Lin Yingtao was not one to hold grudges.
Since childhood, Jiang Qiaoxi had often seen her cry. She would cough as she wept, her shoulders hunched. When exhausted from crying, she’d sit in her parent’s arms, mouth agape, breathing quietly as she rested.
Her attention was easily diverted. She’d watch puppet shows on TV, play with Polly Pocket and Barbie dolls, or munch on large, thin prawn crackers. As long as Jiang Qiaoxi was willing to play with her, she’d soon be smiling again.
Even now, Lin Yingtao still cried. When tired from weeping, she curled up next to Jiang Qiaoxi, burying her face in his chest. She showed no wariness, despite not having seen him for three years. At that time, a man could become a completely different person.
Jiang Qiaoxi slept deeply but woke naturally at seven. Usually, he’d get up, wash, help at the hospital if his sister-in-law needed him, or go to the library to study or work part-time jobs.
He turned his head. Lying flat, he occupied most of the bed. Yingtao slept on the inside, eyelashes lowered, curled up against him. This morning was different from the past three, ten, or twenty years – Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t wake up alone. Under the blanket, he felt Yingtao’s legs curled up. His left arm was slightly numb, still around her back. Through the soft fabric of her nightgown, he could grasp her waist.
Jiang Qiaoxi shifted slightly, and Lin Yingtao nestled onto the pillow in her deep sleep. Her cheeks were flushed, perhaps from Jiang Qiaoxi’s warmth. Her nose was slightly upturned, eyes puffy, and lips bore teeth marks – remnants of their tearful argument the night before.
Lin Yingtao’s hair had grown longer, perhaps intentionally to appear more “womanly”. Her neck curved along the pillow, a rose gold chain peeking through her messy hair, trailing across her delicate collarbone. The cherry gemstone pendant disappeared into the soft, alluring shadow of her nightgown’s neckline.
Jiang Qiaoxi gazed down at her. As if possessed, he leaned down to kiss her lips. Lin Yingtao had always been fond of acting coy and spoiled. She loved to cry, laugh, and say silly, whimsical things. Yet it was these same lips that had said yesterday, “Jiang Qiaoxi, if you keep pushing me away for unimportant reasons, I’ll forget about you.”
Lin Yingtao mumbled softly, “It’s scratchy…” Still asleep, she spoke these words in her dream, unable to escape Jiang Qiaoxi’s morning stubble and kisses. Her hands initially pushed against him but were soon pinned beside the pillow. Lin Yingtao’s slightly upturned lips parted as she was kissed, her head tilting back into the pillow.
She raised her arms, unconsciously embracing Jiang Qiaoxi’s neck. She was a young woman just past twenty, holding her man. This was her choice, her love, her attachment, something unforgettable.
Jiang Qiaoxi kissed her neck, the chain, his breathing growing heavier against her skin as he moved lower, unable to contain his passion.
Lin Yingtao hadn’t woken, still dreaming of the Angry Birds game she’d played on Jiang Qiaoxi’s phone before sleep. As the man above her moved away, she curled up under the blanket, continuing to sleep in the young man’s bed.
Even the morning’s intimacy felt like a dream; Lin Yingtao wasn’t sure if it had happened.
When she awoke, the sun was high. Lin Yingtao sat on Jiang Qiaoxi’s bed, her hair disheveled, eyes lowered. She suddenly realized the mainland’s superiority over the special administrative region: Surely National Day should be a seven-day holiday! Yet Jiang Qiaoxi had gone to class at HKU.
On the bedside table was a note, next to a medicine bottle cap containing various pills. Jiang Qiaoxi had written that he had class at 9:30 AM and would come back to take Lin Yingtao for lunch: “I left breakfast in the fridge outside. Heat it before eating. Yingtao, remember to take your medicine like a good girl.”
“Yingtao, remember to take your medicine like a good girl.”
Lin Yingtao fell back into bed, holding the handwritten note, her legs kicking up in the air. She secretly rejoiced, turning over to lie on her stomach, carefully examining Jiang Qiaoxi’s handwriting.
Is this what it feels like to have a boyfriend nearby… to have Jiang Qiaoxi nearby?
She got out of bed, opened her suitcase, and changed into her outfit for the third day. Lin Yingtao didn’t notice anything unusual while changing, as Jiang Qiaoxi’s bachelor apartment lacked even a mirror. She took her travel toothbrush to brush her teeth, and it wasn’t until she stood before the shared bathroom mirror that she noticed several red marks on her neck.
Unsure what they were, she pushed her hair aside and touched them with her finger, wincing slightly at the tenderness.
Last night, in the hotel by Victoria Harbour, with dazzling lights and bustling crowds outside, Lin Yingtao had crouched by the bed, crying as she researched how to change her flight ticket. She had packed her suitcase, resolutely heading out. For a few minutes, she had even prepared herself to bid farewell to her entire adolescence.
But now, Lin Yingtao stood at the foot of HKU’s Jockey Club Student Village III, squinting in the sunlight as she waved. Jiang Qiaoxi, carrying his backpack, walked towards her from the crowd. The weather in Hong Kong was pleasant, and even Jiang Qiaoxi’s face bore a rare radiance. He smiled down at her, the short sleeves of his white T-shirt revealing the muscular curves of a young man’s arms. Jiang Qiaoxi took her hand, leading her to Maxim’s for lunch.
While eating teppanyaki, Lin Yingtao asked, “Doesn’t your school have dorms? Why do you rent off-campus?”
Jiang Qiaoxi explained that dorms were scarce and had many conditions: “The school subsidizes some of the rent.”
“Then why don’t you rent a bigger place?” Lin Yingtao asked, biting her bubble tea straw as she looked at him.
Jiang Qiaoxi smiled.
“The one I’m in,” he looked at her, “is already the largest in that building.”
“Really?” Lin Yingtao was surprised.
“Hong Kong is just that small,” Jiang Qiaoxi said, holding her hand as they strolled through the HKU campus. “See how small HKU is?”
“I used to think everyone in Hong Kong lived in huge villas,” Lin Yingtao looked up at him, “and were all super rich!”
Jiang Qiaoxi put his arm around her shoulders.
Having studied at HKU for so long, Jiang Qiaoxi had never brought a friend to tour the campus. He rarely had the time or energy to notice its beauty.
Suddenly, Lin Yingtao ran to the other side of the road. She pointed at the paved flowers on the ground: “I stood right here that day, asking passersby if they knew you! But it was a holiday, and there were so many tourists!”
Jiang Qiaoxi watched her from across the street. A car drove by, and many students passed, each freely enjoying their university life. Jiang Qiaoxi walked up to Lin Yingtao, holding her close as if to hide her from everyone else.
Lin Yingtao looked up at him from within his shadow, closing her eyes briefly as he kissed her.
Lin Yingtao had wondered before why Jiang Qiaoxi never formally confessed to her or asked her to be his girlfriend. From holding hands to hugging to kissing, many things seemed to happen naturally as they grew up. Neither of them asked why they did these things; they just did, as if their hearts were in sync.
Last night, while playing with Jiang Qiaoxi’s iPhone, Lin Yingtao found various English class notes, living expenses, and hospital care details in the memo app.
Among them was a unique note simply titled ‘Cherry’. Lin Yingtao opened it, surprised to find that the first entry was about housing prices in 2009 near the city center, followed by prices in 2010.
The list continued with various expenses. Jiang Qiaoxi’s notes were messy, with many abbreviations, as if he jotted things down whenever they came to mind, leaving them unorganized for years.
Lin Yingtao stood by the ice cream truck and said, “I don’t want to stay at a hotel.”
She took the cone from Jiang Qiaoxi’s hand, took a bite, and tasted the creamy flavor.
“The place I rent is too small,” Jiang Qiaoxi frowned.
Lin Yingtao said, “No, hotels are so expensive. Let’s save that money.”
“Save it for what?” Jiang Qiaoxi asked.
Lin Yingtao looked up at him with her cherry-like big eyes, took another bite of the soft ice cream cone, and just smiled without speaking, looking as if she was thinking of something mischievous.
Jiang Qiaoxi reached out and pinched her cheek.
“Save it for your studies, for your cousin’s treatment,” Lin Yingtao told him, milk on her lips, “and then we’ll go home together.”
Once a top student, now living so humbly, Jiang Qiaoxi didn’t want anyone to know about his situation, which was understandable. He didn’t crave others’ help; from a young age, he had learned to bear everything alone. He immersed himself in mathematics, using it as both a sword and shield to defend his dignity.
However, neither his current major nor his lifestyle was what he had once wanted.
“Jiang Qiaoxi, you know what?” Lin Yingtao sat hugging her knees in front of him, “Poor people have their joys too. Just because you’ve become poor doesn’t mean life can only be about making money and can’t have any happiness.”
Jiang Qiaoxi, fresh from a shower and wearing a new T-shirt, sat cross-legged on the bed, listening to Teacher Lin in her nightgown giving him a “lesson”.
He couldn’t help but smile at Teacher Lin’s serious tone and expression.
But he knew Yingtao’s intentions were genuine.
“I think you’ve always had a very wrong idea,” Lin Yingtao cupped Jiang Qiaoxi’s head as if patting a three-year-old kindergartener, educating him, “You always think you have to persevere, endure the competitions, go to America, cure your cousin’s illness, earn lots of money, and only then can you live and enjoy happiness. That’s not right!”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Okay, I understand.”
His phone lay nearby, the screen still lit, showing the angry fat birds Teacher Lin had been playing earlier.
Lin Yingtao looked closely into his eyes, trying to discern his true thoughts. Of course, she knew that Jiang Qiaoxi had grown up privileged, with a father who was a high-ranking leader in the power group, living in affluence. He was exceptionally gifted in mathematics and highly sought after. He had never been poor, and never had to compromise his dignity. Without any buffer, just as he was about to become an adult, he found himself in a desperate and embarrassing situation. His pride prevented him from seeking help or showing weakness to anyone.
Even now, though Jiang Qiaoxi was trying to be honest with Lin Yingtao, he still struggled to appear nonchalant, as if many things were just minor ripples and accidents in life. “I understand,” he always replied to Lin Yingtao.
“Jiang Qiaoxi.”
“Hmm?”
The lights in the rented room were off, with only some light filtering in from outside. Lin Yingtao lay in Jiang Qiaoxi’s arms, held by him, and asked, “What exactly happened to your cousin back then?”
Jiang Qiaoxi remained silent for a moment, not answering.
Lin Yingtao said, “Can’t you tell me?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said softly, “My brother was pushed down the stairs by one of his subordinates.”
Lin Yingtao looked up at him, “Subordinate?”
Jiang Qiaoxi said casually, “A subordinate who had just been laid off.”
Lin Yingtao asked, “And what about your brother?”
Jiang Qiaoxi blinked, “My brother had been laid off too, but he didn’t know it at the time.”
Lin Yingtao looked at him.
Jiang Qiaoxi reached out and ruffled Lin Yingtao’s hair, smiling at her reassuringly.
These were all things from long ago.
Lin Yingtao turned in the blanket, hugging Jiang Qiaoxi’s waist, feeling him hold her tighter.
“Jiang Qiaoxi,” she said.
“Hmm?”
Lin Yingtao looked up at him, “I want to visit your cousin in the hospital.”
Jiang Qiaoxi hesitated.
Lin Yingtao said, “He used to give me so many gifts, and I’ve never thanked him in person!”
Jiang Qiaoxi said, “Can you handle it, being in that kind of hospital room?”
Lin Yingtao buried her face against him. “What can’t I handle? I used to sneak into the workers’ hospital with Du Shang all the time. The uncles from the construction site often got injured,” she told Jiang Qiaoxi, “Every time, Du Shang would cry scared, and I was responsible for wiping his tears.”
She felt Jiang Qiaoxi lower his head and gently kiss her hair.
Note:
Angry Birds: A casual puzzle game developed by Rovio, first released on iOS in December 2009. Set against the backdrop of birds seeking revenge on pigs who stole their eggs, it tells a series of stories about the birds and the pigs.