A Certain Someone ( The On1y One ) Chapter 017 – Half-Sentence

I Said We Could Give It A Try.

The car stopped at the entrance to White Horse Lane.
Jiang Tian paid and exited the car first, yet Sheng Wang did not for a long time. He went around to the other side before he realised that this ancestor was quietly waiting for someone to open the door for him, a bag of medicine in his hands. Clearly, the chauffeur spoiled him.

Jiang Tian, completely done, opened the door. Sheng Wang then elegantly stuck out a leg, and even gave a polite smile. “Thank you.”
He had his bag hanging off one shoulder, and medicine in his hands. It was not exactly easy for him to get out of the car.
Jiang Tian almost could not stand it anymore as he held onto the car door. He stuck his hand out and said, “Give me the medicine.”
Sheng Wang very courteously replied, “No.”
Jiang Tian, “……”
He could only offer another suggestion. “Wear your bag on both shoulders.”
Sheng Wang said, “Uncool.”
Jiang Tian gave up.

Sheng Wang stubbornly insisted on the pose of carrying his bag on a single shoulder while carrying a bag of medicine in his hands. The moment he left the car he went into the depths of the alley like it was nobody’s business. He was not clumsy in a hundred ways like the other drunkards. If some girls from Fuzhong saw him, they would probably compliment that he was pleasing on the eyes while blushing.
……It was just that he looked a little lonesome.

For a brief moment, Jiang Tian somewhat suspected that this person was not really drunk, but rather he was acting unreasonable and shameless with the excuse of alcohol. If he was truly drunk, he would not care about his image this much.
Yet, Sheng Wang who already went quite a distance suddenly turned to look at him, and went all the way back to the start.

Jiang Tian thought that the other person was waiting for him to go together. Unexpectedly, Sheng Wang nodded up at him and said, “Where’s your phone?”
“Why?”
“Take it out and take a video.”
“Video of what?” Jiang Tian’s brows furrowed and was perplexed. Still, his hand reached into his pants’ pocket, and hesitantly dug out his phone.

He swiped at the screen, and the screen switched to the camera.
In the shot, Sheng Wang stood beneath the street lamp, and his shadow was stretched longer by the light. The tip of his foot kicked at the uneven ground, saying, “This shitty road is so bumpy and full of potholes, and yet just now, I was walking in such a straight line. Did you catch that?”

Maybe the hoarse and nasally voice that uniquely came with a cold was too good at swindling people or something. Jiang Tian, while holding the cold expression that said ‘I don’t actually want to talk to you’, was speechless for a moment before he said, “I caught that.”
After he spoke he turned around to double-check —
Thank the heavens, the driver that sent them back had long since disappeared. It was just him and Sheng Wang in this entire alley. This stupid conversation did not happen with other people around.

“What’s the point of only catching it,” The leader delivered his order once more, “film it down.”
“……”

Jiang Tian speechlessly stared at him for a good while. His thumb swiped at camera mode, and said in a light voice, “I’m convinced you’re truly drunk now.”

The distance from the entrance of the alley to the Shengs’ ancestral home was less than 300m. They walked for twenty minutes, and a certain person went back and forth three times. Jiang Tian’s half a lifetime supply of patience was all used here.

The commotion that accompanied their entrance into the courtyard was a little much, the people inside probably heard them. Soon enough, the door was wide open, and Jiang Ou stuck her body out of the door while wearing a knitted cardigan, saying, “The two of you are back at last. Why are the both of you so late? I thought — why are you holding up your phone?”
“Who knows.” Jiang Tian mocked under his breath, and kept his phone back in his pocket.
He followed the request and filmed the entire journey, now that there was another person, he really could not afford to lose face over it.

“Hurry in, okay. Why did the both of you come back together? I heard from Xiao-Chen that Xiao-Wang went for a meal with the classmates.” Jiang Ou side-stepped and gave way, Jiang Tian and Sheng Wang entered the house one after another.

Sheng Wang was stable in his every move, aside from the one time he swayed a little while changing his shoes, one could barely tell that there was anything wrong. However, Jiang Ou did manage to smell that something was wrong as soon as she saw. She turned to glare at Jiang Tian as she asked, “You brought him to drink?”
“You think that’s possible?” Jiang Tian said.
“That’s true.” Jiang Ou was as familiar as she could be with her own son. He might not even show up for meal gatherings like this, there was no way he would bring Sheng Wang and challenge him to drinks or something. “He drank it himself?”
“Mm.”

Sheng Wang squatted as he untied his shoelaces. His fingers were clean, slender, and pale, there was no clumsiness that came from being a drunkard to be found. It was just that he was overly slow and leisurely as he did that. The plastic bag full of medicine was set aside next to his feet. Jiang Tian bent over to go take it, but Sheng Wang covered it with quick reflexes.
“I’m just taking something,” Jiang Tian said.
Sheng Wang looked up at him. Maybe it was because they were too close to each other or something, he only swept a glance before he looked down, said an ‘Oh’, and his hand uncovered half of the bag.

Jiang Tian took out two small dark green jars, stood up straight and passed it to Jiang Ou.
When she got scalded, it was this ointment that Auntie Sun applied on her. She had a deep impression of it, and recognised it with a single look. She stared at the small round jars for quite a while, before she finally looked up and tenderly said, “You got out of the way to buy it?”
Jiang Tian changed his shoes with the support of the door frame. He said without even looking up, “It was on the way.”
“Stubborn.” Jiang Ou grumbled, and then looked at Sheng Wang, full of worry. “Speaking of medicine, I thought that he definitely had a cold when he left the house this morning then. Listen at that nasally voice of his. I already got some medicine, but he drank so much, he can’t take it now either.”

“Forget about it,” Jiang Tian shot a glance at Sheng Wang, “wait until he’s sober.”
Sheng Wang stood up with a drag of his slippers, and did not forget to bring the plastic bag along either. Jiang Ou saw ‘Fuzhong School Hospital’ printed on top, and asked Jiang Tian in some disbelief, “You bought it for him?”
“He bought it himself.”
Jiang Tian lifted his school bag’s strap, and was about to head upstairs.

“Eh? Don’t run away yet.” Jiang Ou did not think too much about it, she only tugged at him and said, “Bring Xiao-Wang to go sit on the sofa for a while, I’ll go make some honey water.”

The items in the kitchen were all arranged by Auntie Sun. Jiang Ou only moved in a short while ago, and was still not used to it. She unconsciously opened the leftmost cupboard door, and stuck her hand inside for a jar of honey, only to realise that this cupboard held an unused electric stove and a pot.
She was stupefied for a moment, and stood in front of the cupboard for a long while.

She actually did understand Jiang Tian’s many levels of discomfort, as even she herself was unable to completely adapt to living here yet. She met Ji HuanYu when she was fifteen, got together with him when she was eighteen, got married when she was twenty-two, and got divorced when she was thirty-four. Only six years later did she then move away from the place they had lived in for years.
How could one simply change the habits they got from living in a place for such a long time on a whim.

Yet, she was relatively lucky too. They got a divorce due to a divergence in ideology, and no heavy damage was dealt. Jiang Tian was mature enough that he did not need anyone to fret over him at all, and Sheng Mingyang was incredibly respectful towards her. Even Ji HuanYu continued to do his duty as the birth father.
At least, she did not waste 40 years of her life.

Jiang Ou searched everywhere in the kitchen, then she remembered that Auntie Sun once mentioned that she placed the honey on top of the fridge.
There was water she set to maintain the temperature at 40℃ in the kitchen, intending it for Sheng Wang’s medicine. She made a cup of honey lemon, took a spoon with a long handle and stirred as she walked towards the living room.

The lights were not switched on in the living room, only the floor lamp at the side of the sofa was lit. The warm light made a circle of light, and the two boys sat right beneath that light.

Jiang Tian’s long legs were curled up, his knees reached above the sofa and the coffee table. He reached over to whisk out a book from the bag at his legs, and flipped through it in complete boredom. The lapel on his spacious school uniform sagged, revealing the t-shirt inside.

Sheng Wang sat next to him, with a distance of half a person. It was neither near nor far.
He sat cross-legged with a cushion he randomly grabbed on his lap. One arm propped his head against the cushion, the other hand was squeezing a corner of the cushion.
He stared at an empty space, at the boundary between the kitchen and the balcony. He was zoning out.

Ever since they moved in, this was the first time Sheng Wang was this relaxed in front of people.
Jiang Ou was incredibly self aware. She knew that this way of relaxation was definitely not because of her, but rather, more like a form of subconscious habit—
Sheng Wang was used to sitting cross legged at the corner of the sofa like that, like he had been waiting for someone for a long time.

Jiang Ou paused in her steps, suddenly unsure if she should even go over anymore.

It was still Jiang Tian who caught a glimpse of her through the corner of his eyes, and lifted his head.
He let the hand holding the book dangle down, and asked, “Done?”
“Mm.” Jiang Ou then walked again, stirring the honey water as she did so.

The long handle knocked against the glass of the cup, making light clinging noises. Sheng Wang finally came back to himself after the long daydream on the spot. In that moment he turned around, his eyes were red.

Even Jiang Tian was startled.
“Xiao-Wang?” Jiang Ou softly called.
Sheng Wang hurriedly lowered his eyes. He wore his slippers, grabbed his bag and that bag of medicine and mumbled, “I’m super sleepy, I’m heading up first.”

“Eh?” Before Jiang Ou could say anything, he already went upstairs. The footsteps that went all the way into his room alternated in light and heavy steps, and with a click of the door locking, there was no more movement.

Jiang Ou held the cup in her hands. Moments later, she sighed, “He probably missed his mom.”
Another while later, Jiang Tian finally retracted his gaze from the staircase. His lips moved, but he did not say anything at all.
“Still, he has to drink the honey water somehow, if not the hangover tomorrow morning will give him a run for it.” Jiang Ou muttered. “How about I’ll just bring it up for him.”

However, she was still a little hesitant.
Boys at this age were especially concerned about their personal space. They always tried to separate themselves from their seniors. One cannot go inside as they feel like, one cannot touch their things as they feel like, the world upstairs and downstairs are two independent worlds.

As she fretted, the cup in her hand was taken away by someone.
Jiang Tian held the cup in his hands, and slung his bag over his shoulders. “I’ll give it to him, you go sleep first.”

*
Sheng Wang changed a place to sit cross-legged at.
He sat on his bed, and stared at his opened bag and the plastic bag with medicine for a long time. He could not recall what it was he wanted to do.

Just as his legs were going numb from being crossed, something sticking to his thigh vibrated.
Sheng Wang digested that information for a while, and took the phone out of his pocket.

There was a new message on WeChat.
Jiang Tian: .
Sheng Wang held the send button, and said lazily: What for—

He suspected that the other person was making sure he was still alive.
Soon enough, the next message came.

Jiang Tian: Is the door locked?
Canned: “Nope— ”
Jiang Tian: I’m entering then.

Sheng Wang, “???”
He stared at the chat interface, and before he realised what just happened, he heard someone knock on his bedroom door, unlocked the door and came in.

This ought to be the first time Jiang Tian ever entered this bedroom. But, he did not look around, he did not express any curiosity about the interior decor. He only walked straight to the bed, and settled the cup down on the bedside cabinet.

“Drink this.” Jiang Tian said.
Maybe it was the overwhelming silence of the surroundings in the middle of the night, maybe it was because he was very close to him. The pitch of his voice was low, and yet he could clearly hear the grainy texture in his voice.

Sheng Wang rubbed his right ear and said, “Oh, I’ll drink it later.”
As a result, Jiang Tian did not leave.

Sheng Wang stood off against him for a while. Due to the increasing weight of his eyelids, he lost the stand off entirely by himself. He took the glass cup, and chugged it down by the mouthful, all properly.
“What’s this water? It’s too sweet.” He only remembered to show his distaste after he finished it.
“Dish water, for curing hangovers.” An answer like this came bouncing out of Jiang Tian.
Sheng Wang, “???”
“Forget it,” Jiang Tian stuck his hand out, “give me the cup.”

“No.” Sheng Wang dodged his hand. He grasped the cup, and frowned as he said, “Hold on for a bit, I still have something to do.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a long while and I still can’t recall.”
“……”

Sheng Wang maintained this position as he contemplated for a good while. Out of his peripheral view, the hand Jiang Tian stuck out retracted, and rested on the back of the chair at the side of the table. He was waiting for him with what little patience he had.

Sheng Wang suddenly lightly let out an ‘oh’, and said, “I remember now.”

“Speak.” Jiang Tian lifted his chin.
“Did you not finish your words back on the car or something?”
“Did I?” Jiang Tian said.
There really was barely an expression on his face. It was hard to tell if he really forgot, or he was asking that on purpose.

“You did.” The drunkard’s brain was quite functional at this moment, and he could even repeat the details, “I said other people all thought that we are familiar with each other, but in reality we barely spoke to each other. You said an ‘actually’, and then there was nothing.”

Sheng Wang’s wrist rested on his knee, his fingertips loosely holding the cup. He looked at Jiang Tian, with the light from the desk lamp reflected in his eyes, it gave people the illusion that he was sober.
“Actually, then what?” he asked.

The fingers Jiang Tian were propping against the back of the chair lightly tapped twice. He lowered his eyes, as if he was recalling.
After a long time he finally spoke. “I said we could give it a try.”
“Try what?”
“Try to be more familiar.”

TO BE CONTINUED.