Since it wasn't authentic Italian pasta, Qiu Yun had already been somewhat disappointed. As the meal progressed, the atmosphere and the topic of conversation shifted, leaving her even less interested. Or rather, it wasn't just a lack of interest; she felt a prickle of irritability. She unzipped her jacket, leaned back against her seat, and watched the performers on stage.
A girl with a thick braid was singing: "The songs I sing, you know them too; a kindred soul is more fragrant than flowers; I play the guitar, who will sing along..."
Qiu Yun couldn't really get into it. She glanced around and saw that many people were actually enjoying it quite a bit.
*There really is a generation gap,* she thought to herself.
Liang He noticed that Qiu Yun was getting restless and asked if she was full. She said she was. He asked if she wanted anything else; she said no. He asked if she wanted to listen a bit longer; she said it didn't matter. Liang He seemed a bit at a loss. He studied her expression carefully and made a decisive call: "How about we head back?"
Qiu Yun stood up immediately and headed for the main entrance.
Liang He paid the bill and hurried after her. From behind them, Li Tao’s voice drifted over as he saw them off: "Come back again soon!"
It was early April, and the weather was no longer cold. Qiu Yun was wearing a thin sweater with a jacket over it. Perhaps the aftereffects of the red wine were kicking in, but she felt a bit hot, and her face was slightly flushed. She decided to carry her jacket in her hand. After walking several paces, she heard someone call her name. "Qiu Xiaoyun, where are you going?"
She snapped back to her senses and saw Liang He standing under the bicycle shed. A beam from a streetlamp cast a flickering light from the right.
She walked over and said, "I forgot I didn't ride my bike here."
Liang He teased her, "It’s not your own bike, after all."
"Then whose bike is it?" she asked, looking up.
"I think it belongs to Old Zhang," he said, pushing the bicycle toward her. "Ever since his leg was injured, it’s been parked downstairs for everyone to use as a communal bike."
"So other people have ridden it too?"
"Other people?"
"Did... did Teacher Lu ride it?" Qiu Yun asked suddenly.
"You mean Lu Xialan?"
"Yes."
"This..." Liang He was as confused as a monk scratching his head. "I don't know... maybe she has..."
Before he could finish, Qiu Yun said, "She has. I remember once she came to see you, and she was riding a black men's bicycle."
Liang He was a bit dazed.
Qiu Yun abandoned the bicycle. "I ate too much. I'm walking back."
Liang He was even more bewildered. He grabbed her arm. "This... you... it's so far. How can you walk back?"
Qiu Yun turned her head, stretched her limbs, and used the momentum to shake off Liang He's hand. "I'll take Route 11—my own two legs."
Liang He felt a headache coming on. "Stop joking around."
Qiu Yun started walking. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Then what about this bike? I can't exactly ride two at once."
Qiu Yun didn't care. "It's not mine anyway, and I wasn't the one who borrowed it."
Indeed, she didn't want to care. Her mind was a bit frazzled and messy, as if she had hit menopause early; it was best if no one provoked her. Moreover, the thought that she had arrived sitting on a bicycle Lu Xialan had once used—even if it wasn't Lu Xialan's, just one she had ridden—made her backside feel more opinionated than her brain. She felt like finding a tree trunk to scrub her rear against until she wore a hole in her pants.
She walked forward with her head down when she suddenly heard the ring of a bicycle bell behind her.
Qiu Yun glanced out of the corner of her eye. Someone had stopped beside her.
"Get on," he said.
Qiu Yun turned slowly, looking him up and down with a question mark in her eyes.
"Get on," he repeated.
"Where?" Qiu Yun asked.
Liang He gestured to the crossbar at the front of the bicycle.
Qiu Yun's heart began to race for no reason. "Here?"
Liang He’s Adam’s apple bobbed. "Yes."
Qiu Yun lowered her head, her face burning. She took a deep breath, her eyes shimmering in the night. "Oh."
She felt inexplicably happy, wanting to laugh out loud, but she bit her lip hard and slowly sat down on the crossbar.
It was a bit cold and hard against her, but it also felt very warm.
At that moment, she remembered the scene earlier that evening when Liang He had first wheeled the bike out. She had fantasized about this very scenario then. Now that it was actually happening, she subconsciously wondered: *Is this fate?*
She didn't dare move, sitting upright and stiff. Her previous stubbornness and bravado had vanished completely. Liang He’s arms were wrapped around her as he held the handlebars, his low voice carried to her by the wind: "Here we go."
She replied, "Mm."
They moved.
The bicycle set off. She lightly gripped the center of the handlebars. The night wind rushed against her face, carrying an unknown floral scent.
It truly was a night intoxicated by the spring breeze.
"Teacher Liang," Qiu Yun grinned secretly, "does this count as drunk driving?"
"...It seems so."
"You know," Qiu Yun said, "in my era, drunk driving is very serious. It's against the law."
"Your era?"
"Yeah..." Qiu Yun said, half-joking and half-serious. "There's a generation gap every three years. If you calculate it, we haven't been of the same generation for a long time."
"I drank some wine, and my head is a bit dizzy. I can't do the math," Liang He couldn't help but chuckle.
"It seems your tolerance isn't very good."
"True. And red wine has a strong kick."
"And you even drank a lot of mine."
"What, are you scared? My riding is fairly steady, isn't it?"
"It's alright—third best in the world. Do you... often carry people like this?"
"No," Liang He said quickly. "...This is the first time. If we fall, we fall together."
"Hahaha..." Qiu Yun laughed. "I'll tell you a secret: I can actually feel it."
"Feel what?" Liang He was startled.
"Many things..." Qiu Yun said playfully.
"...What things?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"...Fine, don't tell me then."
"Haha, I can feel that your carrying skills aren't great. The front wheel is wobbling a bit. Look how tight I'm gripping the bars; I'm practically crushing the steel with my bare hands," Qiu Yun laughed loudly.
Liang He laughed too. Before Qiu Yun had spoken, he had actually felt a flicker of nervousness. Fortunately, she was only joking. He was afraid of what she might say, yet a part of him was unconsciously expectant.
"Watch out, there's a downhill stretch ahead." Liang He gripped the handles tight, his fingers on the brakes.
The two of them coasted down the slope. Liang He controlled the speed well. Qiu Yun felt her bangs had turned into "air bangs" because they were floating and dancing freely in the air. It was a bit thrilling, but her heart wasn't racing quite enough yet. Facing the wind, she couldn't help but say, "Go faster."
"Faster?"
"Yes!"
Liang He released the brakes a little.
"Faster still."
"Even faster!"
"Haha..." Qiu Yun gripped the handlebars tightly as the scenery on both sides blurred into black shadows rushing past. She could hear her own heart thumping in her ears. The words that had been lurking in her heart for a long time finally bypassed her brain and jumped out:
"Teacher Liang, don't be with Lu Xialan!"
The wind whistled past.
Liang He seemed not to have heard clearly. "What?"
Qiu Yun was a bit tipsy. She simply let go of the handlebars, cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, and shouted toward the front:
"I said—Teacher Liang—don't be with Lu Xialan!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the bicycle suddenly screeched to a halt, and the two of them tumbled off together.
Fortunately, they landed on a patch of soft lawn.
The bicycle lay on its side while the two of them sprawled out on the grass like the character for "big." Liang He, still shaken, turned to look at Qiu Yun. She was lying beside him, staring at the sky and breathing heavily.
Liang He asked her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Qiu Yun said, "I'm fine."
Liang He asked again, "What did you just say?"
Qiu Yun smiled and turned her head. Her eyes seemed to be steeped in years of fine wine; as her eyes crinkled, the fragrance of that aged vintage seemed to spill out. Liang He thought: *Did I drink today? Oh, yes, I had a little. Otherwise, why do I feel a bit drunk?*
But Qiu Yun said, "Teacher Liang, look at the sky today. So many stars." She stretched out her arm and pointed at the sky. "With weather like this, tomorrow will definitely be a beautiful sunny day."
Liang He looked up instinctively. The moonlight was as clear as if it had been washed, and the deep blue sky was dotted with countless stars. It was indeed a beautiful night. But his mind wasn't on the scenery. He asked again, "What did you just say?"
"What's what?" Qiu Yun tilted her head, her hair rustling against the grass.
"I mean just now, before we stopped. What did you say?"
"I'm drunk."
"Not that sentence."
"Haha," Qiu Yun giggled. "Of course not. You were startled by me, which is why we both went flying."
"Your tolerance really is poor."
"Are you drunk?"
"...I don't know."
"Haha, you're drunk," Qiu Yun laughed again, her eyes sparkling in the dark. "Since you're drunk, I'll tell you—I said, don't be with Lu Xialan."
Liang He stared fixedly at Qiu Yun and asked, "Why?"
"She will make you sad."
"Just because of that?"
"Yes, you will be very, very sad..."
"How do you know?"
"I just know..." Qiu Yun made a "shh" gesture. "I know a lot of things."
"What else?"
"Haha, I can't tell you," Qiu Yun turned back to the sky and said mysteriously, "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."
"You're drunk."
"Haha... no... well, maybe."
"You shouldn't drink in the future." Liang He looked at her. "Come on, let me pull you up." Liang He stood up and reached out his right hand to her. "The ground is cold. Don't catch a cold."
"Where are we going?"
"Back to school, of course."
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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11路 | Route 11 | A Chinese slang term for walking (using one's two legs, which look like the number 11).
横梁 | Crossbar | The horizontal bar on a traditional diamond-frame bicycle.
空气刘海 | Air bangs | A modern hairstyle involving thin, wispy bangs.
天机不可泄露 | Heaven's secrets must not be revealed | A common idiom meaning some things are destined and cannot be spoken of prematurely.
