Shao Wu had a late-night meal at Yang Shuyi’s house. Grandma used the leftover shredded pork with green peppers from dinner to make noodles, with two poached eggs nestled in them, two large steaming bowls.
As the two of them ate, Grandma kept talking beside them. Yang Long had been like this since he was little, so impulsive. Goodness, I never thought he’d be able to drive, especially those big trucks. Just the year before last, he got into a fight with someone at a service area… After a while, Yang Shuyi finally interrupted as though he could not take it anymore. “Grandma, stop talking about him.”
Grandma smiled and sighed. “You two, father and son…” But before long she brought Yang Long up again, saying he had really been furious this time too. He and Xiaojuan had left that very afternoon. She had told him to wait until tomorrow because she was making shredded pork with green peppers that night, but he would not listen… And that was his favorite dish she made.
Shao Wu sneaked a glance at Yang Shuyi and saw that he looked both irritated and helpless.
“Grandma,” Shao Wu said obediently, “your shredded pork with green peppers is really delicious.”
Grandma immediately tied on her apron. “Then I’ll stir-fry some more for you. It tastes even better fresh out of the wok.”
“Hey, hey, no, Grandma! We’re both full!”
Yang Shuyi said too, “We’ll invite Shao Wu over again next time. We can’t eat any more today.”
Once they had finished the noodles, it was time for Shao Wu to go home. Yang Shuyi walked him downstairs. There was not a single streetlight in front of the stairwell. Only a blurry orange glow spilled from the first-floor windows. The panes were frosted glass patterned with old-fashioned roses, making the light look hazy, almost intimate.
Everything around them was pitch-black and silent. Shao Wu remembered how he had leaned on Yang Shuyi’s shoulder and cried earlier, and felt a little awkward. “Then I’m going home.”
“Mm. Be careful on the way.”
“Are you going to school tomorrow?” Afraid Yang Shuyi would get annoyed, Shao Wu immediately added, “It’s fine if you don’t. I can bring your papers and notes over.”
He could not make out Yang Shuyi’s expression in the dark. By that faint, blurred orange light, he could only tell that Yang Shuyi nodded.
“I probably will,” Yang Shuyi said. “Grandma insists I go.”
“Mm. Good.” Secretly delighted, Shao Wu got onto his bicycle and turned his head toward Yang Shuyi in the darkness. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Go home and change your clothes right away.” Yang Shuyi reached out and tapped Shao Wu on the back. “Otherwise you’ll catch another cold.”
“I know!” The movement was so sudden that Shao Wu felt his back stiffen. He blurted out rapidly, “Bye!” and fled with a distinct air of escape.
The next day, Yang Shuyi kept his word. Early in the morning, he was already lying over his desk in the classroom.
Of course some classmates talked about him, but they carefully avoided doing it near him. After a few comments, when they saw him zoning out just as usual, there was not much left to say.
The homeroom teacher also acted as though nothing had happened. He taught when it was time to teach, scolded people when it was time to scold them, and even punished Zhou Lei for reading a novel during evening self-study by making him write a three-thousand-character self-criticism. During class meeting, Zhou Lei stood in front with a miserable face and read it aloud. “I was wrong. Why couldn’t I control my eyes? Oh, and my hands…” The students below burst into laughter. Shao Wu turned his head and saw that Yang Shuyi was laughing too.
And so Labor Day came and went. The atmosphere of the Olympics seemed to grow stronger by the day. Shao Wu kept hearing Beijing Welcomes You everywhere: on the broadcast during the long break, as teachers’ phone ringtones, even as a tune Zheng Xiaoning hummed without thinking. The weather grew warmer every day. Several rounds of flowers had already bloomed and faded around the school, and now the camellias covered the branches, red and white, every blossom full and lush.
At noon on May 6, when school let out, Zhu Jingjing ran over and asked Shao Wu, “What do you want for your birthday?” She had a loud voice, and the moment she asked, everyone nearby heard and crowded over too. “Shao Wu’s birthday is coming up? What do you want? I’ll buy you a set of Huanggang Secret Exam Papers!”
Maybe he had heard Zhu Jingjing. Yang Shuyi looked over. Across more than half the classroom, their eyes suddenly met.
“Uh, it’s still a few days away…” Shao Wu hurriedly looked away, but his voice actually grew louder. “May twelfth. I’ll treat you all to cake then.”
Zhou Lei said, “So do you want the Huanggang papers or not? I might as well buy two sets. One for you, and one for Han Huiyuan when her birthday comes!”
Han Huiyuan rolled her eyes. “You have to stick your nose into everything!”
Zhu Jingjing said, “What present do you want? Hurry up and think! Since you’re my former deskmate, keep it under a hundred yuan…”
Shao Wu joked, “Give me your set of Fuwa? Then it won’t cost you anything.”
Zhu Jingjing arched a brow. “Dream on!”
A few days earlier, Zhu Jingjing’s father had gone to Beijing on a business trip and brought her back a full set of Fuwa plush toys, Olympic souvenirs issued by the Bank of China. Supposedly only five hundred sets had been released nationwide. They were extraordinarily soft to the touch, and the packaging was exquisite.
At that moment Zheng Xiaoning joined them. “Shao Wu’s birthday is coming up? I just bought a book and haven’t even opened it yet…”
The group chattered about gifts for ages, not even avoiding the birthday boy himself, and the topic drifted farther and farther off course. Finally, when Zhou Lei gave a suggestive chuckle and said, “How about I find Little Shao a girlfriend?” Shao Wu put on his backpack and cut him off. “Keep her for yourself! I’m going home for lunch!”
Shao Wu walked straight toward Yang Shuyi, his face still a little warm. He knew he had been scheming just a bit, deliberately letting Zhu Jingjing and the others discuss birthday presents where Yang Shuyi could hear. What he meant in his heart was: Yang Shuyi, did you hear that? My birthday is coming! May twelfth!
But once he reached Yang Shuyi, he acted as though absolutely nothing had happened. “Ready?”
Yang Shuyi draped an arm over Shao Wu’s shoulders like a good buddy. “Your birthday’s coming up?”
“Mm. The twelfth.”
“Oh…”
What did he mean, oh? Where was the rest? Was he going to give him a present? Forget it, a present did not matter, but he was definitely eating Shao Wu’s birthday cake!
“Come on.” Yang Shuyi smiled, looking oddly mysterious. “Let’s go home and eat.”