Evening Stars Chapter 22 (Part 2)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 22.2
Fang Shiyou had mentioned he had a surgery that afternoon, so Xu Nanheng figured he'd go browse the market on his own. The last time he'd been there, he'd seen plenty of small shops and stalls. He planned to take a look around and maybe buy something to bring home.
The market was quite lively. Some shops had air-dried yak meat hanging by the doorways. With the weather turning cooler, the vendors had started selling heavier clothing.
Xu Nanheng spotted a particularly beautiful Tibetan robe. It was black with brick-red accents, made of goatskin and lamb's wool. Herdsmen in the pastoral areas wore them in winter to withstand the severe cold. It hung on the wall, long and elegant. Standing at one meter eighty-four, he guessed it would reach down to his calves.
Although tourists usually dwindled once the temperature dropped, some still came this time of year to experience the snow-capped mountains. One such tourist walked into the shop and asked the owner about the robe's price. Xu Nanheng stayed nearby, pretending to examine a string of prayer beads on the counter. When he heard the owner say it cost eleven thousand yuan, he was slightly surprised.
He had expected it to be expensive, but not over ten thousand. Then he glanced down again. The prayer beads in his hand were priced at five thousand, and the belt beside them at two thousand. He silently withdrew his hand……
Xu Nanheng went to the same shop he and Fang Shiyou had visited before. The owner recognized him and said she'd give him a discount this time.
She tied up two thicker quilts with rope. They were a little difficult to carry and hard to strap on his back, so the owner's son rode an auto rickshaw and helped deliver them to the school gate. Xu Nanheng sat in the back of the rickshaw, pressing down on his quilts.
The bus driver helped him stow the quilts in the luggage compartment under the bus. It was still early, so he went to the milk tea shop by the school gate.
The shop was simple, with various flavors of milk tea powder openly displayed above the counter. The students hadn't been dismissed from school yet, and the server was dozing off. Xu Nanheng's sudden entrance startled him.
Xu Nanheng casually ordered a strawberry drink. As the server mixed the milk tea powder, he stole a few glances at him. Xu Nanheng was undeniably good-looking. If he hadn't been such a homebody in college, never joining any events, he would've easily been a campus heartthrob.
And he had a scholar air about him. It was a gentle, cultured presence that made people feel at ease. When he wasn't talking, he seemed refined, like a jade-faced scholar.
Of course, that was only when he wasn't talking.
“Tsk.” Xu Nanheng repeatedly toggled his phone's airplane mode on and off, trying to get it to refresh the signal. Watching the WeChat ‘receiving’ icon spin endlessly, he muttered, “Stupid iPhone. I'll stew you one of these days.”
With no signal, he couldn't reach Fang Shiyou. Halfway through his milk tea, as it neared four o'clock, he decided he might as well ask the server for a hotspot. Just then, another customer walked in. The server, surprised to see another person today, greeted him with a “Welcome.”
“……” Xu Nanheng looked at him, feeling a moment of confusion at first. Then he realized that Fang Shiyou had probably guessed he would be at the county school around this time. His confusion melted into a smile, and he leaned casually back in his chair. “Dr. Fang, what would you like to drink?”
He completely managed to make asking about a drink at a milk tea shop sound like an invitation at an exclusive club in Sanlitun or LKF.
Fang Shiyou glanced at the half-finished pink drink on Xu Nanheng's table and sat down across from him. “I'm good. I thought you were teaching inside, so I was planning to sit here and wait for you. You don't have class?”
“No, I don't. Teacher Sonam is teaching. This afternoon is for physics and chemistry experiments. I just tagged along for the ride.” Xu Nanheng had originally meant to say ‘and to see you,’ but he didn't.
Instead, he picked up his drink and took another sip. “Your surgery ended this early?”
Fang Shiyou had come straight from the operating room, his jacket draped over his arm. Coincidentally, Fang Shiyou was also wearing a windbreaker today, though a short one, paired with a white shirt underneath.
After taking off the jacket, he was left in just his shirt. “Mitral valve repair and tricuspid valve replacement. It took eight and a half hours.”
“H-how long?” Xu Nanheng stared at him.
Fang Shiyou was sure he'd heard him clearly, so he explained, “Most heart surgeries take a long time. This one started early in the morning.”
Xu Nanheng was astonished. “You mean, you stood there the whole time?”
Fang Shiyou chuckled. “Yeah. It's fine. I'm used to it. My mentor's sixty now, and he still sometimes does a full operation.”
“He can also do half a surgery?” Xu Nanheng asked.
“He usually handles the most critical, most difficult parts. It's also to give younger doctors some practice. But he doesn't go far. He'll sit with the anesthesiologist for a bit. He's getting older, so his back and legs aren't what they used to be.”
Xu Nanheng nodded. Fang Shiyou looked warm, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone and a couple of strands of hair stuck to his forehead. It made sense. Surgery was a physically demanding job that required intense focus. Judging by his appearance…… he probably hadn't even had time for a sip of water.
“I see.” Xu Nanheng cleared his throat. “Then…… want to get a drink? My treat.”
“No need,” Fang Shiyou said with a shake of his head. His mouth was dry, but he knew he wouldn't finish a cup of milk tea. It would just go to waste.
Still, Xu Nanheng thought his voice sounded a little hoarse. For some reason, he pushed his own cup forward. “Then just have a sip to moisten your throat.”
It was pink, strawberry-flavored milk tea, with about a quarter left.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xu Nanheng regretted it. He quickly grabbed the cup again, as if he could somehow undo what he'd just said.
But Fang Shiyou directly reached out. It was one of the cafe's unsealed glass cups used for in-store serving. He angled the straw aside, pressed his lips to the rim, and tilted his head back to drink what was left.
The artificially flavored drink had a faint fruity note. It filled his mouth with cloying sweetness. Fang Shiyou pressed his lips together. “Alright, let's go.”
“Go where?” Xu Nanheng asked.
“To my place,” Fang Shiyou said. “I left too quickly this morning and forgot to bring the Polaroid……”
After speaking, he looked a little awkward and quickly added an explanation. “I woke up late. The power went out last night, so my phone didn't charge, and my alarm didn't go off.”
“Then let's go.” Xu Nanheng stood up, not thinking much of it.
Fang Shiyou's Ford Raptor was parked right outside the school gate. This was the first time Xu Nanheng had been in his car. The interior was just as unadorned as him — basic floor mats, a single charging cable, and a cleaning cloth tucked in the door compartment.
“Is it a place you rented?” Xu Nanheng asked.
“No.” Fang Shiyou fastened his seat belt and started the engine. “It's the dorm the hospital arranged for me for the Tibet aid program. A single-room apartment.”
“Oh……” Xu Nanheng nodded.
The apartment complex was about one block away from the county hospital, located in a residential area. It was a cluster of apartment buildings but not fenced off like a regular community. Fang Shiyou parked his car on one of the public roadside spaces.
This was where Fang Shiyou lived in Tibet: a small one-bedroom, one-living room apartment. “Sorry, it's a bit messy,” he said as he opened the door. “No need to change shoes. I don't have extra slippers.”
“That's too kind of you.” Xu Nanheng lifted one foot inside, then pulled it back again. “It's fine, I don't need slippers.”
He slipped off his canvas shoes, ready to go barefoot. Fang Shiyou remembered he had a pair of shower slippers, so he gave the pair from the living room to Xu Nanheng and went to put on the other pair himself.
Xu Nanheng was very polite. His manners kept him standing dutifully in the middle of the narrow living room. He didn't look around but just waited there.
Fang Shiyou came out from the bedroom with the Polaroid in hand, saw him standing there, and smiled. “Have a seat.”
“Alright.” Xu Nanheng sat down on the sofa.
Fang Shiyou handed him the Polaroid along with the bag. “I didn't open it. The receipt's inside. If there's any issue, just bring it to customer service.”
“Got it.” Xu Nanheng quickly opened the box and started fiddling with it. He had used his college roommate's Polaroid a few times before, so he was familiar enough with its operation.
Fang Shiyou went to pour some water. It was obvious he lived alone. There was only one glass, which he handed to Xu Nanheng, while he unscrewed a bottle of mineral water for himself.
He really was…… quite the minimalist loner, owning just one of everything. Xu Nanheng had already turned on the camera and shot out the first sheet of protective dark slide. “I thought you'd ask why I didn't just use my phone and print the photos.”
“It's not as convenient,” Fang Shiyou said after taking a few sips of water, his voice sounding much better. “And this thing's kind of cute.”
“Right?” Xu Nanheng smiled. “If it were a real camera, I don't have the skills for it. If I used my phone, I'd just procrastinate and end up stuck in the ‘I'll print them next time’ stage. So, it's better to get a Polaroid.”
Fang Shiyou took another couple of sips and asked, “Last time, when I was in the emergency room doing that rebar extraction surgery, you came to the hospital. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Ah.” Xu Nanheng lifted the Polaroid to his eye. “Nothing serious. I figured it out myself afterward. Dr. Fang, let me take a picture.”
“Hmm?” Fang Shiyou froze for a second.
He was still holding the water bottle when Xu Nanheng turned slightly toward him, his upper body leaning back just a little.
Then, the shutter clicked.
The photo paper came out blank and needed time to develop.
Actually, the wait was short. The small, worn sofa sat by the window, and the apartment was quiet. The sheer curtain behind them fluttered gently in the wind.
In the slightly messy living room, a Bluetooth mouse rested on the coffee table, and two jackets were draped over the armrest of the sofa.
For a moment, it felt as if the two of them were living here together.
Fang Shiyou took another sip of water. “Is it ready?”
“Yeah.” Xu Nanheng turned the photo over.
The shot captured the moment naturally, so Fang Shiyou's posture was very relaxed. The Polaroid had that old Hong Kong film aesthetic, especially with Fang Shiyou in a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, exposing a metal wristwatch.
“Can I keep this one?” Xu Nanheng asked.
Fang Shiyou: “Sure.”