CY – Chapter 1

Chapter One

B City.

Zhang Xiaotian dragged his luggage out of the train station, exhaling into the chaotic crowd.

This city, a thousand miles away from his current residence, had a sun setting like fire, stinging his eyes. The figures passing by seemed blurred by the glare, yet it inexplicably gave him a sense of returning home. This feeling of complete unfamiliarity sometimes meant a new beginning. Zhang Xiaotian felt that this sense of leaving everything behind was like trimming the hair at the nape of his neck that had grown long enough to tickle his collar during the holiday. Others might not notice the subtle difference, but it made him feel neat and relaxed.

B City’s station looked cleaner. Outside the exit, many taxis waited to leave once they had a full car. Zhang Xiaotian didn’t want to squeeze into a car with strangers. Ignoring the drivers soliciting passengers around him, he walked two more blocks before hailing a taxi.

Further away from the train station, more taxis used their meters. Zhang Xiaotian flagged one down and quickly got in.

“To this hotel,” he showed the navigation to the driver.

“Alright,” the driver glanced at the navigation and started the car, “Young man, you’re a student reporting tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“Mm,” Zhang Xiaotian replied with his eyes closed.

“I see you even know to find a metered taxi. Those drivers at the entrance didn’t stop you from leaving?” The driver rolled up his window and chattered at Zhang Xiaotian, “I can’t stand those people. Just go by the meter, you know? They bully students like you who just arrived, charging ten yuan per person, and they have to wait until the car is full before leaving. Aren’t they bothered by the hassle, losing out on a little bit of money?”

Zhang Xiaotian listened, scrolled through his phone a couple of times, and nodded.

“When I see you, I’m reminded of the year my son went to university,” the driver’s mouth didn’t stop. “My son, like you, didn’t talk much. This is a great time for you all; you have so much time, you can do whatever you want!”

The car still carried the lingering smell of smoke. Zhang Xiaotian, with his eyes closed, found his mind unusually free of worries. He recalled the taxi drivers soliciting business at the train station entrance earlier. Inside their cars, students sat crammed together, strangers to each other, some chatting, others silently looking at their phones.

Perhaps because they had a lot of time, they all seemed unhurried, unlike himself.

He thought, I need to find a part-time job as soon as possible, starting tomorrow after I complete my enrollment.

The driver drove fast, and they arrived at the hotel in no time. After a quick wash, Zhang Xiaotian lay on the bed, thinking about the next day’s schedule.

The mattress beneath him was too soft and slightly damp, making it uncomfortable. As Zhang Xiaotian’s thoughts drifted, his consciousness began to blur. He gave up thinking and turned over, burying his face in the bedding.

“Deskmate, it’s so good to have you…”

“What does our Tian’er want to eat tonight? Master will take you…”

“I don’t understand what you mean, you mean…”

Lu Bai’s question was cut short. Zhang Xiaotian woke up from his dream, staring at the ceiling for a long time, unable to regain his senses until the alarm bell rang.

In his dream, Lu Bai was as noisy as ever, with boundless energy, always by his side. But on the day he finally mustered the courage to say that one sentence, Lu Bai had been silent for a long time.

He had never seen Lu Bai so silent, nor had he had the courage to continue watching Lu Bai face him in such silence. So he ran away.

He hadn’t had this dream in a long time. Lu Bai’s face in the dream was becoming a little blurry. Zhang Xiaotian thought, it’s only been a year since they last saw each other.

The alarm was still ringing. Zhang Xiaotian checked the time, reached out to turn it off, and got out of bed to start packing.

The campus was filled with students and parents carrying bags, their faces showing the same mix of anticipation and nervousness. Zhang Xiaotian didn’t have much luggage. Following the crowd, he completed the procedures without much trouble. When he reached the dormitory, only one bed with his name on it was empty.

“Hello, classmate. My name is Xu Yan,” a clean-cut young man with a buzz cut introduced himself first. He pointed to someone on the phone next to him and said, “He’s Zhou Bin. We’ll be roommates from now on.” Zhang Xiaotian nodded and introduced himself.

“Our other roommate, who is across from you, just went out with his family and said he’ll be back later. Zhou Bin and I just met him, we didn’t even have time to ask his name,” Xu Yan, despite his name, spoke rapidly, like an old friend. “I’m from here, so if you need to know anything, feel free to ask me. Where are you from? Is your home far from here?”

“A bit far,” Zhang Xiaotian put down his luggage and started making his bed. “It takes more than ten hours on the train.”

“That’s really not close! Who accompanied you from home?”

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t look up. “I came by myself.”

“I originally wanted to come by myself too, but my family wouldn’t allow it. They insisted on seeing the school environment. What’s there to see? You can’t change schools anyway,” Xu Yan smiled. “Brother, you get settled. I need to take my family to look around. Call me if you need anything.”

Zhang Xiaotian nodded at him and watched him leave the dormitory like a whirlwind. Then, he opened his suitcase.

There wasn’t much in the suitcase. He had left many things in his previous apartment, not intending to bring them. Zhang Xiaotian rummaged through it and found a ridiculously ugly chubby dog figurine. The little dog’s head bobbed when nudged. Lu Bai had drawn a small flower on its belly with a marker, looking rather silly.

Zhang Xiaotian hesitated but still placed the figurine on his desk corner.

After tidying up, Zhang Xiaotian wandered out of the school.

There were various restaurants and even a decent food street around the school. Zhang Xiaotian kept an eye out for job postings while planning to buy some snacks to eat. The steaming food stalls were crowded, momentarily reminding him of C City. High school students, after school, were like insatiable wolf cubs, always finding opportunities to grab an extra meal.

Zhang Xiaotian stared at the fried mushroom stall, his thoughts drifting uncontrollably.

He was like this in his second year of high school. Holding a portion of fried mushrooms, or something else, he would walk side-by-side with Lu Bai through the steam scented with cumin. Whatever he held, more than half of it would end up in Lu Bai’s stomach.

“Classmate? Are you buying or not?” The proprietress, seeing him standing there like a utility pole, called out to him.

“If you’re not buying, move aside. People are waiting behind you!”

Zhang Xiaotian snapped back to reality. “Sorry, I’ll buy one.” After paying, he moved aside and leaned against the metal of the food cart.

He wondered how long it would take to stop thinking about Lu Bai.

Maybe it would take as long as a whole holiday? Perhaps he would forget tomorrow.

This was Zhang Xiaotian’s first time experiencing this situation, and he felt a bit lost.

However, he was good at enduring.

After browsing the food street and asking at shops around the school, Zhang Xiaotian emerged from the last shop as the sky was darkening. The fried mushrooms in his hand were not finished, softened by the bag, and he carried them casually.

If his studies weren’t so demanding, perhaps he could take on more part-time jobs. Combined with the little money his parents had left him, things wouldn’t be too tight, and he might even be able to save some.

He remembered his mother handing him a bank card before she left. “Xiaotian, you should know how much your mother has done for you. Your mother has done all she can,” she had told Zhang Xiaotian before turning and boarding a flight to another country. But he hadn’t felt much sadness or reluctance.

As for his father, ever since his mother took him away in his second year of high school, he hadn’t been in contact with his father. Only the changing numbers on the card made him realize he still had a father.

His future days might require constant budgeting, perhaps a step-by-step approach, and a bit of luck, leading to a harder life. But Zhang Xiaotian didn’t want to dwell on those thoughts.

He only thought, now I am finally no longer a burden to anyone.

When Zhang Xiaotian returned to the dormitory, the other roommates hadn’t returned yet. The roommate across from him seemed to have returned, as there were a few more items on his bed and desk. Zhang Xiaotian casually placed the bag of soggy fried mushrooms on his own desk and went into the shower.

The moment the hot water cascaded down, Zhang Xiaotian realized how tired he was today. While washing, he heard the sound of a key unlocking the door from outside.

It seemed a roommate had returned.

Thinking he should finish quickly to make way for his roommate, Zhang Xiaotian sped up his actions. Coming out in a hurry, Zhang Xiaotian was drying his hair, intending to see if it was Xu Yan or Zhou Bin who had returned, when he saw an unusually familiar back.

The person heard footsteps and didn’t turn around.

“You’re still the same, buying so much when you can’t eat it all,” he said with his mouth full, eating Zhang Xiaotian’s leftover fried mushrooms. “Next time, remember not to buy so much. It’s not good when it gets soggy.”

Finishing in two or three bites, he reached out and nudged the chubby dog’s head, then turned to face Zhang Xiaotian. “What, can’t even speak? Are you so surprised to see your Master?”

It was Lu Bai.

For a moment, Zhang Xiaotian wanted to turn and run. Lu Bai was his roommate? He remembered him? Why could he still treat him so calmly? Didn’t he mind? Had he forgotten what he had done to him…

Lu Bai waited for a long time, but seeing no reaction from Zhang Xiaotian, he called out again, “Tian’er?”

“…Lu Bai.”

“Hey, my good disciple!” Lu Bai chuckled, walked over, and examined Zhang Xiaotian from head to toe. Suddenly, he reached out and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much. And you, do you miss me?”

Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t speak. Lu Bai’s hug was too tight, and he felt all the blood rushing to his head. For a moment, he couldn’t distinguish between reality and his imagination.

“So cold, my Tian’er,” Lu Bai patted Zhang Xiaotian’s back, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He abruptly pulled Zhang Xiaotian’s shoulders and asked, “You haven’t forgotten me, have you?”

How could he? Zhang Xiaotian savored Lu Bai’s warmth, wanting to reach out and touch him, but he could only clutch his clothes.