chapter 10

When the phone rang, Ning Qiuyan was standing at the guest room door, watching Su Jianzhou make up the bed for him.

They had spent a lot of time together since Su Jianzhou was fourteen or fifteen. Even after Su Jianzhou finished university and returned, they were still together. Even if they didn’t keep in frequent contact, it always felt as if they’d never been apart.

Su Jianzhou also lived alone. He had accumulated so many things at home that it took several days to clear out the guest room. Starting tonight, they wouldn’t have to squeeze onto the same bed anymore.

The cuffs of his sweater were pulled long, wrapping around Ning Qiuyan’s cold fingers.

He turned over the phone in his palm and saw an unfamiliar number displayed on the screen.

Thinking it might be a reply to one of his job applications, he stepped back into Su Jianzhou’s living room. “Hello?”

It was early morning, and only a single pendant lamp was on in the living room.

Ning Qiuyan stood at the border between light and shadow. After a brief silence, he heard his name called from the other end of the line.

“Ning Qiuyan.”

Suddenly, a numbness shot up from his ear to his spine.

That voice was distant, yet somehow familiar.

It was a voice he hadn’t been able to forget.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react. Ning Qiuyan opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.

It was actually Guan Heng on the other end.

Guan Heng might have just woken up, or was about to go to sleep; there was a barely noticeable hoarseness at the end of his words. “Are you listening?”

“Yes!”

His voice was a bit too loud, enough that Su Jianzhou glanced out from the room.

Ning Qiuyan calmed himself a little and lowered his voice. “Hello, Mr. Guan, I’m listening.”

“Mm.” Guan Heng said, “Where are you?”

Ning Qiuyan replied, “At my friend’s house.”

Because he was nervous, Ning Qiuyan spoke quickly. He guessed it was because he hadn’t shown up at the Du Island dock today that Guan Heng was calling.

Because of this, Ning Qiuyan felt a strong sense of guilt for missing the appointment.

“I’m sorry, I’ve already emailed the contact person to explain the situation here. He hasn’t replied, so I don’t know if he’s seen it, but-”

Guan Heng interrupted him: “He’s seen it.”

Through the phone, Ning Qiuyan couldn’t see Guan Heng’s face.

But Guan Heng’s tone was much the same as that night in the snow by the lake-calm and succinct.

Ning Qiuyan heard Guan Heng say to him over the phone, “But I need you.”

“I need you.”

The moment those words reached his ears, Ning Qiuyan’s face began to flush.

He covered his face, at a loss for his own reaction. Those words, spoken by Guan Heng, seemed to have a fatal attraction. He immediately recalled the way Guan Heng had looked at him from across the sofa.

He felt completely out of sorts.

Guan Heng asked gently, “Are you willing to come?”

His eyelashes fluttered nervously against his palm.

Ning Qiuyan felt like he was about to burst into flames, unable to utter a word of refusal.

Guan Heng patiently waited for more than ten seconds, as if he already knew the answer, then said, “Give me your current address.”

Ning Qiuyan told him.

Guan Heng responded with another “Mm,” and said, “Someone will be downstairs to pick you up in twenty minutes.”

After the call ended, Ning Qiuyan stood there for a full minute.

Su Jianzhou came out holding a half-stuffed pillow. “Who was that-why is your face so red?”

Ning Qiuyan’s hair was messy as he replied, “It was Mr. Guan.”

“Guan Heng called you?” Su Jianzhou was surprised, then quickly asked, “What happened? Is something wrong?”

Ning Qiuyan shook his head. “He said he’s sending someone to pick me up.”

“Pick you up?”

The flush faded a little from Ning Qiuyan’s cheeks. He bit his lip. “I still want to go to Du Island. It’ll be fine.”

Ning Qiuyan didn’t understand why he felt this way.

He clearly didn’t want to go back to Du Island so soon, but the situation now made it impossible for him to refuse Guan Heng’s request.

That urge was stubborn. In fact, no matter what Guan Heng said, he couldn’t refuse.

He had an unspoken anticipation for Du Island.

Su Jianzhou didn’t try to stop him again.

Having someone sent by Guan Heng to pick him up was safer than Ning Qiuyan going alone to the station, then transferring to a bus and taking a ferry.

Besides, at least this way Su Jianzhou would know where Ning Qiuyan was and who he was with. Someone as well-known as Guan Heng wouldn’t do anything to him.

Ning Qiuyan packed a few things.

He had just moved into Su Jianzhou’s place, so all his belongings were still together, making it easy to get ready in time.

After packing, he quickly downloaded two or three games on his phone, then stood by the window and looked down.

It was about time.

A black sedan pulled up downstairs, right on schedule.

In this weather, except for the mud-stained wheel rims, the rest of the car was clean enough to reflect light.

It was the car sent by Guan Heng.

Ning Qiuyan slung on his backpack and said to Su Jianzhou, “I’m leaving.”

Su Jianzhou also saw the car downstairs and came over to give him a hug. “I’ll pick you up near the dock on Monday morning.”

Knowing Su Jianzhou was busy with work, Ning Qiuyan wasn’t the type of friend to make a fuss.

He said, “That’s not necessary. It’s not as scary as you think.”

With that, Ning Qiuyan went downstairs.

As soon as he appeared across the street, the driver got out to open the door for him.

“Mr. Guan sent me to pick you up,” the driver said respectfully. “Please get in.”

“Thank you,” Ning Qiuyan replied.

The driver looked somewhat familiar, his demeanor a bit like the first person Ning Qiuyan had encountered in the underground plaza that night. Ning Qiuyan couldn’t help but take a second look, but couldn’t be sure.

He stuffed his backpack into the car and got in.

The heater was on high inside, and there was already a cardboard box on the spacious back seat.

*

They didn’t talk much along the way.

The car drove past the edge of Wutong, following the same route Ning Qiuyan had taken by bus to the seaside, then turned onto a seemingly hidden road just wide enough for a single car, heading straight for the dock.
The white boat was already moored by the dock.

The weather was calm that day, and the boat seemed steady.

Before Ning Qiuyan got out of the car, the driver lifted a cardboard box from the back seat and handed it to him. “Mr. Guan instructed that you should take this with you as well.”

Ning Qiuyan was a little surprised; the box was rather heavy. He asked, “Is this something from the island?”

The driver replied, “Mr. Guan bought it for you.”

Ning Qiuyan was even more confused.

After boarding the boat, he saw Uncle Ping standing on the deck, looking somewhat displeased. “You’re here.”

They were already over an hour past their agreed time.

Uncle Ping probably didn’t know what had happened; last time he had made it clear more than once that he hoped Ning Qiuyan would arrive on time, yet Ning Qiuyan was late on his second visit.

Ning Qiuyan apologized.

Uncle Ping said nothing, simply used the walkie-talkie to notify someone to set sail.

When the boat reached Du Island, Ning Qiuyan saw Uncle Kang’s car parked at the dock in the same spot as last time.

Ning Qiuyan knew that next time, he absolutely couldn’t be late again. It didn’t sit well with him to delay everyone because of himself.

On the other hand, he also wondered: he had actually sent an email in advance saying he couldn’t make it to Du Island this time. If the contact had received it, why did everyone seem so certain that he would still come?

After a month apart, Uncle Kang was still full of energy.

When he saw Ning Qiuyan, he affectionately patted him on the back. “Xiao Ning, you’re here. How have you been this past month?”

“Uncle Kang.” Ning Qiuyan held the box. “I’m fine.”

Uncle Kang smiled warmly. “Get in the car.”

It seemed as if it had been snowing nonstop on Du Island for the past month.

The snow was thick, and the car had snow chains for better traction on the snowy roads.

The car moved very slowly.

Every scene on the island drifted by slowly. Each spot was a place Ning Qiuyan had passed on his last visit, yet the heavy snow made every place look different.

What hadn’t changed was the tranquility here.

No matter how bustling and noisy the outside world might be, Du Island stood quietly here, set apart from the dust of the mundane world.

He wondered whether living here long-term would be lonely.

The car stopped by the fountain in front of the building.

The pool was filled with snow, as was the ground, with no footprints to be seen.

During the day, the house was just as before-warm and dim.

All the curtains were tightly drawn, not letting in a single ray of daylight.

As he went upstairs, Ning Qiuyan couldn’t help but raise his question.

Returning here, the wild and fantastic discussions he had seen on that forum seemed a little more plausible.

He had heard that Vampires would burn to death if exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun…

He asked nervously, but Uncle Kang answered as usual, “Mr. Guan doesn’t like to move around and is always sleeping. Occasionally, he’ll come downstairs, but light and sound disturb his sleep. If he doesn’t sleep well, his mood won’t be good.”

This reminded Ning Qiuyan that Guan Heng was a patient.

Patients do indeed have poor sleep quality; when his mother was seriously ill, she would sometimes sleep for an entire day.

But for the sake of ‘occasionally coming downstairs,’ everyone in the house maintained a perfect sleeping environment at all times, which still seemed rather excessive.

Once again, Ning Qiuyan felt that, for Guan Heng, everyone here existed just to serve him.

Uncle Kang arranged for Ning Qiuyan to stay in the same room as last time.

Everything was as usual, with a fresh bouquet of small white flowers placed at the bedside.

As usual, Dr. Ling would come first to draw blood for tests in preparation for the next day’s blood donation.

But this time, after Ning Qiuyan had put his things away, Uncle Kang told him that Guan Heng wanted to see him.

“Now?” Ning Qiuyan was caught off guard.

“Now.” Uncle Kang nodded gracefully. “Mr. Guan is waiting for you upstairs.”

Although they had just spoken on the phone that morning, Ning Qiuyan still felt nervous; he was completely unprepared to see Guan Heng in person so soon.

Uncle Kang led him upstairs, stopped at Guan Heng’s room, and said as before, “Just go right in.”

Ning Qiuyan pushed open the door and entered.

Once he had walked a bit further in, Uncle Kang closed the door behind him.

A fire was burning in the center of the room, enclosed by glass.

Beside the fire was a leather chaise lounge, replacing the black velvet sofa from last time. The chaise was covered with a blanket and a brown fur throw, both looking rather old.

Other than that, the furnishings were much the same as when Ning Qiuyan was last here.

Guan Heng was not present.

But the room was filled with Guan Heng’s cool, fragrant scent.

Ning Qiuyan guessed that Guan Heng might be behind the honey-colored wooden screen again and would step out just like last time.

He tentatively called out, “Mr. Guan,” and waited for a while, but no one in the house responded. He wasn’t sure whether the space behind the screen connected to other parts of the floor.

The third floor seemed colder than the other places.

Ning Qiuyan had left his coat in his room earlier; now, wearing only a loose sweater, he was starting to feel uncomfortably cold.

He approached the fire, only to find it gave off no warmth. The special glass isolated the flames, so the fire gave off no warmth and served only as a winter decoration. The owner seemed unconcerned whether it could provide heat or not.

Ning Qiuyan could only sit on the chaise, trying to warm his hands with his breath.

Suddenly, his whole body was pushed heavily backward.

As if someone had given him a shove.

Guan Heng’s face appeared before his eyes, lashes lowered, looking down at him from above.

The collar of his sweater was too wide.

The fur brushed ticklishly against Ning Qiuyan’s bare neck and the collarbone that rose and fell with his rapid breathing.

At that moment, the scene before his eyes subtly overlapped with one from his dreams, blood rushing quickly toward the depths of his chest.

And Guan Heng’s gaze fell on the artery at the side of his neck, like a naturally savage predator.

Ning Qiuyan didn’t realize that he was trembling slightly, like a weak prey.

A few seconds later, Guan Heng composed his expression and said, “A child who scares so easily.”