Qin Weidong rubbed the bar of soap between his palms until a rich lather formed, then gently worked it into Fang Li’s already wet hair. His military trousers were thoroughly soaked, clinging to his bare waist and hips, the fabric darkened by the dampness. Water trickled from the towel he was using to dry Fang Li’s hair, running down into his boots with a soft squelching sound. Fang Li, bare-backed, lay sprawled against him, wincing slightly as Qin Weidong’s belt buckle dug into his skin.
“Take it off… it’s digging into me…”
Their earlier argument hadn’t truly reached a resolution. Qin Weidong still wore a tight, unyielding expression, but he wordlessly slipped the belt out with one hand and tossed it aside, then resumed lathering Fang Li’s hair.
He scooped a ladleful of steaming hot water from the bucket and carefully poured it over Fang Li’s head, which rested against his chest.
The heat brought a flush to Fang Li’s face. He swiped the water from his eyes, then nestled into the crook of Qin Weidong’s neck with a relaxed sigh. Whatever sharp anger had flared between them had now mostly dissipated, leaving a quiet warmth in its wake.
He reached out and gently pressed a finger between Qin Weidong’s furrowed brows. “You’re not saying anything—does that mean you’ve agreed?”
“No.”
Qin Weidong brushed his hand away and thoroughly rinsed the soap from Fang Li’s hair. He grabbed a towel from the side and began to dry it with firm, deliberate strokes.
Fang Li shook his head, sending droplets of water flying, then tilted his face up and lightly pecked at Qin Weidong’s lips. “I just yelled at you a little—are you really that mad?”
Qin Weidong turned his face away, his jaw still tight.
Fang Li sighed softly. “If you’re upset, then just say something!”
Qin Weidong finally looked back at him, his eyes sharp with a hint of sarcasm. “You want me to talk?”
There it was—Qin Weidong and that stubborn, petty streak, always ready to brood over the smallest perceived slight.
Fang Li licked his lips and flopped back down against him, his body molding against Qin Weidong’s. “God, you’re such a drama queen. Was I wrong, though?”
He leaned in and nipped lightly at Qin Weidong’s shoulder. “I just want to find a way to make some money. It’s in the county town—it’s not like I’m going far away. And if I do manage to earn something, you won’t have to work down in that dangerous mine anymore. Then I’ll take the money and get your ear treated properly at the hospital.”
Qin Weidong glanced down at him, his eyes softening ever so slightly.
The thing about Qin Weidong was, you had to handle him with care, coax him gently. Confront him directly, and all you’d get was resistance, a fight. Fang Li had learned he needed to take the winding path. He wrapped his arms around Qin Weidong’s neck and pulled him close, tightening his embrace. His breath, warm and carrying the faint scent of steam, brushed across the straight line of Qin Weidong’s nose.
“I’ll kiss you, so don’t be mad anymore, okay?” Fang Li whispered, his breath warm against Qin Weidong’s lips. “I really don’t want to keep going like this, stuck here doing nothing. Every time I think about your ear, it eats at me—I can’t even sleep properly.”
They had always been this way since childhood—no matter how fierce their arguments, they rarely lasted until the next day. Fang Li pressed his lips more firmly to Qin Weidong’s, kissing and gently sucking. From Qin Weidong’s vantage point, he could see the elegant curve of Fang Li’s pale neck, tilted back and glistening with water droplets, flushed a delicate pink beneath the white skin.
Qin Weidong’s breathing deepened, a low rumble in his chest. Almost unconsciously, his hand slid to Fang Li’s waist and tightened possessively.
“It’s just one ear that doesn’t work.”
“Just one ear?!” Fang Li retorted, pulling back slightly. “Do you have any idea how that sounds? It’s like you’re stabbing me right in the heart. What if I told you, ‘Oh, my heart only has one hole, no big deal’—would you be okay with that?”
Qin Weidong was momentarily speechless, his expression unreadable.
Fang Li was about to press his point further when he suddenly felt Qin Weidong’s hand shift. The unexpected touch sent a jolt through his skin, like a mild electric shock. His waist flinched involuntarily, and then he frowned—Qin Weidong’s grip had tightened too much. It actually hurt. He slapped Qin Weidong’s hand away.
“Ow, that hurts,” he said, looking up at him with a genuine frown. “Why can’t you control your strength lately?”
Qin Weidong’s eyes were dark, their depths nearly obscured by the rising steam, before the familiar color of his pupils slowly emerged. He withdrew his hand, then gently tilted Fang Li’s chin, where the faint beginnings of a bruise from their earlier scuffle were surfacing. Under the warmth of the water, the mark had taken on a reddish-purple hue—strikingly vivid against his pale skin.
He leaned down and kissed the bruise softly, his lips barely brushing against it. “Does it still hurt?”
“A little, but it’s fine if you don’t touch it.”
Small discomforts like this didn’t bother Fang Li much. His mind was still occupied by the prospect of night school. The water in the bucket had begun to cool, and Qin Weidong reached for his coat from the side, wrapped it protectively around Fang Li’s bare shoulders, and then carefully carried him to the bed.
“Go sleep. I need to talk to Feng Hui about a few accounts.”
Fang Li nodded, his gaze lingering on Qin Weidong’s face. “Just think it over, okay? I really want to go.”
Qin Weidong didn’t respond, his expression still guarded. He quietly closed the door behind him and left the room.
They had argued, they had talked it through, and yet Qin Weidong’s stance remained unchanged. A feeling of restless unease settled over Fang Li.
But there was little else he could do at that moment. He was just beginning to drift off when Qin Weidong returned. He undressed in the dim light and slipped into bed beside him. Half-asleep, Fang Li instinctively rolled over and curled into the comforting warmth of his arms.
“So cold… Did you take a cold shower?”
Qin Weidong grunted softly in reply, a noncommittal sound.
Fang Li hadn’t truly fallen into a deep sleep, the possibilities of night school still turning over in his mind. He reached out and touched Qin Weidong’s chest. The skin felt cool to the touch at first, but after a moment, Qin Weidong’s inner warmth seeped through, a familiar and comforting sensation.
Qin Weidong suddenly grabbed his hand, his grip firm. “What are you doing?”
“So are you going to let me go or not?” Fang Li grumbled, a hint of impatience in his voice. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked directly at Qin Weidong. “You’ve been dragging this out for days now. Don’t just stay silent—say something. I went all the way there today. Just tell me if I can sign up or not—they still have spots open.”
On the surface, Fang Li always appeared to be the more confrontational one, the instigator of their squabbles. But when it came to making significant decisions, it was invariably Qin Weidong who held the final authority.
A large part of that dynamic stemmed from the fact that Qin Weidong rarely denied Fang Li anything he truly wanted—a pattern Fang Li had grown accustomed to.
Fang Li gave his arm another small, insistent push. “If it’s the tuition you’re worried about, I’ll borrow the money from you, okay? Or… if not that, I can postpone the surgery. I feel fine right now anyway, full of energy. I’ll wait until I’ve saved up some money myself…”
In the dim light of the room, Qin Weidong’s eyes snapped open. His gaze sharpened, focusing intently on Fang Li. “Say that again?”
Fang Li’s heart gave a nervous little jump. That piercing look and the curt tone sent a jolt of apprehension through him, and he immediately backed down, his earlier assertiveness fading. “Okay, okay… I was wrong. Don’t get mad, alright? So—are you going to let me go or not?”
It was unusual for him to repeat himself like this with Qin Weidong. Typically, if he stated something once and Qin Weidong didn’t agree, Fang Li would erupt in frustration. But this time, he had pleaded and argued repeatedly, his usual fiery temper subdued. Probably because he didn’t have any money of his own.
All their finances were managed by Qin Weidong, and Qin Weidong was the one earning it all through his grueling work.
After a prolonged silence, Qin Weidong finally seemed to see through Fang Li’s uncharacteristic restraint. He hated witnessing Fang Li this way—cautious, hesitant, almost pleading. That kind of self-imposed limitation had no place in Fang Li’s vibrant spirit, and he never wanted him to learn it. In Qin Weidong’s mind, everything he possessed belonged to Fang Li; that was simply the natural order. But the thought of Fang Li venturing off to a place where he couldn’t see him, couldn’t protect him, stirred a deep unease within him.
Still… he couldn’t just abandon everything here and go with him. If he left his work at the mine, where would they find the money for Fang Li’s surgery? How would they sustain themselves? These conflicting thoughts warred within him, a relentless internal struggle, until finally—under the weight of Fang Li’s hopeful, expectant gaze—he relented.
“Just this once… Fang Li,” Qin Weidong said with a heavy sigh, the words carrying a note of resignation.
Fang Li had been watching him wrestle with his thoughts, his hope dwindling with each passing moment of silence. So when he suddenly heard those unexpected words, he almost believed he was imagining things. His eyes widened in disbelief, and he asked in surprise, “What? Are you saying yes?”
Qin Weidong regretted his concession the instant the words left his mouth—but Fang Li’s face had already lit up, his expression radiating pure joy, his smile so bright it made it impossible to retract his agreement.
Overwhelmed with elation, Fang Li threw his arms around Qin Weidong, hugging him tightly. “I knew you’d say yes! You never say no to me—you never have. Now that you’ve agreed, I feel so much better. I didn’t want to make you upset. If you were too upset, I wouldn’t even want to go anymore.”
Qin Weidong held Fang Li close, feeling the genuine happiness radiating from him. This was the most joy he’d witnessed in Fang Li since their lives back home had fractured. For now, Qin Weidong could only push down the knot of unease in his own heart. He spoke with quiet gravity, “I’m only agreeing to this one time. Once you finish school, I’ll find a way—either you come to me, or I’ll come to you.”
That was his condition, firm and non-negotiable.
Fang Li flashed him a bright, unwavering smile that chased away any lingering shadows. “Of course!”
……
With his enrollment in night school secured, Fang Li could no longer continue his brief stint teaching at the elementary school. He went to see the principal to explain his situation, feeling a pang of awkwardness. The principal, though disappointed, was understanding. He knew that small towns like theirs couldn’t hold onto young spirits like Fang Li indefinitely. He offered to settle Fang Li’s wages for the month, but Fang Li resolutely refused. Catching sight of the pairs of expectant eyes still waiting for class in the room behind him, Fang Li turned and walked away—almost as if he were fleeing. He had already arrived late to his own schooling once in his life. He couldn’t afford to fall behind again.
The following morning, Qin Weidong had spoken to Feng Hui in advance to take the day off, wanting to personally escort Fang Li to the dormitories. Fang Li didn’t have much to bring—just a change or two of clothes, all neatly bundled in a simple cloth bag.
Feng Hui, naturally, readily agreed to let Fang Li go. He even pulled Fang Li aside, giving him a knowing wink before mentioning that he had asked a friend to arrange for Fang Li to share a dorm room with someone—a friend named Qi Jian.
After this revelation, Feng Hui pressed a small box into Fang Li’s hands, asking him to deliver it to Qi Jian.
The box wasn’t large, so Fang Li agreed without hesitation and took it with him.
When he emerged from Feng Hui’s office, Qin Weidong was standing near the mine entrance, issuing instructions to the workers hauling slag. As soon as he spotted Fang Li, he waved to signal the slag truck to pass, then walked over to meet him.
“What did Feng Hui say to you?”
“He has a friend who’s also studying night school at Changding School. We’re in the same dorm. He just asked me to keep an eye on him.”
Qin Weidong’s brow furrowed slightly. “Since when are you two so close?”
Fang Li shot him a pointed look. “Close? I’m friendlier with the lunch lady at the mine than I am with him.”
The two of them took a bus ride into the county, then followed the directions the admissions officer had provided. After transferring buses twice, they finally arrived at the gates of Changding Vocational and Technical School.
The campus entrance wasn’t particularly grand. Surrounding it was a lively collection of small shops, bustling with activity. Fang Li looked around and noticed that right next door was a rather seedy-looking performing arts school. A small group of boys and girls stood at its entrance, sporting flared jeans and holding cigarettes, chatting and laughing in a tight-knit huddle.
Fang Li glanced at them, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then unfolded a torn piece of paper with his dormitory number scrawled on it.
The vocational school didn’t have enough full-time students to fill all the dormitories, so the night school students were housed in the same building. Fang Li’s assigned dorm room was located at the very end of the sixth floor. When he stepped inside, he found most of the eight beds empty and coated in a fine layer of dust. The room was eerily silent, with no other occupants in sight. It seemed most night school students, already juggling jobs and families, didn’t opt for on-campus living.
Fang Li casually chose a lower bunk tucked away in a quiet corner. He noticed that the bed directly across from his appeared to be taken—the bedding was clean and neatly arranged. He wondered if this belonged to Qi Jian, the person Feng Hui had mentioned.
“Hungry? Want to grab something to eat first?”
Qin Weidong set Fang Li’s meager belongings on the chosen bed and scanned the room. Only three of the beds showed any signs of occupancy; the rest were dusty and clearly unused.
The school cafeteria was closed on Saturdays, so they bought two boxed meals from a vendor near the front gate and ate them sitting by the roadside—one featuring a meat dish and the other vegetables. Qin Weidong meticulously picked out all the tiny bones from the braised fish in his meal and carefully handed the boneless pieces to Fang Li.
Chewing thoughtfully, a familiar worry began to gnaw at Fang Li. “Class started two months ago. What if I can’t keep up?”
Back in high school, his tuition had been effortlessly covered by Fang Hongqing. At the time, he had been too young to truly grasp the value of money and had rarely taken his studies seriously. But things were starkly different now. Every single penny felt significant, and Fang Li was plagued by the fear that if he didn’t learn properly, all the money they had painstakingly scraped together would be wasted.
Qin Weidong continued his meticulous bone-picking. “If you can’t keep up, you can’t keep up. Just bring the homework home on weekends—I’ll do it for you.”
Fang Li swallowed his mouthful of fish and rolled his eyes dramatically. “See? This is exactly why my grades were so terrible before! Things are different now. You won’t be around to help anymore. If I don’t learn this stuff, who’s going to want to hire me in the future? All that tuition will be for nothing.”
Qin Weidong said, his tone firm but gentle, “Don’t push yourself too hard. If anything happens, call me from the mailroom.”
Fang Li nodded, a small, reluctant gesture. Realistically, what serious trouble could even occur at school? But still, the knowledge that Qin Weidong would be leaving soon cast a pall over his already diminished appetite.
There truly was a significant amount of responsibility waiting for Qin Weidong back at the mine. Feng Hui’s understanding was limited, and he had only left Old Fu in charge of overseeing everything—Old Fu couldn’t possibly manage it all alone.
“You’re leaving now?”
Even though this entire plan had been Fang Li’s own initiative, now that Qin Weidong was actually on the verge of departing, the prospect of being left behind twisted Fang Li’s heart into a tight knot of unexpected loneliness.
“I need to head back,” Qin Weidong said, his tone matter-of-fact.
Fang Li’s lower lip protruded slightly in a small pout. Qin Weidong set down his half-eaten boxed meal, reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out a thick wad of red hundred-yuan bills. It looked like at least two or three thousand yuan in total. Then, he extracted a smaller, folded stack of ones, fives, and tens, combined them with the larger bills, and stuffed the entire amount into Fang Li’s pocket.
“What are you doing? Why are you giving me so much money?”
Fang Li’s eyes widened in surprise. “I don’t need this much! Aren’t you planning to visit me again in a few days when you get a chance? Why give me your whole bonus?”
He was just attending night school—it wasn’t like he was living a lavish lifestyle. They had already spent a significant portion of their last bonus on his recent hospital visits. Why the sudden influx of cash now?
Qin Weidong said, his gaze steady, “You’re on your own here now. If your heart starts acting up, you absolutely must go to the hospital—don’t delay, and don’t even think about trying to save money. Got it?”
That was the primary concern that had been weighing heavily on Qin Weidong’s mind for the past few days. He looked directly into Fang Li’s eyes and continued, “If you do end up going to the hospital, don’t be scared. Ask the nurse to call me. You remember the phone number for the mine, right? If no one is willing to help, pay them. Pay someone to assist you. I’ll come immediately.”
Fang Li’s pocket now bulged with three thousand yuan—nearly all the money they currently possessed. Hearing Qin Weidong speak with such earnest concern made his nose sting with a rush of emotion. There probably wasn’t another person in the entire world who cared for him as deeply as Qin Weidong did.
“Don’t worry. I know,” he murmured, his voice slightly thick.
Seeing Fang Li nod so obediently for once, Qin Weidong finally picked up his boxed meal again. His demanding work at the mine burned through his energy quickly, necessitating large portions. He finished what remained of both their meals by the side of the road, his movements efficient.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, he heard Fang Li sniffle softly beside him.
He set down his chopsticks and gently tilted Fang Li’s chin upward. At the corners of Fang Li’s eyes, faint, telltale traces of tears glistened. Qin Weidong frowned, a hint of confusion in his expression. “Didn’t we just agree on this? I even brought you all the way here—why are you crying now?”
Fang Li saw the bewildered look in Qin Weidong’s eyes and a watery smile suddenly bloomed on his face through his tears, a confusing mix of emotions.
Watching Fang Li’s abrupt shift from tears to laughter, Qin Weidong said softly, “Take good care of yourself. I’ll try my best to come visit as soon as I possibly can.”
Fang Li wiped the lingering tears from his cheeks and gave a quiet “Mm.” The afternoon was fading into evening—Qin Weidong couldn’t afford to linger much longer. Two more truckloads of raw ore were still scheduled to arrive at the processing plant that day. He walked Fang Li back to the dormitory building, waited downstairs until he saw him disappear inside, and stood there for a little while longer, just to be absolutely certain Fang Li wouldn’t call him back down.
Only then did he finally turn and begin his journey back to the mine.
Axolotl Translations 
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