Little Hooligan
After leaving the hospital, Xiangyang and Jin Cang walked one after the other on the path outside the hospital that was planted with magnolia trees.
Jin Cang kept his head down all the way, his hair slightly blown by the wind, covering part of his expression. It was unknown what he was thinking about.
Under the clear sky, the saturated suburban sunlight sets off his young and tall figure in the style of Shunji Iwai's films. The clouds move with the wind, creating a visual sense that seems transparent but actually contains hidden messages.
Xiangyang walked beside him, keeping a distance of about one step away, without saying a word to disturb him, waiting quietly for him to let his chaotic thoughts settle down.
He could clearly feel the tension in this big boy that had not yet completely dissipated. It might have been close to the limit of his load, but he was convinced that Ah Cang could bear it again.
Suddenly, Jin Cang stopped.
He turned around suddenly and faced Xiangyang, his straightforward and bright eyes looking deep into Xiangyang's heart.
That look was a little confused, a little inquiring, but more trusting.
"Can you tell me who you are?"
Jin Cang seemed unusually calm. "A week ago, we hadn't even met. Now, it seems like you're the one making all the decisions about my family's affairs?"
Looking at him in the sun, the boy's eyes were crystal clear, like a spring of water penetrated by sunlight.
He twitched the corners of his mouth and couldn't help but laugh softly: "To be honest, I don't know how to define who I am."
He raised his eyebrows noncommittally, "How about you just treat me as someone sent by your brother?"
As he spoke, Xiangyang smiled and took a step closer to Jin Cang.
Almost subconsciously, he reached out and gently rubbed Jin Cang's soft but unruly black hair.
That action happened so naturally, so sincerely, as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times.
Even Xiangyang himself did not expect that when he realized it, his palm was already covering A Cang's warm hairline.
Jin Cang did not dodge, and obediently let the warm palm stay in his hair for a few seconds.
He even squinted his eyes unconsciously, like a cat whose fur was stroked.
However, the next moment, as if suddenly awakened, Jin Cang seemed to have thought of something crucial. He suddenly raised his hand and rudely pushed away Xiang Yang's hand that was touching his head.
"Who are you?"
There was no anger or hostility in his tone, but more of an anxious confusion. "Are you hiding a lot of things from me? Why are you so rich? Why does everyone have to give you face? That VIP sign on the door of my dad's hospital room, do you think I can't understand English?"
A series of questions bombarded Xiangyang like a barrage of cannonballs.
Xiang Yang smiled bitterly again and spread his hands: "What good would it do me to lie to you? What do I want from you?"
He paused, his eyes becoming especially sincere. "A Cang, I really didn't mean to hide anything from you. Later... I will slowly explain everything to you."
Jin Cang lowered his eyes, his thick eyelashes fluttering, and his voice lowered: "Afterwards...when is it?"
"soon."
Xiangyang's voice was firm and sincere. "Now, I just want you to remember one thing. Everyone has their own challenges in life. Sometimes, it's not shameful to ask for help. How old are you? Ah Cang, listen to me. If you're tired, just speak up. Don't try to handle it all alone. Allow yourself to be vulnerable occasionally. You're not alone. If you want to fight yourself, if you want to fight fate, I'll be there for you."
The solemnity and sincerity in Xiangyang's words unexpectedly struck Jin Cang's heart.
Somehow, Ah Cang's mind suddenly emerged the scene when he first met Jin Yu at the age of seven in that cold, desperate and helpless mourning hall.
His brother, like a ray of morning light that broke through a century of darkness, suddenly illuminated his dark and gloomy world.
When Jin Cang was seven years old and Jin Yu was fourteen years old, they first met and it was also a reunion.
The little boy, wearing ill-fitting black mourning clothes, huddled in a corner of the mourning hall like an abandoned little animal, stubbornly refusing to get close to anyone.
The tragedy beyond his expectations made the helpless Ah Cang feel that the whole world had abandoned him.
Then, a thin young man walked through the crowd and walked straight towards the motionless man in the corner.
"A Cang, I am your brother." The young man's gentle voice fell like spring rain.
Jin Cang raised his head and looked at him warily: "I don't have a brother, I'm alone."
"You are not alone." Jin Yu squatted in front of him, his eyes gentle but firm, "I am your brother. He is your father."
He pointed to the equally sad man not far away.
Jin Cang repeated blankly: "Brother? Dad?"
The eyes of the young man Jin Yu were filled with unspeakable heartache. He stretched out his hand and hugged the thin, stiff body in his arms.
It was a warm and strong embrace, with the breath of sunshine.
Thoughts are pulled away from memories, and the light and shadow of reality are refocused.
Will that sun-like power descend upon his world once again?
Jin Cang raised his head abruptly, his eyes reddening slightly. A sudden, indescribable feeling of emotion and excitement washed over him like a surging tide.
Almost instinctively, he took a big step forward, stretched out his arms, and hugged Xiangyang in front of him tightly and silently.
For Jin Cang, such intense and unfamiliar emotions felt both familiar and unfamiliar, yet also had a completely unfamiliar impact.
He buried his face in Xiangyang's neck, feeling the body temperature and faint scent coming from the other person.
Xiangyang was visibly stunned at first, his body slightly stiff.
The hug came too suddenly and too violently.
He could feel the slight trembling of the boy in his arms, who was a few inches taller than him, and the violent beating of his heart through his chest.
After a moment, Xiangyang slowly raised his arms and, involuntarily, gently hugged the big boy back.
He patted Jin Cang's broad back again and again, clumsily but soothingly.
An indescribable atmosphere quietly grew between the two people, an unexpected throbbing quietly resonated in each other's chests, pushing them towards an unknown direction.
The sun is shining and the breeze is blowing gently.
It was Jin Cang who started everything first. He looked at Xiang Yang's face so close to him, his eyes hazy and fiery.
Then he lowered his head slightly and kissed Xiangyang's lips.
It was a young, clumsy kiss, yet filled with irresistible passion and desire.
Xiangyang's mind went blank.
However, just when Xiangyang instinctively wanted to respond to this sudden kiss, Jin Cang suddenly retreated as if he was scalded.
He seemed to have just woken up from a dream, staggered back a big step, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes so panicked that he didn't know where to look.
Without raising his head or uttering a word, he turned around and fled in a panic, his tall figure quickly disappearing around the corner of the path.
Xiangyang stood there in a daze. The hasty and arrogant touch just now was still frozen in the air, in a state of dizziness, disorder and weightlessness.
What exactly happened just now?
To him, all this seemed like a dream that was too unreal!
His heart was beating wildly, thump, thump, thump, as if it was going to burst out of his throat. Xiangyang, somewhat dazed, slowly raised his hand, his fingertips lightly stroking his lips. "He's thirty-one years old now, and strictly speaking, this, this seems to be his first kiss?" he thought to himself with self-mockery.
"Wow!"
The catchphrase he had just learned in Hong Kong and Taiwan came to his mind: "I came all the way to Taipei, and I met a little hooligan..."
He murmured softly, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily pulled up, and a chuckle mixed with helplessness and a little unknown joy escaped him.
Dawn breaks, chaos begins to emerge.
It seemed as if something had quietly happened between him and the boy named A Cang, in the gap between their rhythms that neither of them was prepared for.
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