YV | Chapter 6

Sheng Xiaoyang came back early today, and Dayan was asleep sprawled on the long wooden bench.

The plum rains had hit, and the whole underground parking shed was like a miniature Water Curtain Cave, the dampness crowding to get into his nasal passages, finally spreading through his lungs and running rampant. Sheng Xiaoyang scratched a patch of skin under his left ear and sneezed, waking Dayan.

Dazed, Dayan said, Xiaoyang?

Sheng Xiaoyang could not hear.

Dayan turned on the light and saw Sheng Xiaoyang squatting in front of the suitcase, looking troubled.

His wood had gone moldy, one infection for two, extremely corrosive.

Hearing the dripping rain outside, Dayan sighed and said, It’ll be growing mushrooms soon.

The final steps of wood carving had to be waxed or oiled, to prevent mold and rot, with regular wiping and upkeep afterward. Don’t be fooled by a lump of wood, it was actually very hard to take care of. The pieces Sheng Xiaoyang picked up were too good to even call works, at most they were semi-finished, and as time went on, the surface was covered with upstanding fuzz, hard to even hold in the hand. Only Sheng Xiaoyang treated them like treasures.

Sheng Xiaoyang squatted there without moving, his shoulder blades rising and falling slightly, his breathing steady. In the dim light, Dayan saw many red rashes break out under Sheng Xiaoyang’s ear, slowly spreading, also eroding his skin.

“You’re going to grow mushrooms too.”

...

Sheng Xiaoyang looked up, his gaze disappointed, and also puzzled. He asked, When the sun comes out, will they get better?

Dayan said, I don’t know, you’ll have to ask a professional.

A professional who worked with wood.

Zhang Xu.

Sheng Xiaoyang thought of him, and his heart thumped wildly, his fingertips pinching something, gently rubbing it in circles.

Dayan saw the wooden flower carved out of wood. After a flood of associations, she suddenly grew excited, crouched under Sheng Xiaoyang’s lowered eyelids, and asked him with both hands and feet, What is this? Who gave it to you? Your Apollo? Wow!

Sheng Xiaoyang frowned and shook his head, showing Dayan the broken flower branch.

- It’s broken, he doesn’t want it anymore.

- I picked it back up.

- Same as before.

Dayan smelled a hidden woody fragrance.

What was this scent like? Dayan could not say the fancy word. Like clouds, like mist, like butterflies, in any case not like casually discarded trash, not even in shape. The strange-shaped wood in Sheng Xiaoyang’s suitcase was the real trash, rough drafts, prototypes, it was normal to throw them away if he was not satisfied.

But this flower was different, its details were full.

“Same?” Dayan did not agree, and asked, “You’re sure?”

Sheng Xiaoyang looked baffled, then what else?

Dayan thought Sheng Xiaoyang was the real lump of wood, a true lump of wood, stubborn and twisted, his brain never turning, his line of thought never opening up at all!

“Some feelings can’t be too ashamed to speak of!” Dayan instantly turned into an emotional mentor, but since she had no experience, she was very unconvincing.

Sheng Xiaoyang blinked and nodded perfunctorily.

- Oh oh.

Dayan’s anger rose from her chest, and she grumbled in annoyance.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s feelings for Zhang Xu were very simple, with his own system operating and emotional pursuit, he controlled the degree to which he adjusted his brain and heart very well, like a bee gathering honey, leaving once it was done, treating what he cherished with restraint.

During this period, the flowers he gave out, the way Zhang Xu bent down to pick them up, Sheng Xiaoyang remembered all of it. Like the faint light of a star deep in the silence of the universe, Sheng Xiaoyang peered at it alone from light-years away, delighted to possess it.

He was very satisfied, no need to change.

Sheng Xiaoyang put the wooden flower beside his pillow, and there really was fragrance wafting out, focused and undistracted in the cramped, damp space. He slept well for two days, and on the third day had another nightmare, his mother’s face and the bloody hole in her chest, like a demon from the abyss, ferociously rushing to kill him.

Sheng Xiaoyang sat up abruptly, and the simple wooden bed gave two creaks in the dark, horrifying and on the verge of splitting apart. Sheng Xiaoyang could not make a sound, he did not know how he should call out, and the suppressed fear was a bloodless knife, letting him drift forever in the dark.

Sheng Xiaoyang buried his face deeply in his palms.

Dayan lifted the cloth curtain to look at Sheng Xiaoyang, hesitated for a moment, and pulled back inside. Sheng Xiaoyang was gloomy, and sometimes she was afraid too.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s eczema was getting worse and worse, and when he scratched it, he had no restraint at all, almost like self-harm, scratching until it bled, then wiping it with something and continuing to do whatever he had been doing, as if he had no sense of pain.

He got eczema in spring, chilblains in winter, Sheng Xiaoyang was used to it. Dayan urged him to go to the hospital, get some ointment prescribed and it would get better.

Sheng Xiaoyang did not have a medical insurance card, medical care was expensive, and he had no money, so he would not go.

“Wait, I remember you were saving money, where did it all go?”

Sheng Xiaoyang looked away, pretending not to see, not answering, guilty.

Dayan was so curious she itched all over, pestering him relentlessly to ask, but she could not get anything out of him.

“Don’t go to Jiangping Road recently,” Dayan told Sheng Xiaoyang. “The scenic area said we’re affecting the city’s appearance, they’re going to make us straighten things out. The bald guys can’t hang around anymore either, they said they’ll teach you a lesson before they quit for good.” She was worried, wanting to say something but holding back, and gestured that they were going to put a sack over his head and beat him, so he should be careful.

Dayan was not skilled enough, and her sign language was not familiar, like a normal person speaking with an accent, Sheng Xiaoyang only half understood.

- A sack for what?

“Xiaoyang?”

Sheng Xiaoyang nodded, I know.

The big bald guy led the little bald guys all over the world to catch Sheng Xiaoyang, and two days later they ran into him head-on at the intersection three kilometers outside the scenic area. The intersection was jammed solid, but the bald guys did not care, cursing as they cut straight across.

Sheng Xiaoyang saw several of them clutching sacks in their hands, and suddenly understood what Dayan had meant.

These punks were not very old, they could not study upward, and going downward they had no prison record to speak of. Their territorial awareness was only on the level of pissing in a corner to mark it, but their viciousness could smash through the earth’s core, and they had to make some trouble to show off their “underworld status.” They had several clashes with Sheng Xiaoyang and Dayan, and unilaterally treated them as mortal enemies, especially Sheng Xiaoyang, thinking that only by crushing this hard persimmon could their status be as solid as a rock.

Sheng Xiaoyang did not indulge them. He fought when he had to, earning the title of Jiangping Road’s war god. So now the bald guys had gotten smart, a one-on-one fight would not work, so they ganged up, blocked Sheng Xiaoyang into a dead end, and brandished two sticks in their hands, shouting, Dumb mute, today even if you shout your throat raw, no one’s saving you!

Sheng Xiaoyang looked coldly at the idiots.

The scene was chaotic. A few more dumbasses tried to use a sack to subdue Sheng Xiaoyang, to help the boss. Unfortunately, the boss was useless and had half a tooth knocked out by Sheng Xiaoyang’s fist.

“Fuck your mother!” The bald boss grew angry out of shame, his viciousness surging, and he pulled out a knife to stab at him.

Sheng Xiaoyang dodged nimbly. He knew fighting well enough to know that the situation was against him. No road ahead or behind, but luckily the wall was low enough to vault over. Sheng Xiaoyang prepared to jump, but someone held him around the waist, and with so many people, he had no way to guard against it.

That person shouted, Boss, I’ve got him!

The bald man’s eyes went red, and he charged over with a roar.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Under the cold gleam, Sheng Xiaoyang remembered the dream he had a few days ago.

He tilted his head to avoid it, and the sharp blade cut through the reddened, inflamed flesh. Blood, like an exploding sunset, soaked the tattered clothes, less than an inch from the main artery!

Sheng Xiaoyang frowned.

At the sight of blood, everyone froze, and the matter seemed uncontrollable.

Sheng Xiaoyang did not hesitate for long. He opened his mouth and bit down on the flesh sent to his mouth, biting hard, fiercer than dog teeth.

In times of danger, this move both defeated the enemy and saved his life, and it never failed.

The punk holding Sheng Xiaoyang screamed like a ghost in agony, his arm going limp. Sheng Xiaoyang lifted his leg and kicked backward, the punk clutching his crotch and collapsing to the ground, shouting, Boss, save me!

The bald boss jolted, then reacted, cursing, Damn it. Looking up again, Sheng Xiaoyang had already shot over the wall and disappeared without a trace. In front of the punks there was only a stone wall covered in moss and blood faintly visible.

The bald man suddenly shuddered, threw down the knife as if he had seen a ghost, and only then belatedly grew afraid, thinking, this guy is ruthless.

Sheng Xiaoyang had lost too much blood, his footing unsteady, white light flashing in his eyes.

That light was like tiny fireworks in the damp, crackling, impossible to extinguish, impossible to burn out. He really could not run anymore, so he could only stop, hands on both knees, trying to catch a breath, then find the source of the dizziness, even his reactions had slowed. Only when he realized the location of the wound did Sheng Xiaoyang’s left side already become soaked with blood.

His appearance was too terrifying, nobody liked it, who would dare come close.

There were many chaotic footsteps around him, it was unclear whether anyone had chased after him, and passersby probably would call the police. Sheng Xiaoyang did not want to talk to the police for now, and continued looking for the way home.

The alleyways crisscrossed, cramped and damp, and the light outside could not get in. Sheng Xiaoyang raised his head to look for the sun, and subconsciously walked in that direction. He did not know how long passed, but a lot more brightness suddenly appeared around him, someone let out a sharp scream, Sheng Xiaoyang could not hear it, he only felt that his field of vision was full of obstacles.

Sheng Xiaoyang could not control his feet, and for part of the way he stumbled along, walking in a broken, scattered mess. He was annoyed to death, forced himself to stay alert, shook his head, kept his eyes forward, and vaguely saw a corner.

Sheng Xiaoyang hooked his toe and went around it, not bumping into anything, and felt that he was very amazing.

Just as he was pleased, a tall figure entered his peripheral vision, and Sheng Xiaoyang’s soul suddenly froze.

Why was Zhang Xu here?

Sheng Xiaoyang was once again caught off guard and exposed in the light, but a lot of the time he was actually more like he was hidden in the light. Sheng Xiaoyang used to like this contradictory feeling, but today he did not like it.

Zhang Xu walked over, not stopping, not shifting his gaze even the slightest. He probably had not seen Sheng Xiaoyang drifting in from the other side, half a bloody person.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s soul left his body, and he did not think as usual, his whole mind was only this,

Don’t dirty his clothes.

Zhang Xu was wearing a white shirt today, very good-looking.

As they brushed past each other, Sheng Xiaoyang endured the pain and deliberately dodged a little.

Zhang Xu seemed to finally notice the person coming toward him, and his body naturally shifted aside.

Only the wind passed between them, carrying tender green leaves, silently sticking to mud.

Still, they touched. Sheng Xiaoyang’s shoulder was pulled back slightly by some gentle force, and by his ear slowly lingered a temperature a little higher than the air.

Did Zhang Xu speak? Sheng Xiaoyang’s legs went weak.

The clouds and glow at the edge of the sky showed signs of decline, carrying all things born from spring, like a fleeting dream. Sheng Xiaoyang gazed at the setting sun, and could not help turning back, seeing that Zhang Xu was still standing where he was, his right hand stiffly raised a little, his gaze puzzled and stunned, the bloodstains on his hem glaringly bright.

Sheng Xiaoyang’s nasal cavity was filled with a sour, swollen sting, and with a voice only he could hear, he expressed his apology, saying I’m sorry, I dirtied your clothes.

A mute speaking is a witty fairy tale, others cannot hear it, and neither can he.

【📢 Author’s Note】
Little Xiaoyang growing mushrooms