Chapter 17
The autumn wind in Beijing was like a knife, stinging my face. Wu Ye, wrapping his coat tightly around him, hurried through Tsinghua University. Ginkgo leaves covered the ground in a shimmering golden hue, but he had no interest in appreciating them.
The heating in the dormitory was on full blast, and my roommate from the north was playing games. "Old Wu, do you want to go to the dinner party tonight?"
"No." Wu Ye opened his laptop. "I have something to do."
The moment the video link was connected, the bustling hustle and bustle of Guangzhou washed over me. On the other side of the screen, Li Ruiyuan was crouching at the entrance of a small shop, playing with a stray cat. The background sound was a mixture of Cantonese shouts and the roar of motorcycles.
"Brother Yuan." Wu Ye subconsciously raised the corners of his mouth and called out softly.
Lee Seo-yeon looked up, the camera shaking violently. "Hey, how's college life?" He bit into his cigarette, blurring the pixels. "Are there any pretty girls chasing you?"
Wu Ye turned the camera to look out the window: "No, the temperature in Beijing has dropped recently."
"Then wear more clothes." Li Ruiyuan put out his cigarette. "Don't catch a cold like last time."
The mother's voice came from the other end of the video: "Aye, have you put on your autumn johns?"
Li Xuan squeezed into the camera: "Brother! Bring me some local specialties!"
After chatting casually for ten minutes, Li Ruiyuan suddenly leaned closer to the screen and asked, "Hey? Has your hair grown longer?"
Wu Ye subconsciously touched his bangs: "Hmm... I don't have time to cut it."
"So ugly" Li Ruiyuan curled his lips, "It looks like it was chewed by a dog"
The roommate suddenly poked his head in: "Oh my god, is this Lao Wu's girlfriend?"
The camera shook violently - Li Ruiyuan was so scared that he dropped his phone: "What nonsense are you talking about?" Wu Ye looked at the dizzying scene, and the smile on his face became even wider.
"What are you laughing at..." Li Ruiyuan picked up the phone, his ears reddened, and he frowned and bit his lip: "Do I look like a woman?"
"No," Wu Ye said, "but it looks good."
The video suddenly freezes, frozen in the moment when Li Ruiyuan is stunned. The northern roommate whistles: "Wow~"
After reconnecting, Li Ruiyuan was obviously annoyed: "Hang up, the goods have arrived."
"The weekend after tomorrow." Wu Ye said hurriedly, "You..."
The screen went dark. The last message popped up in the chat box: "It depends."
Late at night, scattered lights still lingered in the Tsinghua dormitories. Wu Ye stared blankly at the dark screen, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of his phone—where a tiny Mickey Mouse sticker, brought back from Hong Kong, was stuck.
The next day, in advanced math class, the professor's voice droned in the distance. Wu Ye sketched the outline of a motorcycle on a piece of scratch paper, the exhaust pipe tilted crookedly.
"Wu Ye!" the professor suddenly called on him, "Solve this problem." He stood up, and the differential equation on the blackboard twisted into the veins of Guangzhou's streets.
"No?" The professor pushed up his glasses. "Then tell me about the previous idea." "Guangzhou..." he blurted out. "I mean, constructing an auxiliary function..."
Amid the laughter of the whole class, he vaguely saw the mocking smile of the man in the video.
In the library in the evening, the heating was scorching. Wu Ye stared at the thesis materials, the letters gradually transforming into the lines on Li Ruiyuan's arm. He took a gulp of cold water and turned on his phone.
The chat log was still stuck on last night. He hesitated and typed: "Are you really coming tomorrow?"
After sending, I quickly withdrew it, with my fingertip hovering above the screen
My phone suddenly vibrated, and the caller ID showed Lin Lixin. "Hello, Sister Lixin..."
"Your brother is crazy!" The machine tools roared in the background. "He worked all night and said he wanted to see you... Is he fucking crazy?"
Wu Ye's fingertips felt cold: "He..."
"The earliest flight tomorrow." Lin Lixin sighed. "I asked to come for him, but he refused. He insisted on coming in person... Ugh... Give me back my phone!"
The phone was snatched away, and Li Ruiyuan's voice came through with a whirring sound: "What are you asking about? You have so much free time!" Someone shouted in the background: "Brother Yuan! This batch of goods is urgent!"
"Hang up." The busy tone cut off the unfinished words.
Wu Ye stood in front of the library's French windows, his breath creating a mist on the glass. He drew a crooked motorcycle and then gently wrote down the flight number.
At Terminal 2 of Beijing Capital International Airport, Wu Ye was waiting at the arrival gate at 5 a.m. The red letters on the screen announcing the Guangzhou flight delay hurt his eyes.
When the familiar figure appeared, he almost didn't recognize him - Li Ruiyuan was wearing a black down jacket, his eyebrows were still as sharp and delicate, with a hint of coldness.
"What are you looking at?" Li Ruiyuan threw his backpack to him. "Beijing is so cold..."
The taxi's heater was blazing hot. Wu Ye watched the dead branches drift by outside the window and heard the even breathing of the person beside him—Li Ruiyuan had fallen asleep with his head tilted to one side.
Li Ruiyuan frowned slightly, his face flushed by the heater, looking unexpectedly sexy.
So cute...
Wu Ye swallowed and quickly turned to look out the window.
At the express hotel outside Tsinghua University's west gate, the radiator hummed. Li Ruiyuan slumped into bed. "I'm so sleepy, I need to finish a night's work."
Wu Ye squatted down and helped him take off his shoes: "Why don't you sleep for a while before coming back?"
"Tsk." Li Ruiyuan pushed him, "Why are you talking so much nonsense? I came here because I missed you." These words were said too naturally, and Wu Ye, who was squatting, subconsciously stopped breathing.
Could it be... Could it be that Brother Yuan also likes him? !
…………
When he woke up, it was already dark. Li Ruiyuan sat up and saw Wu Ye curled up on the sofa reading a book, with an insulated box on the bedside.
"Stir-fried liver." Wu Ye looked up. "I bought it from Beiyuan Canteen." Li Ruiyuan took a few bites and frowned. "What the hell...it doesn't taste good..."
While strolling around Tsinghua University at night, Li Ruiyuan pouted at the second gate and asked, "You brought me here?"
Wu Ye suddenly pulled him under the streetlight: "Lower your head."
"what?"
"There are white hairs."
Li Ruiyuan froze in his place. The boy's warm breath brushed against his hair, his fingertips gently brushing back strands. Ginkgo leaves rustled down like a golden rain.
"Pull it out." Wu Ye spread out his palm, and a ray of silver flashed under the light.
Li Ruiyuan looked at it carefully, sighed and said, "I am old after all."
A thin layer of ice formed on Weiming Lake. Wu Ye suddenly said, "My roommates are all in love."
"Oh." Li Ruiyuan kicked the stone, "Who do you like?" "No." Wu Ye stopped, "It's just..."
The conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone. His mother called out from the other end, "Let Aye answer the phone!" Li Ruiyuan curled her lips and handed over the phone: "Mom missed you and came to check on you."
"Mom... Yeah, I ate... The heat is quite good..." Wu Ye said and suddenly froze, "What?"
The mother on the other end of the phone smiled and repeated: "Your brother sold the supermarket and said he wanted to open a branch in Beijing." The ice surface cracked with fine lines.
Li Ruiyuan slowly took back the phone: "Hang up." The night wind suddenly stopped, and the Weiming Lake reflected the stalemate figures of the two people.
"Are you coming to Beijing?" Wu Ye's voice trembled.
"No?" Li Ruiyuan touched his cigarette. "There are too many small shops like Meiyajia in Guangzhou."
The cigarette box was taken away. Wu Ye clutched the pack of Double Happiness cigarettes, his knuckles turning white. "Then why... didn't you tell me?"
"Why would I tell you?" Li Ruiyuan laughed. "Waiting for your approval?"
The streetlights suddenly went out, and darkness enveloped all emotions. Wu Ye grabbed him by the collar, breathing as fast as a stray dog after running.
"Li Ruiyuan." It was the first time he called her by her full name.
"You clearly—"
"Mingming, what?" The other party easily pried his wrist open. "Can't the elder brother come to see his younger brother?"
The sound of a couple's laughter in the distance made the silence even more profound. Wu Ye suddenly relaxed his grip and rested his forehead on his shoulder.
"...You just missed me." The voice was muffled by the down jacket, damp and fragile.
Li Ruiyuan raised his hand and finally placed it on the back of his head: "Well, it will be convenient to see you then."
On the way back to the hotel, Wu Ye always lagged behind. As the elevator doors closed, he suddenly asked, "Why are you here?" The mirrored wall reflected two figures: one stubborn, the other lazy.
"Tsk." Li Ruiyuan stared at the floor number. "Do you really want me to say I miss you?"
When the elevator dinged, Wu Ye pressed him against the wall. His eyes flushed frighteningly red as he breathed. "Say that again..."
"I missed you." Li Ruiyuan laughed out loud, "Are you satisfied?"
The door clicked shut. Wu Ye hugged him from behind, nuzzling his short hair. "That supermarket in Guangzhou..."
"It's time to change it." Li Ruiyuan let him hold her. "It just so happens that Lin Lixin wants to take over."
The heat was too strong, making him dizzy. Wu Ye turned him around, his fingertips carefully touching the dark circles under his eyes. "Are you tired of rushing to finish the work?"
"Nonsense." Li Ruiyuan slapped his hand away, "How else would we get the money for the plane ticket?"
Silence spread across the room. Outside the window, the first snow of this winter fell, tiny flakes clinging to the glass like some kind of omen.
"Go to sleep." Li Ruiyuan pushed him away. "Take me to eat that...douzhi tomorrow."
“It’s awful.”
"Just try."
Late at night, Li Ruiyuan felt the mattress sink. Wu Ye quietly slipped into the bed, her cold hands and feet pressed against him.
"cold?"
"Yeah, it's cold." The boy hugged his waist and said, "The heating is not warm enough."
The snow fell heavier, drowning out all the hustle and bustle of Beijing. In the warm, spring-like room, two figures cuddled together as if they had never been separated by distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com