Chapter 90
“WHERE’S MY APPLAUSE, Cheng-ge?” Gu Fei said through the viewfinder, standing behind the broomstick “microphone.”
Jiang Cheng snapped out of his daze. Still holding his phone with one hand, he slapped the other one haphazardly against his lap, then put his fingers to his lips and blew a sharp wolf whistle.
Gu Fei flipped the guitar onto his back, jumped off the stage, and walked up to him. Jiang Cheng was about to stop the recording when Gu Fei said, “Hold on.”
“Hm?” Jiang Cheng blinked.
Gu Fei walked right up to him, swinging the guitar forward again. “I’m not done.”
Jiang Cheng stayed quiet. His phone camera happened to focus on Gu Fei’s hand. His fingers slid back onto the strings, and he began a tremolo.
It was very slow, each note distinct. Then he started to pick up speed, and the notes leaping one by one from his fingertips in clear succession gradually melded into one continuous sound. As Gu Fei’s fingers sped up, the trailing sound of his left hand sliding over the neck of the guitar blended together perfectly with the music.
Jiang Cheng’s still-unsettled heart was thrown into fresh disarray. Entranced once more, he saw the image of Gu Fei’s fingers blurring on the phone screen. He was playing so quickly, it was as if light couldn’t catch up to him. Stirring music filled Jiang Cheng’s ears, and his eyes were full of Gu Fei’s hands. It was so stunning that his eyes prickled with heat.
When the music finally faded into silence, Jiang Cheng found himself still holding the same position as before. Then Gu Fei reached over the phone and gently brushed against his face, and Jiang Cheng realized with a start that he was crying.
No. He wasn’t crying, he was just tearing up.
The tears came from surprise, from emotion, from incredulity. It was because of this dilapidated yet sunlit stage, this memory that would be etched in his heart forever…
Mainly, it was because Gu Fei was exceedingly handsome.
So handsome he could cry—that was the perfect description of Gu Fei.
“Shit.” Jiang Cheng stopped the recording and wiped away the tears on his face. “You just had to show off at the end.”
“Usually the showing off comes at the beginning, so the audience can start screaming.” Gu Fei smiled. “But I was so nervous that I forgot.”
“You were nervous?” Jiang Cheng lifted up the hem of his T-shirt and pressed it against his eyes a few times. He confirmed there were no more traces of tears on his face, then stood up. “Even you get nervous?”
“Depends on the audience,” Gu Fei said. “It’s my boyfriend sitting here, after all.”
Jiang Cheng sniffled, then pulled Gu Fei into a kiss.
Between them was a guitar, above them was the semi-visible sky, and beneath their feet was rubble and garbage; behind them stood the rows of half-buried seats. This was not a romantic atmosphere for a kiss. The position was awkward, and the setting was slightly unconventional. Yet Jiang Cheng still felt the way he had listening to Gu Fei sing earlier—the instant their lips touched, he sank into him, completely and utterly.
A boom sounded from off to the side, pulling Jiang Cheng’s head out of the clouds. He froze, then jumped, almost biting down on Gu Fei’s lips.
The sound had come from off to the left, where one of the walls was collapsed. No one would climb in through there—and a noise that loud couldn’t possibly have been someone climbing in…
When Jiang Cheng turned to look, all he could see was a six-foot-high cloud of dust hovering in the air.
“Go, go, go, go!” Gu Fei anxiously pushed him toward the front door. “Outside, now!”
The dust cloud was already spreading over to them. Jiang Cheng could almost smell the noxious dirt in the air. He started in fright at Gu Fei’s anxious reaction. “Holy shit! Is it gonna collapse?!”
“Hurry up and get out!” shouted Gu Fei.
“Oh, shit, shit, fuck… Why would it collapse out of nowhere?!” Jiang Cheng darted toward the door. “When the hell was this thing built?”
When he got to the door, he looked back and realized Gu Fei wasn’t behind him. A layer of cold sweat covered his skin. Without thinking, he turned around and bolted back in.
“Gu Fei! Gu—” He only managed to shout for him once before he crashed right into Gu Fei. Gu Fei threw an arm around him and shoved him out.
Once they were both out under the clean air and sunshine again, Jiang Cheng finally noticed the barely stifled grin forming on Gu Fei’s face.
“The shit?” He stared at Gu Fei, then whipped his head back to look at the building. “Shit!”
The building hadn’t collapsed. Not only had it not collapsed, but now that cloud of dust had been dispersed by the wind, everything was back to normal, and the remaining half of the assembly hall stood there just as quietly as before.
“A section of the collapsed wall fell down,” Gu Fei laughed.
Jiang Cheng glared at him. “I thought the whole thing was coming down by the way you were fucking reacting!” It was a little embarrassing that he’d been startled by a chunk of the stupid wall.
“There was all that dust. I just wanted to hurry up and get out,” Gu Fei said. “But then I felt like teasing you.”
“…You wanted to see how panicked I’d get when I didn’t see you outside?” Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue.
Gu Fei grinned. “Nah, I just wanted to spook you into running for it. On the way out, I realized I forgot to grab my guitar bag, so I went back. Although…” Gu Fei hugged Jiang Cheng close. “Seeing you panic like that still made me…”
“You really don’t have to feel touched,” Jiang Cheng said. “I only went back in because the building was still standing. If it really had caved in, I definitely would’ve backed up three hundred feet first and then called the fire department.”
“I see,” Gu Fei laughed.
“Go ahead and laugh,” said Jiang Cheng. “I dare you to laugh a little louder.”
Gu Fei tilted his head back. “HA HA HA!” he crowed. “Loud enough?”
“…Plenty loud,” Jiang Cheng sighed. “Wrap it up.”