As they walked back the way they came, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help glancing back at that crumbling building one more time.
From this angle, he could no longer see the stage, only the piles of rocks and weeds, the collapsed roof and broken walls. If Gu Fei hadn’t brought him here, he never would have imagined that he’d leave behind such a precious memory in these derelict ruins.
Gu Fei glanced at his phone. “I have to go back to the store later. This is around the time my mom locks up and runs off.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jiang Cheng said. “Maybe I can eat there tonight. And Gu Miao can join us.”
“Mm-hm.” Gu Fei nodded. “What do you want to eat?”
“Dunno.” Jiang Cheng shook his head and rubbed his belly. This whole afternoon had been an emotional roller coaster for him. Now that he finally had a moment of calm, there was nothing left in his brain. He didn’t think he could absorb a word of his study materials at this point, never mind think about what to eat. “I don’t even know if I’m hungry or not.”
“Wanna wrap dumplings, then?” asked Gu Fei.
Jiang Cheng nodded. “Sure.”
Gu Fei’s mom wasn’t in the store, but it was still open. When Jiang Cheng followed Gu Fei inside, he saw Li Yan sitting behind the counter, fiddling with his phone.
“What are you doing here?” Gu Fei asked.
“Times really have changed,” said Li Yan. “I can’t believe you’d ask me this question.”
“Don’t take it too seriously.” Gu Fei went and set the guitar down in the back room. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Was that a guitar?” Li Yan glanced over, then froze. “Shit, you were holding a guitar? My eyes didn’t deceive me?”
“A cello, actually,” Gu Fei remarked as he came back out. He walked up to the shelves and brought over a bag of flour. “We’re making dumplings later. Wanna join us?”
“Nope.” Li Yan glanced at Jiang Cheng. “I’ll be leaving now.”
“Come on, eat with us,” Jiang Cheng said. “It’s almost dinnertime.”
“You think he’s asking me to stay and eat out of the goodness of his heart?” said Li Yan. “He just wants an extra set of hands.”
Gu Fei looked at him. “Are you staying or not?”
“Yes!” Li Yan sighed. “So tell me, am I on filling or dough duty?”
“You’re rolling out the wrappers,” said Gu Fei.
“Got it.” Li Yan nodded and went back to his phone. “Call me when it’s time to roll them out, then. I’m gonna play games for a while.”
Gu Fei got some meat out of the fridge and went to the kitchen. Jiang Cheng grabbed the bag of flour. He was about to head out to the kitchen to knead the dough when he walked by Li Yan’s side and hesitated for a moment. He snuck a glance at Li Yan’s phone. Sure enough, it was that stupid Aixiaochu game.
“What level are you on?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Three levels past Da-Fei again.” Li Yan arched an eyebrow at him. “What? Are you going to help him catch up tonight?”
“I wasn’t helping him,” Jiang Cheng said.
“Yeah, right. If it wasn’t for you, he’d be at least seven levels below me right now.” Li Yan put his head down and continued playing. “Ever since he met you, he’s shot up the ranks like he was propelled by a fart jet. Who else could it be?”
“It’s really not me. I’ve never been propelled by a fart jet.”
Li Yan put down his phone and looked at him. “You’ve got a smarter mouth than Da-Fei, huh?”
Jiang Cheng grinned and headed for the kitchen with the flour.
“Hey, Jiang Cheng,” Li Yan called out to him in a hushed voice. “What were you two up to just now?”
Jiang Cheng turned back and looked at him wordlessly. That question was unintentionally sharp. What were we up to? We were being lovey-dovey. We got up in each other’s business and made out.
Li Yan probably realized his question had come out wrong. He tried again. “I just meant…he was playing the guitar?”
Jiang Cheng still didn’t answer. After the whole “composition by Gu Fei” thing, he was a little sensitive to Gu Fei’s situation. He wasn’t sure if Gu Fei wanted Li Yan to know, even if he knew how close Li Yan and the guys were with Gu Fei.
“It’s been at least two years since he played the guitar in public,” Li Yan added, glancing toward the kitchen.
That much was obvious. After all, most people would simply loosen the strings if they didn’t plan on playing for a long time, but Gu Fei had gone and uninstalled them completely.
“What do you mean, ‘in public’?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Well, who knows if he’s been playing privately to the moon in the dead of night,” said Li Yan.
Jiang Cheng chuckled. “Oh.”
Li Yan gave him a look. “I asked you a question.”
Jiang Cheng held his gaze for a while, then turned and quickly walked toward the kitchen.
“Sheesh.” Li Yan was a little miffed. “Why are you running?!”
“I’m being propelled by a fart jet,” Jiang Cheng replied.
“What are you two talking about?” Gu Fei called out from the kitchen.
“Fart jets,” Jiang Cheng said as he walked in. Gu Fei handed him a tub, and he poured flour into it and asked quietly, “Has it been a long time since you played guitar?”
“Li Yan asked you that?” Gu Fei watched the flour.
“Mm.” Jiang Cheng continued pouring. “I didn’t tell him, but he can probably guess, right?”
Gu Fei reached out and lifted the edge of the flour bag. “That’s enough.”
Jiang Cheng set the bag to the side. Gu Fei came around and kissed him on the ear. “You don’t need to be so careful. It’ll be tiring.”
“Well, I’m just afraid that you’ll…” Jiang Cheng glanced at him. Propping his hands down on the counter, he said to the wall in a hushed voice, mimicking Gu Fei, “And then what, Cheng-ge? And then what?”
Gu Fei burst out laughing beside him. Jiang Cheng turned and joined him for a moment, then sighed and stroked his face. “Gu Fei…”
“Uh-huh?”
“I really didn’t know. And I wasn’t trying to mess with you on purpose, really.” Jiang Cheng held Gu Fei’s chin in his fingers. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that. I didn’t blame you, really. This was all stuff I kept to myself, anyway.”
“But still.” Jiang Cheng thought about it for a second. “You told me, and I understand now. So I just wanted to say…” He paused for a beat, then suddenly leaned into Gu Fei’s face, the tips of their noses almost touching. “Gu Fei.”
“Yes?” Gu Fei’s eyes crossed for a second, then quickly straightened as he shot a glance behind him.
“I’m not trying to kiss you, don’t worry.” Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m trying to tell you something serious.”
“Go ahead.” Gu Fei smiled.
“Close your eyes.” Gu Fei closed his eyes obligingly, and Jiang Cheng said, “Now open them. If you want to keep your eyes closed, I’ll keep you company. And whenever you want to open them, I’ll hear it.” He cleared his throat, then sang quietly, “I want you on my left shoulder, and a smile on my right…”
Gu Fei looked at him for a long time without a word.
“Did I sing it right?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“You really are amazing,” Gu Fei said. “Did you just memorize this version, too?”
“Nah,” Jiang Cheng said. “Only that line. I forgot everything else.”
“You memorized the original one, but you can’t memorize the version I sang just for you?” Gu Fei narrowed his eyes.
“No shit, I’m still reeling from it,” Jiang Cheng said. “If you hadn’t come up to me and shown off that last trick, I might’ve been able to remember a few more lines. But now all I can remember is that flashy ending you used to show off. Even a goldfish would remember that.”
“Ah.” Gu Fei nodded, holding back laughter. “True.”