CH 15

“Teacher Tang?” Someone had entered the elevator at some point.

“Huh?” Tang Xu snapped out of his reverie and realised that the elevator had probably already reached the first floor. He quickly apologised and walked out.

The rain came down suddenly outside, and Tang Xu had not brought an umbrella. He stood in front of the teaching building, unable to calm his thoughts, and stared at the ground, which was dotted with small puddles formed by the rain.

The campus radio station was playing music that complemented the rain. The rain on campus is a romantic thing, perhaps because it blends the youthful atmosphere from all sides, reminding people of love and, in many cases, their first love. People tend to associate what they see with memories, perhaps personal experiences or stories told by others. There must be something related that connects various fragments of thought and eventually weaves them into a story. On one end of the thread, there was ordinary rain, and on the other, there was an extraordinary person who appeared even in dreams.

Tang Xu leaned against the wall next to the entrance of Building 7 and overheard a girl next to him complaining to her boyfriend about not bringing an umbrella. The boyfriend chuckled and took the girl, who was frowning, into his arms, singing along with the music playing from the loudspeaker, “The most beautiful thing is not a rainy day, but the memories of hiding under the eaves with you from the rain…”

Tang Xu considered himself a person devoid of romantic feelings, but the rain had an effect on him. The couple next to him had already started talking and laughing. The girl said she wanted to go eat braised chicken, and the boy said fine; they’d go get two bowls of rice for her later. The girl pretended to be angry and slapped him, saying, “I have a small appetite, you know?”

Tang Xu listened and put his hand in his pocket. The soft pack of cigarettes in his pocket had already flattened, and there were probably only one or two left.

The grass flowers are in full bloom. Tang Xu noticed the small red flower on Tang Cuo’s shoulder when he first touched the flower.

Tang Xu sighed and didn’t take out the slightly empty cigarette box; instead, he took out his phone from the pocket on the other side and called Tang Cuo.

On rainy days, lying in bed is the best thing to do. This is a famous quote by He Zhong. The dormitory window was open in the afternoon, and He Zhong’s bed was next to it. The rain that had drifted in had gotten it wet, so he climbed onto Tang Cuo’s bed and lay side by side with him, playing with their phones. Tang Cuo was uncomfortable lying down, so he turned over and lay on his side.

By chance, the phone rang just as he was adjusting his position.

He Zhong was fully engrossed in his mobile game when Tang Cuo’s hasty foot accidentally kicked him as he hung up the phone.

“Ouch! My leg.”

Tang Cuo quickly apologised, but he didn’t stay idle. He deftly flipped off the bed and put on his slippers while looking up at He Zhong and saying, “I took your umbrella.”

He Zhong grunted, “Take, take, take.”

Another person in the dormitory teased, “Are you going to give an umbrella to a girl?”

Tang Cuo ignored him and took two umbrellas out the door.

Tang Cuo came over after about five minutes and stepped into a water pit with a big step, splashing water all over his pants.

Tang Cuo panted heavily and checked his pants with a red face. He found that his pants were almost wet up to his thighs. He rubbed his nose and handed the other umbrella to Tang Xu.

But Tang Xu quickly gave the umbrella to two girls he knew beside him and joined Tang Cuo under his umbrella.

“You two can make do and go back.” It looks okay now, but it’s probably going to rain heavily later.”

The two girls were flattered and thanked Tang Xu before thanking Tang Cuo.

So, Tang Cuo inexplicably found himself being led away by Tang Xu. Tang Xu’s hand, whether intentional or unintentional, was pressing right on the little red flower on Tang Cuo’s shoulder.

Tang Xu took Tang Cuo to his car and threw a new towel at him, saying, “Just wipe yourself off a bit.”

He started the car while Tang Cuo was still diligently wiping off the water stains on his clothes. The sounds of fabric rubbing against each other, raindrops hitting the car windows, and windscreen wipers scratching the glass mixed together in the relatively quiet city, making Tang Xu’s heart feel chaotic.

“Sihang,” Tang Xu called out to Tang Cuo.

Tang Cuo didn’t stop wiping, “Hmm?”

“Do you remember that I used to draw a little red flower for you every day?”

The words that Tang Xu spoke seemed casual, as if it were just a passing comment about the weather. But abruptly, the sound of fabrics rubbing against each other disappeared.

No matter what kind of turmoil was happening inside Tang Cuo, Tang Xu didn’t notice any abnormalities. Tang Cuo had made so many years of psychological adjustments for himself that he would never allow himself to slip up at critical moments.

Tang Xu couldn’t detect any unusual reaction from Tang Cuo, and he felt somewhat relieved. But in reality, he wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed on the surface. With regards to the small red flower, while waiting for Tang Cuo just now, he had prepared for the worst.

“The one on your shoulder, was it because I used to draw it for you?”

“Hmm,” Tang Cuo neatly folds the towel.

“Why did you get it tattooed on your shoulder?”

Tang Cuo places the towel aside and responds confidently, “To encourage myself. When I first left you, I felt very uneasy and was afraid to talk to my new parents. I didn’t even know about tattoos back then, so I just started drawing on myself like you did. Later on, a senior saw me and asked if I had a tattoo. That’s when I learned about tattoos, so I went to a shop to get it done, so I wouldn’t have to keep drawing it myself.” After saying these things, he turned his head to look at Tang Xu’s expression, which was somewhat serious but not angry. Tang Cuo silently clenched his fist, knowing that he could probably get through this hurdle. “I was foolish back then, and acted impulsively.”

This conversation sounds somewhat familiar to Tang Xu. He remembers that when he apologised to Shi Xi, he also said that he was not sensible before. Thinking of this, he unconsciously frowns his eyebrows into a majestic shape.

Just as the traffic light turned red, Tang Xu stopped the car and turned his head to look at Tang Cuo, only to find that he was looking at himself.

“If… if you feel uncomfortable, I can wash it off.”

As the wipers swept away the rain curtain on the windscreen and the view became clear, Tang Xu felt regret for the first time. Even if he didn’t want to admit it, even if he knew that Tang Cuo is now very successful, and even if he knew that he had only chosen the most feasible way at the time, he still regrets it.

Tang Cuo’s family background made him live a cautious life from the moment he was born. It took a lot of effort to make him become like any other child: crying, laughing, being spoiled, throwing tantrums, and saying things like “I want that” or “I want to eat that.” At that time, Tang Cuo was a lively Tang Sihang.

However, after so many years, he only realised when they met again that Tang Cuo had not only become sensible but had also reverted back to the cautious Tang Cuo who was used to looking at others’ opinions and was even more thoughtful than before.

“I didn’t feel uncomfortable; I was just a little curious, so I asked you.” He reached out and rubbed Tang Cuo’s head.

Tang Xu suppressed his emotions and asked, after the traffic light turned green, “What do you want to eat?”

As expected, Tang Cuo replied, “Anything is fine.”

There are no hidden contexts or slangs in this passage. It is a straightforward narrative from a Chinese novel about the character Tang Cuo and his cautious personality.

Tang Cuo’s behaviour has always been normal, and Tang Xu couldn’t see anything else, so the matter of the little red flower passed. However, Tang Xu never completely let go of his guard, as Tang Cuo’s behaviour when he left was too abnormal, and the childish words he said at that time began to haunt his mind again. How could a child who was so extreme and possessive become someone who seemed to have no temper and was very peaceful at the age of almost twenty?

After a long time, Tang Xu dug out Tang Cuo’s mother’s phone number again. He looked at the number, hesitated, and wondered what he should say if he called. Should he say he wants to know about Tang Cuo’s life in the past few years? Should he say he thinks Tang Cuo is too sensible now?

Tang Xu sighed heavily and threw his phone on the table. This question seemed too strange. Who would complain that their child was too well-behaved?

But after thinking for a few minutes, he decided to meet with Tang Cuo’s mother and have a chat.

Even though no one else noticed, he did.

The moment you suppress your feelings, you’re bound to have trouble sooner or later. But before he could make that call, he was interrupted by a call from Lu Chengwei.

“What’s up?”

“Wow, you’re so cold to me?”

Tang Xu had things on his mind and didn’t want to chat with him. He urged, “Speak quickly; hang up if there’s nothing.”

Lu Chengwei seemed to sense his bad mood and finally stopped pestering him with trivial matters. “I’m pursuing a young star right now.”

“Tsk.” Tang Xu wanted to hang up.

“Hey! Listen to me,” Lu Chengwei quickened his pace of speaking. “He has this quirk; he goes to the psychological clinic for no reason and knows almost all the major psychological clinics in Beijing. And guess what happened!”

Tang Xu remained silent, not participating or cooperating.

Lu Chengwei doesn’t care about the audience’s indifference and reveals the answer himself: “Just now, I accompanied him to a well-known female doctor’s psychological clinic, but he got the appointment time wrong. Today is not his scheduled time.”

Lu Chengwei’s nonsense will probably always be this much.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that as I was about to leave, I saw someone going in. It was Si Xing!”

Tang Xu was pouring himself a glass of water, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the last two words.

“Who?”

“Tang, Si, Hang,” said Lu Chengwei, emphasising each character. “What’s this kid seeing a psychologist for? Are all kids nowadays so trendy?”

“Send me your location.”

Without giving Lu Chengwei any time to respond, Tang Xu quickly threw out this sentence and left with his keys.

Tang Xu couldn’t describe his current feelings. He really hoped that Lu Chengwei, who often talks nonsense, would be reliable this time and that he was just blindly following a trend.