Silent Era - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After two showers, the weather gradually warmed. The sun was strong for the first two days, making it feel like summer heat even though it was still early spring.

The wound on Bai Sihuan’s arm had just shed a scab, and the gauze was too stuffy, so he had removed it long ago. He hadn’t applied the ointment since then, and he’d just let the red scar remain. Sometimes, if he scratched it inadvertently, it would still bleed.

Lin Heng, noticing that Bai Sihuan’s scar hadn’t fully healed in several days, grabbed his arm and asked, “Why aren’t you applying the ointment anymore? Is it healed now?”

Bai Sihuan pulled his hand back and hid it behind his back, saying stubbornly, “It’s healed.”

Lin Heng freed his arm, pulled a tube of ointment from his pocket, and placed it on his palm. “Apply this ointment for a few days.”

Bai Sihuan slowly squeezed the ointment and uttered an “oh.” He wouldn’t say it was the first time in his life he’d received such treatment. A scratch on his hand, a doctor to treat the wound, ointment to apply, and a remedy to repair it.

When he accidentally stepped on a nail as a child, his mother simply let him wash the wound himself with soap and water, never getting a tetanus shot. It healed naturally.

Bai Sihuan put the ointment in his pocket and looked at Lin Heng’s face, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something he couldn’t.

Lin Heng smiled, revealing his thoughts: “What’s wrong? What do you want to tell me?”

Bai Sihuan struggled to find the answer: “I have something to ask you.”

Seeing his expression, Lin Heng understood instantly: “You want to ask about my second sister?”

Bai Sihuan said nothing, then nodded after a moment.

Lin Heng sighed, looking off into the distance. Trying to dispel the heaviness in his tone, he casually said, “She ran off with a street painter.”

Bai Sihuan was startled and asked, “Isn’t she taking the Gaokao?”

“Who knows? She’s not coming home anyway. Forget about that man. Let’s not talk about him.”

Bai Sihuan was about to ask, “What did Aunt Cheng say?” but then he realized that if Lin Heng didn’t bring it up at home, Cheng Sutang wouldn’t even remember her.

He stopped asking. He stared at the faint light filtering through the clouds in the distance, wondering if his future would be the same.

This semester seemed to pass incredibly quickly. Suddenly, Lin Heng started school, and he looked for him even more frequently. Suddenly, the Gaokao days written on the blackboard went from tens to single digits. Suddenly, Gaokao. Suddenly, Gaokao was over.

The moment the bell rang, he stopped writing, packed up his things, and left the exam room.

Bai Sihuan grabbed his stationery and walked out of the classroom, feeling as if a huge weight had lifted from his chest, and he breathed a sigh of relief. But then he suddenly remembered that Lin Xianyan, who had once held a bright future, might not be taking this exam, and a wave of sadness washed over him.

Outside the large iron gates of the exam hall, countless parents crowded in. Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and even those walking, braving the scorching sun, one after another, pushing their way through the crowd. Upon seeing their children emerge from the exam room, they all tacitly pushed past the traffic police and security guards who stood in front of them to maintain order, clinging to the iron gates to peek in.

Bai Sihuan glanced at the other parents, and in that moment, a bit naively, he wondered if he might see Bai Ying.

Remembering that today was Bai Yuancheng’s birthday, Bai Sihuan gave a self-deprecating smile. His mother was probably waiting in line at the pastry shop at the intersection, with her hard-earned money, to buy a birthday cake for her younger brother. How could she possibly remember him, having just finished the college entrance exam?

When the time came, the gates opened, and Bai Sihuan followed the crowd out of the school, passing through the intersection of parents and students, his steps struggling through the mingled smell of sweat.

Squeezing through the crowd and breathing in the fresh air scented with summer leaves, Bai Sihuan found his bicycle parked under a tree. He took out his keys and walked towards the bike when someone behind him suddenly called out, “Brother.”

He turned around, his vision suddenly brightening: “Lin Heng?”

The keys in his hand trembled, nearly dropping them.

“Finished with the exam? How did you feel?” Lin Heng asked, then crossed his arms and answered for him. “With your level, those questions should be a piece of cake for you.” He sighed again, a look of worry on his face. “Oh, I can’t continue to go to the same school with you. I’m so sad.”

Bai Sihuan felt his mind go blank after finishing the test; he couldn’t recall what questions he had done. He gave his usual shy smile and replied, “It’s okay. After the test, I don’t remember anything.”

Lin Heng stared at the young man’s face in the sunlight, put his arm around his shoulder, and said, “Alright, let’s not think about this anymore. Come on, I’ll treat you to something delicious to celebrate the end of your high school career. Give me the keys, I’ll ride the bike, and I’ll give you a ride.”

As Bai Sihuan handed him the keys, he recalled the painful experience of his first ride and asked worriedly, “Can you give me a ride now?”

Lin Heng tutted and rolled his eyes. Bai Sihuan stopped questioning and, with a worried heart, scrambled onto the back of the bike.

Lin Heng didn’t look like someone who’d just learned to ride a bike. He whizzed off with Bai Sihuan in his arms, like a bird freed from its cage, carefree and unrestrained across the road.

Bai Sihuan nervously grabbed Lin Heng’s shirt and whispered, “Slow down.” Lin Heng seemed oblivious, continuing his confident ride along the golden-sunlit road. Sometimes, Bai Sihuan felt a twinge of regret when he thought back on that day. He hadn’t been driven around like this before. He should have taken in the sights he hadn’t seen in detail, enjoyed the pleasures he hadn’t experienced before. It was his fault, he was too preoccupied with clutching Lin Heng’s shirt, watching his back, and feeling needlessly happy amidst this unnecessary worry.

And then, all the peace and tranquility he could have had, he missed out on.

Lin Heng took Bai Sihuan to a Western restaurant on the Bund. At the Lin family, Bai Sihuan had always eaten only Chinese food. This was his first time eating Western food, and he didn’t know how to use a knife and fork. Afraid of being laughed at, he didn’t even touch the food when it arrived.

Lin Heng, knife and fork in hand, had already tasted two dishes. Seeing Bai Sihuan still not moving, he frowned and asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Bai Sihuan shook his head and said, “Not really.”

Lin Heng had heard his stomach growling with hunger, so of course he didn’t believe his lies. He saw Bai Sihuan set his knife and fork aside, his fingers touching the handle, as if he understood something.

Lin Heng sat up straight and demonstrated to Bai Sihuan: “Hold it like this, cut like this.”

Bai Sihuan blushed in embarrassment, his heart seen through. He forced himself to look up, taking in Lin Heng’s demonstration. He followed his example, picked up his knife and fork, and carefully cut into the steak.

Lin Heng couldn’t help but laugh. Bai Sihuan’s hand trembled suddenly, sensing that Lin Heng was mocking him. He grew anxious, lowering his head even lower, and vigorously slashed the rare steak with the blade.

Seeing his plate clang loudly, Lin Heng hurriedly intervened. “Hey, hey, hey, someone who didn’t know you would think you had a grudge against this steak. You have to cut it in the same direction, and do it continuously. How long are you going to keep cutting it like this?”

Bai Sihuan was immediately at a loss, wanting to drop his knife and fork and run away.

Lin Heng had already cut his own plate of steak into pieces, so now was the perfect time to act as Bai Sihuan’s savior and swap his steak with his.

“Eat it! Don’t just stand there like an idiot,” Lin Heng said to the wide-eyed Bai Sihuan.

Bai Sihuan was flattered. As far as he knew, Lin Heng usually looked at the appearance of the dish before eating. If a dish didn’t look good, he wouldn’t even touch it.

The fact that he was willing to eat this messed-up steak was truly rare.

That wasn’t all that was needed. To save Bai Sihuan the trouble, Lin Heng meticulously prepared every dish requiring a knife and fork and placed it on his plate. He even removed the meat from the pre-shelled Boston lobster.

Lin Heng watched Bai Sihuan’s eyes light up as he devoured the food he had prepared for him with such delight that the corners of his lips curled up in a smile. Suddenly, he felt that even these ordinary dishes had a certain whiff of delicacy.

Ever since welcoming Mr. Zhu’s guest, Cheng Sutang began bringing business home. This summer, Bai Sihuan encountered many unusual-looking guests.

They always came in one after another, led by Old Pei to the round table conference room at the end. Lin Huan, usually away from home, had also been staying at home this summer. Every time the conference room door closed, Bai Sihuan felt as if some unspeakable secret was hidden behind it.

Few seemed to care that Lin Xianyan’s presence was gone from the house. Or perhaps she had always been dispensable, and from beginning to end, only Bai Sihuan cared.

Lin Heng often sought out Bai Sihuan for his affections, and Karen, like a disgraced concubine banished to the cold palace, would often be seen whimpering and lingering beneath their legs.

Lin Heng then remembered that he hadn’t taken Karen for a walk in the park in ages. Remembering this, he felt compelled to drag Bai Sihuan along to walk the dog.

After dragging Karen for a walk in the park, Lin Heng once again broached Bai Sihuan’s college question: “Go to college locally.”

Bai Sihuan was stunned, his mind still fuzzy with the answer, so he could only say, “The scores haven’t come out yet.”

Lin Heng seemed oblivious to his meaning and continued, “There are quite a few good universities locally: Fudan, Jiaotong, Tongji, South China Normal University…”

Bai Sihuan felt like Lin Heng was reciting a string of names and quickly stopped him: “Let’s talk about it after the scores come out!”

Lin Heng glanced at him, sighed slightly, and said, “Okay, when you fill out your application, ask me to come with you.”

Bai Sihuan looked at Karen, who was walking diligently ahead, and replied, “Okay.”

He kept wondering if his future would be as smooth and stable as he had hoped.