Ke Bu couldn’t remember whether he had fallen asleep while they were still doing it or simply passed out. There was no trace of that part in his memory. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the wreckage around them. Zhi Li had one arm draped over him and was sleeping soundly. At some point, the cooling mat had somehow been spread across the bed again. Ke Bu stared blankly into space. He often spent some time mentally wandering after waking up.
He found his phone and checked his class schedule. There were two classes that afternoon. Messages kept appearing in the group chat, with Gong Zhu by far the most excited.
Gong Zhu: Everyone, today is 520! Today is 520!
Chu Hao Yu: So what? (picks nose)
Ke Bu: Can any random number be turned into a holiday now?
Gong Zhu: You’re the only person in this group who isn’t single. Aren’t you going to celebrate?
Ke Bu: I don’t know what kind of holiday this is supposed to be. Sorry, but I’m traditional. I only recognize holidays with actual historical roots—Qixi, Dragon Boat Festival, things like that. All these newer holidays cobbled together from numbers are just deliberately promoted by businesses so they can sell things.
Gong Zhu: Stop destroying my romance! 520 isn’t some random number. It means “I love you.”
Ke Bu: I’m just expressing my opinion. 520 means “I love you”? Only the sound of “0” is even remotely close to nín. “5” and “2” are nowhere near it. If you absolutely have to force the sounds into words, wú ér nín is closer—basically, “my son, you.”
Gong Zhu: Ke Bu!! I’m blocking your messages!!
Elio’s Notes: May 20, written 5/20 or “520,” is treated as an internet Valentine’s Day in China because wǔ èr líng is popularly said to resemble wǒ ài nǐ, “I love you.” Ke Bu deliberately mocks the loose homophony with the closer-sounding wú ér nín, roughly “my son, you.”
Zhi Li moved slightly beside him and opened his eyes. Ke Bu turned his head. “Hey, Zhi Li. 520.”
“The price for fucking you?” There was someone even better at destroying romance.
“No!”
“I only have twenty.” Zhi Li produced a twenty-yuan bill from somewhere.
“I already said that’s not what it means!” Ke Bu snatched the money away. “Sigh. I never realized my body was this cheap. Only twenty yuan a time.”
“That’s payment for twenty thousand times.”
“Not even one cent per time?!”
“What?”
“Fine, fine.” Ke Bu sat up and started getting dressed. Once finished, he stood on the floor pulling up his pants. “I’m hungry. I’m going to get lunch first. Unlike you, I don’t have Zhou Xin He as my personal chef.”
After leaving the dormitory building, Ke Bu passed the school noticeboard. A photograph of the newly appointed student council president, Bao Ji Lei, had been posted there. She was the same first-year girl he had seen before. Recently, photographs of her had appeared everywhere on the campus website and on noticeboards around the school. She looked extremely prominent, as though the school was terrified anyone might not know who the new president was. Yan Feng had already been president when Ke Bu first entered the school, so this was the first time Ke Bu had witnessed this kind of transition. Today, beside the new president’s photograph, there was also a large pink poster decorated with hearts and the silhouettes of a man and woman. It read: 520—Spend It with the One You Love. Tonight at 8 p.m., the Music Club will hold a small concert on the school field. Don’t miss it. Come join us at the place that once witnessed Sheng Jie Academy’s legendary love story.
As far as Ke Bu knew, there was only one couple associated with the label Sheng Jie Academy’s love legend. What exactly had those two done on the field?
Carrying his food, Ke Bu entered the cafeteria and ran into Ying Xiu Jie and Gong Zhu. He went over and sat with them.
“You’re not eating?” he asked Gong Zhu, who was merely sitting there. Gong Zhu shook his head. “No. I’m dieting. Xin He has been making too many desserts lately. I think I’ve put some fat on my stomach.”
“You? Dieting?”
“Of course you can’t see the fat on my stomach. I even asked Xiu Jie to be my trainer. Maybe I’ll meet my destined person at the concert tonight.”
Ke Bu trapped Ying Xiu Jie’s chopsticks as they reached toward his bowl. “Don’t even think about stealing my meat.”
“I’m still hungry.”
“What the hell does that have to do with me? Go buy more.”
“Will you two listen to me seriously?!” Gong Zhu pleaded. “Come with me tonight. I’m scared to go alone. Even if I meet a guy I like, I don’t know how to take the initiative.”
“Then what was the point of reading all that BL manga?”
“Manga is manga and reality is reality. Even if I find someone I like, reality isn’t like a BL manga where ninety percent of the guys are gay and you can just pick one.” Gong Zhu had been hurt in love before, and now he had become hesitant and timid about relationships. He wanted to take another step forward, yet constantly held himself back because he was afraid of being hurt again. Ying Xiu Jie had always been loyal to his friends. He slapped Gong Zhu hard on the back. “Fine! I’ll go with you!”
“Ke Bu, you’ll go too, right?” He blinked his watery eyes at him.
“Fine. I’ll go take a look.”
The sky wasn’t dark yet, but the field was already becoming lively. The Music Club was putting together a simple stage while people who enjoyed excitement had begun claiming good spots and chatting below. Ke Bu leaned against the windowsill in the club building as a cool breeze drifted past. “Hey, there’s a concert on the field at eight. Are you going?”
“You’re asking me on a date?”
“Who’s asking you on a date? I’m just asking whether you’re going.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“I’m the one asking you a question.”
“You ask yours. I’ll ask mine.”
“How is a conversation supposed to work like that?!” He leaned his back against Zhi Li’s. “We’re bored anyway. Let’s go take a look.”
“You’re asking me on a date?”
“Why did the conversation go back there again?!”
Close to eight o’clock, Ke Bu arrived at the field with Zhi Li naturally beside him. Gong Zhu and the others were already there, waving at them from the very back of the crowd. Ke Bu looked around. “You guys picked such a great spot. We can’t see anything.”
“It’s a concert. You only need to hear it. The front is too crowded.”
Ke Bu thought that made sense, but standing there still seemed tiring. “Yutai, let’s negotiate something.”
“What?”
“Can you lie on the ground and let me sit on you for a while?”
“Can you stand right where you are and let me throw rocks at you for a while?”
While they argued, a male host walked onstage carrying a microphone and shouted loudly, “Students of Sheng Jie Academy! Happy 520!” A sparse response rose from below.
“Sheng Jie Academy has four things it’s most famous for, and one of them is its legendary love story. Tonight’s 520 concert, jointly organized by the Music Club and student council, is being held in commemoration of the two of them. We…”
That… makes it sound like those two are dead. Surely Zhi Li would be furious that the Music Club was randomly cursing his parents without knowing anything. Ke Bu turned toward him. All right, apparently not. Zhi Li showed no reaction whatsoever and was playing Tetris on his phone.
At that moment, students wearing Music Club uniforms began distributing flyers. Ke Bu received one too. When he turned on his phone light to read it, he discovered that it contained another story about the legendary couple.
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