Chapter 13
ZHANG YUWEN COULD SENSE that something had happened between Zheng Weize, Chen Hong, and Chang Jinxing. There was a subtle improvement in their relationships. A few times, he’d seen Chang Jinxing and Chen Hong sitting at the dining table chatting when Zheng Weize came out of his room and hugged Chang Jinxing and then Chen Hong from behind. Neither of them protested; they behaved like it was normal.
This made him a little curious, and he thought he should warn Zheng Weize not to get too emotionally invested in Chang Jinxing, in case he got himself hurt. Judging by Chang Jinxing’s daily routine of going out at night and returning at dawn, he was obviously not a reliable guy. Chen Hong was probably a better option.
But who could say? Maybe Zheng Weize could tame a playboy.
Zhang Yuwen thought it better not to be nosy. His own love life was still up in the air, after all.
Yan Jun got off work a little earlier now. He no longer let Xiao-Qi have her meals at the childcare center. Instead, he would pick up a bento set from a convenience store, buy some vegetables and chicken to prepare meals in the kitchen, and feed Xiao-Qi baby food.
Every tenant was careful to keep the common areas clean out of fear that they wouldn’t deserve such a wonderful house otherwise. Zhang Yuwen managed to catch a glimpse of their rooms when No. 7 Riverbay Road carried out a thorough clean-up of the house on Tuesday. Chang Jinxing’s room was still the same as it’d been when he moved in. Yan Jun’s was neat and tidy despite the baby staying with him. Chen Hong’s was slightly decorated with an additional bookshelf filled with books on self-help and success. Meanwhile, Zheng Weize’s resembled a messy dog kennel.
But after the housecleaning, Zheng Weize called Zhang Yuwen to his room and surprised him into silence by handing him the month’s rent.
“This is all I have on hand,” Zheng Weize whispered. “I’ll pay you the remaining two months’ rent and the deposit next month, okay?” Zhang Yuwen said nothing. After a while, Zheng Weize added, “I lent a classmate some money. He’ll pay me back next month.”
Zhang Yuwen didn’t have an opinion on the rent, but if the others were to find out that Zheng Weize was paying his rent in installments, they would probably decry him for playing favorites. After nearly a month of observation, Zhang Yuwen had discovered Zheng Weize never attended classes, even though he claimed to be a university student. In fact, he hardly went out. If the kettle he needed to boil water hadn’t been out in the kitchen, he might never have left the room at all. Zhang Yuwen was beginning to have his doubts about Zheng Weize.
“Then tidy up your room,” Zhang Yuwen said. “It’s too messy.”
“Sure, sure!” Zheng Weize promptly picked up the pile of clothes on the chair and shoved them into the closet, stunning Zhang Yuwen speechless.
That was how Zheng Weize became the second tenant to pay the rent—albeit not in full.
Chen Hong had been on the go lately, offering classes to members, and he managed to scrape together enough to pay off the rent without touching his savings. Chang Jinxing was the only one left, but Zhang Yuwen didn’t plan to push him for it.
Chen Hong was in a good mood now his rent was paid. “Let’s hang out this week?”
“Okay!” Zheng Weize wouldn’t miss a chance to have fun, even though his pockets were practically empty.
“What about Yan Jun? Hey, Yan Jun!” Chen Hong called out.
Yan Jun was in the living room, accompanying Xiao-Qi as she tried walking without support. Usually, he treated their conversations as background noise and paid attention only when Zhang Yuwen was speaking. At the mention of his name, he looked up. “When?”
“Saturday?” Chen Hong said. “That okay for you?”
“Where to?”
“How about hiking?”
“Huh?” Zheng Weize blurted out. Hiking? When it’s so cold?
Yan Jun looked at Xiao-Qi hesitantly. “You need some time for yourself,” Chen Hong said. “If Xiao-Qi could talk, she’d tell you to go and have fun every now and then.”
After a moment’s consideration, Yan Jun agreed. “You’re right.”
Xiao-Qi had recently made some friends at the childcare center and often babbled with them through the bars of their cribs. Taking her to the childcare center for one day on Saturday was probably fine.
“What about Jinxing?” Yan Jun asked. “Still in bed?”
“He’ll go for sure,” said Chen Hong. “I’ll tell him later. Should we stay overnight? I know a campsite. We can rent tents there, and dinner is provided too.”
Everyone unanimously opposed this suggestion. Only a lunatic would abandon the comfort of home to brave the elements on the mountain.
Just then, Zhang Yuwen came downstairs to make coffee. Chen Hong told him about his idea, but Zhang Yuwen said, “I’ll skip this week. You guys have fun.”
“Do you have something on?” Chen Hong asked.
“Uh… I’m meeting Huo Sichen. The straight guy who treated us to fish last time.”
Everyone looked astonished. “You’ve been keeping in contact with him?” asked Yan Jun. “Are you sure he’s straight?”
“Yeah,” Zhang Yuwen replied. He felt an inexplicable twinge of guilt at Yan Jun’s questions, as if he were two-timing him. “I’m pretty sure he’s straight. Ask Hong-ge if you don’t believe me.”
“I don’t know for sure,” said Chen Hong, “but I feel like he’s straight, because his taste in girls is like a straight guy’s. He mentioned once that Saturday is his personal time for de-stressing.”
“Oh.” Zhang Yuwen figured Chen Hong might have sounded him out at some point. If Chen Hong said so, then it was probably true.
“We don’t talk much, though,” Chen Hong reminded him. “He hasn’t reached out to me in a long time. Tell him to come and use up his remaining sessions.”
Even after they got to know each other, Zhang Yuwen and Huo Sichen’s conversations still revolved around their common topics. They never asked each other about their private lives.
“Actually, I think he’s handsome, and he has a good temperament.”
Having just returned, Chang Jinxing cut into their conversation, startling them.
“There’s nothing between us beyond friendship,” Zhang Yuwen explained hurriedly, noticing his roommates’ odd expressions. “Straight or not, I have no feelings for him. We just hit it off talking about reading and gaming. We’re going to hang out on the weekend. We haven’t decided where to go, but we’ll probably go to the arcade to play some shooting games.”
“Where?!” Chang Jinxing exclaimed. “I’ll come too!”
The allure of the arcade had much more appeal than hiking. Even Yan Jun was a little tempted. Zheng Weize wasn’t a fan of video games, but he could play the claw machines.
Losing face as his hiking plan began to crumble, Chen Hong cut in with an objection. “No! We should exercise! Forget the arcade!” Then he identified his perfect breakthrough point: Zhang Yuwen. Win Zhang Yuwen over, and the rest would naturally follow. “Ask A-Chen along too.”
“But he’s straight,” Zhang Yuwen said. “Wouldn’t it be awkward for him to join us?” With a straight guy tagging along, the group of gays would have to be careful when they joked among themselves. They also couldn’t openly discuss which guys they thought were handsome or stylish.
“It’s fine,” Chang Jinxing said. “I like straight guys. They’re very cute.”
“Hey!” Zhang Yuwen’s warning bells started ringing. He rounded on Chang Jinxing. “Don’t try to turn him gay.”
Chang Jinxing took this as a compliment. “You guys decide, then,” he said, and left, whistling, to take a shower.
“Shall I invite him?” Chen Hong asked.
“I’ll do it.” Zhang Yuwen sent Huo Sichen a message.
The reply was fast: Fine w either. I’ll go if u r.
That was how they dragged Huo Sichen, who had just wanted to play games, along on their hiking trip.
It was a bright and sunny Saturday. The weather report forecasted rain, but looking at the clear, cloudless sky, nobody was very worried.
Carrying their own backpacks with snacks and bottled water, they walked across the bridge to the visitors’ bus stop half a mile away to meet up with Huo Sichen. It was true: Riverbay Road was a prime location with convenient access to everywhere.
“We should get matching team uniforms,” Yan Jun commented.
“We can buy them online and wear them when we go out together.”
“Good idea,” Chen Hong said. He used to organize hiking trips for club members to socialize and foster ties; the same idea was behind this suggestion for his roommates. They had all woken up very early today, however, and except for a spirited Zhang Yuwen, who was an early riser, the others at the back, Chang Jinxing and Zheng Weize, were still groggy with sleep.
Chang Jinxing, carrying his DSLR camera with him, downed a large flask of coffee. Zheng Weize had deliberately chosen a casual outfit similar in style and color to Chang Jinxing’s, so they looked a bit like a couple. Chen Hong and Yan Jun were in sportswear, and Zhang Yuwen wore a jacket and a utilitarian ensemble that made his legs look longer.
“What time did you arrange to meet him?” Chen Hong asked.
“He should be here, I think.” Zhang Yuwen looked toward the bus stop and waved.
Huo Sichen was dressed in utilitarian fashion too, complete with a simple belt bag slung across his shoulder. He had his hands in his pockets, looking suave and handsome. Zhang Yuwen wore beige, while Huo Sichen was in dark green. Surprised, everyone threw Zhang Yuwen impish looks, puzzling the still-oblivious Zhang Yuwen.
“Good morning,” Huo Sichen said.
The group exchanged greetings. “Morning.”
Zhang Yuwen had expected to find Huo Sichen decked out in full off-road gear, not wearing something so simple. “You didn’t even bring a bag?”
“Isn’t this a bag?” Huo Sichen asked. “There’s tissues and a thermos inside. That’s enough.”
“I’m not going to share my snacks with you,” Zhang Yuwen warned him. “If you didn’t bring any with you, you must be planning to mooch mine.”
Huo Sichen laughed. “You saw through me.”
The bus came, and everyone boarded. Having an additional companion turned out to be a good idea; they were in pairs now, and no one would be left alone or need to sit on someone else’s lap. Zheng Weize and Chang Jinxing leaned against each other and dozed off, and Chen Hong and Yan Jun sat together. Zhang Yuwen, of course, shared a seat with Huo Sichen.
Apart from Chen Hong, Huo Sichen was unfamiliar with the rest of the group and couldn’t even remember their names. He asked Zhang Yuwen to refresh his memory in hushed tones. The gays had shown no interest in him at all after they swapped contacts at their last meeting, with only Zhang Yuwen reaching out to chat from time to time. Zhang Yuwen was basically Huo Sichen’s only friend in the group.
“Chen Hong wants me to remind you to use up your remaining training sessions,” Zhang Yuwen told him.
“I don’t feel like it,” Huo Sichen said. “His training sessions are exhausting, and I’m lazy. I just want to have fun.”
Zhang Yuwen laughed, not expecting Huo Sichen to be so frank.
“But you have a good physique.”
“I was born with it.” Huo Sichen raised an eyebrow. “I love to eat junk food.”
“I can tell.” Zhang Yuwen knew Huo Sichen bought a large cup of cola on his way to work every day and drank it at his desk. Carbonated drinks were strictly forbidden in Zhang Yuwen’s family because they led to calcium loss and weight gain.
The bus arrived at Elephant Gorge, one of the most famous peaks on the outskirts of Jiangdong City. At an elevation level of more than three thousand feet, it had cable cars to transport visitors up and down the mountain. The scenery was picturesque, with the Liujin River flowing through the gorge and the peaks extending north and south. A naturally formed ridge resembling an arched spine connected the south and north peaks, evoking the image of an elephant’s trunk spanning across the river —hence the name.
Elephant Gorge had cherry blossoms in full bloom in spring, provided a cool refuge from the sweltering heat in summer, and offered a display of maple foliage in autumn. It bustled with activity three seasons a year. Only this time of year—when the first snow of winter had yet to fall, and the view offered only monotonous dark green pine trees and no snowscape—was a rare tourist offseason.
“Brrr, so cold!” Chang Jinxing exclaimed exaggeratedly. He had slept for almost an hour on the bus, and the blast of cold wind that greeted him as he disembarked made him shiver even harder. Zheng Weize, meanwhile, seemed to be dazed by the frigid cold.
“Start moving and you’ll warm up,” Chen Hong told them.
“Let’s go!” said Zhang Yuwen.
The group started hiking up the mountain at a leisurely pace. Their plan was to climb the mountain on foot, then take the cable car down.
Zhang Yuwen walked alongside Huo Sichen. “So you don’t usually exercise?” he asked.
“I play two soccer games a month with my university classmates from Jiangbei Athletics Hall,” Huo Sichen said. Not only did Huo Sichen enjoy playing and watching soccer, he also liked soccer video games. He had to be straight; most gay men didn’t like intense, competitive contact sports like basketball and soccer. The ones who liked sports tended to prefer badminton or swimming.
“When are the matches?” Zhang Yuwen asked casually. “What position do you play?”
“Sometimes defender, sometimes goalkeeper,” Huo Sichen said, “depending on whether the goalkeeper pissed his wife off the night before.”
Zhang Yuwen laughed. He wanted to follow up and ask if Huo Sichen had a girlfriend or a wife, but that was a question that concerned his private life, so he prudently decided not to pursue the topic.
Huo Sichen had learned discretion from his time in the business world. Since Zhang Yuwen didn’t ask him about his life, he refrained from asking any personal questions in turn. When, on occasion, Zhang Yuwen did inadvertently ask Huo Sichen something personal, Huo Sichen took the opportunity to do the same.
Zhang Yuwen and Huo Sichen walked ahead of the others, chatting as they went. Zhang Yuwen couldn’t ignore Huo Sichen—he had invited him, after all—and besides, chatting with him was comfortable. Zhang Yuwen didn’t have to keep guessing what he was thinking.
“Let me carry your backpack,” Huo Sichen said to Zhang Yuwen when they reached a rest stop. The others, trailing behind them, were nowhere in sight.
“I’m not tired.”
“I know, but if I carry it for you, you won’t be able to refuse me when I ask for your snacks later.”
Zhang Yuwen burst out laughing and handed him the backpack.
Huo Sichen lifted it effortlessly; it wasn’t all that heavy. They sat at the rest stop and waited for the others.
A group of female university students arrived, panting and sweating.
They looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old and probably from the same dorm. They took off their jackets and stood in front of the rest stop in their sweaters, fanning themselves.
“Where’s the restroom?” a girl asked her roommate.
Huo Sichen answered. “Follow this path down. There’s an entry sign at the rear entrance.”
The girls laughed, and even Zhang Yuwen, who was in the middle of drinking from his flask, almost spewed the water out. Flabbergasted but realizing he hadn’t made himself clear, Huo Sichen said, “I mean, there’s a signpost directing you to the restroom.”
The girl who had asked the question hurried, blushing, down the path. Zhang Yuwen teased Huo Sichen, who said nothing. When the girl returned, the group continued on their way, and Huo Sichen’s gaze followed one of them.
“She’s pretty,” Zhang Yuwen commented.
Huo Sichen came back to his senses. “She reminds me of my senior from university,” he said.
“Oh.” Zhang Yuwen nodded, his suspicions confirmed.
“Are you married?” Huo Sichen asked suddenly.
“Nope. I’m single. I broke up with my ex a year ago, and I haven’t dated since.”
“Why not?”
“Too poor,” Zhang Yuwen said simply. “Plus, I’m staying at a friend’s place. I can’t let the person I like live under someone else’s roof, can I?”
“Having rich friends is enviable, but it can also make you insecure,” Huo Sichen observed.
Zhang Yuwen smiled. “You’re right. But the rich don’t mind at all.
Ultimately, it’s all in our own heads.”
“Everyone has pride,” said Huo Sichen.
At last, the others caught up to them. Chen Hong and Yan Jun appeared normal. Yan Jun wore an outdoor jacket that was zipped up to his neck. He wasn’t sweating much and looked to be in good spirits. Chen Hong had taken off his own jacket and tied it around his waist, exposing his T-shirt that revealed the muscular lines of his shoulders and back.
Predictably, Zheng Weize was by far the most tired of the lot. He held Chang Jinxing’s hand and kept stopping and looking up every three steps.
“How much further?” Zheng Weize asked.
“Almost there!” Zhang Yuwen said, perking up. “Twenty more minutes!”
“Lemme rest for a while,” Zheng Weize pleaded, seeing that Zhang Yuwen and Huo Sichen were ready to continue with their hike. “We just got here!”
“You guys go on ahead!” Chang Jinxing said. “We’ll catch up soon.”
“It’s okay. I was thinking about taking a break too,” Yan Jun said.
Zhang Yuwen felt sheepish; they had walked too fast and left his roommates behind. He adjusted his plans and walked with them.
Hiking was like the journey of life. While everyone set off together, some might speed up without realizing it, while others gradually fell behind until they dropped out of sight entirely. They met new people along the way, walked a distance together, and parted ways again soon after.
But this path was really, really long. They’d chosen the north peak, which rarely had many visitors. The plank road was not only narrow and precipitous, but also steep. By eleven in the morning, even Zhang Yuwen was feeling tired and had to stop for the occasional break.
Chang Jinxing had his DSLR hung around his neck. Carrying both his backpack and Zheng Weize’s, he stood high up on the horizontal steps to take photos of everyone—and especially to document his roommates at their most wretched moments.
“Enough already,” said Yan Jun.
Chang Jinxing laughed. He’d shown himself to be boyfriend material today, carrying the bags and even taking care of Zheng Weize, who could barely move.
Zheng Weize repeated the question he had asked the most today:
“How much further?”
“Almost there,” Zhang Yuwen said. “Twenty more minutes.”
Zheng Weize realized he’d been had. “That’s what you said an hour ago!”
“It’s really twenty more minutes this time,” Zhang Yuwen said, serious as anything. People could rarely tell when he was lying with a straight face. All he had to do was look them directly in the eye with an innocent expression; it was impossible not to believe him.
“What if we don’t get there in twenty minutes?” Zheng Weize asked.
“Then the ball’s in your court,” Zhang Yuwen said with a smile.
“You’ll do anything I ask?”
“Sure, go wild. But you can’t dawdle on purpose.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” Not that Zheng Weize had anything to lose. This was a zero-cost deal.
Zhang Yuwen knew Zheng Weize wouldn’t make any unreasonable demands. In fact, he remembered the day he went hiking with his ex.
They’d had the exact same conversation, right down to the punctuation.
His ex, like Zheng Weize, had also been too exhausted to move, and Zhang Yuwen had coaxed him all the way up. Did all bottoms think the same? Even the flirtatious atmosphere was familiar.
They were indeed only twenty minutes from the lunch break rest stop. Zhang Yuwen was sure he would win this time, but after his ex made the same bet, he’d whined and dawdled for the rest of the journey, dragging it out to twenty-two minutes. Zhang Yuwen was forced to admit defeat.
Then his ex made his demand; I wanna top you once.
A bet was a bet, so Zhang Yuwen accepted. Anyway, pleasure in the bedroom was all about spicing things up, and to Zhang Yuwen, who still loved him very much at that time, it was no big deal to let his partner top him occasionally. As long as they were in love, he could go with anything.
Of course, when they finally reached the summit, the hotel was cold and damp, and his ex was half dead from exhaustion. Zhang Yuwen promised him he could take a rain check, but they broke up not long thereafter, and his ex never did get to top him.
This left Zhang Yuwen with the sense that he owed it to someone to bottom at least once. Now, hiking with his roommates, Zhang Yuwen found that he missed his ex a lot. He never thought his ex had let him down, and anyway, it didn’t matter who let down whom; they were together for four years, and he still had feelings for him.
If only he were here. If his ex had been here, Zhang Yuwen thought, he’d act like Chang Jinxing. Zhang Yuwen would carry both their backpacks as they dawdled behind the rest of the group, listening to his ex gripe.
Indeed, having backpacks to carry and someone to boss you around was its own kind of happiness.
Huo Sichen’s voice dragged him back into reality. “Zhang Yuwen, you’re going to lose. How do you feel about that?”
Zhang Yuwen was speechless. They’d arrived at the waterfall to find a sign on the trail leading up the mountain:
Road ahead under maintenance.
Please take a detour.
Approx. 35 min walk to the lunch break rest stop.