Chapter 27
At six in the morning, the rice noodle shop had just unpacked its steamers, and a white mist, wrapped in the fragrance of rice, drifted across the bluestone pavement. Wu Ye was wearing his old Guangya school uniform pants, his hair sticking out from sleep like an uncombed large dog.
"Egg sausage, two servings." Li Ruiyuan knocked on the counter, stains from yesterday's delivery still lingering between his fingernails. The proprietress expertly scraped the steaming tray. "Ah Yuan, so early today?" Wu Ye suddenly poked his head in. "Auntie, add green onions to his order."
The roar of the motorcycle engine startled the sparrows in the banyan tree. Wu Ye climbed onto the back seat, his arms naturally wrapped around his waist, his palms pressed against his lower abdomen like a warm stove.
"Sit tight." Li Ruiyuan turned the accelerator, and the boy's bright eyes were reflected in the rearview mirror.
The old village awoke in the morning mist, tricycles hauling vegetables bumping by. Li Ruiyuan suddenly turned into a narrow alley, his wheels splattering rainbows through the puddles. Wu Ye's school uniform trouser legs were stained with dark water stains, and his laughter mingled with the wind, drifting behind his ears.
"Hold on tight." Li Ruiyuan suddenly accelerated, his motorcycle surging onto the ridge of the field. The rice paddies rolled into a golden sea under the rising sun. Wu Ye rested his forehead against his back, humming a tuneless song.
They stopped the car next to an abandoned threshing ground and shared some cold rice rolls.
"Oh, I give up, I forgot to add chili sauce" Li Ruiyuan bit off the smooth skin
"I'll talk to Auntie tomorrow."
"I'm not speechless myself," the boy wrinkled his nose and got angry for the first time. "Well, I'm your partner, so I have an obligation to help you speak."
"……OK"
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the banana leaves, tinting Wu Ye's eyelashes a pale gold. As he lowered his head to drink soy milk, the spinous processes on the back of his neck were clearly visible. Li Ruiyuan suddenly reached out and ruffled his hair: "Silly boy."
On the way back, he deliberately took a long detour. The motorcycle sped along the riverbank, startling egrets into flight like snowflakes. As he passed through the deserted sugarcane forest, Wu Ye suddenly stood up straight, his hands cupped to his mouth.
"Li-Rui-Yuan--" The sound of the wind swallowed up the last syllable, startling more birds.
Li Ruiyuan braked suddenly, the tires arcing in the sand. The boy fell back into the back seat, his laughter like scattered rock candy: "I—love—you—"
The cicadas' chirping suddenly fell silent. The river rippled with golden light, and in the distance, a fishing boat rumbled by. Li Ruiyuan gripped the handlebars, his knuckles turning white. Wu Ye pressed her burning cheek against his back and whispered, "I love you."
The motorcycle started up again, the engine roaring deafeningly. As it rushed across the stone bridge, Li Ruiyuan suddenly raised his head and roared, "I—love—you—too—"
Birds startled and took flight, clouds shifted. Wu Ye's arms suddenly tightened, like vines entwining a tree. Sunlight cast intertwined figures on the mottled bridge surface, like some ancient contract.
Later, they lay on a haystack on the riverbank, watching dragonflies flit across the duckweed. Wu Ye wove a ring out of dogtail grass and slipped it onto his oil-stained finger: "We'll get married after graduation."
"Why would two men get married?"
"Then let's go to the Netherlands." The boy turned over and supported himself on top of him, his pupils reflecting the light of the entire summer. "Or Iceland. I heard the aurora is beautiful."
On the way back, he got lost and his motorcycle circled in the banana grove. Wu Ye pointed to a red brick house and said, "I was here before."
This is the old house where Wu Ye lived after he was driven out. The foxtail grass on the wall has grown to waist height.
Li Ruiyuan turned the accelerator and drove over, finding two incisions on the mottled wall. Above was the height line he'd drawn in his youth. Wu Ye immediately compared it to his height and realized he'd grown considerably taller.
"I caught up with you." Wu Ye jumped out of the car, his fingertips tracing the incision. The setting sun embraced them from behind, and their shadows kissed each other on the brick wall.
When I got home, my mother was hanging out the sheets. She looked at Wu Ye's hair, which was covered in grass scraps, and asked no questions. She simply turned and served him a bowl of chilled mung bean soup, with plump lilies at the bottom.
Late at night, in the supermarket attic, the fan whirred. Wu Ye lay on a mat, writing his paper, his ankle rubbing against his calf. Li Ruiyuan suddenly said, "You yelled too loudly today, your throat hurts." The boy immediately got out of bed and stepped on his feet to soak in honey water.
Moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the tin roof, illuminating the clasped hands. In the honey-like silence, two hearts were beating at the same rhythm.
Outside the window, lychees are hanging on the branches.
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