The sun descended in the west, blanketing the world in a layer of sunset glow. The golden evening light spilled on a bunch of tired but excited faces. The air seemed to have become completely still as the autumn scenery stretched on before them. Silence fell over everyone, submerging them in tranquil peace.
The setting sun returned to the mountain, unveiling curtains to the night and the starry sky that washed away all the daytime clamor. Every now and then, autumn insects would make some noise. The breeze pa.s.sed through the forest and caressed their faces. The air was so fresh that one couldn"t help wanting to take a deep breath. In the dark night without the city lights, young hearts could find those innocent flavors of life more easily.
The group carefully studied the map before deciding on their route for tomorrow. However, they found out that they were still nearly one hundred kilometers away from their second stop. Everyone estimated that they had unexpectedly walked only more than ten kilometers after a full day of frolicking. In a flash, their expressions turned grim.
"Why don"t we go our separate ways?" Zhang An"an asked in a quiet voice. "Guys and girls are ranked separately, after all."
"I won"t abandon Wan Xin," Zheng Kai muttered.
"Who needs you to take care of me?" Chen Wanxin retorted and sat even closer to Zhao Yuan.
"What about marching at night?" w.a.n.g Xiang asked, waving the flashlight.
"No, Zhao Yuan"s injuries haven"t been dealt with yet," Chen Wanxin said firmly.
"It"s fine. There"s nothing wrong with me," Zhao Yuan said.
Seeing as no one made any objection, the group set out to tidy up their tents and the like before continuing their journey.
w.a.n.g Xiang, who led the group with a flashlight in hand, looked excited. He pointed the beam of the flashlight at the middle of the map. It was the only main road that would lead them to the second depot. Their exhaustion was immediately washed away. At that moment, they were focused on getting as far as they could. Even the chatty girls had stopped talking to focus on walking as they daydreamed about how romantic it would be to run into fireflies in early autumn. Occasionally, w.a.n.g Xiang would stop to beam the flashlight at his face and deliberately distorted his face but he would frighten no one. Zhang An"an even pinched his face and joked, "Do you think you"re Zheng Kai?" Suddenly, Zheng Kai understood what it meant to be shot even though one was lying down in Stephen Chow"s movie.
When night fell, the girls could no longer endure their exhaustion. Zheng Kai found a sheltered meadow and told everyone to stop and prepare to rest.
However, a problem immediately cropped up. Lin Wenxi didn"t have a tent.
"Wenxi, you can join me tonight." Zhao Yuan pitched the tent and stood beside Lin Wenxi calmly. Chen Wanxin was trying to persuade Zhao Yuan to deal with his wounds first when Shu Xiaoman suddenly ran over to them. She leaned down with her arms behind her back and cast Lin Wenxi a clouded gaze. "Wenxi, join me tonight."
"Wenxi, join me tonight." Zhang An"an, who stood next to Shu Xiaoman, copied her friends" actions mechanically.
"Are you two concubines waiting to be the king"s bedtime companion?" Chen Wanxin said unhappily.
"Wenxi, join me tonight." w.a.n.g Xiang was looking at Zhang An"an. The words that left his mouth seemed to carry a different kind of meaning.
Zheng Kai frowned and left them to patrol again with a flashlight in hand.
Lin Wenxi found some hay by himself and spread some clothes on top of it. He then prepared to go to sleep.
"Stop teasing him, all of you." Zhao Yuan went over to Lin Wenxi and helped him pack his clothes into his knapsack. Suddenly, Lin Wenxi felt as if he was soaring. He found himself being picked by Zhao Yuan and carried horizontally over to the latter"s tent. This was the legendary princess carry. For as far as Lin Wenxi could remember, this was his first time being held like this. He stared at Zhao Yuan in confusion and saw that Zhao Yuan"s eyes were full of mischief.
Shu Xiaoman and Zhang An"an kept screeching, causing several tired birds in the forest to cry in protest. They quieted down again. Chen Wanxin stood in place motionless. In the cover of the night, no one could tell what kind of expression she was wearing.
"You don"t have to go so far, do you..." Lin Wenxi said with difficulty.
"I"m so sleepy that I don"t have the mood to fight you over this. This is the only way for you to follow me obediently. Otherwise, struggle and scream if you have the ability to. You can cry "No! No!" like a little sissy." Zhao Yuan stared calmly at Lin Wenxi"s blushing face. He leaned over to pinch Lin Wenxi"s nose. "Smells good. Natural aromatherapy, I see. Looks like I"ll have a good sleep tonight."
For a moment, Lin Wenxi had no way of countering him. The corners of his mouth twitched. Suddenly, he took a bite out of Zhao Yuan"s arm. He bit ruthlessly, leaving an incredibly deep mark on his skin. Zhao Yuan gritted his teeth and suppressed the pain to continue smiling. "Bite a little harder, won"t you? I guarantee you"ll die of shame when you see it in the future."
Lin Wenxi was still biting Zhao Yuan as he shook his head. He seemed to hear Zhao Yuan"s gentle voice next to his ear, saying, "Be good." Then Zhao Yuan was gone, having entered the tent.
Shu Xiaoman and Zhang An"an broke out in applause.
Shu Xiaoman, Zhang An"an, and w.a.n.g Xiang were already sticking straight outside of Zhao Yuan"s tent. Zheng Kai couldn"t help spitting. He went inside his tent, put out the light, and directly covered his ears.
Not long after, Zhao Yuan lifted the tent curtain and deliberately winked at them. "I can"t take off my clothes. Who among you can help?"
Shu Xiaoman raised her hand and immediately entered the tent. Shortly after, she came out while pouting. "Forget it. Lin Wenxi"s face is so cold that it"s frosted even though everyone"s just playing around. You, don"t act this way." She dragged Zhang An"an away to rest all while looking like she had consumed stimulants. w.a.n.g Xiang turned the word "broken sleeve" (slang for being gay) in his mouth but in a moment of carelessness, he accidentally climbed into Zheng Kai"s tent. Before long, everyone heard w.a.n.g Xiang screaming like a slaughtered pig. The entire tent trembled all over.
Was that tent shaking (euphemism for people having s.e.x in a tent)? Zhang An"an and Shu Xiaoman climbed into Zheng Kai"s tent in shock. For a moment, it was so chaotic that Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi actually enjoyed some measure of peace.
Lin Wenxi sat in silence.
"Did you think I"m acting like a hooligan again? It"s not like you"re a girl." Zhao Yuan lay down with a smug look on his face.
"Are you going to treat your wounds?" Lin Wenxi asked serenely.
"It"s nothing serious. Don"t disturb me," Zhao Yuan said.
Lin Wenxi stepped forward to first inspect Zhao Yuan"s knees.
"Don"t be like this. I"m going to yell. I"ll tell people you"re molesting me." Zhao Yuan posed with both hands hugging his chest, looking like a woman from a decent family who had been violated.
"Scream then." Lin Wenxi kept going despite the fear he felt, until he eventually felt no fear whatsoever.
"Wenxi, I"ll have to take off my pants if you want to check my wounds." Zhao Yuan spread his hands out helplessly, while carefully taking in Lin Wenxi"s expression. Sure enough, Lin Wenxi"s face became tinged pink but he forced himself to calm down. "Take them off then."
"You..." Suddenly, Zhao Yuan felt a deep sense of helplessness.
Zhao Yuan had no choice but to roll his trousers up to his knees. Lin Wenxi saw that the blood on his legs had mostly solidified but the large chunks of broken skin on his knees had been rolled up. Zhao Yuan"s injuries were truly severe. Lin Wenxi then examined Zhao Yuan"s calf and found several sharp cuts. Once again, he would damage Zhao Yuan"s flesh as soon as he touched his skin. He thought for a moment before saying, "Take off your jacket."
Somewhat stunned, Zhao Yuan placed his hands over his chest. "Lin Wenxi, you weren"t like this before."
"This time isn"t like other times. Besides, I"ve already seen it all. It"s just so-so," Lin Wenxi said placidly.
"What do you mean, so-so? Don"t tell me I don"t look good..." Zhao Yuan laughed like a hooligan.
Lin Wenxi nodded in response and then added, "Do you want to take it off yourself or should I?"
"You do it." Zhao Yuan remained still.
The intoxicating breath came close to Zhao Yuan"s neck and he felt a ticklish sensation there. Lin Wenxi was slowly removing Zhao Yuan"s jacket from the waist up. When the motion accidentally sc.r.a.ped against several bloodied scabs on his body, Zhao Yuan felt so much pain that he frowned.
Lin Wenxi saw the four blood-red marks that the rope left behind on Zhao Yuan"s shoulder, waist, and abdomen on both sides. Zhao Yuan"s chest was bruised blue and purple. There were also many scratches with bloodied scabs still present. Lin Wenxi couldn"t help feeling a stab of pain in his heart and his tears nearly fell again. He wondered just what kind of person Zhao Yuan was, to be able to act like nothing was wrong and walk such a long distance with them even when he was suffering such great pain. Just what kind of experience had he acc.u.mulated over the years? How could his strength and physique be forged without enduring all sorts of training?
He applied alcohol on Zhao Yuan"s wounds and disinfected them. He slowly cleaned the scabs and painted Merbromin on every wound. He went over every area meticulously so as not to leave any wound untreated. When it came to Zhao Yuan"s knee, he gently cut off the dead skin with a pair of scissors and applied some medicine on it. Thus, all the injuries on Zhao Yuan"s body were taken care of. For a long time, the two of them didn"t speak as Lin Wenxi worked. Finally, a sweat-drenched Lin Wenxi stopped and put everything way. He then went to sleep in one corner of the tent.
How could Zhao Yuan not notice Lin Wenxi"s gentleness, careful movements, concentration, and worried expression? He couldn"t help feeling a faint ache in his heart. Suddenly, drowsiness swept him and he lay down to sleep. However, the sound of Lin Wenxi"s even breathing was like the rolling of thunder. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn"t sleep.
"Zhao Yuan," Lin Wenxi called for him in a very quiet voice. His eyes were closed and all he could see was his father"s, Lin Ziwei"s, imposing gaze as the latter requested him to finish his cultural studies homework, learn to play the piano, or read all sorts of history books and poetry. Then, it was even more painful memories hidden deep in his consciousness, the kind that he dared not revisit. However, Zhao Yuan being by his side tonight had given him in an incomparable sense of security that allowed him to reminisce. He felt as if those memories weren"t as bitter as he had remembered.
When he graduated high school, a cla.s.smate left a message on his commemorative alb.u.m: "I wish you can always meet the right person at the right time in your life."
These words seemed to have come true.
"Will you be apologizing again?" Zhao Yuan leaned over with an incredibly confident look. He carefully took in Lin Wenxi"s face. It would be too much to call Lin Wenxi a beauty, but he had refined and elegant looks. However, he just had to keep all of his emotions buried under his cold face, never easily exposing them. If he was to call Lin Wenxi ordinary, that would be even more inaccurate. Lin Wenxi had a subtly raised chin, delicate and sharp eyebrows, and a pair of large eyes. Though he had single eyelids, it was effective in the sense that the beauty of double eyelids didn"t distract people from his looks. Instead, people would be more drawn to the profound, limpid eyes underneath. While Zhao Yuan was staring into Lin Wenxi"s eyes, the latter suddenly rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "You only know how to fake being asleep."
"I"ve been faking for half an hour but you"re still not asleep. I got tired of pretending." Zhao Yuan helplessly placed his hands behind his head.
Lin Wenxi kept quiet.
Zhao Yuan got up and unzipped the zipper at the top of the tent. Immediately, the image of the clear moon hanging high in the sky emerged in their sights. The stars that dotted the sky dimmed in an instant, leaving only a splendor that traveled thousands of miles to pour into the small tent. The moon was high up against a backdrop of spa.r.s.e clouds and a clear sky. Lin Wenxi"s heart gradually became clear and tranquil. He smiled faintly and said, "Falling asleep drunk under the same quilt in autumn; traveling hand in hand during the day." Today, whether under the sunset or the splendor of the night, Lin Wenxi truly had a lot that he wished to express.
"So you"re also a fan of cla.s.sical works. You don"t usually reveal your talent, do you?" Zhao Yuan helped tuck Lin Wenxi inside the quilt. Lin Wenxi had already sunken into a very tranquil sleep. Zhao Yuan raised his hands that were used as a pillow earlier but stopped less than one-third of a meter away from Lin Wenxi"s soft and smooth face. The moonlight spilled on his face like a layer of silver powder. His eyelashes trembled ever so slightly as he made a light noise. The first day he arrived at the dormitory, he ought to be a little angry after seeing someone openly s.n.a.t.c.hing the lower bunk. But why did he calm down after seeing his sky-blue mosquito net, seblue bed sheets, and indigo quilt? When he saw him turn around with a smile, he had felt a sudden spark of joy.
"Who was he? Why would he evoke such protective feelings in him?"