Yao Yuan was five when he first met seven-year-old Tan Ruikang, at his maternal grandmother’s house in the countryside.
That kid looked like a scrawny little black monkey, all dirty with two streaks of ash on his face clinging to the wall and staring at him like he wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say.
Having lived for five years, it was the first time Yao Yuan had ever seen someone so dark, so dirty, and so thin. Just his sleeves alone seemed to have all sorts of things stuck to them.
"Are you Yao Yuan?" The dirty little monkey scratched his neck and said, “I’m your tang-biao-ge* (cousin from another branch of the family). Come out, I’ll take you to play.”
Yao Yuan took a half step back, not knowing what kind of relative a "tang-biao-ge" was. He'd been at his grandmother's house for three days, and he'd met a whole noisy bunch of relatives. Everyone was a 'cousin' of some sort – aunt cousins, uncle cousins, older sister cousins, great uncle cousins… Their enthusiasm made him a little scared.
There was a sound from inside the house, and the dirty little monkey immediately jumped down and darted off.
"Tan Ruikang!" Yao Yuan's maternal grandfather roared like a thunderclap on a clear day, chasing after him out of the courtyard with long strides. The skinny monkey drifted nimbly, trying to dive into the alley, but grandpa caught him with a lunge, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him back inside.
Tan Ruikang struggled like a comical clown, but grandpa's fingers were like pliers, dragging him all the way in. He gave him a few whacks with his cane and asked, “Where’s your dad?”
Tan Ruikang said, "He went to the construction site."
Grandpa asked, “What about your homework?!”
Tan Ruikang patted his schoolbag. Grandpa said, "Go inside and do your homework! When you’re done, take your little cousin to play!”
Yao Yuan was dressed very neatly, with delicate features and fair skin, like a little porcelain doll. After Tan Ruikang went inside, he kept stealing glances at him.
Tan Ruikang looked at Yao Yuan, but Yao Yuan stared at his schoolbag, he'd just seen that schoolbag last year. When he first started kindergarten, his mom bought him that schoolbag. He carried it for two months before getting a new one, and he didn't know where the old schoolbag disappeared. How did it end up here?
Yao Yuan's maternal grandpa used to be a soldier. He was tall and burly, with an upright face. He sat in the hall wearing his reading glasses, reading letters. Tan Ruikang was doing his homework under his watchful eye. Yao Yuan wandered around the courtyard a bit, then ran inside and snuggled into Grandpa’s lap.
"Good, good, good." Grandpa reached out and hugged Yao Yuan. All the grandkids were a bit scared of him except Yao Yuan, who was always doted on. Grandpa always said Yao Yuan looked just like his mom did when she was little.
Yao Yuan said, "Grandpa, I want to go home…"
Grandpa replied, “Your dad will come pick you up in a few days. Wait for your cousin to finish his homework, then he’ll take you out to play.”
Grandpa had an old person's smell, a fragrance of smoke mixed with laundry soap. His large hands were cool, and his palms were dry and smooth, which felt very comfortable to the touch. He bounced Yao Yuan on his lap, and Yao Yuan straddled his leg, hugged his neck, and fell asleep in Grandpa’s lap.
When he woke up, Grandma brought him some chocolate and heated water to wash his face. Tan Ruikang stared at the chocolate. Yao Yuan never ate this kind of chocolate at home, he hated the taste of the liqueur filling. But Grandpa had a sweet tooth, especially for liqueur-filled chocolate.
Yao Yuan nibbled off the outer chocolate layer, estimating that he was about to reach the liqueur filling, and casually handed it to Tan Ruikang.
"If your younger brother gives it to you, then take it and eat it." Grandma stood up and said, "Take your younger brother to play. You're not allowed to bully him, you hear?!"
Tan Ruikang immediately nodded. Grandma used a towel to wipe the hands and face of Yao Yuan, who had just woken up, so roughly it hurt a little.
Tan Ruikang packed up his homework and came over to take his hand, but Yao Yuan disliked that he was dirty and refused to let him hold it. So Tan Ruikang said, "Oh, alright, let's go pick fruit to eat."
And so, one big and one small left the yard together.
Yao Yuan stayed in the countryside for three months. Many things were already unclear to him because he was too young. Although those past fragments would flash by in his dreams after he grew up, they ultimately became blurred.
The melons in the fields, the tea under the phoenix tree, the snails in the ditch, the frog calls during the rice harvest… he didn't know what that time Tan Ruikang spent with him meant, a child two years older than himself, and what he had heard from the adults about him.
These things have gradually become fragmented childhood memories. Only that scene of Tan Ruikang clinging to the wall like a black monkey, looking at him, Yao Yuan would always think of it from time to time.
Author's Note: This article is not a fairy tale. There is a little angst in the middle. There are crossroads, injuries, and also dog blood.
The story starts with a refreshing campus atmosphere, grassroots gong, chuunibyou shou.
I am writing about the days when the little gong and shou grew up together, relying on each other, from 1998 to 2008.
From the tail end of China's Reform and Opening Up, to the financial storm, WTO entry, Olympic bid success, 9/11, SARS, the 6000-point stock market, soaring housing prices, and the evolving views on marriage and values... Those youthful days drifted in the wind.
Uh, got a bit literary there. The ending is HE (Happy Ending).
I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day. "Star Knight" is still in draft. I’ll release it soon.
Footnotes:
gong (攻): In Boys' Love (BL) fiction, this refers to the more dominant or "masculine" partner in a homosexual relationship.
shou (受): In Boys' Love (BL) fiction, this refers to the more submissive or "feminine" partner in a homosexual relationship.