The classroom ceiling fan hummed irritatingly overhead. Mu Xinrong spun his ballpoint pen so fast that the metal cap tapped against his chin. Sunlight slanted across the collar of his school uniform, weaving a pale golden net across his collarbone.
Chao Youye sat diagonally behind him, the pen between his fingers resting on the integral sign of the math problem, the ink spreading a small shadow on the paper - he counted the number of times Mu Xinrong spun the pen, and on the seventh circle, the man finally lay down on the table and complained muffledly.
"Youye, when do you think Qingliu will come to school?" Mu Xinrong's nose rubbed against the lines on the table, and the ballpoint pen rolled to the edge of Youye's textbook.
The boy's hair on the back of his neck was stuck together by sweat, and it had a light brown sheen in the sunlight.
Chao Youye lowered her eyes and stared at the wrist that was exposed outside the sleeve. The joints were distinct, and there was a light brown mole on the wrist bone, like a drop of ink that was accidentally splashed.
"Who knows?" Chao Youye closed the book, the hardcover clacking against the corner of the table. The camphor tree outside the window was casting tiny specks of light, and one shadow happened to fall on Mu Xinrong's hair, dazzling him so much that his eyes stung.
The sound of sneakers rubbing against the ground came from the corridor, and Zhang Xuanhua's laughter floated in first. The blue and white school uniform jacket was draped over his shoulders, revealing the smooth lines of his collarbone.
"Xinrong." Zhang Xuanhua's palms carried the heat from outside. As he ruffled Mu Xinrong's hair, his knuckles brushed against the tip of his red ear.
Chao Youye noticed that Mu Xinrong's eyelashes trembled slightly, like a frightened butterfly, and Zhang Xuanhua's thumb was intentionally or unintentionally stroking the loose hair on the back of the man's neck.
He suddenly remembered that when they were climbing the mountain last week, Mu Xinrong's hair was caught by a branch, and he also tilted his face up, revealing his fragile Adam's apple. At that time, his hand that picked the branch for him was much lighter than Zhang Xuanhua's now.
"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Xuanhua's fingertips brushed across the back of Mu Xinrong's red ears. The moment the latter looked up blankly, Chao Youye saw the golden thread woven by the sunlight between the two of them.
He turned his eyes away and stared at the scribbled integral symbols on his textbook. The curves suddenly twisted into the arc of Zhang Xuanhua hugging Mu Xinrong's neck. The tip of the pen pierced the paper, leaving a deep scratch on the back.
The neon lights of the bar filtered through the blinds, slicing tiny stripes of color onto Chao Youye's face. He stared at the empty bottle on the bar, the light reflected from the glass shattering into stars in his pupils.
Amid the sound of ice cubes hitting the wall of the cup, the scene of the day emerged again: when Zhang Xuanhua's arm was around Mu Xinrong's shoulder, the man's hair brushed against the back of his hand, with the scent of lemon shampoo.
"Fuck you!" Chao Youye cursed into his wine glass, the alcohol burning a line of fire in his stomach. When his phone screen lit up, the three words "Mu Xinrong" in his address book were warmed by his fingertips.
"Youye? Have you been drinking..." Mu Xinrong's voice came mixed with the sound of rain. When he looked up at Youye, he met her eyelashes wet by the rain.
The man's umbrella handle was still dripping, casting dark patterns on the tiles. Chao Youye suddenly thought of the succulents on the classroom windowsill. Every time Mu Xinrong watered them, the water droplets rolled down the leaves and onto his homework book.
The moment the wine glass was taken away, Chao Youye reached out to grab the man's wrist, and the touch felt colder than he remembered.
Mu Xinrong curled his fingers, as if he wanted to avoid it but stopped. The moment their fingertips touched, the bartender behind the bar happened to light the fire. The orange light danced in Mu Xinrong's pupils, making the worry in his eyes clearly visible.
"Let go..." Chao Youye heard his own voice, like glass beads immersed in warm water, soft and muffled. He deliberately leaned forward, smelling the scent of rain mixed with Mu Xinrong's scarf and feeling the man's shoulders stiff with tension.
The alcohol was throbbing in his temples. He saw the blush on the tips of Mu Xinrong's ears spreading down his neck. He suddenly remembered that when he was in junior high school, this guy was called on by the teacher to answer a question. His ears were also red and he was crumpling up the draft paper.
"Mu Xinrong." He heard his voice was extremely hoarse, but the ending tone rose involuntarily, like a cat with its claws raised but afraid of hurting its prey.
The other person's eyelashes trembled violently, casting tiny shadows under her eyes. Chao Youye suddenly remembered the rabbit with missing ears in the diary, which was exactly the same as the key chain hanging on Mu Xinrong's schoolbag.
The kiss came without warning, yet it felt like it had been planned for a long time. When Chao Youye bit the man's lower lip, she tasted the lingering taste of strawberry lip balm, mixed with the whiskey she was drinking, turning it into a sour wine on her tongue.
Mu Xinrong's fingers first tightly grasped the hem of his shirt, then slowly loosened their grip, like a frightened bird spreading its wings, and gently rested on the back of his neck.
The vibrations from the bar's subwoofer traveled along the ground, numb to Chao Youye's chest, but amidst the roar he could clearly hear Mu Xinrong's rapid breathing, like the sound of a stream melting in spring, tinkling and donging into his heart.
At the end, Mu Xinrong's back was against the cold brick wall, his eyes half-open and half-closed, his lips were swollen and shiny, with his teeth marks on them.
Chao Youye reached out to touch the red mark, but as soon as her fingertips touched it, the other party trembled and dodged away.
He suddenly remembered that day when he was climbing the mountain, Mu Xinrong had his finger cut by a wild rose, and he dodged in the same way, but in the end he obediently stretched out his hand and let him wash the wound with mineral water.
"Chao Youye? What's wrong with you..." Mu Xinrong's voice was nasal, like a crumpled piece of paper. Chao Youye looked down at his hand that was gripping her wrist, revealing pale skin between his fingers. The mole on her wrist bone had been deformed by the pinching.
He suddenly laughed, and in the other person's astonished eyes, he gently bit the person's fingertips, as if he was holding a petal that was about to fall.
When they left the bar, the rain had stopped. Mu Xinrong's umbrella tilted towards him, half of his body immersed in the night breeze.
Chao Youye pretended to be drunk and put all his weight on this man's shoulders, feeling the other's stiff and stubborn support.
When passing by the convenience store, the warm yellow light reflected the overlapping shadows of the two people. Mu Xinrong's hair swept across his chin, carrying the scent of grass after the rain.
At the corner of the alley, Chao Youye could hear his heartbeat. Mu Xinrong's fingers were still clutching his sleeve, his fingertips trembling slightly, but he never let go.
The roar of the last tram came from afar. Chao Youye turned to look at the man's profile elongated by the street lights, and suddenly remembered the last sentence in the diary - it would be nice if I had never stepped into this world.
But at this moment, he was extremely grateful that he existed in this world, that he could smell the cedar scent on this person, and that he could feel the butterfly finally landing in his palm.
Chao Youye curled the corners of her mouth and gently rubbed the man's head in the shadow where Mu Xinrong couldn't see.
"Mu Xinrong." He called softly, and seeing the tip of the other person's ears turn red again, he suddenly felt his chest filled with warm wind, as if it wanted to blow the whole spring into this person's eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
