Chapter 70: The Day I Called You
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Rain fell softly, pitter-pattering down. Puddles on the street reflected the old buildings.
Junior high school students on their way home dashed through the rain, their blue and white school uniforms serving as makeshift raincoats. As they trod through the puddles, splashes of water shattered the reflection of the old buildings.
“Xie Shiyu—”
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu turned around.
In the drizzle, twenty-nine-year-old Chu Feng, holding an umbrella, stood in the Dream City game, smiling at the junior high school student Xie:
“No umbrella?”
“…Yeah.”
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu stared at Chu Feng, his expression somewhat blank, as if he hadn’t expected him to come.
Chu Feng looked at the child, wearing their junior high school uniform on his head, with both sleeves hanging by Xie Shiyu’s ears, resembling a rabbit.
Chu Feng found him a bit cute.
If thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu still had a bit of a handsome vibe to him in the eyes of thirteen-year-old Chu Feng, then in the eyes of twenty-nine-year-old Chu Feng, the Xie Shiyu before him had completely transformed into an adorable little brother.
Chu Feng walked over and held the umbrella over Xie Shiyu.
Now standing at 180, he towered over Xie Shiyu by half a head. Sometimes, Chu Feng quite enjoyed this perspective, this view that was impossible to achieve in reality, where he could look down on Xie Shiyu.
He glanced down at Xie Shiyu, reaching out to pat his furry head:
“Did you get a haircut? It’s a bit prickly.”
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu didn’t say a word, just silently walked under Chu Feng’s umbrella.
“A crew cut suits you better.” Chu Feng remarked casually. “Why did you suddenly decide to go for a haircut?”
Chu Feng remembered, when they first entered junior high, Xie Shiyu inexplicably got a bowl cut, with long, thick bangs covering his eyebrows, making him look odd.
Generally speaking, if a person’s features weren’t very prominent, or if there were some flaws in their facial structure, they needed to adjust their hair and bangs more to hide those flaws. But Xie Shiyu had good facial features, and a well-defined face, so a simple crew cut that exposed his features would make him look handsome. However, this guy insisted on having that bowl cut.
One day, when little Chu Feng walked into the classroom, he suddenly found that Xie Shiyu had gone back to a crew cut.
The classmates in the class were quietly amazed, sneaking glances at Xie Shiyu’s seat. Chu Feng, who was used to it by now, walked over and sat next to Xie Shiyu:
“You changed your hairstyle back again?”
“…Yeah.”
Chu Feng asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to get rid of your bowl cut?”
At that time, thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu answered him just like he did today:
“No need.”
***
Raindrops fell on the umbrella, drip-dropping.
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu held Chu Feng’s hand that was holding the umbrella:
“Let me hold it.”
“No need.” Chu Feng relied on his tall stature. “Tall people hold the umbrella.”
Little Xie Shiyu snorted. “How rare. You actually came to pick me up from school.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Chu Feng lightly tapped him. “As if I deliberately ignored you.”
Xie Shiyu said, “Aren’t you supposed to go mess around with those adults tonight?”
Chu Feng knocked him lightly. “Staying with my legal husband isn’t messing around. You’re still young, stop talking nonsense.”
Xie Shiyu muttered, “It’s still messing around if I’m not involved.”
“Wait until you grow up.”
“But I can never grow up.”
“…Xie Shiyu…”
Chu Feng looked at thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu in surprise, perhaps because he had set the game’s restoration rate to 100%. Sometimes, even though he knew that the character Xie Shiyu was just a piece of data in the program, the things they said still made Chu Feng feel heartbroken.
The rain fell quietly, stirring up the fallen leaves on the street.
Xie Shiyu reached out and pulled Chu Feng’s sleeve:
“Can you let me join next time you’re with those big brothers?” Xie Shiyu’s expression was very aggrieved, his eyes begging like a puppy.
***
“It’s impossible.”
Chu Feng knocked on the underage Little Xie’s head heavily: “Have you finished your homework? What’s going on in your head? You’re only thirteen years old. How do you know so much?”
——The underage Little Xie is really not pure at all.
Little Xie snorted: “Kids nowadays know a lot, even if they are in elementary school. So, kissing is okay, right?”
“No.” Chu Feng said.
“Why? A five-year-old could kiss you!”
“That’s a kiss on the cheek,” Chu Feng said, “Besides, are you five years old?”
——The adolescent Little Xie could not enjoy real happiness like the adult Little Xie, nor could he throw himself into Chu Feng’s arms and enjoy kisses and hugs like the kindergarten Little Xie. He was in a rather awkward position.
Chu Feng gently broke free from Xie Shiyu’s hand, held up the umbrella like a reliable older brother, and taught the thirteen-year-old Xie earnestly: “Go home and do your homework at night. If you enjoy the protection of a minor, you cannot enjoy the benefits of an adult.”
Little Xie was wearing a junior high school uniform, and his face was full of unhappiness. He suddenly sensed a hidden meaning in Chu Feng’s words: “What kind of protection as a minor did I enjoy?”
The sound of raindrops rang out in the world outside the umbrella.
Chu Feng looked at the thirteen-year-old Little Xie in front of him. The character Xie Shiyu came from his memory, and they could not answer him the truth about what happened back then.
——China’s Law on the Protection of Minors stipulates that children under the age of fourteen are not subject to criminal responsibility. If Xie Shiyu really intended to kill his father, then thirteen is his last chance to do it.
Chu Feng looked at Little Xie in front of him, but his eyes gradually passed through him and looked at the smoky gray rain curtain behind Little Xie. He wanted to see someone he could no longer see, the real Xie Shiyu who could answer all his questions.
***
“What are you looking at?”
Thirteen-year-old Little Xie turned his head and asked, “Is there something behind me?”
“…Nothing.” Chu Feng restrained himself and retracted his gaze. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
The character Little Xie in the first grade of junior high school lives in a high-end garden community. This is Chu Feng’s home in junior high school.
In the real world, Xie Shiyu first came to his house to play when he was in the first grade of junior high school. Chu Feng also restored his junior high school residence in the Dream City. Out of selfishness, he arranged for several junior high school students to live here.
Di–
The 13-year-old character Little Xie took out the access card and swiped it. The automatic glass door slowly opened. Inside the residential building, the ivory white tiles reflected the bright lights.
Little Xie walked in with ease. There were landscape paintings of blue sky and grass on both sides of the corridor, and a few potted orchids were placed in front of the elevator. Everywhere was elegant and unique.
Chu Feng had an indescribable feeling when he saw Xie Shiyu living in the place where he used to live.
When he was a child, he always wanted to invite Xie Shiyu to his house to play, but his parents were very strict and always kept an eye on him. Chu Feng couldn’t just invite Xie Shiyu to his house to play like he did when Xie Shiyu invited him to see the swallows.
When he entered the first grade of junior high school, 13-year-old Chu Feng finally got an opportunity.
As spring transitioned to summer, heavy rain poured from the sky. The piano teacher had something come up and couldn’t come for the lesson.
Mom was on a business trip, Dad had to stay overnight in the university town due to overtime, he called to say he wouldn’t be back tonight.
— Chu Feng was home alone overnight.
Thirteen-year-old Chu Feng was like a bird released from its cage, immediately picking up the phone to call Xie Shiyu.
During junior high school, almost every household had a landline. Previously, when he called Xie Shiyu, the call would always be answered promptly, but that day, it rang for a long time… ***
“I’m home.”
The character Little Xie opened the door and walked in. He threw off his cumbersome school bag and uniform, opened the fridge, preparing dinner for himself: “What do you want to eat?”
Chu Feng seemed absent-minded, as if he hadn’t heard him speak. Xie was a bit displeased: “Oh, getting ready to have a candlelit dinner and play with those adults, so you don’t want to have dinner with boring minors like me, right?”
“….” Chu Feng replied, “Let’s have egg fried rice.”
Victorious, the first-year junior high Xie smiled, took out a bunch of essential ingredients for egg fried rice from the fridge: green onions, and started chopping them on the cutting board.
While this Xie was cooking, Chu Feng secretly took out his phone, accessed the gaming system, aimed the small screen at Xie Shiyu’s nape, wanting to see what the password hint for this Xie might be…
“Chu Feng.”
“Hmm?” Chu Feng quickly put away the system.
Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu sighed with the wisdom of an old soul: “I feel like I’m a concubine in the harem, racking my brains to keep the Emperor overnight.”
Chu Feng, “…”
Little Xie continued, “So, are you going to stay overnight?”
“Yes!” Chu Feng retorted irritably, “Tonight, the Emperor will keep watching you until you finish all your homework obediently!”
“…”
Xie Shiyu’s hand paused while chopping onions, he really hated doing homework. Chu Feng sat on the sofa, started checking the first-year junior high Xie’s school bag, seeing what homework he had for today, and also checked for any clues about the truth from back then.
The character Little Xie in Dream City was all from his memory, repeating his actions from his lifetime. Even though the thirteen-year-old Little Xie couldn’t tell him what had happened, perhaps he could recreate some details, some doubts that thirteen-year-old Chu Feng couldn’t find.
For example, the sudden change in Xie Shiyu’s hairstyle.
Back then, he didn’t think much of it, just thought Xie Shiyu had a whim. But now, Chu Feng felt something was off, Xie Shiyu suddenly changed his hairstyle, then changed it back, maybe there was a deeper reason behind it.
Chu Feng thought, hairstyles were the quickest way to change one’s appearance. Suddenly changing to a vastly different hairstyle, even unfamiliar people might not recognize that it was the same person.
He looked at the silhouette of thirteen-year-old Xie cooking, quietly took out his phone again, and aimed the small screen of the system at him—
[Password hint]: What was the date of that day? (Only fill in the year, month, and day)
[That day]…
Chu Feng sighed inwardly, the hint provided was too vague. He couldn’t determine what [that day] was for, perhaps it was just the day Little Xie failed a test in first grade. After all, being thirteen was just a guess made by X, guessing had some rationale, but it might not be accurate.
***
“Time for dinner.”
Little Xie, the character, brought a bowl of golden fried rice.
Chu Feng: “Just one bowl? Aren’t you eating?”
“I already ate at the school cafeteria.”
Little Xie suggested, holding the bowl with heat-resistant gloves, “Want to eat in the bedroom?”
“…Sure, that works.”
Dining at the table felt a bit formal, especially since this table brought back not-so-pleasant memories for Chu Feng. He always remembered sitting here as a child, his parents arguing over dinner while the TV blared English programs, making dinner a listening exercise.
Chu Feng and Xie Shiyu went into the bedroom.
Bed, bookshelf, small balcony, and a white piano facing the balcony. This bedroom was a faithful recreation of his memories. At 29, Chu Feng looked at the room he lived in at 13.
“Brings back memories.”
Chu Feng walked to the white piano and opened the cover:
“Ever played this?”
“Nope. I don’t know how to play.”
Little Xie placed the fried rice on the table as he spoke, not immediately taking off the heat-resistant gloves.
Chu Feng didn’t notice Little Xie’s actions; he placed his fingers on the black and white keys:
Do, Re, Mi, Fa……
It had been a long time since he played the piano; occasionally, he’d play a tune, feeling oddly nostalgic. Chu Feng casually played a melody. He’d never found joy in playing the piano as a child, except once, when Xie Shiyu came over to his house when they were thirteen, and Chu Feng played the piano for him.
They sat together on the piano stool, Chu Feng placed his hands on the keys, and beautiful notes flowed from his fingertips, while Xie Shiyu sat beside him quietly listening.
That day, it was pouring rain outside, but inside was filled with piano music and the admiration of youth.
“Would you like to play too?”
The 29-year-old Chu Feng stopped playing and asked the 13-year-old Xie.
Little Xie: “No, I don’t know how to play.”
Chu Feng: “That’s okay, just press some keys randomly. Come over here.”
The junior high first-year Xie stiffened for a moment, then slowly moved to the piano stool and sat beside Chu Feng.
Chu Feng teased him, “Why are you still foolishly wearing those heat-resistant gloves? You can take them off now…”
…Wait.
Something’s wrong!
Chu Feng stopped laughing, staring at the young Xie in front of him, suddenly feeling something.
Today, he hadn’t seen Xie Shiyu’s left hand.
When holding the umbrella, Xie Shiyu reached out to hold him, but that was with his right hand. At dinner, they should have been at the table, but today Xie Shiyu suggested eating in the bedroom, avoiding the moment when they would have to expose their hands face to face at the table.
“Xie Shiyu, take off your left glove.”
The thirteen-year-old Xie lowered his head, silent.
Chu Feng suddenly reached out and immediately peeled off Xie Shiyu’s glove—
Plunk.
The heat-resistant glove fell to the ground.
Chu Feng saw it clearly; under the light, there was something in the nail seam of Xie Shiyu’s left index finger:
…Blood.
***
Chu Feng: “What’s this?”
The first-year Xie remained silent.
Chu Feng’s heart raced, but he forced himself to calm down again. The character Xie Shiyu couldn’t answer such questions; he was just a projection of Chu Feng’s memory.
Thirteen…
Chu Feng suddenly remembered. When he was thirteen, they didn’t cook fried rice or wear heat-resistant gloves. But that day, after Chu Feng finished playing the piano, he had also asked Xie Shiyu:
“Do you want to play too?”
At that time, Xie Shiyu reached out to touch the keys, but hesitated in mid-air, then withdrew his hand, shrugging and smiling:
“No, I don’t know how to play.”
***
Thirteen-year-old Chu Feng didn’t think much of it; he just thought Xie Shiyu was embarrassed to show his lack of skill in front of him.
Now, Chu Feng suddenly realized that on that day, thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu did indeed want to touch the keys, but when he raised his hand…
He found blood residue in the seam of his index finger.
Thirteen-year-old Chu Feng’s eyes captured this scene, transmitted it back to his brain through visual nerves, but… this scene, without any context, just visually, it was just a tiny speck of reddish-brown in the nail seam.
It meant nothing.
The brain judged it: irrelevant information, discard it.
Thirteen-year-old Chu Feng couldn’t recognize the importance of this detail from his subjective consciousness, and twenty-nine-year-old Chu Feng couldn’t actively recall the condition of Xie Shiyu’s nail seam sixteen years ago.
This visual information curled up in the corner of the brain and gathered dust, only to be picked up by the game system when Chu Feng built his dream city, creating a 100% faithful replica of thirteen-year-old Xie.
They met again in the game. Thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu reappeared in front of twenty-nine-year-old Chu Feng, who knew the cause and effect.
Even if thirteen-year-old Chu Feng could detect the blood in the nail seam, Xie Shiyu at that time would probably have brushed it off, saying it was nothing, just a little bleeding in the nail seam.
Such a tiny detail wouldn’t be investigated further… unless the police came. At this moment, Chu Feng grabbed the left hand of the character Xie Shiyu, observing the reddish-brown color stained in his nail seam. It should be blood. Chu Feng was somewhat surprised; thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu was so careless.
Even if it was just a little blood in the nail seam, it should have been cleaned. If the police caught him at that time and immediately checked his DNA… it would be over.
Although legally, thirteen-year-old Xie Shiyu couldn’t be sentenced, if discovered, he definitely couldn’t continue attending classes at school. He would be sent to a juvenile detention center, separated from Chu Feng.
“Go wash your hands.”
Chu Feng pointed outside the bedroom door. The character Xie Shiyu didn’t say anything, obediently stood up and walked out.
Chu Feng watched his back; thirteen years old… still too young after all. Was this carelessness because it was his first time committing a crime, or because… the young Xie Shiyu was just a first-year student, maybe he didn’t think it through? Or… was it because of the rush of time?
Time…
Chu Feng suddenly remembered, in that year when he was thirteen, he called Xie Shiyu to his house, on a whim.
It was pouring rain suddenly that day, the piano teacher couldn’t come, and his father also decided at the last minute not to come back that night, leaving Chu Feng alone at home.
The completely free little Chu Feng immediately dialed Xie Shiyu’s home phone.
Ring, ring, ring, ring…
In the past, calls to Xie Shiyu’s home were always quickly answered, but that day, thirteen-year-old Chu Feng dialed three times in a row, and just as the third call was about to end…
Click, it was picked up.
“Hello, Xie Shiyu?”
There was a pause on the other end, and little Chu Feng heard Xie Shiyu’s voice:
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Little Chu Feng exclaimed excitedly, “My parents aren’t home today! My dad won’t be back until tomorrow morning. Do you want to come over to my house to play?”
Little Chu Feng thought that Xie Shiyu on the other end of the phone would be as happy as him, excitedly replying: Really? That’s great!! Then they could imagine what they would eat and play tonight, maybe they could play games all night, or have a pillow fight…
***
However, on the other end of the phone, Xie Shiyu just said indifferently:
“Do you want me to come to your house now?”
Little Chu Feng gripped the phone tightly. Xie Shiyu’s voice sounded somewhat distant, with a hint of suppressed breath, as if… he had just come back from somewhere and was a bit weary.
Bang— the heavy rain hammered against the windows.
Suddenly, Little Chu Feng felt embarrassed. He had actually asked Xie Shiyu to come over in this kind of weather… it was really inappropriate. He had been so excited to receive the message from his father saying he wouldn’t be home tonight that he had forgotten what kind of weather it was today.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize it was raining so heavily. It’s better if you don’t come! It’s okay, we can play next time you have the chance to come over.”
—But who knows when next time will be.
Little Chu Feng felt quite disappointed, but he pretended to sound normal as he prepared to hang up the phone. He might as well just stay home alone, practice the piano, do homework, and go to bed early.
—
“Do you really look forward to my coming?”
Just as he was about to hang up, Xie Shiyu’s teasing voice came from the other end.
“I don’t!” Little Chu Feng felt a bit annoyed. “You can come or not, it’s up to you. I’m hanging up.”
—
After a moment, thirteen-year-old Chu Feng heard:
“I’ll be right there.”
Amidst the howling wind and rain, Xie Shiyu’s laughter sounded from the phone:
“Just wait for me.”
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