Ex-boyfriend

Chapter 22

　　　Xu Yue returned to the city before the New Year holidays were over.

　　Chu Yi had left all of a sudden. Although Xu Yue’s parents didn’t ask much, they could discern the complexity of the situation from Xu Yue’s expression alone. Xu Yue’s thoughts were in turmoil. So, he made up an excuse, packed his luggage and returned.

　　The door to Xu Yue’s apartment was code-locked. Xu Yue habitually thumbed in Chu Yi’s birthday. It took him two more tries before he realised his mistake and remembered that he had changed the code.

　　There were vestiges of that person everywhere in the house.

　　There was a row of fashionable leather shoes in the shoe cabinet. All of them were of various shades but of the same style. There was a pile of snack bags on the coffee table. All sorts of junk food were stacked up. Even more outrageous was the wardrobe. Chu Yi’s clothes occupied half of the space…[1]

　　Xu Yue sat on the sofa blankly for a while. Finally, he decided to have a big spring-cleaning. He sorted out all the stuff that belonged to Chu Yi and packed them in two big boxes. He then called Chu Yu and asked him how to deal with all those things.

Chu Yu answered succinctly, “Just throw them away.”

　　From beginning to end, through the duration of their conversation, no mention was made of Chu Yi’s current situation.

　　Xu Yue didn’t ask either.

　　After hanging up the phone, he took those two cardboard boxes out through the door. Although those things did not take up any space, there was no point in keeping them. It would be better to throw them away, just as Chu Yu said.

　　When Xu Yue was standing in the corridor, waiting for the elevator, the door next to his opened suddenly, and a young man walked out. Their eyes met and they held gaze for a while.

　　Su Yanwen had moved out soon after the Chinese New Year. This man was his new neighbour. Xu Yue recognized him. He could remember that his surname was Song but his given name had escaped him. He called out in lieu of a greeting, “Song Laoshi.”

　　Although Song Laoshi was surprised, he smiled and responded amicably, “Mr. Xu, such a coincidence!”

　　Xu Yue had once gone on a blind date with Song Laoshi. But with Chu Yi butting in on them, nothing came out of it. Now that two of them were standing together, waiting for the elevator, a little embarrassment was inevitable.

　　It was Song Laoshi who broke the ice.

　“I just moved in. I didn’t expect to have Mr. Xu as my neighbour.”

　“Why did you shift suddenly?”

　“The lease on my previous apartment expired. And this place happens to be closer to my workplace.”

　　They were chatting when the elevator dinged up on arrival.

　　Xu Yue picked up those two cardboard boxes and stepped into the elevator. Song Laoshi followed in and asked, “Clean-out?”

　“Yeah. Work resumes in two days. Might as well do the spring cleaning when I have time.”

　“I’m going out to eat.” Song Laoshi raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and invited, “Mr. Xu, would you like to join me?”

　　Xu Yue was a little slow on the uptake. It took him couple of seconds to reply, “Me?”

　“Since you were busy cleaning, you hadn’t had time to cook, right?”

　“Yeah…”

　“I haven’t cleaned up the kitchen yet. Ordering food for just one person is a hassle. It is easier when its for two. Besides, last time it was you who had invited me. I didn’t get a chance to treat you in turn.”

　　Everything he said made sense.  Xu Yue found it really difficult to refuse.

　　By then, the elevator had reached the first floor. When Xu Yue stepped out, the sky had already turned dark. He took the two cardboard boxes to the designated recycle bin. After taking a deep breath, he turned around and asked Song Laoshi, “What do you want for dinner?”

　　Song Laoshi replied with a smile, “Home cooking.”

　　There were quite a few restaurants near their apartment. Xu Yue led Song Laoshi into a small restaurant that looked fairly clean and ordered three dishes and one soup.

　　Song Laoshi was not picky. He ate every dish with relish. While eating, he said, “Actually, my cooking is pretty decent. You should come to my place for dinner sometime.”

　　“I usually cook by myself,” Xu Yue said.

　“Really? Then, we could have a competition.”

　　Song Laoshi was outstanding in appearance. But he was eloquent, carried conversation with elegance. Also, he shared several of Xu Yue’s interests. So, the two of them chatted very congenially. After a meal, they took a walk through the community and then took the elevator home.

　　Two days later, the vacation ended and Xu Yue returned to work. Everything seemed to have returned to the right track.

　　In the evening, Song Laoshi sent him a text message: Finally managed to put house in order. Let me treat you to a meal.

　　After a while, another followed: Joyous occasion of housewarming; do not refuse.

　　They were all adults. Naturally, Xu Yue understood what he meant. But he was not sure if he was ready to start again.

　　Xu Yue sat alone in the empty living room without turning on the lights. Thunder rumbled and roared outside the window; accompanied by rain drops.

　　It was raining again.

　　Not so long ago, it had rained heavily. That night, Chu Yi had stood by the window and watched the rain. He had said that he didn’t deserve all that he had then. Simultaneously, a trellis had collapsed in the parterre at the Chu family’s ancestral home, unearthing those long-buried bones.

　　Xu Yue closed his eyes for a moment. The chat with Song Laoshi was still open on his phone. He texted back: OK.

　　Song Laoshi’s reply came instantly, but Xu Yue didn’t read it. Instead, he opened the phone’s gallery and found that photo. It was the photo of Chu Yi sleeping, the one that he had taken secretly. There were three words at the lower right corner, words that he had written.

　　How much did he love, for him to write those indelible three words, stroke by stroke?

　　How much did he hate, for him to tear that photo to pieces, by his own hands?

　　Xu Yue breathed out. He moved his fingers slightly and pressed the ‘delete’ button.

　　A pop up appeared, showing two options: Confirm? Cancel?

　Xu Yue’s finger hovered over ‘confirm’. After a while, his finger pressed down softly.

　　The thunder kept rumbling outside the window. Rain grew heavier.

　　A knock on the door was heard along with the sound of rain.

　　Xu Yue glanced at the time. It was almost ten o’clock. Who would come to him at this time? Song Laoshi?

　　Xu Yue got up and opened the door. As soon as the door opened, he felt mist rush to his face.

　　Chu Yi was standing outside the door.

　　He wore a hoodie. His head was covered with a hat, and he was rain drenched. In the dim light of the corridor, his face appeared particularly pale.

　“A’Yue …”

　　Chu Yi only yelled and collapsed towards Xu Yue.

　　Xu Yue quickly reached out and caught him.

　　Chu Yi closed his eyes tightly, and the hat on his head fell off. Xu Yue was startled when he looked down.

　　He saw… white hair.

[1] Kun Yi Wei Luo wrote ‘半壁江山’ ’ bàn bì jiāng shān’ – literally to occupy ‘half of the country’.