Just in Time Chapter 119
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 119
Extra 9-Ten Years (2)
Yi Chenliang knew he was worried, so he turned around and hugged him. "The director specifically asked me to go. It really won't be a problem."
Yun Fang reached out and ruffled his hair.
Yi Chenliang rested his head on his shoulder.
Yun Fang squeezed the back of his neck. "I'll take time off and go with you."
"Then your dean would come to our house and dissect me," Yi Chenliang chuckled softly. "Brother, it's really fine."
Yun Fang lowered his eyes. "Let me see the address of where you'll be staying."
Yi Chenliang sent him the address from his phone. "When I get there, we'll video chat every day. You don't need to miss me too much."
Yun Fang looked at the address. It was in a city center, which somewhat eased his mind.
"You haven't opened my apology gift yet," Yi Chenliang tried to divert his attention, picking up the paper bag he had placed on the shoe cabinet and waving it in front of Yun Fang.
Yun Fang took the paper bag and pulled out a keychain. It had a small basket made from a peach pit hanging from it, along with a tiny round pendant about the size of a fingernail.
Yun Fang fiddled with the small peach pit basket. The edges were a bit rough and uneven. "Did you make this?"
"I learned to carve it from a colleague. It's a bit crude," Yi Chenliang flicked the small round pendant. "This one can be opened."
Yun Fang opened it and found a miniature photo inside.
In the photo, two people had their heads close together, looking serious and stiff at the camera. Their expressions were identical. Their features were quite youthful, and they both seemed unaccustomed to facing a camera. Behind them was a vast expanse of blue sea and a rising sun.
Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, yet those events felt like they had happened just yesterday.
Yun Fang looked at the two high school students in the photo, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Back then, you couldn't swim. You stood by the sea wanting to go in but not daring to. I waited for a long time, and in the end, you picked up two small stones."
"Yes, two identical small stones," Yi Chenliang said. On his left wrist, which was resting on the shoe cabinet, he still wore the red string bracelet with the small stone. After all these years, it had faded a bit but he still refused to change it. On his ring finger, he still wore the matching ring Yun Fang had given him on his 18th birthday.
Yun Fang looked down at the increasingly smooth and round small stone on his own left wrist and smiled. "You really know how to get a bargain. Two small stones in exchange for my rings."
Yi Chenliang couldn't help but laugh. "That just shows I'm smarter."
"Yes, you're quite the clever one," Yun Fang said as he switched the keychain to his own keys. "For the sake of the gift, I'll reluctantly forgive you."
Yi Chenliang raised an eyebrow. "Then tonight, can we—"
Yun Fang smirked. "Don't even think about it."
Yi Chenliang held onto him, not letting go. "I'm leaving tomorrow, for a whole month."
Yun Fang remained unmoved, his heart like stone. "Wait until you come back."
Yi Chenliang nibbled on his neck. "Brother."
"Calling me brother won't work either. Think about what you did last night," Yun Fang sneered.
Yi Chenliang recalled being kicked off the bed by Yun Fang last night. He sheepishly rubbed his nose and muttered something under his breath.
Yun Fang, reminded of yesterday's events, felt his anger rise again. Seeing Yi Chenliang's unrepentant attitude, his eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses. "Xiao Yi."
Hearing his tone, Yi Chenliang knew he was in big trouble and tried to run.
Yun Fang grabbed his collar and pulled him back, trapping his legs to prevent him from moving. Then, right in front of him, he began to unbutton his shirt one by one.
The blue and purple marks were particularly noticeable on the pale skin, all evidence of Yi Chenliang's mischief from the previous night.
But judging by Yun Fang's demeanor, he was preparing to return the favor.
Yi Chenliang nervously swallowed. "I still have to go on a business trip tomorrow. Why don't we... forget about this?"
Yun Fang looked at him with a half-smile. "Too late."
Yun Fang had always indulged him. Even when he misbehaved badly, Yun Fang wouldn't get angry. But clearly, this time he had gone too far, and Yun Fang was truly upset.
Yi Chenliang's attempts to act cute were ineffective. He was reaping what he had sown.
……
Long fingers with prominent knuckles rested loosely on the headboard, then suddenly gripped tightly, veins bulging on the back of the hand from the excessive force.
A slightly faded, thin red string was wrapped around a small black stone, forming intricate and beautiful patterns. It was tied to the wrist, swaying in the dim light. The ring on the ring finger sparkled with tiny glimmers.
"Xiao Yi"
"Mm"
"What should you call me?"
"Brother"
"Try another"
"Big Yi"
"Try again"
"Mmph"
"Will you say it?"
"Brother, don't"
"Hmm?"
"....."
Yi Chenliang finally succumbed to the stronger force, but still grumbled discontentedly at the end. He tried to kick Yun Fang off the bed, but Yun Fang caught his ankle and dragged him down, giving him a thorough lesson.
The next day, as he was leaving for his business trip, a colleague noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "Oh, didn't sleep well last night?"
Yi Chenliang nodded listlessly.
"Well, I didn't sleep well all night either. My wife was worried too. I heard it's not very peaceful over there," the colleague expressed his understanding.
"My partner was the same," Yi Chenliang yawned and started catching up on sleep as soon as he got on the plane.
Yun Fang was truly terrifying when he got angry. He had almost managed to appease him with the gift, but then he just had to run his mouth and provoke him, resulting in dire consequences.
Recalling the unspeakable scenes from the previous night, Yi Chenliang's ears grew hot.
Next time, he vowed, he would make Yun Fang cry and beg for mercy too.
Despite his internal resentment, it didn't change the fact that he had to stay in Myanmar for a month. As promised, he video called Yun Fang every day to report his safety, right up until the last few days.
"We're going into the mountains to see a village," Yi Chenliang told Yun Fang during a video call. "The location is quite remote, and the signal isn't great there. We might not be able to make video calls."
Seeing Yun Fang frown, he added, "It's fine, the local government is sending people with us, and the director has hired bodyguards to ensure our safety."
"Don't trust the locals blindly. If you encounter danger, hide first..." Yun Fang rambled on with instructions. Listening to him, Yi Chenliang felt as if he were a spy infiltrating an enemy base, facing constant peril and the risk of losing his life at any moment.
But he still listened attentively and then smiled, "Don't worry, my skills were personally taught by you."
Over the years, Yun Fang had taught him many useful things. He could certainly protect himself.
On the day they entered the village, the weather was nice. They rode in off-road vehicles, bumping along into the village.
This was an ancient village. Recently, an ancient tomb had been discovered here. Myanmar experts had been living here for a long time and were briefing them on the tomb's situation, saying they would take them for a tour after lunch.
The group stayed there for several days. On the last day, Yi Chenliang and a colleague were walking around the village when they saw a group of girls sitting under a big tree at the village entrance, chattering and laughing.
Yi Chenliang wanted to avoid them, but his colleague pulled him over. The colleague knew a few phrases in Burmese and, with a mix of gestures and words, managed to start a conversation with the group of girls.
An elderly grandmother sat under the tree, her fingers deftly weaving thin red strings, teaching the girls beside her how to make bracelets.
Yi Chenliang wasn't very interested and didn't pay much attention. Suddenly, the girl next to him exclaimed and pointed at the red string on his left wrist, saying something in Burmese. The whole group, including the smiling grandmother, turned to look at his wrist.
"What are they saying?" Yi Chenliang asked his colleague.
The colleague chatted with the girls for a bit, then looked curiously at the red string on Yi Chenliang's wrist. "They're saying that the style of your bracelet is exactly the same as the one the grandmother is teaching them to make."
Someone laughed and said a long string of words. The colleague took a while to understand, then asked some questions with gestures, finally clicking his tongue.
Yi Chenliang looked at him, puzzled.
"The grandmother says this kind of knot can only be made for someone you like, and you have to personally tie it on their wrist. It's like tying that person to your heart. No matter where they go, you'll always know," the colleague explained, looking at him teasingly. "Also, if that person encounters any hardships or disasters in the future, the one who tied the string can bear half of it for them."
Yi Chenliang was stunned.
He remembered an afternoon many years ago at a seaside hotel.
Yun Fang had personally tied the red string to his left wrist. When he asked what it was, Yun Fang had only said it was a common, ordinary knot that just looked nice.
But at that time, the way Yun Fang looked at the bracelet was solemn and gentle, something Yi Chenliang remembered to this day.
Moreover, he clearly remembered that the knot on the red string he had pulled out from under the pillow was different from the one he was wearing.
Yi Chenliang opened the photo album on his phone, found a picture of their intertwined fingers, and showed it to the grandmother. He asked his colleague, "Can you ask her what the other knot is?"
The colleague asked for him.
The grandmother said a few words, and now all the girls around looked at him with envy.
"The grandmother says, the person wearing this knot, if you tied it for them, they will protect you for all lifetimes," the colleague said. "Even if in the next life you don't like them anymore, don't know them, they will still always protect you, bearing the disasters and misfortunes you can't handle."
"They say this kind of knot is usually not made for someone to tie on themselves."
"After all, it's hard enough to stay together for one lifetime, let alone protecting a stranger and bearing their misfortunes in the next life and the life after that."
"To do this, one must either be foolish or love that person to their very bones."
Yi Chenliang stood in this small village in Myanmar, under the shade of the tree, listening to the laughter of the girls. He hazily recalled the scene from back then.
—
"What about yours? Let me put it on you!" Back then, he was only sixteen or seventeen. These two red strings and small stones didn't really mean much to him. He was just curious and childishly wanted them to be exactly the same.
Yun Fang just looked at him gently and quietly.
When he woke up, Yun Fang was weaving the string for him to tie, while this one was clearly already made.
So before Yun Fang even liked him, he had already decided to protect him forever.
Regardless of whether he would like him back.
Regardless of whether they could ever know each other.
Whether Yun Fang tied it for him or he tied it for Yun Fang, from beginning to end, the one bearing all the disasters and hardships would always be Yun Fang alone.
Back then, Yi Chenliang noticed the knot on the red string was more complex than the one on his wrist. He was quite puzzled and even a bit unhappy, asking Yun Fang, "Why is the knot on your stone different from mine?"
He wanted them to be exactly the same.
"Maybe I made a mistake while weaving it," Yun Fang said with a smile, extending his wrist. "Xiao Yi, put it on for me."
And he couldn't bear to do it.