Run Wild: Sa Ye (Novel) Vol. 5

Chapter 101

T HE POST-PRACTICE EXAM barbecue feast left Jiang Cheng extremely content and satisfied.

He carried plate upon plate of meat back to the table, and there was absolutely nothing Gu Fei could do to stop him.

Any time he tried to say no, Jiang Cheng glared at him like he was about to throw a fit—as if he had spent the past five years restricted to an ascetic diet of leafy greens and water.

Fortunately, it didn’t give this overachiever the runs. The only side effect was that Jiang Cheng didn’t have much of an appetite for the next few days—not because he was still too full from the feast, but because nothing else tasted as satisfying as grilled meat.

Due to this alarming side effect, Gu Fei didn’t take him out for another feast before the official university entrance exams. He cooked for Jiang Cheng at home, whether he liked it or not.

Jiang Cheng, however, was nothing if not adaptable.

He was so deeply engrossed in his studies that he’d finish anything he was fed, regardless of his enthusiasm for it.

The two of them carried on that way until June, when the countdown to the start of the exams dropped to single digits.

***

“I need to go get a haircut today,” said Jiang Cheng, his eyes still on the teacher at the podium, who had stopped mentioning words like “study” and “exam” days ago.

Recently, their teachers had begun recommending that students take it easy. They no longer gave out worksheets or question banks, and they just advised everyone to try to relax as they reviewed the points that they’d studied and memorized for so long.

“Did you want Style Master Li to do it for you again?” Gu Fei asked.

“Mm.” Jiang Cheng tugged at the hair falling over his forehead. “The cut he gave me last time wasn’t bad… Oh, and I want to skateboard with Er-Miao for a bit this afternoon.”

“Sure, I’ll tell her to come and wait for us.” Gu Fei pulled out his phone. “She’ll be over the moon.”

“I haven’t played with her in so long, I’m worried that she won’t wanna hang out with me anymore,” Jiang Cheng said, running a hand through his hair again. “She even knows how to multiply seven times nine now, and I haven’t congratulated her yet.”

“You don’t need to.” Gu Fei smiled, though it looked a little weary. “She just found a multiplication table she likes to play with, that’s all. She can’t even tell you what one times one is.”

“Really?” Jiang Cheng glanced at him. “It’s okay. It’s still worth praising her for taking an interest.”

“Go ahead and praise her, then.” Gu Fei turned to him. “Are you gonna buy her something to eat as a reward?”

“Didn’t you say that she liked the jelly pudding cups we got last time?” asked Jiang Cheng.

“…Last time?” Gu Fei blinked.

“Last…” Jiang Cheng thought about it for a moment, then chuckled. “Oh yeah, that was over New Year’s. Shit, has it been that long?”

“Uh-huh.” Gu Fei stretched his legs out. “It’s been months since you plunged headfirst into the deep sea of studying. One day under the surface is the equivalent of three months on land—didn’t you know?”

It really felt like he’d blinked and the semester ended instantly. It was Jiang Cheng’s final semester of high school, and it had gone by in a blur of unchanging days and nights of incessant studying. He hadn’t even gotten to properly savor the taste before it vanished.

Once time started to fly like that, it really was impossible to slow it down, or even keep up with it. It was only when he took the occasional glance back that he realized all those days that had felt so hard to endure were already behind him.

All those feelings he’d thought he would never get through—of pain and being lost, of the struggles, surprises, and happy moments, and of the reluctance to part ways—were behind him now too.

Some of those feelings had passed for good, while others recurred in an infinite loop, like the happiness and reassurance he felt whenever he was with Gu Fei.

Jiang Cheng slumped forward on his desk and turned his face to the side to watch his boyfriend.

The happiness of each day would pass, but there was always new happiness blooming, every minute and every second.

As far as he was concerned, pain and confusion were a straight line, and with every step forward, he was one step closer to the end. Happiness, however, was a circle.

***

Before school let out that afternoon, Lao-Xu came into their classroom again to encourage everyone and remind them to please take it easy in these few days before the exams. He told everyone to go to bed early and not study as intensely as before.

Jiang Cheng looked at the weariness tinged with nerves and excitement on Lao-Xu’s face—it mirrored the students’ moods. Then he looked at the single-digit countdown above his head and yawned.

He would take it easy, then; he had already fought for so long. Jiang Cheng was never one to look back in regret, but even if he tried, there wasn’t much for him to regret in this past year.

Now, he could finally relax and give his nerves a break. And skateboard with Gu Miao or something.

As soon as they walked out of the school gates, they spotted Gu Miao outside. She looked like she had been waiting for ages, clearly bored out of her mind.

Sitting on the railings by the sidewalk, Gu Miao sported her usual cold, detached expression and the extremely metal haircut Li Yan had given her. Her skateboard was on the ground, leaning beside her. When she saw them walk out, Gu Miao kicked her board, jumped onto it, and dashed right up to them.

“Er-Miao!” Jiang Cheng bent down and grinned at her. But when he leaned over, he realized with a start that she seemed to have grown taller. He didn’t need to bend quite as far as before. He turned to Gu Fei and asked, “Did she get taller?”

“Yup.” Gu Fei nodded. “Just this past half year, she grew almost four inches. She can’t even fit into last summer’s clothes anymore.”

“I’ve been so busy studying that I haven’t had time to play with you,” Jiang Cheng said, looking back at Gu Miao. “I didn’t even notice that you’ve gotten so tall… Looking cool in those cropped pants, huh?”

“Those are full-length pants she outgrew,” Gu Fei chimed in from beside him.

“…Still, very cool.” Jiang Cheng snapped his fingers and gave her a thumbs-up.

Gu Miao returned the greeting, clearly in a good mood, and rolled away to the side, beckoning to him.

“Hold this.” Jiang Cheng tossed his backpack to Gu Fei and ran after her.

The weather had been nice lately. It was the kind of early summer day that was balmy but not scorching hot.

As he flew forward on the skateboard, Jiang Cheng felt a sense of soothing ease wash over his whole body.

When he closed his eyes, he could imagine the shape of the gentle breeze slipping over his skin.

He took turns with Gu Miao on the skateboard, racing all the way to the end of the block until there was sweat all over his forehead. Gu Miao’s face was sweaty, too, and covered with streaks of dirt from dragging her grubby hands across her face.

“Here, clean your face.” Jiang Cheng hopped off the skateboard and handed her a tissue, then looked back the way they came.

Gu Fei came pedaling up slowly on his bike, one hand pulling the handlebar of Jiang Cheng’s bike along. “Having fun, are you?” He put his foot on the ground when he stopped. “What do you think about my performance as your logistics manager?”

“I forgot.” Jiang Cheng laughed as he took back his own bike and climbed on. “Er-Miao, want a tow?”

With one foot on the skateboard, Gu Miao cocked her head and looked at him.

“Let’s go!” Jiang Cheng stepped on the pedals and shot out.

Gu Miao quickly caught up and dashed in front of him. She even had the nerve to look back and give him a whistle.

“Little twerp!” Jiang Cheng tutted and pedaled hard a few times to pass her.

The instant he did, Gu Miao grabbed hold of the back of the bike, pushed off with the momentum, and glided forward so they were neck and neck.

“Awesome!” Jiang Cheng shouted. “Let’s go buy some jelly pudding cups!”

When Gu Miao turned to face him, her eyes were twinkling. She quickly decelerated before grabbing the back seat of his bike and allowing herself to be towed.

The two of them took Gu Miao to the supermarket for a stroll around the aisles. They brought their abundant haul of snacks back to the convenience store, where they found Li Yan asleep behind the counter, his head tilted back.

When Li Yan heard them come in, though, he opened his eyes and said, “Esteemed young masters! Can you show a little sincerity when you ask a guy for a favor?!”

“Sorry.” Jiang Cheng set the pile of snacks on the counter and handed a pudding cup to him. “We went to buy food for Er-Miao.”

“I came to offer on-site service—I even brought a whole load of groceries,” Li Yan complained as he accepted the pudding cup. “But I ended up having to watch the store too.”

“Where’s my mom?” Gu Fei asked. “Shouldn’t she be here in the afternoon?”

“She went out with her boyfriend right after I got here.” Li Yan opened the pudding cup and handed it to Gu Miao. “Hey, this guy’s lasted a pretty long time. It’s the same one, right? She hasn’t switched yet?”

“Mm-hm,” said Gu Fei. “Will you stay here and eat?”

“Nah, I have a date after I give Master Jiang here his haircut,” Li Yan said.

“Oho.” Gu Fei looked at him.

“What?” Li Yan side-eyed him. “Is it ‘oho’ of me to have a date? You’ve been tormenting this poor single dog for a whole year, isn’t the dog allowed to fight back?”

“Haircut,” Gu Fei said, then he took Gu Miao to the courtyard in the back to wash her face.

Li Yan’s skills as a barber were impressive. He was comparable to, if not better than, all the Tonys, Jims, Kevins, and Peters with their fashionable English names and fancy-looking salons.

“You could probably get a head stylist position at any random salon you walk into,” Jiang Cheng said, eyes closed.