When Bai Luo Yin finally recovered, he turned around only to see that the big liar was laughing right in his face as if it was something to be enamoured about.
Hearing that joyous laughter, Bai Luo Yin suddenly threw himself at Gu Hai and started punching him furiously.
"You fucking scared me to death, do you know that? I actually took it seriously!! Who said you can fucking lie to me?!! Who said you can fucking lie to me…"
As he rained curses on him, Bai Luo Yin out of the blue started laughing as well, his arms wrapping securely around Gu Hai's neck—looking as though he wanted to embed him into his own body. Taking advantage of the favourable position, Gu Hai cleverly dragged Bai Luo Yin further into the room. Every few metres or so, he would suffer a punch until he eventually backed Bai Luo Yin to a corner and kissed him fervidly.
The longing ache from waiting for more than thirty days, mingled with the fragrance of the roses that surrounded them, circulated between their eager lips.
All the while a rumbling sound hovered fixedly near the window with a certain Yang Meng, staring in awe. After a long while, he closed his slightly agape mouth and patted Liu Chong's shoulder. "Why haven't you withdrawn yet?!"
Liu Chong blinked, "Major haven't got on the helicopter yet?"
"Look at him, do you really think he'll be coming up anytime soon from that?", Yang Meng shoved Liu Chong. "Are you stupider than me?"
Liu Chong, "Is there anyone else in the world who boasts like you?"
Yang Meng chuckled mischievously.
The two fools flew away in the helicopter, leaving behind a trail of petals along the way.
After basking in that affectionate moment, Bai Luo Yin started to complain again.
"You had really scared me."
Gu Hai caressed the back of Bai Luo Yin's head and smirked, "Aren't you the one always saying that you want to go back to how things were? I thought you would be ecstatic to see all of these again!"
"No matter how beautiful the past was, we can't relive it! Are you willing to be trapped in that tunnel for a few days again? Are you willing to be in the car accident again? Are you willing to be separated from me for eight years again?"
Gu Hai smiled softly and bumped his forehead against Bai Luo Yin's, "If I can prolong the time spent with you, I'll be more than willing to live in an endless cycle."
Hearing those words spoken in earnest, Bai Luo Yin punched Gu Hai in the stomach. His heart twisted with a strange feeling at those heartfelt words; it was not pain—he was truly moved.
It had been eight years since he last celebrated his birthday. During his time in the military, Bai Luo Yin had led a very simple and disciplined life, just like three dots in a single line.[1] He had never mentioned his birthday to anyone in the army, and even he himself had forgotten about such an important day of his life. Only when he checked his cellphone infrequently and saw all those missed calls and text messages containing blessings and wishes, he would remember. By the then, several days would have already passed by.
"You actually remember my birthday…" Bai Luo Yin couldn't help but to be deeply touched.
"Oi, how can you say that?" Gu Hai pinched Bai Luo Yin's chin hard, a little upset at those words. "I have always remembered, even after all these years. During the first two years of our separation, I even went to burn a bit of spirit money[2] on your birthday!"
At first Bai Luo Yin was embarrassed, but then, he laughed heartily without any shame.
Looking at Bai Luo Yin in his old pajamas, laughing unabashedly with unkempt black hair, Gu Hai felt as if time had truly flown backward. They had indeed returned to their youthful and frivolous days— a time without worries or fear of danger, where they can embrace each other with open hearts. All the pain and suffering of the past eight years faded away in that moment.
"Let's go home for a visit!" Gu Hai said, "Your dad has been waiting for you at home all this time!"
"Even if you hadn't suggested it, I had already planned on going!"
As he said that, Bai Luo Yin went to the bedroom to change his clothes. But after looking through the wardrobe for quite some time, he wasn't able to find any of his current clothes. In the end, he stuck his head out of the room and asked Gu Hai, "Where did you hide all my clothes?"
Gu Hai chuckled, "I was afraid you would see through the plan when you opened the wardrobe, so I put them all in the car."
With no other choice, Bai Luo Yin put on his old clothes and followed Gu Hai to the elevator, down to the garage. When they got out, he found that the garage was empty as well.
"Where are the cars?" Bai Luo Yin asked with a frown.
Gu Hai felt rather embarrassed (not really), "I was afraid you would see through the setup if you went to the garage, so I lent the cars to someone else to drive away!"
Looking at his sheepish countenance, Bai Luo Yin let out a harsh laugh. "You fucking planned everything really carefully, didn't you?"
"If one can't see to such minor and trivial details, one can't very well be a good president of the company after all these years."
Bai Luo Yin became anxious then, "What do I do now? I can't go home wearing these clothes, now can I?"
"Why can't you?" Gu Hai pointed to his own school uniform, "Aren't I wearing the uniform as well?"
"I always thought it strange, trying to look young." Said Bai Luo Yin rubbing his chin.
Gu Hai smiled cockily, "What do mean, 'trying to look young'? I am certainly young. Look at me wearing this uniform, doesn't it look exactly the same as back then? I think after all these years, aside from growing a bit taller and this 'cucumber' here getting a bit thicker, nothing else changed."
Bai Luo Yin snorted, "Yes there has."
"What else has changed?"
"You're more shameless than before."
"…"
Gu Hai had made arrangements for a sturdy bicycle beforehand, and had left it downstairs. When he got on it, he felt a bit unfamiliar at first, it had been a long time since he rode one. Just like the old times, Bai Luo Yin sat at the back—he slapped Gu Hai's shoulder, "Go!"
The street had changed, the scenery had changed, even the pedestrians had changed.
The only thing which hadn't changed was the complete and utter sincerity of their hearts.
Bai Luo Yin clearly remembered that nine years ago, when they had graduated together, Gu Hai had promised that when he got into college, he would still take him to and from school on his bike. But due to that unforeseen misfortune, eight years of invaluable time which could have been spent together was completely lost.
The most brilliant time of their life was lost, just like that.
But thinking about it brought no painful feelings to fore. Had they been really together for eight years under such circumstances, they may not have persevered to see this day. Now that every peril had been overcome, it wasn't too late. They were still young, and had more than enough passion to walk through this lifetime together until the end.
Gu Hai suddenly sped up the bike.
By the time they reached home, it was exactly lunch time. Aunt Zou had already prepared the food and Bai Han Qi was returning with a birthday cake he had ordered earlier. Just as he had put down the cake, he heard a knock on the door.
As soon as he opened the door, he was met with two students standing on the other side.
Bai Han Qi couldn't help but to light up with a grin, "Out of school, my sons?"
"Give us a show then!!" Bai Luo Yin hooked his arm tightly around Bai Han Qi's neck and playfully punched him in the stomach twice.
"You actually colluded with him to scare me! Who is your real son?"
Bai Han Qi let out 'ouch, ouch!' a couple of times, then hugged Bai Luo Yin and burst into a loud laughter.
"You're both still being silly at this age…" Aunt Zou sighed from behind.
Afraid that Bai Luo Yin might accidently hit the wound from Bai Han Qi's surgery, Gu Hai quickly pulled him up and pretended to be angry. "Why are you messing around like this? He is your father!"
"We have been messing around like this for years!" saying so Bai Luo Yin moved again towards his father.
Noticing that, Bai Han Qi gave Gu Hai a look, "Let him mess around. He hasn't been this affectionate with me in years."
Gu Hai silently sighed with sorrow. Your husband can never measure up to your father! I gave him such a nice surprise, yet he's less affectionate towards me! Ugh, how that makes me envious, and jealous!
Seeing Aunt Zou wrapping dumplings in the kitchen, Gu Hai went in.
"Auntie, let me help you wrap it. You should go and rest for a bit."
Aunt Zou smiled gently, "I'm not tired at all."
Soon Bai Han Qi went to the bathroom leaving Bai Luo Yin alone in the living room. Feeling bored, he casually looked at his fingernails only to see that they had grown long. Wanting to cut them, he opened the drawer of the coffee table, only to find it full of medicines instead of a nail clipper.
Bai Luo Yin's heart gave a lurch as he picked up a bottle of medicine and read the instructions; he completely froze in place.
Aunt Zou walked out of the kitchen and saw the bottle of medicine in Bai Luo Yin's hand. One look at his face and pallor, her chest tightened up and she rushed over to him.
"Auntie, this medicine…"
She quickly snatched the medicine from Bai Luo Yin's hand and shoved it back in the drawer.
"Yin Zi, listen to what Auntie has to say. There was an abnormality in your father's heart. He went to the hospital for an angioplasty and stent placement procedure a while ago, but he's okay now."
Hearing the word 'surgery', a stab of pain pierced Bai Luo Yin's heart. His father had had a surgery, and he didn't even know about it!
Aunt Zou saw Bai Luo Yin's expression and consoled him immediately. "There's no need for you to worry. The doctor said this kind of surgery is very common at this age. They only placed a small stent in his heart and nothing else. After only a few days, your dad was discharged from the hospital. He didn't want to tell you because he was afraid it would interfere with your work. Don't go asking him about it. If he hears it, he will only feel bad."
Bai Luo Yin faintly asked, "Does Gu Hai know about this?"
Aunt Zou hesitated for a moment, and then nodded her head.
That made Bai Luo Yin even more upset.
"You must not blame Da Hai. If it weren't for him, you might not have been able to see your dad now. During the early days of your dad's hospitalization, it was Da Hai who single handedly arranged for a doctor as well as a ward. I don't even know how many red envelopes[3] he gave to the doctor. You already know how hard it is just to see one doctor, but your dad had two to three doctors monitoring him round the clock. I suppose he didn't tell you because he was also afraid you'd be quite upset about it…"
Bai Luo Yin looked down and didn't say anything.
Aunt Zou couldn't help but feel sorry for him, "Today is your birthday. For you to unexpectedly see these medicines on such a happy occasion; I should have known better and put them away somewhere else beforehand…"
"Auntie." Bai Luo Yin took a deep breath, "Don't worry, I'm okay."
Just then, Bai Han Qi came out of the bathroom and saw Aunt Zou and Bai Luo Yin. He asked bemused, "How come you two ladies are sitting here?"
Aunt Zou was at loss for words.
Bai Luo Yin smiled, "Auntie and I are just chatting for a bit."
Nodding, Bai Han Qi glanced over to the kitchen, and saw Gu Hai wrapping the dumplings alone. His face immediately darkened, "How could you let Da Hai do all that work by himself?"
Before Aunt Zou could reply, Bai Luo Yin cut in, "Just let him do it alone!"
No one knew which of Bai Han Qi's nerves were wrongly connected, but he suddenly replied, "He hasn't even passed through the door yet[4] and you're already working him hard?!"
"…"
That was definitely the best birthday blessing Bai Luo Yin had ever received in years.
–
Translator's Note:
[1] 三点一线(three points on a line)- uniformed or simple system; ex. being a student: attending class, eating, sleeping.
[2] spirit money – formally known as joss paper or ghost money are sheets of paper that are burned in traditional Chinese deity or ancestor worship ceremonies during special holidays. Joss paper is also burned in traditional Chinese funerals.
[3] Red envelopes -a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions such as weddings, graduation or the birth of a baby, but it is a slang for bribe. So, the sentence can be: "I don't know how much money he bribed the doctors with…"
[4] 过门lit. …pass through the door; fig. (of a woman) move into the husband's house upon marriage (married/wed)
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