Evening Stars Chapter 48
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 48
“I want to go back to Tibet.”
Xu Nanheng truly meant it. He blurted it out right after finishing the 3000-meter run, without a second of thought. Fang Shiyou's ‘okay’ was just as impulsive, but even in that instant, he had already begun considering whether he could take leave or swap shifts.
Xu Nanheng sat straight down on the grass. After resting for a bit and drinking some water, he turned to glance at Tan Xi. Teacher Tan had finished second, crossing the line just a few steps behind him.
“Teacher Tan, you're really terrifying,” Xu Nanheng said.
Tan Xi sat down beside him, dripping with sweat. “You're the scary one. I only made it through on sheer willpower and the thought of eating hot pot skewers tonight.”
Then Tan Xi added, “You coming? For hot pot skewers?”
He really loved the hot pot skewers shop across the street from the school's back gate.
Xu Nanheng shook his head weakly. “The last remaining bit of my strength is reserved for climbing the podium to get my medal. I can't walk all the way to the back gate, Teacher Tan.”
The top three in the three-thousand-meter run were Xu Nanheng, Tan Xi, and a chemistry teacher surnamed Zheng. It was Teacher Zheng's third year teaching at the affiliated high school. He was in his early thirties, and today his girlfriend had come to watch him compete. The two of them were sitting on the grass now, laughing sweetly together.
Tan Xi sighed, fell back onto the grass, and looked up at the blue sky. “How nice. Even at the school sports meet, people have their partners here to cheer them on. Whenever I go back home, my relatives keep asking if I've started dating anyone in Beijing. But at least I'm not the only single dog. Teacher Xu, you're also…… hmm?”
He trailed off when he noticed the meaningful look Xu Nanheng gave him.
Tan Xi frowned. “What's with that look? You're being weird.”
Xu Nanheng smiled. “Nothing. Just an ordinary look. Don't overthink it.”
But there were too many people around on the field, some taking photos, some handing out water, some offering congratulations. Besides, Fang Shiyou didn't say anything, so Tan Xi didn't notice him. About ten minutes later, once everyone had rested enough, the three teachers dragged their trembling legs up to the stage to receive their medals.
Later, Fang Shiyou had to help Xu Nanheng to the school gate. By the time they reached the car, Xu Nanheng couldn't even lift his legs to get in. Fang Shiyou's Raptor had a particularly high chassis. Seeing that no one was around, Dr. Fang scooped him up by the knees and carried him into the vehicle.
Once the door was closed, Xu Nanheng reclined the seat and let out a long sigh.
Fang Shiyou fastened his seatbelt first, then his own, and asked, “You said you wanted to go back to Tibet?”
“Yeah.” Xu Nanheng sighed again, resting the back of his hand on his forehead. “I do want to, but I'll have to wait for the holidays. I can't just hop on a flight to Lhasa on a random weekend……”
After saying that, he turned to Fang Shiyou. “Don't do anything like a ‘surprise.’”
Fang Shiyou looked innocent. “Of course not. I'd never do something without talking to you first.”
Xu Nanheng nodded in satisfaction. “Although I really would like to check on Dasang Choedon's progress and grades, she's not my only student. There are still a few others giving me headaches in my current classes.”
Fang Shiyou started the engine and slowly eased the car out of the parking spot. “It's fine. Whatever you said to Choedon before you left will be enough to keep her in line for the next three years.”
Just thinking about it made Xu Nanheng laugh out loud. He leaned back in the passenger seat, still chuckling. Fang Shiyou laughed along, pulled the car out of the parking space, turned onto the main road, and merged into traffic.
Those words were indeed enough to keep Choedon in check for three years of senior high school. Before returning to Beijing, Xu Nanheng had made a speech in the village schoolyard, telling the children to never stop learning. And just before leaving, he told Choedon, “If you don't get into a 985 university, I'll be there in your final year to make sure you prepare for the college entrance exam.”
Honestly, even Fang Shiyou felt a momentary chill from Xu Nanheng's words and his expression at the time.
After driving home, there were no more reservations. Fang Shiyou carried him upstairs and helped him bathe. Xu Nanheng was still a little awkward while taking a shower.
After stripping down and stepping into the shower, he gave it a try. But just before Fang Shiyou came in, he changed his mind and said, “I can just hold onto the shower rack and wash myself……”
Fang Shiyou, bringing in his change of clothes, looked puzzled. “We've done it in here at least ten times.”
That was true. There had been countless times when the two of them were too impatient to wait until the bath was over, so they simply stood there, doing it while washing. He understood the logic, but…… He gripped the edge of the frosted glass door, leaving it slightly ajar, as if that thin barrier was his last line of defense. “This time is different from that time, Dr. Fang.”
Fang Shiyou understood. He set the clean clothes on the stool outside the shower and looked at him steadily. He could see why Xu Nanheng felt that way. When both were equally exposed and vulnerable, making love was an act of mutual engagement between two people. But helping him bathe was a one-sided act of service, leaving Xu Nanheng entirely passive.
Fang Shiyou thought for a moment. “No. I get it, but I still can't let you do it alone. Accept reality, Teacher Xu. I'm coming in.”
He lifted his T-shirt and pulled it off, still wearing knee-length pants underneath. Xu Nanheng knew there was no escaping this. His fingers tightened on the glass door. “Then you should take it all off too.”
“Alright.” Fang Shiyou didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Not long after the hot water began to fall, steam filled the shower. Xu Nanheng squinted slightly. If he hadn't been so tired and weak all over, this atmosphere would be perfect for doing something.
When Dr. Fang applied the body wash, he was the picture of propriety, his touch, his method, every motion free of any stray thought. Even when Xu Nanheng looped his arms around Fang Shiyou's neck to stay upright, and Fang Shiyou's hand brushed over certain places while washing him, Xu Nanheng couldn't help blurting out, “It feels like you're washing a dog.”
“……?” Fang Shiyou was puzzled. He looked up at him. “What makes you say that?”
“It's just……” Xu Nanheng stumbled over his words for a moment, then explained, “You're being very impersonal.”
Fang Shiyou truly didn't know what expression to make. He lowered his head and laughed, just like every other time Xu Nanheng made some absurd comment. “You should say I am dedicated to serving you, not ‘impersonal.’ If I were to get aroused right after you finished a long-distance run, would that still make me human?”
Indeed, Dr. Fang was a man of integrity. Xu Nanheng switched the arm he was using for support and shifted his stance. By this point, he wasn't embarrassed anymore. The two of them stood together under the running water and shared a soft kiss in the spray.
For the entire week that followed, Xu Nanheng was shaky and unsteady. He trembled as he got up, washed, and went downstairs. Even the 62-year-old Geography teacher for the first-year class didn't need a chair behind the lectern, but twenty-six-year-old Teacher Xu did. And whenever he stood up, he sometimes needed a student nearby to give him a hand.
In short, he was in a sorry state, and it made him resolve to start exercising more seriously in the future.
That day, after finishing his lessons with Class 15, he leaned against the wall and slowly made his way toward the office. From the other end of the corridor, he saw Teacher Tan from Class 10 moving at the same pace, with the same stiff gait. The two of them exchanged a silent glance, then each returned to their own office.
November and December passed by like the train traveling from Shanghai to Lhasa with a transfer in Xining. It looked distant and incredibly long, but once you were sitting on it, you arrived before you knew it.
The school didn't plan any special events for New Year's Day. The issue had come up during a meeting. More than half of the teachers agreed that this year's celebration shouldn't involve student performances. Performances meant rehearsals, which took up time and scattered focus. When it came time for new suggestions, Xu Nanheng proposed simply showing a movie in the auditorium and letting everyone go home afterward.
That, of course, led to another debate: what kind of movie? The students ranged from fifteen to seventeen years old. If it was too educational, it wouldn't feel like a holiday. If it was too lighthearted, the school leaders would find it inappropriate.
“So what did they decide on in the end?” Fang Shiyou asked.
Across the table, Xu Nanheng dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin and said calmly, “Nolan.”
“Oppenheimer?”
“‘Oppenheimer’ has a few bed scenes, so it's not suitable. They went with ‘Interstellar’ instead,” Xu Nanheng said.
That evening, they were dining at a fine French restaurant. Fang Shiyou had booked the table two weeks in advance. Since it was New Year's Eve, the place was full of couples sharing romantic dinners.
In this restaurant, where the average meal cost over two thousand yuan per person, the young couples would start eating and soon be leaning close, huddled together. There were also a few same-sex couples in the restaurant, all very reserved, sitting face-to-face as if they were out for a business meeting.
These two, in particular, were both wearing suits today. They truly didn't look like they were out on a date until the dessert arrived, featuring two bright red heart-shaped macarons, which finally made them look a little like lovers.
On New Year's Eve in late December, Beijing was packed everywhere. Waiting for a taxi in Sanlitun started at a two-hour wait, and you couldn't even get into the bars. The restaurant where they'd had dinner was close to home, so they decided to walk back. On the way, Fang Shiyou scrolled through his Moments and saw Dr. Yang stuck in the Sanlitun crowd, looking miserable. Laughing, he showed the post to Xu Nanheng.
Even with the streets overflowing, the two men in suits still stood out strikingly on the sidewalk. Teacher Xu was wearing a pure black trench coat over his suit, while Dr. Fang had his coat draped over his arm and was holding up his phone to show him. The two were smiling with exceptional tenderness.
“Dr. Yang is something else, daring to run into Sanlitun on New Year's Eve,” Xu Nanheng said with a laugh. “A brave man.”
“His junior high school classmate came to visit him,” Fang Shiyou said. “During his night shift yesterday, he was thinking about where to go in Beijing and asked me for ideas. I told him, if it were me, I'd just buy a ticket to Tianjin.”
At the mention of Tianjin, Xu Nanheng stopped walking. “Let's go.”
“Hm?”
“Let's get Chinese crepes.”
“……” Which meant that the several thousand spent at the French restaurant hadn't filled him up. Fang Shiyou slipped his phone into his pocket, put an arm around him, and led him through the night air toward a warm Chinese crepe stand glowing under soft yellow lights.
French cuisine had its own charm, but Chinese crepes were simply irreplaceable.
“Eat slower,” Fang Shiyou said with a smile. “Isn't it hot? It just came off the griddle.”
Xu Nanheng couldn't even speak through the heat. “Hot.”
Fang Shiyou sighed helplessly. “Blow on it first.”
The crepe was hot, and even the paper bag it came in was hot. Xu Nanheng switched it from his left hand to his right, then back again. In the end, Fang Shiyou couldn't watch anymore. With his little finger hooked around his own crepe, he took Xu Nanheng's from him and held it up to feed him instead. A man in a suit, biting into a Chinese crepe from another man's hand, looked just like a child.
Xu Nanheng: “Do you have iron hands, Dr. Fang?”
“A little more iron than yours.”
There were plenty of people lighting small fireworks along the street, all waiting for midnight. The vendors selling fireworks on the sidewalks were, for once, not being chased away by city management today.
Before heading home, they bought a few, planning to set them off from the balcony.
They decided not to stay outside for the New Year's countdown. Spending New Year's Eve at home together was more than enough.