t.i.tle
How To Thank You For Saving Me
Author
Retrospect
Publisher
CP 长佩文学
Translator
ECirce
Chapter 7
Infrastructure in the village was generally fairly outdated. People taking shower normally just wash themselves over in the backyard. Now that it was raining, one could only did the most basic washing-up indoors. Yan Zhuo took the warm towel from Shen Ji, as the white mist rose up from the wooden tub. Undoing the b.u.t.tons with one hand, Yan Zhuo looked at the other towel left on the brink of the tub. He then glanced at Shen Ji, ears blushed.
Shen Ji neither looked back at him nor took off his clothes before walking out with his toiletries. Yan Zhuo pulled his shirt to the shoulders as they collapsed. Taking off clothes in a rush, he cleaned himself with the towel. Then he heard Shen Ji talking to his uncle outside. "Is there enough water?" said his uncle, "No need to be sparing. Here"s another pot of it."
Yan Zhuo leaned slightly forward. Shen Ji only replied briefly, "That"s fine." His voice was not at a distance—there was only a door between them. Yan Zhuo smirked and dipped the towel into the tub, dried it again, and cleaned himself.
He was bending down to wash his legs, with only underwear on, when Shen Ji walked in. His back was turned to the door, the pair of well-shaped legs exposed. ‘Put your clothes on,’ Shen Ji commanded as he tossed a shirt towards him, ‘it’s cold with the rain.’
A sneeze came out of Yan Zhuo"s mouth before any retort. Putting up his shirt with some reluctance, he said, "It’s the water."
Shen Ji mumbled in reply as he made the bed and came over to the bath. Yan Zhuo was trying to fish up his toiletries from the suitcase, but his stare was fixed on Shen Ji. Undistracted, Shen Ji went on to take off his shirt, well-shaped torso exposed. Just one pa.s.sing glance made his cheeks and ears burn a little. He grabbed his toiletries and jumped up, "I"ll go brush my teeth." And he was standing outside before he"d realized.
Somewhat dispirited, Yan Zhuo stooped and stared at the ground as the rain gather into numerous streams that flowed into the sewer. Shen Ji"s uncle gave him some water for a wash, which he did beside the sewer. When he went back in, Shen Ji was also done washing and chucked the water out.
The shirt was put back on, slightly soaked and seen-through. Yan Zhuo felt his spirit raised a little as he let his stare get bold for a brief moment. Darkness followed the rain a little earlier than usual, so he was in bed as soon as he got changed. Shen Ji walked over after he turned the lights off. Yan Zhuo stirred to leave some more s.p.a.ce for him.
There was barely enough s.p.a.ce for two, on a bed that was only marginally bigger than a single. Before Yan Zhuo was able to press his body closer to the freezing wall, he was stopped by an arm. "Move over a bit." Whispered Shen Ji as Yan Zhuo lost his breath a little. It was indeed a brief moment, and the warmth from Shen Ji"s palm stayed long after the touch was gone. Yan Zhuo hugged himself with both arms.
He could only see Shen Ji"s silhouette even after his eyes got used to the darkness. Shen Ji tugged at the blanket and tried to feel Yan Zhuo"s shoulder, in case the blanket could not cover both of them. His breathes were suffused with scent from Shen Ji. "It was cold at night here in the mountains," Shen Ji pressed a hand on the blanket and stopped him stirring, "Don"t move around, or it may slip off."
Yan Zhuo could not help but caught his breath. As a result, he could hear that Shen Ji was asleep after a while. Tiredness came over him as he counted Shen Ji"s breathes, so he turned and pressed his chest on Shen Ji"s arm. He felt much warmer than Yan Zhuo, and the difference in temperature was noticeable even when they were so close under the same blanket. It was not long until he fell asleep, feeling as if immersed in a warm bath.
Perhaps a troubled mind was to blame. Yan Zhuo was awake as soon as he heard the rooster crowing the next day. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before realizing that he got the whole blanket. Shen Ji came in with a hot towel, which he handed to Yan Zhuo, still slumberous, "Have a wash."
Yan Zhuo made an unintelligible noise and took the towel. "Come out for breakfast when you"re ready," said Shen Ji as he had done washing his face.
The sleepiness had backed down. He leapt to his feet and put on a new shirt, "Am I late?" And he was in jeans before he finished. He"s in trouble, thought Yan Zhuo. It was he who insisted being brought along, and he"s slept in the very first day, what will Shen Ji"s families, his uncle and his grandmother think of him?
"It"s five in the morning," said Shen Ji, "a while till breakfast."
Yan Zhuo uttered a sound in amazement and checked the time. It was ten to five. He ruffled his hair.
There was a little girl at the breakfast table with Shen Ji"s uncle and aunt—she was their daughter, and her name was Shen YanEr. Shen Ji was barely seated when he was dragged aside by his uncle, who told him that granny was awake. Yan Zhuo"s eyes followed them to the door, but no matter how hard he tried to peek through it, everything behind that barely opened door was blurred. He could not even tell if it was Shen Ji or just the furniture.
Shen Ji"s aunt received him with warmth. There was more rice in the portion of porridge served to him. Yan Zhuo thanked her as she handed the bowl to him. Shen Ji"s relatives were curious about him, but too much inquisitiveness would seem uncomely; the right amount of hospitality would suffice. Being a young kid, however, Shen YanEr did not know of such intricate etiquette and was eager to ask what she wanted, "Are you from A City?"
"Yeah," smiled Yan Zhuo as he petted her head.
"My aunt (1) said cousin was from A City, too," she continued. Shen Ji"s aunt looked at her as if in alarm and asked, "How can cousin be from A City? Where is he now, hmm?"
Shen YanEr"s eyes blinked. "Auntie said it," she insisted.
"Kids don"t know what they"re talking about," said Shen Ji"s aunt to Yan Zhuo apologetically. Being told that what she believed was a lie hurt her feelings so much that Shen YanEr burst into tears. "Auntie said it," she cried, "auntie said it." Shen Ji"s aunt went back into the room, carrying her daughter in arms, "Got tears all over your face," she whispered in a soothing tone, "you wanna go to school like this?"
Yan Zhuo felt his appet.i.te gone all in a sudden. That exchange between the mother and the daughter gave out enough clues for him to tell that Shen Ji was the "cousin" Shen YanEr was talking about. He tilted his head aside and saw Shen Ji standing right there. It was hard to tell, from his impa.s.sive complexion, how long he had been there for. Shen Ji petted Yan Zhuo"s head as he walked over and took up his own portion of the unfinished breakfast, "We plan to go hiking the day after."
Yan Zhuo looked at him. "What about today and tomorrow, then?"
Translator’s note:
(1) The ‘uncle’ this story has been referring to so far is 二叔, literally the second uncle (or the younger brother of Shen’s father). The aunt referred to by this uncle’s daughter is 三姑, the third aunt, or the youngest sister of Shen’s father. I can’t think of an expression that may clearly deliver the full meaning but not at the expense of colloquial naturalness. It’d be great if there is any alternative that I did not know of.