MM | Chapter 81

“Neighbors”

It was only at this moment that Sheng Wang realized he was a giant in words but a dwarf in action. Usually, he could tease Jiang Tian with ease, but now, because of a single sentence—three words—he was in chaos, completely defeated.

In the end, neither of them dared to stay in the living room and returned to the second floor.

Even though it was winter, the room felt stiflingly hot. The air conditioner was humming, and Sheng Wang felt his brain was almost in sync with it.

Leaning back, his eyes under the back of his hand felt a bit damp. His eyelashes fluttered a few times, losing focus amidst a series of blanks.

Jiang Tian’s breathing was also heavy. He took a few tissues to wipe his hands, only to be stopped by Sheng Wang.

A big guy like him was actually quite heavy. He said hoarsely, “I almost thought I was the only one who couldn’t handle it. To return the favor, I should help you too.”

It was the first time Sheng Wang saw Jiang Tian like this, his eyes slightly closed, Adam’s apple flushed, gaze sharp yet chaotic as it followed his half-lowered eyelids.

This is mine alone, no one else can see it, he thought.

The room seemed even hotter, and his neck and ears were burning. Squinting, he tightened his fingers and said to Jiang Tian, “Ge, I want to take a picture of you like this.”

Jiang Tian bent one leg, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. He reached out, clasped the back of Sheng Wang’s head, and tilted his head to kiss him.

Sheng Wang was awakened the next day by noises on the stairs.

Jiang Tian had already lifted the quilt and was sitting by the bed, frowning as he listened to the sounds outside. He took out his phone, glanced at the time, and asked in a low voice, “When are they coming back?”

Sheng Wang was still in the daze of just waking up and took a few seconds to realize Jiang Tian was asking about Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou: “Thursday.”

His voice was terribly hoarse. After speaking, he picked up the cup by the bed and took a couple of sips of water, then froze, almost spilling it all over the bed.

The voices downstairs were not very clear, but he could still make out that it was indeed Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou.

“Why are they back today?!” Sheng Wang sat up abruptly, scratched his head, and hurriedly got out of bed.

He didn’t even put on his slippers, walking barefoot on the carpet to the door, intending to sneak a peek. But as soon as he opened the door, he found someone in the bathroom opposite—

Auntie Sun was holding a mop. Seeing him, she paused and said, “Did Auntie wake you up?”

Sheng Wang was a bit confused: “Auntie, why are you using this bathroom?”

“The faucet downstairs is broken,” Auntie Sun said, then asked in surprise, “Eh? Xiao Tian? Did you sleep here last night too?”

Only then did Sheng Wang remember there was someone behind him. He almost reflexively slammed the door shut, but fortunately, Jiang Tian was much calmer. He picked up his jacket, patted Sheng Wang’s shoulder, and stepped past him out of the bedroom, saying to Auntie Sun, “We talked late last night.”

“Mm?” Sheng Wang was momentarily stunned and echoed, “Mm.”

Those who knew Jiang Tian well understood that it was unusual for him to explain so much. Luckily, Auntie Sun didn’t see him every day and wasn’t familiar enough to notice anything amiss. As for Sheng Wang, he was always a bit slow to react upon waking, which Auntie Sun was used to.

“I just saw the guitar in the living room,” Auntie Sun said.

Sheng Wang was startled again, thinking it was bad. He had gone upstairs in a daze last night and forgot to put away the guitar and other things. He instinctively explained, “I took it out. I told him I’d teach him to play guitar. Then we talked a lot about childhood classes and… brought him up to see the awards, forgot to tidy up downstairs.”

Auntie Sun laughed and said, “So young, and already reminiscing about childhood?”

Sheng Wang forced a laugh and said, “Ah… yeah, reminiscing about childhood.”

Jiang Tian paused on his way back to the room, glanced at him, then turned the doorknob and went into his own bedroom.

Sheng Wang retreated as well, wandering aimlessly around the room with his hair still messy from sleep.

Leaving the guitar downstairs wasn’t a big deal, and two brothers sleeping in one room wasn’t that strange either. The main thing was that Auntie Sun was busy cleaning after washing the mop. She asked her questions and then forgot about them, not taking any of it to heart.

After changing clothes and brushing his teeth, the minty coolness cleared his head, restoring his usual state, and he felt that none of it was a big deal.

He tossed the panic aside, and the events of last night resurfaced in his mind. So, just as he stepped out of the bathroom, he turned back to splash his face with cold water again.

With water droplets at his brow and eyes, he couldn’t be bothered to wipe them off. Leaning against the sink, he scrolled through his phone, waiting for his face to dry.

The phone screen kept lighting up with new messages. He skimmed through them and then opened his WeChat moments, just in time to see a new post.

The post was made a minute ago, and in that short time, comments had already lined up like a long queue. The content was similar, either “Wow, the sun must have risen from the west, look what I found,” or “Am I seeing things? Tian-ge actually posted on moments,” with Gao Tianyang and Song Sirui chiming in with “Today is a good day.”

Jiang Tian, whose moments were usually empty, had surprisingly posted early in the morning. The content was simple—a shared guitar version of a song called “Childhood.”

Class monitor Xiao Liyu asked below: Are you planning to practice this song? That would be great; I happen to not be too off-key with it.

Other classmates chimed in, saying it was simple and nice.

Only Sheng Wang knew that someone was subtly teasing him about his reply to Auntie Sun, “reminiscing about childhood.”

Because of this post, Sheng Wang splashed his face with water twice more, then left a comment under the long queue.

Say That Again: Learn it yourself.

A few seconds later, Gao Tianyang replied to him: Such a fierce little brother.

Song Sirui immediately followed up, but just as he copied it, Gao Tianyang deleted it and changed it to: Such a fierce Sheng-ge.

Da Song: …Are you messing with me?

Sheng Wang was amused by these two jokers, so he was in a relatively relaxed state when he went downstairs.

He was actually a bit afraid to see Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou, so he dawdled, not wanting to go down. But when he reached the living room, he found Jiang Tian already sitting on the sofa, and he suddenly felt at ease.

“Didn’t you say you were coming back Thursday? Why are you back today?” Sheng Wang asked.

Sheng Mingyang said, “We planned for Thursday, but with such a big incident at the Affiliated School’s gate, I had to come back to see for myself. And I heard the old man who took you to lunch is sick?”

“You know about that?” Sheng Wang exchanged a glance with Jiang Tian, surprised. “I don’t think I mentioned it to you.”

Sheng Mingyang laughed, “I know quite a few people at the Affiliated School, so it’s normal for me to be well-informed, right?”

Choosing to transfer Sheng Wang here had this advantage. Sheng Mingyang knew many people at the Affiliated School, making it easier to look after him. Sheng Wang himself had forgotten this detail.

He paused for a moment, “Oh,” he said.

Sheng Mingyang didn’t notice his momentary oddity and asked, “How’s the old man now?”

“He was sent to the hospital, had a minor brain hemorrhage, but he’s already awake. The doctor said it’s not a big issue,” Sheng Wang replied.

Having been cared for by Old Man Ding for so long, it was impossible for the two parents not to visit when he fell ill. So that afternoon, the four of them went to the hospital.

This hospital was famous for its neurology department, always bustling with people, though the inpatient area was quieter.

Several buildings of varying heights were surrounded by artificial lakes and gardens, connected by corridors, making it a suitable place for recovery. By the lake and in the gardens, family members pushed wheelchairs, taking patients for a stroll, in groups of three or two.

Sheng Mingyang carried a bunch of gift boxes, and with Jiang Ou’s introduction, he quickly became familiar with Old Man Ding, chatting and laughing in no time.

Jiang Ou took the empty water bottle from the ward to get hot water, saying she’d wash and peel a couple of persimmons. The conversation in the room turned to the woman found at the Affiliated School’s gate.

This matter wasn’t really related to them, but old folks liked to worry, picking up bits and pieces to pass the time. In such a big city, cases like this weren’t uncommon. Before any results came out, it would become the talk of the town, leading to all sorts of rumors.

The old man in the next bed said mysteriously, “I just went for a walk and heard someone say that woman was recognized.”

“That’s good,” Old Man Ding nodded, “It’s quite pitiful to have no one recognize her. But this family is really something, not knowing when such a big person is missing?”

“No,” the old man waved his hand, “It wasn’t family who recognized her, it was another woman.”

“Another woman? What do you mean?”

“A friend?” Sheng Mingyang wasn’t keen on discussing this, but he would chime in occasionally to accommodate the elderly.

“No way!” The old man waved his hand again, then bent his thumbs, saying, “This kind of relationship.”

Before Sheng Mingyang could react, the old man clicked his tongue and said bluntly, “Not just ordinary friends, a couple!”

“Two young women?” Sheng Wang was taken aback.

“Yes!” The old man shook his head, “Apparently, the deceased wasn’t well-behaved, mixed with the wrong crowd, and her family didn’t associate with her. This time, she seemed to owe high-interest loans or had a grudge with someone, anyway—”

He clicked his tongue again, shaking his head, “Not well-behaved, and messing around with a woman, what’s that called, same—”

“Same-sex relationship?” Sheng Mingyang prompted.

Sheng Wang, who had been feeling a bit sleepy listening to their conversation, wanted to pull Jiang Tian out for a walk. But hearing this term from his dad’s mouth, he froze.

He quickly glanced at Jiang Tian, then turned to look at Sheng Mingyang. He saw the same gentle demeanor, listening to the old man conclude, “Yes, quite abnormal.”

Sheng Wang’s hand at his side went cold.

He was pale, rubbing his fingertips vigorously, instinctively wanting to refute the old man. But as soon as he opened his mouth, Jiang Tian pulled him back.

Sheng Wang frowned, thinking Jiang Tian wanted to pull him out and pretend not to hear. But instead, Jiang Tian just pulled him back a step and said, “It’s not right to speak about people like that, is it?”

He always spoke directly, which Sheng Mingyang and Old Man Ding knew, so it seemed normal coming from him. The old man was taken aback by his question, and Sheng Mingyang immediately smoothed things over, saying, “Indeed, the person is gone, and who knows what the reality was? We’re not the police, right?”

Old Man Ding had been silent all along, extremely quiet. It wasn’t until they followed Jiang Tian downstairs that Sheng Wang realized the old man hadn’t participated in the discussion about “same-sex relationships.”

He suddenly had a hunch that even though Old Man Ding had never mentioned it, he might have already known something about Ji Huanyu’s issues. But the old man’s attitude was a bit strange…

To be precise, Old Man Ding’s attitude towards Ji Huanyu had always been strange. It wasn’t like a simple neighbor; no neighbor would scold Ji Huanyu like the old man did, nor would they look at old photos alone after scolding.

Just as Sheng Wang stepped out of the elevator, he suddenly grabbed Jiang Tian and asked, “You registered the old man at the hospital, right? Do you have his social security card?”

Jiang Tian asked, puzzled, “Why are you asking?”

“Can I take a look?”

“Not on me.”

“Oh.” Sheng Wang thought for a moment and asked, “Do you know the old man’s real surname?”

Jiang Tian hadn’t expected him to ask this and was silent for a moment before saying, “Surname Ji.”

Sheng Wang’s steps halted.

He remembered a long time ago when Old Man Ding told him stories about Ji Huanyu, saying that as a child, Ji Huanyu was also quite pitiful, with no parents, an orphan. He was picked up and raised with a few other kids, not in a formal orphanage, just given food and drink out of pity. Later, because the procedures weren’t formal, it was disbanded. Everyone else left, but only Ji Huanyu stayed in the area, making it to high school.

The old man said that Ji Huanyu’s name was given by the person who picked him up, sharing the same surname.

Jiang Tian looked at his shocked expression and said, “Did the old man tell you about Ji Huanyu’s past?”

Sheng Wang hesitated and nodded. He wasn’t sure if mentioning Ji Huanyu would upset Jiang Tian, but it seemed okay now.

“He said Ji Huanyu was an orphan, picked up and raised?”

“Mm…”

“The one who picked him up was the old man,” Jiang Tian said.

Sheng Wang suddenly understood why Old Man Ding’s attitude towards Ji Huanyu was so strange. It wasn’t looking at an ordinary neighbor but at an ungrateful “son,” both angry and self-blaming.

Angry at his misconduct, bad behavior, being a scumbag, abnormal. Self-blaming, wondering if he had done something wrong, failing to properly teach and guide the child he picked up.

After all, they weren’t real father and son. He wanted to intervene but had no grounds to do so, only able to do something from afar as an old neighbor.

Watching Jiang Tian grow up, he must have felt both emotional and gratified, emotional about the child who went astray, gratified that Jiang Tian had always walked the right path.

But what if… he found out one day that Jiang Tian also liked boys?

Sheng Wang suddenly didn’t dare to think further.