31

Lunch was stir-fried celtuce with pork, shredded beef with young ginger, and baby bok choy. Fei Bolin also made an egg soup with pea shoots. When he ate alone, he usually only cooked two dishes. Today there was an extra Wen Fu, so he made more.

To stop hooks from growing out of Wen Fu's eyes, Fei Bolin immediately set out the food and moved the two meat dishes right in front of him.

When he held the chopsticks out to Wen Fu, Wen Fu reached for them, but Fei Bolin pulled them back again.

Wen Fu froze for a second, looked at Fei Bolin's expression, thought about it, then said in a low, quick voice, '...Thanks.'

Then he got the chopsticks like he'd wanted.

But once he picked up his bowl, Wen Fu stopped moving again.

Fei Bolin watched his eyes dart back and forth between the four dishes. After a brief silence, he dug a soup spoon out from the bottom of the lunch box, put one chopstickful of celtuce, one of pork, one of shredded beef, one of bok choy, and one of egg into it, then topped it with a chopstickful of rice and handed it to Wen Fu. 'You can eat all four dishes in one bite.'

Wen Fu stared at the spoon, then suddenly opened his mouth wide and, using Fei Bolin's hand, swallowed the whole spoonful in one go.

Fei Bolin was caught completely off guard. All he could do was watch Wen Fu lean in and eat the food straight from his hand, that soft black crown of hair facing him, bowing his head to eat right there in front of him without a shred of guard up. His lashes hung low, dark and long, and his cheeks moved faintly as he chewed. When he finished, he even licked the spoon.

After licking the last grain of rice clean, Wen Fu looked up at him like he was waiting for a second bite.

Fei Bolin's fingertips tightened a little around the spoon. He looked away and held it out. 'Do it yourself.'

Wen Fu took the spoon and copied him exactly, making himself a spoonful of rice and dishes the same way. After a few bites, he stared at his bowl thoughtfully, then doubled every amount from before, lowered himself, sprawled over the table, brought his mouth to the rim of the bowl and opened wide like a little cave, then used the spoon to shove the food into his mouth in one sweep.

One bite beat six.

Half a small bowl of rice was gone.

Just as he was about to go for round two, Fei Bolin couldn't watch anymore. He grabbed him by the collar and hauled him upright. 'Eat properly.'

It was way too ugly to look at.

Wen Fu chewed his food and didn't think he was eating wrong at all. But since Fei Bolin had said so, even if he didn't get it, he obediently stopped.

He ate fast, and Fei Bolin forgot to remind him to slow down. By the time he looked up a few times, Wen Fu had already swept his bowl completely clean.

'If you're not full, eat the bun.'

Wen Fu got his wish and ate the last bun.

Watching that, Fei Bolin had feelings that were hard to put into words.

He'd deliberately steamed a lot more rice today, and when he divided the food he'd already given most of it to Wen Fu. But Wen Fu's stomach really did seem bottomless.

After hesitating a moment, he asked, 'You want more?'

Wen Fu said, 'There is more?'

Fei Bolin was about to give him the untouched rice from his own bowl. 'You can have my share.'

Wen Fu shook his head. 'I'm not eating anymore.'

He had no intention of taking over Fei Bolin's rations.

'You really don't need it?'

'Don't want it.'

His attitude was firm, so Fei Bolin didn't press. He just finished his meal faster, then asked, 'Do you want to go back and take a nap?'

Wen Fu said, 'A nap?'

Fei Bolin looked at him and saw that same blank delay again, so he just turned off the Space Heater and said while tidying up the lunch boxes, 'Take the insulated box upstairs first. I'll come up after I close the shop. Here, the key. Sixth floor. You know which apartment it is?'

Wen Fu took the key and nodded.

Fei Bolin handed him the lunch box. 'Go on.'

Wen Fu shot off in a blur.

By the time Fei Bolin checked the bills, closed the shop, and got back, Wen Fu was sitting properly on a stool in the living room.

Fei Bolin hadn't told him to get on the bed, so he hadn't.

Considering the electric blanket in the bedroom wasn't on yet, and lying down right after eating wasn't great either, Fei Bolin didn't rush him. He went to turn on the electric blanket first. Then when he was about to head into the kitchen to wash the dishes, he found splashed water all over the sink and stovetop. The insulated lunch boxes Wen Fu had carried back had all been washed already—obviously by him.

Fei Bolin's heart gave a thud.

He walked over, grabbed one compartment of the lunch box at random, and ran a finger around the inside.

Grease. Everywhere.

Fei Bolin: ...

Sure enough, Wen Fu was a total disaster even at washing dishes.

He could only run hot water and dish soap over everything and wash it all again.

Fei Bolin rolled up his sleeves. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced past the kitchen door and saw Wen Fu clutching the doorframe, watching him.

Without turning his head, he ran the hot water and made it sound casual, like small talk. 'When you lived over there before, did you wash dishes like this too?'

Wen Fu nodded.

Water rushed noisily. Fei Bolin had just been about to wonder how many dirty bowls Wen Fu must've left in other people's homes when he suddenly remembered that thin, watery paste of noodles Wen Fu had made that night.

He stopped and turned his head. 'When you cook, you don't use oil?'

Wen Fu didn't know whether he should nod or shake his head, so he explained, 'They'd notice.'

It took Fei Bolin two or three seconds to understand what he meant.

People who go out to work usually don't remember exactly how much rice, flour, tissues, or laundry detergent they left at home. If they've been gone a while, even if some is missing when they come back, they might not notice. But more important consumables were different, like rapeseed oil. Especially in the messy Urban Village, a lot of households bought their cooking oil from local shops and stored it in clear plastic jugs. If the total amount went down, it was easy to spot.

So when Wen Fu stayed in other people's homes, he never used oil.

Same with the household gas bill.

People use electricity for everything in daily life, so even if the balance ran low, nobody would go out of their way to investigate. Gas was different. The amount of time people spent cooking each day was pretty fixed, and once the bill was paid, the number of days it would last was more or less set. As soon as the tenant came home, if the gas had run out too fast, it'd raise suspicion.

That was also why, when Fei Bolin had gone back with Wen Fu that day, there'd clearly been a stove, but he'd only seen Wen Fu using an induction cooker to boil noodles.

Fei Bolin kept his head down and washed the dishes without saying a word.

After a full half minute of silence, he said quietly, 'The bed's warm now. Go sleep. You don't need to save space for me. The quilt won't be cold.'

The second Wen Fu heard that, he ran off to sleep.

It had been a very, very long time since he'd taken a nap in a bed. As long as School was in session, he stayed in the classroom at noon, went to the cafeteria for the cheapest one-dish meal, and if he was really sleepy, he just put his head down on his desk for a bit.

By the time Fei Bolin finished in the kitchen and went into the room, it had only been five or six minutes since Wen Fu came in.

Wen Fu was already dead asleep under the covers with his whole head tucked in, one foot stuck out.

He was obviously too hot.

Fei Bolin thought that was weird. He slipped a hand under the quilt, and it wasn't actually that warm inside. Then he looked at Wen Fu's face by the head of the bed and saw sweat had already dampened the hair at his forehead.

Fei Bolin pulled back the quilt, his expression darkening. Wen Fu hadn't taken off his padded jacket.

He sighed, undid the buttons and zipper on Wen Fu's padded jacket, and just as he was carefully getting ready to help him take it off, Wen Fu suddenly opened his eyes.

He probably wasn't fully awake yet. Suddenly seeing someone's shadow over him, Wen Fu's mind stalled for a beat, then he violently shook Fei Bolin off and curled into the corner with his head in his arms.

The room went dead quiet all at once.

A few seconds later, Wen Fu blinked from behind his own arms, then lowered them and looked at the person standing by the bed.

Fei Bolin had his hands on his hips, his face cold. It was hard to tell whether he looked more helpless or more irritated.

Wen Fu scratched at the wall and slowly, awkwardly tried to edge back toward him.

Fei Bolin turned his back to take off his coat. 'Take the padded jacket off yourself before you sleep.'

There was a brief silence behind him, then the rustling sound of clothes coming off.

When he turned back again, Wen Fu was lying quietly under the quilt, staring straight at him with both eyes. The second he saw Fei Bolin turn around, he looked away.

Even slow as a little kitten, he could tell Fei Bolin seemed kind of unhappy.

Fei Bolin didn't say much. He casually turned off the electric blanket, reached an arm over to feel the other shoulder under the covers, made sure Wen Fu was tucked in properly, then closed his eyes. 'Sleep.'

When they got up in the afternoon, Fei Bolin washed an apple for Wen Fu.

It was crisp and sweet. In less than two minutes, all that was left in Wen Fu's hand was the core. It didn't even take as long as the walk from home to Lin's Convenience Store.

The two of them were heading toward the shop entrance when Wen Fu spoke. 'I'm going out.'

Fei Bolin stopped short. 'Where?'

Wen Fu said, 'Back there.'

Fei Bolin frowned. 'What are you going back there for?'

He'd only just been discovered breaking in the night before last. Whether the tenant had called the police or not was another matter, but the people nearby were definitely on alert right now. If Wen Fu went back now, it'd be easy to draw the neighbors' attention.

'To get something.'

Fei Bolin asked, 'Get what?'

For every question, Wen Fu gave one answer. 'Clothes.'

Fei Bolin said, 'I've got clothes.'

Wasn't what Wen Fu had on right now his?

Wen Fu said, 'My School Uniform too.'

Monday was the sports meet opening ceremony, and every class had to march in formation in School Uniform. The second Wen Fu mentioned it, Fei Bolin remembered.

'But it's daytime right now,' Fei Bolin said.

If they were going to do something like this, nighttime was the time for it. In broad daylight it was way too obvious.

Wen Fu lowered his eyes. 'At night you need to sleep.'

Of course he knew nighttime was best. But Sunday night meant evening self-study. If he waited until after that to sneak back for his clothes, then came back and knocked on the door, he'd wake Fei Bolin.

And by then, Fei Bolin might not even be willing to let him in anymore.

Letting him stay one day now and then was one thing. Nobody would want to keep a freeloader around for long.

No matter how clueless Wen Fu might be about people, even he understood that much.

Right now, his plan was to cling on for one day at a time. He wouldn't give Fei Bolin a chance to leave him outside alone at night. He'd shamelessly keep staying until Fei Bolin drove him off—by then, hopefully, he'd already found the next place to land.

The sky was gloomy. Once winter hit Rongzhou, it was hard to get any sun at all.

Fei Bolin looked at the smog overhead and said, 'I'll go with you tonight. Better with two people. I can watch out for you.'

-

That night, every classroom at School was brightly lit, while the teaching building itself sat in total silence.

The moment the ten-thirty evening self-study bell rang, the whole campus came back to life. Almost all the boarding students packed their bags and headed for the dorms, and every hallway on every floor filled with the same kind of noisy chatter.

Fei Bolin and Wen Fu sat at their desks with one aisle between them, each working through the mock papers the teachers had handed out. Sports meet or not, not a single teacher was going to miss the chance to make students grind through extra questions whenever they had free time. Between all subjects combined, everyone had gotten six or seven sheets, big and small.

Only after people gradually cleared out and the classroom clock crept close to eleven did Fei Bolin set down his pen and put away the papers. 'Let's go.'

Wen Fu was on the last error-correction section and essay of his English weekly. When he heard Fei Bolin speak, his feet were already moving out, but his eyes were still fixed on the dull gray paper.

Fei Bolin knew Wen Fu had never had the habit of bringing homework home, but that was only because his old circumstances hadn't allowed it. Things were different now.

He asked, 'Want to put the papers in my bag and take them back to finish?'

Only then did Wen Fu stop working and turn to Fei Bolin. Once he confirmed Fei Bolin really meant it, he nodded twice in a row and folded the papers into Fei Bolin's schoolbag.

Twenty minutes later, after getting blasted by cold wind the whole way, the two of them stepped into that Urban Village under Rongzhou Bridge.

The buildings there were packed tight, but that had one upside: most of the residents were renters, and most of them didn't know each other, so they were pretty indifferent to what went on around them.

Late at night, aside from the occasional person heading out for a night shift or coming home from work, the place was completely still.

They stood in front of the house Wen Fu had still been sleeping in every day last week and found the door already fitted with a new lock. As for the window Wen Fu had broken, no new pane had been put in, but it had long since been sealed over with tape.

Looks like the owner hadn't come back in person, just asked someone else to change the lock. Maybe they'd reported it to the police before too. Good thing that while Wen Fu had been staying here, he'd never rifled through the wardrobe, much less stolen a single cent. Every day he only came back, lifted the quilt, and slept. Once in a while, if he was starving, he'd quietly boil himself a bowl of noodles. Before leaving each day, he even knew to wash the fingerprints off the cups and bowls. So when the police came and found no valuables missing, they just left.

Luckily, on the day someone showed up here, Wen Fu had, for some reason, shoved both his own clothes and that broken old box back under the bed. So after climbing in through the window tonight, he made straight for the bedroom, while Fei Bolin stayed outside, sticking the seal back into place and keeping watch for him.

Just as Wen Fu was crouched under the bed, straining to reach for the box, a beam from someone's flashlight suddenly swept over from the building next door and flashed right into Fei Bolin's eyes, making him squint shut.

A middle-aged woman's voice, thick with the local accent, shouted down at him from upstairs: 'Who's there?! Who's that?! Stealing again?!'

Fei Bolin instantly knew this was bad. He shouted toward the room first, 'Grab the clothes and go! Out the back, don't come this way!'

There was still a waist-high balcony in front of the door, built from white ceramic tile. God knew where the strength came from, but he braced both hands on the balcony, swung his legs over in one motion, then sprinted around to the window at the back of the house and said to Wen Fu, 'Get out, now!'

That woman was still yelling, 'Don't run! Hey! Thief!'

Very quickly, the whole area stirred. Wen Fu heard windows and doors opening upstairs, and people from the surrounding homes were coming out too.

There was no way he could take the box. Wen Fu bundled up the last two pieces of clothing and the pair of shoes still inside, then ran a few steps into the back room. It looked like a storage room or something like that anyway, piled full of old furniture and equipment, and the window there was built very high up.

Heavy footsteps came pounding down the stairwell—obviously men from nearby were coming over.

Holding the clothes, Wen Fu stepped onto the table under the window, then jumped with all his strength, caught the edge of the window, and scrambled up onto the sill fast.

It was too high.

The window was even above Fei Bolin's head.

The footsteps outside were getting closer and closer. Wen Fu tried a few times but still couldn't jump down. Seeing that, Fei Bolin turned around without hesitation and stood directly underneath him. 'Sit on me. Hurry!'

Wen Fu jumped and landed sitting on Fei Bolin's shoulders.

At the same time, the door burst open, and a rough voice shouted in from the living room, 'Don't run! Stop right there!'

Fei Bolin grabbed Wen Fu by the knees and bolted forward.

He used every bit of the speed and endurance he'd built running the three-thousand-meter last year and kept going without slowing, straight out of the Urban Village. He couldn't even worry about whether he was heading toward home anymore. Getting caught and dragged to the police station was no joke.

The darkest stretch of the main road was off to the right, and Fei Bolin tore that way at full speed. The cold wind slapped hard across his face, one streetlight after another skimmed over his head, and with a schoolbag on his back and Wen Fu on his shoulders, his breathing quickly turned heavy and burning hot.

He didn't know how long he'd been running when all the noise finally fell far behind and even the moonlight seemed left back too. Then he sharply caught sight of a narrow alley ahead, swerved, and ducked into it.

Then he leaned against the wall and panted like crazy.

The alley was empty and pitch-black, the road impossible to see. The only sound was the two of them breathing, one after the other.

Once Fei Bolin had rested enough, his thoughts slowly came back and his breathing gradually evened out.

The person on his shoulders was breathing even harder than he was, one ragged breath after another, like he had no plans to stop anytime soon.

After listening for a while, Fei Bolin tipped his head back to look at Wen Fu and said, speechless, 'What are you panting for?'

He was the one who'd run all that way carrying both a person and a bag, okay?!

Wen Fu froze when he heard that, and his panting cut off on the spot.

He really didn't seem tired.

He'd been riding on Fei Bolin's shoulders the whole way, after all.