32. The Drifter on the Misty Sea Part 2

The French old man hired for the job was originally named Pierre, but he insisted that people call him Pedro with a Spanish pronunciation, because his mother was Spanish and he was a big fan of the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar.

Pedro said he liked the intense kind of passion in The Law of Desire… He thought for a moment and used an English word: “passion.” How do you say it in Chinese?”

“激情.” (Passion.)

Lu Zhengming didn’t quite understand how someone of his age could have so much passion, but he certainly didn’t look like an old man. It wasn’t because he looked young; his wrinkles around the eyes were as deep as any, but because of his eyes. They were the eyes of a young person, always expressing emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, not yet shadowed by age or cynicism. In this weathered face, his eyes were especially bright.

Pedro’s paintings were bold and joyful, always colliding unexpected colors together and often using strange materials for collage. Compared to him, Lu Zhengming’s works seemed conservative.

He also liked to bring strange objects to class, such as rabbits tangled in wires, bird specimens, Venus statues sliced like steaks, and using various glass lenses to view objects in distorted shapes. He would even carry a turntable in a backpack to the classroom. Everyone thought he was going to play Brahms, but when the music started, it was actually the Radio Command, and he asked the students to draw the songs… They liked his ideas, playing around a lot. A white-haired man led a group of kids in games, and it was hard to tell this was a university class.

The entire art academy gave off a sense of gray, oppressive heaviness, including Yin Yan, who only had a bit more muted blue than others. Pedro, however, was colorful. Lu Zhengming really liked the old man. If Pedro weren’t old enough to be his father, Lu Zhengming might have developed something with him.

However, every time they drank together, Lu Zhengming would be thankful they hadn’t gotten together, because Pedro always drunkenly rambled on about his young ex-boyfriend.

The guy’s name was Yu Bei Er, and he was doing well in New York, dabbling in painting, sculpture, and installations, recently starting to work as a curator. Lu Zhengming had seen his works and found them very familiar, either “imitations” of some great masters or “subversions” and “deconstructions” of some classic icons. He was a bit clever but would never become a big figure. Lu Zhengming didn’t voice his true thoughts, because he could tell Pedro still loved him.

“He drained everything from me… my plans, my ideas… and then he turned them all into garbage! Garbage…” Pedro knocked back another drink, “For that pile of garbage, he actually slept with her.”

Pedro slammed his glass on the bar and started gesturing wildly with his hands. His words were already so slurred it was hard to tell whether he was speaking Chinese, but even if he was speaking French, Lu Zhengming could still guess what he was saying because Pedro had repeated it so many times:

“That female curator, and the female agent… he even slept with the photographer who took his pictures! He says he’s gay, but he’s slept with more women than I know!”

Lu Zhengming pressed his hand down, noticing that quite a few people were watching the old man making a scene. But he continued rambling: “He even wants to send his sculptures to the Tate and the Guggenheim. He’s dreaming!”

“Indeed, he’s dreaming,” Lu Zhengming muttered.

“You don’t understand,” Pedro mumbled. “If he had been with me, we would have done better than Gilbert and George. But he took our work away. I’m not angry with him, but… he can’t do it alone. He can’t do it by himself…”

At times like this, Lu Zhengming could only sigh, drink, and pat the heartbroken old man on the shoulder.

To be honest, he couldn’t really understand this kind of sadness because he had never cared about these things, whether he was the one leaving or being left.

He only felt loneliness.

Lu Zhengming had previously understood loneliness as something that came from parting. However, as he grew closer to Yin Yan, he still felt this sense of loneliness, and it only intensified. The closer he got, the lonelier he became.

After one of their intimate moments, he held Yin Yan in his arms, completely naked, and told him about his confusion. Yin Yan only smiled in response, hugging him back, showering him with gentle kisses, and melting his unease in the warmth of their desire.

Drinking with Pedro always made Lu Zhengming think of unpleasant things, so gradually, he stopped accepting his invitations.

He understood the Frenchman’s chatter all too well, but as the end of the year approached, he came to understand another trait of the French.

The moment he walked into the department office, he saw Pedro arguing with Chao Hui. He was insisting on having Christmas off and refused to teach that day. He also demanded paid leave, or else he would go on strike in front of the main building.

“It’s not a big deal. I can cover his class,” Lu Zhengming said, rarely trying to mediate.

Pedro got angry. He insisted that it was a matter of principle and should not be solved this way. He even blamed Lu Zhengming for having no principles, just like Chao Hui, which made Lu Zhengming feel awkward. Fortunately, Liu Leshan intervened, granting him three days of paid leave, which eventually settled the matter.

Pedro was still very unhappy. He felt that issues shouldn’t be solved by someone’s face. Principles were principles. Lu Zhengming could only smile bitterly.

Although there was the “strike” incident, Pedro didn’t ruin the relationships with his colleagues. Before his leave, he made a special trip to the office and brought a small box of chocolates for each colleague. Not only the colleagues received gifts, but also every student he had taught. He brought a box of chocolates like those from Forrest Gump to Lu Zhengming’s classroom, offering each student a taste.

“These are made by my mother,” he said.

Lu Zhengming pocketed his portion, then shamelessly took a piece from one of the students’ boxes. The chocolates weren’t particularly well-shaped; they looked like clumps of playdough. But the taste was quite unique. Once the chocolate melted completely, there were tiny particles left behind in his mouth. He examined them carefully and realized they were minty orange peels, perfectly balancing the sweetness with a refreshing fragrance.

Pedro told him that these chocolates were his favorites, and his mother, almost ninety years old, still remembered his tastes. He smiled like a child, and no matter how many wrinkles lined his face, he seemed like a spoiled child.

Lu Zhengming suddenly thought of his own parents.

When he was in school, every time he went home for the holidays, they would prepare a feast, but none of the dishes he liked were ever there. It had always been this way. For over twenty years, they never remembered what he liked to eat.

He once mentioned it to his mother, and she would always look surprised and apologetic. “Really? You don’t like this? What do you like?” she would ask. Lu Zhengming would tell her seriously, but the next time, it would still be the same. His father would point to a dish and proudly tell him how expensive it was and how difficult it was to get. “I specifically bought this for you,” he would say.

Over time, Lu Zhengming stopped telling them.

The sweet scent of the orange peel faded, leaving behind only a faint bitterness.

The atmosphere in the classroom was extremely joyful. The students enjoyed their chocolates, and even the model got a piece. Ouyang also received a special gift from Pedro, a small box of cherry chocolates and a pink rose. It was the first time Lu Zhengming had seen her blush. He couldn’t stand Pedro’s bold romantic gestures any longer. The bitterness in his mouth grew stronger, and with a fake smile, he walked out the door, leaving the classroom to them.

Lu Zhengming stepped out into the hallway, took out a cigarette, and was about to light it when he saw Zhong Jingjing walking past him, heading toward the stairs. From her angle, she couldn’t see him, and she walked briskly. There was still some time before the morning class ended, so she was likely leaving early, but Lu Zhengming didn’t want to get involved in such trivial matters and pretended not to notice. However, the footsteps behind him didn’t go downstairs; instead, they moved toward the other end of the hallway—

That led to the graduate student classroom.

Lu Zhengming peered out and saw her gently knock on a familiar door. Yin Yan came out from inside, and they exchanged a few words in the hallway. Zhong Jingjing handed him a small box, just the right size to fit in his jacket pocket.

The hallway was very quiet, and he could vaguely hear their conversation.

“Professor Yin, are you free on Christmas? I know a French restaurant. Everyone who’s been there says it’s very authentic, it’s called…”

Pedro had said that everything from that place was trash. He knew a better place, the best in the whole of Pingyuan City. Lu Zhengming crushed the cigarette in his hand, flattening it into a small piece.

After a while, Zhong Jingjing finally finished speaking, and he heard Yin Yan laugh softly before gently saying:

“Sorry, Xiao Zhong, I’ll be spending Christmas with my girlfriend.”