Can You Come Here For Me?

The weekend finally brought sunny weather. Xie Qi Zhi went with You Ran to buy the guitar he had longed for.
He didn't understand musical instruments and couldn't distinguish them beyond their appearance. He lowered his head, curiously touching the strings, when he suddenly heard You Ran say, "Two days ago, I interviewed to be a singer at a bar and a coffee shop."
Xie Qi Zhi was stunned, recalling that one day Zhan Xin Jia invited everyone for bubble tea, and You Ran made an excuse to leave in a hurry. He had thought You Ran was so temperamental, still angry about her taking his fencing class.
He asked You Ran, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Aren't I telling you now?" You Ran scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "If I didn't pass the interview, there'd be no need to say anything. I'm only telling you now because I passed."
Meaning he had passed the interview. Xie Qi Zhi "oh-ed," his face beaming, "You're really good. Is it a bar or a coffee shop?"
You Ran replied, "A bar."
Xie Qi Zhi blinked, growing curious: "I've never been to a bar."
You Ran glanced at Xie Qi Zhi's small, cat-like face, casually patted the back of his neck, and chuckled, "You might get carded if you go."
He put the guitar in its case, slung it over his shoulder, "I'll start working in a while, and I'll take you guys out."
Xie Qi Zhi replied "okay," then left the store with him, walking a few minutes to the nearest subway station.
Waiting for You Ran to pass the security gate with his guitar, Xie Qi Zhi asked him, "Singers at bars have to sing many songs every night, right? Does it affect your asthma?"
"I don't know, if I don't have an attack, I'm actually no different from a normal person. And even if I do, it's fine, I have my medicine with me." You Ran thought for a moment, then added, "But my family always overreacts, always telling me not to do this, not to do that, and finding all sorts of ways to be cautious... I guess you understand this feeling?"
Xie Qi Zhi, having experienced it firsthand, nodded empathetically.
"So, even though I've always wanted to buy this guitar, I didn't want to ask for money; they would definitely be suspicious." You Ran said, "It's hard enough to leave home; I have to do what I like."
Xie Qi Zhi agreed wholeheartedly: "You're right."
The two parted ways at the subway station. Xie Qi Zhi changed lines to go back to Sister Lin's residential complex. He bought a cup of lemon iced tea outside and had drunk half of it by the time he reached the building. He glanced over and saw a very familiar black Bentley parked in the distance, its license plate obscured by a ginkgo tree, making it unclear.
He walked over, circling the car once. He hadn't mistaken it; it was the car he had once kicked, and then Li Ye had smashed its rear window—a car with an unfortunate fate.
Ying Huai was too lazy to drive himself to Song Cheng University; unless necessary, or to pick him up, this car usually gathered dust in the underground parking lot.
What was he doing here?
Xie Qi Zhi felt a little annoyed, not wanting to go upstairs and face him, so he turned and left the residential complex. He lingered at the convenience store until he finished his lemon iced tea before returning.
He glanced again towards the ginkgo tree; this time, the Bentley was no longer there.
Opening the door, the maid was cooking lunch; the aroma of food mixed with cooking smoke wafted from the room.
Sister Lin's house had no partition between the kitchen and dining room. Xie Qi Zhi was choked as soon as he entered, sneezed, then retreated to the bathroom to wash his face.
He forced himself not to think about Ying Huai's visit, nor to guess why he came, or if he was looking for him.
When he came out, the maid called him. Xie Qi Zhi walked over and asked, "Auntie, what's wrong?"
The maid didn't know Ying Huai, only saying, "A young man just knocked on the door, said he came to drop something off for you."
Xie Qi Zhi followed the direction of her hand. On the dining table was a box of medicine, his probiotics.
The maid added, "He just left as you came back. Is he someone you know? Did you meet him on the way?"
Xie Qi Zhi stared blankly at the medicine box for a long time. Only when the maid asked did he gently shake his head.
Sister Lin's fat cat was bold and wild. When Sister Lin and Brother Jiang were home and didn't lock the door, it often went out on its own, running all over the hallway to play.
Xie Qi Zhi came home from school and found it running back and forth in the hallway again. It swayed its big, soft tail and walked over, rubbing against Xie Qi Zhi's pant leg for the first time, letting out a "meow—" as if it was acting spoiled.
Before Xie Qi Zhi could be overjoyed, he suddenly heard a cold voice from the crack in the opposite door: "Don't be an eyesore here; get out."
Immediately after, Brother Jiang pushed the door open, and their eyes met Xie Qi Zhi's in the hallway.
The atmosphere was a little awkward. Xie Qi Zhi blinked, trying to ask naturally, "Are you arguing with Sister Lin again?"
Brother Jiang bent down and hugged the puffed-up fat cat: "Your 'again' is used very well."
Xie Qi Zhi opened the door, excitedly took out the game controller from the TV cabinet, wanting Brother Jiang to play the two-player adventure game with him that they hadn't finished last time.
The fat cat was also familiar with this house. It jumped onto the sofa, kneading the cushion back and forth, found the most comfortable spot, and lay down, sleeping soundly with snores.
Only when Brother Jiang spoke did Xie Qi Zhi realize that the reason for his argument with Sister Lin this time was Ying Huai.
"I've been very generous," Brother Jiang said, "Who can stand a strange man calling his wife every now and then? Doesn't he have a wife himself?"
He really doesn't, Xie Qi Zhi thought to himself.
This was his first time mediating a romantic conflict, and he awkwardly explained on Ying Huai's behalf: "Maybe he had something important to discuss with Sister Lin?"
"Yes, I thought so too. So, it's not too much for me to want to know what that important matter is, is it? I didn't forbid her from having male friends. Aren't you and your older brother on very good terms? Have I ever said anything?" Brother Jiang controlled his character to fly from the cliff to the opposite side, but couldn't grasp the rope. The character fell into the abyss with a "thud," dying instantly.
The screen turned black. He held the controller and continued, "Only this Ying Huai, if I ask two more questions, your Sister Lin gets angry. She gives me a perfunctory excuse, and she gets angry before I do?"
Xie Qi Zhi didn't understand why Brother Jiang cared so much about Ying Huai, and even compared him to his own older brother. Ying Huai wasn't interested in most people, while his older brother was interested in beautiful girls he hadn't met...
No matter how you looked at it, his older brother was a little more dangerous!
Why was Brother Jiang so reassured about his older brother, yet wary of Ying Huai?
However, Xie Qi Zhi also didn't want to badmouth his older brother in front of outsiders. He frowned, thinking hard for a while, then asked, "Sister Lin doesn't usually lie to people, does she? Did you misunderstand her?"
"That's right, Jian Shan doesn't lie." The person next to him said while looking at the game screen, "She told me that Ying Huai called her about nothing else, only asking if Qi Qi ate and took his medicine on time, and if he had a fever at night. He's not without a way to contact you, so why didn't he call you himself? Isn't this just making excuses?"
Xie Qi Zhi was silent for a moment, put down the controller, and helplessly said, "Alright, Brother Jiang, I understand. I'll tell him myself, so he won't bother Sister Lin anymore."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Brother Jiang narrowed his eyes and patted Xie Qi Zhi's head: "I like talking to smart kids like you."
Brother Jiang sat for a while then left. The fat cat quickly jumped off the sofa and followed him. It wiggled its butt, leaving only cat hair on the sofa.
Xie Qi Zhi patted the cushion; the cat hair clung to it and wouldn't come off. He quickly gave up, intending to find someone to clean it tomorrow.
After showering, he lay on the bed and texted Ying Huai:
【I've taken my medicine, and my body temperature is normal. Don't look for Sister Lin anymore; I'll tell you whatever you want to know.】
Ying Huai replied after a while:【Okay, get some rest.】
Xie Qi Zhi:【Yes, good night.】
On the day he received the birthday gift his older brother sent, Xie Qi Zhi talked on the phone with him for a long time.
On the phone, his older brother kept apologizing, saying that there was a truly important meeting, and he couldn't be absent, nor did he have the right to change the time.
It wasn't entirely his older brother's fault. If he had chosen to stay in Yi Zhou for school back then, no matter how busy his brother was, he could have found some time to come home and celebrate his birthday with him.
Because Song Cheng was not Yi Zhou; the two places, North and South, were too far apart. Even if a helicopter was waiting for him right outside the door after the meeting, he couldn't reach Xie Qi Zhi before the next day.
"It's okay." Xie Qi Zhi squatted down, opening the gift as he spoke, "I'm not a child anymore; I won't cry to my older brother just because I can't celebrate my birthday with him."
"I wish you would cry to me." Xie Zhi Lan asked, "Since I can't come today, won't you take time off to come find me to celebrate your birthday?"
Xie Qi Zhi was silent for a moment, having been in college for over a month before suddenly realizing he could take a leave of absence. He said, "I forgot."
Xie Zhi Lan replied, "I'll temporarily believe you forgot. Jian Shan is about to get off work, right? Or should I call her and tell her to take you out for a celebratory meal?"
"No, thank you, I don't want to bother Sister Lin." Xie Qi Zhi said, "If I really want to eat, I can go myself."
Xie Zhi Lan knew he felt constrained, and asked again, "If you don't want to go out with her, then do you want Ying Huai to go with you?"
Xie Qi Zhi said nothing, as if he hadn't heard, lowering his head to continue unwrapping his older brother's gift.
Turning the gift box to the front, it was a new model camera released by Nikon this year.
Along with the camera, something very light, very flat, but very long was also sent. It looked a little strange, like a person tied up. He removed the top part, and his older brother's impressive face met his eyes.
Xie Qi Zhi stared for a full five seconds, then couldn't help but laugh: "Brother, why did you send me your standee?"
"You opened it?" Xie Zhi Lan said with a smiling face, "It's my replica, life-sized, as tall as me. This year, let it take a picture with Qi Qi in my place."
Hanging up the phone, Xie Qi Zhi set up the standee, looked left and right, pondered for a long time, and finally placed it next to a floor lamp in the living room.
It was getting dark, and the light in the room gradually faded. He turned on the floor lamp, but it didn't light up.
Is it broken?
He went to turn on the living room and dining room lights; all were dark.
A few minutes later, Xie Qi Zhi received a message from Sister Lin, a screenshot from the residential complex's group chat, saying that a nearby parking lot under construction had dug up the complex's dedicated power cable, leading to a power outage, which was now being urgently repaired.
Lin Jian Shan told him not to panic, there was a spare flashlight in the cabinet, and power would be back soon.
Xie Qi Zhi found the flashlight as she said, turned it on, and placed it on the coffee table.
He went out to the balcony and looked outside; the entire residential complex was dark.
The tall buildings stood silently amidst the concrete jungle city, dyed a mesmerizing dark red by the six o'clock sunset.
Two hours passed, still no power.
The residential complex had a power outage, and the elevators also stopped working. Xie Qi Zhi received a call from the delivery person, who said that the 23rd floor was really too high, and asked if he could come down to get the cake, or where it would be suitable to leave it.
Xie Qi Zhi said nothing, hugging a pillow and sitting on the sofa. The light from the flashlight was like a white beam shining on the ceiling.
Outside this small area, everything else was pitch black. Even his older brother's standee with a smile on its face was swallowed by the darkness.
The delivery person found it strange, said "hello" a few times, then hung up.
Very soon, another call came in.
Xie Qi Zhi glanced at it, then answered.
He buried his head in his elbow, and before the other party spoke, he said, "I'm scared, can you come here for me?"