After reading this question, it was no doubt that Wen Qingying hesitated for a second.
In the end, he still answered frankly, “I used to study at a college in Beijing. It was a normal college, but I didn’t finish school. I studied a little in my senior year, for about a week maybe.”
Tao Ling was slightly taken aback. When he took a careful look, he noticed that his expression had returned to normal. However, Tao Ling didn’t ask him another question and just wrote with a sigh: “It was your last school year ah, but you didn’t finish it.”
Wen Qingying smiled, replying: “I studied architecture, a five-year curriculum.”
“No wonder you are so good at drawing,” Tao Ling said as he lowered his head to his phone. It was already past eleven o’clock.
Noticing that he was checking the time, Wen Qingying stood up.
Within a very short time, they seemed to have arrived at some sort of mutual understanding that they themselves had yet to even notice. When they walked on the street and the night breeze blew past them, Tao Ling fell into a sudden trance.
The city center is always bustling at night and has become even more so in recent years. Although it was already almost midnight, car lights were still flashing by every second.
When they reached the crossing, they saw a middle-aged lady pushing a tricycle cart and selling pineapples on the side street. Small pieces of pineapples were inserted with a skewer and placed in a glass jar.
Only such a scene would make one feel that Wuzhou was still the same old Wuzhou.
Tao Ling stood absentmindedly. Even after the red light turned green, he still did not move his gaze from that lady’s cart. When he felt Wen Qingying lightly patting his back, it was only then that he came back to his senses.
“Would you like to eat pineapple? I can buy some for mister.” Wen Qingying passed over his phone.
Tao Ling truly did not know whether to cry or laugh. This tone seemed as though he was talking to a three-year-old kid.
He shook his head, displeased. Wen Qingying appeared to be messing around when he asked that question too, and upon seeing this reaction, he raised a smirk.
When they took two steps forward, the green light was already starting to flash. As such, they could only go back to the crossing.
Tao Ling threw a gaze at those pineapples again. He raised his eyes and noticed that there were tangled hairs on the lady’s temples, and then looked for his phone.
A small blackboard stand was placed next to the cart written with the fruit price and the QR code attached to it. Wen Qingying walked his way there and scanned the payment code in front of him.
Tao Ling had his phone halfway out before it was put back again.
There were still three pieces of pineapple in the glass jar. The lady was about to grab a bag for them when Tao Ling spoke, “It’s fine, auntie. We can just eat it like that.”
Both of them took a skewer, leaving one more piece in the jar. The lady smiled and still proceeded to put it inside a bag, causing Tao Ling to realize that Wen Qingying had paid extra for the pineapples.
When he turned his head, Wen Qingying happened to do the same thing as well. Tao Ling locked eyes with him for a moment. After getting the message, he said, “Auntie, you can have this piece.”
Just as he finished talking, the red light turned green. They walked to the opposite street and then heard the lady calling them. Tao Ling turned his head and smiled at her.
They crossed the intersection as they nibbled at the pineapple, walking side by side before turning to a quiet street.
Wen Qingying.
Tao Ling unintentionally mouthed this name inside his head. When he came back to his senses, he realized that he was already at the front gate of his neighborhood.
Half of the uneaten pineapple was still left in his hand.
As always, they just waved goodbye to each other. Seeing that the other was making his way to the crosswalk, Tao Ling turned around to enter his neighborhood. He moved forward to swipe the card when his hand suddenly froze in the air, and then couldn’t help taking a few steps back.
When he took a side look, Wen Qingying just happened to turn his head, too. As such, he could only act normal and wave his hand again.
Under the distant street lamp, Wen Qingying smiled at him, then turned around and walked away.
It was 12:12 a.m. The door made a faint noise.
The warm yellow rays of light fanned out, lighting the small space in the living room. The house was very clean and had few furnishings, so the setup wasn’t messy looking. However, it cannot be considered perfectly neat either, for it looked rather sloppy.
His steps were unhurried, and after walking a full circle, it was already very late at night. However, Wen Qingying didn’t plan to sleep yet.
He finished his night routine and sat down on the sofa with his legs crossed, then took a slow deep breath and placed his finger on his throat. After a moment, he raised his head stiffly and opened his mouth, slowly closed it again, tightened his jaw, and then relaxed the muscles.
After repeating these same 4/8 movements, he managed to form an “ah” mouth shape. Still, even the tiniest bit of noise wasn’t produced.
After several more attempts, his forehead was already covered with a thin layer of sweat.
He made himself relax and then felt his train of thoughts coming and going, which suddenly arrived at the fingers that Tao Ling moved whenever he typed on his phone, and little by little, the mess inside his head fell calm, as though it had ran into some kind of intangible magic.
He took a deep breath and tried a few more times when the clock on the wall made a ticking noise, pointing its arrow towards one o’clock. Then, an “ah” – so rough that it sounded breathy – was uttered out loud, breaking the silence amidst the deep night.
It was currently two o’clock in the morning. Tao Ling turned over and sat up grouchily.
With both of his hands, he pulled his hair into a hideous mess and gave himself a facepalm to simmer down for a moment. Then he punched his bed a few times aggressively before getting up to walk out of the bedroom.
Since I can’t sleep, then I might as well just not sleep at all.
Tao Ling turned on his computer and modified his paper for a bit. Then he suddenly thought of the matter before he got home today. After sitting for a moment, he opened the class file for the lecture and began filling each slide with words.
The autumn air is chilly.
After losing sleep for several days in a row, Tao Ling submitted the paper he’d revised numerous times to the journal. As the ginkgo leaves turned yellow, he finally began to feel more at ease.
On Friday, for the second day of the class presentation, the PPT included a lot more keywords and sentences than last week; almost no one noticed it. However, Tao Ling didn’t find it unfortunate at all, but rather he felt slightly tired——
Because the number of questions that Wen Qingying had increased even more. This time, they managed to discuss till twelve o’clock.
“God, it’s midnight already,” Tao Ling said as he stretched his body.
Evidently Wen Qingying became somewhat anxious, typing: “Mister, am I asking too many questions? You have been talking with me for so long that it’s already enough for you to spend the time doing other things.”
Tao Ling replied: “Explaining things to you is also something I’m doing though.”
Wen Qingying held back his smile, typing: “How about I invite you to supper then? Would you like to eat?”
Tao Ling was indeed a bit hungry. After a moment of pondering, he asked: “Eat what?”
“It’s not good to eat too much at night. Is congee fine with you?”
Tao Ling agreed.
After closing the shop, Wen Qingying brought Tao Ling to the opposite direction, where they normally wouldn’t go, and after many turns, they finally arrived inside a small alley.
Tao Ling was somewhat surprised. As someone who grew up in Wuzhou, he knew this area way too well. However, he had never been to this place before.
After walking for another moment, he suddenly realized that they were in fact still within the same familiar area. Wen Qingying only guided him through a shortcut, and just by looking into the distance, he too could recognize the place. The other end of the alley was connected with the main street with a small square located on the corner. Several popular bars were opened outside.
Once they finish eating, they can also head in that direction to go home.
He had no idea how Wen Qingying found this shop either. Although it was crammed within a small alley, the century egg and pork congee was unbelievably good. Not to mention, the shop was still open at midnight.
Tao Ling ate as he raised his thumb multiple times, managing to make Wen Qingying smile with each of his praises. But because his eye teeth kept showing the whole time, Tao Ling could only fix his gaze on his bowl.
Judging by the various signs of “information,” perhaps it’s true that Wen Qingying already had someone he liked, which is why Tao Ling was afraid that if by any chance he actually ended up liking him, then all of the interactions they’d had so far would end up turning into something he hankered for.
Yes, ever since he was young, Tao Ling knew that he was gay.
They left the congee shop after finishing eating, and as expected, Wen Qingying brought Tao Ling to the other end of the alley.
At this moment, the feasting and pleasure-seeking world outside was glittering. The two of them drove past the small square. When they passed by a bar called “Pirates’ Boat,” a woman suddenly stormed out of the bar.
Tao Ling could not help stopping his footsteps. He saw the woman clinging to the lamp pole, looking like she was already drunk and needed some support.
Two men came out in a rush and pulled the woman to leave, who only blurted, “I want to keep drinking.”
“Let go!” The woman struggled with fierceness and raised her head abruptly, scattering her long hair back which in turn allowed Tao Ling to see clearly her face.
She looks familiar.
Before he could react, Wen Qingying had already stridden his way there.
After reading this question, it was no doubt that Wen Qingying hesitated for a second.
In the end, he still answered frankly, “I used to study at a college in Beijing. It was a normal college, but I didn’t finish school. I studied a little in my senior year, for about a week maybe.”
Tao Ling was slightly taken aback. When he took a careful look, he noticed that his expression had returned to normal. However, Tao Ling didn’t ask him another question and just wrote with a sigh: “It was your last school year ah, but you didn’t finish it.”
Wen Qingying smiled, replying: “I studied architecture, a five-year curriculum.”
“No wonder you are so good at drawing,” Tao Ling said as he lowered his head to his phone. It was already past eleven o’clock.
Noticing that he was checking the time, Wen Qingying stood up.
Within a very short time, they seemed to have arrived at some sort of mutual understanding that they themselves had yet to even notice. When they walked on the street and the night breeze blew past them, Tao Ling fell into a sudden trance.
The city center is always bustling at night and has become even more so in recent years. Although it was already almost midnight, car lights were still flashing by every second.
When they reached the crossing, they saw a middle-aged lady pushing a tricycle cart and selling pineapples on the side street. Small pieces of pineapples were inserted with a skewer and placed in a glass jar.
Only such a scene would make one feel that Wuzhou was still the same old Wuzhou.
Tao Ling stood absentmindedly. Even after the red light turned green, he still did not move his gaze from that lady’s cart. When he felt Wen Qingying lightly patting his back, it was only then that he came back to his senses.
“Would you like to eat pineapple? I can buy some for mister.” Wen Qingying passed over his phone.
Tao Ling truly did not know whether to cry or laugh. This tone seemed as though he was talking to a three-year-old kid.
He shook his head, displeased. Wen Qingying appeared to be messing around when he asked that question too, and upon seeing this reaction, he raised a smirk.
When they took two steps forward, the green light was already starting to flash. As such, they could only go back to the crossing.
Tao Ling threw a gaze at those pineapples again. He raised his eyes and noticed that there were tangled hairs on the lady’s temples, and then looked for his phone.
A small blackboard stand was placed next to the cart written with the fruit price and the QR code attached to it. Wen Qingying walked his way there and scanned the payment code in front of him.
Tao Ling had his phone halfway out before it was put back again.
There were still three pieces of pineapple in the glass jar. The lady was about to grab a bag for them when Tao Ling spoke, “It’s fine, auntie. We can just eat it like that.”
Both of them took a skewer, leaving one more piece in the jar. The lady smiled and still proceeded to put it inside a bag, causing Tao Ling to realize that Wen Qingying had paid extra for the pineapples.
When he turned his head, Wen Qingying happened to do the same thing as well. Tao Ling locked eyes with him for a moment. After getting the message, he said, “Auntie, you can have this piece.”
Just as he finished talking, the red light turned green. They walked to the opposite street and then heard the lady calling them. Tao Ling turned his head and smiled at her.
They crossed the intersection as they nibbled at the pineapple, walking side by side before turning to a quiet street.
Wen Qingying.
Tao Ling unintentionally mouthed this name inside his head. When he came back to his senses, he realized that he was already at the front gate of his neighborhood.
Half of the uneaten pineapple was still left in his hand.
As always, they just waved goodbye to each other. Seeing that the other was making his way to the crosswalk, Tao Ling turned around to enter his neighborhood. He moved forward to swipe the card when his hand suddenly froze in the air, and then couldn’t help taking a few steps back.
When he took a side look, Wen Qingying just happened to turn his head, too. As such, he could only act normal and wave his hand again.
Under the distant street lamp, Wen Qingying smiled at him, then turned around and walked away.
It was 12:12 a.m. The door made a faint noise.
The warm yellow rays of light fanned out, lighting the small space in the living room. The house was very clean and had few furnishings, so the setup wasn’t messy looking. However, it cannot be considered perfectly neat either, for it looked rather sloppy.
His steps were unhurried, and after walking a full circle, it was already very late at night. However, Wen Qingying didn’t plan to sleep yet.
He finished his night routine and sat down on the sofa with his legs crossed, then took a slow deep breath and placed his finger on his throat. After a moment, he raised his head stiffly and opened his mouth, slowly closed it again, tightened his jaw, and then relaxed the muscles.
After repeating these same 4/8 movements, he managed to form an “ah” mouth shape. Still, even the tiniest bit of noise wasn’t produced.
After several more attempts, his forehead was already covered with a thin layer of sweat.
He made himself relax and then felt his train of thoughts coming and going, which suddenly arrived at the fingers that Tao Ling moved whenever he typed on his phone, and little by little, the mess inside his head fell calm, as though it had ran into some kind of intangible magic.
He took a deep breath and tried a few more times when the clock on the wall made a ticking noise, pointing its arrow towards one o’clock. Then, an “ah” – so rough that it sounded breathy – was uttered out loud, breaking the silence amidst the deep night.
It was currently two o’clock in the morning. Tao Ling turned over and sat up grouchily.
With both of his hands, he pulled his hair into a hideous mess and gave himself a facepalm to simmer down for a moment. Then he punched his bed a few times aggressively before getting up to walk out of the bedroom.
Since I can’t sleep, then I might as well just not sleep at all.
Tao Ling turned on his computer and modified his paper for a bit. Then he suddenly thought of the matter before he got home today. After sitting for a moment, he opened the class file for the lecture and began filling each slide with words.
The autumn air is chilly.
After losing sleep for several days in a row, Tao Ling submitted the paper he’d revised numerous times to the journal. As the ginkgo leaves turned yellow, he finally began to feel more at ease.
On Friday, for the second day of the class presentation, the PPT included a lot more keywords and sentences than last week; almost no one noticed it. However, Tao Ling didn’t find it unfortunate at all, but rather he felt slightly tired——
Because the number of questions that Wen Qingying had increased even more. This time, they managed to discuss till twelve o’clock.
“God, it’s midnight already,” Tao Ling said as he stretched his body.
Evidently Wen Qingying became somewhat anxious, typing: “Mister, am I asking too many questions? You have been talking with me for so long that it’s already enough for you to spend the time doing other things.”
Tao Ling replied: “Explaining things to you is also something I’m doing though.”
Wen Qingying held back his smile, typing: “How about I invite you to supper then? Would you like to eat?”
Tao Ling was indeed a bit hungry. After a moment of pondering, he asked: “Eat what?”
“It’s not good to eat too much at night. Is congee fine with you?”
Tao Ling agreed.
After closing the shop, Wen Qingying brought Tao Ling to the opposite direction, where they normally wouldn’t go, and after many turns, they finally arrived inside a small alley.
Tao Ling was somewhat surprised. As someone who grew up in Wuzhou, he knew this area way too well. However, he had never been to this place before.
After walking for another moment, he suddenly realized that they were in fact still within the same familiar area. Wen Qingying only guided him through a shortcut, and just by looking into the distance, he too could recognize the place. The other end of the alley was connected with the main street with a small square located on the corner. Several popular bars were opened outside.
Once they finish eating, they can also head in that direction to go home.
He had no idea how Wen Qingying found this shop either. Although it was crammed within a small alley, the century egg and pork congee was unbelievably good. Not to mention, the shop was still open at midnight.
Tao Ling ate as he raised his thumb multiple times, managing to make Wen Qingying smile with each of his praises. But because his eye teeth kept showing the whole time, Tao Ling could only fix his gaze on his bowl.
Judging by the various signs of “information,” perhaps it’s true that Wen Qingying already had someone he liked, which is why Tao Ling was afraid that if by any chance he actually ended up liking him, then all of the interactions they’d had so far would end up turning into something he hankered for.
Yes, ever since he was young, Tao Ling knew that he was gay.
They left the congee shop after finishing eating, and as expected, Wen Qingying brought Tao Ling to the other end of the alley.
At this moment, the feasting and pleasure-seeking world outside was glittering. The two of them drove past the small square. When they passed by a bar called “Pirates’ Boat,” a woman suddenly stormed out of the bar.
Tao Ling could not help stopping his footsteps. He saw the woman clinging to the lamp pole, looking like she was already drunk and needed some support.
Two men came out in a rush and pulled the woman to leave, who only blurted, “I want to keep drinking.”
“Let go!” The woman struggled with fierceness and raised her head abruptly, scattering her long hair back which in turn allowed Tao Ling to see clearly her face.
She looks familiar.
Before he could react, Wen Qingying had already stridden his way there.
