Chapter 27: Baby

Winters in Beishi were long. The winter break at the film academy lasted from mid-January to early March. For poor students, such a long break was even more difficult.

Li Siwei had originally planned to go home early to take care of Qingqing, but he hadn’t figured out his living expenses for the next semester. Studying at the film academy was much more expensive than other schools. The annual tuition was nearly twenty thousand yuan, not to mention other miscellaneous expenses.

He would take on small filming jobs when he had fewer classes, earning five or eight hundred yuan each time, a considerable sum for him. But it still wasn’t enough.

The caregiver’s salary had increased, and Li Qingqing’s medication had changed. In short, in the eyes of twenty-year-old Li Siwei, life was like a leaky bamboo basket. No matter how hard he tried to scoop up the water, by the end of the year, it was still empty.

It was only after coming here that Li Siwei learned the second rule of the world. A young and beautiful face was indeed valuable here, but to find high-paying jobs, he needed better connections.

That was why Han Xiao was such a popular figure in the academy. His mother was a producer, and he had access to countless idol drama and commercial resources. He could easily hand out lucrative jobs worth tens of thousands of yuan to poor students. He was always surrounded by followers.

Li Siwei wasn’t close to him and didn’t know how to socialize and network, even though they were nominally from the same hometown and had plenty of opportunities to find common ground.

Li Siwei wasn’t planning to go back to Jiangcheng for winter break this year. There were many events during the Spring Festival, and he could take on any part-time jobs that other students didn’t want. Staying in Beishi meant more earning opportunities.

To his surprise, Yu Chuan wasn’t going back either. Yu Chuan said there was no point in going back. Jiangcheng didn’t have central heating; it was better to stay in Beishi.

He had originally planned for them both to stay in the dorms. Yu Chuan’s dorm had an empty bed, and they could live and eat together. But a notice before the winter break caught him off guard.

The school dorm’s plumbing was severely outdated and needed to be overhauled. Students weren’t allowed to stay during the break.

They had no choice but to find a place to stay temporarily. But with the approaching Spring Festival, finding a place was already difficult, and short-term rentals were even harder to come by.

Finally, Yu Chuan found a single-story house outside the Fifth Ring Road. The house was in a low-lying area, with an unused rooftop piled with junk above, and the living space below was like a semi-basement.

The total area was only about twenty square meters. There was no natural gas, so they could only use coal for heating. There was no living room, only a bedroom with a 1.5-meter double bed against the wall. The palm mattress creaked whenever someone sat on it. The south-facing window was a single pane of green glass, covered with two layers of newspaper. The kitchen and bathroom were in a small separate compartment outside. Compared to the centrally heated dorm rooms, it was cold here, but at least it was livable.

After years of taking care of Li Qingqing, Li Siwei had developed a habit of caring for others. He was afraid Yu Chuan wasn’t dressing warmly enough or eating properly, so every morning before leaving, he would prepare a thermos of hot soup for him.

Living in a single-story house had its advantages. There was a small farmers market less than a kilometer away, and Li Siwei would go there to buy cheap groceries when he wasn’t working. White fungus and red dates for soup, and occasionally, if there were cheap spareribs, he would ask the vendor to chop a couple for him, good for braising or stewing.

Fortunately, things went their way. Soon, Li Siwei and Yu Chuan landed a big job.

A large auto show was being held at a sports stadium on the outskirts of the city. An imported car brand needed two models, paying two thousand yuan a day. The offer was too tempting to resist. Li Siwei submitted their headshots, hoping for the best. A few days later, they received a call, asking them to start work the next morning, but they had to provide their own costumes and makeup.

Li Siwei was overjoyed. That night, he took Yu Chuan to the city and bought two suits, foundation, eyebrow pencils, and hairspray for their styling. Although it cost them four or five hundred yuan, the thought of earning over ten thousand yuan after a week at the auto show made it a worthwhile investment.

Li Siwei had seen commercials for this imported car brand on TV before. The cars weren’t cheap, a basic model costing three hundred and seventy or eighty thousand yuan. He calculated that the price of one car was enough for him to live on for more than ten years.

They arrived at the venue early that day. The auto show was even bigger than he had imagined. A huge exhibition hall, over ten thousand square meters, with more than a dozen car brands, bustling with people. Li Siwei and Yu Chuan’s booth was in the northernmost corner, which was thankfully quiet.

Besides the two of them, there were also staff from the car company at the booth. During lunch break, Li Siwei asked for a price list. He scanned it from top to bottom and was so shocked that he quickly put it away.

“You like this one?” Someone asked behind him.

Li Siwei turned around and saw Yu Chuan standing behind him.

“No. I was just looking…” Li Siwei quickly shook his head.

“Get in and have a seat.” Yu Chuan nudged his back, pointing at a display car.

“Isn’t that inappropriate…” Li Siwei looked around.

“What’s inappropriate? Everyone’s gone for lunch. No one’s here.” Before Li Siwei could react, Yu Chuan had already opened the car door and pushed him into the driver’s seat.

The driver’s seat was spacious, the leather seat comfortable and supportive, with built-in heating. The center console was a rare large screen, and the armrest had space for two cups and keys. Everything was perfect.

The car had the smell of new leather, a strange and exciting scent that made his cheeks flush.

Yu Chuan leaned against the car door, watching Li Siwei’s fascinated expression, and chuckled.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head.

Soon, the staff returned from their lunch break, and Li Siwei quickly slipped out and closed the car door.

But if he hadn’t sat in it, he wouldn’t have craved it. Once he had experienced it, it was hard to forget.

The next morning, when they woke up in their small house, Li Siwei found himself clinging to Yu Chuan’s arm like a koala.

He looked up and saw that Yu Chuan was already awake, looking down at him.

“You scared me.” Li Siwei pulled his hand away and patted his chest. “Why didn’t you say anything when you woke up?”

“Do you know you were talking in your sleep?” Yu Chuan looked at him, a smile playing on his lips.

“What? Impossible.” He shook his head vigorously.

“You were saying ‘step on the gas,’ ‘step on the gas’—” Yu Chuan pulled his cheek. “And you were grabbing me, insisting on shifting gears.”

“Shifting what gears? Where was I grabbing you?” Li Siwei pushed his hand away, then his ears turned red. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“Did you do it or not?” Yu Chuan grabbed his hand and pulled it under the covers, and they started wrestling.

After that, for the next few days, Li Siwei stood stiffly at their booth, not daring to sit in the car for even a second.

The auto show ended shortly before the Spring Festival. Li Siwei bought two new sets of clothes for Li Qingqing and sent them back, then gave Uncle Fu, the caregiver, five hundred yuan as a holiday bonus, finally putting his mind at ease.

Although they were outside the Fifth Ring Road, the Spring Festival atmosphere here was stronger than in the city. Before the end of the twelfth lunar month, lanterns were hung up by the roadside. Fireworks were also allowed here, and people from the city would come here to set them off at night.

The twelfth lunar month passed quickly. It had been a week since the auto show ended, but they still hadn’t received their payment. At first, Li Siwei was too embarrassed to ask the agency that hired them. But as the Spring Festival approached and his money dwindled, he became anxious. He called the agency, but the person on the other end seemed busy, giving him a few perfunctory answers before hanging up.

Li Siwei waited at home for two days. On the third day, New Year’s Eve, the sound of firecrackers outside grew louder and louder, making him restless. He couldn’t sit still any longer and called the agency again. This time, the phone rang twice before going straight to voicemail.

Alarm bells went off in Li Siwei’s mind. Five minutes later, he called again, and the phone was turned off.

Li Siwei even contacted the person in charge at the car company, but they all said they couldn’t reach the agency.

He was desperate.

He had wasted half a month and spent his own money on the suits, but he hadn’t earned a single cent.

Now, with no money and no work, they couldn’t even afford to eat.

When Li Siwei told Yu Chuan the news, Yu Chuan was looking for work at a film studio on the outskirts of the city. After receiving Li Siwei’s call, Yu Chuan was silent for a long time, finally speaking after half a minute.

“It’s okay. I’ll figure something out.”

Yu Chuan spent two days at the film studio, but there was still no good news. With the approaching Spring Festival, many large productions had stopped filming.

To Li Siwei’s surprise, he received a call from Han Xiao.

He didn’t even have Han Xiao’s number saved in his phone and thought it was a scam call. It wasn’t until he heard the voice on the other end, clearly stating his name, that Li Siwei realized who it was.

Han Xiao asked to meet him at a cafe, saying he had a job for him, paying eight to ten thousand yuan.

Li Siwei was overjoyed. It seemed that fate hadn’t completely abandoned him, and things were looking up at the end of the year. After much deliberation, he put on the suit he had bought for the auto show.

The address Han Xiao sent him was a string of English words. Li Siwei searched it on the map and found it was near the Third Ring Road. He took the subway and then a bus, finally arriving at the location. He looked up and saw that it was a cafe.

This was the first time Li Siwei realized that semi-basement structures weren’t limited to small houses like the one he and Yu Chuan lived in. There were also cafes like this.

The name on the dark wooden sign was a string of difficult-to-read English words, with a small Chinese annotation beside it: The Pit Cafe.

Although it was also a basement, there was no musty smell here, and no need for coal heating. Hidden among trees, the minimalist but elegant decor exuded an air of wealth.

Li Siwei was wearing his black suit when he entered, but as the automatic sliding doors opened, he saw that the men and women inside were all dressed casually. He blushed and quickly took off his jacket, leaving only his white shirt. He took two steps inside, then stepped back and rolled up his sleeves, trying to appear less formally dressed.

Han Xiao sat by the window. A tall tree stood outside, its shadow swaying on his face.

Li Siwei, holding his out-of-place suit jacket, smiled awkwardly at him.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Sit.” Han Xiao nodded.

Li Siwei then noticed a cage by Han Xiao’s feet. The cage looked exquisite, with pale gold bars, and a snow-white rabbit sleeping inside.

“A rabbit?”

“Oh, my… pet.” Han Xiao glanced at the rabbit.

The rabbit looked different from the wild rabbits Li Siwei had seen. It was completely white, its fur seemingly trimmed, neat and smooth, with no unpleasant smell, curled up in a ball, looking very clean.

“Cute.” He nodded. “You like rabbits?”

Han Xiao smiled: “Yes. They’re obedient and well-behaved, very likable.”

Han Xiao didn’t continue the topic, but pushed a business card across the table.

“What’s this?” Li Siwei took it and saw that it was the contact information of a producer.

“One of my mother’s subordinates, currently the producer of an idol drama. They need a small supporting role, the schedule is tight, only one day of filming, and the payment is upon completion.”

Li Siwei quickly took the business card with both hands and thanked him repeatedly: “Thank you, thank you. So I can contact this person directly?”

Han Xiao nodded: “You can call him when you get back. He’ll arrange everything.”

It was drizzling outside when Li Siwei left The Pit Cafe. He walked a few steps, then stopped and looked back.

Han Xiao had taken the white rabbit out of the cage and was holding it in his palm.

A gust of wind blew, and Li Siwei shivered, quickly walking away.

Idol dramas were indeed easy to film. Li Siwei’s role was the female lead’s college classmate. He only needed to show his side profile twice and chime in with a few lines when the male and female leads were arguing. The role was simple and didn’t require much acting. He got into character quickly and finished filming in about three hours.

Before he left, the producer gave him a thick red envelope. Li Siwei found a corner to open it and was startled. The amount was two thousand yuan more than what Han Xiao had told him.

Li Siwei quickly put the red envelope in his inner pocket, clutching it tightly all the way back on the subway, afraid of being robbed.

However, when he got out of the subway, he found that it was pouring rain. He had left in a hurry that morning and hadn’t brought an umbrella. People hurried past, no one stopping.

Li Siwei gritted his teeth and ran into the rain, his bag slung over his shoulder.

When he reached his apartment, he froze.

Yu Chuan was back, sitting on the doorstep of their single-story house. The heavy rain had flooded the entrance, and Yu Chuan’s legs were half submerged in water. His neck and arms were covered in bruises.

“What happened?” Li Siwei’s voice trembled.

“I’ll tell you later. I don’t have my key.” Yu Chuan slowly stood up, but his leg seemed injured, and he winced in pain.

Li Siwei quickly fumbled for his key, but the more anxious he became, the harder it was to find. Instead, the thick red envelope slipped out of his inner pocket and fell to the ground.

Li Siwei quickly bent down, picked up the red envelope, and wiped the water off with his shirt.

“What’s this?” Yu Chuan looked up and asked.

“I went for an audition today. The production team gave it to me.” Li Siwei looked at him honestly, finally finding his key. He walked to the door and unlocked the brass lock.

Yu Chuan didn’t ask further.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Li Siwei broke the silence: “It was a job Han Xiao introduced. He suddenly called me yesterday, I was surprised too…”

Before he could finish, Yu Chuan took off his soaked jacket. The thin T-shirt underneath revealed the purple bruises on his back.

Li Siwei panicked: “What happened? Let’s go to the hospital.”

Yu Chuan just shook his head: “It’s fine, I’m not going.”

He didn’t answer. As the door opened, Li Siwei saw that their apartment was flooded.

Yu Chuan looked around, then went outside, found two basins, and, despite the pain, started scooping the water out of the house. Li Siwei’s eyes stung, and he could only scoop the water with him in silence.

They scooped until their arms were sore, but they couldn’t keep up with the downpour. The more they scooped, the more water poured in.

“No, we can’t stay here.” Li Siwei sniffed. “Let’s go to a hotel.”

Yu Chuan paused, then nodded in agreement.

They walked along the street for over half an hour before finally finding a small hotel that was still open.

Only one room was left, a double bed, north-facing. Li Siwei quickly paid and took Yu Chuan upstairs.

Yu Chuan hadn’t spoken. Li Siwei handed him dry clothes, but he didn’t take them.

He sat on a chair by the bed, like a lifeless piece of wood.

Li Siwei, worried about infection, walked over and forcefully took off his T-shirt.

His back and arms were covered in scrapes and bruises, not deep, but densely packed, like abrasions from rolling on the ground.

Another hour of silence followed. Li Siwei first wiped Yu Chuan’s body with a towel.

Then he borrowed an umbrella and went downstairs to buy povidone-iodine, carefully cleaning his wounds. After cleaning his body, he lifted Yu Chuan’s face.

That night, Yu Chuan looked into his eyes for the first time.

Li Siwei’s throat tightened, his nose stinging. He could only look away and continue cleaning his wounds.

Finally, at midnight, the exhausted pair lay down. The dry bedding wrapped around their cold bodies.

Li Siwei lay on the inside, Yu Chuan half an arm’s length away, his back to him.

Li Siwei took several deep breaths, still unable to fall asleep. He turned over, his arm reaching out then retracting. After repeating this several times, he finally made up his mind and hugged Yu Chuan’s waist tightly from behind.

“Yu Chuan.” He called his name.

Yu Chuan didn’t respond, only his chest rising and falling.

“Brother Xiaochuan.” He changed his address. He usually used this nickname when they were playing around.

But Yu Chuan still didn’t react, just lying there on his side.

The rain pattered outside the window. Li Siwei, looking through Yu Chuan’s hair, saw the slanting rain.

Li Siwei buried his face in Yu Chuan’s back, unable to hold back his tears any longer. Hot tears streamed down his face in the cold night.

“Why are you so badly injured…”

Why was it that ever since he met Yu Chuan, he had been constantly hurt.

Half a minute later, he heard Yu Chuan exhale softly, his voice hoarse.

“I was a stunt double for an actor, and there was an accident… I fell from the wire.”

Li Siwei froze. A deathly silence fell between them again.

About five minutes later, Yu Chuan suddenly turned around, cupped his face, and kissed his forehead with cold lips.

“Baby…” He called Li Siwei this for the first time.

In the darkness, they touched and moved mechanically, no kisses, no sweet nothings, only a release of pent-up emotions.

Li Siwei wrapped his arms around Yu Chuan’s neck, pressed his forehead against his neck, and gritted his teeth, not daring to make a sound.

Finally, it was over. The rain continued outside. Yu Chuan looked down at his pale face.

Water droplets rolled down the windowpane. He heard Yu Chuan say: “We… will have our own house one day.”

Li Siwei reached up and hugged his neck tightly. He didn’t reply, just hummed softly in agreement.