After Ye Peilin was informed, their study abroad arrangements proceeded with incredible smoothness. Everything was approved without a hitch. Just before their departure, Qin Weidong had already secured a place to live near the school, and Fang Li received his passport and visa without any issues either.
But even with everything going so well, he still ended up being punished by Qin Weidong.
It wasn’t much—just two light swats on the butt. He’d only recently been discharged from the hospital, and honestly, Qin Weidong couldn’t bring himself to hit him too hard.
Still, Fang Li was pissed.
He tossed his English textbook aside and flipped open one of the music theory books Ding Haoyang had bought him—a simplified introduction to pop composition. With a pen in one hand, he doodled in the margins while the other hand reached back to rub his backside. “Damn it, that bastard really didn’t hold back…”
A totally unjust punishment.
Just a couple of days prior, his songs had been bought by Wave Records. The buyout fee for both songs totaled 2,300 yuan. It was a full copyright transfer—no matter how the songs were adapted or who used them in the future, they were out of his hands now.
When the company asked how he wanted to be paid, Fang Li, unfamiliar with using his family’s bank cards, felt strange about having the money wired into something as flimsy as a plastic card. It just didn’t feel as secure as a physical bankbook. So he told them: just pay in cash.
He assumed he’d pick it up himself in a few days. But to his surprise, Wave’s accounting office mailed him the contract and the cash directly.
Of course, Qin Weidong was the one who received the envelope. Since Fang Li never got mail, it stood out. Seeing the company name on the front, Qin Weidong opened it and found the officially stamped contract—and the stack of bills inside.
That’s how he discovered what Fang Li had done behind his back.
And that’s how Fang Li ended up with a sore butt for half the day.
He heard the front door open downstairs. No need to guess—it had to be that bastard back again. In the lead-up to their departure, Qin Weidong had been staying with Fang Li every night from Monday to Saturday, only returning to the Qin house on Sundays.
Fang Li knew how rare that was. It must’ve taken a lot for Qin Weidong to insist on it.
Qin Weidong called up from downstairs, “Lili, dinner’s ready!”
Fang Li shouted back, “Not coming, bastard!”
He went right on flipping through his book, totally unconcerned whether Qin Weidong got mad. Sure enough, not long after, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Qin Weidong walked in, carrying the packed dinner.
He placed it on the coffee table beside the bed, then pulled a small tube of scar cream from his pocket. “The doctor said you can start applying this today.”
Fang Li glanced at it and asked, “Where exactly do I need this?”
He was being deliberately difficult. Those two swats left no trace—there wasn’t even a red mark. No need for scar cream. But Fang Li asked anyway. He wanted Qin Weidong to see his own tyranny in action.
Qin Weidong ruffled his hair. “It’s for your chest. You don’t know how to apply it, so I’ll do it for you tonight.”
“Will it get rid of the scar?”
“It’s just to prevent the scar from getting worse. If you really want it gone, we’ll find a specialist once we’re in the States.” Then he added, “But even if it doesn’t go away, it’s fine. It really isn’t ugly at all. Don’t worry about it.”
Hearing this, Fang Li couldn’t help but curl his lips into a small smile—Qin Weidong was honestly terrible at comforting people.
To be honest, so much time had passed. The scar was on his own body, and Fang Li had already come to terms with it more than before. Besides, maybe Qin Weidong had been doing it on purpose, but lately every night he’d been extra gentle, kissing him again and again as if trying to erase any lingering shadows. With that, Fang Li didn’t feel quite so weighed down anymore.
“Alright, alright, you don’t need to say all that. I’m really not that bothered by it anymore…”
Qin Weidong leaned in to kiss him, but Fang Li pulled away. Qin Weidong had been out and about too much lately—every time he came back, he just wanted to smother him with kisses and never stop.
“Get off me, you stink…!”
“Stink?” Qin Weidong sniffed himself. He’d been with Ye Peilin the past couple of days, and the guy’s car always reeked of smoke. “I didn’t smoke.”
Fang Li rolled his eyes. “Who said anything about smoking? I meant whoever hit me stinks!”
Qin Weidong knew Fang Li wasn’t over that incident. Bringing it up again, his patience was thinner than usual. “I told you not to get involved with that music company. Why did you keep going behind my back?”
“Why did I keep going? Think about it! Because I like it. I love it…!”
“When have I ever stopped you from liking music?” Qin Weidong glanced at the books on Fang Li’s bed. “Since you got out of the hospital, you’ve been writing songs and practicing piano at home. I even told you to go out and get some air, and you wouldn’t budge. Did I ever stop you?”
Fang Li hadn’t planned to make it into a whole debate, but something about Qin Weidong’s tone made him snap. “Yeah, you didn’t stop me from doing that. But I like music—and I want to feel proud of it too. Selling songs, singing—that’s my way of feeling accomplished. But you won’t allow any of that!”
His voice had risen, emotions running hot. Qin Weidong sighed, worried about him getting so worked up right after recovering from illness. “I just don’t want you involved with shady music companies. Their intentions aren’t good.”
“Oh, really? Paying me for my songs isn’t a good intention?” That was his hard-earned work!
Qin Weidong looked at the way Fang Li turned away from him and forced himself to stay calm. “Lili, let’s not argue about this.”
“You’re right, there’s no point arguing. I’m going with you anyway…”
They were heading to the U.S. soon. Once there, he’d have no friends, no classmates. Everything would be unfamiliar. His English was awful. The whole world would shrink down to just Qin Weidong. So what was there left to worry about? Nothing at all.
Fang Li held out his hand. “Give me that, uh… that payment from Wave. I’m meeting Qi Jian for dinner tonight—a farewell dinner. You’re not invited.”
It wasn’t like Fang Li needed the money. The allowance Qin Weidong kept in his drawer for him was worth much more than the royalties for those two songs.
Qin Weidong reached into the drawer to hand him some cash. Fang Li glanced at it. “I don’t want that. I want my money.”
Qin Weidong frowned slightly. He wanted to explain that this was all there was, and he’d have to use his instead. But Fang Li had only just started recovering well, and they’d be heading to another country at the end of the month. He didn’t want a falling-out now. There’d be plenty of time to correct his habits later.
So he gave him the money from the envelope.
Fang Li took it. “It’s Sunday. Aren’t you supposed to be eating dinner at home?”
“I’ll head back in a bit. I came to bring you dinner first—Auntie said you haven’t been eating much lately.”
And whose fault was that? Fang Li glanced at the takeout Qin Weidong had brought up. It was from his favorite restaurant, a few of their signature dishes.
For all of Qin Weidong’s macho tendencies, he really did take his needs to heart. The Qin house was all the way over in East City—a long trip—and yet he’d made the effort to come all this way.
“Well, it’s going to waste. I already made plans with them yesterday.”
“‘Them?”
“Qi Jian and Ding Haoyang.”
Qin Weidong didn’t say anything when he heard that name he disliked. “Then I’ll keep it for your late-night snack.”
“Sure,” Fang Li replied.
Qin Weidong picked up the car keys. “I’ll drive you.”
Neither of them spoke during the ride.
This was how their small arguments usually went. Qin Weidong wasn’t great at coaxing anyone. The deeper issue was, his way of thinking often couldn’t quite grasp what exactly had made Fang Li upset. In other areas of life, he’d gained some experience these past two years—but emotionally, he still seemed to have some innate blind spots.
Usually if Fang Li kicked up a bit of a fuss, they’d talk it through and get over it quickly. But on days like this, when he didn’t even feel like making a scene, things just lingered in that awkward air.
Fang Li turned his head to look out the window. In Jin Province, the college entrance exams had just ended. The streets were now filled with bright, youthful faces, newly freed from the classroom.
He was never afraid of being mad at Qin Weidong. So what if he got mad? What’s the worst that could happen?
The traffic light ahead turned red. When Fang Li looked up, he saw a pearl hanging from the rearview mirror—the same one he’d once tied onto the old Toyota. He hadn’t ridden in Qin Weidong’s new Audi much, so he hadn’t realized Qin had brought it over.
The pearl swayed gently as the car started moving. Qin Weidong had bought it for him back when he was still attending night school—ten yuan, which at the time was a “fortune” for them.
Fang Li thought, back then, even if he’d wracked his brains, he never would’ve imagined that just two years later, Qin Weidong would have found his parents, and they would be heading across the world to the United States.
Maybe it was the thought of leaving the place that raised him. Even someone like Fang Li, who wasn’t particularly sentimental, found himself unexpectedly wistful.
He was meeting Qi Jian at a Cantonese restaurant—Fang Li couldn’t handle spicy food.
When they reached the entrance, Qin Weidong pulled over. Fang Li got out and closed the car door. Qin Weidong called out, “Lili, I want to apologize.”
Fang Li turned around. “Oh? Apologize for what?”
Qin Weidong apologizing? The sun must be rising in America today…
“I shouldn’t have hit you,” Qin Weidong said.
Fang Li snorted. “Anything else?”
Qin Weidong fell silent for a moment. “No.”
Just as he expected! As if this dog would really reflect on his behavior! Whatever—he should just go to America by himself!
Fang Li walked off in a huff.
Qi Jian had already arrived and was sitting in the lobby. He had just gotten off work—he was now a full-time accountant at a freight company. The pay wasn’t high, but it was enough to support him and his mother.
He’d known from Feng Hui that “Brother Qin” was taking Fang Li to America. He’d brought Fang Li some homemade sour plum juice—Fang Li had loved drinking it when he was in the hospital, and Qi Jian was afraid he wouldn’t be able to find it in the States.
But when the server told them no outside drinks were allowed, Fang Li immediately bristled.
This wasn’t a cheap restaurant, and the manager didn’t want to offend any customers. He quickly explained the server was new and even brought them glasses and had someone pour the juice.
“S-sorry…”
Qi Jian hadn’t expected his sour plum juice to cause a fuss.
“It’s not your fault,” Fang Li said. “It’s this place—who says we can’t drink what we brought? We won’t come again.”
But as soon as he said that, he remembered—he was leaving soon. Who knew when he’d be back? Maybe not for years.
He drank some juice and asked, “Is it like this when you’re with Feng Hui too? Always apologizing?”
When Fang Li was with Qi Jian, he always felt more at ease—he didn’t have to tiptoe around or hide anything.
“N-not exactly. He actually never lets me say sorry…”
Feng Hui had told him off about that habit many times, but he just couldn’t seem to break it.
“That’s more like it. Why should we be the ones to apologize when we haven’t done anything wrong?” Fang Li bit hard on his sour plum juice straw, still fuming.
Qi Jian looked surprised. “Wait, did… did you fight with Brother Qin? But aren’t you both about to leave?”
They were heading to the U.S. Feng Hui had mentioned how swamped Brother Qin had been lately—finalizing study plans, managing things with the Qin family. His mother, Ye Yunshan, couldn’t accept him leaving and had been crying her eyes out at home.
Fang Li rested his cheek in his palm, unsure what to say. Just then, Ding Haoyang arrived, and the food was served.
The three of them chatted while eating. After a while, Ding Haoyang handed Fang Li a slip of paper. “Here, that contact info for the song selection department you asked for. I jotted it down.”
Fang Li took it. “Thanks.”
“No problem. The two songs you submitted have already been sent to the arranger for adaptation. Not sure if they’ll end up using them, but once the selection department found out it was you asking for the contact, they said you can just reach out to them directly in the future.”
Ding Haoyang added, “But if we end up needing to send you demo tapes overseas… not sure how long it’ll take for them to reach you.”
Fang Li replied, “We’ll figure it out when the time comes.”
The doctor had told Fang Li to avoid alcohol for the next few years, so the three of them clinked glasses filled with sour plum juice. Qi Jian told him to be sure to let them know he’d arrived safely once in the U.S. He’d heard some parts of America were chaotic and urged Fang Li to be careful.
Fang Li said he would. He already had Qi Jian’s number and would have Qin Weidong teach him how to call back home once they arrived.
Ding Haoyang hadn’t drunk a drop, but he seemed a little tipsy. He told Fang Li, “When you come back, I’ll make sure you see the Southeast-Northwest band shining on a big stage—famous all over the country!”
Fang Li smiled and said, “I’ll hold you to that.”
……
After wrapping up everything at home, the day of departure finally arrived. Qin Weidong took care of all the procedures and luggage check-ins. Fang Li sat on top of a suitcase at first, until Qin Weidong led him to the first-class lounge. He brought him fruit and yogurt, telling him not to wander off and that he’d be back shortly.
Fang Li figured Qin Weidong’s parents must have arrived. Qin Weidong never really liked having him interact with them too much.
Fang Li leaned in and asked for a kiss. Thankfully, it was early, and the lounge was still quiet. Qin Weidong lowered his head and kissed him. “Don’t wander off. I’ll be back soon.”
Fang Li nodded. “You can talk to Uncle and Auntie longer if you need to. I’m sleepy—just wake me when you come back.”
Qin Weidong nodded. He wasn’t gone for long. Qin Zhengrong was never good at expressing fatherly emotions, and Ye Yunshan could only cry. She hadn’t stopped crying for days, and her tears didn’t change the decision the father and son had already made.
They were both rational—so rational it bordered on cruelty. Only she was guided by emotion. She even felt that the whistleblowing incident didn’t matter anymore. So what if her son had no future? She couldn’t bear to lose him again after just getting him back.
Qin Rui handed Qin Weidong a greeting card she had made. On it, she had drawn a plane with colorful crayons, and a simple sketch of a family of four holding hands.
“Brother, you have to call Ruirui…”
Qin Weidong patted her head.
Ye Yunshan hugged her son tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Promise me you’ll stay safe. You must call me when you arrive. Please don’t ever let me lose you again…”
Qin Weidong gave a soft reply and lowered his head. Her tears fell onto the back of his neck.
They boarded the plane. As the aircraft surged into the sky, Fang Li’s hand was clasped tightly in Qin Weidong’s—so firmly that it anchored him. The roar in his ears and the heavy, erratic thumping of his heart caused by acceleration slowly eased under the grip of Qin Weidong’s strong hand.
Once the plane reached cruising altitude, Qin Weidong immediately asked, “Are you feeling okay?”
Fang Li shook his head. “I’m fine…”
He was worried about Qin Weidong, too. His right ear had been injured. “Does your ear hurt?”
He himself had felt terrible during takeoff.
“No,” Qin Weidong said.
He asked the flight attendant for an electronic blood pressure monitor. The attendant brought one over politely and helped Fang Li wrap it around his arm. Once Qin Weidong saw that the readings were normal, he finally relaxed and thanked the attendant.
“Your ear really doesn’t hurt?”
“It doesn’t. Be good.”
Only after hearing his firm answer did Fang Li relax. He had never flown before. He’d never imagined it was possible to soar across the sky in such a massive machine, flying above oceans and clouds.
He was a little overwhelmed with emotion. Looking out the window, the city below had shrunk out of sight. What stretched out below was a vast, endless expanse of jade-green—the rolling mountain ranges of Jin Province.
“Do you think Chongsi might be down there somewhere?”
Qin Weidong didn’t respond right away.
“I think so.”
“Where?”
That was a hard question even for Qin Weidong. The plane was cruising steadily at nearly thirty thousand feet, and Jin Yang had long since vanished from sight—how could they possibly pinpoint Chongsi, a place so small it had been left off standard maps?
“Maybe there?” Fang Li pointed toward a mountain below, though he had no idea if that was north.
The flight would take nearly sixteen hours, with a transfer in between. Qin Weidong turned his head. “Get some rest.”
As Fang Li turned his head, he caught sight of the scar above Qin Weidong’s brow.
It had faded somewhat over the past two years, but the mark was still clearly visible. Thinking back now, the wound must’ve become inflamed and infected back then—only that could’ve left such a deep scar.
“Auntie didn’t ask how you got that scar?” Fang Li reached out and gently touched it.
“She did.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That I bumped into something.”
Qin Weidong opened his eyes and took off his eye mask, placing it over Fang Li’s eyes. “Fang Li, you really should rest now.”
Fang Li pouted, tugging the mask down. But as soon as Qin Weidong closed his eyes again to rest, Fang Li sneakily lifted the mask once more.
Maybe it was the fact that he was heading to a completely foreign country, one he had never dared to imagine—he simply couldn’t be as calm as Qin Weidong.
He wasn’t the least bit sleepy. Instead, his mind was flooded with a cascade of sounds and images, like layers of exposed film reels developing all at once.
He remembered being eighteen, clueless about the world, when a catastrophe struck that he thought would end his world.
Overnight, he lost his father, his grandmother, and the mine where he’d grown up. It was Qin Weidong who had risked everything to get him out, dodging the workers chasing them down.
Afterward, they went to Suixing, Changding, and after short stays, Qin Weidong brought him to Jinyang. They had slept in trucks, trains, crowded miners’ dormitories—even under a freezing bridge on the fourth day of the New Year.
Back then, Qin Weidong had asked him: if something happened, who would he choose—him or Fang Hongqing? And he had chosen Qin Weidong.
Now, as if fated by some invisible force, Qin Weidong had also chosen him—resolutely—over the Qin family.
Lost in thought, Fang Li didn’t notice Qin Weidong reaching out to tuck the blanket more snugly around him. His voice softened.
“Baby, it’s a long trip. I’m afraid you’ll run out of energy. Be good and sleep a little, okay?”
Hearing that, Fang Li nodded. The journey ahead was going to be more than ten hours. Qin Weidong was clearly worried—just the red veins in his eyes since last night said it all.
Fang Li didn’t want him to worry so much. In Qin Weidong’s eyes, his every little problem was always magnified.
He said, “I’ll sleep now.”
Qin Weidong brushed his cheek. “Good boy.”
As Fang Li gave one last glance out the window at the huge plane wing cutting through the layered white clouds, he suddenly felt… the past was already far, far behind them.
Axolotl Translations 
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