That very night, Wang Xiaohu stormed down the mountain in a rage. He had once been the one in charge here, with a private room all to himself, unlike the other workers crammed into a shared dorm. Inside that room, there was a wooden table and a simple single bed. Qin Weidong tossed out the bedding Wang Xiaohu had used, laid his own jacket over the bare boards, and told Fang Li to sleep there.
Fang Li couldn’t hold back his tears. He had cared for that rabbit for days and had just begun to feel attached, only for it to be skinned, butchered, and roasted. But it wasn’t just the rabbit. It was also the diagnosis from the hospital, and everything else that had happened lately. So many things weighed on him, like invisible, heavy mountains pressing down on his chest.
Qin Weidong lay on the outer side of the bed. He could hear Fang Li softly sobbing, his breathing rising and falling with quiet cries.
He opened his eyes and looked down at Fang Li. Tear tracks clung to his cheeks. Qin Weidong moved his lips, but didn’t know what to say to comfort him. He had always been emotionally reserved, naturally indifferent to such things.
As Fang Li’s sobs continued to choke him, Qin Weidong finally spoke: “It’s just a rabbit…”
It didn’t help at all.
“Just go to sleep. Don’t talk to me!”
Fang Li punched him, then turned his back and continued crying. He hadn’t expected Qin Weidong to comfort him anyway. That man had always been cold-blooded, ever since he was a kid—he simply couldn’t understand.
Outside, rain began to fall in the night. Raindrops beat against the tin roof with a relentless patter. Qin Weidong lay there thinking about Fang Li’s illness, about the thirty thousand yuan they’d need for surgery. No—he had to take him to the city, to the provincial capital, where the medical care was better. That meant at least fifty thousand. And now that he had taken over from Wang Xiaohu, there were things at the mine that needed organizing, starting with the electricity issue…
His thoughts spun in his mind, circling endlessly. By the time he’d sorted some of it out, it was already deep into the night. He hadn’t expected Fang Li to still be crying, though now the sobs were quieter—he was probably worn out.
Qin Weidong frowned slightly. Even after being together for so long, he still hadn’t figured out how to stop Fang Li’s tears.
“Don’t cry anymore… The doctor said this afternoon you can’t get too emotional…”
Fang Li ignored him. “We’re doing the surgery anyway… Just leave me alone. Go to sleep…”
But how could Qin Weidong sleep, hearing him cry like that? It was already past 1 a.m., and he was starting to worry that staying up like this would hurt Fang Li’s heart.
“Stop crying. I’ll go catch you another rabbit tomorrow.”
“There’s no way it’s that easy to catch one…”
“Then I’ll go buy one tomorrow?”
Fang Li sniffled. “No need. Coming down the mountain is such a hassle…”
You had to take a bus, too.
Qin Weidong was out of ideas. He reached out to wipe away Fang Li’s tears, gently trailing his lips and tongue over the damp streaks. Fang Li, realizing how late it was, wiped his face with one hand. “I’m fine now… It’s really late. You should get some sleep. You’ve got a lot to take care of tomorrow, now that you’re in charge… I’ll be okay soon.”
When Fang Li turned over and the crying truly stopped, Qin Weidong hesitated, then asked: “You liked that rabbit that much?”
Fang Li nodded, then shook his head. “It wasn’t just the rabbit…”
Before he could finish, Qin Weidong threw off the blanket and got up. This time, there was no hesitation. He stripped off the tank top he was wearing, grabbed the shirt draped over the table and put it back on, shook the dust off his work boots, and stepped into them.
Fang Li looked at him in shock. “What are you doing? It’s so late—where are you going?”
“To catch a rabbit. Wait here.”
With that, Qin Weidong grabbed his jacket and the flashlight from the wall and headed out.
Fang Li sat there stunned. Once he snapped out of it, he got up and shouted after him, “Hey! Hey! What rabbit?! It’s raining out! Come back!”
But the door had already shut.
“Damn it,” Fang Li cursed. “He always hears half the conversation!”
He rolled off the bed. The chill of the night hit him the second he left the blankets, making him shiver. He quickly threw on some clothes and shoes and went out looking for Qin Weidong.
The rain in the mountains was heavy, the drops falling thick and fast like beads on a string. All around him, he could only hear the pounding of water on leaves and the metal rooftops. Qin Weidong had taken the only flashlight, and with the rain pouring down like that, Fang Li could barely see a thing. Carrying a cardboard box, he wandered around nearby calling Qin Weidong’s name, but couldn’t find him. No one responded, no matter how loudly he shouted. Frustrated, he cursed Qin Weidong out in his head and went back to the room to wait.
He didn’t know how many hours passed. He was anxious and exhausted, resting his head on the table, when suddenly—a loud whoosh—the door blew open and the wind swept in along with the rain.
Fang Li bolted upright.
Qin Weidong stood there, soaked to the bone. His black hair hung down over his forehead, water dripping steadily down his neck.
“What the hell is wrong with you, going out to catch a rabbit in the middle of the night? You scared me half to death!”
Fang Li began scolding the moment he opened his mouth. Qin Weidong had spent nearly the entire night trekking through the mountain just for a rabbit, soaking wet and bewildered as Fang Li tore into him. He looked up at Fang Li, only to be met with an angry glare.
“Didn’t you want one?”
Fang Li choked on his breath, furious. He stomped over and kicked Qin Weidong. “Just because I said that, you go catch one? Do you take my words as some kind of royal decree?!”
Fang Li never held back when he kicked, and it hurt. Qin Weidong was pissed now too. “Like hell I take your words that seriously—!”
Still fuming, Fang Li kicked him again. “Say one more word!”
Qin Weidong gritted his teeth. Seeing Fang Li about to kick him again, he warned, “Try kicking me again…”
Without hesitation, Fang Li landed another solid kick. “It was pouring out there, and the mountain’s dangerous—you scared the hell out of me, do you even realize that?!”
Fang Li was beside himself with worry and landed a fourth kick squarely on Qin Weidong. That was it—Qin Weidong snapped. He grabbed Fang Li by the arm, pulled him in, and scooped him up in one motion. Fang Li got soaked from Qin Weidong’s drenched body and shouted in protest, only to be tossed onto the bed.
“Qin Weidong—!”
Qin Weidong held him down with one hand and, with the other, pulled a soaking wet, yellow-and-brown patterned bunny from inside his jacket. He tossed it into Fang Li’s arms. “I got it for you. It’s not exactly the same, but with all the rain, this was the best I could catch.”
Fang Li looked at the startled little rabbit, then up at Qin Weidong. At last, he seemed to understand why it had taken him so long to come back.
“You…”
But Qin Weidong was still fuming from the earlier kicks. He turned around and walked off, yanked a towel from the door, and began wiping the rain off his head and body. Then he took off his shoes and knocked off the thick layer of mud clinging to them on the doorstep.
Fang Li cradled the little rabbit in his arms. It was still very young, shivering as it curled up against him. With the rain pouring so hard, all the wild rabbits must have retreated to their burrows. Who knew how long Qin Weidong had spent wandering the mountain in the middle of the night, just to find this tiny, hidden nest and bring back one that looked closest to the original?
Qin Weidong gave himself a quick wipe down before climbing into bed shirtless. He pulled the blanket over himself and went straight to sleep.
Seeing this, Fang Li felt a little guilty. Had he been too harsh just now?
He nudged Qin Weidong. “You’re going to sleep just like that?”
Qin Weidong turned on his side, eyes closed, clearly still sulking.
Fang Li was helpless. Whenever Qin Weidong acted like this, it meant he was silently holding a grudge. Fang Li cleared his throat and nudged him again. “It’s raining out there. Why did you run off to catch a rabbit? What if you slipped in the mountains? What would I have done then? Don’t you know how worried I was?”
Still no response. Fang Li called him a few more times. When Qin Weidong kept up the act, playing deaf, Fang Li lost patience. He shoved Qin aside, flopped down next to him still hugging the rabbit. “Fine, ignore me then. I’m going to sleep.”
Just as he expected, no sooner had he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep than Qin Weidong grew even more irritated. Unable to stand it, he threw off the covers, grabbed Fang Li by the chin and forcefully turned his face. In the darkness, Qin Weidong’s eyes glinted coldly as he gritted his teeth, staring down at him.
“Who the hell went out and caught you that rabbit? And now you’re hugging it to sleep?”
Fang Li opened one eye lazily and reluctantly loosened his grip. Qin Weidong snatched the rabbit away and tossed it to the floor. His features, already sharp and intense, looked downright fierce in that moment, like he could devour someone alive.
Fang Li wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Instead, he said, “Well, you ignored me. If you ignore me, I’ll only call you twice. Next time you do it, I’m just going to go to sleep.”
Qin Weidong’s molars audibly ground together. Barely holding back, he growled, “Why the hell didn’t you limit yourself to just two kicks when you were kicking me earlier?”
Fang Li clicked his tongue. That, honestly, hadn’t even occurred to him.
He blew out a breath, eyes bright and glimmering as they turned toward him. “That… I hadn’t thought about. But now that you’ve brought it up, I’ll consider it in the future. Still, if you won’t even respond to me, I won’t even consider it. Got that?”
Qin Weidong stared at him coldly without replying. That so-called consideration of his was absolutely infuriating. He wasn’t allowed to ignore him even twice, but when he kicked him a few times, all he had to say was “I’ll consider it”?
Fang Li called out, “Qin Weidong.”
Qin narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenching tighter. Still, he refused to respond.
Fang Li suddenly felt the urge to laugh. He wrapped his arms around Qin Weidong’s neck, licking his lips. “If you keep sulking in silence, I’ll say it again. That’ll be twice.”
His voice was soft and teasing, and Qin Weidong’s gaze was drawn, unwillingly, to his lips—rosy red, now glistening where his tongue had passed over them, glimmering faintly in the dark.
If he went to sleep now, he wouldn’t get to kiss those lips.
Qin Weidong’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Fang Li deliberately dragged out his voice: “Qin… Wei…”
Before he could finish the last syllable, Qin Weidong growled in a low voice, “What do you want?!”
Fang Li burst out laughing, then leaned in close, brushing his lips playfully against the side of Qin Weidong’s neck—the same cheek where Wang Xiaohu had hit him.
Qin Weidong tensed slightly, but almost instinctively, his arms circled around him, pulling him in. He held Fang Li’s thin back close. The two of them on that narrow single bed were completely cramped.
And yet, they were already used to this kind of closeness. Back in Chongsi, they’d often shared a bed like this. In Chongsi, in Suixing, in Changding…
No matter how many places they’d lived, neither of them ever thought there was anything strange about it.
Axolotl Translations 
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