MM | Chapter 80

Going Home

After finishing their last exam, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian hurried to the hospital again. Although there were official visiting hours, they weren’t strictly enforced, so the nurse let them chat with the old man for a while.

“Didn’t Xiao Zhao pass on the message?” The old man glared at them. “No classes tomorrow? There’s really nothing wrong with me. Why are you running back and forth?”

“Classes are canceled tomorrow, and evening self-study is off for a few days,” Jiang Tian said.

“Who are you trying to fool?” Old Man Ding was skeptical. “Why cancel classes out of the blue? Did you fake a note?”

Jiang Tian replied, “Didn’t they find someone in the river?”

“So what if they did?”

“Our school is being cautious,” Sheng Wang explained. “They said since the situation isn’t clear, they don’t want students wandering around at night. Either parents pick them up for evening self-study, or it’s canceled for now.”

“How can every family manage that?” Old Man Ding said.

“Exactly,” Sheng Wang nodded. “So, no classes.”

The doctors and nurses had also told them that Old Man Ding had only a minor brain hemorrhage. With proper rest and some treatment, the bleeding would be absorbed. It really wasn’t a big deal.

But they were still a bit scared. Even Sheng Wang was worried, let alone Jiang Tian.

In the next bed was another elderly man who had woken up several times while watching TV. He propped up his pillow and started chatting with them.

“Are you from the Affiliated High School?” the old man asked. “Didn’t something happen there?”

“Yeah,” Old Man Ding said. “That’s what we’re talking about. The school got scared and canceled classes.”

It wasn’t quite “scared,” Sheng Wang thought.

But the old man was clearly eager for gossip and knew a bit more. “I heard from the nurse today. They found a young woman, in her twenties or thirties, not local, and no one has claimed her yet. Poor thing.”

“Yeah.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t live alone,” the old man sighed. “My wife passed early, and my children aren’t filial. I live alone now. I fainted playing mahjong, and it was others who brought me here. If I relied on them…”

He waved his hand. “I would’ve been gone.”

Old people often resonate on such topics. Old Man Ding patted Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang, saying to the old man, “See? I’m lucky to have these two young ones, or I’d be gone too.”

“Oh, grandsons?” the old man asked. “It’s good to have filial grandsons.”

Old Man Ding shook his head, then nodded after a moment. “Yes, grandsons. My own.”

The old man pondered for a moment and said, “But you told me earlier you didn’t have children. How can they be your grandsons?”

Old Man Ding laughed heartily, pointing at him. “You’re so easy to fool.”

“I don’t have sons or daughters, but these two are closer than real grandsons,” Old Man Ding pointed at Jiang Tian. “I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Sheng Wang joked, “What about me, Grandpa? Would you trade me?”

Old Man Ding hesitated for a couple of seconds.

Jiang Tian: “…”

The old man laughed again. “I won’t trade. I want both.”

After showing off his “grandsons” for a while, the nurse came in and urged them to rest and sleep. Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian called a car to go home.

They hadn’t been back to Baima Alley for a while. The alley was still deep, and once inside, the city’s noise faded away. The streetlight outside the courtyard stood quietly in the corner. Sheng Wang hesitated for a moment, suddenly recalling when Jiang Tian first moved in.

That day, he stood on the second floor and saw Jiang Tian standing under the streetlight, holding his backpack. Their relationship wasn’t great back then, but he impulsively called out to him.

Why?

Maybe because Jiang Tian looked a bit lonely.

He also remembered the fleeting thought from yesterday, wishing they had no ties to anyone else. Alone, with no restrictions, they could do whatever they wanted. How nice that would be.

Now he realized that thought was too naive and selfish.

If truly alone, empty and desolate, it would be too lonely. No one likes being all alone, whether it’s the complaining old man in the hospital, the grateful Old Man Ding, or the unclaimed woman.

No one likes that.

He called out to Jiang Tian back then to bring him into the warmth. Since he’s here, he shouldn’t go back.

No matter what, don’t go back.

I like you, so I hope you’re surrounded by warmth. Your path should be filled with flowers and lively voices.

“What are you daydreaming about?” Jiang Tian noticed someone lagging behind after a few steps.

Sheng Wang stood under the streetlight. “Not daydreaming, reflecting.”

“Reflecting on what?” Jiang Tian looked puzzled.

“Reflecting on how there’s not a soul on this road, my dad and Aunt Jiang aren’t home, so why am I walking so properly?”

“How do you know they’re not home?” Jiang Tian asked.

“Of course, I asked around,” Sheng Wang said. “If they were home, why would we come back? To put on a touching brotherly show?”

“Aren’t we here to get the guitar?” Jiang Tian said.

Sheng Wang: “???”

Jiang Tian asked, “What’s with that look?”

Sheng Wang stared at him for a few seconds, then ran up and jumped on his back. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Boys at this age may look thin, but they aren’t light. Jiang Tian staggered back a step, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “What did I do on purpose?”

“No way,” Sheng Wang asked angrily. “You didn’t really believe we came back for the guitar, did you?”

“Then what did you want to do?” Jiang Tian asked.

Sheng Wang fell silent.

He really hadn’t thought about doing anything specific. He just felt the school was too stifling, with too many eyes watching. They could only show a little affection when no one was looking. Most of the time, they were restrained.

Secret relationships are exciting, but they can be suffocating. He just wanted a place where no one was watching to breathe freely. But Jiang Tian’s question made it seem like he had ulterior motives.

“What do you mean? I’m so proper,” Sheng Wang retorted.

Jiang Tian carried him steadily to the door, unlocked it, and went inside. As he pushed the door open, he turned his head and said, “I don’t think I said anything.”

Damn.

Sheng Wang let go, silently changing his shoes. But after just a couple of seconds of being proper, he grabbed Jiang Tian by the back of the neck and kissed him.

Since he initiated it, he couldn’t really claim to be “proper” anymore. But just thinking about Jiang Tian’s reserved nature made him a bit frustrated. So he mischievously kissed Jiang Tian’s Adam’s apple.

After feeling it move, he dashed away.

The house was dark, with only the streetlight outside the terrace door casting a faint, clear light on the floor.

Sheng Wang, used to the dorm layout, was a bit disoriented upon returning and bumped into quite a few things.

Jiang Tian stood at the entrance, rubbing his Adam’s apple, lost in thought for a while. Just as he came to, he heard all the noise.

He held back for a few seconds but couldn’t help saying, “Do you know what you sound like?”

Sheng Wang’s voice came from the stairs. “Like what?”

“Like a silly bird just out of the cage,” Jiang Tian said.

“Shut up!”

“Flapping around everywhere,” Jiang Tian calmly finished.

“Shut your mouth.”

“Bound to get dizzy sooner or later,” Jiang Tian added.

“Get lost. Why are you suddenly so talkative?”

Jiang Tian flicked the switch, and the ceiling lights came on. He saw Sheng Wang leaning over the second-floor railing, taunting him fearlessly.

After a bit of banter, they received a call from Zhao Xi, briefly discussing their visit to Old Man Ding at the hospital, and then settled down.

With no homework after the exams and an unexpected day off, Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou were not home. Sheng Wang suddenly didn’t know how to spend the time.

It was quite boring, but he was inexplicably happy. Just being with Jiang Tian made even doing nothing interesting.

Well, doing nothing seemed a bit silly.

He went to his room to shower, then came down with a towel around his neck, hair still wet. He fiddled with the TV and started a game.

But sitting side by side playing games felt too much like just being buddies. So he fiddled some more and switched to a movie.

When Jiang Tian came down to the living room, drying his hair, Sheng Wang was pulling out a guitar he hadn’t touched in two or three years. He was sweating and had dust all over his hands.

“Didn’t you say getting the guitar was just an excuse?” Jiang Tian asked.

“Can’t just not touch it at all, right?” Sheng Wang wiped down the guitar, set it by the sofa, and went to wash his hands.

This young master didn’t use tissues, splashed Jiang Tian with water, and then sprawled on the sofa, asking Jiang Tian, “Which song is Li Yu planning to sing?”

“She hasn’t decided,” Jiang Tian sat next to him. “She said she’ll sing whatever she learns. She’ll be off-key anyway.”

Sheng Wang: “…Why hasn’t Old He punished you?”

He Jin not only didn’t punish them but applauded their dedication. The audience might want to punish them, though.

“When did you learn?” Jiang Tian asked.

“Seventh or eighth grade, I forget,” Sheng Wang said. “I was bored, learned a lot of things. Karate, guitar, basketball…”

He listed many things, and Jiang Tian understood. This young master had no persistence, wanting to try everything and learn whatever seemed cool.

“You learned karate and still say you’re weak?” Jiang Tian said.

“Because it’s annoying,” Sheng Wang plucked at the strings. “Not every school is like the Affiliated High School. The school I was in during ninth grade had a lot of people looking for trouble and fights. Maybe I was a bit too rebellious. I got stopped on the third day, accused of stealing someone’s girlfriend.”

Jiang Tian raised an eyebrow.

Sheng Wang complained, “Steal his grandma’s girlfriend. I didn’t even know everyone yet.”

“And then?” Jiang Tian shifted, letting his bent leg lean over.

“Then that idiot tried to fight me, and I beat him up,” Sheng Wang recalled. “Beat him pretty badly. I felt great at the time, but regretted it for a year. People kept coming to fight, and I was constantly called to the principal’s office. My dad couldn’t be bothered, so the teachers talked to me two or three times a week. Eventually, I learned to declare myself weak whenever I transferred schools, avoiding a lot of idiots.”

“When I first met you, I thought you were the kind to get angry easily—” Sheng Wang paused.

Jiang Tian glanced at him. “The kind of idiot who gets angry easily?”

“The kind of friend who gets angry easily,” Sheng Wang corrected, then quickly added, “Didn’t expect you’d be a boyfriend.”

He plucked at the strings and then looked up for praise. “After all these years, I still remember how to tune. Cool, right?”

“Not bad,” Jiang Tian said.

“…”

Sheng Wang stared at him for a moment, then flipped over and pinned him on the sofa, tickling his waist. “Why are you so hard to please? Huh?”

Jiang Tian bent one leg, blocking him from rolling off while trying to grab his hands. Despite this, they both ended up rolling onto the floor mat.

Boys at this age can easily get carried away, and soon Sheng Wang was arching his back, unable to move. His hair was messy, and he was panting as he looked at Jiang Tian for a while, then moved aside to sit.

The movie on the screen had long been muted, and the living room’s main light was off, leaving only a floor lamp behind the sofa. Sheng Wang leaned against Jiang Tian’s shoulder, his heart pounding. He took a few deep breaths and hoarsely said, “I’ll practice tomorrow. I’ll head back to my room…”

Jiang Tian suddenly said, “Your bathroom has poor soundproofing.”

Sheng Wang froze.

The next second, he heard Jiang Tian’s low voice say, “I’ll help you.”