“What’s wrong?” Hu Pan ran over from the bar.
“He fell,” Sanbing said, laughing as he spoke. “Did a big split and slid down like on a slide.”
“You’re still laughing!” Hu Pan glared at him, then looked at Chen Jian. “Are you hurt…”
Before she could finish, she couldn’t help but laugh too. “Are you… hurt…”
“No.” Chen Jian moved the suitcase to a nearby table and opened it. “These are some small gifts Boss Shan bought for everyone…”
Inside the suitcase were individually wrapped paper bags, very beautiful.
“Wow—” Hu Pan ran over excitedly. “Who has such a good boss!”
“Winning over hearts and minds, winning over hearts and minds,” Sanbing also came over, holding his bowl.
“Chen Erhu will slap you if he hears you imitating him,” Hu Pan said, taking a paper bag and opening it.
“He just went to sleep,” Sanbing said with a smile. “He’s been holding on for the past few days, probably can’t take it anymore.”
Chen Dahu’s sentence had been handed down—one year and four months. Like the other shoe dropping, Chen Erhu seemed to feel a sense of relaxation that it was a foregone conclusion, but he still refused to go home.
He firmly occupied the innermost bed in the men’s dormitory.
He would rather die than go home to see his dad.
For a second, Chen Jian suddenly thought of Shan Yu, who also refused to go home to see his parents.
Although the situations were different.
Shan Yu’s mother, despite her strong, oppressive presence, was generally amicable.
Chen Erhu’s dad was not so amicable. An honest man was an honest man, but he had a bit of a short temper. After divorcing Chen Erhu’s mother, he raised his two sons alone. His parenting was quite strict, but everyone knew he doted on his two sons. Otherwise, he couldn’t have raised such a failure like Chen Dahu…
Fortunately, the guesthouse dormitory didn’t charge for accommodation now. Chen Erhu was living quite comfortably in the dorm.
He might even stay until the New Year.
Hu Pan opened the paper bag. Besides local specialties and snacks, there was also a small lucky bag.
“I love it so much,” Hu Pan said happily, patting her chest. “My heart has been bought.”
“Why does that sound so creepy,” Sanbing said, taking a paper bag and pulling out a pack of beef jerky first.
Chen Jian put Xiao Dou’er’s portion aside, planning to bring it over tomorrow when he went to get Sanbing’s motorcycle.
“Aren’t you taking your portion?” Hu Pan asked.
“I’ll just take the lucky bag. Everyone can share the food,” Chen Jian said.
“Since you put it that way…” Sanbing immediately opened his portion and took a pack of beef jerky from it to add to his own bag.
“Couldn’t you just swap them directly?” Chen Jian said.
Sanbing paused. “Oh, right.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak.
“No wonder you’re the manager,” Sanbing said.
“If it’s just for that, the bar for being a manager is a bit too low,” Chen Jian said.
“Keep being sarcastic,” Sanbing said, eating the beef jerky.
Chen Jian went to the kitchen, got a tray, and placed the two bowls of small glutinous rice balls that Hu Pan had already prepared for him and Shan Yu on it. He also took a box of spare cold medicine from the guesthouse’s first-aid kit.
“Manager,” Hu Pan followed him over. “Is everything okay?”
“Huh?” Chen Jian looked at her. “Everything’s fine, what’s up?”
“Nothing, just asking,” Hu Pan whispered. “He went to find you, and it took you two so long to come back. I was worried something had happened.”
…A long time?
When they met in the village, didn’t Shan Yu say he had gotten off the bus twenty minutes ago?
“When did he go?” Chen Jian asked.
“He went out right after Sanbing brought him back,” Hu Pan thought for a moment. “It was just past seven.”
Chen Jian was stunned. It was already past nine when he came out of the mountains.
He took out his phone and looked again. The message from Fa Dan Ke Chen asking him to go to the station was indeed sent at a little past six…
“What’s wrong?” Hu Pan asked.
“Nothing,” Chen Jian said. “He was waiting for me at Xiao Dou’er’s house.”
“That’s good,” Hu Pan said. “Next time you take leave, you should tell him. If he didn’t know where Xiao Dou’er’s house was, he wouldn’t be able to find you if something came up. I called you, but your phone was out of service.”
“I didn’t expect it to be so coincidental,” Chen Jian said, picking up the tray.
The small glutinous rice balls smelled quite fragrant. When he walked into the office, Shan Yu, who was lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes and sat up.
But when he saw the large bowl on the tray, he paused. “Is that a salad bowl?”
“Mmm,” Chen Jian placed the tray on the coffee table. “It wouldn’t fit otherwise. Hu Pan poured all the leftover syrup in here.”
“I probably can’t finish these thirty,” Shan Yu said.
“If I hadn’t eaten dinner, these two bowls wouldn’t be enough for me,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu looked at the small glutinous rice balls without speaking.
“Eat first,” Chen Jian picked up the small bowl. “If you can’t finish, leave it for me.”
After saying that, he felt it was a bit inappropriate and quickly added vaguely, “Or for the dog.”
The corner of Shan Yu’s mouth twitched. He picked up the spoon with his left hand. “Fine, you can share it with the dog later.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak, just stared at the small glutinous rice balls and devoured them.
In less than two minutes, the ten small glutinous rice balls were gone. Although these were small, they had fillings, and there were two kinds: sesame-peanut and hawthorn. They were quite delicious, not too greasy.
He slowly drank a mouthful of the syrup and glanced over at Shan Yu.
It was a good thing Shan Yu had asked Hu Pan to cook small glutinous rice balls. If he had asked for noodles or something, he probably would have had to feed him.
Shan Yu ate very slowly, perhaps because he wasn’t used to using the spoon with his left hand.
Chen Jian wanted to say something, but he never stopped.
Chen Jian even drank all the syrup in his bowl, and Shan Yu was still slowly and earnestly eating.
Just as Chen Jian was contemplating whether to chew on the ginger slices in his bowl as well, Shan Yu finally put down his spoon and asked, “What did you want to say?”
He did want to say something.
But with Shan Yu suddenly asking like that, he felt like he had been fixing his hair in someone’s car window for ages, only for the person to roll down the window…
“Can’t you eat anymore?” Chen Jian asked.
He felt that Shan Yu probably knew what he wanted to ask.
He had to be unpredictable.
Although he didn’t know why he had to be unpredictable.
“I can eat a few more,” Shan Yu looked at the small glutinous rice balls in his bowl. “But I only want to eat the hawthorn-filled ones. I can’t tell them apart, they look the same as the sesame ones.”
“This one,” Chen Jian looked and pointed at a small glutinous rice ball. “This one, and this one… they’re all hawthorn.”
“How can you tell?” Shan Yu asked.
“The color is different. The sesame ones aren’t as white as the hawthorn ones,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu stared at the small glutinous rice balls for a while longer, then finally turned to look at him. “Pick out the sesame ones and eat them. Leave the hawthorn ones for me.”
“…Mmm.” Chen Jian took the spoon from his hand and, one by one, scooped the sesame-peanut ones into his own bowl.
“What did you want to say just now?” Shan Yu asked.
Chen Jian paused as he was scooping the last small glutinous rice ball. Only after placing it in his own bowl did he say, “How long did you wait at Xiao Dou’er’s house?”
Shan Yu smiled. “Just asking that?”
“Mmm,” Chen Jian nodded. “Hu Pan said you arrived at seven.”
“I didn’t pay attention to the time. I just went over after I couldn’t reach you on the phone,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian paused again. He noticed that Shan Yu’s voice seemed a bit hoarse.
“Were you in the yard the whole time?” he asked. “Did you go inside?”
“Grandma was sleeping, why would I go in?” Shan Yu said.
“You could have gone into my room. My room is never locked,” Chen Jian said. “You were just standing in that strong wind the whole time?”
“Xiao Dou’er didn’t tell me,” Shan Yu said.
“She’s only five. You expect her to entertain you?” Chen Jian sighed and took out the cold medicine. “Hurry up and take this. I feel like you’ve already caught a cold.”
“I don’t have a cold,” Shan Yu said. “My voice is hoarse because I haven’t been resting well these past few days.”
“It’s when you don’t rest well that you’re prone to catching a cold. There’s no conflict,” Chen Jian said.
“Are you jinxing me?” Shan Yu took the medicine and tried to open the box with one hand.
Chen Jian took the medicine from him, popped a pill out into his hand, and went to pour him a glass of water.
Shan Yu took the medicine, then finished the rest of the small glutinous rice balls and drank all the syrup from the salad bowl.
Chen Jian looked at him, somewhat shocked. “Are you full?”
“I feel like I’m going to puke already,” Shan Yu said.
“Then why did you drink it all so cleanly?” Chen Jian asked.
“Isn’t all that ginger in there to prevent colds?” Shan Yu said. “If I don’t drink it all, you’ll just jinx me again later.”
“I didn’t…” Chen Jian was a little speechless. “Alright then.”
He finished the small glutinous rice balls in his own bowl, not leaving any for the dog. Xiao Dou’er’s grandma had said that dogs couldn’t eat glutinous rice food; it would stick to their intestines.
“Did you distribute the gifts?” Shan Yu stood up, rubbing his stomach and stretching his arms.
“Mmm,” Chen Jian nodded and shook the small lucky bag. “I kept this.”
“I have a separate gift for you,” Shan Yu said.
For some reason, Chen Jian felt the tips of his ears getting a little hot again.
Shan Yu took a long box tied with a small bow from his desk and handed it over.
“What is it?” Chen Jian felt he shouldn’t ask, but couldn’t help it. “Is it expensive?”
“Not expensive,” Shan Yu said. “You won’t accept it if it’s expensive, right?”
“It’s not that…” Chen Jian didn’t quite know what to say.
“Then it’s expensive,” Shan Yu said.
Are you playing with me, Boss?
Chen Jian didn’t speak. He looked at the box; it was all in English, but he recognized the word “hand”…
Hand cream? He breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he took out the hand cream inside, just by looking at the fancy packaging design, he knew it wasn’t cheap. He looked at Shan Yu.
“Over two hundred,” Shan Yu leaned against the desk. “If you think it’s too expensive, rub it on your face.”
“I don’t use anything that expensive on my face either,” Chen Jian said.
“Fuck,” Shan Yu was rendered speechless.
After a while, Shan Yu asked again, “How much is the hand cream you usually use?”
Chen Jian looked at him. “Ten yuan for three tubes.”
Shan Yu also looked at him, stunned for a long moment before nodding. “Impressive.”
Chen Jian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is it really three-something a tube?” Shan Yu started laughing too.
“That’s not how you calculate it,” Chen Jian said, laughing. “It’s four and a half for one, but you get three for ten.”
“Use it, see if there’s a difference,” Shan Yu said.
“You used mine that day,” Chen Jian unscrewed the cap and squeezed a little onto his hand. “Is there a difference from what you usually use?”
“I don’t usually use this,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian glanced at him.
“Chen Yuluoyan,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian smiled and slowly rubbed his hands.
“How is it?” Shan Yu walked over, lay down on the sofa, and pillowed his arms.
“It smells nice,” Chen Jian said.
“What’s the use of smelling nice? Is it good to use?” Shan Yu said.
“The truth?” Chen Jian asked.
Shan Yu clicked his tongue.
“It’s pretty good, not that sticky,” Chen Jian said.
“You’re learning bad habits, Manager,” Shan Yu looked at him.
Chen Jian smiled, screwed the cap back on, put it back in the box, and turned his head. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian put away the hand cream and prepared to take the bowls downstairs.
Shan Yu watched him, arms pillowed. “Hey, Manager.”
“Mmm?” Chen Jian replied.
“Report on your work,” Shan Yu said.
“Oh,” Chen Jian put down the bowls and thought for a moment. “Let’s start with the big things…”
“So there were big things?” Shan Yu interrupted him.
“…They’re relatively bigger things,” Chen Jian said.
“So there were things, and they can even be ranked by size,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian fell silent.
Shan Yu didn’t speak either, just looked at him.
“They weren’t big enough to disturb your personal trip,” Chen Jian looked at him too. “I didn’t know what you were doing, or if it was convenient for you to check messages…”
“Try next time,” Shan Yu closed his eyes.
“…Mmm,” Chen Jian agreed.
“Go on,” Shan Yu said.
“Zhou Lecheng from 102 came to talk to me. He posted on a forum, documenting his travels after being diagnosed with terminal cancer…” Chen Jian said.
“Mmm,” Shan Yu replied.
“The post has a lot of followers,” Chen Jian said. “He wrote about the guesthouse, but he never mentioned where it was, nor did he mention our names. A lot of people want to know. He said if we’re willing, he’ll… reveal it before he dies. If we’re not willing…”
“It will be revealed even if we’re not willing,” Shan Yu said.
“It won’t,” Chen Jian said. “He’s a nice person. He never even mentioned that someone committed suicide here.”
“It won’t be him who reveals it, but others,” Shan Yu said.
“Who?” Chen Jian was taken aback.
“Whoever told him someone died here,” Shan Yu said, “is the one who might reveal it for him—that this place is a haunted house.”
“Fuck,” Chen Jian had never thought of that at all.
When Zhou Lecheng went to the fourth floor to find that room, none of them had had any interaction with him, let alone told him about it. So Zhou Lecheng must have heard it from someone else.
“If it was someone from the town who said it, it’s fine,” Shan Yu said. “But it’s also possible that one of the families inside saw the post. After all, it’s a travel log.”
“Mmm,” Chen Jian frowned.
“So if he wants to reveal it, let him,” Shan Yu said. “At least he’s saying good things about us.”
“Mmm,” Chen Jian nodded.
“What else?” Shan Yu still had his eyes closed.
“A sister checked into the second floor to catch a cheater,” Chen Jian said.
“Mmm.”
“The cheater was staying at Sui Yun. She succeeded, and we went over with her. I was afraid she’d be at a disadvantage alone,” Chen Jian said.
“Mmm.”
“She checked out yesterday…” Chen Jian said.
“Mmm.”
“The town sent out a notice, requiring each guesthouse to send someone to attend a fire safety knowledge training class,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu didn’t speak.
“I want to send Chen Erhu,” Chen Jian said. “He’s still in a bad mood these past two days. Let him do something that sounds high-class.”
Shan Yu still didn’t speak.
“I got a call from the driving instructor,” Chen Jian glanced at Shan Yu. “The medical check-up and everything is done. I’m taking the written test the day after tomorrow…”
Shan Yu still had his eyes closed, not speaking or moving.
“One, two, three, four, five,” Chen Jian said, “going up the mountain to fight a tiger.”
Shan Yu still lay there quietly.
Asleep?
Chen Jian didn’t speak again. He waited for a while, but there was still no movement from Shan Yu. From his breathing, it seemed he was asleep, perhaps because he was tired and had taken cold medicine.
“I’m going down now, okay?” Chen Jian said.
After a few seconds of pause, he very carefully stood up. He was about to take the bowls but stopped. Shan Yu was just wearing a shirt and lying on the sofa. Even with the heating on, it would probably still get cold in the middle of the night.
He hesitated for a moment, then tiptoed towards the bedroom inside.
He hadn’t been in this room since Shan Yu arrived. Now, holding his breath and tiptoeing in, he had the strong feeling of being a thief.
He tried his best to quickly grab a thin blanket from the bed, turned to stride back, but after taking one step, he stopped himself. The fall on the stairs just now still made his thigh muscle ache.
“Shan Yu?” He stood by the sofa, holding the thin blanket.
Shan Yu was still in the same position, not having moved at all.
He was really asleep.
He took a breath, held it, and slowly covered Shan Yu with the blanket.
A burglar breaking into a house and finding someone inside probably wouldn’t be this careful.
He didn’t even know why.
He just felt that if Shan Yu suddenly woke up, it would be very awkward.
Fortunately, he didn’t wake up.
Shan Yu was sleeping quite soundly.
He turned, took the bowls from the coffee table, and walked to the door. Before turning off the light, he glanced back at the sofa.
The hug on the small path suddenly appeared in his mind without any warning.
The feeling of blood rushing to his head made him quickly turn off the light.
But the tactile sensation of that hug still lingered clearly on his shoulders and arms.
He held the bowls, leaned against the adjacent wall, and let out a soft sigh.
“Did you get scolded?”
A voice from nearby startled him, almost making him fling the bowls in his hands.
When he turned his head, he realized it was Chen Erhu.
“No.” He held the bowls and walked towards the stairs.
“I heard from Sanbing that Boss Shan was injured. I was thinking of going to ask about it,” Chen Erhu said.
“Tomorrow,” Chen Jian said as he quickly walked down the stairs. “He’s asleep.”
“Oh,” Chen Erhu followed him downstairs. “He really didn’t scold you?”
“Why would he scold me?” Chen Jian said.
“I saw your face was red with anger,” Chen Erhu said.
Say one more word and see if I don’t punch your head red.
