In the Same Boat

Whenever there is a frenzy, there is always a time when it fades away.

Just like, when Yao Zhan came, he already had a ticket to leave in his hands.

He left, and Qu Yiheng’s life returned to its original state. Early to bed, early to rise, eating on time, spending the whole day holed up at home, facing a blank canvas without grooming himself.

On the night when Yao Zhan was sent off, Qu Yiheng agreed to his teacher’s suggestion and decided to start preparing a piece for exhibition application, not because of anything else, but simply because he felt there was nothing else to do.

Sometimes, after going through certain experiences, fame and fortune become less important to certain people. Qu Yiheng knew that he had not properly painted a work that could be called a masterpiece for too long, and he was uncertain about what level he could achieve this time.

He had three months to prepare, and the application deadline was three months away. He had to come up with a piece before that.

However, three days had passed, and he hadn’t made a single stroke.

Dou Yucong looked at Qu Yiheng, who had fallen into silence again, feeling somewhat worried.

“Brother, how about going out for a walk?” he asked, “Do you want to have a drink? I can go buy some.”

Dou Yucong thought his brother was suddenly like this because Yao Zhan had left.

“In a while, it’ll be the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I have a few days off. How about we go out and have some fun?”

Qu Yiheng remembered the plans for the National Day holiday that those people had been discussing in the class group. He couldn’t believe it was already September.

They say September is the golden autumn, but the temperature in this city is no different from August, still scorching hot, refusing to let everyone off.

“Let’s talk about it later.” Qu Yiheng had no inspiration for his work, and he really wasn’t in the mood to discuss this.

In these past few days, Dou Yucong had been racking his brains to cheer up his brother, but it had no effect at all. At night, his brother hid in his room, while he lay on the sofa thinking: What is Yao Zhan doing? Why hasn’t he visited that pitiful old man?

Yao Zhan was busy.

After he returned, he indeed didn’t contact Qu Yiheng much. It’s not that he didn’t want to, but he was truly busy almost every minute

On the day he arrived, he was supposed to have dinner with Shao Wei, but halfway there, before even catching a whiff of the food, he received a call from a colleague.

Everyone knew he was back today, and they immediately called him back to the office.

There was a mass food poisoning incident at the kindergarten, and he was busy to the point of losing track of time.

The incident attracted a lot of attention. The hospital was not only crowded with parents of the children, but also with reporters from TV stations and various newspapers, filling the corridors.

The hospital disliked such incidents the most. It was already chaotic enough, and those people only made it worse.

Yao Zhan had a bad mood whenever he saw anyone, but he was still surrounded by questions here and there. After a few days, he had to take medication for his headache in order to continue working.

Finally, when the chaos subsided and the reporters dispersed, Yao Zhan was finally able to go home, take a shower, and change his clothes.

He remembered what his ex-boyfriend had said, that he was too busy, and being in a relationship with him was like being a widow.

The words were not entirely unfounded, and Yao Zhan suddenly became afraid to contact Qu Yiheng.

He slept at home for a while, and when he woke up, it was already dark outside. Shao Wei called and asked if he wanted to have dinner together, and also asked about their plans for the National Day holiday.

“What plans could I have?” Yao Zhan said, “Not working overtime would be nice.”

He got up and felt really hungry. “Where are you? Let’s have a drink together.”

Drinking to relieve fatigue, Yao Zhan liked to have a drink after working overtime for consecutive days.

He slept at home for a while, and when he woke up, it was already dark outside. Shao Wei called and asked if he wanted to have dinner together, and also asked about their plans for the National Day holiday.

“What plans could I have?” Yao Zhan said, “Not working overtime would be nice.”

He got up and felt really hungry. “Where are you? Let’s have a drink together.”

Drinking to relieve fatigue, Yao Zhan liked to have a drink after working overtime for consecutive days.

When he met Shao Wei, the latter asked him, “How have things been with Qu Yiheng these days?”

“No contact,” Yao Zhan said, “I’m busy day and night, I don’t even have time to contact anyone.”

“You’re heartless,” Shao Wei said to him, “This term suits you perfectly.”

Yao Zhan took a sip of his drink, feeling helpless.

“To be honest, it’s actually fine not to be in contact.”

“What do you mean?”

Yao Zhan put down his glass and said in a deep voice, “I’m busy all day and night, do you remember why that person broke up with me before?”

“That’s because you never cared about him in the first place,” Shao Wei asked, “Do you miss him? I mean Qu Yiheng.”

Yao Zhan couldn’t help but miss him.

When he was busy, he didn’t have time to think, but whenever he rested, his mind was filled with thoughts of Qu Yiheng.

“We are already in our thirties, it’s not bad to meet someone you genuinely like, why are you still hesitating?”

“It’s precisely because we’re in our thirties that there’s more hesitation,” Yao Zhan said. “He is doing well over there. Even if I were to pursue him, how would we solve the issue of being in a long-distance relationship? What right do I have to ask him to give up his current life and come here?”

“Damn,” Shao Wei took a sip of his drink. “Being an adult is really tiring.”

Yao Zhan smiled and said, “Who says it isn’t?”

On the fourth day after Yao Zhan left, Qu Yiheng made his first stroke on the canvas.

The previous night, he had a dream of drowning, with water plants entangling around his ankles, but in the end, he didn’t die.

A man with an indistinct face and appearance saved him. Although he couldn’t see his face clearly, after waking up, Qu Yiheng felt that it was Yao Zhan.

Because of that dream, he seemed to have grasped a small tail of inspiration and was ready to start painting.

The windows and doors of his home were closed, the curtains were not drawn, and the air conditioner and lights were on as Qu Yiheng expressionlessly painted.

From a little after 7 in the morning until a little after 10 at night, when he put down the paintbrush, he felt his body stiffening

When he came out of the room, Dou Yucong was watching a variety show in the living room. The TV was on mute, and Dou Yucong was trying to hold back his laughter, his face turning red.

“Finished painting?” Dou Yucong saw his brother come out and immediately dropped the snacks, standing up. “Tired, huh?”

He hurried over and gave his brother a back rub, being very obsequious. “You’ve worked hard, handsome.”

Qu Yiheng felt something was off and asked suspiciously, “Do you need something?”

Dou Yucong smirked and said, “Brother, I have a three-day holiday during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“I’m not going.”

“Tsk,” Dou Yucong lightly patted him. “I know you’re not going. I’m asking for leave for myself.”

Qu Yiheng didn’t understand.

“A friend of mine invited me to go out during the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Qu Yiheng thought it was something else and made it seem so mysterious. He waved his hand and went to get some water to drink. “I’m not your guardian. If you want to go, go ahead.”

Dou Yucong, like a pardoned elementary school student, said, “Thank you, leader, for granting me leave!”

He slipped back into his room, but before closing the door, he stuck his head out and said, “Brother, aren’t you planning to go out for a walk?”

Qu Yiheng waved his hand, indicating for him to go back to sleep.

Late at night, Qu Yiheng sat alone in the living room. The TV was still playing that variety show, and he watched them laugh and make a fuss in mute mode, making it all the more ridiculous.

He hadn’t rested all day, but his mind was in a state of excitement and he couldn’t sleep, nor did he want to.

He touched his phone, which hadn’t rung for days.

Yao Zhan had lost sleep, something he had not done in nearly ten years.

He was usually so tired that he had no time to lose sleep.

He tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, so he decided to get up and smoke. He stood on the balcony, watching the leaves of the trees in the area silently falling in the middle of the night when no one was around.

Amidst the billowing smoke, he began to think about Qu Yiheng.

At this moment, it would be great if the other person was here, even if they didn’t make love, just smoking and chatting together would be good.

For the first time in his life, Yao Zhan felt that the saying “It’s better to have a companion than being alone” was true.

After smoking a cigarette, he went back inside and picked up his phone to check the time.

It was already 1:30.

Qu Yiheng must have gone to bed, but Yao Zhan dialed the number anyway.

In the past, Qu Yiheng didn’t like to keep his phone on when he was at home. It was often in the shutdown state, and even when it was on, it was mostly on silent mode.

But these days, or rather, since he began to interact with Yao Zhan, he never turned it off, and he changed it to rinh mode.

This unintentional act revealed how afraid he was of missing Yao Zhan’s calls and messages.

In the deep night, the phone suddenly rang, playing the system’s default ringtone, abrupt yet crisp.

Qu Yiheng, who was staring blankly at the TV, was startled. He turned his head to look at the phone lying on the sofa and discovered that the caller was Yao Zhan.

He was both shocked and delighted, quickly picked up the call, and went to the balcony, afraid of waking Dou Yucong.

“Are you asleep?” In the deep night, Yao Zhan’s voice was low and sexy, causing Qu Yiheng’s body to involuntarily tense.

“Not yet.” Qu Yiheng was obsessed with this voice, and he wanted Yao Zhan to say more.

Yao Zhan didn’t know what to say, so he lit another cigarette, smiled and said, “Sorry to call you so late.”

“It’s okay.” Qu Yiheng said softly to him, “I haven’t slept yet.”

Play

Unmute

Two people, in two rooms in two cities separated by over a thousand kilometers, in an instant, felt as if they were right next to each other.

“I’ve been busy the past few days, so I haven’t contacted you.” Yao Zhan said, “I’m sorry.”

Qu Yiheng unexpectedly felt relieved.

He had speculated about the reasons why the other party didn’t contact him, and he could only think that the other party didn’t want to continue this relationship. Since the other party wanted to end it, he naturally didn’t have the need to insist on continuing.

Like a friend with benefits or a lover, it had to be a mutual willingness. It wouldn’t look good if one party wanted to end it while the other clung on.

There was a sense of loss, or else he wouldn’t dream about Yao Zhan.

But Qu Yiheng wasn’t willing to admit that he had placed Yao Zhan in a special position. He began to deceive himself.

He deceived himself for a few days, but as soon as he heard Yao Zhan’s voice, he felt that he couldn’t do it anymore.

There was a term called “falling.”

How could he have fallen for this man? Qu Yiheng really didn’t understand himself.

Perhaps it was because he had been lonely for too long, and once he encountered someone who resonated with him in a certain aspect, he became lost.

“Now, are you done with your work?” Qu Yiheng cautiously asked.

“I’m done,” Yao Zhan said. “If nothing major happens in the next period of time, things should be better.”

“That’s good,” Qu Yiheng didn’t know what else to say. He leaned against the balcony railing, closed his eyes, as if he could hear the breathing of the man on the other end of the phone

“To be honest, I didn’t have anything specific to talk about when I called,” Yao Zhan extinguished his cigarette and lay down on the sofa. He rubbed his temples and said softly, “I’m just particularly tired and can’t sleep. I wanted to hear your voice.”

He hadn’t realized it before, but now Yao Zhan discovered that sometimes the voice of a loved one is like a potent medicine. When Qu Yiheng talked to him, all his troubles disappeared.

No one had ever said such words to Qu Yiheng. Suddenly, he felt that this one sentence was worth more than millions of sweet nothings.

“By the way,” Qu Yiheng said, “I saw in the group chat that they’re planning a trip during the National Day holiday. Are you going?”

Yao Zhan didn’t expect Qu Yiheng to pay attention to this. He smiled wryly and said, “I can’t go. I only have three days off during the National Day holiday, and I might have to return to work unexpectedly.”

Doctors really have tough job.

Qu Yiheng sighed lightly.

“What about you? Are you going?”

“No.” Qui Yiheng said, “I don’t even know them anymore.”

“In that case, do you want to come over to my place?” Yao Zhan asked, feeling quite nervous when he said those words. He was afraid of being rejected. “Last time when you came back, we talked about visiting our school, but we didn’t actually go. We can try again this time.”

Qu Yiheng was silent for a long time, so long that Yao Zhan felt that he might be rejecting him in this way.

“If it’s inconvenient for you…”

“Okay,” Qu Yiheng said, “I have nothing else to do anyway.”