Ke Bu came out of the supermarket with both hands full of bags and handed the one in his right hand to Zhi Li. He shopped extremely quickly. Including the time spent waiting in line to pay, the whole thing had taken only a little over twenty minutes. He hated standing around comparing one thing after another. If he needed something, he simply threw it into the cart.
“You already bought your phone? That was fast. I thought I’d have to wait around for you. If there’s nothing else, let’s go home.”
Zhi Li didn’t answer. He took the bag and swung it back and forth in his hand as they walked.
“If you swing it like that, the eggs inside are going to break.”
“What?” Zhi Li swung the bag even higher.
Ke Bu twisted his mouth. “You’re carrying that much cash around?”
“Credit card.”
“Give it to me.”
Zhi Li handed him the credit card. Ke Bu clarified, “I meant give me your new phone. I’m putting my number into it.” That way, his number would be the very first one saved on Zhi Li’s phone. Ke Bu opened the contacts list—and discovered that someone had already beaten him to it.
“Whose number is this?”
“Who knows?”
“What do you mean, who knows? You just bought the phone. If you didn’t save it, did the salesperson do it?” Ke Bu thought for a moment, then asked, “How old was the salesperson? What did they look like?”
“Who knows?”
“How do you know nothing?”
“I’m not interested in other people’s looks or ages.”
Hearing that, Ke Bu deliberately refused to react and continued with his own complaint. “I can’t believe someone would secretly take advantage of their job like this and steal my first-place spot.”
Zhi Li took the phone from him, deleted the number, added it to the blacklist, and handed the phone back. “Any objections now?”
“None.” Ke Bu made a face and lowered his head to stare at the screen. What should he put as his contact name? Maybe Zhi Zuo Si. Knowing Zhi Li, he probably never looked at his contacts anyway. If Ke Bu called and Zhi Li answered by calling him Dad, that would be hilarious.
Zhi Li, who had already walked several steps ahead, said quietly, “Don’t try any clever little tricks.”
Tch. He saw through me.
Ke Bu obediently entered his own name and tossed the phone toward him. “Catch.”
Zhi Li raised one hand and caught it effortlessly.
The slope leading up to the house was a challenge for Ke Bu in his heavy winter clothes. Zhi Li was already almost at the top while Ke Bu hadn’t even made it halfway. Ke Bu took out his phone, stared at Zhi Li’s back, and waited for him to answer.
“Hey. Carry the other bag too. I can’t climb anymore.”
Zhi Li turned around. Through the receiver came the unmistakable sound of someone calling a dog. From a distance, Ke Bu pointed at him. “Not working.”
Zhi Li wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder, pulled a can of luncheon meat from the bag, and continued making dog-calling noises.
“Still not working!” Ke Bu shouted, only to notice Zhi Li looking toward the neighboring house—or, more precisely, staring at the dog’s food dish outside their door. Ke Bu yelled, “If you actually do what you’re thinking right now, I’m throwing away every condom and bottle of lubricant!”
“If you think it’ll be more comfortable that way, throw them out.”
“Just wait! Once I catch you, I’m biting you to death!” Ke Bu quickened his pace up the slope while Zhi Li calmly watched him and slowly backed away.
By the time Ke Bu reached the top, he had both hands braced on his knees and was gasping for breath. Zhi Li stood close enough for him to grab, but Ke Bu couldn’t take another step.
“You… I…” He weakly reached through the air, unable to catch his target.
Zhi Li stepped forward and let Ke Bu grab his coat pocket. “Are you biting me to death here or waiting until we get home?”
“H-Home. Let me drink some water first.”
Zhi Li took the bag from his hand. “Want me to call an ambulance?”
“Thanks for your concern. It’s not that serious.” Once Ke Bu could breathe normally again, he snatched the bag back. “I’ll carry it myself.”
Home was still a hundred meters away. Each of them carried a bag in one hand, leaving the other hand empty. Their free hands had nothing else to do, so they naturally found each other and intertwined.
It was a quiet, ordinary New Year. They didn’t clean the house, visit relatives, or put up anything auspicious. They made no vows. They ate snacks, played games on their phones and worked on puzzles, watched movies, and tangled together in bed. They passed the holiday without the slightest novelty. How exciting or fresh could two people possibly remain together all the time? Could a relationship constantly dressed up in new tricks really compare to something ordinary that never became tiresome?
Clouds covered the moon. Ke Bu’s hand rested across Zhi Li’s abdomen, while one corner of the blanket had already fallen onto the floor. The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks erupted outside, making the room flicker on and off like the tail of a firefly. Ke Bu raised his head slightly and looked out the window. “So noisy. It must be midnight.”
“You’re going to transform?”
“I’m not Cinderella!”
“Then how do you know it’s twelve?”
“On New Year’s Eve, lots of people set off firecrackers at midnight. Didn’t you hear them when you were growing up?”
“My dad hates noise.”
“Your family went somewhere quiet every year? That doesn’t feel like New Year at all.”
“Does this feel like New Year?”
“We were raised differently. There’s a generation gap between us on this subject, so I can’t be bothered arguing.” Ke Bu looked away from the window and watched the shadows appearing and disappearing across the wall. “Ah, a new year’s already here. Why do I still have absolutely no thoughts about anything?”
“Then just be someone without any thoughts. Leave what comes later to me.”
“The future is heavy. How can I make you carry all of it alone?”
“If it’s that heavy, what if it squashes you even shorter?”
“So what if you’re taller than me?” Ke Bu rested his head against Zhi Li’s shoulder. His sweet smile became visible only whenever the fireworks lit the room.
“Halftime is over.” Zhi Li rolled over and pinned Ke Bu beneath him.
“Your hands—your hands are freezing! Hahaha, there—haha! You know that’s where I’m most ticklish. You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?” Ke Bu laughed as his head emerged from beneath the blanket while he struggled, only to be dragged back underneath a few seconds later.
So what if the fireworks were dazzling? So what if love between a man and a woman was considered the most natural thing in the world?
Ke Bu neither envied it nor wanted it.
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