CY – Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Although B City was quite a distance from C City, the journey was far from boring. Organized by the school, the students boarded a train on Saturday evening. They slept through the night and woke up the next day to play cards or chat in groups. By nightfall, they had reached their destination.

In the hotel lobby, Li An distributed the room cards. Everyone headed to their rooms to rest as planned on the train. Zhang Xiaotian followed Lu Bai back to their room. As soon as the door opened, Lu Bai dropped his luggage and, without even taking off his jacket, collapsed onto the bed. “Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

“Take off your jacket first,” Zhang Xiaotian said, opening his own suitcase and taking out his toiletries. “Do you want to rest for a bit? Should I use the bathroom first then?”

“You go ahead,” Lu Bai replied, burying his face in the pillow and waving a hand behind him. “I need to catch a quick nap.”

Zhang Xiaotian took his things and went into the bathroom.

The water in the shower wasn’t very hot, but thankfully, the weather wasn’t cold. Zhang Xiaotian quickly rinsed off. Not seeing a hairdryer in the bathroom, he just dried himself with a towel, planning to look for one in the room. As he came out of the bathroom, Lu Bai had also just woken up. Zhang Xiaotian saw him leaning against the headboard, his eyes half-closed and unfocused, staring blankly at him as he emerged from the bathroom.

“Slept that soundly?” Zhang Xiaotian found his dazed expression amusing.

“I’m going to shower,” Lu Bai didn’t answer, rubbing his eyes vigorously before scrambling out of bed and into the bathroom. Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t find a hairdryer in the room either, so he decided to open the window and let the breeze dry his hair. The sky in B City was no different from C City; the same dry evening breeze, the same deep blue night sky, with almost invisible clouds drifting by, their movement discernible if one looked closely. Below the window, traffic roared, and from behind him came the sound of running water from the bathroom. Zhang Xiaotian watched the traffic lights below change several times before taking out his phone to snap a few pictures.

Lu Bai’s shower took quite a while. By the time he came out, Zhang Xiaotian’s hair was almost dry, and he was sitting by the window scrolling through videos. Lu Bai, a towel draped over his shoulder, walked over and closed the window. “Drying your hair like that, aren’t you afraid of getting a stroke?”

“Will I?” Zhang Xiaotian looked at him at the mention of it. Lu Bai was wearing pajamas brought from home, a deep blue with simple cartoon dog patterns, quite cute. Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t help but look him up and down, and Lu Bai reached out and covered his eyes.

“Of course, you will. You have no common sense.” Zhang Xiaotian blinked in the darkness. The darkness by his eyes flinched, and some light filtered through his fingers. He heard Lu Bai add, “Stop looking, my mom bought them.”

“They’re quite cute,” Zhang Xiaotian said.

“That’s an inappropriate use of words, and I cannot accept it,” Lu Bai stated.

Seeing that Lu Bai hadn’t moved his hand, Zhang Xiaotian didn’t struggle. He shifted his position to lean against the windowsill, unable to help but chuckle, “I was talking about the pajamas.”

“I was also talking about the pajamas,” Lu Bai replied. Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door. Zhang Xiaotian tried to get around Lu Bai’s hand to open the door, but his eyes suddenly lit up as he saw Lu Bai’s back as he walked towards the door. When the door opened, it was Li An.

“It’s nothing,” Li An said, standing at the doorway and looking inside. “Just letting you know, we’re going to B University for a lecture tomorrow at seven. Be there early.” He then noticed Lu Bai’s dog pajamas and chuckled, letting out a mild curse.

“What are you laughing at?” Lu Bai feigned a kick at him. “They’re handsome, you have no taste!”

“Handsome, handsome, handsome,” Li An dodged, laughing, and then moved on to the next room. “Don’t be late tomorrow!” Lu Bai waved his fist at him again before turning back into the room. As he closed the door, he could still hear Li An’s voice, “Damn, Lu Bai’s wearing a…” He didn’t hear the rest before the door clicked shut.

“Damn it!” Lu Bai felt a surge of shame. He hadn’t thought anything of it when he wore them at home, but here, he felt embarrassed. He stood at the door, saw Zhang Xiaotian still smiling at him, and felt his face flush slightly.

“You heard him, we have to get up early tomorrow. Go to sleep, stop smiling!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice, walking towards his own bed without looking at Zhang Xiaotian.

“I’m not smiling,” Zhang Xiaotian compliant walked to his bed and lay down, his eyes still fixed on Lu Bai. Lu Bai flipped over and covered himself completely with the blanket, then reached out and turned off the main light.

“Sleep!” In the darkness, only his general outline was visible. Zhang Xiaotian watched for a while, then turned his head to face the ceiling and closed his eyes.

Perhaps it was the unfamiliar bed, but Zhang Xiaotian didn’t fall asleep soundly until much later. He also woke up quite early the next day. Seeing Lu Bai sleeping soundly, he went out to eat breakfast by himself. The morning temperature was cooler each day. After a quick bite downstairs, Zhang Xiaotian, with a takeaway of soy milk, millet porridge, and a few steamed buns, returned to the room to find that Lu Bai was no longer in bed. Just as Zhang Xiaotian was about to send a message, the bathroom door swung open with a bang, and Lu Bai emerged.

“You didn’t even call me, you just went for breakfast by yourself. Tian’er, you’re not being a good friend.” Lu Bai was about to protest further, but when he saw the variety of breakfast items laid out on the bedside table, he changed his tune. “Tian’er, you’re the best!”

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t say anything and sat down to watch Lu Bai eat. Perhaps it was after a night’s sleep, but Lu Bai no longer cared if his pajamas were childish. His hair was sticking out in wisps, and he slurped his porridge noisily, finishing half a cup in one go. Zhang Xiaotian, dressed neatly, felt that he had never shared such an intimate moment with anyone before and was a bit uncomfortable, not knowing what to say, so he just watched him eat.

“Do you want some more?” Lu Bai asked, seeing Zhang Xiaotian watching him with a longing gaze.

Zhang Xiaotian shook his head and glanced at his watch. It was 6:40.

“I’ll be done soon,” Lu Bai chewed and swallowed a few mouthfuls quickly, then downed the soy milk to wash it down. He swiftly gathered the trash into a plastic bag, tied it, and turned to change clothes. “Wait for me a few minutes!”

Except for summer and winter breaks, high school life was so demanding and fast-paced that there were few opportunities to wear casual clothes. Putting on favorite clothes and walking with friends, even attending a lecture felt like going out to play. Zhang Xiaotian was wearing a simple T-shirt and jacket, and he would have been hard to spot in a crowd. Lu Bai, on the other hand, had tidied himself up a bit and even had a necklace around his neck.

Li An, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, was already chattering noisily that morning. “Yo, Lu Bai, looking sharp today. Why aren’t you wearing those dog pajamas from yesterday?”

“If you want to see them, you can. Who do you think you are?” Lu Bai kicked out, and the two of them engaged in a mock spar. Fearing being caught in the crossfire, Zhang Xiaotian moved a few steps away.

“You don’t understand aesthetics, this is called childlike fun!” Lu Bai exchanged a few moves with Li An before walking back towards Zhang Xiaotian, saying as he went, “Besides, who discusses a male classmate’s pajamas in public first thing in the morning? Pervert!”

“Oh, you bastard, Lu Bai!” Li An was about to pounce again, but he caught sight of the bus in the distance out of the corner of his eye and quickly adopted the demeanor of the Class Monitor and ran towards it. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to give Lu Bai the middle finger. Lu Bai bared his teeth and returned the gesture, then turned back to walk alongside Zhang Xiaotian. After a couple of steps, his hand became restless again, and he insisted on hooking his arm around Zhang Xiaotian’s neck.

“Hey, alright, alright,” Zhang Xiaotian couldn’t break free, so he had to lean to the side, following him. “What’s with you? Can’t you just walk normally?”

“We’re out to have fun!” Lu Bai relaxed his arm a bit but didn’t let go. “You shouldn’t be so glum, cheer up!”

“We’ll have free time later,” Zhang Xiaotian said, his hands gripping Lu Bai’s arm.

“What’s the difference?” Lu Bai asked him. “Can you really pay attention to that lecture? I bet a lot of people will be playing games. Yin Li just messaged asking if we want to play Ludo on our phones later.”

Zhang Xiaotian remained noncommittal. But that wasn’t a reason for him to get inexplicably excited with Lu Bai.

After arriving at B University by bus, the staff in charge distributed passes at the school gate. For the rest of their time in B City, these passes would allow them free access to most areas of the university during the day. On the way to the lecture hall, the staff member briefly introduced himself as a B University student and occasionally answered questions from the students. Soon, he was surrounded by a chattering group of high schoolers. Zhang Xiaotian listened intently to the person’s words while keeping his eyes on the campus.

Some departments had early morning classes, but most students were still having breakfast. Their schedule perfectly avoided the morning rush hour for B University students, making it relatively quiet wherever they walked. The campus was filled with tall trees, and occasionally, they could hear bird songs they had never heard before. Looking in the direction of the sound, they couldn’t see any birds, only the overlapping shadows of the trees swaying. Most of the teaching buildings had been renovated, but occasionally, they would stumble upon an old building, standing quietly amidst the hazy tree shadows, making it difficult to discern if it truly existed.

This school was truly quiet.

Under the guidance of the university student, the group smoothly arrived at the lecture hall. After everyone took their seats, the guide briefly explained the requirements.

“Please try to keep your heads up, don’t talk, and don’t play with your phones.” At this point, the person covered the microphone and added, “This lecture will be recorded in its entirety. We don’t have many people, which means almost everyone will be on camera. We hope for your active cooperation.”

It seemed playing Ludo was out. Zhang Xiaotian listened, propped his head up, and looked out the window. By then, there were many students on the roads, walking through the large and small paths, entering different buildings. Quite a few also entered those old buildings, which now appeared more real.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway as the lecturer arrived late. Seeing the cameras set up, everyone was cooperative. Although the content was the same old platitudes about “ideals” and “goals,” thankfully, the lecture wasn’t long and soon concluded, giving them free time. The teacher in charge of the Fourth High School group reiterated the usage time and scope of the passes and instructed everyone to return to the entrance gate by eleven o’clock, where they would all board the bus back to the hotel. This ensured everyone heard the instructions, even if they were distracted, before being allowed to move freely.

Yin Li looked at her phone, following the tour path that had just been shared. “Looking closely, there doesn’t seem to be much to see.”

“I’m quite interested in the ‘Corridor of Life’ in this experimental building,” Han Chengcheng pointed to a spot. “And here.”

“Then let’s go,” Yin Li said, then looked at Zhang Xiaotian and Lu Bai. “Are you two coming?”

“Let’s go,” Lu Bai said. Zhang Xiaotian also nodded, and the four of them headed directly towards the “Corridor of Life.”

The path became crowded. Zhang Xiaotian stayed close to Lu Bai, occasionally bumping his arm as they dodged people on the road. After a few bumps, Zhang Xiaotian started to feel a bit embarrassed and muttered softly, “Why are there so many people?”

“What?” Lu Bai heard him speak and lowered his head to ask.

“Nothing,” Zhang Xiaotian replied. Then, he pulled Lu Bai and quickened his pace. After passing the corner ahead, the road widened, and it was less crowded, so they slowed down.

“There are indeed a lot of people,” Lu Bai looked at the hand Zhang Xiaotian was holding. “Maybe it’s just break time.”

“Did you hear what I said?” Zhang Xiaotian looked at him. “Then why did you ask me?”

“Just asking,” Lu Bai gestured for Zhang Xiaotian to wait for the two girls behind them. They stood under the shade of a tree at the entrance of the experimental building, waiting for the other two.

It was cool in the morning and evening during this season, but it got hotter as noon approached. At this point, wearing a jacket was becoming uncomfortable. Zhang Xiaotian wanted to take off his jacket and hold it, but as he looked down, a light from somewhere flashed in his eyes. Lu Bai also looked down and realized it was the pendant on his necklace reflecting the light.

“This is better,” he said, reaching out to cup the pendant. Seeing Zhang Xiaotian looking at his hand again, he waited until Zhang Xiaotian had taken off his jacket before opening his hand. Zhang Xiaotian leaned closer to his palm and couldn’t help but reach out to fiddle with it. It was a pair of rectangular metal pieces, one large and one small, without any patterns. The edges were rounded, and the surface was smooth, with a simple style, giving no indication of any symbolic meaning.

Zhang Xiaotian didn’t ask, but Lu Bai answered, “It doesn’t mean anything, I just thought it looked good and wore it.” He lowered his gaze, and Zhang Xiaotian’s neat crown of hair fell into his line of sight. Lu Bai couldn’t help but tilt his head back, as if feeling the heat of the autumn day for the first time.

“What are you doing?” Yin Li’s loud voice arrived at the perfect moment. Zhang Xiaotian quickly stood up straight, instinctively tucking both hands under his jacket.

“Nothing, just… showing Tian’er my necklace,” Lu Bai coughed twice and said. “This building is it, let’s go.”

Without waiting for anyone, he turned and walked into the building. Yin Li said “Oh” and couldn’t resist teasing Lu Bai about being a show-off. Only Han Chengcheng paused at the remark, looking at the two of them suspiciously, but said nothing.

The so-called “Corridor of Life” was a floor in the School of Medicine displaying various human specimens, from tissue slides to organ specimens. When things we normally don’t think about were directly presented, the scene was nothing short of spectacular. The four of them walked and stopped, and even Lu Bai, who wasn’t particularly interested, took a few photos, making the trip worthwhile. Zhang Xiaotian was staring at a blood smear slide. Just as he was about to take a picture with his phone, he heard the sound of a phone shutter behind him. Zhang Xiaotian turned around to see Lu Bai holding his phone.

“What are you looking at?” Lu Bai blocked his face with his phone. “Move aside when you’re done, others need to take pictures too.”

Zhang Xiaotian raised an eyebrow and didn’t take out his phone anymore. He stepped aside, out of the camera’s frame. Lu Bai took another picture. Seeing Zhang Xiaotian waiting for him, he put away his phone and walked over.

“What else do you want to see?” Zhang Xiaotian asked him.

“Nothing more,” Lu Bai said expressionlessly. “We’ll head straight back to the bus.”

Zhang Xiaotian looked at him, feeling that he seemed to particularly like this place. After coming to this floor, he hadn’t walked with him. Every time he looked back, he saw him standing not far away, looking at the exhibits, as if he were interested in every specimen. Zhang Xiaotian thought he liked these things and wanted to chat with him about it. But seeing his reluctance to say much, he was about to give up. Then he remembered the photos he hadn’t managed to take and said, “Can you send me one of the pictures you just took later?”

“Didn’t you take one?” Lu Bai asked him.

“No.” After all, you seemed eager to take it.

Lu Bai remained silent.

Zhang Xiaotian tilted his head to look at him and found that Lu Bai wasn’t making eye contact with him as usual.

“Hmm?” Zhang Xiaotian asked again. “Did you hear me?”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Lu Bai suddenly covered his face with both hands. “Wait!” He then took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times. Zhang Xiaotian’s phone vibrated.

Zhang Xiaotian frowned as he looked at the not-so-clear photos on his phone. He clicked his tongue and finally said, “Thank you.”

“Hmph.” Lu Bai seemed inexplicably happier.

Han Chengcheng, walking behind the two of them, frowned thoughtfully and nudged Yin Li with her elbow.

“Hmm? What’s up?” Yin Li was still organizing the photos she had just taken.

“Don’t you think…” Han Chengcheng hesitated, then stopped speaking. Yin Li waited for a moment but didn’t get an answer, so she asked again, “What is it?”

Han Chengcheng shook her head. “Nothing.”