Chapter 30

Liang Shenghan and Xiao Pang were going out to play games. As soon as they opened the door, they saw a handsome figure in the corridor walking over with a duffle bag. From the backlighting, they couldn’t tell who it was. After that person stepped out of the area, they both immediately stared wide-eyed. Xiao Pang shouted: “Qin Weihang?!”

Liang Shenghan looked up and down at Qin Weihang: “You are…”

Qin Weihang shook the key in his hand and said: “I’m moving back here to live.”

A hint of surprise immediately flashed in Xiao Pang’s eyes. In the end, he deliberately looked at Qin Weihang with regret and said: “Oh man, the counselor is too annoying…”

Qin Weihang made a “mhm” sound and opened the door.

Liang Shenghan said: “Hey, we’re going to the Internet café. You want to go, too?”

Qin Weihang propped the tip of his right foot against the door and pulled out the key: “No, I’ll be resting for a bit.”

He closed the door behind him, and the voices in the corridor could still be heard clearly. He knew that the soundproofing of the dormitory could not be counted on.

The room in front of him was as clean as he thought. He walked to his bed, put down his duffle bag, and took off his backpack. The backpack could still be placed directly on the table without any problem.

He raised his hand and stroked the tabletop, then lifted his hand and looked at his fingertips. He muttered: “It really wasn’t necessary…”

He pulled out the chair from under the desk and sat down, not knowing what to do for a moment. He turned and stared at the opposite desk and bed in a daze. He habitually stretched his legs out and directly touched the other’s chair legs without fully straightening them. He breathed out and said: “It’s too narrow.”

An Ning didn’t get off of work and returned to the dorm until 10:30. In the hallway, he suddenly saw light coming from behind his room. He was still not used to it. He stood in front of the door and stopped for a moment. When he thought that Qin Weihang was really inside, he felt strange. When he opened the door before, it would be a dark and empty room, and he would be the only one in there. Now, when he opens the door, Qin Weihang would be inside.

He took out the key and opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Qin Weihang sitting in front of the desk, wearing a loose oversize black T-shirt and a pair of side-striped sweatpants of the same color. He was holding one leg and his slender and wide back was hunched over while looking at the laptop on the desk. The scene made An Ning distracted.

Then, the light suddenly went out.

The room abruptly darkened, and only the light from the laptop was shining on Qin Weihang. Qin Weihang looked up in surprise. An Ning explained: “The lights in the dormitory will be turned off at 11 p.m.” As he said this, he walked to his desk and turned on the lamp to the brightest setting.

The light of the desk lamp was a warm yellow, and Qin Weihang seems to be covered in a warm yellow filter, leaving only yellow and black on his body. It made that heavenly face even sharper. An Ning turned around and took off his backpack somewhat cautiously.

Qin Weihang asked: “You were working at the restaurant today, right?”

An Ning nodded, feeling that Qin Weihang’s voice was behind him, speaking to his back. It was really close, he thought.

Turning around, he saw that Qin Weihang had put down the leg he was holding. He was sitting sideways on the chair with his long legs tucked in and looking at him. It made An Ning panic, so he tried to find something to say, asking: “Have you taken a bath? There will be no hot water by 12 a.m.”

Qin Weihang nodded.

An Ning walked to the balcony to fetch water to brush his teeth. Qin Weihang stood up at this moment and walked to the balcony. The balcony was originally small, so when Qin Weihang stood behind him, An Ning could sense the tall presence from behind. He almost squeezed the toothpaste onto the balcony floor.

When Qin Weihang lowered his head, he could smell the scent coming from the other person; a scent of someone who was working in a fast-food restaurant—it was the smell of fried food. He actually didn’t doubt An Ning anymore, but he didn’t know why he was sniffing him like this. As a result, he smelled a delicious fried little frog.

An Ning stepped sideways and said: “Do you want to use the sink?”

“I don’t need to use it,” Qin Weihang said, “Can’t we chat?” I have been in this room all by myself today.

An Ning nodded and said: “I’ll chat with you after I finish washing up!” Then he rushed to brush his teeth. He swore that this was the fastest he had ever brushed his teeth.

Qin Weihang walked to his side. He was using an electric toothbrush and didn’t even bring a cup. He turned on the faucet and got some water on the toothbrush, then squeezed the toothpaste. Qin Weihang squeezed the toothpaste very deeply, squeezing it directly onto the toothbrush. Then he put the toothbrush in his mouth.

An Ning watched him brush his teeth slowly and with little movements. He couldn’t help asking: “Can it be brushed clean this way?” After saying that, he regretted not being able to hold it in. He was actually a little curious, but it sounded more like he was finding fault.

Qin Weihang held the toothbrush in his hand and said, “Huh?” He brushed for a while, then took out the toothbrush and turned on the faucet. An Ning watched him bend down and drank a big sip of water at the water outlet. Before, it was only him in the dorm, so he didn’t feel it when he was brushing his teeth and washing his face. Now that Qin Weihang was here, he suddenly felt that the balcony was actually very narrow and the sink was short and small. Qin Weihang was bending over, his black-clothed back showing a type of aggressive handsomeness that dominated the room.

The water flowed down Qin Weihang’s chin to his neck. Qin Weihang got up and spat the water out. When washing his toothbrush, An Ning saw the water flow directly along the wide collar of Qin Weihang’s T-shirt and down into his chest. Qin Weihang wiped his mouth and neck with a towel, then said: “Why don’t you check to see if I brushed it cleanly or not?”

An Ning saw that he was really getting ready to open his mouth for him to check, and said hurriedly: “No need, no need! Your teeth are very white, I know!”

Qin Weihang smiled and put back the electric toothbrush. Then he said: “How do you know that my teeth are very white?”

“You can see it when you laugh.”

Qin Weihang was taken aback for a moment, then said: “Really?”

An Ning didn’t understand why Qin Weihang seemed to suddenly become friendly again. When he smiled, it no longer had that sense of gloating or contempt, but…his teeth were really white and very nice.

An Ning went into the bathroom and took a quick shower. When he came out, he found that Qin Weihang was still looking at his laptop. He thought he was catching up on his homework. After all, it was halfway through the semester and Qin Weihang hadn’t attended several classes. An Ning was really worried that he would fail the courses.

However, he didn’t expect Qin Weihang to be watching an American TV show instead!

Uh…well, there were still two months before the end of the term. He probably wasn’t worried yet.

They originally agreed to chat, but Qin Weihang was now watching an American TV series. He didn’t want to disturb him, so he intended to go to bed first.

At this time, Qin Weihang’s voice came from behind: “You can just turn off the lamp if you are going to sleep.”

An Ning was about to get on the bed and said: “It’s okay. It’s not good for your eyes to look at your laptop and phone in the dark, so I’ll just leave the lamp on. It won’t bother me!”

Qin Weihang pulled off his earphones and turned his head. He frowned while asking: “What did you say?”

It turned out that he was wearing earphones, so An Ning repeated it again. Qin Weihang smiled, then turned back and said: “You really care about your classmates.”

An Ning couldn’t pinpoint the tone behind Qin Weihang’s words. He looked at Qin Weihang’s back, somewhat troubled. Qin Weihang seemed to sense it. He turned around and asked: “What’s wrong?”

An Ning contemplated over it and felt that Qin Weihang’s attitude had indeed softened. He was still a little glad inside, so he just said: “Nothing. What are you watching?”

Qin Weihang pushed the MacBook a bit to the side and said: “Doctor Who.”

An Ning immediately became interested: “Is it the show that writes about Van Gogh traveling to the present?”

[*TN: It’s an episode in the 5th series. The characters brought Van Gogh to the future to make him realize his legacy.]

Qin Weihang nodded, pulled off an earphone and handed it over. An Ning was confused but decided to just take it. He then turned back to pull his stool and sat down next to Qin Weihang. He put on the warm earphone and asked Qin Weihang: “What part are you on?”

Qin Weihang said: “If you want to see Van Gogh, then we can start with the Van Gogh episode.”

An Ning nodded and said yes. He propped both his hands in front of the stool, leaning very close to watch. Qin Weihang exited the screen and re-selected the episode. Then he glanced sideways at the person next to him and pulled the MacBook a bit closer.

Seeing the scene of Van Gogh’s arrival in the modern times and seeing his own work in the exhibition, An Ning couldn’t help but tear up. It was just a TV show, but An Ning tried hard to not let the tears fall. Qin Weihang saw but didn’t say anything. An Ning still couldn’t help but choke up, and then pretended to clear his throat.

After they finished watching it, Qin Weihang said calmly : “It’s very touching.”

An Ning nodded silently beside him.

Qin Weihang said: “When I watched it for the first time, I also cried.”

An Ning looked at Qin Weihang with an “Ah?” It was a little unbelievable. He wondered what this person looked like when he cried. It was hard to imagine a cool guy crying.

Qin Weihang turned his head to look at him and said: “So I was thinking that you will definitely cry. Sorry about that,” he said.

An Ning was surprised: “Why are you sorry?”

Qin Weihang said: “I made you cry.”

An Ning didn’t know how to react: “It’s the director and screenwriter that made me cry.”

Qin Weihang didn’t say anything, glanced at the time on the screen, then stood up: “It’s late, let’s go to bed.”

They turned off the lamp and both went to bed at the same time. An Ning was thinking, even he found the bed not spacious enough for him to turn over, hence Qin Weihang would be even more so. Thus, he asked: “Qin Weihang, you’re not used to sleeping on this bed, right?”

“I’ll get used to it.” Qin Weihang said.

His tone returned to that chill kind of calmness. Moreover, there was a reassuring force in the middle of the night, like an ancient bell. It was especially comfortable.

An Ning couldn’t help asking: “Why did you move back?”

Qin Weihang didn’t answer. An Ning waited for a while, then propped himself up. He vaguely saw Qin Weihang’s back in the dark, and quietly lay back down without disturbing him.

It was quiet for a long time, but Qin Weihang never fell asleep. Since he was born, this was the first time he had shared a room with someone else. Moreover, with the size of this room, it was close enough to hear each other’s breathing. He wanted to move a little farther away from the other’s breathing sound, but the bed was pressed against the wall. When he turned over, he could only face the cold wall, as if his whole body was being bound.

It was as if there was an unfamiliar animal staying with him in the room; a herbivorous animal. Like his name*, it was harmless to humans and animals. He was a person who could calmly sleep with wolves all night. Unexpectedly, it was because of such a harmless herbivore that Qin Weihang suffered from insomnia.

[*TN: Fyi, An Ning’s name means peaceful, tranquil, calm, etc.]

He opened his eyes in the darkness, turned his head and glanced from across his shoulder. He immediately saw the wall on the opposite side, the low ceiling, and the moonlight spreading over the other’s bed. So close. He silently turned his head, pulled the quilt over his shoulders, and then closed his eyes.