Chapter 9
AFTER A FEW BOUTS OF RAIN, winter entered the game.
Golden ginkgo leaves, damp from the rain, paved the asphalt road.
When a resident of Riverbay Road woke in the morning and opened their floor-to-ceiling windows, the breath they expelled turned into white mist.
Jiangdong always saw an unbroken spell of wet weather when the season changed, with only a few rare sunny days brightening the month. The Liujin River’s water level gradually dropped as it entered the dry season, when the dried-up riverbed became prime real estate for idle schoolchildren to poke and dig around.
Yan Jun’s lease expired in a week, and he had moved his stuff out, more or less. He decided to take Xiao-Qi to No. 7 Riverbay Road.
Recently, he’d been coming to the new house every day after work to observe the others’ living habits. Zhang Yuwen retired to his room daily at eight in the evening like a grandpa. Zheng Weize often ate instant noodles in his room, and he, too, rarely went to the living room after eight.
Yan Jun hadn’t seen Chang Jinxing yet; allegedly, he never returned before two in the morning. Chen Hong was the only one who was sometimes at home all day, but other times he was nowhere to be found.
Yan Jun wasn’t sure if he could avoid his roommates. He’d thought the coast was clear when he moved in the crib and accidentally made a grand entrance instead. Forget it, just move in, he told himself. The new house had a great vibe and Zhang Yuwen’s attitude was reassuring, so Yan Jun opted to set off on Tuesday, carrying a backpack with the last of the diapers, bottles, medicines, and milk powder. With Xiao-Qi in a carrier on his chest, he made his way to No. 7 Riverbay Road.
“Today Papa is taking you to our new house,” Yan Jun said to Xiao-Qi in hushed tones. She smiled, facing out at the house in front of them.
“We’ll be living here from now on, so be good.”
He took a deep breath, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and entered. Seeming to understand the gravity of the situation, Xiao-Qi behaved herself, simply casting curious looks around.
Yan Jun breathed a sigh of relief. There was no one in the living room, and the housekeepers had already left for the day. Xiao-Qi reached out to grab the decoration on the shoe cabinet, but Yan Jun stopped her and took her into his room.
“Pa-pa!” Xiao-Qi called out.
The room had already been cleaned. Yan Jun set her on the floor and smiled as he went to boil water to prepare formula for her. He’d gotten a kettle and all the baby supplies ready in the room so that he wouldn’t need to keep going in and out.
He would get up at half past seven every morning and take Xiao-Qi to the childcare center, then bring her back after seven in the evening. That way, he wouldn’t disturb his roommates.
Yan Jun carried Xiao-Qi back. “It’s too cold outside, we can’t go out!”
This room was much bigger than the other rented rooms, and he could use the remaining space to roll out a play mat, put out some toys, and set up a spot for reading picture books. He was pleased with the place.
So it was that Yan Jun moved in quietly. On the first day, no one noticed Xiao-Qi. The second day was the same. On the third day, however, when he was bringing her home, he ran into Zhang Yuwen, who was repairing the printer with ink-covered hands.
Anxiety gripped Yan Jun as their eyes met. Zhang Yuwen looked baffled when he spotted Xiao-Qi, but then he broke into a smile.
“Hi!” He hurried away to wash his hands. Upon his return, he asked Xiao-Qi, “What’s your name?”
Xiao-Qi said, “Pa-pa!” Zhang Yuwen burst out laughing.
“Her name is Yan Yuqi,” Yan Jun explained. “She calls every man she sees Papa.”
“Papa!” Xiao-Qi looked up at Yan Jun again from her spot on his chest.
Zhang Yuwen helped Yan Jun take off his backpack. “Have you been sleeping here lately?”
“Mm,” said Yan Jun. His fears, it seemed, were unfounded, and he was beginning to realize that Zhang Yuwen had a magical ability to instantly relax everyone who interacted with him.
He seized this chance to sound Zhang Yuwen out on his daily routine. “You haven’t gone to bed yet? I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Not quite this early,” Zhang Yuwen said, “but soon. I grew up with my grandparents, and my grandfather was a doctor, so I inherited the habit of sleeping and waking up early. Aren’t you going to put her down?”
Yan Jun unstrapped the carrier and put Xiao-Qi down at the side of the sofa. Zhang Yuwen clapped his hands at her and asked, “Want a hug?”
Xiao-Qi came over to let him hug her, but less than twenty seconds later she spread her arms out at Yan Jun and called, “Pa-pa!”
Zhang Yuwen handed her back. Surprised, Yan Jun said, “She never lets anyone other than me and the nanny hug her.”
“Whoa!” Zhang Yuwen didn’t catch the plot hole in his words, merely taking it as a polite remark. “Maybe she really likes me.”
“Wow!” Zheng Weize exclaimed in surprise. He’d heard the conversation and come out of his room to investigate. “So cute! Oh my god!”
Zheng Weize came over for a hug, but Xiao-Qi started crying and tried to dodge him. Yan Jun quickly patted her to pacify her. “She’s a little shy around strangers at this age,” he explained.
Zhang Yuwen realized Yan Jun was telling the truth when he said she never let strangers hug her. “But I managed to hug her,” he boasted to Zheng Weize.
Zheng Weize felt like crying. His self-esteem would never recover if she didn’t let him hug her today. Eventually, a tearful Xiao-Qi permitted a half hug, and Zheng Weize took his chance to lean against Yan Jun. But Chen Hong returned not long thereafter, triggering another round of cajoling and another bout of crying.
It wasn’t until Xiao-Qi wet herself that Yan Jun brought her to their room. He poked his head back out to ask Zhang Yuwen, “Will we disturb you?”
“Of course not!” Zhang Yuwen said quickly. He was drinking milk and chatting with Chen Hong at the dining table. “This house has great soundproofing. Even if she bawls, it won’t disturb us.”
Yan Jun had already tested the room’s soundproofing, and it was indeed great.
“Is your niece spending the night here?” Chen Hong asked.
“I’ll send her home later,” Yan Jun said. “Her parents are very busy;
they work overtime a lot.”
“Man, that’s tough.” Chen Hong understood it all too well, though it was hard to say whether his comment was about Yan Jun or his brother and sister-in-law.
“Just call for us if you need help,” Zhang Yuwen said. “We don’t go to bed that early.”
Relief washed over Yan Jun when he saw his roommates’ enthusiasm. “I’m used to it.”
He closed the door and filled the basin with water to bathe Xiao-Qi.
Then he dressed her, placed her in her crib, and turned the TV on for her before he took his own turn in the shower.
The new house was a comfortable environment. No noisy neighbors, plenty of hot water, and no cold drafts in the bathroom. Zhang Yuwen had already turned on underfloor heating for the whole house, so he didn’t have to worry about Xiao-Qi catching a cold. In fact, the house was even warmer than the childcare center. The room was clean, and the air was fresh and free of dust from the road outside.
Yan Jun was grateful to Zhang Yuwen from the bottom of his heart.
Zhang Yuwen had saved him.
That night, he observed again, but the others soon went back to their own rooms, and he no longer needed to put up an act. With Xiao-Qi, he went to bed with peace of mind and slept through the night.
As usual, he didn’t run into anyone when he woke up the next day.
The weekend rolled around, and Chang Jinxing kept his promise. He went to the supermarket with Zheng Weize and bought a lot of groceries so he could whip up a feast to celebrate everyone moving in and getting to know each other.
Yan Jun felt a little put on the spot. “I might have to take care of my niece today.”
“Let’s eat together!” Chang Jinxing still had yet to meet Xiao-Qi. “I can make her some baby food?”
“You can even make baby food?” Yan Jun was amazed.
“It’s just mashed carrots and potatoes. Easy-peasy.”
The kitchen was fully equipped with a variety of cooking utensils.
As Chang Jinxing cooked, Chen Hong assisted him, commenting from time to time that his methods were unhealthy. Together, they made quite a mess of the kitchen. Zhang Yuwen didn’t mind, though, and anyway, the housekeepers would be there the next day to put everything back to usual.
Overall, Zhang Yuwen was satisfied with his observational subjects.
He was never bothered by any of them, though he didn’t know if they bothered each other. Gradually, he was coming to see them as friends and not model dummies—and even beginning to like them a bit.
“You have the day off, right?” Zhang Yuwen asked Yan Jun. “Let Xiao-Qi sit here and eat with us. I’ll go and borrow a baby chair from the café next door.”
“I’ll go,” Yan Jun said hurriedly. “And in that case, I’ll pick Xiao-Qi up later.”
“Bye-bye,” Zhang Yuwen said.
It was still raining outside. Yan Jun was wearing a black, knee-length trench coat and carrying a black umbrella. He was in a good mood.
It had been a long time since he’d experienced such a heartwarming atmosphere. His roommates even felt a little like family… He forced himself not to harbor any wishful thoughts. After all, the world was full of liars, and people often gave the illusion of warmth and tender affection before their disguises were ripped away. But even if it was just for one day, Yan Jun couldn’t help but daydream. What if he was successful in his career? What if the house was his? What if he had a lover like Zhang Yuwen? And what if that lover was willing to raise Xiao-Qi with him…?
It was no easy task to start a new phase in life with so many what-ifs.
He abandoned his what-ifs. It was clear that Zhang Yuwen had no interest in him beyond friendship, and his observation told him that Zhang Yuwen’s friendliness extended to everyone he met. Yan Jun was no different from the rest.
Winter had come, and a flu was set loose upon the city. Many people wore masks, coughing incessantly. Yan Jun worried about infection in the childcare center; many parents had already come to take their children home. He considered keeping Xiao-Qi home for a day. He could take another day off tomorrow, but how was he going to explain it?
The heating in the childcare center was turned up, and Xiao-Qi’s face was flushed red. After he picked her up, Yan Jun shielded her from the drizzle with an umbrella as they walked back, trying his best to protect her from the chilly wind. They arrived home to chaos in the kitchen.
“You’re back!” Zhang Yuwen was wiping up some borscht that had spilled on the floor. Earlier, Chen Hong accidentally scalded himself while bringing out the soup, adding to the mayhem. Yan Jun was struck dumb by the sight.
“Oh wow! Xiao-Qi! You’re here!” Zheng Weize made a beeline for her. He adored the baby, though his fondness came partially from the heart and partially from thinking it was the right way to act when there was a baby around. “Still remember me?”
“Still remember Uncle Weize?” Yan Jun asked.
“I’m too young to be an uncle,” Zheng Weize protested.
“I’ll wipe it up,” Yan Jun said to Zhang Yuwen as he set Xiao-Qi down to help with the housework. Zheng Weize brought out a stuffed toy from his room to play with her. She loved it, babbling happily and toddling around, holding onto the sofa with one hand for support and the toy with the other.
“Xiao-Qi’s mom is working the night shift tonight. Can she sleep here for a night?” Yan Jun asked.
“Of course.” Zhang Yuwen was fond of the little baby. “Can you manage?”
“It’s no problem for me. I’m just worried we’ll disturb you.”
Yan Jun didn’t meet Zhang Yuwen’s eyes as he went to change the rags. The aroma wafting from the kitchen made him feel even more homesick.
“Chef.” Yan Jun patted Chang Jinxing’s arm as Chang Jinxing tasted the soup. He smiled at Zhang Yuwen when he came out of the kitchen again.
“What?” Zhang Yuwen asked, puzzled.
“We’re friends,” Yan Jun said.
“Yeah, we are. What about it?”
Yan Jun wanted to confess something to Zhang Yuwen. If Zhang Yuwen had just laughed him off, he would have dropped the idea, but Zhang Yuwen said “Yeah,” which made him feel like maybe Zhang Yuwen could understand his difficulties.
However, this wasn’t the best time for it.
Chang Jinxing’s culinary skills were as good as advertised. The braised pork knuckles were tender, the huge platter of blanched seafood included springy prawns and smooth shellfish, and the piping hot steamed fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned with soy sauce. More than half of the fish was devoured as soon as it was served. Chang Jinxing flipped it
over while he was serving the dishes, and by the time he went back into the kitchen for the vegetables and came back out to take his seat at the dining table, all that was left of the fish was bones.
“Oops, sorry!” Chen Hong said. “We didn’t wait for you.”
“The flavor of a dish starts changing the moment it leaves the pot,” Chang Jinxing said with a smile. “If you want to taste it at its most delicious, you have to eat it as soon as possible. That’s how you show respect to the chef.”
He’d put a lot of thought into impressing his roommates, -meticulously planning the meal so that the six dishes and the soup were served at almost the same time. This was the perseverance of a great chef.
“How long are you two going to keep wiping the floor?” Chang Jinxing said as he served up the last dish. “Let’s dig in!”
Zhang Yuwen nonchalantly separated from an embarrassed Yan Jun. A group of gay guys living together would inevitably enjoy teasing each other, and the best way to avoid being teased was to strike first and tease someone else. Zhang Yuwen understood this well, but based on his observations, any two of these guys could easily make up a pair. There were so many possible combinations that he didn’t know where to start.
When all the dishes were served and everyone raised their glasses for a toast, Zhang Yuwen chose a pair and launched his attack. “To Xing-ge’s and sister-in-law’s health.”
Zheng Weize was teaching Xiao-Qi to say “thank you” when he heard this. “Hey! Hey! Don’t talk nonsense!” he exclaimed, exaggerating his response in both embarrassment and excitement. “Who knew you could be so cheeky!”
Zhang Yuwen raised his glass. “Now you know.”
Everyone roared with laughter. “Zhang Yuwen looks serious and decent on the surface,” Chen Hong remarked, “but deep down, he’s all mischief.”
Zhang Yuwen approved of this evaluation and had no intention of refuting it, but he did interrupt to change the subject back to Chang Jinxing and Zheng Weize. They all started ribbing Zheng Weize about whether he waited for Chang Jinxing to return home every night, and what were they always doing in Chang Jinxing’s room…?
It was true: Zheng Weize liked going into Chang Jinxing’s room to lie on his bed and chat with him. Chang Jinxing never chased him away, either. Zheng Weize gave Chang Jinxing skincare products and face masks, and Chang Jinxing accepted them all. Chang Jinxing kept smiling, offering neither confirmation nor denial, which was probably a typical player strategy. Zheng Weize, however, was blushing hard from all the teasing.
Seeing that Zheng Weize was about to get worked up, Chen Hong stepped in to smooth things over. “You’re the youngest here, so everyone sees you as their younger brother. We’re just fooling around.” He put an affectionate arm around Zheng Weize.
The joking finally stopped. Yan Jun, who had been seriously feeding Xiao-Qi baby food while everyone else roasted Zheng Weize and Chang Jinxing, occasionally laughed out loud at their interactions. He’d had a bit of the red wine that Zhang Yuwen had brought out for the occasion, and the lock on his heart was coming loose a little. He almost believed these were his friends now.
“Someone in your family must be a chef.” Zhang Yuwen only had to look at Chang Jinxing’s food presentation to guess. “These are truly remarkable culinary skills.” Chang Jinxing winked at Zhang Yuwen, partly teasing and partly hinting, and Zhang Yuwen let him off without probing further.
“Thank you, Yuwen.” Chen Hong raised his glass again. “It’s thanks to you that we could all get to know each other.”
“Yeah!” Everyone set down their chopsticks and raised their glasses.
“That’s the work of fate.” Zhang Yuwen clinked glasses with them.
As the group of good friends came together, drinking to their hearts’ content, the crisp clinking of their wine glasses sounded just like the jingling of coins in a purse—a simultaneous reminder to all four tenants that they still hadn’t paid their rent. Silence hung in the air for a few brief seconds before they awkwardly laughed it off.
After dinner, Yan Jun and Chen Hong chatted as they washed dishes in the kitchen. Xiao-Qi, who was learning to walk, toddled around the house, Zheng Weize close behind her. “What do you do for a living?”
Chen Hong asked Yan Jun. “You always seem to be very busy.”
“Equipment sales,” Yan Jun replied.
“Introduce some clients to me when you have the time.” Chen Hong handed the washed dishes to Yan Jun, who wiped them dry and put them away.
“Sure, I’ll ask around,” Yan Jun said noncommittally. “Where’s your gym?”
“No gym, but I’ll be happy to provide home fitness training,” Chen Hong corrected himself. He only had the service, no longer the facility.
Yan Jun hummed in acknowledgment, and Chen Hong added, “Business has been bad with the economic downturn.”
“Yeah,” Yan Jun agreed. “Our company has also seen a drastic drop in business.”
Chen Hong had never talked about his business to his roommates before, but after all that wine, he felt like talking to someone. In his eyes, Zheng Weize was a kid, Chang Jinxing didn’t seem like he had a proper job, and Zhang Yuwen might not necessarily understand him. Yan Jun was the only one who seemed like he might be on the same wavelength as Chen Hong.
Zhang Yuwen entered the kitchen. “You can leave the utensils. The housekeepers will be here tomorrow to clean up. They only have Saturdays off.”
“It’s fine,” Chen Hong replied. “We’re done washing up. Want a cup of coffee?”
“No thanks. I might not be able to sleep later. I’ll play with Xiao-Qi for a while.”
After clearing the dining table and cleaning up the kitchen, Chen Hong and Yan Jun stood in the backyard for a while, drinking coffee and chatting about how tough it was to make a living. Chen Hong had picked the right person. Yan Jun knew how it was: Life was tough and money hard to earn, especially now, when there seemed to be no end to inflation and the economic recession. Neither of them knew when things would take a turn for the better.
As they chatted, they began to lament the unfairness of the world.
“To be honest,” Chen Hong said, “it’s only when I’m back here that I feel like I can breathe and put everything to the back of my mind.”
Yan Jun looked out into the night, lost in thought. “Me too.”
No. 7 Riverbay Road was like a utopia, but what use was a momentary escape? Sooner or later, they still had to return to reality.
“Because the homeowner is rich.” Chen Hong sighed. “In the end, you’ve still got to have money.”
“We will.” Yan Jun had never given up hope for the future. “I hope I can afford a house like this one day.”
Coffee finished, Yan Jun returned to the living room, picked Xiao-Qi up, and took her back to his room. “She has to stay here and sleep with me tonight,” he told Zheng Weize.
“That’s great!” Zheng Weize smiled. “I can see her again tomorrow.
I’ll be sure to keep my voice down tonight.”
“No need,” Yan Jun said hurriedly. “I’ll be thankful as long as she doesn’t disturb you guys.” It kept surprising him that his roommates were all kind people whose first thought was not to disrupt Xiao-Qi’s sleep.
Xiao-Qi had been having a great time. This was the happiest she’d been over the past few months. Yan Jun daydreamed as he bathed her. He found himself overcome with the sudden urge to find a partner. He was caught off guard by the way the dinner’s lively atmosphere had magnified his loneliness. Even after he coaxed Xiao-Qi to sleep, Yan Jun continued to toss and turn in bed.
But the night wasn’t a good one. Xiao-Qi cried a few times in the middle of the night and vomited milk all over her pillow. Yan Jun sprang out of bed to hug her, hoping to soothe her, only to find that she was burning up—a fever.
Oh no, Yan Jun thought. She probably caught a virus at the childcare center.
Ever since she was born, Xiao-Qi had rarely been sick. Yan Jun turned on the lights and fed her medicine, but she resisted, and her cries grew louder as he struggled with her. Then Yan Jun applied a fever relief patch. Xiao-Qi was obviously very uncomfortable, leaving him no choice but to carry her around the room. It was almost an hour before Xiao-Qi fell back into a fitful sleep.
Yan Jun groped in the dark to clean up the vomit in the crib, then set the linens aside to wash by hand tomorrow. When he was finally done, he checked the time: already one in the morning. He couldn’t send Xiao-Qi to the childcare center tomorrow. They wouldn’t accept babies with fevers.
He’d need to wait until she recovered.
He had to take another day off. Yan Jun thought about who could cover his shift and sent his colleague a message, then checked Xiao-Qi’s temperature again. Her fever hadn’t subsided. He panicked a little, wondering if he should go to the hospital.
Half an hour later, Xiao-Qi started crying. Her fever had worsened.
Yan Jun carried Xiao-Qi in his arms and used a ride-hailing app to call for a car, but he couldn’t find one on Riverbay Road at this time of the night, and the nearest hospital was four and a half miles away. He remembered Chen Hong had an electric two-wheeler, but he hesitated over whether to knock on his door.
“What happened?”
When Yan Jun came out to the living room, he ran into night owl Chang Jinxing, who was still up. He hadn’t gone out that night, but he couldn’t sleep before four in the morning because it felt like the day wasn’t over yet. He was in the dining room putting up photos of everyone from the last time they went to play outdoor laser tag.
“Xiao-Qi’s running a fever,” Yan Jun said. “I’m thinking of…” Chang Jinxing set aside what he was doing and came over to feel Xiao-Qi’s forehead. “Damn, she’s burning up. What’s her temperature?
Has she taken medicine?”
“104 degrees now,” Yan Jun said, his brows deeply furrowed. “I gave her medicine, but it wouldn’t stay down.”
“I’ll wake Yuwen up,” said Chang Jinxing.