So the fundamental problem was finally settled: Yang Shuyi wasn’t dead.
But the next moment Shao Wu started feeling embarrassed. He wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. He’d cried like a lunatic, then come running here with such desperate eagerness. What right did he have?
Whatever else was true, Yang Shuyi was married now. What was Shao Wu to him? What gave him the right to come looking for him?
Shao Wu almost wanted to say, Well, you’re fine. I’ll go back to work now.
But looking at Yang Shuyi, he simply, absolutely couldn’t make himself move.
Yang Shuyi took two steps closer and explained of his own accord, “I dropped my phone into the river the afternoon before yesterday… My coworker only arrived yesterday, so I borrowed his phone to call you.”
Shao Wu nodded. “Oh.”
“It was only one day without contact. I didn’t think you’d all be so worried. Longlong sometimes goes several days without calling me.” His brows were faintly knit, and he looked a little nervous.
“I understand,” Shao Wu said. “We thought you’d been caught in the landslide… I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“We really were in Liangshan earlier. We only got to Shuimo the morning before yesterday.”
“Oh,” Shao Wu said. “I see.”
Right. Yang Shuyi had explained everything he needed to explain. Now it was Shao Wu’s turn. But how could he explain himself? They hadn’t seen or contacted each other for more than two months. It had seemed they might never speak again. Then one call from Longlong and one news report, and he’d rushed here without thinking.
He hadn’t even waited for the Geological Exploration Bureau to open before nearly boarding a high-speed train to Leshan.
He really did want the earth to open up and swallow him.
“Come on,” Yang Shuyi said. “My coworker’s car is parked up ahead.”
“Uh, where are we going?”
“A nearby village. We’re assessing whether some houses are unsafe and taking samples while we’re there.”
“Won’t I get in the way of your work?”
Yang Shuyi looked at him and smiled. “No. I sprained my ankle, so all I can do is sit around at a villager’s house.”
Shao Wu looked down at his left leg. Through the thick outdoor pants, he couldn’t tell how bad it was.
“Nothing’s broken,” Yang Shuyi said quietly. “Just a bit swollen.”
Did he take a terrible fall? Shao Wu wondered. He’d dropped his phone into the river and twisted his ankle. He must have looked quite a sight.
They set off together. Yang Shuyi walked with a limp, so their pace was slow. At this altitude the sun somehow seemed closer to the earth, and its rays struck Shao Wu’s skin so directly that he squinted. Yet the wind was strong. Unlike the damp wind of Yongchuan, the air here was dry and sharp with cold.
Yang Shuyi led Shao Wu to an off-road vehicle belonging to the Geological Exploration Bureau. One of his coworkers was driving, a young man roughly their age, wearing the same outdoor jacket as Yang Shuyi. The first thing he said when he saw Shao Wu was, “So you’re the one!”
Shao Wu said, “Huh?”
The coworker shot Yang Shuyi a teasing look. “You have no idea how badly you frightened him when you started crying yesterday! His face went completely white!”
Shao Wu: “…”
Yang Shuyi reached forward and thumped the back of the driver’s seat. “Just drive.” Then he coughed awkwardly and explained to Shao Wu, “It was his phone I borrowed yesterday.”
“…Hello.” Shao Wu braced himself. “My name’s Shao Wu. Shao with the silk radical, and Wu with ‘mouth’ over ‘heaven.’ You can call me Xiao Shao.”
The coworker greeted him enthusiastically. “Hello, hello! I’m Ding Li.” His eyes darted about, then he added, “It’s great you’ve come. You can keep Yang Shuyi company.”
Shao Wu looked utterly baffled. Why did Yang Shuyi need someone to keep him company?
Because he’d sprained his ankle and needed someone to fuss over him?
But Ding Li looked so eagerly at him that Shao Wu could only nod. “Right… I’ve come to look after him.”
After the introductions, the vehicle set off.
Ding Li seemed in high spirits, humming as he drove. Shao Wu and Yang Shuyi sat side by side in the back, neither speaking.
Shao Wu had no idea what Yang Shuyi was thinking.
Now that he’d calmed down, he felt absurd. Why had he come running all this way for Yang Shuyi? Wasn’t knowing he was safe enough? And what did Ding Li think? That he was a good friend of Yang Shuyi’s? Probably.
But even if everyone thought Shao Wu was Yang Shuyi’s friend, what difference did it make? Both he and Yang Shuyi knew perfectly well that they were no longer simply friends. And Yang Shuyi was married now.
So what did that make him? Someone who’d seized the first opportunity to come fawning over Yang Shuyi? What did it matter if everyone else believed he’d come to care for an old friend? Yang Shuyi himself probably thought Shao Wu was currying favor with him for one purpose only: to put it unpleasantly, to have an affair with him.
Just as Shao Wu was burning with shame, Yang Shuyi abruptly unzipped his outdoor jacket.
He took it off and handed it over. “Put this on.”
Shao Wu startled. “No need… I’m not cold.”
“This car’s heater is broken,” Yang Shuyi said.
“Wear it, Xiao Shao. We’re tough, we can take it,” Ding Li urged. “You’re dressed too lightly. You don’t want to catch cold.”
Shao Wu had no choice but to accept Yang Shuyi’s jacket.
It was probably designed for fieldwork. It looked light but actually had a down lining, and the moment he put it on, he felt warm.
…Or perhaps the warmth came from Yang Shuyi’s body heat, still lingering in the fabric.
It was at least one size too big for him, and outdoor jackets were loose to begin with. In the rearview mirror, Shao Wu saw himself swallowed up by the garment, shoulders hunched, half his face hidden by the raised collar. As the car bumped along, the collar’s edge softly brushed his cheek.
Shao Wu lowered his eyes and took a furtive, deep breath. He caught a very faint smell of smoke, not cigarette smoke but the scent of burning grass and wood, rather like the smoke from curing pork at home during New Year. Had Yang Shuyi lit a fire to keep warm outdoors? There was also a dusty scent to the jacket, the clean smell of dust acquired after long days exposed to the sun and wind amid mountain grasses and trees.
Breathing in the scent of Yang Shuyi’s clothes, Shao Wu slowly closed his eyes. At last, his nerves, taut for so long, began to loosen. But just as he was about to fall asleep, Yang Shuyi spoke again. “Are you feeling carsick? The road’s all mountains from here.”
Shao Wu shook his head. “No. Just sleepy.”
Yang Shuyi was silent for several seconds.
Shao Wu glanced over and noticed his lips were pressed tightly together, as if he were struggling over something.
Then Yang Shuyi said, “Lean on me and sleep.”
Shao Wu: “…Huh?”
“The road ahead’s steep, with a lot of sharp turns,” Yang Shuyi said softly. “If you lean against me, you won’t hit your head.”
“…”
Ding Li said cheerfully, “Don’t be shy! You’re both grown men. What’s the big deal?”
How do you know there’s nothing between us? Shao Wu thought.
But if he rejected Yang Shuyi now, that really would make it look as though something was going on.
So Shao Wu tilted his head and lightly rested it against Yang Shuyi’s shoulder, keeping his waist tense so that he wouldn’t put his full weight on him. Perhaps he was still feeling guilty. He had the sense that leaning all the way onto Yang Shuyi would be crossing a line.
But the next moment the vehicle swung sharply around a bend, and inertia pressed Shao Wu hard against Yang Shuyi’s shoulder. Before he could react, Yang Shuyi’s hand was firm on his shoulder, his arm wrapped tightly around him. Something brushed Shao Wu’s hair, leaving a faint tickle.
Yang Shuyi’s voice came softly from above his head. “Sleep. I’ll wake you when we’re there.”
Shao Wu realized that the thing that had brushed his hair must have been the stubble on Yang Shuyi’s chin.