Chapter 112

Chapter 112

By May, the weather had cleared for good. The sun was no longer stingy with its warmth, and Sujing welcomed its precious summer, which would last just over three months.

This was Ning Qiuyan’s first summer in Sujing.

Life settled back into calm.

Every morning, he rode his bicycle to school. In the afternoons, he went to his senior’s studio to work part-time. On weekends, he either took online classes or went to driving school, living the life of an ordinary university student.

After Guan Heng left, aside from the occasional phone call from Li Tang-the man had made him more new clothes-Ning Qiuyan did not encounter a single member of the Vampires in his day-to-day life.

Those creatures that did not belong to the human world seemed to have vanished.

Now and then, Ning Qiuyan would think of the club, of Camellia Night, of Wagner, Qin Weizhi, and all those pale, uncanny, sinister faces. He would think of their tones of voice, seemingly elegant but in truth arrogant to the bone.

In reality, not much time had passed. But bathed in sunlight, it felt like something from a very, very long time ago.

Of course, the life of an ordinary university student had its frustrations too.

Ning Qiuyan failed the written test for his driver’s license. Compared with the practical exams, those inexplicable multiple-choice questions and obscure, bizarre road signs were countless times more complicated than the notes dancing across a musical staff. There was simply no way for him to cram them all into his head at once.

Guan Heng had quizzed him on them before, and even then, he had barely been able to answer.

Whenever he got one wrong, Guan Heng would roll up the book and lightly tap him on the head. “Dummy. This is the hand signal for slowing down. That’s the third time you’ve gotten it wrong. How do you still not remember?”

Ning Qiuyan had been unconvinced. “Do you know all these questions, then? You don’t look like someone who’s ever taken a driving test.”

The second half of his sentence grew quieter and quieter.

Guan Heng did not get angry. He only looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile. “I don’t need to take the test.”

Ning Qiuyan said, “Why not?”

Driving without a license absolutely made someone a menace on the road, especially someone who had not left an island for one or two hundred years. Wait. Had cars even existed in the world before Guan Heng went to Du Island?

Guan Heng gave him the answer. “I carefully read All-in-One Guide to Learning to Drive and Getting Licensed.”

Since he had failed, he could only study again.

Ning Qiuyan opened the book and sat in the living room, silently reciting the questions over and over. In the shifting light and shadow cast by the scorching sun, he thought of Guan Heng more than once.

He missed him very much.

[I failed the driver’s theory test.]

[86 points.]

Ning Qiuyan took out his phone and typed.

As promised, he sent Guan Heng messages every day.

[One of the redwoods at school suddenly died. A crane came this afternoon. Lots of people went to watch.]

He no longer worried about whether he was interesting enough. Instead, he told Guan Heng every tiny detail that happened in his life.

Guan Heng never replied.

After their last phone call, they had not been in contact again. Guan Heng must have entered his dormant period.

Ning Qiuyan had called Dr. Ling to ask about him, but the other man only said everything was going smoothly. He had no idea what kind of conversation had taken place between Ning Qiuyan and Guan Heng.

At the end of May, Lu Qianque came to Sujing.

Early summer seemed to make the Vampires uncomfortable, whether it was the rising temperature or the sun that refused to set until late.

Lu Qianque wore sunglasses even at night, his complexion paler than before. He stood in the garden with a beaming smile. “I heard our Little Puppy has a new job.”

At his senior’s studio, Ning Qiuyan had received an invitation to compose a proposed score for a public welfare animated short. The pay was not much, but plenty of people had participated. After making the shortlist, Ning Qiuyan had beaten out round after round of competitors and stayed all the way to the end. Of course, in the end, he would donate the money to the project along with the rest.

Ning Qiuyan had not told Lu Qianque about this himself, so it could only have been Qu Shu.

“Can I hear it?” Lu Qianque asked.

Ning Qiuyan hesitated for a moment, then explained, “It’s not finished yet. It’s very plain.”

Lu Qianque said, “I understand. It’s because I’m tone-deaf, so you won’t let me hear it. If Sir were here, I bet you’d take the very first note to go harass his ears with it.”

Ning Qiuyan was speechless.

Lu Qianque had come to Sujing to wrap up some work.

Although Huanle had been thoroughly sanctioned and would be unable to form a supply chain again in the short term, there were many victims. People like Rong Qi would need a very long course of treatment.

They were now making arrangements to establish a cooperative relationship with the relevant departments and carry out beneficial interventions for those victims.

There might be no true saints in this world, but not all inhuman beings were evil by nature either.

This was what some of the Vampires had always been quietly doing.

Lu Qianque said to Ning Qiuyan, “Gu Yu asked me to ask you. Summer vacation is in just over a month. Do you want to go back to Du Island?”

Gu Yu had already called once to ask him.

He said he was going to learn how to swim and had prepared all kinds of equipment. Summer was here, and he wanted to go diving and surfing in the sea with Ning Qiuyan.

Ning Qiuyan could not help telling him, “The temperature on Du Island is still very low in the summer. The seawater is cold. You won’t be able to handle it.”

Gu Yu had been half believing, half doubtful. “Really? How cold is it?”

In truth, Ning Qiuyan had never tried it himself, so he said, “If you don’t believe me, ask Uncle Kang.”

Gu Yu might really have gone to ask. He was probably sorely disappointed, because for several days after that, he did not bring it up again.

Now he had sent Lu Qianque to invite Ning Qiuyan again. He must have come up with some new idea.
Would Guan Heng have ended his dormancy by summer break?

Ning Qiuyan thought it over.

Lu Qianque could tell what was on his mind and said gently, “If Mr. Guan still hasn’t woken up by then, I don’t mind helping wake him.”

Ning Qiuyan froze for a moment, then raked a hand through his hair. “The project isn’t over yet. I can’t decide right now.”

“All right.” Lu Qianque didn’t press him, simply going along with it. “Contact me anytime.”

Time flowed by like water.

In the blink of an eye, summer break arrived.

Ning Qiuyan did not choose to return to Du Island.

Autumn began, and Guan Heng still had not woken.

Everyone had thought Ning Qiuyan would wake him before his birthday, or that Guan Heng would wake on his own, but neither happened.

Maybe they were waiting until winter.

That was what everyone thought.

By then, Ning Qiuyan would have to return to Du Island.

This birthday, Ning Qiuyan received well-wishes from many people. He was twenty now, officially entering his twenties, and it felt as though he had to find a new goal for his future life at once.

He successfully got his driver’s license, completed the charity project, and received a certificate of completion for an online photography course.

Several times, he wanted to call Guan Heng, but for some inexplicable reason, he restrained the impulse every time.

At first, it was agonizing.

His longing grew wildly. He had even bought plane tickets back to Wutong three times, intending to contact Uncle Ping and go up to Du Island. But every single ticket was refunded before the final deadline.

And just like that, the end of the year arrived.

Ning Qiuyan packed his luggage and left the Black House. When his plane landed, Su Jianzhou came to pick him up.

“Are you addicted to growing your hair out or what?” Su Jianzhou almost didn’t recognize him. “How is it even longer than last time? Do all you artsy people in big cities have to be this unconventional?”

Ning Qiuyan’s hair was already long enough to tuck behind his ears, but his features were delicate and his air was clean, so he didn’t look sloppy at all. With a guitar on his back, simply standing in the arrivals hall, his looks and the frame that was gradually stretching into young adulthood drew attention easily.

He looked rather aloof, and rather convincing, too.

Out of habit, Su Jianzhou moved to hook an arm around his neck, but halfway through, he noticed the faint smell of tobacco on him.

So Su Jianzhou changed course in disgust and ruffled his hair instead. “Come on. I’m taking you to meet my girlfriend.”

Ning Qiuyan was shocked. “You have a girlfriend?”

Su Jianzhou complained, “You’re allowed to date a melancholy tycoon living in seclusion from the world, but I’m not allowed to have a girlfriend?”

“When did this happen?”

“A couple months ago. We hadn’t made it official then, so I figured I’d introduce you when you got back.”

“How did you meet?”

…

The moment they stepped out of the airport, a world of ice and snow rushed at them.

That familiar, crisp air poured into his nose and lungs. As the biting winter wind swept over him, it was as if he had come back to life.

No matter when it was, as long as he returned to this land he loved so deeply, he could feel himself completely relax.

Because this was his hometown. And on that island not far away, there was his second home, and the person he loved most.

Su Jianzhou was as stingy as ever. Even when introducing his girlfriend to Ning Qiuyan, he still chose the barbecue stall they used to frequent.

The three of them sat in their old seats and ordered food. The owner went off cheerfully to boil beer for them. The only difference was that this time, beside Su Jianzhou sat someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

On the way there, Su Jianzhou had roughly explained how the two of them met.

The girl’s name was Lin Jiao. She wasn’t a fellow nurse at the hospital, nor was she a patient or a patient’s family member. For Su Jianzhou, a doctor who left early and came home late every day, meeting her at all was a rare stroke of fate.

One morning during peak travel hours, they had both booked the same ride.

The girl was in a hurry to take her dog to see a vet, while Su Jianzhou was in a hurry to get to a meeting. The little dog was in a bad state, and the girl silently cried. Su Jianzhou, who had always been practically mute in front of girls, unexpectedly reached out and said, “Let me take a look. I’m a doctor.”

They were only strangers, the kind of people who would forget each other as soon as they got out of the car, and his specialty wasn’t even the right one.

Su Jianzhou told Ning Qiuyan, “I knew that if I didn’t say something then, I might never see her again.”

Love had descended on an ordinary morning just like that.

Lin Jiao worked in planning at a local company, and she wasn’t especially outgoing either. When she greeted Ning Qiuyan, she only said, somewhat shyly but politely, “I hear Su Jianzhou mention you a lot.”

After dinner, the three of them were slightly tipsy. They walked Lin Jiao home, and only then did Ning Qiuyan learn that the two of them were not living together yet.

Su Jianzhou told Ning Qiuyan that they were dating with marriage in mind.

“Marriage?” Ning Qiuyan was surprised. “So soon?”

“I’m not saying we’re getting married right away. It’s just the goal,” Su Jianzhou said. “Everyone probably hopes their love will have a good ending.”

Ning Qiuyan abruptly stopped walking.

Su Jianzhou had walked a little farther before realizing he hadn’t followed. He turned back, about to call out to him.

Ning Qiuyan stood by the snow-covered roadside, tall and thin, wrapped in a thick padded coat, yet still looking so fragile.

Su Jianzhou keenly sensed something and secretly regretted what he had just said.

Last time, he had asked Ning Qiuyan to provide Guan Heng’s medical records, but there had been no follow-up. Later, he had asked the person in charge of organizing the blood donation project back then. Their answer had been vague, but not very optimistic.
Two people like that naturally couldn’t spend the rest of their lives together.

One of them would always have to leave first.

“I’m sorry.”

Even now, Su Jianzhou still thought Guan Heng was terminally ill.

“I was being too one-sided.”

Ning Qiuyan said it was fine.

They walked for a while before Ning Qiuyan suddenly asked, “If two people are together, and one knows the other has been in terrible pain all along, knows they can never stay with him until the very end, and can’t truly ease his suffering no matter what… is there still any point in continuing?”

Su Jianzhou froze. “How could there not be?”

He challenged Ning Qiuyan, “Even if you don’t make it to the end, even if it doesn’t change anything, does that mean the love you gave wasn’t real?”

Ning Qiuyan said, “Can such useless feelings really count as love?”

Humans fell in love with someone, dated, broke up, then searched for the next person to love, until they married and vowed to grow old together.

So in the end, all their lives, they were searching for a place for their souls to belong, because love was the complete possession of one another.

Ning Qiuyan was no exception. As an orphan, his longing was even stronger.

Su Jianzhou looked at him helplessly.

They had both grown up, yet Ning Qiuyan had suddenly turned back into that stubborn little piano student, the one who had insisted on playing “Croatian Rhapsody” with absolute precision and flawless perfection.

“What exactly counts as useful?” Su Jianzhou said. “Love can’t be measured by material things. It’s something the spirit relies on. Under such special circumstances, the fact that you loved him with all your heart and stayed by his side is already something most people could only hope for.”

Ning Qiuyan was at a loss for words.

It seemed he had never thought about it from that angle. He could not fully accept Su Jianzhou’s view, but he was not determined to get an answer, either.

Their breaths turned into white mist, drifting briefly through the air before scattering.
—
Ning Qiuyan stayed at his home in Wutong for two days. On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he took a bus and set out for the ferry dock.

This year, neither Lu Qianque nor Gu Yu went to the island. They only asked Uncle Ping to come to the dock to pick up Ning Qiuyan.

It was snowing over the sea.

Snowflakes as large as goose feathers fluttered down from the sky, vanishing without a trace the moment they touched the surface of the water.

Uncle Ping was not a talkative man, and neither was Ning Qiuyan.

He had taken Uncle Ping’s boat along this route many times, and this time was no different, except that it was especially quiet. The boat moved slowly, traveling across the sea for more than three hours before Du Island finally revealed its true form in the gray, hazy view.

Snow had piled up on the dock, and the firs towered in the white mist.

There was no cargo to unload this time. From a distance, Ning Qiuyan only saw a car and two figures waiting beside it-the driver, and Uncle Kang, who insisted on coming to pick people up no matter when it was.

Uncle Ping brought the boat to shore. Ning Qiuyan jumped down from the deck and hugged Uncle Kang, saying with concern, “Uncle Kang, in weather this cold, you really shouldn’t have come to pick me up yourself.”

“When people get old, they can’t sit still.” Uncle Kang beamed as he patted his hand. “The moment I heard a child of the household was coming back from outside, I got so happy these legs of mine walked out on their own.”

They were familiar and close with one another, but on the way back, they still couldn’t avoid asking after each other’s health and comfort.

Uncle Kang’s gaze swept over Ning Qiuyan’s empty earlobe. He remained kindly and gentle, and asked nothing.

Guan Heng was still in his dormant period. This time, not only was Lu Qianque not coming back, but all guests had been declined as well. There would be no New Year’s Eve banquet anymore.

So even though the atmosphere of Spring Festival was the same as in past years, with people who had been busy all year looking radiant with joy and red lanterns hung everywhere, Ning Qiuyan could still feel how deserted it was.

As he entered the mansion and passed by the reception hall, the sound of fireworks that had bloomed all night last year, and the lively laughter and chatter, seemed as if they had only happened yesterday.

He returned to his familiar room, opened the window, and saw the pale blue lake outside sealed in ice.

A new railing had been built around the dock by the lake, giving the view a different sort of charm. Ning Qiuyan stood by the window for a long time.

Cold air poured in. He drew back his gaze and reached out to close the window, but unexpectedly, the hinge gave a sudden creak.

He immediately raised his head and looked toward the ceiling above.

Uncle Kang happened to come in just in time to see this. He told him, “Don’t be nervous. Sir isn’t upstairs.”

Ning Qiuyan was puzzled. “He isn’t upstairs?”

“That’s right. In the end, it’s still too noisy there. It isn’t a suitable place for deep sleep.” Uncle Kang said, “It’s just that all of us are used to following his schedule, so we’ve kept things quiet.”

Ning Qiuyan asked, “Then where is he?”

Knowing Guan Heng was not there, the tension that had been hanging over Ning Qiuyan’s heart actually eased quite a bit.

He did not know why himself.

Dr. Ling had only said Guan Heng would enter dormancy, and Ning Qiuyan had naturally assumed Guan Heng would be in his own room, so he had never asked. Now that he thought about it carefully, dormancy probably required an even more secluded and tranquil environment. Guan Heng must have arranged somewhere else.

“Only Dr. Ling and Young Master Lu know where Sir sleeps during his dormant periods. We actually aren’t very clear on it either,” Uncle Kang said. Then he told Ning Qiuyan, “Originally, they only said it would be two or three months, but later it was extended. That’s quite common.”

Over the few decades Uncle Kang had known of him, Guan Heng had entered slumber several times for varying lengths of time.

Sometimes Guan Heng would wake on his own. Uncle Kang personally went to the third floor every day to clean. As soon as he saw that any of the items had been moved, he would know Guan Heng was awake, and would have someone prepare fresh blood.
The third floor was silent. Every day, Uncle Kang would replace the emptied glasses with fresh blood. After a few days, Guan Heng would come down the stairs at night in his robe.

Sometimes, he was awakened instead.

The most recent time had been when Du Island faced a crisis and Lu Qianque awakened him.

Uncle Kang did not know that Guan Heng and Ning Qiuyan had made an agreement this time, and was still waiting for him to be awakened.

Ning Qiuyan was silent.

He turned and looked out the window at the gray sky and the rolling mountain ridges. Snow weighed down the treetops, and the world was a sheet of cold.
—
Ning Qiuyan did not light the Lighthouse.

He stayed on Du Island for seven days, helping Granny Bai turn the soil for the plants in her little greenhouse. It was the perfect season for fertilizing.

Most of what Granny Bai grew were edible herbs and spices-sage, rosemary, basil, lemongrass, and the like. Ning Qiuyan had seen several of them in the illustrated plant specimen books in the library, so he could name them.

But he did not recognize the bare, short stems growing in the soil on the other side.

“Those?” Granny Bai said. “Those are hydrangea cuttings Sir took last year.”

Ning Qiuyan remembered something and stood among the densely packed stems.

He had come to the greenhouse farm last year, but he had never entered this small greenhouse. He had not known these were planted inside.

Seeing the sorrowful look on his face, Granny Bai comforted him. “They’re not dead. These plants go dormant too. They’re all alive and well.”

“Back then, there was only one plant. Sir raised it until it was lush and full, and then, who knows where the mood struck him from, he suddenly used it for cuttings.” Granny Bai patted the dirt from her hands and stood. “He even read books and adjusted the soil’s acidity and alkalinity, saying he wanted to try changing the colors of the flower heads. He adjusted it so much that half my plot became unusable, and he promised he’d expand the place for me.”

For New Year’s Eve dinner, everyone gathered in the main house.

Guan Ziming had already left the island, but two new members of the Guan Family had arrived, filling the large table to capacity.

This year, Uncle Kang also got to eat Granny Bai’s sweet fermented rice with egg. He drank three bowls of the sweet soup in a row, until his face was flushed.

When he tried to get more, Granny Bai slapped his hand. “Still eating? Have you ever heard of smaller meals, more often? How old are you already? Do you want to still be around to eat it next year or not?”

No one on the island was particularly taboo about the word “death.” Even during the Spring Festival, no one minded at all.

Seeing the usually dignified Uncle Kang being managed by Granny Bai, everyone laughed.

“Use your words. Don’t hit,” Uncle Kang said with a smile. “You know I only have a few years left, yet you’re still so fierce.”

Fierce as Granny Bai was, she still cheerfully snatched his bowl away, ladled him just a tiny bit more, and coaxed him like a child.

Dr. Ling said to Uncle Kang, “I know your health better than anyone. You’re in excellent shape. But you still must take care of yourself. If you leave us, who’s going to manage this whole household?”

Uncle Kang pointed at a man who often worked on the farm. “Guan Zheng can manage it.”

The man named Guan Zheng waved his hands. “It’s not my turn yet, not my turn. Sir and I aren’t even that familiar.”

Ning Qiuyan looked at this warm group of people and found himself touched by the familial affection between them.

Like him, they had come vividly into this world and been watched over and cherished by Guan Heng.

They would live out their ordinary lives, turn into dust in the endless passage of years, fulfilled and without regrets.

On the day Ning Qiuyan left Du Island, Dr. Ling saw him off. It was obvious he had something to say.

They parted at the dock.

Before Ning Qiuyan got out of the car, Dr. Ling called out to him.

Ning Qiuyan was not wearing the Ruby Earring. Everyone had noticed, but not everyone would ask.

Dr. Ling was different. He had been the first to observe the subtle changes in Ning Qiuyan, witnessing bit by bit how Ning Qiuyan had fallen for Guan Heng, hesitated, and wavered.

He had also been the first to guess Guan Heng’s feelings, much earlier than Lu Qianque.

“Why aren’t you looking for Sir?” Dr. Ling asked.

Ning Qiuyan said, “I don’t know.”

After thinking about it, he added, “I don’t know what I can do for him after I wake him.”

Dr. Ling was stunned.

The reason he thought Ning Qiuyan was like a Little Puppy and had given him that nickname was partly because Ning Qiuyan had a pair of puppy-dog eyes, but also because of the way Ning Qiuyan always watched Guan Heng with such eager pursuit in his gaze.

Pure, sincere, and fervent.

Though he was sensitive, insecure, and kept his mouth tightly shut, it would be hard for anyone scorched by such a gaze not to be moved. That was why Guan Heng gave him endless tenderness and affection.

Dr. Ling had thought that, in this gloomy and lonely story, a fairy-tale chapter had finally been written.

“Then what are you planning to do?” Dr. Ling asked. “You don’t want to see Sir anymore?”

Ning Qiuyan lowered his eyes.

Uncle Ping was urging him on.

Ning Qiuyan said only one word to Dr. Ling: “I do.”

Then he walked onto the boat with his bag on his back.

The white vessel sailed across the gray-blue sea, carrying Ning Qiuyan to the far side of the ocean.