Under Clear Skies Chapter 66: You’ll Have it Too

Chapter 66: You’ll Have it Too

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

They planned to meet at 11 sharp on the ninth at the South Gate. Tang Heng climbed out of bed at eight o’clock—but he didn’t know what to do. He’d prepared his outfit the day before and he didn’t wear makeup. He tied his hair in a low ponytail and didn’t change anything else.

He just purely couldn’t fall asleep.

While he was hugging his knees and spacing out on the sofa, An Yun called. Tang Heng answered, but it was Jiang Ya’s voice that rang out. “Hehe, my son, up so early?”

“Fuck off. Whadya want?”

“It’s a day of joy and we want to join the fun, you know.”

“…”

“Open up,” An Yun said. “We’re outside the door.”

Before she even finished speaking, Tang Heng heard muffled knocks on the door. He got up to open the door and Jiang Ya and An Yun slipped in with wide grins.

Jiang Ya set down his bag and got comfortable on the sofa. “Get me a can of coke.”

“Don’t have any.”

“Sprite is fine too.”

“I’ll treat you, okay?” Tang Heng picked up his wallet from the table. “Get out and buy it yourself.”

“Okay, okay, we’re not here just for shits and giggles.” An Yun sat down too and kicked Jiang Ya. “Get to the point.”

Tang Heng looked at them in confusion.

Jiang Ya straightened up and said proudly, “I’m here to pass down my experience.”

Tang Heng: “?”

“Well… This.” Jiang Ya pulled a small bottle out of his pocket. “Everyone’s first time ends quickly. If you take a pill, it’ll keep you up and hard, got it?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” An Yun nodded. “You can’t embarrass yourself for things like this!”

Tang Heng: “?”

He gazed sincerely at Jiang Ya. “You couldn’t stay hard your first time?”

“No way!!!” Jiang Ya yelled. “I’m fucking amazing, okay? I just didn’t want you to get into an awkward situation. Just in case!”

Tang Heng had always felt that Jiang Ya misunderstood something… But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. It was just, just that… Shouldn’t An Yun get it?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not stupid.” Jiang Ya pushed the bottle towards Tang Heng. “I know you’re the… girl.”

Tang Heng: “…It’s called being the receiver.”

“What a professional term,” An Yun scoffed.

“Anyway, here’s the thing! Whether you’re the guy or girl, you can’t back down! Got it? You’re not just representing yourself. You’re representing the dignity of the entire Hushituo—”

“Fuck off.” I don’t fucking want to represent you two, Tang Heng thought.

“Aw, come on, just take it with you.” An Yun patted Tang Heng. “Just in case.”

“Yeah, yeah. I got this from the hospital, so it’s definitely safe. My god, I had to pretend that I had erectile dysfunction at the hospital…”

The two kept chattering annoyingly until Tang Heng stuffed the bottle of pills into his pocket. “I got it!”

 

After this commotion, Tang Heng was no longer nervous. He arrived at the South Gate at 10:50. Li Yuechi hadn’t arrived yet, so Tang Heng stood outside the security guard’s room. He used the slightly dirty glass to check himself out again.

He was wearing a thin black coat from Uniqlo. It didn’t have a belt, but it had a line of buttons. The style was clean and simple. On the bottom, he wore a pair of navy-blue Levi’s jeans. It was also a simple, classic style. The cuffs were stuffed into black leather boots, accentuating his straight and long legs.

The reflection in the glass was slender and tall. The autumn breeze lifted the bottom of his coat, giving him an aloof air.

Tang Heng reached into his pocket with his left hand. His fingertips touched the two cold keys.

One of them was his birthday gift for Li Yuechi.

Even though the room was rented for them both.

 

At 11:07, Tang Heng saw Li Yuechi running towards him.

He was wearing new clothes—a dark blue polo that Tang Heng had never seen before. He couldn’t make out the brand, but it fit Li Yuechi well. He also had on light blue jeans and spotless white sneakers.

Li Yuechi was breathing quickly and there was a layer of sweat on his forehead.

“There was something up at school,” he explained to Tang Heng. He looked more nervous than he’d ever been.

“Oh… it’s okay.” Tang Heng got nervous too. “Then… let’s go eat?”

“I made a reservation,” Li Yuechi said. “Let’s go.”

They didn’t say anything along the way. The subway was noisy and they just met eyes before looking away again. They took Line 2. When they reached Pangxiejia Station, Tang Heng followed Li Yuechi off the train.

“We’re going to Tanhualin?” Tang Heng whispered in the bustling subway station.

Li Yuechi nodded.

This seemed to be the first time they went on such an official… date? Fortunately, Tanhualin always had a bunch of tourists. Young people especially loved to drink coffee and take pictures here, so it didn’t look strange for them to be walking together.

Tanhualin’s streets were narrow with many winding alleys. The churches, hospitals, and residences left over from modern history were squeezed together. Sometimes there were Gothic points, sometimes there were Roman pillars. Sometimes, one could turn a corner and see a kitty sleeping in the vibrant greenery outside a bookstore.

Tang Heng felt like they were no different from the other couples. Even though they couldn’t hold hands, this feeling still made him happy.

Li Yuechi led him into a restaurant. The glass door was narrow and, after they entered, Tang Heng found that the inside was narrow too. They went up to the second floor—there was only one table here. The ceiling was painted with the moon and stars in Van Gogh’s style. A soft carpet was laid across the floor and the tabletop was clean.

This was just a regular restaurant and there were countless ones like this in Tanhualin. Tang Heng knew that no matter what cuisine they sold, it wouldn’t be authentic. As for the price, it wouldn’t be extremely expensive, since most of the customers were students. Of course, it wouldn’t be very cheap either. Rent was high in Tanhualin, after all.

Li Yuechi tugged at his polo and said a bit awkwardly, “I ordered western food. Steak, salad, that sort… I asked my colleague and he said this place is good.”

Tang Heng nodded. “Is it expensive.”

“Not really.” Li Yuechi paused and added, “Not too expensive.”

Just as Tang Heng had expected, the restaurant’s food was just average. The steak was too stiff, the salad dressing too sweet, and the strawberry mousse stuck to his throat, but Tang Heng still ate everything. When Li Yuechi cut his steak across from Tang Heng, he held the knife in his right hand and fork in his left. He moved cautiously to cut that stiff meat, but he messed up on the first movement and the knife scraped loudly against the plate. Li Yuechi’s left arm halted. He lowered his eyes and started cutting even more carefully. Even his chin and neck tensed subconsciously. Tang Heng knew that he was trying to seem more natural and refined.

Tang Heng watched him, feeling like his heart was getting polished too. Li Yuechi held a blunt knife and scraped gently at the softest part of his heart. So, Tang Heng finished the entire meal. It seemed that even his taste buds had become less sensitive. As long as he could be with Li Yuechi, he would love to eat this kind of food for ten or 20 more meals.

After they finished and walked out of the restaurant, Tang Heng turned and looked back.

This was when he finally saw the name of this restaurant. It was a tiny sign with flowery font in dark green:

Summer’s Wind

 

Li Yuechi pulled out two movie tickets as if performing a magic trick. “Let’s go watch a movie.”

It was Dumped for 33 Days*, the hottest movie at the moment. Tang Heng arched an eyebrow and asked Li Yuechi, “Are you sure you want to watch this?”

“Mn.”

“Dumped—for—33 days,” Tang Heng purposely said. “It’s talking about getting dumped?” Actually, he knew that this was a romcom.

“I think so?” Li Yuechi pursed his lips. “The ticket vendor said this is the best.”

Tang Heng imagined the scene. Li-laoshi who had just finished teaching, hurrying to the theater with his backpack filled with math textbooks, getting enthusiastically recommended to watch Dumped for 33 Days… Tang Heng wanted to laugh. “I never knew you’re into this genre.”

“I said I want to watch a movie with my girlfriend,” Li Yuechi said helplessly. “He said that girls love this stuff.”

“Xuezhang.” Tang Heng closed in on Li Yuechi and lowered his voice, “You’re so traditional when it comes to dating.”

“Mn.”

“You like it?”

“I saw that they all do this.”

“Oh, so you’re just copying them.”

“No.” Li Yuechi looked at Tang Heng and his tone became firm. “What they have, you’ll have it too.”

 

Translator’s note: the movie’s English name is Love is Not Blind, but the literal translation was used here so Tang Heng’s joke makes sense.