Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 10: Old Classmate

“Can’t get your leave approved?”

“Yeah, so I quit.”

“Quit?”

“Quit.”

“Alright, I’m booking a flight now.”

“Can you be any less enthusiastic…?”

“Xu Wang.”

“What?”

“I want to support you, but I don’t have enough money right now, so I can’t promise carelessly…”

“Fuck off.”

Annoyed, Xu Wang hung up the phone, regretting that he had hurried to notify the other party of his resignation as soon as he finished depositing his money.

No, what he regretted even more was the confession he made on a whim the day he entered the Owl! Wu Sheng didn’t believe it, which was good, but disbelief didn’t mean it wouldn’t be used to tease him. His leverage in life was now firmly in Wu Sheng’s hands!

He returned to his rented apartment dejected at eleven in the morning, only to be greeted by a room full of tea aroma. Kuang Jinxing was sitting in the living room, leisurely sipping tea across the coffee table from Wu Sheng. The scene was very Zen-like.

“Xu Ge, you’re back!” Seeing him, Kuang Jinxing immediately called out. “Come and try this. No matter what troubles I encounter, a sip of tea always soothes my mind. Try it.”

Xu Wang knew Kuang Jinxing specialized in tea studies and always heard him talk about tea. This was the first time he saw him making and drinking tea, so he approached with interest and took a sip from the teacup.

Kuang Jinxing was waiting for his feedback with eager eyes. Xu Wang felt all the irritation and clutter in his mind dissipate with the aroma of the tea, and he couldn’t help but smile. “It tastes very good.”

He didn’t understand tea and couldn’t articulate the subtleties, but he could distinguish good from bad.

Kuang Jinxing chuckled, his honest face filled with satisfaction. Xu Wang suddenly envied him. It’s a blessing in life to devote time and energy to what one loves.

“The flight is booked.” Wu Sheng put down his teacup and updated him. “It’s at five this afternoon.”

Xu Wang didn’t expect him to act so quickly. “To Yulin?”

“Yes,” Wu Sheng said. “Yuyang Airport.”

Xu Wang nodded, drank the rest of his tea, and got up to pack his bags.

Wu Sheng carried only a laptop backpack, light enough as if he was heading to work in Zhongguancun; Kuang Jinxin, on the other hand, had a huge hiking bag, stuffed full and nearly as tall as a person, heavy as if he was fleeing for his life; Xu Wang was neither as carefree and unrestrained as Wu Sheng nor as thoroughly prepared and life-preserving as Kuang Jinxin, eventually settling for a slightly larger casual backpack.

Just as he finished packing, Wu Sheng appeared at the bedroom door and asked out of the blue, “Did you settle your salary?”

Without a second thought, Xu Wang replied, “Yes, to the last penny.”

Wu Sheng nodded and left crisply. Xu Wang, puzzled, thought for a long time and could only conclude that “Wu Sheng has some conscience, asking if he got his hard-earned money.” But recalling Wu Sheng’s expressionless face, he felt perhaps he was overthinking and being overly sentimental.

After packing, the three grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Nanyuan Airport. In the evening, the flight took off on time.

Their new coordinates (109.7395, 38.3437), accurate to the satellite map and Wu Sheng’s estimate, were in northern Shaanxi—more precisely, four kilometers north of Yulin City in Zhenbeitai.

It wasn’t an obscure place but one of the most imposing sights among the Great Wall relics, on par with Jiayuguan and Shanhaiguan, known as “the first tower of the Great Wall.”

Under normal circumstances, Xu Wang would be excited about this trip, filled with endless wonderful fantasies. But after being tormented for three nights in a row, he now only hoped to end this bizarre “nightlife” as soon as possible and sleep indefinitely with a pillow in his arms.

In fact, that was what he did. As soon as he boarded the plane, he met the Duke of Zhou*. Kuang Jinxing, his fellow traveler, did the same.

*Was a member of the royal family of the early Zhou dynasty who played a major role in consolidating the kingdom established by his elder brother King Wu. He’s also known as the “God of Dreams”, so is often used as a metaphoric way of saying someone is asleep.

Wu Sheng also wanted to sleep, but the person next to him kept leaning on his shoulder, disturbing his peace. As he pondered whether to shrug off or gently push the person away, the plane suddenly jolted.

Encountering air currents during flight is common, and Wu Sheng was used to it. The plane quickly stabilized. But the jolt woke up Xu Wang, who lifted his head groggily and asked, “What’s happening? Is it midnight yet?”

Wu Sheng replied, “Still early. Go back to sleep.”

The tone was disdainful, but underneath there was an unnoticed tenderness.

Xu Wang, barely awake, heard “still early” and immediately relaxed, placing his head back on Wu Sheng’s shoulder and continued to sleep.

His action was so natural that it stunned Wu Sheng. After a while, Wu Sheng also closed his eyes, pretended to sleep, and gently leaned his head against Xu Wang’s.

Feeling vindicated, Wu Sheng, who finally felt not shortchanged, dreamed all the way to Yulin.

The plane arrived at Yuyang Airport on time at 6:30. Instead of heading to Yulin city center, the trio took a taxi directly to Beiyue Temple Village near Zhenbeitai. As a national scenic spot, Zhenbeitai isn’t open at night. They wanted to sneak in and wait at the coordinates but lacked the courage. If they were caught by security, it would only add insult to injury.

When they got out of the taxi, the sky was mostly dark. The temperature was almost the same as in Beijing, but the wind was noticeably colder, carrying the unique toughness and ruggedness of the northwest.

This was a typical, developing northern village. Along the wide, flat asphalt road were neat apartment buildings and uneven, aged bungalows, with both private cars rushing by and villagers chatting in front of their homes.

“Do you want a double room or a single room?” The front desk lady at the hotel was puzzled by the new customers’ request. “We don’t have single rooms.”

Xu Wang had anticipated this and immediately switched to Plan B. “Then two double rooms.” He then turned to Wu Sheng and Kuang Jinxing. “Is that okay?”

Wu Sheng had no objections. Kuang Jinxing also nodded in agreement, though he had a small question. “So… who’s staying with whom?”

Xu Wang touched his nose, his gaze drifting unintentionally. “Uh, whatever. Doesn’t matter who stays with whom.”

“Yeah, whatever. We won’t be staying long anyway,” Wu Sheng said, absorbed in his phone as if it contained the entire world.

Kuang Jinxing always felt there was a subtle atmosphere wafting through the hotel lobby but couldn’t quite discern its significance. As he was pondering, the front desk lady cheerfully said, “Ah, you kids, we have a standard with triple beds available!”

The problem was solved delightfully for Kuang Jinxing. “Great!”

Wu Sheng put his phone away and stared into the distance quietly while Xu Wang took the keys from the lady with genuine praise. “Sister, your hotel has quite the variety of rooms.”

After settling their luggage quickly, the three grabbed a bite nearby. Preoccupied with the evening’s plans, they didn’t taste much of the meal.

Returning to the hotel, it was only 8:40 p.m. Since they had to wait anyway, they decided to set an alarm and get some more sleep. After all, what they lacked the most these past few days was rest.

This time with pillows and beds, the comfort was incomparable to the plane. Not just Xu Wang and Kuang Jinxing, who usually had good sleep quality, but even Wu Sheng fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Soon, three steady breaths filled the room as the weary travelers slowly regained their strength in this rare calm and comfort. Time trickled by, and their dreams grew sweeter…

“That’s buckwheat noodles with glutinous rice and pure lamb soup, with added vegetarian broth and meat broth. I haven’t even tasted it yet, but the smell alone is irresistible…”

“Wow, this soup is amazing!”

“Slurp—”

“Slurp—”

“These noodles are also incredible! In Shaanxi dialect, it’s called ‘excellent*’! The owner told me when I bought the noodles that their buckwheat noodles are still made the old-fashioned way. If you get a fake noodle, you’ll get 10% off guaranteed!”

*[liaozalie] (撩咋咧) In Shaanxi dialect, it means very good, excellent, ect.

“Ah? ‘Regretting not having more meat when eating’—how do I know if it’s the old way? It’s my first time eating them haha…”

“Next up are the fried dough cakes, golden and crispy. Let’s give it a try—”

“Crunch—”

“Crunch—”

“Damn it! Who the hell is this!” Xu Wang jumped out of bed, awakened by hunger for the first time in his twenty-nine years.

Turning his head, he saw Classmate Wu already sitting up, arms crossed, frowning at the wall, every cell in his body troubled.

However, Kuang Jinxing, closest to the wall, was sleeping contentedly, completely blocking out the external disturbances.

“Xiao Kuang’s quality of sleep should be considered high-tech.” Xu Wang envied and gave Wu Sheng a look, whispering, “Shall we go?”

Just three words, but Wu Sheng understood instantly.

“Let’s go.”

It was rare for something to unite Xu Wang and Wu Sheng in shared irritation. They got out of bed, left their room quietly, and without hesitation, knocked on the neighboring door.

The bustle inside the room ceased abruptly, and the corridor quieted down. Soon, a cautious voice came from behind the door. “Who is it?”

Xu Wang and Wu Sheng exchanged a glance and said in unison, “Next door.”

The two men’s voices seemed to make the person inside more wary. After a rustle of a chain lock, the door slowly opened a crack, revealing half of a man’s face, clearly built and burly. Xu Wang decided to be diplomatic first. “Hi, we’re from the next room. We’ve had a long day of traveling, and it’s already 10:30. Could you please keep it down with the eating and talking?”

Xu Wang spoke softly and politely. The man inside, clearly not expecting such a gentle approach, paused before scratching his head apologetically. “Sorry, fellas, didn’t realize. I’ll keep it down from now on!”

Xu Wang was pleasantly surprised by the man’s cooperation and smiled amiably. “It’s tough for everyone when traveling. Let’s be understanding.”

The man nodded in agreement, and just as a dispute seemed to be diffusing peacefully, Wu Sheng suddenly spoke up. “Qian Ai?”

The man inside froze, taking a serious look at Wu Sheng for the first time. After a moment, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Class Monitor?!”

“No, wait, what’s going on?” Xu Wang was confused, his gaze shifting between Wu Sheng and the man inside before it dawned on him, staring at the face behind the chain lock. “You’re Love Money*?!”

*Clarity: His name is Qian Ai (钱艾). However, Xu Wang flipped his name around and called him Ai Qian (爱钱) using a different [ai] (爱), which means like/love, that’s a homophone to [ai] (艾) to make his nickname Love Money. 

They locked eyes, and a rush of shared memories from their time together as classmates came flooding back to the man’s mind. “Sports Rep?!”

“……” Xu Wang finally understood; his old classmate identified people by their roles in the student committee.

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