Chapter 24: P. Licking the Wounds

Su Hui received an email from Professor Wang inviting him to attend this year’s academic symposium. The date was July 12th, and the location was New York, USA.

For the first time in a long while, he felt a spark of joy and immediately shared the news with his family. However, the reception was poor. Ji Yanan believed his condition was not suitable for traveling abroad, and she had a chamber of commerce event that day anyway, so she couldn’t accompany him.

At the dinner table, Ji Tailu made his stance clear: “There is no need to go. It’s not an important meeting anyway. If you want to discuss research, I can hire the best financial experts to hold a short meeting for you online.”

“Grandfather,” Su Hui protested, not understanding, “I don’t want to go because of how important it is. I want to go because every time I’ve had a similar opportunity, I’ve failed to make it. There’s always some reason. Can’t you just let me try once? I can’t be trapped in this city forever.”

Ji Tailu’s expression was stern. Xu Zhi, sitting nearby, added soup to his bowl and said with a smile, “Actually, Xiao Hui has a point. Kids are always curious about the outside world. However, the security in the US isn’t great, and Xiao Hui’s mental state isn’t very stable. If he really must go, should we reach out to the embassy there in advance?”

Ji Tailu knew people at the US Embassy, but the moment he heard the idea of pulling strings, he became even more opposed. “This is not up for discussion. Eat your meal.”

Su Hui’s grandmother placed some food in Ji Tailu’s bowl. “I actually think Xiao Hui could try. He’s been very well-behaved lately. If we give him a few extra reminders, the child will remember them.”

Su Hui nodded immediately, went behind his grandmother to hug her, and said happily, “Thank you, Grandmother!”

“Eat properly. What kind of behavior is this?”

“Don’t be so serious. There are no outsiders here.” Grandmother patted Su Hui’s hand, her tone gentle. “You all keep your strings pulled too tight; it’s not as problematic as you think. If you’re truly worried, you can assign a few security guards to him so there’s someone to look after him if anything happens. Or, perhaps I could go with our Xiao Hui?”

“No need, Grandmother. I can do it, and you are very busy too,” Su Hui said, returning to his seat. “This is a group activity. I won’t wander off. I promise to come home safely.”

With his grandmother’s mediation, Su Hui finally won his grandfather’s approval. Although they would arrange for people to follow him—a step short of the freedom he had imagined—it was at least a significant improvement. Because of this progress, Su Hui began to indulge in infinite fantasies about the future: perhaps he could earn a chance to study abroad, study the major he wanted, and see the people he missed whenever and wherever he pleased.

Excitement and joy hijacked his brain as if something miraculous had happened. Su Hui couldn’t control his urge to share, and Ning Yixiao was his only interface with the world. As long as he told him, he could feel the joy of being understood by the whole world.

Su Hui sent a barrage of messages:

[Little Cat: Ning Yixiao, I can go to the symposium!!!]

[Little Cat: My grandmother helped me. I love her so much; she is the best grandmother in the world.]

[Little Cat: I don’t know what the accommodation arrangements are. If possible, I want to stay in the same room as you. Is that okay?]

[Little Cat: Have you thought about what to bring?]

[Little Cat: Why are you ignoring me? Am I annoying?]

[Little Cat: I want to go see you. If you don’t refuse me within five minutes, I’ll take it as you agreeing.]

He sent a sticker of a cat rolling around and stared at the clock, waiting for Ning Yixiao’s reply. As he expected, Ning Yixiao didn’t refuse within five minutes. So, Su Hui packed his things, didn’t use the front door, but went from his room to the backyard and left the house through a small garden gate. He sent his mother a message saying he was going to the bookstore and would be back soon.

The last time they parted at their “secret base,” he had learned from Ning Yixiao that his internship was in Zhongguancun. Su Hui hailed a taxi and climbed in, full of anticipation, watching the sun sink bit by bit out the window.

In truth, he didn’t even know what he would do once he found Ning Yixiao. He was simply driven by an impulse to see him. In his manic state, he felt no frustration. Even when he arrived at the office building, he hadn’t received a reply from Ning Yixiao, but Su Hui didn’t feel disappointed.

He walked toward the office building with curiosity, but a card reader blocked his path. A security guard nearby approached and asked, “Do you work here?”

Su Hui shook his head. “I’m looking for someone. He works here.”

The guard didn’t accept the reason. “We don’t allow just anyone in. Call him and have him come down.”

Su Hui stood there, thinking. It’s better not to disturb Ning Yixiao. Maybe he’ll get off work soon.

“When do they get off work?”

“Hard to say. Some young people stay until midnight,” the guard said confidently.

Midnight? Su Hui checked the time; it was only 6:00 PM.

“Then I’ll wait outside.”

The guard watched him walk away happily and returned to his post, saying to a colleague, “Young people these days are really great. Always so happy every day, no idea what they’re so happy about.”

The temperature outside was very high, but Su Hui found an excellent spot to wait—under a tree outside the office building. It seemed to be a locust tree, not very tall, perhaps because it was trapped in a round flowerbed. The size of the bed seemed tailored for the tree, but wouldn’t the tree keep growing? If it grew larger, what would happen?

A child ran over, bumped into Su Hui’s back, and interrupted his wandering thoughts. Su Hui turned around, but the kid had already run off, shouting “Sorry” loudly. He joined a group of other children playing Frisbee and skateboards, looking like energetic little puppies.

Su Hui sat in the shade, whispered “It’s okay,” and opened a book. He often needed to carry a book; it helped improve his concentration during this period, allowing him to do one quiet thing rather than staying highly curious about everything around him.

The sky darkened. The sunset vanished quickly, like a dark blue velvet cloth covering an orange lightbulb. Sitting by the flowerbed, Su Hui looked up every few minutes to see if Ning Yixiao had come out.

But he never appeared, and he received no reply from Ning Yixiao. Worry began to bubble up from the bottom of his heart. Su Hui felt like a sick little spider, uncontrollably secreting long, sticky silk, but the “prey” it attacked was himself, wrapping him up bit by bit.

Nothing should be wrong… what could happen to Ning Yixiao?

Just as he was about to be completely wrapped in sticky threads, his phone vibrated.

[Ning Yixiao: Are you here? I’m sorry, I’ve been in meetings. My phone was at my desk; I didn’t see it. And I have to work overtime.]

[Ning Yixiao: Go home. It’s not safe to be out too late.]

This answer was clearly not what Su Hui wanted. He buried himself in the silk of his illusions, self-destructively refusing to reply, sitting motionless, still staring at the office building entrance. Later, he received new messages, but he didn’t click on them.

He didn’t know how late it was, but the children had all gone home, and the area had become quiet and cold. Su Hui felt thirsty and went to a convenience store across the street to buy water. While waiting to pay, he happened to see Ning Yixiao walk out of the office building.

He called out, but his voice was quiet, and Ning Yixiao didn’t seem to hear him. Su Hui grabbed the water and went to find him, but a red light stopped him. Ning Yixiao seemed to be in a hurry; he walked quickly, turned right after leaving, and disappeared. Su Hui wanted to know if he was in a rush to catch a bus, but before he could reach the stop, three men intercepted him.

They were about forty, in the prime of life, dark-skinned, one of them covered in tattoos. Something felt wrong. Su Hui ran across the crosswalk when the light turned green, the crowd dispersed, and both Ning Yixiao and the men vanished.

After searching the area for a long time, running from the office building to the bus stop, he couldn’t find anyone. Finally, he ran to a nearby construction site and saw Ning Yixiao in the alleyway.

He was fighting, surrounded. Su Hui watched with his own eyes as one of the men landed a heavy punch. In his panic, he shouted, “What are you doing?” Su Hui held his phone to his ear. “Police? There’s a fight here, please come quickly.” He recited the address quickly.

The men not far away stopped. The one who had hit the hardest walked menacingly toward Su Hui.

“Mind your own business!”

Su Hui stepped back, but fortunately, the other two men pulled the tattooed one back, saying things like, “Forget it, they called the police, let’s go.”

The man spat. “Damn it, meddling idiot.”

As they passed Ning Yixiao, he sneered, “Little white-collar, don’t forget what we said. If you drag this out another few days, we’ll just have to go cause a scene at your company. You’re in such a good company now, you’re not short on money, right?”

After the insults, they left from the other end of the alley.

Only after confirming they wouldn’t return did Su Hui relax. His heart was beating fast, his body drained of strength. He looked at Ning Yixiao, who was leaning against the wall, clutching his phone, and walked toward him step by step.

Ning Yixiao had blood at the corner of his mouth and looked much more disheveled than usual. He bowed his head, wiped the blood with the back of his hand, and didn’t look into Su Hui’s eyes. “I thought I told you to go home.”

Su Hui’s lips moved; he wanted to speak but didn’t. He tilted his head to look at Ning Yixiao’s face and noticed a bruise on his cheekbone, so he grabbed his wrist and pulled him outward.

“What are you doing?”

“There’s a pharmacy over there.”

Su Hui had only seen such a fight twice in his life—once in middle school when he was sitting in his car after school; the street was clogged, and he saw a group of boys fighting in an alley through the window. The second time was this.

Su Hui felt the fear settle in after the fact. He bought disinfectant and gauze quickly, but the moment he turned around after paying, he realized Ning Yixiao wasn’t in the pharmacy. Thinking he was waiting outside, Su Hui walked out quickly—but he wasn’t at the door either.

His heart almost jumped out of his chest; an uncontrollable agitation turned his thoughts into a mess. Su Hui clutched the medicine bag helplessly, used his free hand to call, eyes darting everywhere, searching the roadside for any trace of Ning Yixiao.

Ning Yixiao was hiding behind a bus stop sign nearby. During work, he had been constantly harassed by debt collectors; he finally had no choice but to turn off his phone. When he turned it back on, messages flooded in—he had been annoyed until he saw Su Hui’s messages.

Of course, he wanted to see him—he wanted to run downstairs immediately. But he didn’t know if he was being followed. Su Hui was different from him; he should be protected, not harmed.

The phone kept vibrating. Ning Yixiao stood not far away, watching the anxious Su Hui, like a lost kitten. It seemed like if he didn’t appear in the next second, he would be stressed, he would be devastated. Ning Yixiao knew this was his own groundless imagination, but he couldn’t bear it and walked out.

He approached Su Hui from behind and whispered his name.

Su Hui jumped, turned to look at him, and his hand instinctively grabbed his wrist.

“Where did you go? You scared me to death. I thought they caught you again.”

“I went to buy something else,” Ning Yixiao lied casually.

It was such a poor lie, but because of his anxiety, Su Hui didn’t suspect a thing. “You have to tell me next time. I’m very worried.” He took a deep, shaky breath. Ning Yixiao thought he was adorable.

Su Hui led him to an outdoor bench in front of a shop. During the walk, he didn’t let go of his wrist. Only after ensuring Ning Yixiao was sitting down properly did he take out the disinfectant and a cotton swab to clean the wound.

“I’ll do it myself,” Ning Yixiao said.

Su Hui shook his head. “You can’t see it. I’ll do it for you; I can.”

“It might hurt a little.” Su Hui carefully moved the swab, lightly touching the corner of Ning Yixiao’s mouth, his voice instinctively quiet, “Does it hurt?”

Ning Yixiao stared at the sweat beading on his nose. “You don’t need to speak loudly to avoid hitting the wound.”

Su Hui frowned and cleared his throat. “Looks like it doesn’t hurt at all.”

He cleaned the wound quietly. His movements were a bit clumsy, but very earnest. From start to finish, he didn’t ask too many questions, like why he was beaten or who those people were. Ning Yixiao knew he was very intelligent, and he applied that intelligence deftly into every detail of their interaction. Perhaps he knew the bond between them was fragile, so he avoided touching it at all costs.

If Su Hui hadn’t witnessed it himself today, he would have continued to maintain that distance. But now, there was nowhere left to hide.

“Those men just now were debt collectors,” Ning Yixiao said in a low voice.

Su Hui didn’t seem to care; he just gave a soft “Oh,” not saying another word as he reached up to help him bandage the wound.

“My family owes a lot of money.” Ning Yixiao didn’t shy away, confessing to him flatly and calmly. “To be precise, it’s money owed by my mother’s later husband. A lot, a lot of money. No matter how much I pay, it never ends.”

“Later, they disappeared, so the collectors found me. At first, they watched me near the school, appearing once or twice a month. If I didn’t pay on time, I couldn’t even finish college. Now that I’m interning, they have a new place to camp out.”

He rarely said so many words.

Su Hui’s first reaction seemed a bit off-track. Ning Yixiao stopped speaking. Su Hui thought for a moment and continued to treat the wound. “Then… would you be willing to let me help you?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Ning Yixiao took his hand off his wrist and looked into Su Hui’s eyes. Su Hui couldn’t read his expression. Ning Yixiao’s voice was very low, as if struggling to restrain something, and his grip on Su Hui’s wrist was very light.

“I’m saying, Su Hui, you are a good person. Don’t get too close to someone like me.”

Su Hui stared at him steadily. He was quiet, his eyes moist, carrying a child-like softness and innocence. They were never people from the same world; if not for the string of coincidences, they might never have intersected in a lifetime. Su Hui had a smooth, clean life and should live a carefree existence.

The ten seconds felt as long as an entire year. Ning Yixiao let go of his hand, wanting to let him leave freely, as he usually did.

But Su Hui didn’t intend to leave. He just spoke softly, carrying a hint of grievance.

“It’s not even that close, is it? I just wanted to see you. Is that not allowed?”