A Dog Out of Nowhere Chapter 57

Grandma finished cooking the noodles. Fang Chi sat in the courtyard eating while Xiaozi sat beside him wagging its tail. Every time Fang Chi took a bite, he picked a little bit for it too.

By the time he finished eating, Sun Wenqu came downstairs lazily, yawning.

“Look at that, didn’t sleep well, did you?” Grandma sighed as soon as she saw him. “Usually you stay up all night messing with your clay and dirt, and now you’re chatting all night too. Don’t you want your body anymore?”

Sun Wenqu froze for a moment and didn’t speak.

“You little brat, tonight sleep by yourself. Don’t keep dragging people into chatting all night,” Grandma said to Fang Chi.

Fang Chi scratched his head. “I didn’t chat all night…”

“We didn’t really chat. I’m sleepy all the time anyway, I can fall asleep as soon as I sit down,” Sun Wenqu said while squeezing toothpaste onto his brush by the sink. “He mainly came over to use the air conditioner.”

“Was it hot?” Grandma walked over and touched Fang Chi’s back. “Hey, you’re already covered in sweat this early in the morning. Why didn’t you use the air conditioner in previous years?”

“Not really,” Fang Chi said.

“How about… installing one in your room?” Grandma said sympathetically.

“No, no need,” Fang Chi quickly shook his head. “I’m not home all the time, it’d be a waste.”

“Then what will you do when you’re hot? Go to Shuiqu’s room again?” Grandma asked.

Fang Chi didn’t answer clearly. While teasing Xiaozi he gave some vague response.

Sun Wenqu turned his head and looked at him, smiling.

After Grandma walked away, Fang Chi sat down in the chair like he had finally relaxed.

“Hey.” Sun Wenqu came over with his toothbrush in his mouth and lightly kicked his foot.

“My grandma probably went to my room this morning,” Fang Chi said quietly. “When she saw I wasn’t there, it scared me to death.”

“When you have time, measure whether your courage is even as big as the eye of a needle…” Sun Wenqu said before going back to the sink to rinse his mouth.

“This isn’t an ordinary matter,” Fang Chi glanced toward the house and lowered his voice. “How could I not be scared about this?”

Sun Wenqu looked at him but didn’t say anything.

Grandpa was in the backyard setting up supports for the bean plants, and Grandma called Fang Chi to help.

After helping Grandpa finish setting up the frame, Fang Chi realized Sun Wenqu was no longer in the house, and Xiaozi was gone too.

“He took Xiaozi running,” Grandma said. “He’s actually pretty persistent, he’s always running in the mornings. Well, not always mornings. Sometimes he wakes up in the afternoon and goes running too. It should probably be called ‘get-up-and-run.’”

“Oh.” Fang Chi smiled.

For someone as lazy as Sun Wenqu, being able to keep running every day was quite rare. Fang Chi himself hadn’t exercised regularly for quite a while.

Only… Sun Wenqu hadn’t called him to go running together.

Angry?

Fang Chi squatted in the courtyard. Was it because of his attitude just now? The way he had been jumpy and overly cautious?

If he was angry, what should he do?

He really hadn’t thought about this question before. Sun Wenqu’s temper, when it came down to it, wasn’t that great, especially when the two of them had first met, but it seemed he had never actually gotten truly angry.

Should he apologize?

Or explain?

Or just coax him a little?

After staring blankly at the ground in the courtyard for ten minutes, Fang Chi stood up, went back into the house to grab a hat and put it on, then ran out the door.

“Where are you going?” Grandma called after him.

“Running,” Fang Chi said.

“Go ahead, but bring back two fish on your way back,” Grandma said quietly. “Don’t say I told you to go.”

Fang Chi looked back at Grandma and smiled as he answered.

What Sun Wenqu’s running route looked like now, Fang Chi wasn’t sure. But it was probably along an easy road, and somewhere cool, after all, he was a delicate person.

Fang Chi ran straight toward the woods. It was cool in the forest, and ahead there was a small stream. When he came back during the New Year, that was where he had found Sun Wenqu.

Not even five minutes after entering the woods, Fang Chi saw Xiaozi ahead, squatting under a tree taking a dump.

He raised his index finger at it, telling it not to bark, then ran over.

Sun Wenqu was indeed by the stream.

But he wasn’t running, nor was he resting. When Fang Chi saw him, he was standing on an open patch beside the stream… not exactly standing, he was moving.

Fang Chi only needed to see one movement to immediately know what he was doing.

His grandparents practiced it every day.

Baduanjin.

Sun Wenqu was actually doing Baduanjin by the stream?

Fang Chi stood there without moving. He wanted to laugh a little, yet also felt it was somewhat amazing.

The feeling was just like the first time he saw Sun Wenqu playing the erhu.

But after watching for a few moments, he didn’t feel like laughing anymore. Sun Wenqu’s movements clearly weren’t just fooling around, they were quite standard. Honestly speaking, he performed them much better than Grandpa and Grandma did, relaxed and fully extended.

Fang Chi leaned against a tree and watched him.

Xiaozi sat down by his leg, also watching very seriously.

Sun Wenqu didn’t notice someone behind him until he turned around and saw Fang Chi standing under the tree.

“When did you get here?” Sun Wenqu raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t scare you?” Fang Chi walked over.

“I was scared,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Then why are you so calm?” Fang Chi looked at him.

“In theory I should have jumped,” Sun Wenqu tilted his head back and moved his neck. “But I was too lazy to jump…”

Fang Chi laughed. After laughing for a while he scratched his head awkwardly. “Why… didn’t you call me when you came out?”

“I saw you helping your grandpa with the frame.” Sun Wenqu rested his hand on Fang Chi’s shoulder, his finger hooking lightly at his neck.

“Did you…” Fang Chi grabbed his hand. “Did you get angry?”

“Angry about what?” Sun Wenqu glanced at him.

“Well, I seemed too nervous,” Fang Chi sighed softly. “Were you angry?”

“Not really.” Sun Wenqu squeezed his fingertips. “It’s like that. Kids are like that.”

“Kids?” Fang Chi lifted his head. “Were you like that too?”

“In this life the only time I’ve been nervous was when I had to show my dad the pottery I made,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “Other than that I’ve never been nervous.”

“Then who else?” Fang Chi asked.

“It’s not like you’re the only kid I know.” Sun Wenqu sat down against a large rock nearby and stretched out his legs.

“Who else?” Fang Chi stood beside him. “Your… ex-boyfriend?”

Sun Wenqu laughed and glanced up at him without speaking.

“How old was your ex-boyfriend?” Fang Chi asked in a muffled voice.

“Which one are you asking about?” Sun Wenqu said.

“How many were there?” Fang Chi’s voice suddenly rose.

Startled by his shout, Xiaozi turned and ran several steps away. Sun Wenqu leaned against the rock laughing uncontrollably.

“Forget it, don’t answer,” Fang Chi said. After shouting he felt a bit embarrassed and sat beside him. “Old man, having a complicated romantic history is normal.”

Sun Wenqu immediately laughed so hard he started coughing. He sat up and hugged Fang Chi from behind. “Hey, Fang Little Chi.”

“Mm?” Fang Chi tilted his head.

“Do you mind that?” Sun Wenqu’s hand slipped around to the front, lightly tracing over his chest.

“Actually I don’t really mind,” Fang Chi thought for a moment. “There’s no way to mind that. If I really minded it, I’d have to go find an even younger kid.”

“Then what was that just now?” Sun Wenqu smiled.

“What was what?” Fang Chi rubbed his nose. “I was just asking. Just casually asking. If you don’t say, it doesn’t matter anyway, right now you’re with me.”

“I like hearing that,” Sun Wenqu kissed his neck. “Actually there’s nothing I can’t say.”

Fang Chi turned to look at him.

“Not many ex-boyfriends, two or three,” Sun Wenqu leaned back against the rock, resting his head on his arm. “None of them lasted long. One or two years counts as long. Most of the time I’m by myself.”

“Why?” Fang Chi asked.

“Dating is pretty tiring,” Sun Wenqu said.

“You’re already so lazy you’re too lazy to even date?” Fang Chi sighed.

Sun Wenqu squinted and smiled. “You’re pretty cute.”

“I don’t want to know about the others,” Fang Chi said. “I just want to know about that younger ex-boyfriend. Why did you break up with him?”

“It wasn’t me who broke up with him,” Sun Wenqu tilted his head back. “He broke up with me. There wasn’t really any reason. The road ahead seemed endless with no light in sight. Lots of people feel they can’t carry it to the end and quit early.”

Fang Chi fell silent.

“That was many years ago,” Sun Wenqu looked at him. “Back then I told Liangzi, kids can’t be touched. They’re too unstable. You never know when they’ll run off.”

“Then why…” Fang Chi brushed the dust off Sun Wenqu’s pants, “did you still get together with me…”

“There’s no real reason for that,” Sun Wenqu picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it in his hand. “But you’re a bit different.”

“Hm?” Fang Chi immediately turned to look at him.

“When you came to borrow money for Fang Ying,” Sun Wenqu smiled, “I thought, hey, this kid can handle things pretty well. Climbs walls, removes windows, and can carry responsibilities too. A bit foolish, not bad.”

“Can you not say climbing walls and dismantling windows together like that?” Fang Chi sighed.

“No,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.

Fang Chi looked at him without speaking. After a long time he finally said quietly, “I wouldn’t do that. I mean… I wouldn’t… suddenly run away. When I said I liked you, I thought about it before saying it.”

“I know,” Sun Wenqu said.

“I won’t run away,” Fang Chi said again.

“Mm.” Sun Wenqu nodded while looking at him.

Fang Chi seemed unsure what to say next. After being silent for quite a while he finally spoke again. “Then… were you angry today?”

“No,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Where did you learn Baduanjin?” Fang Chi asked again.

Sun Wenqu froze for a moment, then laughed. “From Li Bowen’s dad. Uncle Li is like my dad, they like these things. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, flowers, birds, fish, insects. His son won’t keep him company, so he drags me instead.”

“No wonder he messes with you like that,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue.

“Let him be mad to death,” Sun Wenqu laughed cheerfully. “I’ve been too busy lately, otherwise I’d still go over to his house and wander around.”

“You’re the real kid here.” Fang Chi lowered his head and kissed the corner of his mouth.

Sun Wenqu’s running distance wasn’t long, basically he ran to the stream, moved around a bit, then circled back through the other side of the woods to the village.

Fang Chi ran a lap with him, keeping his eyes on his feet the whole time.

“I run this path every day, I won’t twist my ankle. Stop staring,” Sun Wenqu said. “You’re about to make me run out of rhythm.”

Fang Chi chuckled twice.

“Your classmates should be arriving soon, right?” Sun Wenqu took out his phone and checked the time.

“Mm, about that,” Fang Chi nodded. “In a bit we should also go to Old Jiang’s place. My grandma told me to get two fish.”

“Are they all eating at your house at noon?” Sun Wenqu asked.

“Probably. They want to barbecue, but it’s too hot at noon, so we’ll have to do it in the afternoon or evening,” Fang Chi said, then turned his head again. “You don’t want to come downstairs for lunch?”

“You know me well.” Sun Wenqu picked up a stone and tossed it forward. Xiaozi barked and ran after it. “I’ll just eat in my room. I have to finish the drawings today. Uncle Liangzi is bringing me clay in the next couple days, and I need to start making pottery.”

“Oh.” Fang Chi nodded.

Xu Zhou and the others arrived a little after eleven. Fang Chi stood at the intersection, and when the bus pulled up several heads stuck out the windows smiling at him.

“The people on the bus must have been driven crazy by you guys,” Fang Chi said.

“We were the ones driven crazy, three chickens, one duck, and two kids. None of them shut up the whole way,” Xu Zhou said cheerfully, then slapped Fang Chi on the shoulder. “We’re here!”

“…Welcome,” Fang Chi said, glancing behind them and spotting Xiao Yiming walking at the very back.

He was surprised to see that after only two days, Xiao Yiming’s face had already thinned noticeably, and he looked rather listless.

“Hey Fang Chi!” Liang Xiaotao shouted at him, sweat beading on her nose. “Does your grandpa’s place have enough room? Do we need to find a hotel?”

“There’s no hotel,” Fang Chi led them toward the village entrance, turning his head to count, seven people in total. “We can probably fit everyone. We’ll just sleep on the floor.”

“Does the house have air conditioning?” Lin Wei asked, fanning herself with a small handheld fan.

“No,” Fang Chi said, glancing at her. He didn’t like Lin Wei very much, but she always hung around with their group.

“No air conditioning? Won’t we die from the heat?” Lin Wei pouted.

“Then stand here,” Fang Chi said.

“Why?” Lin Wei asked.

“In an hour there’s another bus. Six yuan and it’ll take you back,” Fang Chi said.

“Hey!” Lin Wei shouted. “Fang Chi, you’re so annoying!”

“It won’t be that hot even without air conditioning,” Liang Xiaotao said. “It’s much cooler in the mountains. I think a small electric fan is enough.”

When Fang Chi brought the group of classmates, excited like people who had just been released from prison and reborn, back home, Grandpa was already cooking in the kitchen.

Grandma had cleaned out Fang Chi’s room, and everyone threw their bags inside.

“I’m hungry. When I walked past the kitchen it smelled so good,” someone said.

Several people immediately ran downstairs, calling out “Grandpa” and “Grandma” as they squeezed into the kitchen.

When Fang Chi passed Sun Wenqu’s room he stopped and knocked on the door. Sun Wenqu answered from inside, “It’s not locked.”

He pushed the door open and poked his head in. “Hey.”

“Mm?” Sun Wenqu was sitting at the desk and turned to look at him.

“Come here quickly,” Fang Chi said.

Sun Wenqu put down his pen and walked over. “What’s wrong?”

“Kiss me.” Fang Chi leaned forward and quickly planted a hard kiss on his lips.

When he was about to close the door and go downstairs, he suddenly turned back into the room, shut the door, wrapped his arms around Sun Wenqu and pushed him against the wall, kissing him again, thoroughly stirring around in his mouth before finally letting go.

“You’ve been holding it in, haven’t you,” Sun Wenqu wiped his mouth. “Now go downstairs and meet your classmates with a gun at full mast.”

“It’ll calm down in a bit.” Fang Chi laughed, bouncing in place before turning and running downstairs.

Sun Wenqu walked over and closed the door, then went to the window and looked down.

Several boys were standing in the courtyard, along with two girls, laughing and making noise while insisting on helping cook. Xiaozi excitedly ran in circles around them.

Fang Chi carried the big tabletop out into the yard and set it up. A group of people began going in and out, bringing chairs and taking bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen.

It was pretty noisy.

Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue.

This kind of commotion only belonged to this age group. Younger than this or older than this, it wouldn’t feel the same. Only at eighteen or nineteen did people have this sort of energy, full of vitality yet also full of annoying noise.

Compared to them, Fang Chi was much more mature. When he was with Sun Wenqu he talked quite a lot, but when he was with these peers of his, he instead spoke very little.

A generation gap?

Sun Wenqu smiled.

But when it came to speaking little, there was someone else who hadn’t made a sound since coming in. He stood to one side the whole time, occasionally teasing the dog, but most of the time he just stood there blankly with a polite smile at the corner of his mouth.

It was Xiao Yiming.

Sun Wenqu looked at him. This boy had probably not been having an easy time lately. Sun Wenqu hadn’t expected him to come, most likely he had nowhere else to go and came along to relax a bit.

Sun Wenqu pulled the curtains closed, sat back down at the desk, and spread out the pile of drawings he had made one by one to look at them. As for what influence Xiao Yiming might have on Fang Chi, it was hard to say.

But he didn’t intend to give Fang Chi any advice about this matter. Every thought, every decision, those had to come from Fang Chi himself.

Fang Chi stood in the kitchen. Before each dish was fully served, he picked out a few bites with chopsticks and put them into a small bowl. But Sun Wenqu was picky and didn’t eat much, so Fang Chi put in a few pieces of ribs and a few pieces of braised pork, added some vegetables, and felt it was about enough. Grandma also filled a bowl of soup for him.

After getting the food ready, Fang Chi took advantage of everyone’s attention being elsewhere and carried the tray into the house.

As soon as he entered he almost bumped into Xiao Yiming coming out with a cup of water.

“You…” Xiao Yiming paused when he saw the tray in Fang Chi’s hands.

“It’s for my friend,” Fang Chi smiled. “He’s busy with something and isn’t coming down to eat.”

“Oh.” Xiao Yiming nodded and went outside with his cup.

Sun Wenqu was drawing. Fang Chi set the food down on the small table. “Do you want a drink? They bought drinks. If you want one I’ll bring a bottle up.”

“No,” Sun Wenqu turned his chair around and smelled the dishes. “Smells great.”

“I originally wanted to get you some fish,” Fang Chi kissed his face again, “but today the fish was fried whole…”

“It’s fine,” Sun Wenqu touched his face. “If I want fish we can have Grandpa make it in a few days. Today I’m more interested in the braised pork.”

“Then I’ll go downstairs?” Fang Chi looked at him, a little reluctant to leave.

“Mm,” Sun Wenqu answered.

“Want me to stay and eat a few bites with you?” Fang Chi asked again.

“There are only a few bites total,” Sun Wenqu leaned back in his chair and smiled. “If you eat a few bites, are you planning to rub your mushroom again?”

“I’m going downstairs,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue, tugged at his pants, and turned to leave.

Lunch was extremely lively, mostly talking and laughing. The role of eating seemed to just be giving their mouths a short rest.

The exams had just ended. After resting for two days, this was the most carefree period. After a while, as the day for scores drew closer, this excitement would slowly be replaced by nervousness.

As soon as they finished eating and helped Grandpa and Grandma clear the table, several people shouted about going to the river to play.

“Maybe swim or something,” Xu Zhou said. “Did you all bring swim trunks or swimsuits?”

“Brought them!” The group ran upstairs again to rummage through their clothes.

The boys and girls split into two groups to change, then ran from the backyard toward the river like they had been let loose.

Fang Chi didn’t plan to swim and walked slowly. He didn’t have that much enthusiasm for swimming, if he wanted to swim in the river, he could go anytime.

Xiao Yiming also hadn’t changed clothes and walked slowly with him toward the river.

“What’s the situation at your house now?” Fang Chi asked.

“Same as before,” Xiao Yiming looked down at the ground, clearly not wanting to say much. “They won’t budge, and I don’t know how to compromise.”

“Then what about after summer vacation? When school starts?” Fang Chi frowned. “They won’t even pay the tuition?”

“I don’t know,” Xiao Yiming sighed. “I saved a little myself, enough for one school year. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll get a job or something. Learn from you.”

Fang Chi didn’t speak. His chest felt a little heavy.

“That friend of yours,” Xiao Yiming changed the subject, “is he here for field research?”

“Huh?” Fang Chi was stunned. “Field research?”

“Yeah. He’s been staying quite a long time, right?” Xiao Yiming smiled. “People who stay in the mountains that long are usually here gathering inspiration.”

“Oh,” Fang Chi laughed. “Something like that. He makes pottery, came to look for inspiration.”

“Pottery?” Xiao Yiming glanced at him, his gaze falling on the four-leaf clover hanging around Fang Chi’s neck. After hesitating he asked, “This… he made it, right?”

“Yeah,” Fang Chi touched the clover. “He did.”

“I’ve known you for so long,” Xiao Yiming looked at him, “and this is the first time I’ve seen you wear something around your neck for this long. The jade your dad bought you before, you took it off after a few days, saying you didn’t like wearing things around your neck.”

Fang Chi held the clover without speaking.

That was true, he really had said that before. He really didn’t like wearing things around his neck.

But this four-leaf clover, after all this time, he hadn’t even taken it off when bathing.