Are we being followed? (Typo corrected)
The moon was as clear as frost, the leaves swayed, and the night breeze blew gently.
A dirty wild rabbit emerged from the forest, chewing on a blade of grass with its tiny three-part mouth while gazing at the ancient magnolia tree not far away with its black pearl-like eyes. Under the tree was a clump of the juiciest and most tender grass, the rabbit’s favorite place to forage, but now it was occupied by others.
What puzzled the rabbit was why these people didn’t eat the grass but instead chewed on each other’s mouths. Could it be that mouths tasted better than the fresh grass?
“—Mmm! Mmm-mmm!”
Yu Jinnian fell back against the sturdy magnolia trunk, having nowhere to escape. The waist-high weeds were trampled down by the two of them, rustling as the hidden insects were startled awake and began to whisper among themselves. However, at this moment, these usual natural sounds were particularly grating to Yu Jinnian’s ears, as if he were being watched. His ears buzzed, and he couldn’t help but kick his legs a few times.
These kicks seemed to hit Ji Hong. In what seemed like deliberate retaliation, Ji Hong wrapped one hand around the back of Yu Jinnian’s neck, holding his face and deepening the kiss.
Yu Jinnian’s mind had turned to mush, his face was burning, and one of his hands was held by Ji Hong, while the other flailed about, restless and struggling. In his confusion, he grabbed a strap of something and pulled hard. A cascade of black hair fell from Ji Hong’s face, casting the man’s handsome and elegant face into shadow, giving him a breathtaking allure.
“Close them.” Ji Hong finally gave the boy a chance to breathe, or perhaps he too couldn’t bear the agitation caused by Yu Jinnian’s gaze. His voice carried an unintentional note of pressure as he urgently said, “Close your eyes.”
Yu Jinnian couldn’t think straight anymore. He did whatever Ji Hong said. His eyelashes trembled as he finally managed to close his eyes. Before he could take a few breaths, Ji Hong kissed him again, this time more leisurely, switching to a slow and enticing lick.
Research has suggested that when a person loses a certain sense, other senses become compensatorily sharper. Yu Jinnian, with his eyes closed, suddenly recalled this research report, nearly forgotten in his mind. He could even remember the precise figures in the report, accurate to three decimal places. It was absurd.
Even more absurd was that, after the initial shock subsided, he began to feel pleasure from the kiss.
The hair tie around Yu Jinnian’s hand slipped to the ground, and as he fumbled, he touched a piece of soft fabric. He abandoned the lost hair tie and tightly grasped Ji Hong’s collar, pulling it towards himself with such force that his knuckles turned white.
However, at that moment, Ji Hong suddenly stopped without warning. He released Yu Jinnian’s soft lips, his hand sliding down the boy’s spine as he let out a light laugh.
Yu Jinnian opened his eyes, feeling as if everything in his sight was damp, even the moon overhead seemed freshly fished out of the water. His mouth felt both hot and numb. He looked up, not knowing what he was looking at, appearing quite foolish.
Ji Hong hugged the dazed boy, leaned against the tree, and took a bamboo flask from his waist, sipping from it.
Yu Jinnian sat there hugging his knees, staring blankly. Smelling the wine, he reached out, saying, “I want some too.”
As soon as the bamboo flask was handed to him, he gulped down half of it. Ji Hong glanced at him, reached out to ruffle Yu Jinnian’s hair, then pulled him close and kissed him again. Pressing his nose to the boy’s, he asked, “Do you want more?”
Yu Jinnian exhaled, annoyed, “I meant the wine, not—”
Halfway through, he stopped talking.
“Not what?” Ji Hong asked softly, still maintaining that close, almost-kissing distance. Yu Jinnian refused to speak, but his uneasy fluttering eyelashes seemed to tickle Ji Hong’s heart. He pretended to kiss him again, and the boy’s lashes quickly closed, his hand clutching Ji Hong’s collar once more.
After a long wait without the expected kiss, Yu Jinnian peeked through a slit, only to see Ji Hong watching him calmly. Embarrassed and angry, he pushed Ji Hong away and, sipping from the wine flask, muttered, “You’re so annoying!”
Ji Hong wasn’t annoyed when he was pushed away. He adjusted his clothes and sat back down, laughing when he saw Yu Jinnian squatting far away like a frog. “Why are you hiding so far away? Do I eat people? Are you cold? Come over here.”
It was indeed quite cold. Yu Jinnian hesitantly moved closer. Ji Hong opened his cloak and wrapped it around him, asking softly, “Still cold?”
“I’m okay.” Yu Jinnian replied, shrinking his head into the cloak. After a long silence, he mumbled, “Well… you’ve kissed me already, so you don’t need to be afraid anymore.”
Ji Hong glanced down at him, suppressing his thoughts, and responded with a simple “Hmm.”
Just “Hmm”? Yu Jinnian frowned.
The two of them nestled under the tree, lying on the ground with nothing more to say to each other. It seemed that the unexpected kiss was really just to give Ji Hong some courage. Yu Jinnian felt something stirring inside him, like something was tied up and couldn’t jump out. He peeked out from the cloak, seeing Ji Hong with his eyes closed, looking calm and ascetic, as if he was meditating.
After a while, Ji Hong seemed to notice Yu Jinnian’s gaze but didn’t open his eyes. He only asked softly, “Not sleeping? We need to find the road at dawn.”
Yu Jinnian felt a lump in his throat, his chest filled with frustration. He shrank back like a snail, wrapping the cloak tightly around himself, annoyed. What did Ji Hong mean by this? Did he really think of him as a stress reliever?
After a while, Ji Hong finally noticed that Yu Jinnian was angry—mainly because the boy was wriggling in his arms like he had bugs in his waist. He couldn’t ignore it. He lifted the cloak a bit and asked deliberately, “Are you uncomfortable? Is there a pit in the ground?”
Yu Jinnian was furious. You have a pit! Ji Hong, you have a pit in your heart!
Ji Hong, full of patience, asked calmly, “Then what is it?”
“…” If asked how Yu Jinnian felt uncomfortable or what he wanted to hear from Ji Hong, he wouldn’t know. There was a word stuck in his throat, but he couldn’t say it, making him feel especially awkward.
“Alright.” Ji Hong comforted him, patting his waist. “Lift your head.”
“What for?” Yu Jinnian blinked, dissatisfied. As soon as he lifted his head, Ji Hong kissed him again. After the kiss, Ji Hong showed no reaction, tucking the cloak back in place as if nothing had happened. Yu Jinnian was dumbfounded with anger. How could anyone be like this? Is he crazy?
To hell with you!
Yu Jinnian wiped his mouth and crawled out of Ji Hong’s cloak, wrapping himself in his clothes to sleep. But it was so dark around, and if Ji Hong acted up… After thinking for a while and weighing the pros and cons, he softened and moved back, placing a hand on Ji Hong’s wrist.
Despite his anger, he fell asleep.
Ji Hong waited until Yu Jinnian was asleep before pulling him back, wrapping him in the cloak again. The sleeping Yu Jinnian was very docile. Once held, he instinctively sought warmth like a cat, snuggling into Ji Hong’s arms.
“Let’s see how long it takes for you to come to your senses.” Ji Hong played with his hair, laughing softly.
The surroundings quieted down again, the darkness slowly enveloping the two. But with Yu Jinnian by his side, Ji Hong thought of lively, lovely things. The fears that usually sprang up so easily were well suppressed. He gently held the boy and closed his eyes too.
—
Early the next morning, at the break of dawn, Ji Hong was awakened by someone shaking him.
He opened his eyes to see a long donkey’s mouth, puckered as it tried to chew on his collar.
“Whoa, come back, come back!” Someone tugged hard on the reins, pulling the donkey away. Then Qian Da appeared, looking anxious. “Ah, I finally found you two!”
“Sorry, we got lost last night.”
“That’s alright. This mountain is big but doesn’t have any fierce beasts. Just cold at night. You didn’t freeze, did you?”
Ji Hong shook his head. He tried to get up but suddenly realized his legs were numb and couldn’t move. Looking down, he saw that the boy was sleeping soundly on his legs, with a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. His hand, which was in an inappropriate place, was warming an area between Ji Hong’s legs.
Feeling a bit awkward, Ji Hong watched as Yu Jinnian licked his drool and mumbled in his sleep, “Geoduck sashimi… needs to be cut like this…” As he spoke, he reached out to grab something, scaring Ji Hong into grabbing his wrist and gently calling, “Jinnian, Jinnian, wake up.”
“Huh? Aren’t we eating seafood?” Yu Jinnian rubbed his eyes, yawned long, and crawled off Ji Hong’s legs, then lifted his arms to hang around Ji Hong’s shoulders, rubbing against his shoulder. “Don’t wake me, I haven’t finished eating!”
Qian Da, feeling embarrassed to look at them, turned to pull the greedy donkey. “You didn’t return last night, so I came out looking for you. I found this donkey halfway up the mountain. It had eaten halfway up.”
The silly donkey brayed and swung its head, looking very unhappy.
Hearing the donkey’s bray, Yu Jinnian suddenly became alert. “Donkey? The donkey’s back?!”
Qian Da laughed. “Yes, Brother Nian, it’s back. Look, it’s eaten so much its belly is round.”
Yu Jinnian ran over, circling the donkey and inspecting it from head to toe. Confirming there were no injuries, he hugged the donkey’s head and petted it gratefully. “That’s great! Thank you, Brother Qian!”
Ji Hong leaned against the tree trunk, slowly moving his numb legs, feeling a bit depressed. It was clear that the donkey was more important than him.
The three of them started back, with Qian Da leading the way, Yu Jinnian happily riding the donkey, and Ji Hong reluctantly leading it. When they returned to the wooden house, Lin Qiao came out to meet them, worried. “Is everyone alright?”
Qian Da quickly said, “They’re fine. They just got lost.”
Lin Qiao nodded repeatedly. “Glad you’re back, glad you’re back. Come in quickly, I’ve made breakfast to warm you up.”
The so-called breakfast was a simple farmer’s porridge with pickled vegetables and leftover millet cakes from the day before. Yu Jinnian ate with gusto and even asked Lin Qiao for the recipe for the pickled vegetables. While he chatted enthusiastically with Lin Qiao, Ji Hong was dragged off by Qian Da to check on the brooding hens.
After breakfast, Yu Jinnian dictated a prescription for Guchong decoction, which Ji Hong wrote down. Then, Yu Jinnian discussed Lin Qiao’s dietary needs with Qian Da before they prepared to go home.
Qian Da volunteered, “I’ll drive you. I also need to go to the north dock to fetch some fish!”
Yu Jinnian was naturally pleased to hear this. The dried shrimp and fish prepared for Little Ding Dang in the noodle shop had long been eaten, and he had wanted to visit the fish market at the dock. He could buy some carp, crucian carp, and bream to take home. Yesterday, he had only cooked fish for Lin Qiao, which had stirred his own cravings.
The group quickly agreed and led the donkey down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they hitched the cart and headed straight for Pingjin Dock.
—
Today, the fish market at the dock was exceptionally lively, with all kinds of shouting filling the air. While securely tying the donkey cart, Qian Da laughed. “Today is the fifteenth. Both the morning and evening markets are bustling! We might even find some good stuff!”
The two followed Qian Da to his stall, where his son, who had also been one of Yu Jinnian’s patients, was minding the stall. Seeing Yu Jinnian, the boy greeted him warmly despite his stutter, “Nian, Nian Brother, long, long time, no, no, no see!”
The boy was a stutterer, and when he got excited, he couldn’t get his words out. Yu Jinnian asked, “Are you fully recovered?”
The boy nodded vigorously, “Fully, fully, fully recovered… thanks, thanks… thanks to you, Nian, Nian, Nian Brother!”
Yu Jinnian smiled, “Take it slow, no rush.”
The boy blushed shyly and, embarrassed to speak more, started helping his father pack fish into baskets.
Yu Jinnian wandered around, looking to see if he could find any interesting items. During his walk, he discovered many good things, including salted seaweed and dried starfish, likely brought in from the eastern seaport. Many sea merchants brought fresh seafood inland to sell and then carried mountain goods back to the coast. If there were no natural disasters, a trip like this could earn enough to feed a family for months.
Seaweed was a good find, but Yu Jinnian didn’t care much for starfish, which could be eaten fresh but was often considered toxic and used for decoration. He asked the price and found it reasonable, so he bought the remaining few pounds of seaweed. The merchant also gifted him two dried starfish.
While Yu Jinnian was paying, someone bumped into him, causing his coins to scatter all over the ground.
Annoyed, he looked up to see a boy with a baby face, slightly shorter than him. The boy’s large, lively eyes and innocent expression made him look adorable. If not for his simple clothes and a basket full of silk flowers on his arm, Yu Jinnian would have mistaken him for a young master out for a market stroll.
The boy, realizing he had bumped into someone, stepped back in fear. He wanted to run but knew he’d get caught and punished, so he stayed, trembling and on the verge of tears, biting his lip to hold back his cries, making him look like a pitiful little rabbit.
Such an innocent and pitiful look melted anyone’s heart.
Though Yu Jinnian was the one who had been bumped into, he ended up comforting the boy. “It’s okay, don’t cry.”
Hearing the comfort, the boy felt even more wronged and burst into tears. Yu Jinnian, flustered, didn’t know what to do. He took out a starfish and put it in the boy’s basket, saying, “Here, take this to play with. Don’t cry, okay?”
The boy, fascinated by the starfish, stopped crying and played with it, finally smiling. In return, he took two silk flowers from his basket and handed them to Yu Jinnian, saying, “For you.”
Yu Jinnian asked, “For me?”
The boy nodded vigorously, “Yes!” Then, he grabbed another flower and, standing on tiptoe, offered it to Ji Hong, saying, “You look good, this is for you!”
Yu Jinnian, amused, said, “Aren’t you selling these? How can you give them away?”
The boy frowned, pondering for a long time before realizing the logic. He quickly took back the flower he had given Ji Hong. However, remembering his brother’s teaching that he should always return a gift, he didn’t take back the two flowers given to Yu Jinnian, despite the pain of losing them.
He muttered softly, “I can’t give them away. Chun needs to sell the flowers to pay for brother’s treatment.”
“Ah…” Yu Jinnian couldn’t stop him. The boy had already run off like a flash. “Oh well.”
After running off, the boy didn’t leave. Instead, he hid and watched Yu Jinnian and Ji Hong from a distance. He seemed to be debating something, circling a small sapling repeatedly before finally stomping his foot and declaring, “It’s him, it really is him!”
With that, he took off after them.
Yu Jinnian bought seaweed and other small items, and with the fish basket given by Qian Da, he and Ji Hong drove the donkey cart back home. Entering the city gates and approaching the noodle shop, Yu Jinnian felt something was off. He turned to look but saw only the wide street and scattered pedestrians. Everything seemed normal.
How strange.
He frowned, tugging at Ji Hong’s sleeve. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Ah Hong, don’t you feel like… we’re being followed?”