Times of Our Lives - Chapter 39

Qi Fei finally graduated from being single just before his senior year. The most frequent thing he did every day was scroll through pictures of his girlfriend in their WeChat group.

 

Gu Meiyan, Qi Fei’s girlfriend, was a sophomore beauty. In Zhuo Xiaoyuan’s words, it was like a good cabbage being grabbed by a pig.

 

“Brother, it’s personal charm,” Qi Fei said with smugness that could be felt through the phone screen, “You mere mortals wouldn’t understand.”

 

Ji Qinyang teased him, “So, are you planning to be in a long-term relationship with this little beauty for four years?”

 

Qi Fei: “I’ve survived an eight-year war, so what’s four years!”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “I’ve survived the seven-year itch with Rou Rou, so what’s your situation compared to mine?”

 

Qi Fei: “Then post more photos, post more photos, post, post, post, post!”

 

Xie Meng discussed the issue of his internship recommendation letter with his professor. He wasn’t planning to pursue further studies and wanted to start working right after finishing his research project.

 

“There was originally a spot reserved for you,” the professor said regretfully, “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

 

Xie Meng: “I think the motto of Renmin University suits me better than securing a spot for further studies.”

 

The professor was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, “Pragmatic, I see… that’s fine too.” He patted Xie Meng on the shoulder, “Do your best, young man.”

 

As soon as Xie Meng left the office, he received a call from Zhang Ganggang, whose voice sounded very downcast: “I’ve decided not to like Qi Mama anymore…”

 

Xie Meng choked a bit and could only comfort him helplessly: “Of course Qi Fei is happy with his girlfriend. Don’t you have Rou Rou?”

 

“Don’t mention Rou Rou,” Zhang Ganggang said gloomily, “She doesn’t want to see me.”

 

Xie Meng frowned: “What’s going on?”

 

After a while, Zhang Ganggang said: “I’m off work soon. Let’s go out for drinks!”

 

Since last month, Zhang Ganggang had been interning at Xinhua News Agency. Xie Meng didn’t ask for details; he was busy at the bank, starting with basic counter duties and having to wait for the vault car to open before 7 a.m.

 

Ji Qinyang’s band was gradually getting on track, with sizable concerts every month. Many entertainment companies wanted to sign them, but Ji Qinyang was ambitious and wanted to run his own music studio.

 

“Yi Mei is really amazing,” Zhang Ganggang sighed.

 

He and Xie Meng met at a simple restaurant in Wudaokou, ordered two bottles of beer. There were many foreigners around, speaking various languages. Han Dong once joked, “Wudaokou is like a United Nations, the center of the world. Beijing is so magical, it’s as if you never belong here but also always do.”

 

Xie Meng took a sip of his beer. The performance during his bank internship was crucial. He wanted to stay on for a permanent position, but he was so busy he barely had time for Ji Qinyang.

 

Zhang Ganggang sighed again and mumbled, “I didn’t want to study before, but now I think studying is better.”

 

Xie Meng laughed: “Why’s that?”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “I really want to go back to high school and do math problems.”

 

Xie Meng almost spat out his drink.

 

“Working is so exhausting,” Zhang Ganggang said gloomily, “Rou Rou won’t meet me until she graduates. I don’t know what she’s thinking.”

 

Xie Meng wiped his mouth: “What about Han Dong? Have you asked him?”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “Isn’t he busy too? He joined a mobile company? He could inherit the family business but refuses to go back to Suzhou. He’s also a weird guy.”

 

Xie Meng didn’t know what to say, so he just patted Zhang Ganggang’s shoulder encouragingly.

 

“Enough about me,” Zhang Ganggang opened another bottle of beer, “How about you? How’s your bank internship going?”

 

Xie Meng: “Next month, I’ll rotate to the gold internship, focusing on loans.”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “Oh, oh, it’d be great if you could stay, but you should be fine.”

 

Xie Meng shook his head: “Not necessarily. Running around properties, negotiating with developers, drinking and socializing.” He laughed: “It’s also a busy schedule.”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “Are you still living with Yi Mei?”

 

“Yes,” Xie Meng paused his chopsticks, looked at Zhang Ganggang’s face and suddenly said, “We’ve been together for a long time.”

 

“??” Zhang Ganggang was confused: “I know, didn’t you move out together before sophomore year? By the way, he earns more, how do you split the rent?”

 

Xie Meng felt a sense of helplessness, not knowing how to explain. He could only clarify again: “When I say we’ve been together for a long time, I mean it literally. We’re a couple.”

 

“What?!” During rush hour near the roadside, with many noisy vehicles outside, Zhang Ganggang didn’t hear clearly and asked again: “What couple?!”

 

Xie Meng took a deep breath, leaned close to Zhang Ganggang’s ear, and shouted, “Ji Qinyang and I are a couple! We’ve been together for almost seven years!”

 

All the foreigners around went silent, watching the two of them. Zhang Ganggang stared with his mouth agape.

 

Xie Meng, calm after finishing his drink, shrugged: “Anyway, they don’t understand… Do you get it now?”

 

Zhang Ganggang spent the next while processing the shock of “Xie Meng and Ji Qinyang are a couple.” He asked many questions, and Xie Meng didn’t hide anything.

 

“So, Han Da Ye knows too?” Zhang Ganggang asked finally.

 

Xie Meng, holding his beer bottle, nodded.

 

“……” Zhang Ganggang, despondent, muttered to himself while grabbing his hair: “How could I be so stupid…”

 

Xie Meng, both amused and exasperated, said: “You’re not stupid, just a bit slow.”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “……Who else knows?”

 

Xie Meng thought for a moment: “I mentioned it to you before, the director Xiong Baobao should also know.”

 

“Oh…” Zhang Ganggang recalled, “Half a colleague.”

 

**Xie Meng:** “What do you mean by ‘half a colleague’? Different fields are like different mountains.” He pulled up Xiong Baobao’s Weibo and found that recently he’d been interning on a film set. The latest selfie showed him dressed like a construction worker with ladders all around.

 

Zhang Ganggang sighed, “Being a director is quite tough…”

 

“Everything’s tough nowadays.” Xie Meng found Zhuo Xiaoyuan’s WeChat album, full of photos from impoverished rural areas. Zhuo Xiaoyuan rarely appeared in the photos; most were of smiling children.

 

Zhang Ganggang leaned in to look at the photos with him, and both fell into silence.

 

“It feels like everyone’s changed,” Zhang Ganggang squinted, “What’s that saying again, time is a butcher’s knife?”

 

Xie Meng smiled slightly, “Change is always good. The future is moving forward, we’re changing, and there’s nothing wrong with cherishing the present.”

 

Zhang Ganggang was quiet for a moment before sighing, “I applied for an overseas assignment. If I stay on after the internship, I might become a war correspondent.”

 

Xie Meng’s hand holding the beer bottle froze mid-air, his expression stunned as if he’d been hit with a blunt instrument: “What did you just say you’re going to do?”

 

“A war correspondent,” Zhang Ganggang said slowly, “So, if I can’t see Rou Rou again, I might never see her.”

 

May in Beijing is a great time for tourism, with flowers to see and breezes to enjoy. The subway was twice as crowded at night. Zhang Ganggang stood steady against the train, his profile reflecting in the window, lost in thought.

 

When his phone rang, Zhang Ganggang took a while to respond. When he answered, it turned out to be Han Dong.

 

“I heard from Xie Meng that you want to become a war correspondent?” Han Dong cut to the chase, coldly asking, “Have you lost your mind?”

 

Zhang Ganggang was stunned. He was already upset about Rou Rou and, having been drinking, his emotions flared up: “Why do you care where I go? Do I need your permission for everything?”

 

Han Dong’s voice sounded calm despite the surrounding noise, as if he were outside: “You can’t just go off to such dangerous places without considering how others feel. What about Rou Rou?!”

 

Mentioning Rou Rou made Zhang Ganggang go quiet. He looked at his reflection in the train window and finally said, “Han Dong, tell me, what’s your relationship with Rou Rou?”

 

Han Dong was taken aback, “What relationship?”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “From high school to college, most of my interactions with her were through you. Whatever she does, whatever she thinks, you’re the one who tells me. Why do you know so much, and why won’t you let me see her?”

 

Han Dong: “…”

 

“Is she your girlfriend?” Zhang Ganggang’s voice trembled, “Or do you also like her…?”

 

“No!” Han Dong interrupted sharply. He was panting, repeating, “It’s not what you think.”

 

“Then what is it?!” Zhang Ganggang shouted. Many people in the subway looked at him, but he didn’t care. His emotions felt like they were boiling over: “Tell me, what do you all want to do?”

 

The subway announcement called out the station name. Zhang Ganggang walked out with the crowd, and Han Dong’s voice seemed to come from far away.

 

Han Dong: “There’s no Rou Rou.”

 

Zhang Ganggang: “What do you mean?”

 

“No Rou Rou,” Han Dong said softly, “There’s no such person. Do you understand?”

 

At the vocal training room of the Central Conservatory of Music, where people were still around late at night, Ji Qinyang was discussing a few rhythmic points of the chorus with Wen Tao. The phone on the side vibrated. Qian Mo saw the caller ID as “Xie Meng,” with a screensaver of two boys in the snow.

 

Qi Fei was strolling with Gu Meiyan behind the Sumen gate in Suzhou; Zhuo Xiaoyuan was sitting in a mud-enclosed yard, with the owner, an elderly woman, insisting on giving him two steamed buns.

 

Zhang Ganggang listened to Han Dong’s voice in his ear.

 

“There’s no Rou Rou in this world.”

 

“…”

 

“There’s no Rou Rou, only me.”

 

“…”

 

“I am Rou Rou.”

 

Ji Qinyang discovered Xie Meng’s call only half an hour later. When he called back, Xie Meng answered quickly.

 

“I was busy earlier,” Ji Qinyang said with a low laugh, “Have you gone home?”

 

Xie Meng: “I figured you were busy. I haven’t gone home. I brought you some late-night snacks.”

 

“Hold on.” Ji Qinyang walked to the window and saw Xie Meng downstairs, who raised his hand with the bag.

 

Wen Tao and the others, who were hungry, warmly welcomed Xie Meng when he arrived. Only Qian Mo sat nearby with a somewhat amused expression.

 

“Mo Mo, loves beauty,” Bing Gan said cheerfully, “Not eating dinner at night, dieting.”

 

Qian Mo shot him a glance.

 

Seeing that everyone was eating, Ji Qinyang didn’t plan to stay: “I’m leaving first.”

 

Wen Tao nodded while eating. Qian Mo stopped him: “Is the chorus done? Don’t you want to hear me sing it?”

 

“No need,” Ji Qinyang said indifferently, “Wen Tao can sing the same.”

 

Wen Tao quickly swallowed his food: “Leave it to me, leave it to me!”

 

Qian Mo: “…”

 

At the school gate, Xie Meng’s pants were a bit disheveled. Ji Qinyang crouched down to fix them. Xie Meng looked down and suddenly asked, “What’s up with Qian Mo?”

 

Ji Qinyang turned his face, raising his eyebrows: “How long has it taken you to notice?”

 

Xie Meng shook his foot: “You think it’s my fault for noticing late?”

 

Ji Qinyang smiled, clearly in a good mood. He hummed a tune while hugging Xie Meng: “It’s rare to see you jealous. I’m very happy, but who is Qian Mo? I’m not familiar with him.”

 

Xie Meng stared at him, saying nothing, then suddenly raised his hand to slap Ji Qinyang. Ji Qinyang dodged the vital spot and tried to grab him, but Xie Meng caught his wrist and twisted it slightly.

 

“Your skills have declined,” Xie Meng touched Ji Qinyang’s face, “If you cheat, I’ll deal with you.”

 

Ji Qinyang laughed so widely his mouth almost couldn’t close, hugging Xie Meng and kissing him several times.

 

After that call, Han Dong completely lost contact with Zhang Ganggang. It was as if Zhang Ganggang was deliberately avoiding him: he left the WeChat group, blocked all calls, and vanished completely. Han Dong went to his workplace and the school, but found nothing.

 

When Xie Meng saw Han Dong, who had come looking exhausted, he couldn’t bring himself to turn him away.

 

“Didn’t you check your email?” Xie Meng opened his commonly used email. Zhang Ganggang had sent him an email a week ago. The content was brief, explaining some family matters, and at the end, there was a photo of an internal transfer and deployment form with mosaics.

 

Han Dong read it several times, his eyes reddening when he closed the email.

 

“I’ll go back and check,” he wiped his face, keeping his head down, “Thank you.”

 

Xie Meng sighed, “You can check it here.”

 

Han Dong hesitated but couldn’t control himself from logging into his email. Sure enough, there was an unread email from Zhang Ganggang. He took a deep breath and nervously opened it.

 

At the top were photos taken by Zhang Ganggang. He had uploaded all the photos related to Han Dong from over the years—there were at least a hundred or so, and he didn’t know how long they had been uploaded.

 

Below these photos was a line of text from Zhang Ganggang:

 

“True love is a tragedy, must end with death.”