Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 3
Tang Shan sat by the dining table with bacon, fries and steamed eggs in front of him. He'd been pushed and dragged to the table, and Li Yuanyu had nonchalantly urged him to eat, even pouring a gla.s.s of milk for him.
”You'll become more emotionally stable once you replenish the calcium in your body,” Li Yuanyu smiled gently as he pushed the gla.s.s of milk to him.
Tang Shan rolled his eyes.
”You took my locket away, didn't you?” he immediately accused.
”What do you mean? Didn't you put it away?” Li Yuanyu feigned innocence, denying his role in this.
”I put it in my pocket but it disappeared!”
”So you suspect me?”
”If it wasn't you, who else could it be?”
Li Yuanyu's face fell. It looked as if he was on the verge of losing his temper, but he kept his cool and smiled as he maneuvered the plate till it was in front of Tang Shan. ”Eat up. It isn't raining today, so I'll show you around.”
”I don't-” Tang Shan didn't even get a chance to reject him before a ringtone interrupted him.
Li Yuanyu left the kitchen to answer it. Tang Shan followed him with his gaze, watching the door for a long time. Eventually, he couldn't contain his curiosity and carefully followed in his footsteps and peeked at him.
Li Yuanyu sounded annoyed, as if he was quarrelling with the other party.
”You actually need me to handle such trivial matters? Just handle it yourselves!”
The other party said something, causing Li Yuanyu to fall silent for a long time.
”I understand. I'll make a trip there.” He hung up after he answered.
Li Yuanyu walked towards the kitchen, and Tang Shan immediately rushed back to his seat. He held his fork and started to push the bacon around on his plate, trying to pretend he hadn't just eavesdropped on that conversation. However, the harder he tried, the more obvious he was.
Li Yuanyu leaned against the door, his arms tucked in front of his chest. Seeing Tang Shan's unnatural actions- his head bent while he ate voraciously, deliberately not looking at him- it was obvious he was feeling guilty.
”You were listening.” It wasn't a question, but a statement.
Tang Shan tensed.
”I need to go out for a bit, so watch the house for me, alright? ” Li Yuanyu sounded forceful as he spoke, his gaze unwavering on Tang Shan.
Tang Shan didn't raise his head nor attempt to look at him. He had no reaction to Li Yuanyu's words.
Li Yuanyu lingered for a moment longer, his thoughts unreadable. It didn't seem like he had any intentions of coming closer, and he left the kitchen silently.
Tang Shan listened closely, hoping for Li Yuanyu to leave as quickly as possible. Not long after, he heard something metallic, and then the sound of the door closing.
The moment the door shut, he immediately ran towards the front door. He took a look outside and ascertained that the man had really left, and then reached for the handle and turned it-
”Clunk!” The door handle wouldn't budge.
Tang Shan was momentarily stunned, before he reacted and fervently turned the handle, but once it reached a certain angle, the handle couldn't turn.
The door was locked! He turned to find any other possible exits, running up the steps two at a time, quickly rus.h.i.+ng to his room. That was the only room that he knew had a big window.
He put the cactus elsewhere and pulled the curtains apart.
He was stunned by the sight before him. The window had been sealed with wooden boards. It had been sealed so well that no light could pa.s.s through.
Tang Shan didn't give up and searched through the other rooms, thinking that only his window had been sealed shut. However, after his search through all the rooms, he found that only small ventilation shafts had been left unsealed.
Li Yuanyu had locked him inside the house, and there was no way out.
Tang Shan cried out as he broke down, having no other way to express his feelings. Once he got tired of yelling, he collapsed on the ground.
He watched the ceiling dazedly, unable to understand why Li Yuanyu was so obsessed with him, to the point of limiting his personal freedom.
If he had a chance to escape from here, he'd definitely sue Li Yuanyu to his last penny and make him regret his actions! Tang Shan calmed down after this certain thought.
He suddenly noticed that the markings on the wooden ceiling were slightly strange. There was a square section that was a little different from the rest. Tang Shan stood up and studied it for a long time, before deciding to investigate further.
He remembered there was a storage room in this building, where he'd seen a broom, mop, and the like. Immediately, he rushed to take one of the items and returned to the room, knocking at the wood with a strange marking.
There was a hollow sound, and the wood actually s.h.i.+fted upon impact!
Tang Shan s.h.i.+fted the wood to the side and brought a chair. He then stepped onto it to see what was up there.
There was an attic with a gla.s.s window on the ceiling that had been sealed shut, though it still allowed a stream of moonlight to s.h.i.+ne through. He could just barely see his surroundings with that small amount of light.
There was a table, two chairs, as well as other furniture that had been covered with a cloth. From the shapes, he could tell that there was a bed, a sofa, an easel, another table, a candle stand- there were all sorts of items.
There were also other things on the table, but since they were too far away, he couldn't quite make out what they were.
Tang Shan gathered his strength and finally managed to climb into the attic. He shook off the dust that had gathered on his sleeves, not minding when he didn't manage to remove all of it.
He walked over to the table situated under the window, moonlight s.h.i.+ning onto its surface.
There were gla.s.s bottles full of paper stars and even unused strips of paper left on the table. He seemed to have some memories of that...
___
”You will be granted one wish if you fold a thousand stars,” Li Yuanyu stated. He'd already folded two gla.s.s bottles full of stars. There were still some paper strips in his hands, and he gave some to Tang Shan.
Tang Shan found his words absurd and teased him about his belief in fairytales.
”Why are you laughing so hard? Don't treat it as a joke, Mary folded the stars and wished to leave the city. Her dream managed to come true not long after,” Li Yuanyu defended himself.
”Really?!” Tang Shan felt a glimmer of hope after hearing that.
”Really,” Li Yuanyu answered steadily.
”Then I want to fold a thousand stars and make a wish to leave the city. Yeah, that, or I should make a wish to return home,” Tang Shan mused, pulling aside the chair next to Li Yuanyu, and he started folding the stars as well.
Li Yuanyu's movements momentarily halted.
”If you leave, what's going to happen to me?” From his tone, it was obvious that he was none too happy about it.
”I'll come back. I can't bear to be away from you,” Tang Shan laughed, leaning forward to give him a quick, light kiss, and then pulling back with a grin that seemed to imply he'd done something naughty.
”If you really can't bear to part with me, then just don't go,” Li Yuanyu sighed, sounding like a spoilt child.
___
Oh G.o.d! Yes, that had happened. He remembered!
Tang Shan was so shocked that he retreated. His movements were so big that he knocked into the easel beside him, and he fell on top of it with a ”crash”. Dust flew around him as he coughed.
A corner of the canvas revealed itself, and Tang Shan somehow felt that this reminded him of his own room.
He swept the white cloth aside and was greeted with the sight of a painting of a nude body spread out on the bed, grinning seductively at the artist. There was the cuckoo clock on the wall, the books on the table, the cactus on the windowsill, and the figure on the bed- him.
He was stunned, unable to get ahold of himself for a long time.
Memories began to flow, and he remembered the situation at the time...
___
Li Yuanyu had brought the easel over, saying that he wanted to draw Tang Shan. He'd told Tang Shan to continue sleeping.
Tang Shan couldn't sleep no matter what he tried. He was much too nervous and even used a pillow to attack Li Yuanyu, though it was of no use.
Tang Shan burrowed his face into the blanket, unwilling to let anyone see him. If it weren't for such an intense session last night, he'd definitely escape elsewhere to a place where Li Yuanyu couldn't see, and much less draw him.
”I'll make Borscht for you to drink later if you stop moving.”
”I'll hold you to that.” He raised his head from the blanket, easily bribed by the promise of Borscht.
___
He remembered everything, even the expression on Li Yuanyu's face then. Yes, without a doubt, they had been in love.
”Tang Shan? Tang Shan! Are you up there?” Li Yuanyu's voice travelled from below. He then stepped on the chair and poked his head in, discovering Tang Shan in the attic.
Tang Shan sat in a corner, hugging his knees. He was gla.s.sy-eyed and didn't seem to have much of a reaction. He was like a statue, unmoving.
Li Yuanyu seemed to notice something, silently watching Tang Shan. He didn't like the lifeless look in Tang Shan's eyes.
”It's really dusty up there... Don't stay there for too long, come down first,” Li Yuanyu gestured at him.
”Tell me, how did we start dating?” Tang Shan questioned, voice steady and unemotional.
”It just happened...” Li Yuanyu sighed and held out his arm. ”Come down, let's not discuss this up here. I'll tell you everything.”
Tang Shan didn't move.
”Should I go up there and bring you down?” Li Yuanyu changed his methods of coercion to one more forceful, moving as if he was about to climb up.
Tang Shan panicked, staring at him in shock.
No! He didn't want to stay here with that man, in a place filled with items full of memories of their past.
”I- I'll go down!”
Li Yuanyu halted his movements and watched Tang Shan for a while longer. He answered with an ”all right” and retreated.
Tang Shan got up slowly, his movements difficult. The shock of knowing he was a h.o.m.os.e.xual was too much for him. Even though he had a few friends who were gay, he couldn't believe he was one of them.
”Be careful,” Li Yuanyu looked up at him.
Tang Shan placed both hands on the floorboard, letting his feet go down first. Unexpectedly, one of his hands slipped and he fell to the ground- but luckily for him, Li Yuanyu managed to catch him in time, saving him from imminent danger.
Li Yuanyu's hold on him was extremely familiar. While his mind had forgotten, his body still remembered this feeling.
The moment he felt the man hold him, Tang Shan almost cried, feeling so emotional that his consciousness began to fade.
”Breathe, d.a.m.n it! Breathe!” Li Yuanyu hit Tang Shan's face repeatedly, sounding extremely frantic, as if something terrible was happening.
From Tang Shan's perspective, he'd only blanked out for a second, but in reality he'd fainted for about a minute. He'd lost consciousness and stopped breathing.