Chapter 5 That was actually sheep poop on the ground…

Li Ai seemed to know that Li Jiacong was the real master of this house, and she needed to change her strategy. So, she quickly burst into tears.

Xiuying, who dotes on her child, immediately coaxed, "Here, have some! Here, have some! Your brother is just teasing you!" She said sternly to Li Jiacong, "You don't like it anyway! Give it to her!"

Li Jiacong was ruthless: "No."

Li Ai cried even harder. Her mother clicked her tongue, trying to comfort Li Ai while reaching for a chicken leg, but Li Jiacong snatched it away with his chopsticks, and Li Ai wailed even louder. Li Sheng sat to the side, shivering and letting out a soft sigh.

The meal was mostly spent amidst Li Ai's sobs. Li Jiacong remained unfazed, finishing his meal before getting off the table and glancing at Li Sheng: "Have you finished eating?"

Li Sheng barely picked at his food, swallowed a bowl of rice dry, and said, "I'm done eating."

Li Jiacong stood up. Before leaving, he glanced at Li Ai, who had finally been comforted by a piece of candy and was hiding behind him eating it. Her big eyes peeked out from under his shoulder, and she looked at him with more respect.

Li Jiacong said to Li Sheng, "Let's go to my room."

Li Sheng nodded.

The room was untidy; the blankets weren't folded, and clothes were scattered all over the kang (heated brick bed). Li Jiazong picked them up and piled them together, clearing a space on the kang for Li Sheng to sit on. He took off his shoes, climbed onto the kang, and lay down on the bulge of his clothes. Looking at Li Sheng sitting on the edge of the kang, his narrow back hunched, he asked, "What work is there this afternoon?"

"Spraying pesticides on the corn cobs."

Li Jiacong said "Oh," and asked, "What time?"

"I have to go soon." He needs to mix the medicine, and after that, he still has to go herd sheep. He's very busy in the afternoon.

Li Jiacong didn't speak. He had just finished eating and figured he'd be sleepy and wouldn't want to go out now. Li Sheng suddenly spoke up: "I can do it all by myself."

The man seemed to know what he was thinking, so he readily agreed, saying, "Then I won't go."

Li Sheng nodded. As they spoke, Li Jiacong noticed that his gaze seemed to be on the low cabinet—where the Walkman was placed. He got up to get it, sat down in the inner seat by the window, and said, "Come on up."

Li Sheng didn't move at first, as if hesitating about something, before taking off his shoes and moving onto the peony-patterned kang (heated brick bed).

"What song do you want to listen to?" Seeing him dawdling, Li Jiacong patted the kang (heated brick bed) next to him. "Want to listen to Jay Chou?"

Li Sheng shook his head: "I've never heard of it."

Li Jiacong was shocked: "Never heard of Jay Chou?!"

"without."

Li Jiacong immediately rummaged through his schoolbag, opened the hidden compartment he had designed himself, and pulled out a cassette tape—"Octave Space"—Jay Chou's new album. He had asked a classmate to buy it for him before he was sent here, and he hadn't even listened to it himself yet.

“You’ve missed a world.” He put the cassette in, clicked it shut, closed the case, handed Li Sheng an earphone, pressed play, and the melody began. Li Sheng’s eyes widened for a moment, then he shoved the earphone in even further.

After listening to all the songs on side A, Li Jiacong asked, "How was it?"

"It sounds nice, but I can't quite make out what they're singing."

Li Jiacong chuckled: "Indeed, that's his style." He opened the cassette case: "There are lyrics in here."

Li Sheng took it, unfolded the stacks of lyric pages, and Li Jiacong switched the cassette to side B and continued playing.

The first piece was a piano prelude. Li Jiacong's slender fingers followed along, and he said, "This piece is good; it's simple yet evocative."

"You can play?" Li Sheng looked at his fingers.

“Piano? I wouldn’t say I can play,” Li Jiacong said, putting his hands behind his head. “Among musical instruments, I can play the flute—doesn’t that sound weird? I’m a guy.”

When he was in elementary school, he performed a talent show and was laughed at by the boys in his class for a long time because he was standing with a group of girls playing the flute.

Li Sheng shook his head: "Not surprising."

Li Jiacong raised one eyebrow: "Hmm?"

Li Sheng raised his eyes, imagining Li Jiazong playing the flute, and said seriously, "I feel it should suit you quite well."

Li Sheng only had a vague impression: a Western musical instrument, it should have intricate keys, an exquisite metal body, and a bright, sharp sound that resonated clearly in the auditorium. He felt that it matched the temperament of Li Jiacong.

“…very elegant.” Li Sheng pondered the choice of words.

Li Jiacong curled the corners of his lips into a perfunctory smile. The song continued playing in his headphones. While listening to the second song, Li Sheng suddenly said, "This one's good."

Li Jiacong: "What?"

He thought Li Sheng had some insights, but Li Sheng just pointed to a sentence in the lyric book: "These lyrics are so sad."

Li Jiacong looked over and saw that the song was called "Peninsula Iron Box," and the lyrics included: "The love in my memory seems to be no match for the passage of time."

Li Jiacong joked, "You even have insights into love? Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

Li Sheng hurriedly replied, "No."

Li Jiacong turned to look at his expression. The sunlight fell perfectly on Li Sheng's profile, and he noticed that the man had thick eyelashes that were always lowered, giving him a focused and affectionate look. Wondering which lyric he was looking at, Li Sheng suddenly asked, "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Li Jiacong: "We talked, but we broke up."

Li Sheng glanced at him cautiously: "And then?"

Li Jiacong chuckled: "That's it. We weren't even together for more than a few days, and I wasn't that into her anyway."

Li Sheng: "Even if you don't like each other that much, you'll still be together?"

"What's wrong?" Li Jiacong looked at him with a slightly disgusted expression. "Do we still have to make vows of eternal love? Even if she's willing to be with me, I'm fine with it too. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Li Sheng did not comment on his opinion, saying, "I was just asking—it's finished playing." He pointed to the headphones, where the song had stopped.

Li Sheng then asked him, "Which song do you like?"

Li Jiacong: "They're all fine. I actually prefer female vocals or English songs. I'll find some for you."

He reached into his schoolbag, and from afar he heard his grandmother calling him from outside the window. Li Jiacong, now also trained to shout in response, "What now?"

"Your mom called!"

Li Jiacong stood up abruptly. Li Sheng followed suit, saying, "I'm going back now."

Li Jiacong got out of bed to put on his shoes, casually grunted an "Mmm," and ran to the next room without looking back.

"Hello? Mom!"

Li Jiacong answered the phone, his voice a mixture of excitement and anxiety. On the other end, his mother spoke softly, "Son, how are you at Grandma's?"

Li Jiacong wailed and played the victim: "I can't eat or sleep well, and I'm bitten by bugs. I have several big welts all over my body."

When Xiuying heard him say that, she scoffed, "So precious."

On the other end of the phone, his mother said, "Then let Grandma find some ointment to apply to it."

“There’s no ointment here,” Li Jiacong revealed his true purpose. “I want to go home, Mom. I’m not used to being here.”

"Can you stay a few more days?"

Li Jiacong: "How many days? Don't we have to make up classes during the holidays? Nothing is convenient here, going to the toilet is especially terrifying."

"You'll get used to it gradually."

"I can't adapt!" Li Jiacong suddenly couldn't hold back anymore. After shouting, he continued, "Mom, please beg my dad for me."

"No way." This time it was his father's voice coming from the phone, cold and distant. "Don't even think about coming back this holiday. I'll send you your tutoring homework in a few days." Then, with a snap, the call ended.

"Damn it!!!" Li Jiacong's chest heaved with anger. He was doomed. Not only did he not get to go back, but he also got an extra assignment.

His grandmother looked at him cautiously: "What? You want to go back?"

Li Jiacong took a few deep breaths, composed himself within seconds, and said, "I don't want to think about it anymore!"

Xiuying pursed her lips. In that instant, she felt that her eldest grandson was very much like her son—quick to lose his temper and quick to suppress it, but holding grudges in his heart. She remained silent, glancing at Li Jiacong.

Li Jiacong glanced around the room and noticed Li Ai was there too. She was squatting in the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), using a pillowcase wrapped around her head as a hair ornament, staring blankly at him. One after another, they were giving him a headache. He turned and walked out, saying, "I'm going out for a walk."

Not wanting to sit in his room like an idiot, brooding and dwelling on the past, he went outside, lit a cigarette, and thought, "Let whoever wants to see this, see whoever wants to see this!"

Heading east along the road, he reached a fork in the road. There were two paths; one led to the land behind the houses, and the other, which he had never been to before, led to a few scattered houses, each one more dilapidated than the last. With a sense of adventure, he walked down the unfamiliar path, and the further he went, the more he noticed the many spherical black objects on the ground.

He bent down and looked around, then continued forward until he reached the end, where he saw a dilapidated sheep pen. So that's where the sheep were. Li Jiacong suddenly turned back to look at the ground. Damn it, that was sheep droppings! He almost picked them up!

Li Jiacong was even more frustrated. He turned around and walked back. On the way, he thought of Li Sheng, the shepherd, and then he remembered that Li Sheng had said he would spray pesticides in the afternoon—that cornfield must be the one behind his house.

He stubbed out his cigarette and turned onto that road. There was a bicycle parked by the roadside near the foot of the mountain. Li Jiacong walked a long way before he finally saw Li Sheng in the cornfield.

Li Sheng was wearing a mask and holding a water bottle. Fine sand-like substances were spilling out from the hole in the bottle cap.

Li Sheng was very perceptive. He looked up and met Li Jiacong's gaze—Li Jiacong had come again, and his expression was still unpleasant. Li Sheng didn't ask what was wrong, and simply waved.

"Where to pour it?" Li Jiacong picked up the same bottle next to the bicycle.

Li Jiacong offered to help spray the medicine, but Li Sheng hesitated for a moment and said, "You need to wear a mask."

Li Jiacong: "This isn't a spray, is it okay?"

Li Sheng: "But it's still pesticide, inhalation might..."

"It's nothing." Li Jiacong walked in, thinking irritably, "It's good that he's been poisoned to death."

Li Sheng glanced at him worriedly, took off his mask, and wanted to give it to the person, but felt that the person wouldn't accept it. And in the blink of an eye, Li Jiacong followed his example and began pouring medicine on another ridge.

Li Jiacong finished one dish after another, perhaps fueled by his temper, his speed even surpassing Li Sheng's. Halfway through, he suddenly stopped, feeling a bit dizzy for some reason. He squatted down, rested for a while, and then suddenly felt unwell.

When Li Sheng saw him squat down, he stepped over his row of corn and squeezed through the corn: "What's wrong?"

Li Jiacong waved his hand: "It's nothing, I'm just a little dizzy."

Li Sheng helped him up and carried him to the roadside.

Li Jiacong took a breath, but still felt very uncomfortable. He supported Li Sheng and sat down on the ground, saying, "Take a break. Why the hell do I feel so disgusting?"

"Don't rest, get in the car!" Li Sheng held onto him tightly. "I'll take you to the clinic."

"It can't be that bad." Li Jiacong didn't intend to go, but Li Sheng forcibly dragged him onto the back of the bicycle and drove off.

His head was still spinning. Although Li Sheng was riding quite steadily, he couldn't sit still any longer. His hands, which had been gripping the seat, were almost pulled off by the springs. Every bump hurt his hands, so he simply let go, wrapped his arms around Li Sheng's waist, and rested his head on his back. His stomach started churning, and Li Jiacong felt extremely nauseous: "Stop, I..."

On the country path, a warm breeze carrying cow dung brushed against my cheek.

"vomit----"

“…”

Li Sheng kept his lips tightly closed, staring straight ahead, his feet never stopping, yet a damp feeling seeped into his back.

"Uh—I'm sorry—Li Sheng, I'm sorry."

This is one of the few times Li Jiacong has apologized in his life.

A note from the author:

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