Just in Time Chapter 54
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 54 Rooftop
Yi Chenliang came out of the office, only to see Yun Fang waiting for him at the door.
“Song Lili left.” Yun Fang said to him, “You must be feeling upset, right?”
Yi Chenliang gave a smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Let’s not go back to the classroom yet.” Yun Fang reached out and ruffled his hair.
“Skipping class?” Yi Chenliang caught his hand and squeezed it, “Don’t you love studying anymore?”
“Ah.” Yun Fang laughed, “Comforting my boyfriend is more important.”
The rooftop of the six-story teaching building was always locked, and no one would come up on ordinary days. But there were still a few beer cans thrown on the ground, being blown around by the cold wind. The snow that had fallen a few days ago hadn’t melted in some shaded areas, and it was piled up in the corner, covered with a layer of dust.
Yi Chenliang kicked the damp cigarette butts scattered around his feet, walked to the railing at the edge of the rooftop, looked down, and his legs felt a bit weak. He was pulled back by Yun Fang.
“You’re afraid of heights and still look.” Yun Fang laughed at him.
“Were you still afraid of heights later?” Yi Chenliang was a bit curious.
Yun Fang found a raised platform in the middle and sat down, pulling Yi Chenliang up as well. Although the wind was biting, the sun was good, and it wasn’t too cold wearing a coat.
“When standing at a high place, I would still be scared, and my calves would tremble.” Yun Fang kicked Yi Chenliang’s calf, “Once, I stood on the edge of the sixteenth floor, and I was completely petrified, unable to move at all.”
“What were you doing on the sixteenth floor?” Yi Chenliang stretched out his foot to hook his ankle, but Yun Fang cunningly dodged it, so he persistently tried to hook it.
“I don’t remember clearly, but I do remember the feeling of fear very clearly.” Seeing that he didn’t give up, Yun Fang deliberately let him hook his ankle and looked up at the sky.
The sky was high and the clouds were wide, it was a clear day.
The cold wind slightly lifted the hair, Yun Fang’s hand was propped on the platform, the corner of his mouth held a faint smile, “I still remember the first time I saw Song Lili.”
****
At that time, Yi Chenliang was only five or six years old, hiding in the corner, afraid to come out, but couldn’t help being curious, poking his head out to look at the two strangers standing in the room.
Song Lili’s appearance was somewhat plain, she didn’t seem easy to get along with. Her long hair was tied up at the back of her head, adorned with a butterfly-shaped hairpin. She was wearing a plaid cloth gown and dark blue pants that were popular in the village at that time, with black cloth shoes and white socks. She squatted on the ground, opened her arms to him, her face wearing a very gentle smile.
“Chenliang, come to mom.”
Yi Chenliang didn’t have a mother of his own, but he had seen other people’s mothers. He dreamed of having a mother to take him home, he always believed that he was just accidentally left at the door of the orphanage by his mother.
At that moment, Song Lili seemed to be glowing in the small eyes of Yi Chenliang.
She must be a fairy from heaven, sent to be his mother.
He nervously clenched his little fists, timidly, step by step, he came out, walked to Song Lili, and was embraced by Song Lili.
That embrace was soft and warm, just like the mother in his dreams.
Song Lili happily picked him up, “Chenliang is so good!”
Yi Mingzhi had been standing quietly by their side. He was tall and silent at that time, but still tried to squeeze out a simple smile, patiently playing a small wooden toy with Yi Chenliang.
“Chenliang, I am your dad.”
Yi Mingzhi let him ride on his neck, Song Lili on the side stretched out her hand to support him. On the way back to the village, they passed a photo studio, they went in and took a family portrait.
He was held in Song Lili’s arms, his small hand clutching Yi Mingzhi’s broad palm, his lips pursed nervously as he faced the camera.
“Little friend, give a smile, look how happy your mom and dad are.” The photographer called out to him.
They were his mom and dad.
At that moment, he felt as if the whole world had brightened up, and he grinned at the camera.
He thought, I must be the luckiest kid in the world.
Click.
Time was frozen.
That family portrait was taken back home, framed, and hung on the wall. Not long after, it was shattered in an argument, quietly picked up by someone. The photo gradually faded and yellowed with the passage of time, but the smiles of the three people inside remained unchanged. In the end, it was locked in an iron box, no longer to be turned over.
****
Yun Fang said, “I know you remember too.”
Yi Chenliang’s eyes were downcast, “I don’t know why things turned out this way, it was so good at the beginning.”
But the good times were too short, as if someone was putting on a show, giving him an elusive dream. After the illusion dissipated, only a mess was left.
“Some things just can’t be forced.” Yun Fang looked at him gently, looking at his confused and sad self from many years ago, and slowly said, “If it can’t be forced, then let it be.”
Yi Chenliang smiled, lifted his head to look at him, “Am I quite cheap? They treated me like this, and I still feel sad.”
“It’s not your fault.” Yun Fang reached out and touched his head, “Even now, seeing them again would still make me sad.”
Yi Chenliang looked at him in astonishment.
“I still can’t help but remember, when I had a fever, Song Lili fed me porridge, when I kicked the quilt, Yi Mingzhi tucked me in…” Yun Fang said self-mockingly, “Even though they often hit me, didn’t let me go to school, and even wanted to sell me.”
“At first, I hated them, despised them, but after twenty years, when I almost forgot about them, seeing them again still made me a little sad.” Yun Fang said.
If they were purely bad, then Yi Chenliang could hate them wholeheartedly, even if it meant cutting ties, he wouldn’t feel a thing.
But where in the world are there purely bad people or purely good people? People are always a mix of good and bad, intertwined with virtue and evil. Unintentionally, they can become unrecognizable, sometimes even they themselves are not aware of this change.
They could have become a harmonious family, but they gradually drifted apart, and in the end, they grew tired of each other.
Yi Chenliang looked at the clear blue sky, leaned to the side, and leaned his entire body on Yun Fang.
He couldn’t express his feelings, habitually suppressing himself, Yun Fang helped him speak out.
Those who are involved are confused, those who are onlookers are clear. Standing outside, people can easily judge good and evil, right and wrong. But when they find themselves in the midst of it, they realize that those likes and dislikes, those good and bad things that fall on themselves, are not so easy to weigh.
He had already made up his mind to cut ties, he didn’t need anyone’s comfort, his sadness and embarrassment were not worth mentioning to others, and he disdained to do so.
But when there was someone in the world who could empathize with him, Yi Chenliang suddenly felt that these messy things didn’t matter anymore.
“That cloud looks pretty good.” He said.