A Certain Someone ( The On1y One ) Chapter 080 – Going Home

Jiang Tian Suddenly Said, “Your Bathroom Has Terrible Soundproofing.”

After the last paper, Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian went straight to the hospital on their very next footstep. There were supposed to be proper visitation hours for the ward, but it wasn’t set in stone. The nurse still allowed them to chat a little with the old man.
“Didn’t Xiao-Zhao pass the massage?” The old man glared, “You’re not going to school tomorrow? Nothing serious happened to me, what are ya doing running here and there?”

“They’re giving us a holiday for tomorrow, the night self-study for the next few nights are cancelled too,” Jiang Tian said.
“Who do you think you’re fooling?” Old Man Ding found it a little hard to believe. “Why the holiday out of the blue? Did you two ask for leave?”
Jiang Tian said, “Didn’t they fish someone up in the river?”

“So what about it?”
“Our school is more cautious,” Sheng Wang explained, “they said that they don’t dare to let the students loose all over the place at night without finding out what exactly happened. Either the parents fetch us after night self-study, or it’s straight up cancelled for the time being.”
“How would it be possible for every family to get someone to fetch them?” Old Man Ding said.
“Indeed,” Sheng Wang nodded, “So they simply cancelled it.”

There was also an elderly man staying next bed over. He fell asleep and woke up again several times while watching the TV, and after he stacked his pillows up, he began chatting with them too.
“You kids are from Fuzhong?” the elderly man asked, “Didn’t an accident happen there?”
“Yes,” Old Man Ding said, “we were just talking about it, the school is scared enough to give them a holiday.”
However, the old man was clearly on the more gossipy side, he knew more details too. “I heard from the nurse this morning that the body fished up was a girl. Quite young, around twenty to thirty years old. She’s not from this area, and until now nobody has claimed the body. Poor thing.”
“Yeah.”

“That’s why as they say, you can’t live alone.” The elderly man said it from the bottom of his heart, and he sighed, “As for me, sigh, the old missy left early, my kids aren’t filial, now I live by myself. I fainted while playing mahjong that day, and it was other people who sent me here. If I rely on them……”
He waved. “Then I’ll already be gone.”

The elderly always found their kindred when it comes to conversation topics like this. Old Man Ding tapped Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian, saying to the elderly man, “See this yet? As for me, well, if not for these two, I would be gone too.”
“Oh? Grandsons?” the elderly man said, “it’s okay if the grandkids are filial too, that’s good enough.”

Old Man Ding shook his head. A while later he nodded again, saying, “Mn, grandsons, flesh and blood.”
The old man pondered. “No, wait, you were telling me this afternoon that you have no kids, where did the flesh and blood grandsons come from.”
Old Man Ding laughed, pointing at him, “Why are you so easy to trick.”

“I don’t have sons or daughters, but this one here is closer than blood.” Old Man Ding pointed at Sheng Wang, “I’m not giving this one up for anything.”
Sheng Wang joked, “How about me, grandpa? Will you exchange him for me?”
Old Man Ding hesitated for two seconds.
Jiang Tian: “……”
The old man guffawed again. “I’m not changing, I want both.”

The old man showed off for a while before the nurse came in, urging them to hurry up and rest and sleep. Sheng Wang and Jiang Tian hence called for a car home.

It had been a while since they last returned to White Horse Alley; the house was still deep in the depths of the alley, once they were inside, the clamour of the city was muted. The streetlamp outside the courtyard quietly stood at the corner of the wall. Sheng Wang’s footsteps briefly paused — he suddenly recalled what it was like when Jiang Tian just moved in.

That day, he stood at the second floor, and saw the way Jiang Tian stood beneath the streetlight while tugging his bag. Back then, they weren’t exactly on good terms, but he impulsively called out to him nonetheless.
Why?
He probably felt that the way Jiang Tian was made him seem a little lonely.

The fleeting thought that occurred in his mind yesterday popped up again, saying that if only there wasn’t anyone who would entangle their relations; let them be untethered, with all paths unbound for them. With that, they could do anything they want, how good that would be.
Instead, now he felt that that thought was too childish — and too selfish too.

If they were truly all alone in this world, with nobody around them, then that would be so depressingly lonesome. Nobody liked to be all by themself, no matter if they were the grumbling old man in the hospital ward, or the rejoicing Old Man Ding, or even the nameless woman who had yet to be claimed at this moment…
Nobody liked being like that.

At that time, he called out for Jiang Tian — because he wanted to pull him into where the people are; now that he’s already here, then don’t go back anymore.
Don’t go back at all, no matter the reason.
I like you; therefore I wish for the people to flock around you, therefore the path you walk on should always be surrounded by blooming flowers — and the clamour of people too.

“Why are you zoning out?” Jiang Tian walked a few steps before he realised that a certain someone was lagging behind.
Sheng Wang stood beneath the streetlight. “I wasn’t zoning out, I was doing a little self reflection.”
“What are you reflecting over?” Jiang Tian was visibly confused.
“Reflecting over how there’s not a goddamn trace of people to be found on this road, my dad and Auntie Jiang aren’t home either — why am I walking all properly.”

“How did you know that they aren’t home?” Jiang Tian asked.
“I sussed out, duh.” Sheng Wang said, “What’s the point of us going home if they are there too? We’ll put up the most touching brotherhood act in the world?”
“Aren’t we going back to take the guitar?” Jiang Tian said.
Sheng Wang: “???”
Jiang Tian: “What’s with that look of yours?”
Sheng Wang stared at him with a poker face for a few seconds, and then he ran over and pounced onto his back, hanging onto him. “You’re doing this on goddamn purpose, aren’t you?”

Boys at this age might look thin, but they were no feather. Jiang Tian stumbled a step back when Sheng Wang threw himself on top of him, and mirth was in his eyes as he said, “What was I doing on purpose?”
“Noo,” Sheng Wang asked, worked up, “don’t tell me you honestly thought that we’re here just for the guitar?”
“Then what do you want to do?” Jiang Tian asked.
Sheng Wang quieted.

In all honesty, he didn’t actually put any thought into what he wanted to do. It was just that the school was too stuffy, and there were too many eyes on them. They could only reveal a little of how close they were in the tiny gaps of spacetime where nobody else was paying attention, otherwise they had to tiptoe around.
An underground romance was thrilling, but he was going to suffocate from holding his breath all the time. He merely wanted to find a spot where nobody was watching and let some air out. But, with the way Jiang Tian asked, it seemed like he had nefarious intentions.

“What do you mean ‘what’? I am a proper person,” Sheng Wang admonished.
There may be someone hanging on Jiang Tian’s back, but he still managed to make it to the entrance steadily, unlocking the door and entering. When he pushed the door open, he turned aside and replied, “I don’t seem to recall saying anything.”
Fuck.

Sheng Wang released his hand, and silently bent down to change his shoes. However, he only kept that facade of propriety up for barely two seconds before he grabbed the back of Jiang Tian’s neck and began kissing him.
He was the one who took the initiative, so he did not have the nerve to ramble on about being very “proper” etc. Still, as long as he thought of how Jiang Tian could be so shameless beneath his icy surface, he felt a little resentful. Therefore he also backed away a little by his own accord, and mischievously pressed his lips to Jiang Tian’s Adam’s apple.

He kissed until the apple bobbed, and then he took to his heels.
The lights weren’t turned on in the house, it was nothing but darkness all over. The streetlight outside the courtyard walls shone in, casting a transparent and pale patch of light.

Sheng Wang was used to the layout of the dorm, now that they were abruptly back he was little unused to the house. As he went over, he bumped into quite a few things with a few clangs and bangs.
Jiang Tian’s pointer finger and thumb rubbed his Adam’s apple and was rooted to the ground at the entrance hall for a long while. Just as he came back to himself, he heard the ruckus.
He held himself back for a few seconds before he could no longer resist, and said, “Do you know what you sound like?”

Sheng Wang’s voice had already travelled upstairs. “Like what?”
“Like a silly bird that just left its cage—”
“Shut up!”
“—flapping its little wings and flying all over the place,” Jiang Tian calmly finished the remaining half of the line.
“You’re so full of shit.”
“You’ll knock yourself out sooner or later,” Jiang Tian tacked on.
“Scram, why are you suddenly so talkative today.”

Jiang Tian pressed the switch, and the lights on top all lit up. He saw Sheng Wang leaning over the second floor railing, squawking at him with reckless abandon.
The two messed around for a bit. They received a call from Zhao Xi, briefly described the situation when they visited him at the hospital, and eventually gradually settled.

There wasn’t any homework after the weekly exam, the next day was a holiday that came out of the blue. Both Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou weren’t at home — Sheng Wang suddenly was at a loss as to how he wanted to spend his time.
It was rather boring, but he was quite happy for some inexplicable reason — like as though he was with Jiang Tian, even zoning out while staring at each other would be interesting.
Forget it, zoning out while staring at each other is a little stupid.

He went to shower in his own bedroom, and before his hair was even dry, he went down with a towel hanging around his neck. He fiddled around the TV and put a game on.
But sitting side by side as they gamed would be a little too brotherly of them. As such, he fiddled around again, and put on a movie instead.

When Jiang Tian headed downstairs, drying his hair, Sheng Wang was digging out the guitar he had not touched for two-three years from the storage. There was sweat on the tip of his nose, and his hands were all dusty.

“Isn’t taking the guitar a lie?” Jiang Tian said.
“We can’t literally not do anything though?” Sheng Wang wiped the guitar once, set it next to the sofa, and went to wash his hands.
This young master refused to use the tissue despite its availability, and shook water all over Jiang Tian instead before he brazenly curled up in the corner of the couch. He asked Jiang Tian, “What song is Carp planning to sing again?”
“We didn’t pick one.” Jiang Tian sat down next to him. “She said she’ll sing whatever I can learn, either way she will be off tune.”
Sheng Wang: “……how did Old He not eliminate you guys?”
Not only did Old He not kick them out, she even clapped for their dedication and devotion. Only, the audience probably would want to kick them by the time of the performance.

“When did you learn to play?” Jiang Tian asked.
“Year one or two of middle school, can’t remember.” Sheng Wang said, “I was quite free, so I learned a lot of things, like karate, guitar, basketball……”

He listed down a lot, Jiang Tian understood the moment he listened: this young master simply did not have perseverance, he wanted to try everything, he would learn whatever that seemed cool.
“You’ve learnt karate and yet you still say you’re too weak to fight a chicken?” Jiang Tian questioned.
“That’s because it’s troublesome.” Sheng Wang plucked the guitar string randomly, “Not every school is like Fuzhong. There were a lot of people who would pick fights in the school I went to in year three, or their chunni disease is a little too terminal. I was stopped on my third day of going there, he insisted that I stole his girlfriend.”

Jiang Tian raised an eyebrow.
Sheng Wang mocked, “The hell kinda girlfriend I stole, I haven’t even gotten everyone’s names straight.”
“And then?” Jiang Tian changed his position, allowing his curled up leg to lean closer.
“And then that dumbass tried to beat me, but I beat him instead.” Sheng Wang reflected, saying, “He looked quite ugly after he got beaten up. I did feel exhilarated after doing that, but I spent the remaining year in constant regret. That’s because every few days, there would be someone asking for a beating, and then they would call the parents for a meeting at the slightest infraction. Of course, my dad couldn’t be summoned, so the teachers would talk to me, like two-three times every week. After that, I’ve learnt my lesson. The first thing I do after I transfer school would be to declare that I am too weak to fight even a chicken, therefore allowing me to avoid a lot of dumbasses.”

“The first day I met you, I thought you were also the kind of—” Sheng Wang paused.
Jiang Tian sideyed him. “The kind of idiot who would explode on first sight?”
“The kind of friend who would explode on first sight.” Sheng Wang changed his phrasing and then immediately said, “Who would have thought that you’re a boyfriend.”

His head was lowered as he plucked around, and then his eyes lifted as he opened himself up for praises. “It’s been a few years, and I still seriously remember how to tune the guitar. Is this not cool?”
“So-so,” Jiang Tian said.
“……”

Sheng Wang watched him in silence for a while, and pressed him into the sofa with a roll. As he tickled his waist, he asked, “So-so this, it’s normal that. Why are you so hard to please, hm?”
Jiang Tian curled a leg — as he blocked the edge in order to stop him from rolling off, he also had to stop his wandering hand. With that, he was still unable to stop him, and with a few more tussles and turns they both fell onto the carpet.

For boys of this age, all it took was a single spark for everything to turn aflame. A short while later, Sheng Wang’s back was arched as he no longer dared to move. His hair was a tousled mess as he looked at Jiang Tian for a while, and then he got out of the way, sitting by the side.

The movie playing on the screen had long since been muted, the light in the living room was switched off too, leaving only the floor lamp behind the couch. Sheng Wang’s shoulder touched Jiang Tian’s, his heart pounding like a jackrabbit in his chest. He pursed his lips, taking several deep breaths before he croaked, “We’ll practise tomorrow instead, I’ll head back to my room first……”

Jiang Tian suddenly said, “Your bathroom has terrible soundproofing.”
Sheng Wang froze.
The next second, he heard Jiang Tian murmur, “Let me help you.”

TO BE CONTINUED.