Chapter 34 – Let Me Give It a Try

Today’s meal was early, and after they finished eating at just seven o’clock, Nie Hang felt that his body had been lazy lately, so he suggested they visit the nearby basketball court.

It wasn’t good to engage in intense exercise right after eating, so they booked the court for half past eight.

Bian Ji hadn’t stepped onto a basketball court for nearly five years. In their line of work, erratic schedules were common, and with too much late-night work, they wouldn’t easily attempt such physical activities.

Combined, they were almost a hundred years old, yet when they played against a bunch of young people on the court, they could still hold their own for two rounds.

On the basketball court, the sound of sneakers rubbing against the floor was incessant. The ball, passed through countless hands, bounced on the ground with a loud thud.

After two rounds, Nie Hang lay on the ground, panting heavily, his arms spread out in a large letter ‘T’, looking up at the ceiling as he said, “I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in ages.”

“Wanna drink?” Bian Ji bought several bottles of mineral water from the nearby convenience store. He opened the caps and closed them again, offering them to Qiao Yuan and Nie Hang.

Nie Hang tilted his head back and drank a large mouthful, then turned to Qiao Yuan lying beside him and asked, “I thought you didn’t like playing, but you’re pretty good, aren’t you? Your dribbling and passing skills are particularly impressive.”

“Not often, I used to play a lot in college,” Qiao Yuan replied, also asking for a bottle of water from Bian Ji and saying, “Thanks.”

Bian Ji sat down nearby, lining up the three bottles. The basketball court’s lights were yellow, bright and high-wattage, casting transparent shadows beneath the bottles. Beyond the still water reflections were college students in uniform basketball attire, jumping and running about.

Qiao Yuan suddenly sighed, “They’re at such a good age.”

Nie Hang laughed, “Isn’t your life good now?”

“It’s different,” Qiao Yuan smiled warmly at the crowd on the court, “Good in a different way.”

Tree shadows slanted across, and shouts and sounds of the ball filled the basketball hall.

Before leaving, Qiao Yuan posted a photo on his social media, it was a group shot of the three lined-up mineral water bottles.

Yan Ankuo saw this post when he had just driven back to the riverside.

Social platforms had become one of the tools for maintaining social connections among adults. Without any emotional attachment, he gave Qiao Yuan’s post a casual like, then put his phone on the coffee table and teased the turtle with some leaves.

A minute later, Bian Ji received a WeChat message from Yan Ankuo while on the ride home. He opened it with anticipation yet nervousness, only to find a string of garbled code. Bian Ji: [?] Yan Ankuo: [Sorry, my turtle isn’t very obedient, it touched the screen.] Bian Ji suspiciously asked: [Do you usually let it run around freely?] Yan Ankuo calmly replied: [It doesn’t usually run around randomly.] This reason sounded ridiculous, but coming from Yan Ankuo, it seemed less absurd. Bian Ji understandingly said: [No problem, our family dog used to press the wrong keys too.] Yan Ankuo expressionlessly responded: [Ha ha.]

Bian Ji recalled his interaction with Qiao Yuan during the day and decided to no longer avoid conversation, taking the initiative to ask: [Have you eaten?] Yan Ankuo: [No.] Bian Ji immediately panicked and called Yan Ankuo, who answered quickly.

“Still working overtime?” Bian Ji waited a moment, not hearing a response, and asked, “Hello?”

“Your phone wasn’t broken after all,” Yan Ankuo said with an implied meaning, “We haven’t seen each other for so long, if not for Qiao Yuan’s post on social media, I would have thought something happened to you.”

Bian Ji awkwardly said, “…Sorry, I’ve been hesitant to contact you.”

Yan Ankuo didn’t ask why he was hesitant, there was no need to ask about things he could guess: “Understood. You can find Qiao Yuan, you can find Nie Hang, but you don’t look for me.”

“That’s not the same, they’re good friends,” Bian Ji hurriedly explained.

Yan Ankuo leaned halfway on the sofa, switching the phone from his left hand to his right: “And then?”

“And then…” Although he hadn’t done anything, Bian Ji felt a sense of being interrogated, panicking slightly. He heard the unhappiness in his tone, but it was already late, and visiting an ambiguous love interest’s house at midnight was clearly inappropriate, especially since there were two good friends sitting in the front seat of the car. So he chose a compromise, “I met Nie Hang today and brought some gifts, I left one for you as well. I originally planned to bring it to you next time we meet, how about I call for a quick delivery now and send it over?”

Yan Ankuo sounded even more unhappy, his tone colder than before: “Do you think I lack gifts?”

Bian Ji’s usually effective flattery suddenly failed.

They were just approaching the apartment complex, and Nie Hang stopped at the traffic light, whispering close to Qiao Yuan’s ear with a soft ridicule, “He has his day too, huh?”

Qiao Yuan mimed his reply, “Finally met his match.”

“…” Bian Ji could clearly see their interaction from the backseat, angrily patting the seat twice to shut them up, then asked Yan Ankuo, “Shall I deliver it personally then?”

Actually, after saying this sentence, Bian Ji somewhat regretted it. Delivering a gift at midnight was a bit of a boundary-crossing, let alone the unresolved issues.

The two friends in the front seat began laughing quietly together, turning back to stare at Bian Ji as if watching a live romantic drama.

Bian Ji made a shushing gesture at them and said to Yan Ankuo, “Of course, if it’s inconvenient for you, then forget it — “

“What time will you arrive?” Yan Ankuo interrupted him, “Tell me the license plate number.”

Bian Ji didn’t react immediately, “What?”

“What time will you arrive? I’m going to take a shower soon, it’s not convenient to open the door, I need to reserve time.” Yan Ankuo repeated and explained the reason.

Bian Ji didn’t expect him to actually agree. He looked at his watch and gave a time that allowed enough time for a shower but wouldn’t disturb rest: “Around nine-thirty, if there’s no traffic.”

Yan Ankuo agreed, “Alright. Tell me the license plate number before you come, I’ll inform the security guard.”

After hanging up the phone, Nie Hang just happened to drop Bian Ji off at home. He turned around with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “Call me ‘Brother,’ and I’ll take you straight there!”

“No need,” Bian Ji had integrity, stepping out of the car with his long legs, “Quickly take Brother Yuan back, I’ll take a taxi.”

Nie Hang spoke faster than he thought: “No problem, I’ll just — ” He was cut off by a sudden cough from Qiao Yuan, hastily changing his words, “Ah, he doesn’t need a ride, there’s plenty of time!”

In the meantime, Bian Ji had already hailed a taxi. He helped Nie Hang close the car door, said goodbye, and then sent the license plate number to Yan Ankuo.

“Received.”

Yan Ankuo finally got up from the sofa, opened the wardrobe, took out his robe, seemingly finding the underfloor heating too hot, unbuttoning the first button at the collar, and taking the hanger into the bathroom with it.

At nine-thirty, the doorbell rang on time.

Yan Ankuo hadn’t even changed out of his bathrobe, his hair blown straight and soft, revealing a large area of skin near his collarbone.

Bian Ji believed he had given ample time for a shower, so he had ample reason to suspect that Yan Ankuo had dressed this way with intent.

But even if his guess was confirmed, Bian Ji couldn’t take advantage of someone else’s vulnerability. He greeted him, placed the gift in the foyer, without any extra words, and turned to leave.

Yan Ankuo was still unwrapping the gift box when he looked up and found Bian Ji had already reached the elevator. He called out helplessly, “Bian Ji.”

There was no response, so Yan Ankuo deepened his voice, “Please stop.”

These two words seemed to have some kind of magic, making those who heard them subconsciously pause. Seizing this reflex, Yan Ankuo grabbed Bian Ji’s sleeve and pulled him back.

Bian Ji asked with an “I did nothing wrong” attitude, “What’s up?”

“Why are you running?” Yan Ankuo lifted his chin, “There’s no one hiding in my house.”

“I don’t want to come in even if there isn’t,” Bian Ji said, mainly afraid of doing something rash in the middle of the night, “It’s late, two single men alone, it’s not appropriate.”

Yan Ankuo failed to persuade him to stay, so he didn’t force it anymore, nodding instead, “Alright, wait there for a moment.”

With that, he turned and opened the foyer cabinet, taking out a white box. Bian Ji craned his neck and asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s for you,” Yan Ankuo opened the box for him, inside was a bottle of silver mountain spring water, “I shouldn’t just know how to receive your gifts without giving.”

Bian Ji said “Thank you,” opened the box, and a citrus fragrance filled the air, gradually calming to a faint tea scent, the base note was like a clear mountain spring, lingering in the air.

Bian Ji always felt that fragrance was a very private matter, so he rarely took the initiative to choose scents for others. But Yan Ankuo had chosen very accurately, fiery freshness, gentle coldness, several contradictory yet harmonious qualities displayed in one perfume, just as he saw Bian Ji.

Bian Ji complimented the fragrance, then closed the lid, preparing to bid farewell to Yan Ankuo.

The box carried Yan Ankuo’s usual scent, gray vetiver, mixed with silver mountain spring water, the aroma colliding within his head, almost capable of sending him to ecstasy.

Perhaps the entangled scents caused a slight dizziness, Bian Ji’s mind heated up, and he suddenly took a step forward, blocking the closing door.

“Yan Ankuo!” Bian Ji placed his foot in the door crack, propped his hand against the wall, his face close to Yan Ankuo’s ear, “Actually, I thought carefully about what you told me last time…”

Yan Ankuo opened the door again and looked at him silently.

Bian Ji paused and continued, “Your habits and ideas are indeed different from mine, this point, unless we completely change for each other, or start over, there’s no way to resolve it. But if we really did that, maybe we wouldn’t be attracted to each other.”

Yan Ankuo was amused by his “start over,” taking a breath before asking, “So?”

“I think there’s no need to solve the so-called ‘fundamental’ problems,” Bian Ji earnestly expounded his inconsistent theory, “Yes, I’m not yet comfortable sharing privacy, and you don’t want to experience conflicts and arguments, but those are things that haven’t happened yet. As long as our goals are consistent, we can wait until problems arise to communicate and resolve them, rather than refusing to try because we’re afraid of the process of adjustment.”

“So, Attorney Yan, let me give it a try,” Bian Ji obviously took Qiao Yuan’s advice to heart. Facing this puzzle piece so different from himself, he bluntly said, “Give me a chance to pursue you, believe me, I’ll make you satisfied.”

The one-house-per-floor layout meant no neighbors would pass by to disturb, the overhead lights were bright, illuminating Bian Ji’s subtle thoughts, leaving nowhere for them to hide.

Yan Ankuo didn’t speak immediately, turning to take a bottle of mineral water from inside the house, opening it and taking a sip before replying, “Who to chase is your right, no need to seek approval.”

Bian Ji took this statement as indulgence, becoming bold all at once, “Pay attention, it’s now nine thirty-two, I’m officially starting to chase Yan Ankuo!”

Yan Ankuo was also amused, “When to start is also your right.”

“Still, I should let you know,” Bian Ji said, “Otherwise, it would seem impolite of me.”

“Alright,” Yan Ankuo reined in his smile, seriously asking, “How do you plan to start?”

“Last time you lost, didn’t I have one chance left unused?” Bian Ji asked.

“Mm, are you going to use it?”

“Use it!” Bian Ji took out his phone, checked his recent flight schedule, and finally decided that there was no time like the present, “Attorney Yan, how about letting me pick you up for work tomorrow?”

Yan Ankuo hardly hesitated, nodding solemnly.