Under Clear Skies Chapter 92: I Want Two Times

Chapter 92: I Want Two Times

Translated by KarateChopMonkey of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

 

When the three of them gathered, Jiang Ya still anxiously stayed close to Tang Heng, repeatedly asking, “Are you really okay? I know a psychologist at the University Medical College. Should I take you to see him? Or maybe we should just go to the hospital directly…”

Tang Heng’s face tightened as he whispered, “I’m fine, let’s go back.”

“Come on, you don’t look fine at all… Just wait here!” Jiang Ya hurriedly ran to the convenience store across the street.

Tang Heng and Li Yuechi stood still, with three to five steps between them. Li Yuechi asked, “How are you holding up?”

“He said he’s fine…”

“I’m asking about you.”

“I… I’m alright.”

With a slight nod, Li Yuechi didn’t inquire further.

Tang Heng didn’t want to appear too vulnerable. Even though he felt a wave of nausea when he stepped out of Bao Lei’s office, remembering what Li Yuechi had gone through six years ago made him feel as if his own problems were insignificant

Moreover, Jiang Ya knew about what happened to him in England, and he didn’t want Jiang Ya to worry too much.

“Here, have some…” Jiang Ya rushed back and handed Tang Heng a bottle of hawthorn juice. “Are you feeling nauseous?”

“Thanks…” Tang Heng replied.

The chilled hawthorn juice slowly trickled down his throat, causing Tang Heng to shiver slightly. Unfortunately, it seemed that because it was chilled, the nausea not only didn’t subside but also caused a dull pain in his stomach.

Having taken antidepressants for several years, one of the side effects was severe indigestion. After stopping the medication, this symptom evolved into occasional bouts of gastritis.

“Let’s go eat something…” Jiang Ya took out his phone and asked Tang Heng, “What do you want to eat? I’ll check…”

“I’m not hungry, you guys go ahead.”

“Even if you’re not hungry, you still need to eat. You hardly touched your lunch.”

“It’s fine, I…”

“Eat a little bit more…” Li Yuechi walked over and said softly, “Then rest well and stop thinking about anything.”

They went to a nearby Hunan restaurant. By five thirty in the afternoon, the restaurant was gradually filling up with diners, and the noise level was rising. Jiang Ya emphasized that he would treat them, then ordered two refreshing vegetable dishes specifically for Tang Heng and called for a pot of osmanthus wine, saying to Li Yuechi, “Shall we have a few drinks?”

Li Yuechi replied, “Sure…”

Jiang Ya took a sip by himself, looking quite content. “Ah, haven’t had a drink in years.”

Li Yuechi smiled faintly and asked, “Not in America?”

“We did, but what’s the fun in drinking alone?”

“You haven’t been in a relationship?” Tang Heng asked.

“I had two, both ended within two months…” Jiang Ya shrugged. “Then I was busy with classes and experiments every day, so had no time for that. Ah, I was too carefree during undergrad, I realized how much I lacked after going out.”

“If you said that six years ago, would you believe it yourself?” Tang Heng asked.

“Yeah…” Jiang Ya and Li Yuechi clinked their glasses and sighed with a smile, “Back then, I always thought I should be a rockstar.”

“What about you?” Jiang Ya turned to Li Yuechi. “How have the past two years been for you?”

Tang Heng remained silent, tensing up suddenly.

He wanted to know how Li Yuechi had been these past two years.

No, more specifically, he wanted to know more—what had Li Yuechi gone through in these six years? In prison, after getting out… six years, over two thousand days and nights, even if “terrible” could summarize it all, he still wanted to know, what kind of “terrible” was it exactly?

“Just like that…” Li Yuechi swallowed a mouthful of osmanthus wine, his tone flat. “After coming out, I partnered with some classmates to open a store, selling local specialties.”

“Running a store must be tough, right?” Jiang Ya glanced at Tang Heng quickly. “Are you making a lot?”

“Not much, but it’s enough.”

“That’s good, take it slow with the business. Hey, in the future, let Tang Heng invest in you, and open a branch elsewhere… right, Tang Heng?”

“Yeah…” Tang Heng nodded heavily. “The beef jerky in your store is delicious.”

Li Yuechi smiled, “Let’s talk about it later…”

After that, Li Yuechi didn’t mention his own affairs anymore, and Jiang Ya probably didn’t dare to ask too much either, so he kept rambling about his life in the United States over the past few years. He complained about the rough food, the big black guys who tried to steal his wallet, the occasional terrifying gunshot sounds in the city. Finally, he hugged Tang Heng tightly around the neck and said, “It’s a good thing you didn’t go to study in the United States… damn, it’s too hard to graduate there.”

He didn’t know the real reason Tang Heng gave up the offer back then.

Tang Heng’s heart pounded like a drum as he watched himself pick up a wild pepper—then, with a twist of his wrist, he put it into his mouth. The next thing he knew, his tongue was numb from the spiciness, and tears welled up in his eyes.

And the waiter had just refilled the teapot with boiling water.

Tang Heng was in a sorry state, but Li Yuechi pushed the wine glass towards him. “Take a few sips first…” Then he quickly walked to the cashier and bought a bottle of mineral water.

By then, Tang Heng had finished Li Yuechi’s wine.

“You finished it all?” Li Yuechi frowned. “Can you handle alcohol?”

“I can…” Tang Heng wiped the tears from his face and mumbled, “I didn’t drink much…”

Jiang Ya said to Li Yuechi, “Don’t worry, this wine isn’t too strong, he won’t get drunk—I know his capacity.”

“That’s right…” Tang Heng echoed. “I won’t get drunk…”

At this moment, Tang Heng already felt his face heating up.

He hadn’t drank much over the past few years because the doctors said alcohol could damage his brain, especially considering his unstable mental state.

At the end of the meal, Jiang Ya helped Tang Heng back to the hotel. His mind became extremely fuzzy, only remembering Li Yuechi walking behind them, turning to look at him. The night breeze was chilly, and Li Yuechi walked alone in the wind, appearing solitary and lonely.

Jiang Ya helped him into the elevator, complaining, “You’re regressing too fast, this isn’t like the you before!”

Tang Heng murmured drowsily, “Thank you…”

“Why so polite between us brothers? I rushed back here just for you, be careful…”

Li Yuechi stood by, silent the whole time.

Suddenly, Tang Heng felt a surge of grievance.

Very aggrieved.

They were fine this morning, even holding hands.

Why did Li Yuechi’s attitude change as soon as he saw Jiang Ya?

Jiang Ya… Tang Heng slowly turned his head, staring at Jiang Ya.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Ya dragged Tang Heng out of the elevator.

“Let go of me…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll let go in a moment.”

“Let go now…” Tang Heng pushed him but couldn’t push him away. This guy’s belly wasn’t for nothing.

“Be a good boy, don’t make a fuss…” Jiang Ya muttered, “You weren’t like this before.”

“I’m not drunk… Let go. If you have something…”

Jiang Ya had to let go, “What’s going on?”

Tang Heng staggered a bit, luckily, there was a wall behind him, so he didn’t fall. He said in a deep voice, “I don’t need you to take care of me.”

“Do you think I want to! Am I your pretty sister?!”

“And…,” Tang Heng frowned, turning to Li Yuechi, “Come here…”

Li Yuechi stood still, “What’s wrong?”

“Come and help me!”

Li Yuechi: “…”

Jiang Ya chuckled, “Oh…”

Li Yuechi stepped forward and straightforwardly supported Tang Heng.

Jiang Ya grinned, “Then I’ll go back first!”

Swiping the card to enter the room, Li Yuechi placed Tang Heng on the sofa, saying softly, “Sit properly…” He stood up to leave, but Tang Heng grabbed his wrist.

The room wasn’t air-conditioned and felt a bit cold.

Tang Heng sniffed and asked him, “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere…”

“Why are you ignoring me?” Tang Heng squeezed harder, gripping tighter. “Actually, you never intended to be with me, did you? You’re just afraid that I’ll get into trouble again, so you came back to Wuhan with me. Now that Jiang Ya is back, you think he can accompany me, so you don’t need me anymore, right?”

“Tang Heng…” Li Yuechi paused for a few seconds. “Don’t overthink it…”

“You said we’re just ‘friends’,” that sense of grievance suddenly burst out, “Would you kiss your friends? Would you sleep in the same bed with a friend? Li Yuechi, you can’t… be so evasive.”

Li Yuechi looked at Tang Heng, saying helplessly, “I’m not being evasive…”

At this point, Tang Heng couldn’t listen to him at all, his heart was filled with sorrow to the point that his eyes were burning. This afternoon, when he walked out of Bao Lei’s office, the only thing he kept thinking about over and over again was what Li Yuechi had gone through back then. He desperately wanted to hug Li Yuechi, it felt like he had lost something very precious, and now he wanted to hold it in his arms forever.

But Li Yuechi was so distant towards him.

“Tang Heng, listen to me…” Li Yuechi patted his hand. “Go lie down on the bed…”

Tang Heng suddenly unzipped his jacket.

Then he fumbled inside the inner pocket.

He was so drunk that even his fingers became clumsy, and it took him a while to pull out a deflated… Red Pagoda cigarette box.

“What you said…” Tang Heng handed the cigarette box to Li Yuechi. “One cigarette, one time, I’ve been enduring it, there are still two left.”

Li Yuechi: “…”

“I want two times, today… both times.”

Li Yuechi stared at the cigarette box, silent for a moment, before sighing softly.

Just as he was about to disdain himself and then get up to carry Tang Heng to bed—

He saw Tang Heng’s head tilt to the side, fast asleep.

The first thing Tang Heng felt when he woke up was a headache.

The second feeling was, Did I drink myself blind? Why is it so dark?

Tang Heng was in a daze for a few seconds until he saw the green light of the air conditioner, then remembered he was lying on the hotel bed. With a faint headache, the drunken memories slowly floated back.

What had he done?

There was no one beside him.

Struggling to sit up, Tang Heng turned on the bedside lamp and saw a bottle of mineral water on the pillow. Li Yuechi’s phone was still connected to the charging cable, fully charged, with the screen showing 00:12—it was a new day.

Tang Heng got up, washed his face with cold water in the bathroom. He was too lazy to change his clothes, just put on a coat over his pajamas, and sluggishly walked out of the room.

He remembered there was an observation terrace at the end of the corridor.

Sure enough, as soon as he reached the door, he saw the backs of Jiang Ya and Li Yuechi. Perhaps because of the low night temperature, there was no one else on the terrace. The dim light reflected the silhouettes of the two figures, one round, the other slim, with two crimson dots flickering in the night.

Li Yuechi didn’t allow him to smoke, but he sneaked a smoke himself?

Didn’t he quit?

“You shouldn’t burden yourself too much…” Jiang Ya sighed softly, “Tang Heng had it pretty bad those years… But seeing him now, he seems much better.”

Li Yuechi smoked silently, without responding.

After a while, he asked, “Is this considered ‘much better’?”

“If you hadn’t seen him before.”

Tang Heng suddenly had an ominous premonition—he suddenly remembered, there were some things he hadn’t explained to Jiang Ya.

But the alcohol hadn’t completely dispersed, so his reactions were a few beats slow.

Before he could speak up to stop him, Jiang Ya continued, “He was in a bad state back then, scared me to death. I was in the lab, then suddenly got a call from him… He never called me after going abroad… He asked me, ‘Why hasn’t Li Yuechi finished class yet?’ I was so confused, thought he was joking, then I heard a scream…” 

Li Yuechi’s voice trembled, “What happened to him?”

“He cut his wrist with a knife. Fortunately, he was spotted by his classmate, that scream was from his classmate.”

“…”

“I was really scared at that time. Later, I consulted a doctor, his condition… would indeed lead to such situations…”