MLV Ch 35

Expressionless, Jiang Ye pulled a folding knife from his pocket and flashed the gleaming blade in front of Jin Feize, the tip pointing at his crotch.

“Alright,” Jin Feize maintained his smile. 

“I won’t trouble you. I’ll do it myself.”

After Jin Feize was finished, Jiang Ye pushed him out of the bathroom. Huo Ang had arrived and was leaning against the wall. He wore a black tank top and cargo pants, his wheat-colored skin showcasing a lean, muscular physique that made the nurses coming in to give injections turn their heads frequently.

Huo Ang took off his sunglasses, revealing a bright smile. 

“Recovering well?”

Jiang Ye nodded in greeting and helped Jin Feize back into bed.

Only then did Jiang Ye have a chance to ask, “Where is this?”

“Gasa People’s Hospital. One of you was unconscious, the other injured, so Teacher Shen arranged for you to be treated here. Speaking of which, it’s thanks to you two that I was able to bring back Yilale’s remains.” He patted his backpack. 

“I came this time to say goodbye. I need to find a place to cremate Yilale, and then I’m leaving Gasa. Want to add me on WeChat? I’ll find you guys for a drink when I’m in Shen City.”

Jiang Ye added him as a friend. Huo Ang noticed that Jin Feize had been silent the whole time, quiet as a mouse. When he’d offered to add him on WeChat, he hadn’t even taken out his phone, just sitting there like a still life in an oil painting. Huo Ang asked, “What’s wrong? Not feeling well? Should I get a doctor?”

Jin Feize glanced at Jiang Ye.

A chill suddenly ran down Jiang Ye’s spine, and a sense of foreboding filled his heart.

Jin Feize asked, “If I tell you, will you help me?”

“Of course, definitely!” Huo Ang laughed heartily. 

“Just tell your big bro if you need anything.”

“In the bathroom just now, Jiang Ye bullied me,” Jin Feize said. 

“He has a knife, and he threatened me with it to make me do it myself. Quick, take his knife away.”

Jiang Ye: “…”

He knew it.

“…” Huo Ang was silent for a moment before saying, “This is something your big bro can’t help with.”

Jin Feize clicked his tongue. 

“You’re useless.”

Huo Ang: “…”

Before Jin Feize could say anything else, Jiang Ye covered his mouth and said to Huo Ang, “Don’t waste your breath on him. Is there anything else?”

“Actually, there is. Teacher Shen is busy dealing with Taisui Village and asked me to tell you something,” Huo Ang began. 

“Little Jin’s leg is broken and in a cast. He’ll need to be hospitalized for a while at least. This is Gasa, he doesn’t know anyone here, and since you’re here…”

Jiang Ye keenly sensed what he was about to say and quickly cut him off, “I’ve bought a train ticket for tonight.”

“Oh,” Huo Ang informed him, “Teacher Shen found your train ticket booking and helped you cancel it.”

How could Shen Duo do this? Jiang Ye tried to struggle further. 

“What about Jin Feize’s parents? He’s so badly injured, did Teacher Shen notify them?”

Huo Ang scratched his head. 

“He probably did…”

In fact, Shen Duo had indeed notified Jin Feize’s father, Jin Ruohai, but Jin Ruohai had said he was busy with official duties and asked him to take care of his son in his stead. Huo Ang remembered Shen Duo’s righteous indignation when he’d recounted the story. Jin Ruohai was busy with official duties, but wasn’t he, Shen Duo, also busy? He was Jin Ruohai’s student, the most useful grunt in the institute. When there was work to be done, he was sent; when it came to promotions, he was at the back of the line. He was constantly sent on assignments, with no time to publish papers, and yet the promotion evaluations were based solely on publications. With so much on his plate, how could he possibly spend his time in a hospital as a caretaker? As for Jin Feize’s mother, she was even less likely to come look after him… In short, no one could get to Gasa in a short amount of time, so the burden of caring for Jin Feize had to fall on Jiang Ye’s shoulders.

“My mother went missing when I was ten,” Jin Feize suddenly spoke, his tone calm. 

“My father disliked me for being a mental patient and sent me to live alone in the mountains. I haven’t seen him in a long time.” He looked at Jiang Ye, his gaze hazy, shrouded in a mist-like sorrow. 

“Little Ye, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Do you dislike me too?”

Jiang Ye was about to say yes when a tear rolled down the corner of Jin Feize’s eye.

Huo Ang became anxious. 

“Don’t cry. What’s your relationship? How could Little Jiang possibly leave you?”

Faced with Jin Feize’s tear-stained, glass-like gaze, even though he knew he was faking, Jiang Ye found himself unable to say a word.

The old man in the next bed couldn’t stand it anymore. He pointed at Jiang Ye and said, “You’re too heartless, kid! His leg is broken, can’t you just take care of him for a few days? You were so sweet when you liked him, but now that there’s trouble, you run faster than anyone. Kids these days are so unreliable.”

The other elderly patients in the room all cast reproachful glances his way. Jin Feize hung his head, silently shedding tears, looking like a young wife being bullied by a scumbag. Defeated by the needle-like glares, Jiang Ye relented. 

“I’ll stay.”

“If you’re short on money, clothes, or food, just contact Teacher Shen. Alright, I’m off,” Huo Ang said.

He waved and left the room with his bag. Looking back at Jin Feize, he had already returned to his usual smiling self, the tears from moments ago seeming like a hallucination.

“Little Ye,” he said with a smile, “you promised to buy me hawthorn cakes when we got out. Where are my hawthorn cakes?”

Jin Feize had only injured one leg and one hand, but he acted as if he were paralyzed. He needed Jiang Ye to carry him to the bathroom, feed him his meals, and even play video games to boost his rank for him. When Jiang Ye logged into his account and saw the coquettish, hot-pants-wearing female character on the game interface, he was filled with infinite regret.

He must have lost his mind back then, blinded by those fireworks.

He was never going to have an online relationship again in this lifetime.

He opened the friends list for “Candy-Loving Witch” and was surprised to find only a single, grayed-out, indifferent-looking cat avatar. He was a little shocked. He had thought someone like Jin Feize would have a whole pond full of fish, all of them suckers like himself. He never expected that he would be Jin Feize’s only friend in the game.

He switched back to the game lobby and helped him play ranked matches. After several rounds, he won every single one, and Jin Feize’s points shot up. While he was playing, Bai Nianci came into the room with a bag of fruit.

Bai Nianci placed the fruit by Jin Feize’s bedside. 

“Feeling better? Is Little Jin okay?”

Jiang Ye shook his head. 

“He’s fine.”

“That’s good. I just came to see you all. I have to catch a train tonight, so I’ll be leaving soon.” He hesitated for a long time, then took a CD out of his satchel and handed it to Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye took the CD. 

“Wedding” was written on it in marker. He recognized the handwriting; it was his mother’s.

“Little Ye,” Bai Nianci said, “you should watch this disc when you have time.”

“Why?” Jiang Ye frowned and asked bluntly, “Is this the reason you wanted me to go with you all to Taisui Village?”

Bai Nianci gave a wry smile. 

“I knew you’d see through it. You’re a smart kid. To be honest, I wasn’t sure either. I’ve only read a little of your mother’s thesis, but even from that small part, I could vaguely sense a huge secret hidden within. Your mother came into contact with many unknown things, and she was probably very close to that secret, while I’ve only just stepped through the door. Yes, I had my own selfish reasons for going to Taisui Village. As you know, my own research has hit a bottleneck, with no progress for years. But what your mother saw was a brand new and mysterious field that no one has set foot in for years. I wasn’t just looking for your mother; I wanted even more to see the things she had seen. But now I feel that those things are not for me to touch.”

Bai Nianci looked at him with a very complicated expression. The way he looked at Jiang Ye wasn’t like looking at a friend’s child, but rather at some strange creature.

Jiang Ye felt a little uncomfortable. Just as he was about to say something, Bai Nianci spoke first, “If you want to find your mother, perhaps this disc will be of some help.”

He picked up his bag and turned to leave. Jiang Ye looked down at the disc. It was old, and the case had some scratches. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a computer on hand and couldn’t watch it immediately. He thought for a moment, then opened his phone and sent a WeChat message to Shen Duo.

Argos: [Teacher Shen, could you have a laptop that can play CDs delivered to me?]

Shen Duo: [Roger. There’s a second-hand laptop shop near the hospital. I’ll have them deliver it.]

Half an hour later, the laptop arrived. Jiang Ye pulled the curtain around Jin Feize’s bed and placed the computer on his folding bedside table. He inserted the disc into the computer. The screen displayed the contents: mostly photos and one long video. He opened the photos and browsed through them one by one, discovering that the disc recorded the wedding of his mother and Li Yian.

In the photos, his mother was radiant in a white wedding gown. Li Yian was in a suit and tie, smiling happily. That was many years ago, when he was only ten. He remembered getting his first little white suit and becoming his parents’ page boy, carrying the train of his mother’s long, elaborate wedding dress. It was an outdoor wedding with a full fifty tables for the banquet. One of those tables was specifically reserved for his mother’s suitors. He remembered Li Yian leading him to that table and making him call him “Dad” loudly. Ten-year-old Jiang Ye didn’t understand men’s competitiveness; he just couldn’t bring himself to say the word. Jiang Ye held it in for a long time without saying anything, making Li Yian very embarrassed. His mother even gave him a knock on the head for it.

Then his mother handed him a digital camera and, under the pretext of having him record the wedding, sent him away.

Jiang Ye opened the video. The screen showed many pairs of legs in suit pants. Ten-year-old Jiang Ye was too short and could only film everyone’s waists, legs, and chins. He had clearly realized this and was walking around the venue looking for a higher spot to stand on so he could film everyone’s faces. The venue was noisy, and even the music was drowned out.

Wait, the sound.

Jiang Ye dragged the progress bar back. He heard a familiar sound in the background.

“Did you hear that?” Jiang Ye asked.

A playful smile appeared on Jin Feize’s face. 

“That whistling sound.”

Jiang Ye listened intently. In the video, his younger self was walking around with the camera, and a barely perceptible whistling sound followed him like a tail, always at a constant distance. Finally, ten-year-old Jiang Ye seemed to notice something and turned around with the camera. In the surging crowd, a man wearing a black mask and a baseball cap stood in the distance, hands in his pockets. He was dressed like a fugitive, so strange, yet no one paid him any attention.

The whistling sound was coming from him.

He walked toward little Jiang Ye. Little Jiang Ye instinctively felt a sense of danger and subconsciously took a few steps back.

He squatted down in front of Jiang Ye, took off his mask and cap, and revealed a handsome face. He looked to be in his late twenties, with a pair of deep, dark eyes and neatly trimmed black hair. When this face appeared on the screen, Jiang Ye’s pupils shrank to pinpoints. Even Jin Feize showed a look of surprise.

Because this man looked exactly like Jiang Ye.

“Your name is Jiang Ye?” He extended his left hand toward little Jiang Ye, as if for a handshake.

Little Jiang Ye didn’t move, just stared at him in silence. Jiang Ye had been withdrawn since he was a child; he usually ignored people he knew, let alone strangers. The man didn’t seem to mind and smiled indifferently.

“Who are you?” little Jiang Ye asked.

“There’s no point in telling you. You’ll forget,” he said softly.

“Who are you?” little Jiang Ye asked stubbornly.

“My name is Jiang Ran,” he said. 

“When you turn eighteen, I will send you a big gift. Remember to sign for it. By the way, although your mother’s taste isn’t great, congratulations on having a father. Time is short, so enjoy your happy childhood.”

After speaking, he ruffled little Jiang Ye’s soft hair, stood up, and left with his hands in his pockets, humming that same whistling tune.

Gasa, Funeral Home.

Huo Ang collected Yilale’s urn and walked out of the funeral home. Yilale had been so young when he died; the resulting ashes filled only a tiny box, light and without substance. Huo Ang placed the urn in his backpack and looked up. A Mercedes-Benz was parked outside the funeral home gate. Shen Duo was wearing a crisp camel-colored overcoat over a well-tailored white shirt. A genuine leather belt cinched a trim and fine waist, barely visible beneath the coat. He leaned against the car, cupping his hands to light a cigarette. Several burnt-out cigarette butts lay on the ground, indicating he had been waiting for a while.

“Mr. Busy, what brings you here?” Huo Ang also took out a cigarette. 

“Got a light?”

Shen Duo lit it for him. 

“Got your brother’s ashes?”

“Mmm,” Huo Ang said. 

“Wherever I go, he goes. What do you want?”

“I heard you’re unemployed. I came to help you make some big money,” Shen Duo said.

Huo Ang laughed. 

“Save it. Other people use their strength or their brains to make money; you guys use your lives. Besides, you’re a teacher of the people, a public servant. How can you bring up something as tacky as money?”

“Teachers of the people also need to eat and shit,” Shen Duo straightened his tie. 

“This is a handmade Stefano Ricci tie from Florence. The fabric has over seven thousand colors and is made on an Italian shuttle loom, which is no longer in production. This tie costs over ten thousand yuan. If you join our institute and come to my team, in a year, you won’t even blink when buying ties like this.”

“Teacher Shen,” Huo Ang wanted to laugh, but knowing that intellectuals valued their pride, he suppressed his amusement and said, “You’re quite the talker. If you ever lose your job, you could go sell ties.”

He waved a hand, about to leave. Shen Duo called out from behind, “Really not going to consider it?”

“Sorry, I’ve had enough of licking blood off knife blades. I’m tired of it. I’m planning to take a vacation, take Yilale to see the sights.”

Shen Duo gently exhaled a puff of smoke. 

“You can leave, but in an hour, you’ll be taken to the police station.”

Huo Ang stopped in his tracks, whipped around, and narrowed his eyes dangerously. 

“What do you mean?”

Shen Duo said slowly, “You are carrying firearms and ammunition. These things are legal in the United States, but they are contraband in our country. You will be sentenced to up to three years in prison for illegal possession of firearms.”