FO | Chapter 7

The two of them chose an empty lane. The ball speed was 70 km/h, suitable for beginners.

Before going in, they had to gear up. There was an equipment rental counter beside the batting cages, and Zheng Huaiyou picked out a helmet and gloves for Zhou Suiming. When Zhou put on the helmet, his unruly hair kept sticking out in two little tufts, so he had Zheng Huaiyou be a good Samaritan to the end and tuck them back in.

Was he doing it on purpose? Zheng Huaiyou did not refuse. Might as well assume he was.

Once they were equipped, Zhou Suiming made a gesture asking for instruction. Zheng Huaiyou picked up a bat and began explaining.

“Most of the action on the field starts with hitting. Once the offense and defense switch, the quality of the hit also affects the strategy. The pitcher and catcher, as well as the fielders, all adjust accordingly.”

He demonstrated first, from the grip to the stance. Zheng Huaiyou spread his legs and bent his knees. His suit trousers restricted his movement slightly, but they also made the lines of his lower body more pronounced, which could be considered helpful for the lesson.

“Hitting requires you to engage your whole body, in the right sequence. Watch me do it once first.”

He broke the motion down, moving very slowly so Zhou Suiming could see clearly. Since the other man was a complete beginner, he did not make things too complicated, just pointing out a few key details, such as drawing the bat back far enough, using the hips correctly, and turning the knees inward, among other things.

Then he demonstrated the motion as a whole. His swing looked effortless, but it cut through the air with tremendous force.

“Keep both hands together. Swing level and drive straight through the ball. And remember, keep your eyes on the ball. Do not get distracted.”

After finishing his explanation, he had Zhou Suiming move to the safety zone beside the cage, then pressed the button. The pitching machine started up. After flashing red several times, it spat out a ball straight toward Zheng Huaiyou.

His gaze sharpened, and the slightly relaxed air he usually carried vanished. He lowered his center of gravity, extended both arms into position, and swung the bat in one fluid motion, as though he had practiced it tens of thousands of times before.

The ball shot out with a deep thud, tracing a beautiful arc.

“Oh, wow.” The player in the next lane had stopped to watch back when Zheng Huaiyou began teaching. Now he whistled. “Not bad.”

Zheng Huaiyou smiled politely. A dull ache spread through his shoulder blade, but he suppressed it, shut off the machine, and let Zhou Suiming enter the lane.

The other man learned quickly, and there was nothing particularly wrong with his general posture. The problem was that he kept using the wrong point of his body to generate force. After Zheng Huaiyou corrected him several times without success, he stepped in to guide him personally.

Standing beside Zhou Suiming, he lifted the hem of his suit trousers and lightly tapped Zhou's calf with his ankle.

“Open up.”

Zheng Huaiyou said quietly, “Spread your legs a little farther. You are tall, so you cannot keep them drawn in so tightly.”

Then he moved behind Zhou Suiming and nudged the back of his knee with his own.

“Bend your knees a little more. Keep your center of gravity steady.”

Zhou Suiming's body tensed, but he did as instructed. Then Zheng Huaiyou placed both hands against either side of his waist, hovering there without pressing down, showing admirable restraint.

That restraint drew a soft laugh from Zhou Suiming. He curved his lips. “How can you tell whether I am using the right point of force if you do that?”

As he spoke, he turned his head, bringing their faces suddenly very close.

He was doing it on purpose. Zheng Huaiyou stopped moving. “Fair enough.”

The next second, he pressed both hands firmly against Zhou's waist. The air-conditioning in the batting cage was turned up even higher than in the dining area. Zhou Suiming had taken off his jacket as soon as he entered, and now he was wearing only a T-shirt. The thin fabric did nothing to block the transfer of their body heat.

“Is it hot?” Zhou Suiming asked suddenly.

After a pause of several seconds, Zheng Huaiyou ignored the question. His hands moved lower and closed around Zhou Suiming's hips. “Use your hip joints. Try it once.”

The temperature inside the cage rose again. Teaching was a wonderful excuse.

Only after both of them were slick with sweat, Zhou Suiming's T-shirt soaked through at the back, did Zheng Huaiyou let him go. He undid a few buttons of his shirt, retreated to the side, and let Zhou try on his own.

The pitching machine spat out a ball, and somehow he hit it on the very first swing.

“Yes!” Zhou Suiming shouted. He turned toward Zheng Huaiyou in delight. “Did you see that?”

Zheng Huaiyou had not expected him to hit the first ball. He applauded. “Impressive. You have a real talent for this.”

“That is because you are such a good teacher.”

The other man did not hold back with his praise. The corners of Zheng Huaiyou's mouth lifted. “Then I should charge you a tuition fee.”

“I did pay you.”

Zhou Suiming lowered the bat and straightened, facing Zheng Huaiyou. He had the classic broad shoulders and narrow waist, with a sleek, well-proportioned build. His hair was damp with sweat, and his eyes were startlingly bright.

“Did I not buy you drinks?”

“Oh, buy one, get one free.”

Zheng Huaiyou felt pleased, though he put on an expression of regret. “Looks like I am a rather cheap teacher.”

How could that be? Zhou Suiming leaned against the netting. “Are you dissatisfied?” he asked. “Want to raise the tuition? I can afford it.”

The mesh around the batting cage had very small holes. Shadows fell across Zhou Suiming's face, instantly turning him back into the jungle animal from his profile picture, all but out of patience with politeness, as though he might pounce at any moment.

People had their defenses. Zheng Huaiyou folded his arms. “Forget it. Consider this free training.”

Then he straightened as well, assuming a crouched, ambushing stance. “I do not mind cultivating someone with talent.”

The batting cage became a primeval jungle. Closing in, provoking each other, neither of them yielded. They did not need to. The two animals testing each other were both enjoying themselves.

After that, they took turns until they had spent a full half hour in the cage before finally coming out.

When they finished, Zhou Suiming stretched his arms and said that although he had been to Nest so many times, this was his first time entering the batting cage. He had not expected hitting to be so cathartic, especially after finishing work, when it was perfect for blowing off steam.

“You are using the ball as your client?” Zheng Huaiyou joked.

Zhou Suiming immediately brightened. “Relax. You are not on my hit list.”

Zheng Huaiyou caught his good mood and laughed as he took out a pack of cigarettes. “I thank you.” The two of them went outside to smoke. S.T. Dupont was absent again today, so they still had to borrow a lighter from a passerby.

After playing for the first time in a while, Zheng Huaiyou felt some strain in his shoulder and instinctively pressed it several times. Zhou Suiming did not miss the small movement. After taking a couple of drags, he asked, “You said before that you were injured in high school. Was it because of baseball?”

Zheng Huaiyou lowered his hand and looked down. “Of course. How can you play without getting injured?”

His tone was even, with no obvious emotion, so Zhou Suiming pressed further. “What happened afterward? You stopped playing?”

“My body would not let me, and school was demanding. Naturally, I stopped.”

“That sounds like a shame.”

Zheng Huaiyou paused in the act of smoking. He did not like the words “a shame” very much. He had heard them too many times. His numbness had never turned into acceptance. Instead, the words had become a kind of taboo.

He tapped off the ash and faced Zhou Suiming. “I was not trying to play professionally. Is it not normal to give it up?”

He did not stop there. “You worked as an outdoor photographer and made it your career. In the end, you gave that up too, did you not?”

The offense and defense had switched. The one probing had become the one being probed. Everyone had a past they did not want to revisit. There was no need to dwell on it. Zhou Suiming also realized that neither of them wanted to go deeper into the subject, so he let it drop.

People came and went in the smoking area. Many were couples, or people in the ambiguous stage before becoming couples, huddling together under the pretense of lighting one another's cigarettes.

Zheng Huaiyou watched for a while before asking, “Have you been seeing anyone lately?”

The other man responded at once. “What kind do you mean?”

“The kind with potential.”

Zhou Suiming made two little sounds of acknowledgment. “I have.”

A few words turned the previous subject over completely. It was hard not to call it tacit understanding. Zheng Huaiyou feigned surprise. “How is it going?”

Zhou Suiming assumed a thoughtful expression. Maybe that was an act too. Who knew?

“He seems perfectly normal at first glance, but he is actually a little strange.”

“Strange how?”

Zhou Suiming exhaled smoke, resting his thumb against his chin and rubbing it lightly. “He looks perfect at first, but I feel like he is not as easy to get along with as he seems.”

That accurate? Zheng Huaiyou played along with a smile. “From the way you describe him, he sounds awful.”

“Hey, do not say that. I actually like that kind of thing.”

“He is awful, and you can still stomach him?”

Zhou Suiming did not answer. Instead, he asked, “What do you think? Should I cut things off while I can, or keep developing the relationship?”

“My opinion matters that much? If I said you should stop seeing him, would you really stop?” Zheng Huaiyou tossed the ball back. “You are not that lacking in your own judgment, are you?”

Zhou Suiming's laugh grew louder. “Because I am open-minded, and Teacher Zheng's advice carries a lot of weight. I am willing to take it under consideration.”

Zheng Huaiyou reacted to the title. That was a foul, was it not? He took a hard drag, exhaled, and looked at the other man. “I do not like forcing people.”

Then he added, “To accept my advice. But if you are genuinely interested, I think it is better to let things develop naturally.”

A single sentence with several twists. Zhou Suiming's smoking slowed noticeably. In the end, he merely smiled and said, “All right. I will think about it.”

After he finished speaking, the couple across from them put out their cigarettes and began sharing a mint. The man ate one first. The woman leaned against his shoulder and asked what flavor it was. The man put an arm around her, kissed her on the lips, and said, “Try it and find out.”

Their voices soon dropped into a sticky murmur. Faced with such an intimate scene, all the smokers around them consciously turned their faces away. Zhou Suiming and Zheng Huaiyou were the only exceptions. They watched as they finished the cigarettes in their hands.

When they returned inside, it was already past eleven. The games playing on the big screens had ended, and half the customers were gone.

Zhou Suiming took the initiative to pay. Recognizing a familiar face, the employee hurried to make a sales pitch. Nest was running an end-of-year promotion, they said: recharge 2,000 yuan on a membership card and receive 500 yuan free.

“It also comes with 50 hours of access to the recreational facilities, any type you like.”

Zhou Suiming scanned the list of available facilities. “Can I choose the batting cage?”

The employee looked slightly embarrassed and said the promotion did not include it. Fortunately, the owner overheard. He knew Zhou Suiming, so he made an exception and exchanged it for him.

When Zhou returned, Zheng Huaiyou was still sitting there. He had put his suit jacket back on and was looking at his phone, probably ordering a car.

“Is it far from here to your place?” Zhou Suiming asked.

Zheng Huaiyou glanced at him. “Not far.”

“I just paid, and the owner talked me into recharging my card. He said it was a thank-you to loyal customers and gave me dozens of hours of batting-cage access. I cannot use them all by myself. Want to help me use them up?”

In fact, while Zhou Suiming had been paying, Zheng Huaiyou had been bored and read through all the promotional cards on the table. He had his own understanding of whether the complimentary facility access included the batting cages.

Of course, he did not question the other man's explanation. He only said, “If I have the time.”

When they walked out of Nest, a few drops of rain were unexpectedly drifting down in the middle of the night. Tomorrow's weather did not look promising. They parted at the intersection, and this time Zhou Suiming got into his car first.

Zheng Huaiyou had to wait a little longer for his. After the driver confirmed the passenger information, the system chimed: Thank you for choosing premium car service. This trip is 18.9 kilometers, with an estimated travel time of approximately 55 minutes.

He lowered the window. Cold air rushed in, carrying threads of rain, and his phone suddenly vibrated.

Ming: Monday? Nest is less crowded. You can come by after work. Strike while the iron is hot.

Zheng Huaiyou stared at the line for a long time, then put his phone away for the moment and held it in his hand.

He closed the window. When he was young, on overcast days like this, a group of children often ran to the river to catch dragonflies. They said they were taking them home to eat mosquitoes. Zheng Huaiyou had not understood, but he followed along, crawling through the grass with the other children in search of insects that had been left behind. Some of the children came fully equipped with nets and cages, and could always catch several in no time. He had no tools. He had only his bare hands. Whenever he finally caught one, he would cup it between both palms and carry it all the way home.

The results were never satisfactory. If he held too loosely, the insect slipped away. If he held too tightly, it suffocated. Every time, without exception, not a single dragonfly survived.

What a disaster. He sighed, lit up his phone screen again, and replied.

You: All right. You set the time.

Author's note:

PS, My knowledge of baseball is strictly amateur, even by amateur standards. Everything serves the plot, so please forgive any discrepancies with reality.