TT Chapter 34. Fat Ting

Chen Ting counted down the days on his fingers, eagerly tearing off a page from the calendar each morning, wishing time would move faster. But at the same time, he felt he ought to stay home longer to keep his mom company. The contradiction left him torn.

The Chen family had always been small, with few relatives to visit during the new year, so the holidays felt especially long and monotonous this year.

His father, Zhao Ping, wasn’t a local. He had followed his own father downriver, and it was during that journey that he met Chen Ting’s mother, Chen Su. He ended up settling here. In this region, daughters were usually doted on and rarely married off to boat families, but Chen Su’s father had been an open-minded man. He didn’t object to a son-in-law marrying in, and even gave up most of his savings to commission a large boat as a “dowry.” That was the very boat Chen Su lived on now.

Chen Ting had heard the old folks talk about how people who lived on the river didn’t own any land. They drifted from place to place, making their homes on the water. There were two types of boats: fishing boats and hunting boats. The former cast nets, the latter hunted game. His father came from a hunting boat family.

But after he got married, Zhao Ping settled down and started raising crabs alongside his father-in-law. Their boat stayed docked by the bank and never moved again.

Now, only Chen Ting and Chen Su were left in the household. It was about as sparse as a family could get. He used to feel lonely growing up, but the older he got, the more at ease he felt. Birth and death were just part of life. In the grand scheme of things, being with someone of the same sex didn’t seem like such a big deal.

That said, Chen Ting had already begun preparing to come out to his mom. He had nothing better to do these days, so he would loiter around the house, subtly laying the groundwork for the big reveal.

Truthfully, he felt somewhat confident. His mom cared most about whether he was happy, and there had been gay people who came out around here before. One of them was even a factory boss who openly courted a young worker. Though in the end, the poor guy got scared off and ran.

Chen Ting tried to sound her out. Chen Su, sewing at her embroidery frame, answered him softly, “Some things just can’t be helped.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Chen Ting quickly nodded in agreement.

Chen Su looked up at him, her gaze warm and utterly unassuming, but the prolonged scrutiny still made him nervous. She had always been such a gentle person—classic oval face, long black hair, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes looked like ripples on water. When she smiled, it was all soft grace, the very image of a water-town woman.

But gentleness could be a kind of strength too.

“Why are you still wearing last year’s old jacket during the new year?” she finally said.

Chen Ting breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “What’s wrong with it? It’s still perfectly fine.”

Chen Su shook her head, stood up, and shook out the freshly stitched coat in her hands. “Try this on. Boys should dress up a little too. Our Ting Ting is such a handsome young man.”

Chen Ting couldn’t refuse her, so he changed into the coat. It was a caramel-colored woolen overcoat, part of the latest winter-spring line. Chen Su had gotten it from someone else to do hand-stitching as a side job for extra income.

She didn’t play mahjong or dance in public squares, but she always stayed at the cutting edge of fashion.

“Perfect fit.” Chen Su had him turn around and gave a satisfied nod. “You look even more dashing in this. I’ll talk to her and tell her I’m not sending this coat back. I’ll buy it for you.”

Chen Ting wasn’t used to it, having worn hoodies and padded jackets all winter. “Mom, maybe we shouldn’t…”

But Chen Su was adamant about dressing up her son. In the end, she bought the coat for him and even got him a white sweater to match.

Chen Ting had no choice but to accept it. Thinking of the way his mom had responded to the topic of same-sex relationships, he felt a little comforted. Maybe coming out wouldn’t be as hard as he had imagined.

At the end of February, Chen Ting finally headed back to the city.

After thinking it over, he decided to wear the new clothes his mom bought him. They really did make him look sharper. He boarded the high-speed rail alone and arrived in N City around 3 p.m.

The train station was jam-packed in the post-holiday rush, so crowded that even the air seemed stuck.

Before getting off the train, Chen Ting had already texted Pei Yiyao. Now, pulling his large suitcase behind him, he melted into the crowd. As soon as he reached the exit, he spotted a tall, handsome figure among the crowd and couldn’t help but wave excitedly.

Seeing him again, Chen Ting finally realized just how much he had missed him. That emotion surged up, urging his legs to move faster.

Pei Yiyao also strode forward as Chen Ting ran toward him, catching him by the arm just in time to meet those sparkling eyes.

“You’re here.”

“Yeah.”

Pei Yiyao took his suitcase and restrained himself from holding his hand in public.

Chen Ting walked beside him, stealing glances out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that Pei Yiyao seemed the same as he had a month ago, yet somehow also different.

“Did you lose weight?” he couldn’t help asking. He hadn’t noticed anything during their video calls, but now that they were face-to-face, it suddenly struck him.

Pei Yiyao replied, “No, I just grew a bit taller.”

Chen Ting: “!!!”

You got taller, and I gained a pound!

Resentment surged in Chen Ting’s heart. If he hadn’t been tough enough, he would have burst into tears. Where was the justice in this world?

That grievance lingered all the way until he climbed into Pei Yiyao’s Jeep. Looking around at the clearly brand-new car, he asked in surprise, “Where did this come from?”

“My mom bought it for me,” Pei Yiyao replied.

“…”

“Do you like it?” he asked.

Chen Ting didn’t answer, and Pei Yiyao couldn’t quite tell whether he did or not.

Actually, his mom had just wanted to get him a simple commuter car. Since he had already gotten his license abroad, having his own ride would make trips between home and school a lot more convenient. But the moment he laid eyes on this Hummer, he knew it was the one. Chen Ting seemed to love these cool, rugged things, like Xu Yiming’s motorcycle.

So he emptied his savings, got a boost from his parents, and finally brought the car home just before the new semester began.

And now, he was driving his new car to pick up his boyfriend.

“Whoa…” Chen Ting ran his hands along the interior. Aside from that one exclamation, he couldn’t think of another word to express how he felt. Pei Yiyao really was the definition of a cool guy. Sleek, rich, and effortlessly stylish.

Taking this as a sign of approval, Pei Yiyao turned him around and stole a kiss.

Chen Ting was caught off guard. Pei Yiyao’s overwhelming presence made him instinctively lean back. He quickly grabbed the seatback to keep from falling completely, but Pei Yiyao showed no restraint, kissing him with a ferocity that felt like he was trying to devour him.

After ten whole minutes, Chen Ting’s face was flushed red. He covered his mouth and glared at Pei Yiyao. There was a faint metallic taste on his tongue. He had no idea whose lip had split.

But Pei Yiyao remained composed. The rising heat in the cramped car and the intensity of their kiss didn’t so much as ruffle his expression. Even when he wiped the bead of blood from his lip with a finger, the motion came off cool and aloof.

There was something irresistibly sexy about it.

Chen Ting kept staring and ended up losing himself again in all sorts of thoughts. He abruptly turned away.

Only then did he realize they were still in the parking lot, and someone had just walked by. Mortified, he ignored Pei Yiyao for a long time.

Pei Yiyao knew when to stop. He started the car and slowly pulled out of the high-speed rail station, heading toward University Town.

Classes hadn’t officially resumed yet, so the campus was nearly deserted. Chen Ting dropped his luggage off in the dorm before finally remembering to ask, “Where are you staying these two days? At the dorms or at home?”

“Dorm,” Pei Yiyao replied.

Chen Ting nodded. He was just about to ask whether Pei Yiyao needed anything and suggest going shopping together when Pei Yiyao said, “Come stay with me.”

Chen Ting blinked. “Huh?”

“Or I’ll stay here with you.”

“That’s not going to work.” Chen Ting shook his head instinctively. “What if someone sees?”

“No one’s around these couple of days.” Pei Yiyao’s voice was calm and certain. His gaze stayed fixed on Chen Ting, like if he didn’t agree, he might just throw him over his shoulder and carry him off.

Chen Ting hesitated. Even though there were hardly any students back yet, there had always been rumors about the two of them. If he moved in with Pei Yiyao now, it would basically be half a coming out.

Just then, the dorm supervisor happened to walk down the corridor. Seeing the two of them standing in the room, he paused and asked, “Chen Ting, still unpacking? Oh, and this classmate here, is he the one who always walks you back?”

“…Yes,” Chen Ting replied.

The dorm supervisor chuckled, completely unaware of the shockwave he had just triggered. “No one’s really back yet. You’re the only one in the whole building. Why don’t you bunk together with him for the next couple days? Safer that way, have someone to keep you company.”

Chen Ting nearly dropped to his knees. Grandpa, do you even realize what you just said?

The supervisor had no idea, but Pei Yiyao did. He calmly and decisively accepted on Chen Ting’s behalf.

Once the old man had left, Pei Yiyao took Chen Ting’s hand. “Come with me.”

“Fine, I’ll go,” Chen Ting muttered. He would follow the dorm supervisor’s suggestion. That was all. It definitely wasn’t because he wanted to live with Pei Yiyao. No way.

He packed a few changes of clothes and followed Pei Yiyao to his dorm. Come to think of it, this was actually Chen Ting’s first time over there. Pei Yiyao had always taken a different path when walking him back, so he had never set foot in this part of campus.

Naturally, he looked around with curiosity. As he glanced up, his eyes landed on a certain balcony on the fourth floor. “Is that a spider plant?”

Pei Yiyao glanced up. “Yeah.”

It really was an impressive spider plant. Its vines had grown all the way from the fourth floor down to the second, wild and thriving. And ten minutes later, when Chen Ting stood on that very balcony and touched it for himself, his brain glitched for a second. “Wait, you’re saying… you grew this?”

Pei Yiyao nodded.

Chen Ting really couldn’t figure him out anymore. A certified cool guy, and yet, he raised a spider plant? But looking down from above, with its cascading vines like a waterfall, it was… actually pretty cool.

The pot hung from the balcony’s laundry pole. Standing beneath it, Chen Ting felt like he was under a green parasol of vines. Dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves and scattered across his body, creating a strange and wonderful feeling.

“If the weather’s nice in the afternoon, putting a rattan chair here and reading a book sounds pretty relaxing,” he said, reaching out again to touch the leaves.

Compared to flamboyant flowers, Chen Ting preferred greenery like this. Full of life and energy.

Pei Yiyao had just finished putting away Chen Ting’s things in his wardrobe. When he turned around and saw Chen Ting standing there with his head tilted up at the spider plant, he couldn’t help but fall silent. He just stood there quietly, watching.

In that moment, Chen Ting looked clean and pure. Innocent, almost.

After a while, Chen Ting noticed him leaning by the door, staring. He immediately ran over. “Don’t just stand there staring. Let’s go see if the supermarket’s open. I forgot my toothbrush, and I should probably replace my towel…”

They left the dorm and strolled side by side under the trees lining the campus road. With so few students back, the school was quiet, almost still, and the sense of history seemed to seep from the century-old trees, wrapping the campus in a moment of timeless peace.

As Chen Ting talked about what he had done over the break, Pei Yiyao turned his head to look at that smiling face. He reached out and ruffled his hair again.

Chen Ting had already given up resisting. Go ahead and ruffle it. It’s not like he was going to grow any taller anyway.