Chapter 17

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On the way to work the next day, Xu Er finally opened the video Song Ruichi had sent last night. The beginning matched exactly what Xu Er remembered from the previous night: only his hands were moving on screen, assembling parts inside a typewriter. The video was very quiet, and Xu Er noticed the speaker icon in the upper right corner was muted. Perhaps Song Ruichi had forgotten to turn on the sound while recording. They must have been talking, but without sound, Xu Er watched for a few seconds and, losing patience, dragged the progress bar forward. Finding no change, he dragged it again—this time farther along the timeline—and saw that he had changed position. He was puzzled but not upset to see himself suddenly sitting in Song Ruichi’s arms while putting the pieces together. Maybe he had been drunk and feeling unwell, seeking comfort. The scene then returned to the quiet mechanical puzzle. Xu Er kept dragging the progress bar, but nothing changed until he reached the end. Perfect. Before, he had only imagined himself assembling LEGO bricks, but now he had video proof. He would mentally process this memory from a first-person perspective and embed it into his own recollections. Later, when reminiscing, he could narrate it naturally, starting with something like, “I remember I once…” Ah, perfect. Xu Er saved the video and messaged Song Ruichi, “Morning, Song Song.” He wasn’t sure what time Song Ruichi had gone to bed, but it was already past eleven when the reply came. Song Ruichi said, “Song Song?” Xu Er was staring at a design sketch, frowning over a detail that seemed off. As soon as he opened WeChat, his expression changed noticeably—the frown eased and the corners of his eyes curved into a smile. “Yeah, Song Song,” Xu Er replied. Song Ruichi texted back, “Who’s Song Song?” “You, Song Song,” Xu Er answered. Song Ruichi sent a speechless emoji. “Don’t call me Song Song.” “Why do other brothers get to call you that but I can’t?” Xu Er insisted. “I’m going to call you that.” He sent a smug emoji. “Xu Er Er,” Song Ruichi responded. “Here,” Xu Er acknowledged. “You’re not other brothers,” Song Ruichi said. “Brother,” Xu Er replied. “You’re my brother,” he added. “Song Song Brother,” Xu Er typed. “Okay,” Song Ruichi replied. “Okay, okay,” he added. Xu Er laughed heartily, delighted to have made Song Ruichi smile. “What’s this?” Xiao Dong, who had quietly slid over, looked at Xu Er’s computer. “I thought you’d revised the manuscript with that happy smile.” “What’s so funny about revising?” Xu Er said. Xiao Dong nodded, “True,” then slid back to his place. “But it’s almost done,” Xu Er added. “Woohoo, great,” Xiao Dong said.

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Then Song Ruichi sent a new message. “Finished watching the video?” “Yeah, finished,” Xu Er replied. “Nothing to say?” Song Ruichi asked. Xu Er was puzzled. “Huh? Is there something to say?” Suddenly recalling their conversation the night before, he joked, “An 800-word review?” Song Ruichi began typing. Typing, typing… Xu Er waited without doing anything until Song Ruichi finally sent, “You write.” “Skip,” Xu Er replied. He also asked, “Did you eat the ice cream?” “I did,” Song Ruichi answered. “I’m working on the little essay,” he added. “Hahaha,” Xu Er laughed. “Since you said that, there better be a little essay or I’ll make a fuss.” “How will you fuss?” Song Ruichi asked. Xu Er thought for a moment. “I’ll bring a big loudspeaker to your studio.” “Song Song Brother, Song Song Brother,” Xu Er teased. “Can’t wait,” Song Ruichi replied. “When will you come?” “I’m ordering a loudspeaker now.” “The studio’s waiting for you,” Song Ruichi said. Xu Er smiled, closed the chat window, and went back to revising the manuscript, still frowning. Starting today, he was about to get very busy. A new project was kicking off, and with someone’s resignation, his workload had increased significantly. Incidentally, on the second night after Song Ruichi’s medicine box arrived, Xu Er had accidentally cut himself at home. Naturally, he complained to Song Ruichi. What had been a minor wound, he squeezed until a full bead of blood emerged before sending it over. “Last time I used a bandage was ages ago,” he said. “You brought your own stuff, and then I got hurt,” Xu Er added. “Blame me?” Song Ruichi asked. Xu Er never intended to blame him. But since he said that, Xu Er replied, “Sure.” Unexpectedly, an hour after complaining, Xu Er received an express delivery from Song Ruichi in the same city. It was nothing but vanilla ice cream. Xu Er was thrilled and deeply moved, overjoyed. He texted Song Ruichi, “Brother!” “Blood turned into tears,” he wrote. “Splashing down.” “Flowing down from the corner of my mouth,” Song Ruichi replied. “Hahaha,” Xu Er laughed. “Spoiling the mood.” He added, “Thanks so much, it’s delicious!”

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Finally, the workday ended, and the Saturday Xu Chen had been looking forward to arrived. Early in the morning, he came over to Xu Er’s house, saying he couldn’t sleep and asking Xu Er to help him rank up in a game. So the two spent the entire day gaming together at Xu Er’s place. Today, Xu Chen wasn’t exactly dressed up, but he had tidied himself up nicely. His haircut suited him well, and he wore fresh, neat clothes—just right, neither too much nor too little. “I still find it unbelievable,” Xu Chen remarked near dusk, gripping his game controller, “how did you even come to know Song Ruichi?” “If you had a bit more courage, you’d know him by now,” Xu Er replied. Xu Chen sat up straighter. “Tonight I’m adding him on WeChat,” he said. “If I don’t, I’m a dog.” “By the way,” Xu Er asked, “how did you find out about Song Ruichi?” Xu Chen thought for a moment. “Forgot, probably saw him on Weibo. I thought the guy was pretty handsome,” he smiled, “got hooked instantly, then went all out on Song Ruichi across the internet.” “Oh, I remember now,” Xu Er said. “I guess a lot of people must have asked you who Song Ruichi is back then.” “Yeah, I got so tired of explaining I saved my answers and just sent them whenever someone asked.” Xu Er chuckled. “No wonder the reply was always the same,” he recalled. “About two years ago, right?” Xu Chen nodded. “About that.” They continued gaming, and after a while Xu Er said, “So, actually, I had the chance to meet Song Ruichi two years ago.” “Took you a while to get that out,” Xu Chen teased. “He’s pretty handsome,” Xu Er added, then continued, “He has a mole right where his chin meets his neck.” Xu Chen burst out laughing. Xu Er smiled back. “What’s so funny?” “Your way of thinking is different.” “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Xu Chen wasn’t new to hearing that from him, so no surprise. Xu Chen then asked, “How did you even see that mole?” “I…” Xu Er tried to remember, “I forgot, but it’s definitely there.” A game round ended, and Xu Er remarked again, “Song Ruichi is quite an interesting person.” “Oh?” Xu Chen smiled broadly. “How so?” “I don’t know how to say,” Xu Er laughed. “But being with him is pretty fun.” Xu Chen responded, “What kind of fun?” “Just fun. What else is there to fun?” Xu Chen seemed to ponder something. Just before the next game started, Xu Er chose ‘Confirm’, while Xu Chen hit ‘Cancel’. “Huh? Why?” Xu Er asked. Xu Chen let out a long “en” sound, then said, “Have you ever been around the LGBTQ+ community?” Xu Er burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” Xu Chen asked. “Why lately are there so many LGBTQ+ people?” Xu Chen repeated in surprise, “So many? Who? Who is LGBTQ+?” “Not that many,” Xu Er said, “Just one colleague, and I saw an exhibition recently that had some LGBTQ+ exhibits.” Xu Chen sighed in relief. “So?” “So what?” “So, Song Ruichi seems to be LGBTQ+, too.” This time, Xu Er was the one surprised. “Huh?”