YV | Chapter 14

Zhang Xu spoke in a calm tone. His attitude and emotions toward everyone looked close, but in truth, closeness and distance, all stayed outside his safe range. Of course, Sheng Xiaoyang did not know this, he restrained himself properly, and would not recklessly break into the forest secret realm that belonged only to Zhang Xu.

Sheng Xiaoyang panicked, his brain no longer working properly. He couldn’t bear to leave, his index finger stretched out and rubbed along the rim of the bowl, staring intently at the soup left at the bottom.

Zhang Xu observed for a long while, confirming that Sheng Xiaoyang had not eaten enough. But in a noodle shop before dawn, the only thing that could be eaten raw was carrots. Zhang Xu could carve flowers out of carrots, but he could not make a good dish. He reviewed it and felt that he should have fried an egg just now, and that technical difficulty was not high.

The hunger was replaced by heat from nervousness, and Sheng Xiaoyang’s mind was highly focused. When Zhang Xu reached a hand toward the area below his eyes, he was about to suffocate.

His gaze lifted slightly, meeting in a vague haze, Sheng Xiaoyang’s back was straight, the corners of his mouth tight, he really could not manage to be natural and open.

Just as Sheng Xiaoyang’s stubborn reason was on the verge of collapse, Zhang Xu finally spoke.

“Has your phone been fixed?”

Sheng Xiaoyang froze, his focus falling on Zhang Xu’s lips, what?

Zhang Xu slowed his speech and asked again, “The phone, has it been fixed?”

Sheng Xiaoyang shook his head regretfully.

After going around in a circle, for this matter, Sheng Xiaoyang came to his senses and let out a breath.

Zhang Xu said hmm, then asked, “Did you ask at a repair shop?”

He had. Nobody looked twice at Sheng Xiaoyang’s shabby secondhand old-man phone.

That was not easy to express. Sheng Xiaoyang made half a sign, then realized, Zhang Xu probably could not understand it. He withdrew his hand, and placed both palms obediently on his knees.

Zhang Xu could not help laughing.

Just then, the braised meat had been eaten and drunk to satisfaction, and Daidai ran over to rub against his leg. Zhang Xu bent down to pat the dog’s head, the corner of his mouth bending almost imperceptibly.

“Your phone was broken by me. I’ve been feeling bad about it,” he said. “I went to the street corner several times these past few days, but I didn’t run into you, so I never had a chance to say this.”

……

Sheng Xiaoyang nodded, then after finally realizing something, shook his head very quickly. Aside from these two movements, he had no other way to show emotion.

Sheng Xiaoyang once again realized that he and Zhang Xu were people from two different worlds. Normal and abnormal, between them lay a galaxy that could not be crossed by language or soul.

Zhang Xu did not know what he meant, and asked, “Do you have your phone with you right now?”

Sheng Xiaoyang’s half-ruined emotion stopped abruptly.

?

What for?

His brows drew together, and he looked a bit fierce.

Zhang Xu was sincere, “I have a friend, he does this professionally, his skills are very good, he probably can fix it, but he needs to take a look first.”

He paused slightly, then asked, “Are there any important things in the phone?”

Sheng Xiaoyang shook his head.

“Then...”

Before he could finish, the broken slip of paper on the table was pushed over again, and two more words were added on it.

-No bring.

Zhang Xu: “......”

He hadn’t expected live chat to have lag too.

Sheng Xiaoyang held the pen, reached his hand over, and across half the table, wrote crookedly.

-Important things.

Zhang Xu took a long time to understand it, and it didn’t feel good.

There was a tuft of clean, dry innocence between Sheng Xiaoyang’s brows, regret, but also composure.

He said: If it can’t be fixed, then don’t fix it.

Zhang Xu took the paper over, folded it neatly horizontally and vertically, stacked it properly to one side, and after a brief silence, pretended not to have seen it.

Outside the window, small boats rocked gently. The moon’s reflection on the river surface was crushed into the rippling water, and tens of thousands of soft beams of light did not know whose eyes they fell into and broke open.

“Are you free tomorrow?” Zhang Xu asked.

Sheng Xiaoyang looked at him, and his mood suddenly stirred. He definitely had time, the boss had just gone to prison, and tonight he was unemployed.

But what did Zhang Xu mean? Sheng Xiaoyang hesitated again and again.

Brainstorming consumed energy, Sheng Xiaoyang had just eaten his fill, and was hungry again. He lowered his head and said nothing.

“......”

Zhang Xu did not mean anything, he was just curious whether, in the world of hearing-impaired people, did other people’s words also have a distinction between tone and emotion? Sincerity and perfunctoriness should not be the same shape.

In any case, it was not easy to grasp.

Zhang Xu smiled a little, rather approachable. “Then don’t fix it,” he said. “Come tomorrow, I’ll take you to buy a new one, you choose the style.”

Sheng Xiaoyang had been bewildered all night. He used to like observing Zhang Xu, and from the details of life he glimpsed, he tried to infer his personality. But after coming into contact with him tonight, it was very different. Zhang Xu’s gentleness faintly contained a certain kind of compelling dominance.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s soul swayed, but his expression was still restrained. Later, after he thought it over for a while, he suddenly understood, then with Zhang Xu’s personality, he probably also did not want to owe anyone a favor. When one thing hung unresolved, it always had to be cut through in one clean stroke.

Then all those chance meetings could be explained.

Sheng Xiaoyang was certain.

He still wanted to write, but Zhang Xu did not give him paper. Sheng Xiaoyang then took a tissue, spread it flat on the table, it was too soft, and writing on it was even more troublesome.

That stubbornness was exactly the same as when braised meat looked for food to eat, even more stubborn than braised meat.

Zhang Xu rested his chin in his hand and studied Sheng Xiaoyang.

His eyes were round, his head round, his earlobes round. Looking down from above, the tip of his nose was slightly upturned, with a bead of sweat gathering on it. Clearly he had a soft, gentle face, yet his whole body was covered in thorns, and stubborn too.

- The phone isn’t expensive, no need to compensate. If it can be fixed, then let this matter pass.
- Okay?

Sheng Xiaoyang wrote slowly, every stroke forceful, many stroke orders disappeared without a trace, and Zhang Xu could only understand it by combining the context.

Before dawn, when the sky was at its darkest, a foul breath clogged Zhang Xu’s chest.

Sheng Xiaoyang was completely unaware, and continued writing.

- That day I ran out myself, it had nothing to do with you, I...

Sheng Xiaoyang was troubled as he gnawed on the pen.

Zhang Xu remained expressionless, waiting for Sheng Xiaoyang’s eyes to drift over.

He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Which character can’t you write?”

The flush on Sheng Xiaoyang’s cheeks drifted to the corners of his eyes, like flickering flames.

If they kept wasting time, the sun would come out. Zhang Xu gently helped Sheng Xiaoyang make the decision, “Tomorrow... no, this afternoon at two, I’ll still be waiting for you at the street-end intersection. Bring the phone, if you want to fix it, I’ll make time with my friend and take a look first.”

Sheng Xiaoyang could not refuse Zhang Xu.

The darkness before sunrise was long, and Sheng Xiaoyang returned in a daze to the underground parking garage. He stood in front of the rusty corroded iron gate, feeling lost, his hand in his pants pocket, a certain spot in his heart trembling weakly.

Sheng Xiaoyang carried the damaged phone with him. He knew full well that it was hard to restore, but Zhang Xu’s suggestion was tempting, maybe he should try?

Sheng Xiaoyang thought.

The next morning, Da Yan stuck out her neck and watched Sheng Xiaoyang with unfathomable depth, saying nothing.

Sheng Xiaoyang had not woken up fully, he rubbed his eyes, still dazed.

To show her presence, Da Yan swayed close to Sheng Xiaoyang.

Sheng Xiaoyang got annoyed and asked what.

Da Yan gestured, asking, Aren’t you going to wash cars today?

Sheng Xiaoyang yawned and said he wasn’t washing, the boss had gone to prison.

Da Yan: “......”

Sheng Xiaoyang woke up for a moment, checked the time, twelve thirty, still in time. Then he brushed his teeth and washed his face, and focused on looking for clothes to wear in his shabby suitcase.

He had to dress a little cleaner today.

Sheng Xiaoyang only had a few pieces of clothing, worn back and forth, washed back and forth. But clothes that cost just over ten yuan, no matter how cleanly washed, still looked old. He found a white T-shirt and put it on, the collar loose and slack, and pulled it toward both shoulders, trying as hard as he could to cover the hideous scar healing on the side of his neck.

Sheng Xiaoyang thought that standing beside Zhang Xu, he should look presentable. After hesitating for a long time, he finally put the black hair tie around his wrist.

Da Yan was shocked and said, “Xiaoyang, what are you doing?”

Sheng Xiaoyang: ?

Da Yan continued to exclaim, “Do you need to look in a mirror, you look really good today!”

A broken underground room like this, where would there be a mirror, and Sheng Xiaoyang had only spent three extra minutes washing his face. How good could he possibly look?

Sheng Xiaoyang did his own thing and ignored Da Yan’s nonsense.

Da Yan straightened his face, word by word, with forceful emphasis: “Rea-lly ve-ry good-look-ing!”

Sheng Xiaoyang then smiled, extended his thumb, and bent it twice.

-Thank you for the compliment.

Da Yan felt something, narrowed her eyes, and said with certainty, “You’re going on a date today!”

Sheng Xiaoyang did not look at her.

“With who?” Da Yan shouted in shock, “Zhang Xu??!”

Sheng Xiaoyang frowned and pushed her away.

- Men and women should not be too familiar, don’t tear my clothes.

Da Yan covered her mouth and laughed. “You didn’t come home last night.”

Sheng Xiaoyang said he did come home.

Da Yan grew even more excited, and even offered to be his military adviser for love, “Xiaoyang, you have to seize the opportunity! You can’t be too straight, you have to put your action ability to use! Kiss him!”

Sheng Xiaoyang had been fine at first, but after Da Yan stirred things up, he immediately became tense.

- Don’t talk nonsense!
- You’re insane!
- He just feels bad about breaking my thing, there’s nothing else to it.

“I never said he had any other meaning. Oh! No!” Da Yan cried out, “You really are going on a date with him?!”

……

After dawdling until a little after one, Sheng Xiaoyang went out. He deliberately calculated the time, arriving too early or too late would both feel bad. However, Sheng Xiaoyang’s eyelids kept twitching, as if something bad was about to happen.

Just after going out, he ran into the property security guard head-on. This rotten little neighborhood was not being torn down after all, and the day before yesterday the property management had moved back in, hiring two security guards specifically to drive away the wandering scavengers.

Sheng Xiaoyang and Da Yan were both on the property blacklist.

Could it be that the underground room could no longer be lived in either?

When the security guard saw Sheng Xiaoyang, he shouted angrily, “So I’ve finally caught you!”

Sheng Xiaoyang moved like a leopard and ran out quickly, he had important matters today and did not want to get tangled up in this.

Who knew the security guard would not let it go, chasing tight behind him, and exhausting half his life still unable to catch up. The half-old man was furious, bent over and panting.

Sheng Xiaoyang ran out of the neighborhood, crossed the road, and looked back, worried the security guard would cause trouble for Da Yan, wanting to send her a message.

What he was thinking of happened right on cue. Da Yan somehow came out from nowhere, waving at Sheng Xiaoyang, as if she had something to say.

The security guard could not do anything to Sheng Xiaoyang, so he turned to pick the soft persimmon and went straight for Da Yan.

“Fuck!” Da Yan was startled.

Sheng Xiaoyang frowned, the corners of his mouth tight, and ran back.

The property security guard strictly followed the leader’s instructions, saying that quite a few vagrants had come into this neighborhood before, all had to be chased away, and if they could not be chased away, then your paycheck would have to go away!

Who could go against money, so he used all his strength.

Da Yan could not shake him off, had an idea, and changed direction to meet up with Sheng Xiaoyang.

Just as the green light had a few last seconds left, Da Yan rushed across the crosswalk. At this time, an SUV turned in from the right side of the road, the car did not slow down, and even sped up a little, crashing straight into Da Yan.

The security guard’s face turned white, and he shouted, “Stop! Careful!”

The glaring headlights shone straight into Da Yan’s pupils, forcing her soul out of her body, and she stood there dumbstruck. When the front of the car came over, her brain, swaying like it could spill water at any moment, had only one thought, I’m going to die.

However, at the same time, Da Yan’s arm was also forcefully yanked back by a surge of strength, and then her right calf was in excruciating pain.

Sheng Xiaoyang slapped Da Yan’s face, terror and panic in his eyes.

Da Yan’s leg had already hurt, and now both her face and leg hurt. She let out a cry and started crying, very wronged, “I just wanted you to come back and bring me two steamed buns.”

【📢Author’s note】
Zhang Xu: waiting