San San hadn't recovered from the situation just now. First, Chen Yunqi suddenly stood up for him and did something amazing. Then, he frankly told the mute mother that he did it for himself—not because he was upright and kind and couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing, nor because he was a teacher and it was his duty to do so—he said it was for San San, and there was no other explanation.
He didn't have time to fully appreciate it; all he felt was being carried along by Chen Yunqi at a jog, almost flying away. He was panting heavily and didn't even have time to speak to Chen Yunqi.
Back at San San's house, Sheng Xiaoyan was already asleep. San San's mother was mending clothes under the dim oil lamp. When she heard Chen Yunqi and San San push the door open and come in, she looked up and saw that Teacher Chen looked unhappy and San San looked dejected. She was still wearing Chen Yunqi's down jacket. She looked behind them for a long time but did not see San San's father. So she stopped what she was doing and looked at the two of them with confusion.
Chen Yunqi spoke first, briefly telling San San's mother what had happened. While he was speaking, San San went inside, found an old cotton coat, changed into it, and returned the down jacket to Chen Yunqi, indicating that he should put it on quickly so he wouldn't catch a cold.
After hearing the whole story, Chen Yunqi thought that San San's mother would at least comfort her son or criticize her husband, but San San's mother remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "They're just joking around, don't take it seriously. San San, don't talk back to your father."
Just then, San San's father returned. He was still drunk, but after the commotion, he was mostly sober. When he entered the room and saw that Chen Yunqi was still there, he was very displeased. He walked past Chen Yunqi with a cold face, deliberately not looking at him, and sat down by the fire pit to smoke against the wall.
Chen Yunqi had just run away, and he had gone to great lengths to calm those men down, all to save face. He'd apologized for ages, but he still couldn't vent his anger. He couldn't understand what was wrong with Teacher Chen's temper, or what these things had to do with him. They'd said countless ridiculous things after drinking, and he hadn't paid them any attention. Why was Chen Yunqi, an outsider, taking it so seriously? Did he really think he was someone important?
I respect you as a cultured person, so I let you eat and drink at my house every day. But you've picked up a pile of shit and I'm expected to clean up your mess. That's not fair!
Chen Yunqi realized that San San's mother was indecisive and only knew how to defend her husband. He knew this matter would simply be dropped without any resolution. It was just a joke anyway; San San's father wouldn't actually marry his daughter off so early. The monthly financial support covered her tuition with some money left over. It was a win-win situation for the child, so Chen Yunqi stopped worrying about it. Neither of them seemed to want to see him. He got up, said goodbye, and left without looking back.
Before San San could even look at him, he had already stepped out the door. San San hesitated whether to chase after him, but her father slammed his gloves against the corner of the wall and yelled at him, "Aren't you going to sleep yet? Aren't you going to get up and do chores tomorrow morning?"
When Chen Yunqi returned to school, he realized that he hadn't brought back hot water that day. Not wanting to go back to San San's house, he quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth with a basin of cold water before crawling into the cold bed.
When the oil ran out and the lamp went out, Chen Yunqi couldn't sleep.
Reflecting on tonight's events, Chen Yunqi felt somewhat remorseful. As his impulsiveness and anger subsided, he realized he had acted too hastily and impulsively. His actions had been somewhat disrespectful to San San's father—after all, he was the one who had brought him there. He had claimed it was for San San's sake, but he might have actually caused her trouble. He wondered if, given the chance, he could handle the situation more appropriately—not with restraint, nor with explosive anger, but with a gentler and more considerate approach?
He was too irrational tonight. When has Chen Yunqi ever been so unreasonable?
His thoughts were in turmoil; he tossed and turned like a pancake, worrying about San San getting scolded by his father one moment, and imagining what would happen if he encountered those people again. Would he act as if nothing had happened, or would he start a fight? If they continued to be rude, should he strike first or strike first?
Sigh, I should apologize to San San's dad tomorrow. I hope he won't take it out on San San.
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Yunqi finally felt a little sleepy, his consciousness gradually blurred, and just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a few soft knocks on the door.
At first, he thought he had misheard or was dreaming, and was about to ignore it and continue to concentrate on falling asleep when the knocking sounded again. He was startled and immediately woke up. After listening carefully for a moment, he confirmed that the sound was coming from reality and was not a hallucination.
Who would knock on the door in the dead of night? Chen Yunqi felt a chill run down his spine, his heart pounding in his throat. Scenes from horror movies began to replay in his mind.
It was unclear whether the person was genuinely looking for someone; the knocking was so light that it was barely audible to those sound asleep. Chen Yunqi, though awake, struggled to make out the sound in the silence for quite some time.
I don't even know if what came was human.
Chen Yunqi's heart pounded. He suddenly missed Tang Yutao and Li Hui terribly. He wondered which internet cafe the two of them were having a good time in. He should have gone with them. There wouldn't have been tonight's events, and he wouldn't have encountered the ghost knocking on his door in the middle of the night. He really hadn't done anything wrong.
It couldn't be because he secretly hid San San's clothes, could it?
He was just about to muster the courage to ask who was outside the door when he heard a familiar voice coming through the doorway, with a tentative tone:
"Little Flag Brother, are you asleep...?"
That voice is... San San?!
Chen Yunqi sat up abruptly in bed, grabbed a flashlight, turned it on, jumped off the bed without even putting on his shoes, ran barefoot to the door, and opened it without a moment's hesitation.
The midnight wind blew into the room, and Chen Yunqi shivered. At the same time, he saw San San, who was only wearing a thin shirt, standing at the door with a thermos bottle in her hand.
San San had originally planned to go back. He ran over and knocked on the door a few times, just to try his luck, but there was no response. Chen Yunqi must have been asleep long ago. He immediately felt his behavior was a bit ridiculous. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the door suddenly opened, and Chen Yunqi, wearing pajamas and with messy hair, looked at him wearily.
He hadn't expected Chen Yunqi to still be awake. Seeing him suddenly, he was at a loss for words, so he simply shoved the thermos into Chen Yunqi's arms and stammered, "Brother Qi...you, you forgot to get hot water..."
Chen Yunqi chuckled, his previously serious expression relaxing. Before he could reach for the thermos, San San noticed he wasn't wearing shoes and hurriedly pushed him inside, muttering, "Why aren't you wearing shoes in this cold weather? You'll get sick!"
After closing the door to keep the cold wind out, Chen Yunqi sat back on the bed, crossed his legs, and watched as San San put down the thermos. First, he added lamp oil to the lamp holder, then found a match and lit it, gradually brightening the room.
Chen Yunqi picked up the coat draped at the foot of the bed and handed it to San San: "Put this on. You know how cold it is. Aren't you afraid of getting sick if you come out dressed so lightly?"
San San put on her coat shyly, and Chen Yunqi patted the seat next to her: "Come and sit down."
Standing at the door for ages, San San's cheeks were numb from the cold, and his hands were icy. Chen Yunqi pulled the blanket over San San from behind, gave him a quick hug, and then released him. He straightened his expression and asked, "Why are you so late? Just to bring hot water?"
San San huddled under the covers without making a sound.
Chen Yunqi knew why he had come, but seeing his hesitant expression, he was both angry and amused. So he deliberately said, "I've already washed up at someone else's house. If there's nothing else, you should go back to sleep."
San San finally stirred, his bright eyes blinking as he looked at Chen Yunqi. Chen Yunqi stared at him, waiting impatiently, before finally managing to squeeze out an "Oh" after biting his lower lip for a long time.
"you… …"
Chen Yunqi sighed: "Where did that fierceness you had at the mute's house go?"
Chen Yunqi pulled the blanket covering San San's face aside a little, flicked his nose with his index finger, and said helplessly, "I didn't go anywhere, I was just teasing you. I washed with cold water last night. I know you're worried about me, but it's okay, it's all in the past. I'll talk to your dad again tomorrow and clear things up. He's still angry tonight, so I'll leave now."
San San felt relieved and said with her head down, "I thought you were angry and that you wouldn't come to see us anymore."
"No, don't worry." Chen Yunqi patted San San's back through the blanket to reassure him.
"After I left tonight, your dad didn't get angry with you, did he? Sigh, I was also at fault in this matter..." Chen Yunqi muttered to himself, looking away.
"Brother Xiaoqi, thank you, thank you..." San San's eyes were slightly red, her pupils reflecting the light were filled with tears, and tears were about to fall.
Chen Yunqi was suddenly interrupted. He turned his head and looked at San San with his mouth agape in surprise.
San San seemed to be holding back, her voice trembling slightly: "This is the first time in my life that someone has spoken up for me and helped me so much. You make me feel that I should be braver and fight for myself again. In the future, I want to leave here and make my parents and sister's lives better. I want to repay you."
Silly San San, I haven't done anything for him yet.
"good."
Chen Yunqi had a lot to say, but anything he said at this moment would be superfluous. He reached out and put his arm around San San's shoulder, pulling her into his arms again. This time, he didn't let go quickly, but just sat there quietly, holding the blanket and the person in his arms.
The boy in his arms gently rested his head on his neck, whether from sobbing or shivering from the cold, it was hard to tell. Chen Yunqi couldn't help but pull the boy closer. After a long while, San San's body stopped trembling, and his breathing became even, as if he had fallen asleep.
Chen Yunqi's arms ached. He turned to look at San San, resting his chin on the top of her head. From his angle, San San's eyes were closed, her long, thick eyelashes slightly damp, and the fine strands of hair tickled Chen Yunqi's chin. He smelled the scent of San San's hair in the darkness and suddenly felt a strong urge to smoke a cigarette, but ultimately didn't move. He carefully used his other hand to pull the blanket tighter around himself.
When the oil lamp went out again and a rooster crowed outside the window, San San woke up with a start. It was no longer pitch black outside; the dim light illuminated the bamboo painted on the curtains.
San San quickly sat up straight, realizing that she had actually slept against Teacher Chen for half the night. She turned her head and met Chen Yunqi's bloodshot eyes, who was rubbing his arm and smiling meaningfully at her.
San San was extremely embarrassed and said in a very awkward whisper, "I'm sorry, Brother Xiao Qi, I don't know how I... fell asleep... um... I..."
"It's alright, are you feeling better? It's almost dawn, go home quickly, your parents will be wondering why you're gone." Chen Yunqi stood up and stretched his back.
San San had sneaked out at night, intending to comfort Chen Yunqi, but unexpectedly, not only did Chen Yunqi end up comforting him, but he also kept Chen Yunqi up all night. Thinking about this, San San felt a little guilty. The surging emotions and uncontrollable feelings of the night had subsided with his brief rest, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.
He hurried home while it was still dark. He slept there for half a day, leaning against the wall, before finally lying back in bed and feeling a stiffness in his neck.
He had no desire to sleep any longer. It was already broad daylight when he got home, and San San got up to do chores as usual. But no matter what he did, Chen Yunqi's bloodshot eyes kept lingering in his mind, making him restless and unable to concentrate.
Sheng Xiaoyan had no idea what had happened. Early in the morning, she reluctantly sat on a small stool in the main room, shelling corn to feed the horses. While her mother nagged her, she mischievously threw corn kernels at her brother.
When San San's father woke up, he was sober and didn't mention the incident from last night.
Chen Yunqi did not come for breakfast.
San San was going to help another family renovate their house today. Before leaving, she secretly told Sheng Xiaoyan to send food to Chen Yunqi after they left.
Tang Yutao never expected that in just two days since he left home, Teacher Chen had become famous in the village.
Early Monday morning, after collecting next month's teacher's allowance from the Education Bureau, he and Li Hui hurried back, carrying large bags of purchased items. They stopped to rest at Laoyazui halfway down the mountain and encountered several villagers leading their horses. They were vividly describing how remarkable the new teacher, Chen, at Tianyun Elementary School was. He seemed gentle and refined, but was surprisingly fierce; he had not only given Sheng Xueli a severe beating, verbally abusing him for being impotent, but had also scalded him with boiling water, disfiguring him!
These people weren't involved, nor were they villagers from Group 3; they were just hearing the story from others. Mountain people have nothing to do at night. If they're not at home endlessly trying to have babies, they just visit each other, warm themselves by the fire, and gossip. Who fought with whom, who had an affair, who suddenly became rich and acquired new possessions—these are the most popular topics. The story spreads like wildfire, until only about 30% of it is true, and the remaining 70% is probably exaggerated and outrageous.
The two were completely confused. After confirming with the other person several times that they were indeed talking about the new teacher who had come up the mountain half a month ago, Chen Yunqi, who was 1.9 meters tall and looked like a movie star, Tang Yutao and Li Hui looked at each other and said in unison:
"Holy shit?!"
A note from the author:
--- "卷" = to scold (dialect) Don't laugh at little crybaby San San, he's actually very brave!
Chapter Fourteen: Red Glow
When Tang Yutao returned to school, Chen Yunqi had already finished his morning classes with Teacher Sheng.
They didn't go to the students' homes for lunch. Tang Yutao carried back dozens of bags of instant noodles, instant vermicelli, pickled vegetables, salted duck eggs, bread, and other food, which the three of them used for lunch.
During the meal, Tang Yutao carefully inquired about the details of the incident. He was relieved to learn that there hadn't been a major confrontation and that Chen Yunqi hadn't disfigured the other person with boiling water.
Li Hui went down the mountain and took a shower at the town's guesthouse, looking much cleaner and tidier. He slurped up his instant noodles, his glasses fogged up by the rising steam from the bowl.
"You're just bored." He smacked his lips as he chewed on his noodles and pickled vegetables. "Why bother arguing with them? If a fight breaks out and neither of us is there, you'll be the one who suffers."
Tang Yutao agreed, saying, "Yes, next time we should be more careful when we're alone. These Yi people are fierce and savage. Do you think they're all like little lambs like San San? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. If something happens, even the police won't come here."
Chen Yunqi remained noncommittal, burying his head in his food and not saying a word. Li Hui couldn't hold back any longer and asked him, "Hey, why are you so concerned about San San and even standing up for him? What do you see in him?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Yutao nudged Li Hui with his elbow. Li Hui was holding a bowl of soup and was about to drink it when Tang Yutao pushed him, causing the soup to almost splash in his face. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing! I was just asking!"
"Alright," he said, putting the bowl of noodles on the table. "I know Teacher Chen is a person of high moral character and kind heart. If you ask me, Teacher Chen should stay here for a couple more years. Maybe everyone's quality will improve, the children will receive a good education, the whole village will achieve modern spiritual civilization, and we'll all move towards a well-off life. You should apply to the association later! Teacher Chen isn't short of money, and maybe he can even teach for free! They'll definitely agree!"
Chen Yunqi knew that Li Hui was being sarcastic, but he didn't refute it. He just smiled and said, "Yes, I'll have to trouble you guys to help me nominate someone for the 'Touching China' award and get me some votes."
"We don't need to campaign for you. Just have your mom spend some money and hire a bunch of people to vote for you," Li Hui said sarcastically, pretending not to see Tang Yutao frantically trying to wink and roll his eyes.
After lunch, Chen Yunqi was smoking at the door when Tang Yutao came over with a water glass and sat down next to him, watching with him as several children who had returned from lunch played on the playground.
"How did you do that?" Chen Yunqi asked abruptly, and Tang Yutao turned to look at him, puzzled.
Chen Yunqi pointed to the area below his right eye with his index finger, indicating that he was asking about Tang Yutao's eye that seemed a bit off.
"Ah!" Tang Yutao reacted and pointed to his right eye, saying, "Amblyopia, it's congenital. Because I haven't used it for many years, the nerves in my eyes have degenerated, and my eyelids are a bit unresponsive, I can't open them."
Chen Yunqi understood. His understanding of Tang Yutao was limited to their previous online exchanges. Chen Yunqi didn't have any close friends in real life, so he would occasionally confide in this unpretentious poet online. Although most of the time they just chatted about random things, whenever Chen Yunqi had something on his mind, Tang Yutao would tacitly switch to a serious attitude to listen and communicate. Later, after they met in person, they rarely chatted anymore.
Chen Yunqi stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "Why didn't you get treatment, or have surgery or something? It should be curable, right?"
Tang Yutao chuckled and shook his head: "It's too late. My parents divorced when I was little and no one cared about me. After they found out, they got me glasses, but I never thought much of it. Now, apart from ruining my handsome appearance, it doesn't have any other impact. I don't have any grand ambitions; one eye is enough for me."
Chen Yunqi laughed, but Tang Yutao cleared his throat and said seriously, "What are you laughing at! Are you questioning my handsome appearance?"
"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Chen Yunqi suppressed a laugh and said in a serious tone, "Brother Tao's talent is undeniable, surpassing even Pan An. He is like a pear tree overshadowing a crabapple tree. He is truly a young man of great charm, and it is something to be very envious of."
"You know that's good! Don't even think about coveting my good looks!" Seeing that Chen Yunqi was in a good mood, Tang Yutao continued, "Li Hui is just a bit petty. He's young and doesn't know any better, so don't take it to heart. He's not a bad person, just a little stingy. He's been single for a lifetime, and he can't stand seeing others do well, you know what I mean."
Chen Yunqi nodded. Tang Yutao trusted him completely, and could tell that he wasn't the type to hold a grudge against Li Hui. After a moment, he cautiously asked, "You...you seem to be going a bit too far with San San, huh?"
"Beyond the curriculum?" Chen Yunqi asked, puzzled.
"Hey, to put it bluntly, your kindness towards him seems to be going a bit beyond the normal range for your relationship." Tang Yutao bluntly asked, "If I may ask, you don't have a special sexual orientation, do you?"
Before Chen Yunqi could answer, he quickly added, "I don't mind at all. I've always advocated for global harmony. I accept heterosexuality, homosexuality, and asexuality—I accept them all! Don't worry, I definitely won't have any opinion about you!"
Chen Yunqi looked helplessly at Tang Yutao, who had a serious expression, and asked, "What is your sexual orientation?"
"Of course! I'm a traditional, wholesome man! How could my life be complete without women? I was born for them, and I will die for them. I came into this world only to gather the fragrance of every flower! I am the diligent gardener." He pointed to his nose and said.