A Dog Out of Nowhere Chapter 35

Sun Wenqu explained the problems to Fang Chi the same way he always did, very seriously and clearly. Fang Chi listened carefully; he didn’t want to end up unable to solve them later and get laughed at by Sun Wenqu.

After finishing the ones Fang Chi didn’t understand, Sun Wenqu patiently watched him work through the remaining questions. Whenever Fang Chi got stuck, he would explain again.

To be honest, as Fang Chi watched Sun Wenqu tilting his head while explaining the problems, he thought that if teachers taught like this in class, he probably wouldn’t fall asleep so easily…

By the time they finished the whole test paper, Fang Chi felt refreshed and clear-headed.

“Alright, go play with something else for a while,” Sun Wenqu said, standing up and stretching. “My back’s sore. I’m going to lie down for a bit.”

“Thanks,” Fang Chi said.

“You’re welcome,” Sun Wenqu replied, looking at him.

Fang Chi didn’t say anything. He just looked back at him. After a few seconds, the two of them suddenly laughed together. It wasn’t clear why, but somehow saying “thanks” and “you’re welcome” between them just felt oddly funny.

Sun Wenqu went back to his room. Once the door closed, it was hard to tell whether he went to sleep or continued drawing.

When Fang Chi passed by his door, he resisted the urge to peek through the crack and quickly ran downstairs.

His parents and grandparents were busy in the kitchen and courtyard. Some dishes had already been prepared days earlier, but that was how the New Year was, there always seemed to be food being made, people busy in the kitchen from dawn until night.

Times like this were the happiest for the dog Xiaozi. It crouched outside the kitchen, waiting to eat scraps and trimmings from the cooking.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Fang Chi said, giving its backside a light kick.

Xiaozi got up and followed him out of the courtyard.

After walking a few steps toward the village entrance, Fang Chi stopped and stepped back to the doorway to look at the Spring Festival couplets on both sides.

When spring arrives before the hall, flowers bloom like brocade;

When the sun shines upon the courtyard, people rise like dragons.

At a glance he could tell the handwriting was Sun Wenqu’s, bold and powerful. He didn’t really understand the meaning, but he figured choosing lines like these felt very much like Sun Wenqu’s style.

“What do you think?” his grandmother said. She was holding a chicken and plucking the small feathers while looking at the couplets with him. “Originally we weren’t going to write these. Shuiqu said these sounded more poetic. Your grandfather and I thought, after all these decades, why not be poetic for once?”

“What were you going to write originally?” Fang Chi asked with a smile.

“Your grandfather came up with something like ‘great wealth, great fortune, great prosperity,’ but then he couldn’t think of the rest,” Grandma laughed. “Shuiqu casually added something like ‘adding blessings, adding smoothness, adding wealth, adding sons…’”

Fang Chi froze for a moment, his heart giving an inexplicable little jump.

“Later he said that didn’t sound good, poetic was better, so we went with the poetic one,” Grandma added.

“Oh…” Fang Chi rubbed his nose. “Poetic is good.”

Grandma went back into the kitchen to keep working. Fang Chi glanced up at the upstairs window, then slowly wandered down the road with Xiaozi.

As he walked toward the village entrance, he passed several neighbors’ houses. On their doors were Spring Festival couplets that were probably also written by Sun Wenqu, mostly common auspicious phrases.

Fang Chi felt like laughing again. He wondered if Sun Wenqu had written them without letting anyone watch. It just felt funny that someone as talented as Sun Wenqu, with handwriting this good, had his work mysteriously appearing on the walls outside rural courtyards…

It was pretty interesting. Probably only something that would happen to a stubborn lunatic like Sun Wenqu who refused to take his medication.

Sun Wenqu leaned back in a chair, his legs propped up on the edge of the bed. On his legs were, in order, Chief Huang, a notebook, and a sketchbook.

His phone was ringing beside him. He insisted on finishing the last few strokes of the drawing before reaching out to answer it.

“Liangzi.”

“H-how… how is it?” Ma Liang asked over the phone.

“How is what?” Sun Wenqu looked at the drawing of a teapot on the page.

“Everything,” Ma Liang said.

“Everything’s pretty good,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile. “You getting ready to go home with your wife?”

“Yeah. In a coup… couple days I’ll go to you… your place,” Ma Liang said. “Maybe the third or… fourth day of the New Year.”

“What for?” Sun Wenqu paused. “I still have soil. No need to bring any.”

“Who… who’s bringing soil?” Ma Liang clicked his tongue. “I’m coming to get some fresh… fresh air. And bring you some New Year goods too. To thank the people for letting you stay.”

“I’m renting a place, okay? I’m not freeloading,” Sun Wenqu said, spinning his pen. “You can come though. But bring something interesting for New Year goods. Don’t bring the usual stuff. Looks like their house already has plenty, rooms full of it. If you bring more, there won’t even be space to put it.”

“Maybe I’ll just… take some away then,” Ma Liang joked. After a pause he added, “Oh right, I asked around for you. Your brother-in-law… he’s fine.”

“He was never in danger anyway. If that could’ve hurt him, he’d be a delicate little flower,” Sun Wenqu frowned. Just mentioning it put him in a bad mood. “I pushed him four times total, and two of those didn’t even land.”

“Yeah, but one push was… enough,” Ma Liang sighed. “You pushed him right into a flowerpot. His face hit it so hard, looked exactly like he’d been beaten up.”

“If he hadn’t come looking for trouble, I wouldn’t even remember a guy like him exists,” Sun Wenqu said, brows knitted. “My dad forces me, Sun Yao nags me every day, I can tolerate that. I argue back a little and let it go. After all, that’s my dad and my sister. But what the h*ll is he? Getting all excited and acting high and mighty, d*mn.”

“V-vulgar,” Ma Liang said. “Hold on, I need ear… earplugs.”

“And he even said if I don’t come home and apologize, I can get lost,” Sun Wenqu said, quickly sketching a little figure getting slapped in the corner of the page. “Who does he think he is?”

“Your brother-in-law,” Ma Liang replied.

“Get lost,” Sun Wenqu said dismissively. He’d never quite figured out whether Sun Yao and her husband actually had any love between them. But the two of them were his father’s right-hand helpers, and when it came to defending his father’s authority, they were astonishingly united so in that sense, they were a perfect match.

“Oh, and also,” Ma Liang thought for a moment before adding, “Sun Jiayue ask… asked me for your phone number.”

“Did you give it to her?” Sun Wenqu asked.

“No. She yelled at me for five minutes,” Ma Liang said.

Sun Wenqu laughed. “I’ll call her.”

After chatting a few more sentences with Ma Liang, he hung up the phone. Sun Wenqu thought for a moment and called Sun Jiayue.

“You looking to get your *ss kicked?!” As soon as Sun Jiayue heard his voice, she started yelling. “Tell me, are you itching for a beating or what!”

“Well, I did call you, didn’t I,” Sun Wenqu said with a laugh.

“Where the h*ll did you run off to! And how come you even beat up Liu Ting?” Sun Jiayue fired off a string of questions without stopping. “I couldn’t get through when I called you, so I went to your place to look for you, and it said this house has already been sold…”

“Mm, I moved,” Sun Wenqu said.

Sun Jiayue paused, then suddenly burst out laughing. Still laughing, she asked, “Hey, did you beat up Liu Ting and get kicked out?”

“Something like that. I could’ve freeloaded for another month originally,” Sun Wenqu said, chuckling along.

“Look at you, getting bold,” Sun Jiayue laughed so hard she could barely continue. “Hey, did it feel good beating him?”

“Why don’t you find some time and try it yourself,” Sun Wenqu leaned his head back a little.

“Forget it, I’m too lazy to deal with all that cr*p at home,” Sun Jiayue stopped laughing and sighed. “You’re not coming home tomorrow either, right?”

“Mm. Are you?” Sun Wenqu asked.

“If you’re not coming back then I’ll go back, I guess. Last year I spent it at my mother-in-law’s place. This year I was originally planning to come home,” Sun Jiayue thought for a moment. “Where exactly are you anyway?”

“In the mountains,” Sun Wenqu replied.

“Yeah right, as if I’d believe that. You finally escaped from the mountains and now you ran back there?” Sun Jiayue said.

“This place isn’t like a dirt-digging construction site,” Sun Wenqu looked out the window. In the quiet scenery drifted the smoke from someone’s firecrackers that had just gone off.

“Fine, don’t say it then. You still got money?” Sun Jiayue asked. “If not, I’ll have your second brother-in-law transfer you some.”

“I’ve got plenty,” Sun Wenqu said.

Sun Jiayue had probably also been warned by their dad not to give him money, otherwise she wouldn’t have said to let her husband transfer it.

He still had money on hand. Even if he didn’t, he wouldn’t drag Sun Jiayue and her husband into this mess. Sun Jiayue had never liked meddling in family affairs. Her husband ran a fairly large renovation company, and the two of them had no kids so there wasn’t much pressure. They lived quite comfortably. Sun Wenqu didn’t want to ruin her carefree housewife life of minding no business and just spending money every day.

“Don’t force yourself… ah forget it, that’s nonsense. If you weren’t so stubborn you wouldn’t be in this situation today,” Sun Jiayue sighed heavily. “Anyway, if you can’t manage it anymore just say the word. Your second sister’s got you.”

“You’re the one who can’t manage. It’s the New Year, can’t you speak properly?” Sun Wenqu laughed.

“I’ve never known how to speak properly,” Sun Jiayue laughed. “Alright, I’ve got an appointment with Little Ji to get my hair done, not talking to you anymore.”

“Don’t let him dye your hair,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Got it!” Sun Jiayue laughed loudly and hung up.

Sun Wenqu put the phone aside and looked at Chief Huang, who was still lying across his legs.

Chief Huang had been swiveling its ears the whole time listening to him talk, and now it was staring straight at him.

After the two of them stared at each other for a while, Chief Huang meowed, rubbed its face against his leg, lay down, and even raised a paw to cover its face.

Sun Wenqu gently stroked its paw with his finger and let out a soft sigh.

A burst of firecrackers sounded outside the window. From the sound it was probably the neighbor next door. They were likely about to start preparing dinner.

For the past week, every time lunch or dinner rolled around there would be firecrackers. The closer it got to New Year’s Eve, the denser the explosions became.

It made people feel a bit on edge.

But sometimes it also made one feel strangely at ease.

Fang Chi’s family hadn’t started setting off firecrackers early. When Grandpa and Grandma were the only ones at home they probably didn’t have the energy to play with those things. But today it seemed like they were preparing to set some off.

Just as Sun Wenqu picked up a pen and was about to think over today’s ideas again, a lively burst of voices and laughter rose from the courtyard, people calling for Mom and Dad, others calling for Grandpa and Grandma.

He raised his eyebrows, set aside the thing on his legs, picked up Chief Huang, and walked to the window to look down.

There were quite a few people in the courtyard. It looked like they were Fang Chi’s uncle or elder uncle’s family, all gathered around Grandpa and Grandma chatting.

Besides the older couple, there was also a young married couple and a boy with glasses who looked about the same age as Fang Chi.

These were relatives rushing back for the New Year. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, and there would probably be more people coming back.

Sun Wenqu suddenly felt a strange feeling he couldn’t quite describe, he didn’t know whether it was nervousness or envy.

After hesitating for a moment, he went out to the room next door to check Fang Chi’s place. No one was there, so he took out his phone and dialed Fang Chi’s number.

“Who?” Fang Chi answered.

“Your dad,” Sun Wenqu said. “Where’d you go?”

“Walking Xiaozi. Just turned from the village entrance to the riverbank,” Fang Chi said. “Is this your current number?”

“Yeah. Hurry back and save me, your family’s got relatives over. Five people, filling up the whole courtyard,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Five people filling the whole courtyard? That’s a bit exaggerated,” Fang Chi said. “Probably my second uncle. So early? I thought they’d come tomorrow morning.”

“Well that’s including your dad, your mom, your grandpa and grandma too,” Sun Wenqu frowned. “Forget it, if you’re not coming back, take me out for a walk.”

“Then come out. I’ll head back later,” Fang Chi said. “Fang Hui and I don’t get along. The moment we meet I feel like punching him, so I’ll go back later.”

“What if I run into someone the moment I step out? I’m not in the mood to greet people,” Sun Wenqu said irritably. “And that broken fence gate in your backyard is still locked, I can’t get out.”

“…Go wait in my room,” Fang Chi said.

Sun Wenqu carried the cat to Fang Chi’s room. He hadn’t even been there two minutes when he heard the backyard door open. He went to the window and saw Fang Chi run in, while Xiaozi crouched outside the backyard gate.

He opened the door and walked out onto the rooftop. Fang Chi ran up and waved at him when he saw him, lowering his voice.

“Hurry up, let’s go. Xiaozi’s going to bark if he can’t hold it in.”

Sun Wenqu followed him, jogging out through the backyard.

“Xiaozi, shut up. No barking,” Fang Chi closed the backyard gate and pointed at the dog.

Xiaozi panted and wagged its tail.

Fang Chi led the way strolling along the riverbank to the village entrance. There was no one around at the moment, so the two of them went into a pavilion nearby and sat down.

The pavilion was actually a bus stop with wind-blocking walls. But after it was built, the bus route that had originally been planned to pass through here never opened, so it became the village’s sacred place for chatting.

“Actually if you stayed in your room, no one would go in looking for you,” Fang Chi said. “Is it because it’s too noisy?”

“No,” Sun Wenqu rested his arms on the back of the bench, poking his temple with his fingers while his other hand stayed in his coat pocket petting Chief Huang. “It’s just that when it’s too lively, I feel especially lonely.”

“You get lonely easily,” Fang Chi laughed. “Lonely when there’s no one around, lonely when there are people too.”

“You don’t get it,” Sun Wenqu looked at him. “When it’s related to people, that’s solitude. Loneliness and solitude are different. Loneliness belongs to one’s state of mind.”

“Sounds profound, but I didn’t understand it,” Fang Chi nodded.

Sun Wenqu looked at him and laughed. After quite a while he said, “When I’m chatting with you, I don’t feel lonely.”

Fang Chi glanced at him, then lowered his head and tugged Xiaozi’s ear.

“Oh.”

“By the way, you climbers, are you good at tying knots?” Sun Wenqu reached into his pocket.

“Tying whose robbery?” Fang Chi was stunned for a moment.

“Oh wow, that level of awareness is impressive,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “Knots. Rope knots.”

“…Oh,” Fang Chi laughed. “Yeah. I can even do it with one hand.”

“That’s great,” Sun Wenqu said.

“What do you need it for?” Fang Chi asked.

“Help me tie two knots,” Sun Wenqu took out the little bone he had given him and a piece of black leather cord. “I want to hang it around my neck.”

Fang Chi took the bone and looked at it, then looked up at Sun Wenqu. “You’re really hanging this around your neck?”

“Yeah,” Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes and glanced toward Fang Chi’s neck. “Aren’t you already wearing yours?”

“I…” Fang Chi touched the four-leaf clover on his chest. “It’s that ‘heaven spirits, earth spirits’ thing. Maybe if I wear it, I’ll get all the questions right.”

“My neck is cold so I need to hang something too,” Sun Wenqu said seriously.

Fang Chi sighed and examined the little bone. “You could just drill two holes and—”

“I don’t want to damage it. This thing’s been around for years. What if when you drill it—crack!—it shatters?” Sun Wenqu said.

“…Alright, let me see what I can do,” Fang Chi lowered his head to think. He measured the cord, looped it around one side of the bone, and began slowly tying knots.

He knew quite a lot of knots. Besides the ones used for climbing, he knew many others too, all taught by his grandpa. Slipknots, dead knots, he could do them all. It didn’t take long before he finished tying it.

“It’s too long. Can it be shorter?” Sun Wenqu said.

“If it’s shorter how will you get it over your head? Your head is thicker than your neck, you know…” Fang Chi said.

“Then cut the cord and add an adjustable knot,” Sun Wenqu said, feeling around in his pocket. “I’ve got scissors—”

Before he finished speaking, Fang Chi casually put the leather cord in his mouth and bit it off with his teeth.

“Wow, those teeth,” Sun Wenqu laughed.

Fang Chi retied it with a sliding knot, tugged it a few times, then handed it to him.

“Pretty good,” Sun Wenqu put it on, pulling the cord shorter. The little bone rested just below his collarbone. “How is it? Cool, right?”

“Yeah,” Fang Chi nodded and slapped Xiaozi’s head. “Xiaozi, go eat a bone!”

Xiaozi, who had been sitting beside his legs, jumped up and put its front paws on Sun Wenqu’s leg, stretching its head toward him and huffing noisily.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Sun Wenqu was startled and quickly leaned back. “Is it going to bite me?!”

“How could it,” Fang Chi laughed happily. “I thought you weren’t afraid of dogs anymore.”

“If it doesn’t touch me, I’m not afraid of it,” Sun Wenqu said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chief Huang suddenly poked half its body out of his coat and slapped Xiaozi’s nose several times in rapid succession with its paws before quickly shrinking back into the coat.

The series of rapid-fire slaps left the two men and the dog all stunned.

Xiaozi was so scared its ears flattened against the back of its head.

After quite a while Fang Chi and Sun Wenqu burst out laughing at the same time. Xiaozi, coming back to its senses, whimpered and turned around, running out of the pavilion.

“Let’s go back. Grandma will start urging me soon,” Fang Chi stood up, still laughing. “Xiaozi, come back! Why are you running!”

Xiaozi glanced back at him but neither came over nor went farther away.

It just kept walking ahead at a distance.

When they were almost home, Sun Wenqu stopped at the corner of the backyard.

“I’ll go up from the backyard.”

“You’ll be alright?” Fang Chi said. “I…”

“I’m just a tenant. No need to make it so complicated,” Sun Wenqu patted his shoulder. “I really don’t feel like dealing with people these days.”

“Alright then,” Fang Chi nodded and gave him the backyard key. “Want me to bring dinner up to you tonight?”

“Mm,” Sun Wenqu took two steps then stopped again. “Add an extra dish for me.”

“Chocolate?” Fang Chi smiled. “I only brought a little and you’ll finish it all.”

“We’ll talk after I finish it,” Sun Wenqu said as he walked off carrying Chief Huang.

Fang Chi entered through the front yard. The moment he stepped inside, Xiaozi let out a yelp and ran out from the living room. Then Fang Hui’s voice followed: “Why do you always let this dog into the house!”

“Oh dear, you kicked it again!” Grandma said unhappily.

“Your grandpa’s let it inside ever since the day he started raising it. You kick it every single time you come, aren’t you tired of it?” Mom said as she walked out of the living room. When she saw Fang Chi, she immediately pointed at him and lowered her voice. “Behave yourself. Don’t start arguing with him again.”

“Xiaozi, come here,” Fang Chi crouched down. Xiaozi ran to his side, and he rubbed the dog’s head. “Go to the kitchen and find Grandpa.”

Xiaozi turned and ran into the kitchen.

Fang Chi entered the living room. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, cousin Fang Yun and her husband, and Fang Hui were all there. Together with Dad and Grandma, the sofa and chairs were completely full.

“Happy New Year, Second Uncle and Second Aunt,” Fang Chi greeted them. “Sis, brother-in-law, Happy New Year.”

“Ah, good, good,” Second Uncle laughed and stood up, walking over to pat his arm. “This kid, looks like he’s gotten taller again. Really sturdy!”

“Just well-developed limbs,” Fang Hui said while half-lying on the sofa, playing with his phone. “Aren’t all those people who do sports like that? Big dumb guys.”

Fang Chi glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

“Like being a bean sprout like you is better?” Grandma said from the side. “At least move around a bit. You lie there playing on your phone all day.”

“I grew a brain!” Fang Hui pushed his glasses and said irritably.

“Yeah, I can see that,” Fang Chi didn’t want to stay in the living room any longer and turned to head upstairs. “After working at it for over ten years you must’ve grown about eight qian of it by now.”

“You—” Fang Hui tossed his phone aside and stood up.

“That’s enough!” Second Aunt clapped her hands. “Both of you shut up. You brothers argue every single day, aren’t you tired of it!”

Fang Chi didn’t say anything more and took a few steps up the stairs.

“Of course it’s annoying!” Fang Hui flopped back onto the sofa. “How could it not be! If it weren’t for visiting Grandpa and Grandma, who would want to come here!”

Fang Chi had almost reached the top of the stairs, but when he heard that, he stopped again.

These past few days he’d been in quite a good mood, but now Fang Hui’s few sentences made him feel extremely irritated.

“Then just visit Grandpa and Grandma. Why do you have to keep staring at Fang Chi?” Fang Yun said from the side. “It’s been how many years already? All we ever see is you two messing around here.”

“Shut up! Who asked you to comment on me!” Fang Hui shouted.

Fang Chi froze for a moment. Fang Hui was usually annoying, but he’d never spoken to his sister like that before. Fang Chi wondered if he’d taken the wrong kind of rat poison and turned around, heading back downstairs.

He had to beat the cr*p out of that idiot.

Before he even finished going down the stairs, Second Uncle had already kicked Fang Hui in the butt.

“Are you done yet! What a spoilsport! Apologize to your sister!”

“I won’t!” Fang Hui shouted stubbornly.

“Oh dear, if you want to yell, go yell in the courtyard,” Grandma waved her hand from the side. “There are sticks in the yard, makes fighting more convenient!”

Fang Hui was shoved out of the living room by his father. In their family, when it came to disciplining kids, no one usually stopped it. If scolding was needed, scold; if hitting was needed, hit. When Fang Chi was little and Grandpa pinned him onto the woodpile and beat him, Grandma would even cheer from the side.

Fang Chi planned to go to the courtyard to watch the show.

“Hey, hey,” Sun Wenqu’s voice came from behind him. “Where are you going?”

Fang Chi turned around and saw Sun Wenqu standing at the corner of the stairs. He lowered his voice. “Going to watch my second uncle beat someone.”

“I want to watch too. Come up here and watch with me,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile, also lowering his voice. “And give me some commentary while you’re at it.”

“I… alright then,” Fang Chi laughed and ran up the stairs. “You like watching this kind of excitement too? Weren’t you saying you were so lonely.”

“Mainly because I’ve never seen it before. My family isn’t like this,” Sun Wenqu walked into the room and stood by the window. “It’s pretty interesting.”

“Your dad never hit you?” Fang Chi asked, surprised.

“Never,” the smile on Sun Wenqu’s face suddenly disappeared. “He never hit me.”

The change in Sun Wenqu’s expression was very obvious, and he didn’t seem to intend to hide it. Fang Chi could clearly sense a kind of unhappiness from him.

“…Oh.” Fang Chi responded and couldn’t help reaching out and gently squeezing his shoulder.

Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get 5 or more chapters of A Dog Out of Nowhere right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)