jiang Ya carried a plate of watermelon from the kitchen and asked excitedly, “So, you two are dating now?”

“Yeah.”

“That guy’s pretty hot, yeah?”

“Looks don’t pay the bills,” An Yun muttered.

“Don’t say that.” Jiang Ya shrugged. “Would you fall for Tian Xiaoqin if she doesn’t look the way she looks?”

Sensing that the two were about to fight again, Tang Heng changed the topic. “Can we still sign up for that competition?”

Jiang Ya: “What competition?”

“The one hosted by Zhouheiya.”

“Sign up for what? You’re leaving.”

Tang Heng looked at him without speaking.

Jiang Ya was taken aback. “Aren’t you going to Tokyo—shit, you’re not going anymore?”

“I just called my counselor earlier.”

“Tang Heng.” An Yun was silent for a moment as if she’d given up completely. “How’re you going to explain to Teacher Tang?”

“I’ll just say I don’t want to go anymore.”

“Will he believe that?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s not like he can force me to Tokyo.” Annoyance crept into Tang Heng’s voice. “Jiang Ya, go sign up.”

“Don’t go if you don’t want to. Japan’s nothing!” Compared to An Yun, Jiang Ya was very happy. “This way, Tang Heng won’t have a long-distance relationship and we can join the competition and produce our album. Awesome!”

“What are the competition requirements?”

“There aren’t any requirements for the first round. You just gotta be a band. For the second round, you need at least one original song.”

“When’s the second round?”

“November.”

“There’s time.”

“You bet!” Jiang Ya grabbed Tang Heng with one hand and An Yun with the other. “Let’s get down to business!”

An Yun looked at Tang Heng as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn’t press on. She nodded and said, “Then, let’s start preparing.”

 

They actually had many works in progress. An Yun composed the melody for most of them, while Jiang Ya and Tang Heng wrote the lyrics—even though Jiang Ya’s lyrics were horrible. The three grouped around in Jiang Ya’s library and started discussing seriously for the first time. Which melody could be used but still needed editing? Which lyrics suited their style? Of course, more importantly—what exactly was their style? Jiang Ya said, We’re definitely going down the punk route, but An Yun said, Punk doesn’t suit us, to which Jiang Ya replied, How would you know if you don’t try… Then they’d start arguing and fighting without stop.

In between their fight, Tang Heng texted Li Yuechi: What did you eat for lunch? After sending it, he realized that he hadn’t eaten lunch either, but he wasn’t hungry.

It was two hours and 22 minutes since they’d separated. Would he seem too clingy? The spinning circle on his screen turned into a green check, signaling that the message had been sent. A new text message appeared in his inbox: 15:06 PM, received by Li Yuechi.

Tang Heng stared at the three characters and an ineffable sense of satisfaction rose up in his heart. Li Yuechi, yue as in the moon, chi as in galloping. It was such a simple name, and yet, it was so special. These three words had escaped from the tens of thousands of Chinese characters to become some mysterious totem seared into his body.

“No, no, definitely no.” Jiang Ya’s face was crumpled. “This isn’t rock anymore! Let’s just switch and be folk singers!”

“Shut up, you have the wrong definition of rock music. Our first song has to be one that’s easy to perform—”

“I don’t care! I can’t play the drums for this!”

“What are you getting mad at me for? Find a studio and try it first!”

“Tang Heng, stop talking to your lover!” Jiang Ya wrenched Tang Heng’s arm over. “Listen to this shit An Yun chose!”

Tang Heng wasn’t actually talking to his lover, because Li Yuechi hadn’t replied. He was just spacing out while staring at the message, What did you eat for lunch? He kind of regret asking that question—it was too dumb, like he was forcing small talk. But he genuinely wanted to know what Li Yuechi ate. He was worried that the boy would skip lunch to save money for his phone bill. Back in the day, he’d always done whatever he wanted, said what he wanted. Now, he didn’t dare to ask what he wanted, regret what he asked, just because Li Yuechi had become his boyfriend—hadn’t held him in his palm long enough to warm him. Tang Heng didn’t realize yet that he was fearing both gaining and losing. He just felt that he was dumb by asking this question.

 

Tang Heng listened to the melody that An Yun had chosen. It was a gentle and simple tune, kind of like the blues.

“This won’t do, right?” Jiang Ya asked.

“You don’t like anything!” An Yun snapped. “Write your own!”

Thus, the two began fighting again, their faces growing red but seeming to enjoy it.

When they finally got tired of fighting, they each got a can of soda and sprawled onto the sofa to watch My Own Swordsman, it was already four in the afternoon.

 

Li Yuechi still hadn’t texted back.

 

Translator’s note:

*Dry firewood rubbing to create a big fire is an idiom that basically describes two desperate/thirsty people getting it on together

*Cabbage getting pushed by a pig is a saying about someone you care about getting “stolen” by someone who you think doesn’t deserve them (usually a joke.)