TT Chapter 33. Long Distance

A week later, Pei Yiyao boarded a flight abroad, beginning his journey of overseas study alone.

Chen Ting didn’t go to the airport to see him off, because he still had one last exam. He merely glanced up on his way into the test hall. A faint streak from an airplane stretched across the sky. Whether it was his flight or not, he couldn’t say.

The final exam was Comprehensive English. It ended at four-thirty in the afternoon. As soon as it was over, everyone came out of the building saying goodbye, ready to head home.

Wu Yingwen was still riding the exam high and pulled Lin Juan along to compare answers. Yang Shulin leaned in to listen and ended up catching something that made him freeze.

“What did you say? Microeconomic policy? What microeconomic policy? Where the hell did ‘micro’ come from?”

Wu Yingwen blinked. “Huh? Wasn’t that the topic for the last essay question?”

Yang Shulin sputtered, “The essay was about Macau!”

Everyone went blank.

Chen Ting was the first to recover. He thought for a moment, then said, “It was micro, not Macau.”

Wu Yingwen: “…”

The academic kings and queens: “…”

Yang Shulin: “Fuck.”

And just like that, the first semester of sophomore year ended with Yang Shulin’s epic-level screw-up. When Chen Ting put him into a cab heading for the train station, he was still in a daze, completely in disbelief.

After all, this might’ve cost him the most important course in their entire department. The paper had been notoriously difficult this year. Now all he could do was pray for mercy from the professor. Hopefully they wouldn’t laugh themselves to death reading it.

After seeing Yang Shulin off, Chen Ting was picked up by Ruan Xin. He took his pre-packed luggage and stayed with her for two days before returning to their hometown together.

The old home hadn’t changed. A network of rivers crisscrossed the area, making winter even damper and colder. Chen Ting left his luggage at the house on shore and pushed open the door. Inside, it was silent and cold, devoid of any trace of life.

The house had come from a relocation deal. Two units in total, registered under his mom’s name. But she had never been fond of living on land. That boat was where she and Chen Ting’s dad had once lived together, so all these years, only Chen Ting would occasionally stay at the house.

He hauled his larger suitcases inside, pulled out two sets of casual clothes, then made his way down to the boat. Their houseboat was moored by the riverside, set a fair distance from the town’s other residences. The river it sat on, naturally, connected to a large lake.

The boat was fixed in place along the bank, since it was wired up to power and couldn’t be moved easily. But from there, it was easy to take a skiff out to collect fishing nets. Much more convenient than living on shore.

“I’m home, Mom!”

He dashed across the narrow wooden plank, scrambled up onto the deck, and flung the curtain aside. Before he even saw anyone, he was already calling out.

The first to respond was the familiar scent of food. Chen Su poked her head out from the tiny kitchen. “Aiya, our Ting Ting is back. Come here, let Mom have a look at you.”

He trotted over, footsteps thudding against the wooden floor. “Mom, what are you making? It smells amazing.”

The kitchen was small, with only a sink, a marble countertop, and a single hanging cabinet. Chen Su smiled brightly and showed him the dish she had just plated. Her voice was soft and gentle. “It’s your favorite, shepherd’s purse. This batch is especially tender.”

As she spoke, the oil in the pan had finished heating. She sprinkled chopped scallions over the greens, drizzled in some soy sauce, then poured the hot oil over it all. A quick stir, and the aroma blossomed naturally.

Chen Ting took a deep breath, practically drooling already, but his gaze slid toward the warm pot still simmering on the living room table. “Mom, didn’t you already make hotpot? Why bother cooking more?”

“You love to eat, don’t you? The shepherd’s purse in hotpot is not the same as this one.” Chen Su handed him the dish. “Come on, take this out to the table. Your Aunt Ruan and the others will be here any minute.”

The living room was warmed by an air conditioner, and the transparent plastic curtains on both sides helped keep the heat in.

After setting the tableware, Chen Ting heard someone calling from outside. He looked out the window and spotted Grandpa Chen from down the road piloting a little boat past their home.

“So it really is Ting Ting! You’re back a bit late this year, huh?”

“Hi, Grandpa Chen.” Chen Ting leaned his head out. “Careful with the speed. If you make waves, you’ll knock over our hotpot.”

Old Grandpa Chen waved with a laugh and speed up even more. Others might race cars, but he raced boats, just like an old rascal. Of course, no matter how fast the boat went, it could not possibly topple the hotpot. The slight rocking only made Chen Ting smile to himself. There was something comforting about it.

He turned back and lifted the lid of the hotpot. The familiar ingredients and familiar aroma greeted him at once. Chen Ting still remembered that when his grandmother was alive, she used to call this dish “all-in-one pot.” In the winter, when no one felt like cooking, they would eat this instead. It even saved a few dishes from needing to be washed.

Not long after, Ruan Xin and Pei Anqing arrived as well. The two families sat together and shared a warm dinner. For a while, Pei Yiyao, far away overseas, was forgotten entirely.

It was only after the meal that Chen Ting saw the message from him.

Pei Yiyao: Are you home?

Donghu Crab King: Already back. Just had dinner with Uncle and Aunt.

Donghu Crab King: Have you eaten?

Pei Yiyao: About to.

Donghu Crab King: Burgers?

Pei Yiyao: …Yes.

Poor Pei Yiyao, having to chew on burgers in this kind of cold. But Chen Ting knew the reason he chose them was probably because they were quick and convenient. Unless something changed, he could live off burgers for an entire month.

Donghu Crab King: You should eat something else too. There must be Chinese restaurants nearby that do delivery?

Pei Yiyao: There are.

Pei Yiyao: Don’t worry. I can take care of myself.

Pei Yiyao, who claimed he could take care of himself, still ended up eating burgers and sandwiches for an entire week. The best meal he had was a steak dinner, and that was only because his professor invited him over.

Even though he had not followed Chen Ting’s advice about eating properly, he still made sure to video call him every day. Compared to exchanging texts, he much preferred seeing Chen Ting’s face directly on screen.

So every morning, the thing that woke Chen Ting was not a crowing rooster or the tail end of a dream, but a video call from across the ocean.

It was cold in winter, and there was not much to do around the house, so Chen Ting had started lazing in bed every day until well past ten before crawling out from under the covers.

Pei Yiyao timed his calls perfectly. The two of them would talk for about half an hour, then Pei Yiyao would return to his work while Chen Ting got up to make lunch.

At first, Chen Ting still cared about keeping up appearances. Whenever Pei Yiyao called, he would brush his teeth, wash his face, then climb back under the covers to talk.

But a few days later, he gave up on the whole image management thing. Whatever, he thought, it is what it is.

“Mmm… I’m still sleepy…” That morning, just like the others, Chen Ting curled up under the blanket. His phone was propped up on a bedhead mount he had bought online, which made things very convenient.

Pei Yiyao was walking beneath bare winter branches in a smart outfit: a charcoal-gray sweater layered under a black wool coat, a Starbucks coffee in hand. The boulevard was wide, the buildings along it European-style, the scene exuding elegance and poise.

Chen Ting frowned. “Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine.”

“You should still wear a scarf. Just a plain one is fine. Pure wool ones aren’t bulky…” Chen Ting ran a hand through his messy hair and went on mumbling sleepily.

Pei Yiyao nodded and continued watching him, the way he rubbed at his face like a sleepy kitten, eyes still barely open. “Are you that tired? Then why not sleep a little longer?”

Chen Ting grumbled and mumbled for several seconds before finally answering, “I stayed up playing games with friends last night…”

“Friends?”

“My old classmates. We haven’t seen each other in a while, so we ended up playing really late.”

The weather was freezing, and no one really wanted to go out, so most people either stayed home or headed to internet cafés to play games. Chen Ting was usually more of a single-player type, but under these circumstances, he followed the crowd and joined a team for a few rounds. His skills were pretty bad, though.

He started telling Pei Yiyao about the game he played last night. He said his teammates had called him a noob, but honestly, they were all bad. They kept playing and still sucked, so what right did they have to complain about him?

What could he do? It was just chickens pecking at each other.

“One guy on the other team kept chasing me like crazy,” Chen Ting grumbled. “Didn’t even bother picking up any gear, just came at me with a frying pan like I owed him money or something…”

He was still a little bitter about it. He was the type to hold a grudge, but sadly, his gaming skills weren’t nearly good enough for payback. A real shame.

“I’ll play for you next time,” Pei Yiyao said.

Chen Ting pouted. Who knew when that “next time” would be?

It had already been half a month since they parted, and though Chen Ting didn’t say it, he missed Pei Yiyao a lot.

These days, he spent most of his time living with his mom on the boat. Ordering delivery was a pain, and he hated going out to buy things, so he hadn’t had milk tea or coffee in ages. It was nothing like school, where Pei Yiyao brought him whatever he wanted every day. He never had to lift a finger.

Then came a bit of good news from Pei Yiyao: “I’ll be back three days before the semester starts.”

Chen Ting nodded. “That’s good.”

“I’ll come pick you up.”

“Pick me up? You’re coming to my place?”

Just then, Pei Yiyao passed a park and sat down on a bench by the road, setting his coffee beside him. “It’s not far.”

At that time, it was evening abroad. The golden glow of sunset washed over him, casting shadows that made his nose bridge look even more defined. A few white pigeons cautiously drew near, tilting their heads and staring at him with vacant curiosity, cooing softly.

Chen Ting was momentarily distracted by the allure of good looks but managed to remember the main point. “Even if it’s not far, it still takes a few hours. If you come to pick me up, it’s a lot of trouble going back and forth. I can make it on my own. The high-speed rail is so fast now, I’ll be there in no time. My place is actually pretty close to the station.”

But Pei Yiyao said nothing. He simply wanted to see Chen Ting as early as possible.

Chen Ting understood. And truth be told, he wanted to see him early too. A flash of inspiration struck. “Then… why don’t I go back three days early too?”

“Yes.” Pei Yiyao agreed.

Chen Ting couldn’t help but laugh. Just then, he heard Chen Su calling for him to get up. He sprang upright and sneakily peered outside. Seeing that his mom was about to come in, he quickly stole a few more glances at his handsome, faraway boyfriend and whispered, “My mom’s coming, I’m hanging up!”

Pei Yiyao stared at the screen long after Chen Ting’s face disappeared.

A pigeon, unbothered by the cold radiating off him, flapped its wings and hopped onto his shoulder, watching him with curiosity. Pei Yiyao didn’t shoo it away. He just gazed at the tall row of leafless trees across the street and suddenly felt a touch of melancholy.

He really did miss Chen Ting.

Not even physics could save him.