WHI – Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Wen Lan only froze for a moment before placing his hand on the scarf and gently rubbing it a few times.

“It’s a New Year’s gift I specially picked out for you. What, you want to return it?”

“I saw over sixty people in the group received your little gift. Is that very special?” Lin Ting confirmed his ranking without much emotion and headed towards the cafeteria. “I’m borrowing it for now, I’ll give it back to you later.”

Wen Lan quickly caught up, “I thought you didn’t check the group. What I gave them wasn’t scarves…”

From the teaching building to the cafeteria, one had to cross a long open-air corridor and a small circular plaza. Therefore, in this season of light snowfall, the cafeteria was much less crowded.

Lin Ting took his tray and found a seat by the window, sipping hot clam and winter melon soup while looking out at the light snow.

Before he could take a few sips, Wen Lan also arrived with his tray and sat opposite him.

“You did quite well on this exam,” Lin Ting said. “Do you have a school you want to go to yet?”

Wen Lan looked at Lin Ting with a heavy gaze. “No, but I’ve decided on a city I want to go to.”

Lin Ting was a little surprised to hear this. “I thought… but it’s the same to come back after graduation, or going abroad wouldn’t be bad either.”

Wen Lan put down his chopsticks, his deep eyes becoming even more unfathomable. “You thought all my efforts during this time were to inherit the family business?”

“Weren’t they?”

“Then I wasn’t trying before? Besides, even if I were just messing around, is there anyone else left in the Wen family?”

Lin Ting didn’t know how to answer this, feeling that Wen Lan’s temper was a bit high today.

“Continue teaching me. For the third mock exam before the college entrance examination, I want to catch up to you.” Wen Lan placed the scarf on the edge of the table, ate his lunch at almost the fastest speed possible, and left with a “I’m going to study now,” braving the wind and snow.

Lin Ting picked up the scarf, carefully tied it around his neck, and slowly ate his lunch.

He actually wanted to say that surpassing one’s “tutor” violated the laws of the universe, but he swallowed the words.

The days continued to pass one by one until the New Year.

This would be Lin Ting’s first New Year spent alone.

Late at night in the city center, looking down from the tall buildings, it still exuded an unrealistic splendor and silence. After showering, he sat on the large bed and took out his phone to check Old Lin’s WeChat moments. He discovered that due to not logging in for a long time, the cheerful old man’s profile picture had become a gray stick figure.

His nickname had also changed to: WeChat User (Deactivated).

Lin Ting paused and scrolled through Su Li’s WeChat moments.

Gu Jiang had taken her and Gu Yi on vacation to Australia. It was summer there, and under the bright sunshine, they were laughing freely on the beach in swimsuits—they seemed much more relaxed than before.

The soundproofing in this room was excellent; as long as he didn’t speak, no sound could be heard.

The bedroom light was off, with only a small screen emitting light, illuminating his face.

He was like a rat in a gutter, hiding in an unnoticed corner, peeking at others’ happiness.

Ding—

A new message arrived, from Wen Lan.

He and Wen Lan had exchanged many messages during this time, mostly about inexplicable problem-solving ideas, which Lin Ting then refuted.

Therefore, Lin Ting opened the message interface without hesitation. When he saw the line of text, he was momentarily unable to react.

– Want to celebrate New Year’s together?

Lin Ting hesitated and moved his fingers. He had just typed “Don’t you need to be with your family?” when Wen Lan sent two more messages.

– My dad is abroad on business, so it’s just me.

– Will you accompany me for New Year’s?

Lin Ting deleted the words in the input box one by one and replied with a “Okay.”

New Year.

On New Year’s Day, Lin Ting hadn’t thought about whether to give him a gift. Lin Ting thought of this and looked at the scarf hanging on the coat rack.

The light gray scarf was very versatile. He had worn it almost every day since receiving it.

After the New Year came three mock exams, then the college entrance examination, and then separation.

Lin Ting unconsciously searched for “New Year’s gift” on his phone.

This is the last time, he wanted to leave something behind, something other than the red string.

A great deal of selfishness and greed gnawed at his mind. This is the last time, just a little more, just indulge himself one more time.

.

New Year’s Eve.

Lin Ting woke up at 5 AM. When he saw that the sky outside was still dark, he even suspected he had overslept and missed the appointment with Wen Lan.

He fumbled for his phone on the bedside table. It clearly showed 05:13. He then opened his alarm clock to confirm the time and ringtone, reinserted the power cord into his phone, and then fell into a restless sleep.

He slept intermittently, enduring until almost 10 AM. The moment the alarm rang, Lin Ting quickly got up, turned off the alarm, and began to wash up.

Wen Lan’s message last night said they would have lunch at Wanye Club at 11 AM and then celebrate New Year’s on the mountaintop. But when Lin Ting asked if he needed to prepare anything, Wen Lan said he had prepared everything and just needed him to bring a person.

Therefore, when Lin Ting, carrying only a plain backpack, saw Wen Lan appear in the club restaurant with only his phone, he doubted for a moment if he had misunderstood.

Perhaps “mountaintop” meant a guesthouse on the mountaintop?

Maybe tents and trekking poles had already been transported to the foot of the mountain?

It wasn’t until after dinner, when they entered the elevator and Wen Lan pressed “B2” instead of “1F,” that Lin Ting began to vaguely sense something.

Wen Lan had driven here, or rather, was preparing to drive up the mountain to celebrate New Year’s.

“Driving up the mountain requires leaving at noon?” Lin Ting opened the passenger door of the Mercedes-Benz G-wagon and got in. “By the way, when did you get your driver’s license?”

Wen Lan skillfully started the car. “I got it right after my birthday. Remember those times I said I had something to do instead of tutoring? I was going to get my driver’s license.”

“Tsk, you hid this from me? Afraid I wouldn’t give you leave?” Lin Ting squinted and casually placed his backpack on the back seat.

“Isn’t this to give you a surprise?” Wen Lan’s tone was frank, and he turned up the car’s air conditioning a little.

The mountain they were going to wasn’t close; it was almost at the border of the neighboring city to the north. Before leaving, Lin Ting had prepared to sleep in the car, but once he sat in the passenger seat, all his drowsiness disappeared.

He wanted to record everything, frame by frame, with his eyes, his limbs, and his five senses, from his heartbeat to Wen Lan’s hands on the steering wheel and the navigation.

And as the temperature in the car rose, Wen Lan, while waiting for the red light, took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, revealing the red string underneath.

It was blindingly red.

Every breath he took was recorded, every inch of his skin was scorched by his gaze.

.

Wen Lan drove steadily, but as a beginner, his speed was consistently slow, and he avoided the highway. By the time they arrived, it was already 6 PM.

The sky had turned dark. Wen Lan turned on the high beams as he ascended the mountain, slowly climbing the winding mountain road. “Are you hungry? There’s food in the back, help yourself.”

Lin Ting shook his head. “The highway would be faster. Are you afraid to drive?”

Wen Lan chuckled softly after a few seconds. “Who are you looking down on? I just didn’t intend to go that fast.”

Even though Wen Lan’s driving speed was very gentle, Lin Ting, facing the unreasonable mountain road, silently closed his eyes. “Wake me up when we get there. I’m… a little carsick.”

“You’re carsick yourself, and you still look down on people, tsk tsk.” Wen Lan’s laughter overflowed from his voice, and Lin Ting clearly felt the car slow down even more.

Lin Ting wasn’t asleep, he just closed his eyes and endured the discomfort in his stomach until Wen Lan said, “We’re here.”

He slowly opened his eyes.

The car was parked on a flat area near the summit. Someone must have been here before. Lin Ting saw a weathered plastic water bottle at the base of a tree root illuminated by the car’s headlights; its red label was already blurred.

He followed Wen Lan out of the car. The cold wind outside made them both shiver. They returned to the car to put on their jackets and scarves.

Only then did Lin Ting notice that Wen Lan was wearing a light gray scarf identical to his own.

Wen Lan seemed to notice his gaze as well, and his hand tying the scarf stiffened. “I thought it looked quite nice, so I bought one for myself…”

He wasn’t lying at all.

“Did you make contact?” Lin Ting asked.

“Contact? Contact what?” Wen Lan asked, confused, as he walked along the narrow mountain path where the car couldn’t go.

“The buyer, right? Bringing a healthy young student to a deserted mountaintop in the middle of the night, are you trying to harvest his kidney or what?” Lin Ting stopped and said to Wen Lan, who was a few steps ahead. “I’m not going any further. It’s quite scary.”

Wen Lan took a deep breath. “Why are you so troublesome? Hurry up, the buyer can’t wait. In ten minutes, he’ll come looking for you with a stick. It’ll save some trouble if you go to him.”

After saying that, they both laughed under the faint starlight. Wen Lan walked a few steps towards Lin Ting and pulled him over with one hand.

It seemed like something should be explained, but also like nothing needed to be said.

Neither of them brought up the topic, as if neither of them had been moved. They walked hand in hand through the small mountain path, and a dense forest opened up before them.

The forest, which should have been lush with leaves, had lost its leaves to the harsh winter, leaving only bare branches drawing growth patterns in the sky.

They had already let go of each other’s hands. Lin Ting stepped on the dry leaves that crunched underfoot. Wen Lan in front looked at the sky, then at his watch, and checked the time.

“We still have to wait. It’s too early now.” Wen Lan looked at the sky, pacing back and forth and adjusting several spots before finally settling down and sitting down, patting the spot beside him.

“Okay, let’s wait.” Lin Ting quickened his steps and sat down next to Wen Lan. The dry leaves provided a surprisingly soft cushion.

The backpack Wen Lan had taken from the car was stuffed to the brim with snacks and drinks. He poured them all out. “This is for dinner. I’ll take you for a New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow.”

Lin Ting smiled, picked up a can of beer, opened it with one hand, and took a few gulps in the cold wind. “I’ve never heard of a New Year’s Eve dinner that’s owed.”

Wen Lan also opened a can of beer, the pull tab making a crisp sound in the silent mountain forest.

They silently drank their beer, can after can, but as if afraid of awkwardness, they still clutched the empty cans in their hands.

Finally, Lin Ting couldn’t help but speak first. “You’re actually quite smart. You learn things quickly once they’re taught. If you had listened properly from the beginning, who knows who would be ahead of whom on the ranking list now.”

He intended to break the awkwardness, but Wen Lan didn’t respond for a long time.

Just as Lin Ting was about to change the subject, Wen Lan spoke.

“I studied because of you.”