Chapter 5
WHEN PAN ZHI’S CALL came in, Jiang Cheng was deeply asleep, practically in hibernation. His cell phone rang for a long time before he finally picked it up, groggy.
“Hmm?”
“Fuck, I knew it,” Pan Zhi said. “Open your dog eyes and see what time it is.”
“Is it four o’clock?” Having regained consciousness, Jiang Cheng held the phone in front of his face to look at the time. His eyes hadn’t woken up yet, though, and everything was blurry.
“It’s already three-thirty!” Pan Zhi said. “I knew you’d be like this, so I’m calling you early.”
“There’s still time.” Jiang Cheng sat up. “I’ll be waiting for you outside the exit gates.”
“Which exit gate?” Pan Zhi asked.
“There’s only one exit.” The window was so dirty it might as well have been frosted glass, but he could see the weather was pretty good today; everything was draped in a layer of glittering gold. “Talk later.”
He rolled out of bed and got dressed, feeling much better than he did yesterday. Other than not getting quite enough sleep, the all-over unpleasant feeling from yesterday was gone, and so was the accompanying crankiness that made him want to beat up anyone he laid eyes on.
Checking the time, he realized that he’d been sleeping since yesterday afternoon—an entire day had passed. He felt a little unsteady on his feet.
Li Baoguo wasn’t home; who knew where he’d gone off to. Jiang Cheng found this “home” a little perplexing. When his mom started the process of reversing his adoption, Li Baoguo had keenly made several trips to their city, tail wagging, even though Jiang Cheng hadn’t wanted to see him. But now that he was here, there was no sign of the eagerness to take his son back that Li Baoguo had shown before. And as for the rumored older brother and sister—he’d been here for two days and they were still nowhere to be seen.
Jiang Cheng was not at all interested in this new home, nor did he have any expectations. All the same, it didn’t feel particularly great to wake up every day and find yourself alone in a completely lifeless apartment, no matter what time of day it was. If he hadn’t been in a low-rise building, he would’ve thought it was some ancient hut. The whole place was suffused with a sense of decay.
That was also the reason he didn’t want Pan Zhi to stay here. His old room had been clean and immaculate—he’d even had a piano. The contrast would have Pan Zhi sobbing his eyes out for the length of his visit.
Frankly, though, even without seeing this place, the state of the East Station alone would be enough to make Pan Zhi weep.