Just in Time Chapter 80
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 80 Stone
Yun Fang had just finished his exams and was packing up to return to the hotel. As he opened the door, he saw Yi Chenliang sprawled out on the bed, asleep. The television was still playing a movie, filling the room with the sounds of gunfire and fighting.
He glanced at the name of the movie - Empire Agents vs. Cold-blooded Assassins.
Yun Fang: “…”
Yi Chenliang groggily climbed up from the bed, “You’re back.”
“Mm.” Yun Fang took the remote control from his hand and turned off the TV. The room instantly quieted down.
Yi Chenliang protested, “I haven’t finished watching it yet.”
“You fell asleep while watching.” Yun Fang tossed the remote control aside, “Are you hungry?”
“Not hungry.” Yi Chenliang, probably having slept too much, seemed a bit lethargic. He sat on the bed, reached out to hug Yun Fang, and buried his head in his chest, not saying a word.
Yun Fang stroked his hair, “Slept too much?”
“Mm…” Yi Chenliang responded vaguely.
Yun Fang stood by the bed, letting him hold on, “What’s wrong?”
“Had a nightmare.” Yi Chenliang mumbled.
“Dreams are usually the opposite of reality.” Yun Fang patted his back, “Want to talk about it?”
“Forgot.” Yi Chenliang bumped his head against Yun Fang’s stomach.
Yun Fang chuckled, pulling him up, “Let’s go, let’s go out for dinner.”
Although Yun Fang had been in Beijing these days, he spent most of his time at school. He took Yi Chenliang to a restaurant for dinner and discussed how to spend the five-day holiday.
“We’ll go to Q City in a bit.” Yun Fang used his chopsticks to pick out the green peppers from his dish, “If we get there early, we can watch the sunrise at the beach.”
Yi Chenliang had been out for a walk and his spirits had improved considerably. At that moment, he was peeling shrimp, “Sure, I’ve never seen the sea before.”
He dipped a piece of shrimp in sauce and held it up to Yun Fang’s mouth, “Open up.”
Yun Fang bit into the piece of shrimp, “Qi Huo messaged me asking for his SIM card, where did you hide it?”
“I put it in his phone case.” Yi Chenliang said, “I thought he would have found it by now.”
Yun Fang took out his phone to reply to Qi Huo, “That’s really hard on him.”
The two of them shared a knowing smile.
****
The tickets they booked were for midnight. When the two of them arrived at the seaside from their accommodation, they just caught the sunrise.
The place Yun Fang chose was very quiet, hardly anyone would come here. The morning sea breeze was cool, and the two of them, wearing thin jackets, sat on a high spot looking towards the horizon filled with rosy clouds.
The sky was high and the sea was wide, the sun was just rising.
Seabirds skimmed over the sea surface, the sound of waves hitting the rocky shore, white waves rolled over the beach, the summer sea always had a kind of noisy quietness.
Yi Chenliang’s hands were propped behind him, his head slightly tilted back, the sea breeze blew his slightly long hair apart, revealing his forehead. He just quietly watched the distant sea, suddenly a click sound came to his ears.
Yi Chenliang turned his head at the sound, only to see Yun Fang holding his phone towards him, he couldn’t help but smile at him.
Click, another one.
“Why are you taking pictures of me?” Yi Chenliang asked.
“Because you look good.” Yun Fang said without changing his expression.
Yi Chenliang leaned over to look, “It… really does look good?”
Yun Fang lowered his head, setting the last picture as his phone’s screensaver.
Then he nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing Yun Fang’s serious expression, Yi Chenliang felt as if his heart had been lightly brushed by a feather. He took Yun Fang’s phone, “We haven’t taken a picture together yet, come on, let’s take one.”
Yun Fang didn’t refuse.
They sat on the seashore, facing the rising sun and the calm sea. Both were not very skilled at facing the camera on the phone, but they managed to take their first photo together.
“Once my phone is fixed, I’ll use this as the screensaver.” Yi Chenliang handed the phone back to him, “Remember to send it to me.”
Yun Fang looked down at the photo on his phone.
Both he and Yi Chenliang sat with straight backs. He even slightly furrowed his brow in front of the camera, not quite used to it. Their two cold faces were pressed against each other with an extremely serious expression, not like a couple, but more like they were full of momentum, almost challenging each other.
Yun Fang: “…”
But they really did try their best.
The number of people at the seaside gradually increased. Yi Chenliang had already run to play on the beach, standing in the sea and waving at him from afar.
He threw his phone into his pocket, jumped down from the rock, and stepped on the soft sand towards where Yi Chenliang was.
“I found two stones!” A few steps away, Yi Chenliang waved two dark little stones in his hand at him, “Come and see.”
Yun Fang walked up to him and reached out his hand. In his palm were two stones the size of a fingernail, washed round by the sea water, and they were a bit cool in his palm.
Ordinary, without any special features, you could pick up a handful anywhere on the beach.
But Yun Fang knew at a glance why Yi Chenliang was so happy to pick them up, “Are the two the same?”
Yi Chenliang took one from his hand and happily said, “We can have one each.”
Yun Fang laughed, rubbed the little stone in his hand, and said, “We can find a string to string it up and wear it on our wrists later.”
Yi Chenliang asked, “Who will string it?”
“I will.” Yun Fang put the little stone into his pocket and walked along the beach with Yi Chenliang.
Yi Chenliang became interested when he heard this, “You can actually make bracelets?”
“I learned it from others.” Yun Fang held his wrist and gestured, “Do you want to wear a red string or a black string?”
“I’ll wear the same color as you.” Yi Chenliang grabbed his hand, shook it, and pulled him forward.
Yi Chenliang couldn’t swim, so he could only play with the water on the beach. In a short while, there were more people on the beach. Both of them didn’t like to stay in crowded places, so they leisurely strolled back to the hotel.
Yi Chenliang didn’t sleep well on the train last night. After taking a bath, he lay down on the bed to catch up on sleep. When he woke up, it was already afternoon. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Yun Fang leaning against the head of the bed, with several long red threads intertwined between his fingers.
Yi Chenliang’s voice still carried a hint of sleepiness, “You really know how to make it?”
“Of course.” Yun Fang tightened the last few knots, “Wrist.”
Yi Chenliang extended his left wrist.
Several thin red threads were woven into a bracelet. If one didn’t look closely, one might think it was a single red string. A stone the size of a fingernail was cleverly entwined in the bracelet, with the red threads on the surface forming a complex pattern.
Yun Fang lowered his head and carefully tied it for him. The red string on his wrist was vibrant and strangely harmonious.
“It’s beautiful,” Yi Chenliang said honestly. He admired it for a while, looking at the bracelet on his hand over and over again. “Did you weave a flower on this stone? It’s quite beautiful. Where did you learn this?”
“It’s a knot,” Yun Fang pinched his wrist. “I learned it from a grandma a long time ago.”
— That was a kind grandma who was well past her prime.
Grandma was very good at weaving things, and the girls in the village loved to go to her place to learn.
Grandma was old, but her hands were steady. Several thin red threads fluttered in her hands like butterflies among flowers.
“This… knot can only be woven for someone you like—” Grandma’s Burmese was not very clear, and he still didn’t know what word she was saying.
“Weave it with red thread, buckle it on his wrist,” Grandma deliberately slowed down her movements to let the girls around her see clearly. “No matter where he goes in this life, you will know. If he has any hardships or disasters, you can bear half of it for him…”
The girls laughed together. Someone asked, “Grandma, what about the next life?”
“You’re just starting this life, and you’ve already planned for the next one?” Grandma teased her. “Who’s the lover you fancy?”
A group of people laughed and made a fuss. Someone called out to the man with a gun not far away, “Ah Liang! Ah Liang! Someone wants to give you a bracelet!”
The man who was called just glanced at them indifferently.
“Change someone else, Ah Liang’s heart is made of stone!” A girl pushed the person next to her with a giggle. “Grandma, can I also wear one? The same as my brother!”
“If you’re willing to let him bear half of your hardships and disasters, then wear one for yourself.” Grandma laughed. “Girls have too many hardships…”
He listened from a distance, his gaze swept over the red string in grandma’s hand, and he remembered the style of that knot—
“What about yours?” Yi Chenliang bent down to look for it, pulling out a woven red string from under the pillow. “I’ll put it on for you!”
Yun Fang looked at him.
Yi Chenliang held the red string and wondered, “Why is the knot on your stone different from mine?”
“I might have woven it wrong by accident.” Yun Fang extended his wrist and laughed. “Xiao Yi, put it on for me.”