Aki Apricot Juvenile - Chapter 6

Qiu Xingyou came back around the beginning of March. After dawdling in Luozhou City for almost a month, today happened to be April Fool’s Day. That also meant his birthday wasn’t far off it fell on the 14th of this month, which coincided with Korea’s “Black Day.”

Meng Li once mentioned this in his travel notes:

“I have a friend who was born on Black Day. You could call it lucky, but if you’re a little more superstitious, you’d say it’s a curse of lifelong singleness. Every year when the day comes, I celebrate it with him not only to mark his birthday but also because on this day for lonely souls, it feels right to find someone equally miserable to keep company.”

Whenever Qiu Xingyou read that part, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being jinxed. To outsiders, Meng Li might look like a cold and stoic god, but few knew he hid a mischievous streak beneath that image. Truly, appearances could be deceiving.

Qiu Xingyou had hoped April Fool’s Day would pass quietly, but Meng Li clearly had other plans. By six in the morning, he’d already dragged Qiu Xingyou out of bed, making him wash up and eat breakfast under his supervision.

As Qiu Xingyou wiped his face, Meng Li lifted his fringe and said, “How long has it been since you last got a haircut? I’m taking you to get a new look today.”

Qiu Xingyou didn’t reply, and Meng Li’s tone softened. “I’ve already prepared everything for tomorrow. Keep yourself together we’ll go together. I can’t let your parents think I haven’t been taking care of you.” He sighed softly after speaking.

Qiu Xingyou thought, Yes, April… everything terrible seems to happen in April. His birthday, his parents’ death anniversary… and everything else tied to that month.

The Next Day

No one’s heart could have been heavier than Qiu Xingyou’s. This was the day he had lost his entire family his parents, his home, everything. Now, only Meng Li remained as the dearest thing in his world.

His parents’ graves lay just outside Luozhou City. If their old house was to the east, then his parents rested to the far west so far that the noise and glitter of the city no longer reached them.

On the way there, Qiu Xingyou fell asleep in the car. In his dream, he was once again fourteen, full of youth and energy, carrying his schoolbag to class. Meng Li would always wait at the school gates to walk him home. Their families had been close, neighbors in the city center, and over time the two became inseparable.

By the time they arrived, dusk had fallen. The rain from that morning had left the air damp and cool. Meng Li’s hands were full stacks of paper money, gold ingots, paper villas and clothes, while Qiu Xingyou carried a small metal brazier.

At the graveside, he set down the brazier and began wiping the tombstone over and over with a cloth, murmuring: I’m doing well… I miss you both so much…

Meng Li said nothing, lighting a bundle of paper money and tossing it into the brazier. A fine drizzle began to fall again. The heavy air mirrored the weight in both their hearts.

It had been five years. Five years since Qiu Xingyou dared visit. He had left this place, left his beloved parents—all for the sake of one man. He couldn’t face them.

As his thoughts drifted, his eyelids fluttered shut. It felt as though his body was sinking slowly into the ocean, deeper and deeper. His breath grew shallow, and a ringing filled his ears then came a long, flat beep, and his mind fell silent.

“Make sure he rests after this. He must’ve caught a chill, and the fever lasted all day. His health is weak, you need to take better care of him,” a nurse’s voice echoed faintly.

When Qiu Xingyou opened his eyes, he saw a nurse in a white uniform speaking. Turning his head, he saw his mother’s gentle smile and his father’s worried frown.

“The child’s awake,” his mother said.

“Dad… Mom… I missed…” Qiu Xingyou struggled to form the words. Tears rolled down his pale cheeks, and then his parents’ warm hands clasped his own. That warmth, that safety, melted him completely, and he drifted back into sleep.

When he woke again, the sharp smell of disinfectant hit him. As his vision cleared, he realized he was lying in a hospital bed. Someone was resting by his side, tightly holding his hands on his left was Meng Li, and on his right… Jiang Ji.

Startled, Qiu Xingyou pulled his hands back. Both men woke up at the movement.

“Why are you both here? Especially you,” he asked, glancing coldly at Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji started to speak, but Meng Li cut in first. “You fainted at your parents’ grave. I brought you to the hospital you’ve been out for two days.”

Qiu Xingyou turned to Jiang Ji, who quickly added, “I was at the cemetery too that day. I came along and stayed to keep watch these two days.”

Qiu Xingyou only nodded. He was too weak to say much. Once he understood what had happened, he lay back down and pulled the blanket up to his chin. Neither Meng Li nor Jiang Ji made any move to leave.

Meng Li’s presence felt natural after all, he was like a brother to him (though not by bl00d). But Jiang Ji’s… was different. Their relationship had always been delicate, and his being here made Qiu Xingyou uneasy.

Mini Theatre: The Universe Between You and Me (Part 1)

Eventually, Qiu Xingyou drifted back to sleep. Though things were no longer the same between them, Jiang Ji still held a place in his heart a lingering warmth he couldn’t erase.

Back in college, they’d been incredibly close. About six months after they met, Jiang Ji had begun his “pursuit.” That, too, had happened in troublesome April.

School had barely started for the spring semester when the administration announced a “Rural Experience Program.” Students could sign up for various countryside destinations—those who didn’t want to go could fill out an exemption form. There were even overpriced “Where Are We Going, Dad?”-style family packages. Qiu Xingyou and Jiang Ji joked that the school just wanted to squeeze money from them.

After some debate, they finally chose a small village near a fourth-tier town.

When they arrived, they realized something aside from one supervising teacher, they were the only two students assigned there. Out of over four thousand students, no one else had picked the same spot. The trip turned into a private two-week escape.

They were told to arrange their own lodging and meals. The villagers gave them a small wooden hut outside the village and said they could buy food at a nearby store then left them alone.

And so, the two of them spent their days living on instant noodles, while the supervising teacher mysteriously disappeared.