Are You Addicted?

As they were driving the cars toward their random destination, Bai Luo Yin suddenly made a phone call to Gu Hai and asked, "If we keep heading west, we won"t be able to see the sea anymore, right?"

"Not necessarily. If we keep on driving, we"ll eventually reach Western Europe. You can also see the sea there."

Bai Luo Yin remained silent for a long time before faintly saying, "What if I say I want to go to a town that has a sea?"

As he continued driving, Gu Hai turned his head slightly at the rear view mirror to glance over at Bai Luo Yin who was driving the other vehicle, yet he did not respond. A short while later, his foot abruptly pressed against the brake pedal, halting the car in the middle of the road as if to make an emergency stop. This in turn nearly caused Bai Luo Yin to hit his car from behind.

Suddenly, Gu Hai got out of the car and angrily made his way toward the front of Bai Luo Yin"s car.

"Get out!" He shouted as he knocked on the car window.

Bai Luo Yin opened the car door, but just as he was about to get out, his head was enveloped by a powerful pressure. Both of Gu Hai"s hands reached out and took hold of Bai Luo Yin"s face. His sharp and fierce gaze shot invisible arrows straight at Bai Luo Yin"s countenance.

 "Why didn"t you say that a moment ago?"

 A seemingly annoyed atmosphere framed Bai Luo Yin"s expression the entire time. "I wasn"t really thinking much about it then."

"Wasn"t thinking about it? You think it"ll just disappear if you didn"t think about it?" Gu Hai said as if to lecture him one word at a time, "You say this now after we"ve driven west for over 300 kilometers already? Do you know how much gas we"ve burned out during these 300 kilometers? Do you know how many breakfasts we could"ve eaten with all that gas? Really now……you know don"t know how expensive daily necessities are when you"ve never been in charge of a family. Seeing how wasteful you are, we won"t even have enough for ten days. By then, we would have no choice but to go back!"

Bai Luo Yin did not utter a word. The corner of his eyes simply narrowed into a 45 degree angle as he stared down attentively at the zipper on Gu Hai"s pants.

"I"m talking to you! Are you listening?" Gu Hai grabbed Bai Luo Yin"s head and lifted it up again using a deceitful expression to threaten him.

Bai Luo Yin tried to suppress his laughter to the point that his internal organs began to hurt.

Gu Hai stuck his st.u.r.dy chest out, adopting a stern posture as he berated the other boy, "Stop being all happy and cute with me. Act proper!"

The sound of Bai Luo Yin"s continuous laughter immediately transmitted throughout the open s.p.a.ce. This joyous vocalization was so bright that even Gu Hai was pulled into a spell of smiles and laughter himself. In an attempt to try and control his own laughter, Gu Hai"s hand reached out with the intention of wanting to strike Bai Luo Yin, but Bai Luo Yin—being one step ahead of him—quickly ran away. Not surprisingly, Gu Hai"s hand grasped the air before he looked up, then he ran after Bai Lou Yin, closely behind him.

When Bai Luo Yin quickened his pace and ran around the car, Gu Hai also sped up and went a full round after him. After a few more rounds, Gu Hai finally realized that even if he keeps on chasing like this, he would never be able to catch Bai Luo Yin sooner. Quickly taking note of Bai Luo Yin"s pace and his position on the other side, Gu Hai approximated the timing. Then he leapt onto the roof of the car, flipped over and from there took hold of Bai Luo Yin, locking him tight into a hug.

"What can I say for you to be good?" Gu Hai grumbled affectionately, "We"ve already driven this far. If we were to turn back now, that"s just wrong!"

"If we take another route back, we"ll be able to see different sceneries."

"It"s pitch black, what"s there to see huh? Besides, wouldn"t it take even longer to go another route?"

Bai Luo Yin hesitated for moment. There was a touch of sadness in his voice once he was able to speak again, "How about we just forget about it? Let"s just continue driving west."

Gu Hai looked bitterly at Bai Luo Yin for a while when suddenly his hand slammed on the car.

"Forget it, let"s go east!"

Hearing those words, Bai Luo Yin exposed a brightly lit victorious smile.

The two wanted to sit in the same car and have something to eat first before heading out again. It was obvious to see that once the trunk of the car was opened, it was full of food and nothing else. They carried a large bag and sat in the driver and pa.s.senger seats to stuff their faces.

Gu Hai took out a small milk carton. But, just as he inserted the straw for a drink, Bai Luo Yin s.n.a.t.c.hed it away and sipped from it in his own mouth instead.

"Look at you! You"re so lazy. I have to put the straw in for you just to drink milk."

After saying that, he was about to grab another carton when Bai Luo Yin blocked him. Bai Luo Yin turned his body around and took out a carton of warm milk from inside an electric heating container then pa.s.sed it over to Gu Hai.

"Drink this."

Gu Hai"s expression became slightly sluggish, refusing to take the carton. Noting this rebellious act, Bai Luo Yin shoved it directly into his hands, "You"ve been starving for so many days, it"s best not to drink the cold one."

Silence.

Gu Hai"s heart was just like the carton of milk in his hand, warm, to the point that it was burning his insides in flames. Each scarlet flame that flickered radiated heat.

"When did you heat this up for me?"

"Just a moment ago, before we got out of the car. Give it a taste, is it warm enough?"

Complying with Bai Luo Yin"s words, Gu Hai inserted the straw and drank a mouthful. There was a small smile at the corner of his lips. With just one taste, he felt that it wasn’t milk that he was drinking, instead they were his feelings that have been deeply moved. The look on Gu Hai"s face softened as he gently took hold of Bai Luo Yin"s head and lay a kiss on his rosy lips. Bai Luo Yin"s lips were now covered with those "feelings of being deeply moved"……

After dinner, the two found a hotel to spend the night. Early the next day, they started their journey again. They drove into the night of the following day until they finally reached Qingdao[1]. There, they decided to stay for the time being.

While the cars traveled along the side of the road, Bai Luo Yin could hear the sound of the raging waves reverberating against his ears. As he rolled down his car window, his eyes were met with the endless sea that stretched out into the horizon. Seeing this, Bai Luo Yin was unable to hold back the excitement that welled up at the bottom of his heart. He immediately stopped his car on the roadside and began to walk toward the beach not too far off in the distance.

Gu Hai also stopped his car and followed Bai Luo Yin down.

"It"s beautiful."

Only those two words were needed to express Bai Luo Yin"s feelings at this very moment.

Under a sky of perfect midnight velvet, sprinkled with stars so brilliant that they drew the eyes heaven bound, both boys looked out at the sight ahead.

Although it was already night time, the magnificent sea that surged forth nevertheless covered every corner that they looked at. Their hearts and minds opened up even more as they stood at the seaside, feeling the wind brush by.

"I don"t want to leave." Bai Luo Yin lay down on the sandy sh.o.r.e, "I want to sleep here tonight and watch the sunrise at dawn."

Gu Hai"s face collapsed with defeat, "Hey, can you let me enjoy the feeling of lying on a bed for a moment?"

From the tunnel to the open road, he had nearly forgotten what a pillow and blanket actually looked like!

Nonetheless, Bai Luo Yin still had on a reluctant appearance.

Gu Hai urged him, "This beach is no good. Qingdao has a golden beach that"s pretty good. I"ll take you there for a look tomorrow. Right now, come and help me find a place to sleep at. We still have a lot of things to tidy up!"

In just a minute, Bai Luo Yin was sweet talked by Gu Hai back to the car.

After pulling out two fake ident.i.ty cards, they successfully settled into a hotel.

Just as they finished showering and had lain down on the bed, Gu Yang"s call came through.

"Where have you run off to?"

Gu Hai"s hand was trailing along Bai Luo Yin"s neck before he caressed his bare and smooth back while speaking, "Qingdao."  

"What?" Gu Yang"s tone did not seem impressed. "I struggled for three days to give you two three precious days, and you"ve only ran off to Shandong?" [2]

The annoyance in his voice is obvious even to Gu Hai as he began to give him an explanation. "The first day we had to pack up, set up a false ident.i.ty, and change our license plates……this hideous mess delayed us by one day. The second day, we finally set out. Originally, we had come to an agreement to travel west but the little b.a.s.t.a.r.d suddenly changed his mind and said he wanted to go to a place that has the sea so we had to turn back around to another road. I"m quite familiar to Qingdao since I came here before. We"ll be staying here for the time being."

One can just imagine Gu Yang"s mood at this point just from hearing those words.

"Ge, why aren"t you speaking?" asked Gu Hai.

Gu Yang went silent for a long while until he coldly replied: "Your father has found out that you"re gone. I reckon he will launch an operation to hunt you down soon. If there"s no need to, don"t run around everywhere. Stay there for the time being and if things become suspicious, move on to another place again."

A cautious look painted itself deeply in Gu Hai"s eyes as he answered, "I know."

"Where"s Bai Luo Yin?" Gu Yang then asked.

Gu Hai turns to look at his side.

Hmm…Yin Zi was lying here just a moment ago. Where did he run off to now?

"That"s fine. There"s no need to look. Just tell me his phone number later."

"What do you need his phone number for?"

Gu Hai hadn"t finished speaking yet but the person on the other side had already hung up.

A moment later, Bai Luo Yin returned after having gone to the balcony to give Bai Han Qi a call.

"Come here, I have something to ask you." Gu Hai beckoned for Bai Luo Yin go to him.

Complying to his words, Bai Luo Yin casually lay down besides Gu Hai. "Speak!"

"Did you look to my brother for help?"

Bai Luo Yin nodded his head, "Yeah."

The color in Gu Hai"s eyes gradually sunk before his line of sight locked with Bai Luo Yin"s face.

"Did he make it difficult for you?"

"Make it difficult for me?" Bai Luo Yin pretended to be confused as his brows pulled together creating a few soft lines, "What difficulty are you referring to?"

"For example…… did he seize the opportunity and propose a severe condition that you needed to satisfy?"

Bai Luo Yin"s mind went into utter shock.

Gu Hai understands Gu Yang extremely well too, huh?

"How can that be?"

Bai Luo Yin laughed recklessly, not in the less concerned, "You"re his close brother. It"s only normal that he should go and help you out. Is it worthwhile for him to set a condition for me?"

"He really didn"t say anything?" Gu Hai persistently asked, determined with his words.

Looking squarely at him, Bai Luo Yin firmly shook his head, "He didn’t. When I told him the situation, he agreed immediately."

"As expected!" Gu Hai bitterly slammed his fist on the bed.

A fearful tremble gripped Bai Luo Yin"s chest as those two words sounded off.

Is it possible that this lie has been exposed?

In the end, Gu Hai said with a darkened face: "As expected, that f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d treats you differently! Normally when someone finds him for help, he always sets a condition. I"m no exception. He actually gave you the green light……"

Bai Luo Yin remained silent, completely dumbfounded at himself. If he had known earlier that Gu Hai was going to be jealous over something like this, he would have told him the truth instead.

"I"m telling you, you"re not allowed to tell him your current phone number!" Gu Hai intentionally told him repeatedly.

"Why would I tell him my number?"

"That"s good." Gu Hai then snorts, "You can"t sneak around and use my phone to contact him either!"

Listening to Gu Hai"s repeated nagging, Bai Luo Yin became angry at the statement, "What would I contact him for?"

A pleasant smile of satisfaction kissed Gu Hai"s lips as he used the blanket to cover Bai Luo Yin"s head.

"Go to sleep."

The next day, the two took a ferry to Huangdao"s gold sands beach. [3]

Since it was an off season for tourism, there were not many tourists. The sea water was a lot more crystal clear than before while the sand was even more clean and exquisite. When Bai Luo Yin first set foot on the beach, it felt exactly like stepping on soft cotton.

What Gu Hai had said was correct, this beach was truly more beautiful and magnificent than the one that they had seen last night. Once the two found a quiet corner to sit down on, Bai Luo Yin stretched his hand out to touch a small sh.e.l.l. He picked it up and waved it back and forth in front of Gu Hai"s eyes, then flings it back into the sea. It was awe-inspiring that such a small sh.e.l.l can also create a small splash that blossomed out into a small wave that faded into the calm sea.

"AHH!!!" Without warning, Bai Luo Yin roared into the open s.p.a.ce as if to relieve himself of a heavy burden. His voice loud yet soft, trickled into Gu Hai"s ear like a grand symphony being played out. After shouting, Bai Luo Yin"s heart and mind was overflowed with a sense of happiness that he hasn"t felt for a long time.

The people around here can casually look all they want. I don"t know any of you anyways.

Translator"s Note

[1] Qīngdǎo – Combining fresh sea air and dashing good looks, Qīngdǎo (青岛) - the name means ‘Green Island’ - is a rare modern city that has managed to preserve some of its past while angling a dazzling modern face to the future. Its blend of concession-era and modern architecture puts China"s standard white-tile and blue-gla.s.s developments to shame. The winding cobbled streets, historic German architecture and red-capped hillside villas are captivating and there’s so much to enjoy in the city"s diverse food scene, headlined by the ubiquitous home town beer Tsingtao. Meanwhile, the seaside aspect keeps the town cooler than the inland swelter zones during summer, and slightly warmer in winter. [lonely planet]

[2] Shandong - a coastal province of the People’s Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Qingdao is a city in eastern Shandong Province, it is also the largest city in that province.

[3] Gold Sands Beach – located in the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula of sea sh.o.r.e in Phoenix island Huangdao District of Qingdao. It is near Yellow Sea in the south. Its shape is like the crescent. Gold Sands Beach is more than 3500 metres long and 300 metres wide. Because that the water is clear, the beach is flat, sand is like powder and the colour and l.u.s.tre is as gold, it is named “Gold Sands Beach”, which is the largest and most beautiful beach, known as “the first beach in Asia”.

Are you Addicted?