The Scorching Sun - 69
When Yan Lie didn't feel like arguing, there was seemingly nothing you could do with him.
He was shameless with such absolute confidence, rejecting every attempt at a rebuttal while putting on the most aggrieved expression imaginable.
After staring at him speechlessly for a long while, Fang Zhuo decided not to make things difficult for herself and simply let him lead her out through the school gates.
Yan Lie had bought two movie tickets in advance. The theater was on the fourth floor of the shopping mall right next to the university.
Apparently, it was supposed to be a very pure romantic comedy, starring two of the more popular young actors of the moment. Its rating wasn't bad either. A quick glance at the front-page reviews revealed nothing but praise.
There weren't many options at the cinema at this hour, so Yan Lie had picked this one based on the genre.
The two of them entered the theater with high hopes. Thirty minutes later, they realized they'd been deceived.
The romance was indeed very pure, pure as plain water spiked with a splash of baijiu. At first glance, it was crystal clear and seemed to contain nothing at all, but take a sip and it burned all the way down your throat. When the sentimental background music swelled, accompanied by the two actors' exaggerated expressions, someone in the row ahead couldn't help swearing.
This movie was completely unsuitable for couples. Yan Lie thought to himself. There wasn't even a single scene capable of making anyone's heart race.
Whoever had been inflating the ratings had no conscience. Yan Lie couldn't stop thinking about it. This wasn't a grudge that could be settled with a few dozen yuan.
The theater was dim. The lush green forest projected across the screen cast a faint, hazy light that spilled over Fang Zhuo's face.
Yan Lie turned and found Fang Zhuo staring intently at the screen, studying the film with an almost scholarly dedication. He couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. This was probably a movie she simply couldn't understand, judging by the deep furrow between her brows. The contrast of light and shadow sharpened the contours of her profile.
Yan Lie leaned closer and whispered, "Is it good?"
Fang Zhuo shook her head.
Yan Lie took her hand. "Then let's go?"
Fang Zhuo turned her head slightly. Her tightly drawn features practically screamed the words "deeply embittered," and after a long struggle, she finally said, "Thirty-seven yuan."
Yan Lie desperately wanted to laugh, but managed to hold it in and stayed with her through the thirty-seven-yuan movie.
The second half of the film finally showed some improvement.
When the heroine rowed across the shimmering surface of the lake, the movie finally offered something worth praising.
The plot still made no sense, but the tranquil imagery struck with a strange familiarity.
The heroine's serene face gradually blurred as the camera pulled higher.
A breeze skimming across the lake rode on the wings of birds and drifted toward the distant sky. Layer upon layer of reflections on the water flipped and transformed into a clear blue expanse.
Sunlight spilled across an asphalt road lined with greenery. The leaves had been bleached into every shade of green, dense foliage overlapping and swaying in the breeze, letting fragments of dappled light slip through before students bursting from the far end of the road shattered them.
Spring and summer seemed to have become tangled together here, just as every confused thought and every fierce, burning ache of young love eventually converged into one thing: a pure, overwhelming affection.
Yan Lie replayed the various images in his mind and suddenly understood. There was something of Fang Zhuo in them. That was why, for one fleeting moment, they had so easily tugged at something deep inside him, the feeling vanishing almost immediately when he realized what had triggered it.
And yet, the first time he'd noticed Fang Zhuo had been at night.
The first time he'd taken her home had also been at night.
The first time he'd dragged her by the hand in a frantic flight down an unfamiliar county road, gripping her tightly because he wanted to rely on her, had been at night too.
The first time he'd asked her to carve his name into her future, the first time he'd written her into his otherwise dull and uneventful journal, the first time he'd kissed her and held her, had all been at night.
Through long nights washed in evening breezes and dim starlight, whenever she appeared and turned back to him, sunlight would suddenly break through, filling his world with bright, beautiful scenery that could occupy his entire field of vision.
The lights suddenly brightened. The credits appeared on the screen, and quiet conversations rose all around them as people began drifting away in twos and threes.
Fang Zhuo stood and looked at Yan Lie, who was still lost in thought. She curled her fingers slightly and said, "Let's go."
Even after they left the mall, Fang Zhuo couldn't let it go. On the way back to school, she finally couldn't resist saying, "That was the first movie I ever saw in a theater."
Her tone was full of indignation.
Yan Lie laughed. "I'll take you to see a good one next time."
Fang Zhuo nodded.
The wind had tousled her bangs. Yan Lie reached over to smooth them down and said softly, "I'm a little thirsty."
Fang Zhuo looked helplessly around. Spotting a cold-drink shop nearby, she said, "Then I'll buy you a bottle of double-skin milk."
Yan Lie stood outside the door, watching Fang Zhuo walk into the tiny shop, lean against the counter, and ask the shopkeeper how much the double-skin milk cost.
She hadn't brought much money with her. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a handful of loose change, both bills and coins mixed together. She carefully counted it out for the shopkeeper, exchanged it for a cup of double-skin milk, then carried it back outside.
Fang Zhuo's very own carefulness.
Yan Lie's very own irrational spending.
Fang Zhuo held the cup out to him. "Here."
Yan Lie lowered his eyes to look at her and slowly blinked once. His gaze softened beyond words.
"You don't like it?" Fang Zhuo asked, puzzled. "I only added raisins and red bean paste."
Yan Lie raised his arms and pulled her into an embrace, resting his head in the hollow of her shoulder.
"I like you." He held her close, his voice hoarse. "Fang Zhuo, I really, really like you."
The sudden confession left Fang Zhuo at a loss.
"Was the movie really that good?" she asked awkwardly. "I actually didn't... like it that much."
"It has nothing to do with the movie." Yan Lie gave a quiet laugh. "I only like you."
Fang Zhuo paused. "I know."
Yan Lie said, "When I asked you to be my girlfriend before, I didn't say it, but I really do like you. I'll never meet anyone I could like more in this lifetime."
Fang Zhuo thought to herself, You didn't even actually say the words "be my girlfriend."
People nearby had already started looking over. Embarrassed, Fang Zhuo gave him a little push and whispered, "I know. How many times are you going to say it?"
Yan Lie let her go, then quickly kissed her cheek. "Don't push me."
-
Yan Lie's social media feed updated at eleven that night.
"Happy birthday, baby. No expiration date.”
"9.28"
The comments were as lively as ever.
-
Yan Lie's good mood lasted for a very long time. As long as it had come from Fang Zhuo, it seemed capable of running on extended battery life. It didn't even disappear when he encountered unreasonable demands from a sponsor.
That evening, after the External Relations Department finished its meeting, he stayed behind in the activity room to organize the materials. Halfway through, when he saw that it was about time, he took a moment to send Fang Zhuo a message telling her to eat properly.
The busy girl didn't reply right away. Instead, the scent of perfume drifted in from the doorway and reached his desk.
Yan Lie wrinkled his nose. "The classroom our department borrowed isn't available yet. Please come back later."
"We're classmates. You don't have to be so cold." The girl ran a hand through her slightly wavy long hair and sat down across from him. "I just wanted to say a couple of things to you."
"I saw your post yesterday."
Yan Lie didn't even look up. "Did you?"
"I think I've seen your girlfriend before. I've noticed her a few times too. She was your deskmate in high school?"
"Yeah," Yan Lie replied distractedly.
"What do you like about her?"
Yan Lie finally looked up and glanced at the girl across from him. His expression wasn't exactly friendly, but neither was it hostile. It was simply still, like an ancient well without a ripple, leaving nothing else to read into.
"I honestly don't understand. She's not fun, she's not funny, and she's not sexy. She's pretty, sure, but she doesn't know how to dress herself at all." The girl tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him. "Am I not prettier than her?"
"Of course," Yan Lie said matter-of-factly.
She wasn't offended. Instead, she asked curiously, "Do you just like her type? I'm curious. Do guys like you all prefer girls like that?"
"What kind?" Yan Lie asked.
She thought for a moment. "Cold and reserved, but occasionally willing to show weakness. The kind who seems like she needs to be protected. Someone who doesn't know what the world is really like, who lives in a simple little world of her own. Maybe she's stubborn, with a strong sense of pride, and needs you to accommodate her."
Yan Lie gave a derisive laugh, as though he'd just heard an absurd story. "Sounds like you don't understand my girlfriend at all. But whatever type she is, most people don't like someone who's convinced they're always right."
"What type do you think she is, then?"
Yan Lie neatly arranged the stamped documents, put them into a folder, and packed it into his black briefcase along with his laptop.
"One-of-a-kind, custom-made." A smile curved at the corner of his lips. "A privilege reserved for the luckiest of the lucky. Nothing to do with you."
-
From the end of summer into early autumn, the weather turned cold and overcast with startling speed after a single rainstorm.
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