The Scorching Sun - 61
The moonlight was dim, and the streetlights ahead flickered fitfully, casting two awkwardly elongated shadows onto the road.
"Don't move."
His familiar voice came from above her, his warm hands wrapped around her back. This time, his words truly were spoken right beside her ear. "I'm telling you, you can't do this."
The embrace was almost too tight. At this distance, Fang Zhuo could smell the lingering scent of beer on Yan Lie. Maybe it was just her imagination, but there seemed to be something faintly sweet about it too.
The smell of alcohol mingled with the roughness of his breathing, somehow creating a numbing effect on her nerves. So instead of pushing him away, Fang Zhuo did something she herself could hardly believe. She took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of him.
She heard the faintly aggrieved reproach in Yan Lie's voice and decided that this naive person was being completely unreasonable. He was clearly upset because she'd refused to spend twenty cents a minute on the phone call just now.
She was about to bring up the matter and demonstrate just how generous she'd been when Yan Lie continued, "You know you're not supposed to play Lei Feng when you're doing nice things for someone, right? If I do something for you, I'll want to call you thirty times a day and keep reminding you about it over and over."
Fang Zhuo's ability to identify the important part of a conversation was somewhat questionable. "Who says I'm doing nice things for you? And after three calls, I won't pick up anymore."
"Then tell me. Why did you come all this way to see me?"
Yan Lie lifted his gaze over Fang Zhuo's shoulder and saw the straight road stretching ahead. Two parallel lines continued toward the depths the streetlights could no longer reach, their distance steadily narrowing until, somewhere unknown, they would finally meet or turn a corner.
He smiled. "Are you leaning toward me?"
Fang Zhuo looked at him suspiciously. "Are you the Earth's gravitational pull?"
Then she asked, "Are you drunk? You're being really strange tonight."
What a hopelessly unromantic person.
"You're so straight-laced!" Yan Lie cried. "Fang Zhuo, you're way too straight-laced!"
It was a completely unfounded accusation. If she were a guy, she would've practically been moved to tears by her own devotion.
Fang Zhuo pushed him away. As she turned, she touched her ear and realized heat was practically radiating from it.
The two of them walked along the street bathed in the evening breeze, their minds blank, keeping three or four steps apart. Their long shadows tangled together on the pavement, joining and separating as they went.
Yan Lie took out his phone, turned on his data, and used the last of his battery to read the messages Fang Zhuo had left him on QQ.
"When did you get here?"
Fang Zhuo answered vaguely, "Today."
Yan Lie pressed her. "What time today?"
Fang Zhuo didn't want to answer. She kept her head down and walked ahead.
Yan Lie scrolled back through their chat history and confirmed that Fang Zhuo had said around nine that morning that she was leaving. "If you left home at nine-thirty, there was no way it should've taken you this long to get to C City. You asked where we were eating and watching a movie. Were you planning to go there and wait for me?"
He was actually trying to pick a fight now. Fang Zhuo found it unbelievable.
She quickened her pace, but Yan Lie seemed completely oblivious and had no intention of letting her off easy. "Did you get lost?"
Every single thing he said was something Fang Zhuo didn't want to hear.
Yan Lie refused to let it go. "You're directionally challenged, remember? Why didn't you let me come pick you up when you arrived at C City? What if you'd gotten lost?"
"I obviously know!" Fang Zhuo said. "That's exactly why I didn't want you calling me directionally challenged."
Yan Lie couldn't understand. "Do you think I'd make fun of you?"
Fang Zhuo stopped and turned around, giving him a deeply reproachful look. Her expression plainly said, That's exactly what you're doing right now.
The light from the phone screen faded. Yan Lie tapped it again, bringing it back to life.
He looked at the person standing in front of him, wonderinh if someone like Fang Zhuo might occasionally have little sparks of romance flare up inside her too.
The reason behind the surprise might have been childish, and the whole process absurd, but it was still her purest, most straightforward way of expressing her feelings for someone.
Yan Lie scrolled through his phone, then hurried over and held up a screenshot from their chat.
"I asked you before if you'd ever make an exception and be especially generous to your future boyfriend. You coldly told me you wouldn't."
Fang Zhuo said solemnly, "What are you doing now? Are you trying to discuss the mysteries of human behavior with me?"
Yan Lie looked rather pleased with himself, with just a hint of smugness. "Spending an entire day and a thousand yuan to see someone you aren't even sure you'll get to see. Does that count as an exception among exceptions?"
"It's not a thousand." Fang Zhuo paused, then seemed to relent. "I won't make an exception for you. You're my exception. Is that good enough?"
Yan Lie immediately put on an attentive expression and shamelessly demanded, "Leave out the last part. Say it again."
Fang Zhuo's patience lasted only until he opened his mouth. She turned and walked away again.
"So that's your exception?" Yan Lie called after her. "Hey, Fang Zhuo, where did all that generosity go?"
"I'm very generous!" Fang Zhuo said. "No one else would spend fifty percent of their remaining assets just to buy a train ticket and come see you once."
"Why not a hundred percent?"
"You're asking for too much!" Fang Zhuo said. "I'm not going to be that stupid! And you need to stop being so spoiled!"
Yan Lie burst out laughing. He jogged to catch up, reaching around from behind and took her hand.
Their skin felt slightly sweaty when they touched, though Fang Zhuo's hand was cold. Yan Lie tightened his grip and gave her hand a little tug toward him. Only then did Fang Zhuo slow her steps.
"I'll take you somewhere to eat. It's the restaurant I told you about this morning. They're open from the afternoon until late at night, they should still be serving."
Fang Zhuo suddenly remembered. "My cake is still at the security desk. It'll go bad if I leave it there until tomorrow."
She was about to suggest having Wei Xi and the others take it and split it among themselves. It was only a small cake, after all. But Yan Lie had already said, "Wait here. I'll go get it!"
Fifteen minutes later, Yan Lie came running back with the cake box carefully held in his arms. By the time he reached Fang Zhuo, a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on his skin.
He stopped in front of her and stood there trying not to laugh, clearly delighted with himself. Despite being incredibly childish, he insisted on putting on the air of a responsible parent, fussing over the cake as though he were the keeper of the household. "Don't buy from this place next time. It's tiny and expensive. What a waste of money."
Fang Zhuo pulled two tissues from her bag and handed them to him.
Yan Lie lowered his head instead of taking them. He freed one hand, took hold of the back of Fang Zhuo's hand, and guided it to wipe his face thoroughly. When she was done, he immediately put on an obedient, ingratiating smile. "Thanks, girlfriend."
Fang Zhuo felt like her brain had become a computer screen smashed into a hundred pieces. No matter how she tried to put it back together, she couldn't remember ever agreeing to be his girlfriend.
How could anyone be this shamelessly emboldened by a single inch of encouragement?
"Come on, let's go. You must've been hungry all day." Yan Lie gave her no opportunity to argue. "It's right up ahead. I'm taking you to the most authentic seafood place around here according to the locals online."
Both their phones were nearly dead. Once they entered the restaurant, Yan Lie borrowed two power banks and finally got their phones charging again.
Fang Zhuo hadn't used a bathroom or eaten anything since she got off the high-speed train. After they found a table, she asked one of the staff if she could use the restroom.
Even this late at night, the restaurant was still crowded.
The fragrant aroma of seafood sizzling in the wok drifted over from the neighboring table, mingling with the cheerful voices of diners drinking and talking. The red characters of the restaurant's sign stood out brightly by the entrance, while warm yellow light spilled through the glass and illuminated the little road outside.
After placing the order on his phone, Yan Lie took pictures of everything in sight. Then he propped both hands on the table and sat there grinning like an idiot.
He opened his social media feed and typed out a few lines, only to decide they weren't quite right and delete them again. After thinking for a long while without coming up with anything suitably poetic, he gave up for the moment, brought the cake onto the table, and placed it right in the middle.
When the dishes began arriving, Fang Zhuo's phone rang. Yan Lie glanced at the screen and saw Wei Xi's name. Figuring it was a callback after the missed call, he casually answered and cheerfully said, "Hello?"
Wei Xi went silent on the other end. Two seconds later, she asked, "Yan Lie?"
"It's me."
"Sorry to bother you." Wei Xi spoke rapidly. "I get it. Is she taking a shower right now?"
Yan Lie barely managed to suppress a laugh. "She's actually in the restroom right now. Is there something you wanted to..."
"Don't do that! Your green tea flavor is ridiculously strong. I'm not your love rival!" Wei Xi said. "So are you coming back tonight?"
Yan Lie toned down his teasing. "We're eating out right now. We'll be back later."
Wei Xi's excitement was already impossible to contain. She put on an exaggeratedly coy voice. "Oh, what are you eating? It's fine if you stay out after dinner. You don't have to make a special trip back. This isn't school. We don't have to come back and clock in every day. We're all adults..."
Before she could finish, Yan Lie called out, "Fang Zhuo, this table."
Wei Xi immediately shut her mouth.
Fang Zhuo nodded. As she sat down, she quietly said, "I know how to find you. It's only the size of one storefront. It's not that complicated."
Yan Lie smiled. "Really?"
His expression practically screamed that he didn't believe her. Fang Zhuo ignored him and asked, "Who was that?"
Yan Lie handed her the phone.
The person on the other end had already completely changed her tone. In a sweet voice, Wei Xi said, "Fang Zhuo, you're in C City? Why didn't you tell us ahead of time? The KTV was too loud, so I didn't hear your call. Good thing Yan Lie happened to run into you. Come back early after dinner, okay? I've got a present ready for you! Mwah!"
After a few more concerned reminders, Wei Xi hung up.
Yan Lie immediately asked, "Can I eat the cake now?"
Fang Zhuo said, "Go ahead."
-
Yan Lie had ordered far too many dishes for Fang Zhuo to finish. In the end, they packed up the leftovers along with half the cake and had everything delivered to the house for everyone to eat as a late-night snack.
By the time they left the restaurant, it was nearly eleven.
The lingering bustle and smoky warmth of the evening had faded from the air, leaving the moonlight startlingly clear.
Summer nights were always especially lively. Everything wanted to take part, from the breeze passing by to the cicadas singing in the trees.
Yan Lie walked along the sections of pavement illuminated by the streetlights, cycling through a string of nameless tunes until he finally started humming the familiar melody of the March of the Volunteers.
Fang Zhuo couldn't help asking, "Is your face twitching?"
"Try saying that more gently."
"Okay." Fang Zhuo asked, "Have you finished smiling yet?"
Yan Lie grew a little more serious. He stepped forward, conveniently blocking Fang Zhuo's path. Rubbing the back of his neck, he asked, "Zhuo Zhuo, when you went to visit Auntie's grave today, did you say anything to her?"
"No." Fang Zhuo said, "There wasn't much to say. I just told her everything was going fine."
Yan Lie happened to be standing upwind, the loose strands of hair across his forehead were swept backward by the breeze. He wore the solemn expression of someone who had carefully thought something through before slowly saying, "I just thought of something."
Fang Zhuo thought to herself that Yan Lie had far too many thoughts.
Yan Lie said, "Look. The day Auntie passed away happened to be the day I was born..."
He stepped forward, stopping just at the tips of Fang Zhuo's shoes.
"I'm not talking about fate or anything like that..."
Fang Zhuo's gaze traveled slowly upward from his shoes until she finally raised her head and found herself looking at his handsome, dangerously captivating face from only inches away.
"But when the world lost one person who loved you, I happened to appear..."
Yan Lie lowered his head until his forehead rested against hers.
"Right? So it had to be me. It could only be me..."
He had brought up the subject without ever quite saying what he meant, and in the end, he simply looked intently at Fang Zhuo. Perhaps deliberately, his long, thick lashes nearly brushed her face. Maybe he was holding his breath just as she was, but the heat of his breath still came over her in waves.
Dizzy and disoriented, Fang Zhuo thought that Yan Lie's words were always so dangerously persuasive. He had a way of forcibly connecting all sorts of unrelated things together, just to prove that he was the one and only answer to her equation.
He never made grand promises about some extravagant future. Instead, he argued his way toward his conclusion as though he were solving a problem. And somehow, it was beautiful, convincing, and impossible to refuse.
Yan Lie's subtlety had reached its limit. He leaned down and kissed her, then lifted his arms and drew her into his embrace.
---
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