Just in Time Chapter 90
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 90 The Gift
The day Yun Fang returned from training was a Saturday morning. It was drizzling, and he was sitting on a bus. The cool rain drifted in from the half-open window, splashing onto his phone screen, leaving a patch of tiny water droplets.
He casually wiped it with his hand, leaving a wet mark on the black phone screen.
The phone took a while to boot up. He moved the gift bag from the window to the inside of the bus to prevent the gift inside from getting wet. He casually fiddled with the delicate ribbon on it, a gentle smile in his eyes.
He had carefully selected this gift for a long time. He could even imagine the happy look on Yi Chenliang’s face when he received the gift. His handsome face would be filled with a brilliant smile. Perhaps he would happily jump onto him, wrap his arms around his neck and act spoiled, or perhaps he would give him a kiss with his eyes sparkling.
Yi Chenliang would definitely like this gift.
The sound of the phone booting up rang in his ears. The screen was splashed again. He could close the window, but the bus was a bit stuffy. The early autumn weather was not very cool. It was around this time last year when he woke up from Yun Fang’s body.
Time always passed quickly. Sometimes, he found it hard to believe that he had been back for a year.
The black screen lit up. He opened the chat interface with Yi Chenliang. The conversation was still on the chat from last Thursday night.
Yi Chenliang: [Good night [kiss]]
Cang Dog White Cloud: [Good night [kiss]]
Yun Fang looked at the round little emoji on the screen and smiled.
This ungrateful little Yi Chenliang, he really could bear not to send him a message for a week.
Many people on the bus were sleeping. Yun Fang didn’t want to make a call, so he could only type.
Cang Dog White Cloud: [Xiao Yi, I’m back.]
Cang Dog White Cloud: [I also brought you a gift.]
Cang Dog White Cloud: [Guess what it is?]
Cang Dog White Cloud: [Smiling little sun]
He stared at the phone screen for a while, but didn’t wait for Yi Chenliang to reply. He guessed that he might be busy, so he exited the chat interface and planned to take a nap.
His phone was habitually set to silent mode. After he put it down, the phone screen started to flash non-stop. It was a pity that the owner of the phone had already closed his eyes and didn’t notice at all.
The rain drifting in from the window outside wet his hair. Yun Fang propped up his head with one hand and fell into a deep sleep.
Yun Fang was woken up by his classmates on the bus. Han Bowei leaned on the back of the chair and called him, “Yun Fang, we’re at the school!”
Yun Fang had accidentally fallen into a deep sleep. He had been blown by the cold wind and rain all the way while leaning against the window. When he woke up, his head was a bit groggy. He put on his backpack, picked up the gift bag next to him, and got off the bus with the others.
The rain was getting a bit heavy at this time, and it became somewhat cold when the wind blew. Some students’ parents came to pick them up and ran quickly into the car. Yun Fang didn’t tell Tang Yi that he was coming back today, so he stood by the roadside to hail a taxi.
The bag was a paper bag, and it couldn’t fit in his backpack. Yun Fang simply took off his school uniform to cover the bag. He waited by the roadside for a while before finally hailing a taxi.
The traffic in Wu City was always congested when it rained. The fragrance in the taxi made Yun Fang feel dizzy and nauseous. He pressed his temples, feeling that he might have caught a cold. He closed his eyes and rested on the back seat. It wasn’t until half an hour later that he finally arrived at the entrance of the residential area.
There was a car turning at the entrance of the residential area, and it looked like a novice driver who was struggling to find the right angle. Yun Fang simply paid the fare and got off the car, carrying the bag and running towards the residential building.
The cold rain hit his face, making his groggy mind slightly clearer. He didn’t stop until he ran to the corridor of Yi Chenliang’s unit building, and couldn’t help but laugh.
After all, he was a man in his thirties. How could he still be like a young boy in love, getting all flustered and clumsy just to give a gift?
But it was undeniable that he really wanted to see Yi Chenliang now. He wanted to see the surprised expression on his face when he received the gift.
The last time Yi Chenliang had a birthday, because of the sudden confession, the gift was not delivered. So, this was actually the first time he formally gave Yi Chenliang a gift.
Yun Fang took big strides up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. When he got to room 302, he didn’t knock on the door. Instead, he took out his key and gently inserted it into the keyhole, thinking of giving Yi Chenliang a surprise.
The security door was opened, Yun Fang pushed the door open, and called out cheerfully, “Xiao Yi, guess what I brought you?”
As soon as his words fell, Yun Fang’s smile froze on his face. The gift bag he had been carrying all the way was thrown to the ground.
What was in front of him was an empty room.
Empty, with nothing in it.
All the furniture that the landlord had when he first looked at the room was gone.
The shoe rack that he and Yi Chenliang had assembled together at the door, the board shoes and sports shoes that Yi Chenliang always couldn’t arrange neatly on it, the big-eyed girl with the candle on her birthday on the TV cabinet, the two dog-headed pillows that were the same as Yun Fang’s home, the pots, bowls, spoons, and oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar that they bought together in the kitchen, the toothbrushes and cups that were always head-to-head in the bathroom, the bed they slept in the bedroom, the bed sheets they bought when they were on sale, the bedside lamp they chose for a long time in the store…
All were gone.
Only the empty room was left, and the footsteps seemed to echo on the floor.
Nothing was left behind.
For a moment, Yun Fang’s groggy mind was blank. He even thought he was still sitting on the bus back to Wu City, leaning against the window and sleeping, and then had a heart-pounding dream.
He took out his phone from his pocket. The phone screensaver was still Yi Chenliang, who he had photographed when they went to the beach together. He was smiling at the camera behind him.
Yun Fang swiped open the screensaver. He didn’t know when there were dozens of missed calls and text messages on it. He opened it and took a glance. There were messages from Tang Yi and Yun Heyu, as well as Qi Huo, and also from Huang Chu and Sister Zhao.
There was no message from Yi Chenliang.
He opened his contacts and dialed Yi Chenliang’s number.
[Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service, please check and dial again——]
He instinctively hung up the phone, and two seconds later, he dialed again.
[Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service, please check and dial again——]
In an instant, countless bizarre speculations surged into his mind, almost crushing him. He stood in the empty living room, feeling light-headed and heavy-footed, thinking:
Was it because he shouldn’t have existed in this world in the first place, because he had forcibly changed the original trajectory, so he finally waited for God’s punishment?
He instinctively felt that this idea was absurd, but he couldn’t control the huge panic that swept over him.
If Yi Chenliang disappeared from this world, where should he go to find him?
After going around in circles, he finally experienced the confusion that Yi Chenliang had felt before. That sense of void, of being powerless with nowhere to land, slowly drained the air around him, making him feel suffocated.
He recalled the situation when Yi Chenliang was in the hospital room, his eyes red and his teeth clenched, asking him questions. He only felt as if half of his heart had been gouged out.
So that was how Yi Chenliang felt at that time.
But in the end, he was still calmer than Yi Chenliang. He forcibly pulled himself out of the initial uncontrollable panic, forced himself to calm down, and dialed Tang Yi’s number.
“Sugar? You finally turned on your phone!” Tang Yi answered the phone, her voice anxious, “Xiao Yi is missing! We can’t find him no matter how we search!”
It wasn’t some bizarre and mysterious event.
Yi Chenliang still truly existed in his world.
Yun Fang only felt that his soul, which had been floating in mid-air, had returned to his body. He took a deep breath and calmly said, “Mom, don’t panic first, tell me the specifics.”