Under Clear Skies Chapter 88/89: I’m Here

Chapter 88/89: I’m Here

Translated by KarateChopMonkey of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

(TN: I’m not sure what happened between the last translator and me, but their chapter 88 is the same as the original chapter 89, so I’m guessing a chapter got missed somewhere but am unsure of where…)

 

As the orange fragrance spread between their lips, Tang Heng’s heartbeat gradually returned to normal. Li Yuechi whispered, “Are you feeling better?”

Tang Heng nodded, carefully folding the candy wrapper and putting it in his pocket.

He said again, “If you feel uncomfortable, let me know.”

Tang Heng replied quietly, “Okay…”

Li Yuechi didn’t say anything more. He turned back to the window, but this time, he didn’t look outside. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked at Tang Heng.

However, Tang Heng dared not look at him.

As the high-speed train approached Wuhan, his sense of anxiety grew stronger, like it was a physical reaction—perhaps because there was some kind of deep darkness ahead of him, so even though he intellectually wanted to return to Wuhan, his body instinctively resisted.

Memories surged forth like warnings: Don’t come back.

In the corridor of Tongji Hospital’s inpatient department, Fu Liling pointed at Tang Guomu lying on the bed and cried, “Tang Heng, look at what he’s done to your uncle! Are you still concerned about him? Do you have any conscience?!”

In the counselor’s office, two girls under Tang Guomu’s door said, “Tian Xiaoqin and Li Yuechi have a good relationship. They both came from Normal University, and it seems their family conditions aren’t too good… And Li Yuechi, he’s quite indifferent to us, but very gentle with Tian Xiaoqin.”

In the quiet hospital room, Tang Guomu looked at Tang Heng with hazy eyes—since he had 21 stitches in his abdomen, any small movement would pull at his wound. He couldn’t speak, only write awkwardly. It’s my fault, I didn’t know he loved her so much, I should have rejected her earlier.

What about me? Tang Heng wanted to ask, What about me, what am I?

Clearly, he could provide evidence—their rented apartment, Li Yuechi’s handwriting in his books, the canvas shoes he bought for Li Yuechi, their phone records—what about me, what am I?

The last memory about Wuhan was the night before he flew to Guiyang, when An Yun went to his house to find him. She had lost a lot of weight, her hair cut very short, looking more like a boy.

An Yun asked, “What are you going to do in Guizhou?”

Tang Heng said, “I want to visit his family.”

An Yun fell silent for a moment. “Do you know where his family is?”

“Shijiang County…”

“And then what? His family doesn’t even know you.”

“Let’s not talk about it…”

“Tang Heng…” An Yun turned away, suddenly choked up, “Just give up…”

Give up what? Give up resisting the conclusion they reached that “Li Yuechi loves Tian Xiaoqin, so he stabbed Tang Guomu”? It seemed like the whole world was telling him that Li Yuechi loved Tian Xiaoqin. Even Li Yuechi himself told Jiang Ya, “I liked Tang Heng, but I only love Tian Xiaoqin.”

It wasn’t a feeling of heartbreak, but rather, Li Yuechi’s knife seemed to stab into his heart, tearing it apart.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Chengdu Railway Bureau’s Harmony Express high-speed train! The next stop of the train is Wuhan Station…” Tang Heng suddenly woke up from his reverie, meeting Li Yuechi’s gaze directly.

Li Yuechi squatted in front of him and asked softly, “Had a nightmare?”

Tang Heng moved his lips but couldn’t speak. He felt the back of his shirt soaked with sweat.

Li Yuechi glanced out the window and said, “We’ve arrived in Wuhan…”

The auntie sitting beside them turned off the video on her iPad and started packing her backpack. Many passengers stood up and went to the aisle to retrieve their luggage from the overhead bins. The once quiet carriage suddenly became quite noisy.

Li Yuechi pulled Tang Heng’s suitcase over and held out his hand, “Can you walk?”

Tang Heng took a deep breath, didn’t takehis hand, stood up, and said lightly, “I’m fine…”

The train slowed down, and the scenery outside the window changed from countryside to urban. The sky was dark, and the buildings were shrouded in a dim light.

As the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened and Tang Heng followed Li Yuechi out of the carriage, dazed.

What greeted them was the cold.

After all, it was only April, and Wuhan was further north than Guizhou. A gust of wind blew, and Tang Heng felt the sweat on his body instantly turn cold. He couldn’t help but shiver, his heart seemed to tremble along with it, and his breathing became rapid. The three green characters “Wuhan Station” were right in front of him. Wuhan… he hadn’t been back to Wuhan for six years, but he dreamt of it often… So much so that at this moment, he felt unreal, as if he hadn’t really returned to Wuhan, but had fallen into another vivid nightmare.

Suddenly, his hand was grabbed.

Li Yuechi asked, “Are you cold?”

Tang Heng muttered, “A little…”

Li Yuechi decisively took off his jacket and draped it over Tang Heng, tying the sleeves around his chest. Then he held Tang Heng’s hand and asked, “Do you mind?”

His hand was warm, and Tang Heng came to his senses slightly. “Mind what?”

Li Yuechi didn’t say anything, but he squeezed Tang Heng’s hand tightly.

Tang Heng looked down at their clasped hands and said softly, “I don’t mind…”

Li Yuechi said, “Let’s go…”

Then he walked forward, holding the suitcase with one hand and Tang Heng’s hand with the other. People were coming and going in the high-speed rail station, occasionally glancing at them with curiosity or astonishment. Tang Heng ignored them, and Li Yuechi didn’t seem to notice them either.

Li Yuechi still held his hand until they entered Line 4 of the subway.

Tang Heng looked at the route map above the subway door and said blankly, “Wuhan has changed a lot.”

“Yeah, this is my first time at Wuhan Station…” Li Yuechi smiled, “I used to always go to Wuchang Railway Station.”

“There are no more taxis outside the railway station.”

“And no more illegal taxi drivers harassing people.”

The girl next to them looked at them as if they were aliens.

Tang Heng lowered his head and said abruptly, “Li Yuechi…”

“Yeah?”

“I might… be a bit abnormal. Don’t be afraid…”

“It’s you who shouldn’t be afraid…” Li Yuechi said, “I’m here…”

Tang Heng had booked a hotel in Hankou in advance. Hankou was also different from before, with widened roads, smoother surfaces, and seemingly brighter streetlights. The sky had darkened, and one high-rise after another gleamed brightly. Not far away, LED screens displayed changing photos of models.

This was like a different world from the Hankou in 2011, without dimly lit corners, no place for a boy beaten for debt.

Tang Heng suddenly said, “Do you remember…”

“I remember…”

“…”

“At that time, I was being chased and beaten, and I ran into you and Jiang Ya.”

“I saw you.”

“Yeah, and then you rushed over… I thought I was done for.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t seem like someone who would fight…” Li Yuechi chuckled softly, his gaze softened. “Did I not properly thank you back then?”

“Yeah, you were just thinking about rejecting me.”

“I was really short of money back then, and Teacher Zhao was very ill…” Li Yuechi paused for a moment. “Let me make it up to you now.”

“Huh?”

“Wait here…”

After saying that, he strode towards a small tea shop with a green sign. With the night approaching, it was peak time for customers. Luckily, across the street was a Heytea, where everyone was lining up, leaving the tea shop deserted.

Li Yuechi came back with two cups of milk tea. Under his jacket, he wore an old sweater, probably hand-knitted by his mother. The neckline was irregular, and the shoulders were a bit large. This made him look like a struggling student. He said to Tang Heng, “I don’t know if you like pearls… one cup has them, and the other doesn’t.”

Tang Heng took the one with pearls.

As he slowly drank the warm milk tea, warmth spread through his limbs.

Li Yuechi finished his tea in a few sips, threw the cup into the trash, and then held Tang Heng’s hand again. They went to the hotel, checked in, and Tang Heng had booked a double room.

The receptionist looked at them meaningfully. “Sir, just to confirm, you booked a double room.”

“I know…” Li Yuechi stood beside him, and Tang Heng explained nervously, “I didn’t know there would be someone else when I booked.”

“Would you like another room then? We have vacancies, and you’re a VIP, enjoying a 23% discount…”

“No need…” Li Yuechi said indifferently, “We’ll stay like this.”

“Alright, sir…”

The room was on the 12th floor, overlooking the night view of Chu River Han Street. Tang Heng saw two bright red characters on the top of a distant high-rise: Wuhan.

Tang Heng stared at those two characters, and for a moment, he still felt like he was in a dream.

Li Yuechi stood behind him. “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll go buy…”

“I want some hot dry noodles…”

“Yeah, anything else?”

“Some rice wine to go with it…”

Li Yuechi fell silent.

Tang Heng turned around, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Li Yuechi looked down. “Are you sure… you want rice wine?”

“I haven’t had any in six years…” Tang Heng said, “I never bought any outside.”

“Back then, I could only do that… I’m sorry. I thought you never wanted to drink again.”

“What are you talking about?”

Li Yuechi’s expression stiffened, then he slowly raised his head, looking very grim.

“Do you remember?” Li Yuechi held Tang Heng’s shoulders. “The day I went to stab… Tang Guomu, I gave you rice wine, but it was spiked, so you fell asleep.”

Tang Heng shuddered and said, “Stop joking…”

Li Yuechi frowned deeply. “I’m not joking…”

“I fell asleep? How could I have fallen asleep?!” Tang Heng suddenly raised his voice uncontrollably. “I watched you leave! I couldn’t move at all, I shouted for you not to go, but you completely ignored me, I could only watch you—”

He stopped abruptly, stunned by his own words.

Tang Heng’s mind raced. If his memory wasn’t mistaken, he had indeed watched Li Yuechi leave—so why couldn’t he move?

Why couldn’t he stop him?

He didn’t remember being tied up.

Tang Heng sat down on the bed suddenly, feeling drained.

“I might be remembering wrong…” Tang Heng muttered, his head lowered in fear. “I might really be remembering wrong… I always thought I watched you leave, I almost, almost could have stopped you… and then we wouldn’t have to be separated.”

Li Yuechi’s voice sounded above him, eerily calm. “Is this how symptoms of BPD manifest?”

“Yeah…” Tang Heng forced a stiff smile. “Doesn’t it sound like dementia?”

Li Yuechi remained silent.

A few seconds later, he suddenly hugged Tang Heng with such force, like he wanted to merge Tang Heng into his own body.

Tang Heng heard him say, “I’m sorry…”