The Scorching Sun - 41
Yan Lie's day could only be described as a disaster.
That morning, one of Yan Chengli's business partners came by for a visit, bearing a pile of gifts.
Yan Lie had been playing on the computer in the study when Yan Chengli called him out to entertain the guest.
The two parties settled around the coffee table and launched into a warm exchange of pleasantries. Yan Lie sat to one side, staring blankly at some random program on the television in sheer boredom. Whenever the conversation happened to mention his name, he dutifully chimed in with a couple of sounds to prove he was still there.
He kept his irritation firmly in check and made sure none of it showed.
This was how the disaster began. Even then, he had a feeling the day was going to go badly.
That afternoon, his parents, dressed with unusual care, took him out for the New Year's Eve dinner.
They had booked a private room at a hotel in advance and were having dinner with several close friends.
Time passed at an agonizing crawl around the banquet table. Everyone spoke loudly and went around toasting one another. Amid the clinking glasses and raucous laughter, their faces flushed with drink as they reminisced about their younger days after years apart. Yan Lie alone seemed completely out of place in the atmosphere.
He didn't take in a word of what they were saying. He picked at the dishes in front of him, and ate a few bites without much interest, finding everything tasteless. After sitting quietly for another half hour, he pulled out his phone and matched into a game with Zhao Jiayou.
There was a girl at the table around his age, seated not far away. Every so often, she glanced his way and asked several times whether he wanted something to drink.
Yan Lie was doing his best to keep himself calm. He simply didn't have the energy to pay attention to whether she was looking for an excuse to talk to him.
One of the uncles at the table helped introduce them. Yan Lie couldn't keep pretending not to notice, so he finally spared her some attention and added her on WeChat.
The girl asked, "You're taking the college entrance exam this year, right? Have you decided which university you want to apply to?"
Yan Lie discovered that even the game wasn't going his way today. He and Zhao Jiayou had been matched with a hopeless teammate, and they'd lost one game after game. He pressed his lips together, waited two seconds, then answered, "A University."
"A University is good, but isn't B University even better? I heard from my uncle that your grades are excellent. Have you considered going to B University?" The girl propped one hand on the table and turned toward him. "Your uncle's business is mainly based in B Province, isn't it? I'm studying at a university in B Province too. If you come here, your senior could look after you."
The word DEFEAT flashed across the screen. Yan Lie drew in a stifled breath before finally turning his head toward her. "I like A University."
"Why?" she asked. "Do you have some special attachment to A University?"
Yan Lie's voice was neutral enough that his emotions were impossible to read. The only thing that came across was that he wasn't particularly approachable.
His eyes remained fixed on the game screen as he answered succinctly, "Yeah. My friends are here."
Yan Chengli noticed them and patted him on the shoulder. "He's always been like this. Doesn't like talking, only likes studying. Pretty boring, huh?"
Several people laughed. Yan Lie's lips tightened almost imperceptibly.
He didn't know why, but whenever he was with his parents, things always seemed to turn out badly.
There was no warmth to be found in the way they interacted, only the exhaustion of having to deal with one another.
And neither of his elders seemed capable of sensing his mood. If he showed even the slightest displeasure, they would only look at him in bewilderment and ask, "Why are you angry?"
It was as though they lived in two different worlds, communicating in different languages and according to entirely different rules.
By the time they left the hotel, Yan Chengli was drunk.
He hadn't been back to A City in far too long, returning had brought back memories of the miserable failure he'd endured when he first tried to build his career.
Perhaps that was simply how men were. After achieving success, when they looked back at the setbacks they'd once suffered, they could afford a kind of generous ease about it. It was easy to become animated, to reminisce and talk at length about the past with old friends. Perhaps, in doing so, they could somehow make up for the gloom they'd carried through their younger years.
Yan Lie, however, had absolutely no interest in his father's past.
He called a designated driver, helped the unsteady man into the car, and shut the door.
The smell of alcohol gradually grew stronger inside the enclosed space. Every breath Yan Lie took sent a dull throb through his head.
Mother Yan took off her coat and leaned back against the seat to sober up.
Warm air slowly poured from the heater, making everyone increasingly drowsy.
Outside the windows, the streets were decked out in festive splendor. Everywhere he looked, there were red lanterns and celebratory couplets.
When they passed a traffic light, a group of people in bright new clothes walked together along the sidewalk.
On this day, in this world, there seemed to be celebration everywhere, making him stand out all the more like an outsider.
By the time they reached home, Yan Chengli had fallen completely unconscious. Yan Lie called him twice, but the only response was a lazy wave of his hand and a few indistinct murmurs in his sleep.
With no other choice, Yan Lie carried him back to his room.
Mother Yan followed close behind. She sighed, pressed a hand to her forehead as she tried to ease the effects of the alcohol, and instructed him, "Help take care of your dad for a bit. I'm going to take a shower first."
Silently, Yan Lie laid him on the bed, took off his clothes and shoes, loosened his tie, then fetched a damp towel and wiped his face.
A drunk person's limbs were incredibly heavy, yet a sudden struggle could still come with surprising force. As Yan Lie breathed in the smell of alcohol clinging to him, every last trace of his good mood crumbled away, plummeting along the negative half-axis of X, farther and farther from zero.
It was awful.
What a terrible new year.
He didn't need these two people to put aside their work and sacrifice their careers to give him their so-called "hard-earned" company.
If they hadn't been able to build any real affection between them when he was a child, why did they think that once he'd grown up and become sensible, he would be able to give them everything unconditionally?
Yan Lie went out onto the balcony and splashed water over his face.
The icy water leached the warmth from his skin and numbed his senses. Each shivering breath forced down the heat burning in his chest.
He didn't stop until he could no longer smell the alcohol on himself.
His fingers had already swollen red, stiff and difficult to move.
He leaned back against the balcony wall and let out a heavy breath before taking out his phone and trying to unlock it.
Two text messages from Fang Zhuo were waiting on the screen.
The first had been sent an hour ago, when they'd just left the hotel.
The second had arrived fifteen minutes ago. It contained a string of QQ numbers.
Yan Lie stared at the numbers for a moment. Then, coming back to himself, he was oddly surprised by his own reaction as he copied them and pasted them into the app's search function. After tapping confirm, he found a user named "Little Sun."
The avatar was a cartoon sun, its strangely lifelike expression resembling a forced smile. Yan Lie stared at it for a long while and, inexplicably, found himself amused.
By the time he switched back to the main screen, the other person had already accepted his friend request.
They Call Me Lie: Zhuo?
Little Sun: Lie?
Yan Lie was a little excited.
At last, Fang Zhuo wouldn't have to wince over the cost of sending a text message, one dime at a time.
So he immediately sent several emojis in a row to express his happiness.
Probably couldn't stand the screen being flooded, Fang Zhuo sent back an ellipsis.
Yan Lie lifted his finger and patiently waited for her to type.
Little Sun: What are you doing?
Yan Lie turned around, took a photo of the view outside the window, and sent it to her.
It didn't take long for Fang Zhuo to reply.
Little Sun: Don't send photos. I don't have enough data.
They Call Me Lie: ...
Right. Still as stingy as ever.
Yan Lie laughed. He raised a hand and scrubbed it firmly over his face, wiping away the dejected look that had settled over him.
They Call Me Lie: I really hate people drinking. Why does everyone have to force drinks on each other during New Year's? What's so fun about getting drunk?
Fang Zhuo was staring at a bowl of rice wine stewed with egg right in front of her, it was rather difficult to give him an objective answer.
Ye Yuncheng came out of the kitchen, drying his hands. Seeing her sitting there in a daze, he urged her on. "Come on, drink it while it's hot. I almost forgot about it. Good thing I remembered in my dream. Egg stewed in rice wine is really good for you. This rice wine was brewed at Uncle Liu's house himself. It's fragrant, sweet, and mellow. Finish it and get to bed early. Make the most of your holiday and get some proper rest, okay?"
Fang Zhuo frowned and reluctantly typed her reply.
Little Sun: Yeah. Not clear-headed at all.
They Call Me Lie: How did you get on QQ?
Little Sun: My uncle is going to bed, so he lent me his phone and asked me to wait until midnight to send a few New Year's greetings for him.
Little Sun: I'm uninstalling QQ after midnight.
Yan Lie didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
So this was a limited-time feature.
They Call Me Lie: Wouldn't that cost a lot of dimes? You might as well keep the app and add them on QQ to send the greetings.
Little Sun: [Troubled]
Little Sun: I just found out his text messages have a package. He gets two hundred free messages every month.
They Call Me Lie: ??
Little Sun: So I can send you one too.
Little Sun: But I can't send too many, because I don't have time to count them. If I go over the limit one day, I'll be really upset.
They Call Me Lie: Thanks.
Little Sun: I'm not stingy.
The protest sounded a little too much like a guilty afterthought.
Fang Zhuo decided to change the subject.
Little Sun: I heard there's going to be a fireworks show downtown at midnight.
Yan Lie instinctively looked up at the sky.
The moon was bright and the stars sparse. The sky wasn't pitch-black, but held a faint blue beneath the glow of the city lights.
From somewhere beyond the immeasurable distance, faint sounds of laughter drifted toward him.
He suddenly felt an almost urgent need to share something with Fang Zhuo. What exactly he wanted to share, he couldn't quite put into words.
Little Sun: I don't think I can see it from here.
Little Sun: You can send me ONE photo when it starts.
She had made her priorities very clear.
Fang Zhuo sat there with her phone in hand, waiting for Yan Lie to reply.
But this time, even though it wasn't a text message, Yan Lie still went silent.
Little Sun: Is your connection bad?
Five minutes passed, and there was still no response.
Fang Zhuo stared at the "Online" status at the top of the chat window, lost in thought. She nudged the conversation upward a little, checking to make sure she hadn't said anything that might have offended him.
Little Sun: Xiao Mu is coming back the day after tomorrow, and then I'll be going back to the countryside. I'll show you pictures of the little baldy when I do.
Still unable to get a reply, Fang Zhuo switched over to Candy Crush. She cleared two levels before switching back, only to find that Yan Lie still hadn't responded.
Was this revenge?
It definitely was.
He didn't even care about the little baldy anymore, his former favorite.
She decided that from now on, whenever she texted Yan Lie, she'd add a note at the end: "I might not reply to the next one, so don't wait for me. Text messages are expensive."
That way, she wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings.
Fang Zhuo carried her phone over to the windowsill.
Their neighborhood wasn't in a bustling part of the city, so it wasn't particularly lively. There weren't many people around the residential complex at this hour either.
She tried to locate the direction of downtown, checked the distance against her navigation app, and confirmed once again that there was practically no chance of seeing the fireworks from this angle. She couldn't help sighing.
She hadn't been all that excited about the fireworks at first, but after Yan Lie stopped responding, they had somehow lodged themselves in her mind.
Fang Zhuo pulled up Liu Qiaohong's contact information and sent him a New Year's greeting ahead of time.
Fang Zhuo: Uncle Liu, Uncle Liu, Happy New Year.
Liu Qiaohong: Zhuo Zhuo? Happy New Year to you too~ Give my regards to your uncle.
Fang Zhuo: Uncle Liu, what are you doing?
Liu Qiaohong: I'm on holiday! Just finished eating dumplings, hahaha!
Even through the screen, Fang Zhuo could feel how happy he was.
A white light suddenly flashed below the building, sweeping from side to side and catching Fang Zhuo's attention.
She rose onto her tiptoes and looked down. Before she could make out what it was, the light stopped moving.
Then her phone buzzed.
The missing person had finally returned.
They Call Me Lie: I'll take you to see them. Come downstairs.
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