Under Clear Skies Chapter 67: Might be Overthinking

Chapter 67: Might be Overthinking

Translated by Fefe of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

When they got to the theater, the sky had turned cloudy. It had been a clear, sunny day in the morning, but clouds had gathered while they ate lunch. A big rainstorm was imminent.

It had been a long time since Tang Heng had not come to a theater at this hour. At two o’clock, most of the seats were filled. He rarely went to theaters because Jiang Ya could project movies at his house. Even if Jiang Ya and An Yun dragged him here, they would choose midnight screenings.

Now, he and Li Yuechi sat in the center of the theater. They were surrounded by mothers with little kids, high schoolers who ate candy noisily, and couples who put their heads together and murmured to each other.

The air was filled with the smell of popcorn.

At 2:10, the movie started and the lights darkened abruptly.

Tang Heng grasped Li Yuechi’s hand.

In the darkness, he heard Li Yuechi’s soft laugh.

Tang Heng moved towards him. “Xuezhang, do you know what else they do in theaters?”

Li Yuechi faced the screen but replied in a similar whisper, “What?”

“They kiss.”

Li Yuechi turned around and glanced at Tang Heng. It was too dark, so Tang Heng couldn’t see his expression clearly.

Then he heard Li Yuechi’s say, “Now?”

Tang Heng’s cheeks turned hot. He was the one who brought this up, but he didn’t expect Li Yuechi to agree so easily. He was actually just joking.

“Do you want to?” Li Yuechi urged.

“Ah…” He really was making sure Tang Heng had what others had.

Li Yuechi ducked his head down and Tang Heng leaned over quickly, kissing him on his lips.

It was too fast. He didn’t even have the time to feel if Li Yuechi’s lips were moist or dry.

Li Yuechi straightened back up. “It’s starting.”

They watched the movie while holding hands, like the other couples—it was Li Yuechi watching the movie, while Tang Heng watched Li Yuechi. The characters’ dialogue turned into monotonous and meaningless background music that couldn’t reach Tang Heng’s ears at all. He held Li Yuechi’s hand, feeling every movement Li Yuechi made. His palm turned hot, his forefinger curled, his knuckle pressed against his. Tang Heng was conflicted—he wanted the movie to hurry up so he could bring Li Yuechi to see the birthday gift, but he also wanted the movie to slow down. After all, it was a rare chance for them to hold hands so boldly in public.

After a while, Li Yuechi suddenly said, “Let’s go.”   

“Huh?” Tang Heng seemed to wake up from a dream. “It’s over?”

“Still in a while.” Li Yuechi scratched Tang Heng’s palm. “Let’s stop watching.”

Tang Heng followed Li Yuechi in confusion. They ducked down and slipped out of the theater, into the brightly lit mall. Tang Heng passed by the mirror of a makeup store ad saw his red face.

“How come we didn’t finish the movie?” Tang Heng asked a bit guiltily.

“I can’t concentrate.” Li Yuechi was very straightforward and even said with a laugh, “Aren’t you the same?”

“…Then where are we going?”

Li Yuechi stopped and looked calmly at Tang Heng. He didn’t have any expressions nor did he say anything, but Tang Heng understood immediately. He cleared his throat and asked, “Now?”  

“Up to you.”

“You got a room?”

“Hm?” Li Yuechi was taken aback. Then he asked softly, “Do I have to book in advance? I thought we just need to bring our IDs…”

“No,” Tang Heng quickly explained. “What I mean is we’re not going to a hotel.”    

“I have money,” Li Yuechi said.

“I know you do, but—”

“I already found the place,” Li Yuechi interrupted and emphasized. “There’s a Hilton by Guanggu. We’ll go there.”

Hilton?

Tang Heng’s first reaction was, No wonder we had to wait for him to get paid.

The cheapest room in Hilton would be at least 7-800-kuai per night.

Seven or eight hundred kuai could pay for around three months’ rent for that crappy room in Donghu Village. Tang Heng suddenly felt that Li Yuechi had only learned about Hilton Hotel when researching for this date. He wondered what Li Yuechi had thought when he first heard the price.

“Okay, we’ll go to Hilton,” Tang Heng said warmly. “But we’ll go get your gift first, can we?”

“What gift?” Li Yuechi still looked a bit nervous.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

They got on Line 2 again, arrived at Guangbutun Station and got out from Exit K. They passed by Kengee bakery and got the cake. Then they turned into the winding alley of Donghu Village. They were more than familiar with this path. When they reached the entrance of Long Love, thunder rumbled.

The sky darkened completely and the air seemed to be weighed down by water droplets. A storm was brewing.

“We’re not going to Long Love?” Li Yuechi asked.

Tang Heng shook his head. “No.”

They continued walking and Li Yuechi stopped talking. He was smart. Tang Heng was sure that he had guessed the gift.

95 Donghu Village—Tang Heng only realized that this old house had a number too when he signed the contract. The trash outside had been cleared away and soft soil covered the cracked earth. The grass seeds had been planted and started sprouting.

Li Yuechi followed Tang Heng upstairs. Even the rusty stairs had been fortified. Tang Heng had personally handed the hammer and pliers to the workers, watching them tighten each nail and bolt.

Their umbrella hung from the railing outside the door.

Tang Heng pulled the keys from his pocket and stood before Li Yuechi. “How about you open it?”

Li Yuechi accepted it without saying anything. It was indeed the key he had given to the landlord when he returned the room. With a soft click, the door opened.

The faint fragrance of sage and coconut greeted him. It was the scent of the fragrance that Tang Heng had gifted to Li Yuechi the first time. Li Yuechi felt around the wall until the he found the switch and turned on the lights.

They walked in. Li Yuechi stood in the center of the room and quietly surveyed the surroundings. His eyes were wide open and his hand clenched into a fist around the key. His other hand pressed sightly against the seam of his jeans.

Tang Heng gently set down the cake.

A moment later, he heard, “Thank you.”

Li Yuechi’s voice was very low. It sounded empty, as if he was confused, as if he hadn’t processed it all yet, as if he couldn’t believe that all of this was for him. Tang Heng slowly hugged Li Yuechi’s waist, pressing his chest against Li Yuechi’s back.

Li Yuechi’s body relaxed bit by bit, like a wild stallion who finally returned to his familiar woods. He no longer had to worry about whether he had to book a Hilton room in advance, whether he had enough money or not. Rain started pattering against the window. The storm had finally come.

“Xuezhang, we’re not going to the hotel, right?” Tang Heng asked.

Li Yuechi turned around and nodded.

Tang Heng’s heart raced. He reached over to turn off the lights, only leaving the dark yellow wall lights by the bed. Then he pulled down the new curtains—they were rolled bamboo curtains. After he pulled them down, only faint light filtered through the cracks.

Tang Heng swallowed and asked nervously, “Now what?”

Li Yuechi gazed at him with his dark eyes. “Let’s shower.”

“Okay…” Tang Heng took off his coat and started to unbutton his jeans. This was a pair of baggy pants, but his fingers were trembling now and he couldn’t pull down the zipper. And Li Yuechi was standing right in front of him, watching his hand.

The moment he pulled down the zipper completely, his jeans opened up and a small white thing fell out of his pocket. It rolled to the corner.

Tang Heng: !!!

Fuck! He forgot to toss the bottle of pills!   

Li Yuechi bent over to pick it up. With furrowed brows, he read out loud, “Viagra, suitable for treating conditions of erectile dysfunction. Take one hour before sexual activity…”

Tang Heng: “…”

Li Yuechi looked up at him. He seemed to hesitate before asking, “You need to… use this?”

“I don’t!!!” An Yun, Jiang Ya, you motherfuckers.

Li Yuechi arched an eyebrow. “So, you prepared this for me?”

“No, this—”       

“Xuedi.” Li Yuechi placed the bottle on the table. “You might be overthinking.”