Between Us : Chapter 7: Can’t Leave Now

Business at “Murmur” was good in the evening. Wu An swayed her hips behind the circular bar counter, her collar open very low, and the male customers waiting for her to mix their drinks couldn’t help getting an eyeful.

Xu Jue averted his eyes and didn’t look. The singer on stage had a skirt slit all the way to her thigh, and he didn’t look at that either. In the end his gaze settled on Chen Qian’s face. The corner of Chen Qian’s eye that he had rubbed held a hint of moisture, and once the swirling lights passed over it you couldn’t tell anymore.

Chen Qian hung the car keys back in their original spot: “Good afternoon sis, returning your keys.”

“Got it,” Wu An came over to rest after finishing up, propping her face in her hands and smiling at Xu Jue, “where did you pick up this little friend, he’s so handsome.”

“Not picked up.” Chen Qian leaned against the bar, “he’s my nephew, he’s in a bad mood so I brought him here to relax.”

“Nephew huh,” Wu An smiled meaningfully, took a glass and filled it with beer, pushing it over, “sit sit sit, this one’s on sister.”

“He’s still in school, can’t drink too much.” Chen Qian took away the glass, “we’re both hungry, how about you serve up two plates of diced pork rice?”

“Sure,” Wu An lowered her voice, “want me to slip him something?”

“…No, don’t mess around.” Chen Qian felt like Wu An had gone crazy from playing around with her one night stand partners all the time, “we’ll sit at the corner table, have the server bring it over there later.”

The corner was a booth, the lighting not as bright, but sitting there was quite comfortable. It was Xu Jue’s first time in this kind of place. He just found it especially noisy, but this noise was different from school break time, different from his little brother running around at home, different from anywhere else.

Chen Qian went and came back, a bottle of grapefruit juice in his left hand and an empty glass in his right: “Are you an adult yet?”

“Can’t I touch alcohol if I’m not an adult?” Xu Jue was still staring at Chen Qian’s eyes, but the environment was too dark, and he couldn’t tell if the redness at the corners of Chen Qian’s eyes was from the lighting.

Chen Qian used a bottle opener to pry off the cap: “You can, but you can’t have too much.”

“Almost an adult, just a month or two away.” Xu Jue said.

So Chen Qian poured half a glass of grapefruit juice into the empty glass, added a bit of beer, and pushed it in front of Xu Jue: “The first time I touched alcohol I drank it mixed like this, give it a try.”

The food hadn’t arrived yet, and Xu Jue didn’t touch the glass either: “I wasn’t moping today, how did you tell I was in a bad mood?”

“During the scolding today, you clenched your fist.”

Xu Jue’s mood got even worse: “You also think I have violent tendencies?”

“I never thought that,” Chen Qian was still smiling, “I meant, when you’re not understood by others and can’t defend yourself, you really do want to hit someone. But today, I can listen to your side of the story.”

Only a series of crisp sounds that hit the eardrums followed, and Chen Qian pushed a dice cup in front of Xu Jue: “Know how to play? Liar’s dice.”

Xu Jue said he didn’t, so Chen Qian explained the rules to him, demonstrating as he went, his pale five fingers gripping the black dice cup and lifting and setting it down.

It was too hot in the bar. Xu Jue took off his jacket and draped it over his lap. When he raised his eyes he happened to meet Chen Qian’s gaze.

“Got it?” Chen Qian asked.

The pent up frustration quietly drained away from his body bit by bit. Xu Jue also gripped the dice cup, using a bit of force to pull it free from under Chen Qian’s hand: “Let me try a round.”

First round, Xu Jue lost. Chen Qian said: “Why did you hire someone to attend the parent teacher meeting for you? You can answer, or you can drink.”

Xu Jue left the alcohol untouched: “My dad is on a business trip, my mom has her whole heart wrapped around my little brother, she can’t be bothered dealing with my school crap.”

The second round had the same result. Chen Qian asked: “If you had known the punishment would be this heavy, would you still choose to beat that person up if you had another chance?”

Xu Jue said: “Yes, he deserved it.”

The third round was still no contest. Chen Qian asked: “That fight, did you get hurt?”

Xu Jue’s chest felt tight. Even his own mom hadn’t asked him about this: “A purple bruise on my stomach, put some medicine on it and it’ll be fine in a few days.”

He slowly figured out the trick, and finally won the next round back: “You’re so amazing at speeding on that bike, who taught you?”

Chen Qian picked up the glass beside him and drank it to the bottom, then waved for someone to fill it up again.

After that Xu Jue kept winning: “How many times have you come to Wandeng Li?”

Chen Qian drank it dry again with his head down.

Xu Jue felt a bit embarrassed, wanting to intentionally lose a round, but he couldn’t manage it: “Why do you care whether I’m in a good mood or not?”

The glass filled and emptied, intoxicating light and shadow dancing at the bottom. Chen Qian used his fingertip to wipe away the alcohol at the corner of his lips.

When he won the fourth time Xu Jue was vaguely starting to crack, picking something neither light nor heavy: “You’re pretty good at playing, how come your luck turned so bad later?”

Chen Qian’s eyes held hidden drunkenness. Propping his chin on his hand with his elbow on the table, he looked alluring and gentle: “I was letting you win, silly.”

The diced pork rice finally arrived. Chen Qian had drunk his fill of alcohol, and pushed most of his rice into Xu Jue’s plate, eating only two bites himself.

He got up from his seat and walked toward the bar, returning to sit back down not long after, cupping his hands to light the cigarette in his mouth.

The smoke drifting from Chen Qian’s lips was dyed various colors by the lights in the hall. Xu Jue smelled black tea, not at all harsh on the nose.

He shoveled rice into his mouth, looking at Chen Qian’s profile with many more questions bubbling up, but unexpectedly Chen Qian suddenly turned his head: “What time are you going home?”

Whether it was because of the environment or not, Chen Qian’s lips that had held the cigarette were very red, making Xu Jue recall the red cherry on his birthday cake when he was little, the one he had eaten first.

He didn’t want to answer this question, so he picked up the untouched glass and took a sip. The grapefruit juice mixed with alcohol tasted both spicy and bitter, quite ordinary really.

Chen Qian smiled, stubbed out the cigarette, found a straw and stuck it into the bottle, drinking while watching the band perform on stage.

When Wu An passed by, Xu Jue was bent over the table writing in his exercise book, a cleaned plate and five or six empty bottles set aside next to him, while Chen Qian was asleep on the opposite side.

“You’re writing here, is the light enough?” Wu An laughed while playing with her hair, “you come to a bar to let loose, what are you writing homework for, can those brain twisting lousy problems be more fragrant than the beauties on the dance floor?”

“I’ll leave once he’s rested enough.” Xu Jue pointed at Chen Qian.

“Then you can’t leave now, he’s not sleeping, little Qian is drunk.”

Xu Jue didn’t raise his head, calculating while saying: “He’s not drunk, he’s just a bit dizzy.”

“That means he’s drunk. If he opens his eyes later, don’t believe any nonsense he says, he’ll fuss for a bit and then really fall asleep.” Wu An leaned down to take away the empty plates and bottles on the table, her chest intentionally or unintentionally brushing against Xu Jue’s hand holding the pen.

Xu Jue reacted strongly, his upper body jerking backward to create distance: “Can you help us calculate how much we spent, I’ll go settle the bill.”

“So pure and innocent.” Wu An straightened up, “which bar hall lets you enjoy first and pay later, but this meal is on sister.”

The moment Wu An left, Chen Qian lifted his face from his arms, grabbed Xu Jue’s exercise book to look, and it was already full.

“School’s out!” Chen Qian closed the book, got up and snatched Xu Jue’s school uniform to put on, walking out.

The room key was still in the school uniform pocket. If he lost it he couldn’t even stay at the motel tonight. Xu Jue hurriedly stuffed his homework into his bag and strode to catch up. Chen Qian had already pulled the door open and walked out.

Hit by the cold wind, Chen Qian paused on the steps in a daze, then slowed his pace and walked forward.

“Do you remember that snowfall six years ago, it was strangely cold, I hadn’t worn enough clothes.”

How old was Xu Jue six years ago, besides Yunnan City got snow every winter, how could he remember which year was colder: “You stole my jacket, who was colder?”

“Physics was really so hard, the exam time was almost over, and I still couldn’t figure out the last two problems. People who get full marks in physics are all freaks right?”

The physics full scorer didn’t agree: “Can it be harder than English, the papers were being collected and I had only written the opening of my essay.”

“I’m going crazy, I want to kill someone.”

“I felt the same way when my little brother ruined my keyboard.”

The two of them chatted aimlessly out the south gate. Chen Qian suddenly stopped, looking at two figures tussling beside a taxi across the street, lost in thought. Xu Jue asked: “Someone you know?”

There was no time to react at all. That woman who was bare legged even in the dead of winter was already unconscious, and the burly man had shoved her into the car. Soon the taxi sped away in a cloud of dust.

“Don’t know her,” Chen Qian said, “body snatching.”

“That woman died?” Xu Jue was shocked.

“Not literal,” Chen Qian stepped on the tree shadows along the roadside, “look it up online yourself.”

He walked quickly again. In the time it took Xu Jue to pull out his phone and look up a term, Chen Qian had left him far behind. He caught up and pulled the person about to walk into a lamppost toward himself, grasping Chen Qian’s wrist and not letting go: “Why didn’t you help her?”

“Can’t help everyone.” Chen Qian said, “she might not mean what she says, she might be enjoying it. If we run into an aggressive body snatcher we might even face physical threats. Even if the police came, if the person involved isn’t conscious they can’t be questioned about the truth.”

“So you just watched her fall into the abyss with your eyes open?”

“Don’t interrogate me, my head hurts.” Chen Qian shook his hand, “do I owe you money, always grabbing me and not letting go, let go.”

“Then take off my school uniform for me, I’m freezing to death.” Xu Jue used his free hand to pull at Chen Qian’s collar, but was stared at fiercely by the other person: “You want to snatch my body too?”

Those fox eyes were half drunk and half guarded. Xu Jue had clearly had his school uniform stolen, yet he had the illusion that he was taking advantage of someone: “Don’t pin false charges on me.”

Chen Qian took advantage of his loosened grip, broke free and ran forward. The two of them chased and fled for several blocks, finally stopping at Changnian Road Lane Six.

Ever since the men’s three thousand meter race at the freshman year sports meet, Xu Jue hadn’t run such a long distance. The backpack stuffed with homework slipped from his right shoulder. Xu Jue panted, looking at Chen Qian standing under the lightbulb in the alley, bent over and about to straighten up: “Hot now, willing to take off the school uniform?”

The words had just left his mouth when the person under the lightbulb vanished, his school uniform’s hem whipping up and disappearing into the stairwell.

“Part leopard or something…” Xu Jue carried his backpack and followed, taking the stairs three at a time in the dark up to the fifth floor, and before Chen Qian could shut the door he squeezed a leg through the gap in the doorframe, forcing his way into the apartment.

The lights weren’t on. The entire apartment only had moonlight leaking in from the balcony. Xu Jue finally caught Chen Qian at the bedroom door: “I believe what that sister said now, you really are drunk.”

Chen Qian’s wrist went from tense to relaxed in his palm: “I’m home now.”

“Yes, so I should go back to the motel too, otherwise I have nowhere to sleep tonight.” Xu Jue completely gave up on his school uniform now, his other hand reaching toward Chen Qian’s waist, “don’t move, I’ll take the room key and leave.”

“Let me sleep first, I’m so tired.” Chen Qian dodged backward, and Xu Jue was passively pulled along with him toward the bedroom. It was pitch black all around. Xu Jue angrily yanked the person toward himself: “You freaking…”

The words didn’t finish. Xu Jue’s foot tripped on something, and his whole body fell forward without warning, dragging the Chen Qian he had been holding backward too. In his haste he only had time to protect the back of Chen Qian’s head.

Only the sound of the mattress sinking was heard, and the two of them fell onto the bed together. Xu Jue barely managed to brace himself, and a familiar fragrance rushed into his nasal cavity.

In that moment he couldn’t see anything at all. Touch and hearing were both weakened, leaving only heat surging through his entire body, burning him up on this deep winter cold night.