FQ chapter 33

Turns out, Luan Ye wasn’t always the most reliable when it came to promises.

He’d said two, three, four days… but now it was day eight, and Fan Qing still hadn’t heard from him.

There were indeed a lot of tourists during summer break. Fan Qing had led a few groups into the mountains, often returning at irregular hours—morning, afternoon, evening. He’d even run into Qiao Feibai twice during his commute.

But never once did he see Luan Ye step outside.

Sometimes, passing the alley to Granny Mu’s house, he’d glance in. The door was sometimes open, sometimes closed—but never a sign of Luan Ye.

Li Ge, when closing the café at night, had asked twice. Apparently, Luan Ye hadn’t been there either.

In this tiny village that couldn’t even take an hour to walk across, Luan Ye had somehow managed to vanish like a missing person.

Several times, Fan Qing hesitated, wondering whether to message him—but after opening their chat, he’d always back out within seconds.

He didn’t know what to say.

How’s the rest? Have you rested enough? Want to go for a walk? It rained the past two days—there are probably mushrooms again… What did he mean by that sentence?

Fan Qing, don’t dwell on it.

His instincts told him Luan Ye had said that because he sensed he was avoiding him—and wanted to ease his awkwardness.

Which gave Fan Qing even less reason to reach out.

He’d spent so much effort avoiding him. And now, without reason, he wanted to text him?

Annoying.

“You went hiking again?” came his aunt’s loud voice on the phone. “Stop taking people into the mountains all the time—it’s dangerous. You’re still young. Not safe on your own either.”

“I’ve done these routes dozens of times. I’ll be fine.” Fan Qing set down his hiking bag, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began unpacking it, holding his phone in his left hand.

“Busy these days?”

She worked at a cafeteria and had probably just gotten home around 7 PM. Fan Qing could hear her unlocking the door.

“Not too busy. Three meals a day, same old routine. You, on the other hand—” she shut the door—“should rest when you can, go have fun. I’ve got your tuition and living expenses covered, you don’t need to worry.”

“I know.” Fan Qing’s voice dropped a little. “I’m not worried—it’s just a long break and I get bored at home. So I take a few trips.”

“Oh, so now you don’t like being idle?” she laughed. “What’s more interesting, the mountains or herding a bunch of people all over the place?”

“They’re both fun,” Fan Qing replied with a smile.

The trees, flowers, birds, insects, streams, rocks… and the damp smell of earth and pine.

People weren’t all that interesting—but he was only responsible for guiding them safely. He hadn’t paid much attention to who was interesting.

…Well, maybe one person.

Luan Ye, who had practically vanished during his so-called break.

Fan Qing’s pace of unpacking slowed.

“When does your admission letter arrive?” his aunt asked.

“Still a while. Usually late July or August.”

“Almost there. Once it comes, take it home to show your grandma. It’ll make her happy. Once you go off to school, you’ll be gone for most of the year. She may not say it, but she’ll definitely miss you.”

“Got it,” Fan Qing replied, then added, “Grandma wants to send you some of her dried red dates. Is your address still the same?”

“Aiyoo, what can’t I buy here that she has to mail it to me?” Even though she said that, Fan Qing could hear that his aunt sounded pretty happy.

“We moved—the old rental was too far from your cousin’s workplace. I’ll send you the new address later.”

His aunt chatted a bit more before hanging up. Fan Qing put down his phone and went downstairs to bring in the clothes hanging in the courtyard.

Just as he returned to his room, the phone on his desk lit up.
Fan Qing thought it was his aunt sending the new address, so he set down the clothes and picked up the phone.

It was a meme from Luan Ye.
A close-up of a cat’s face pressed right up to the camera, so close its face looked distorted, staring straight into the lens.

What the heck.
The missing person suddenly appeared… What did this cat even mean?

Fan Qing stared at the meme for a couple of seconds and directly called Luan Ye.

“You could’ve just replied with a message,” Luan Ye picked up quickly, his voice lazy. “Don’t young people hate phone calls?”

“…I’m okay with them.”
Fan Qing had initially wanted to ask about the meme but ended up going along with Luan Ye’s train of thought.

“You don’t like phone calls?”

“I don’t like receiving them,” Luan Ye said. “If someone calls without asking first, I just pretend I didn’t see it and wait for them to hang up.”

Fan Qing was silent for a moment before speaking:
“But you picked up pretty fast just now.”

“You don’t count,” Luan Ye laughed. “As soon as I sent that meme, I figured you’d call. I was waiting.”

So that meme was a greeting…

Fan Qing laughed for a bit before asking, “You done resting?”

“More or less.” Luan Ye sounded like he was lying down. “Got any plans the next few days?”

“Heading to Shangri-La over the weekend—three days, two nights. One of the nights we’ll camp in the mountains.”

“Got it,” said Luan Ye. “Count me in.”

Fan Qing didn’t answer immediately. After a pause, he said,
“There are quite a few people this time—seven already. With you, that makes eight.”

“That many?” Luan Ye sounded surprised. “You’re leading all of them?”

“Two cars, and another guide.” Fan Qing sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s a big group. Might get a bit noisy for you.”

Even though he really wanted to see Luan Ye again, he also worried that the crowd might make Luan Ye uncomfortable.

Luan Ye made an “ah” sound to acknowledge it, then went quiet—probably considering whether to go or take a few more days to rest.

“I’ll tell them,” Fan Qing spoke up before waiting too long.
“I’ll ask them to find another guide. If you want to go somewhere, we can go separately—”

“You want to go with me alone?” Luan Ye chuckled.

The rest of Fan Qing’s sentence caught in his throat and stuck there for several seconds before he composed himself.

“Yeah.”

There was a brief laugh on the other end, followed by a pause before Luan Ye answered:
“It’s fine. I’ll go this weekend. You already agreed to take them.”

“Then you—”

“I’ll just follow you,” said Luan Ye.

Fan Qing’s mood lifted along with his voice:
“Okay.”

That pleasant feeling lasted all the way until the day they entered the mountains and Fan Qing saw Luan Ye.

Two cars, eight tourists, plus two drivers and guides—ten people total.
The rest of the group had started chatting along the way, gradually warming up to each other.
Only Luan Ye, sitting in the front passenger seat, was fast asleep.

He wore the same outdoor jacket from their last mountain trip. Since they were camping overnight, they had to pack a lot.
His bag looked stuffed to the brim, and he seemed a little thinner than last time.

Maybe he had lost weight.

During a rest stop, everyone got out to stretch and take photos.
Fan Qing turned to look at Luan Ye—he was still there with his eyes closed, completely still.

Fan Qing hesitated, wondering if he should wake him—maybe for some fresh air or to use the restroom…

“I’m not getting out,” Luan Ye suddenly spoke.

“You weren’t sleeping?” Fan Qing was startled.

“Nope.”
Luan Ye kept his eyes shut, speaking slowly.
“That guy in the backseat has been going on and on since we left—bragging to the girl next to him about all his amazing solo adventures.
He’s like a one-man show. I kinda want to hand him a bottle of water for the effort.”

“Couldn’t sleep because of the noise?” Fan Qing laughed, then felt a bit guilty.

He really should’ve insisted on turning down this trip. At the very least, he shouldn’t have let Luan Ye come.

“It’s alright.”
Luan Ye finally opened his eyes to look at Fan Qing.
“Haven’t seen a living person in days. Listening to someone tell stories is kind of amusing.”

“You stayed in your room the whole time during your break?” Fan Qing looked at him. “Didn’t go out at all?”

“What’s the point of going out while resting?”
Luan Ye shut his eyes again.
“Even just getting up from bed to the living room to pour a glass of water takes mental preparation.”

Fan Qing looked at him for a while, then said nothing.

Once everyone piled back into the cars and drove another few hundred meters, the storyteller in the back resumed his tale—this time about trekking solo across Nepal’s “Demon Peak.”

Luan Ye kept his eyes shut, listening.
He couldn’t tell which online post this guy had cobbled his story from, but several place names and routes were clearly wrong.

Just as the thrilling Nepal adventure began, he heard Fan Qing’s voice beside him:

“Keep it down. Someone’s trying to sleep.”

The tone was cold—the voice in the back dropped immediately.

Luan Ye smiled faintly to himself.

…..

Around 10 a.m., both cars arrived at Dukezong Ancient Town.

Shangri-La’s Tibetan style was rich and immersive—prayer wheels, flags, colorful murals, and couples in traditional Tibetan dress taking staged photos everywhere.

Some of the group wanted photo shoots, some wanted to explore the town.
They agreed to meet back at the parking lot at 2 p.m.

Since there was no trekking here, no extra instructions were needed.
The group quickly dispersed into the crowds.
Fan Qing turned back—Luan Ye stood in place, looking more alert than he had in the car.

“Want to wander around a bit?” Luan Ye asked.

Fan Qing nodded.

The other guide was around forty and had been leading this route for over a decade—he sat in the car playing poker on his phone.
Fan Qing had also been here a few times. Normally, he would have napped in the car.

But not today.
Not with Luan Ye here.

The weather was perfect—thin clouds like silk, hanging low over the mountain peaks.
The town’s rough red walls and colorful murals were even more vivid under the sunlight, and the massive golden prayer wheel on the distant mountain sparkled in the light.

“There’s a park up there with a great view of the whole town and a big prayer wheel. There’s also a little white pagoda… but that one’s not very pretty.”

Fan Qing pointed to the shimmering golden structure on the mountain.

“Nearby, there’s also a big prayer flag setup. Lots of people go to take pictures. Might have to wait in line if it’s crowded.”

Luan Ye listened to the rundown:
“You’ve got it memorized, huh?”

“More or less.” Fan Qing smiled.

“Too lazy to hike, and I don’t want to wait in line,” Luan Ye said, slowly walking forward.
“Let’s just stroll around the old town.”

Though he’d been here many times, this was the first time Fan Qing had wandered the town so seriously.
Before, every visit ended with him asleep in the car.

Not long after they started walking, they passed a stall selling yak butter milk tea.
The sign was printed in bold words: Tibetan Specialty.
Luan Ye bought two cups.

“You didn’t need to get one for me.”
Fan Qing sighed as he took the cup.
“I’m not a tourist.”

Luan Ye didn’t say anything. He just lifted the cup and inspected the label.

Fan Qing: “What are you looking at?”

“Checking if it says ‘For tourists only.’”

“You—”
Fan Qing laughed.
“That’s not what I meant. I’ve just been here so many times…”

“And never really explored it, right?” Luan Ye said.

Fan Qing was stunned.

“It’s too close. There were always chances to visit, so you never seriously looked around… kind of a shame.”

Luan Ye took a sip of tea.

“And you probably never really tasted anything here either… this one’s for you.”

Fan Qing had been listening attentively—until that last sentence caught him off guard and made him laugh.

“You don’t like it, do you?”

“Tsk.” Luan Ye clicked his tongue.
“Take it.”

Fan Qing smiled as he accepted it and took a sip.

It really was strange—he’d never thought about seriously exploring places like this.
He always preferred hiking in nature to these constructed ancient towns.

If not for today’s aimless wandering with Luan Ye, he wouldn’t have known there were so many little shops here, selling all sorts of quirky things—bustling with life.

And Luan Ye was strange too.

He didn’t care for the typical tourist spots everyone else liked.
But the tiny stores he found interesting?
He would walk into each one, looking around with focused, sincere attention.

The old town bustled with people—many dressed in Tibetan outfits for photo shoots.
Some were local Tibetans, selling all kinds of souvenirs.

As they exited a shop, they saw a little girl squatting beside a red wall across the street, cradling a lamb in her arms.
She met Luan Ye’s eyes, stood up, and took a couple steps toward him.

“Gege, wanna take a picture holding the little lamb?” the girl asked timidly in broken Mandarin. “10 yuan.”

Luan Ye looked down at her for a few seconds, then turned to Fan Qing.

“You go. Hold the lamb and take a photo.”

Fan Qing blinked. “Me?”

He had just finished his milk tea.

“You hold it, I’ll take the photo,” said Luan Ye.

Fan Qing hesitated, then took the lamb from the little girl.
It was only a few months old—light, fluffy, and very clean.
It didn’t move at all once in his arms.

Fan Qing held the lamb and looked up at Luan Ye.

The moment their eyes met, Fan Qing clearly saw the increasing amusement in Luan Ye’s expression.

“You actually look… kind of cute.”
Luan Ye raised the camera.
“Come on, smile for the camera.”

…Smile my ass. This is so dumb.

This sentence flashed through Fan Qing’s mind, but when Luan Ye pointed the camera at him, he still looked up and gave a slight smile.

Luan Ye took two photos, looked at them carefully, and the smile in his eyes spread to his lips.

“Pretty handsome,” he said.

Behind him were the overlapping eaves of the ancient town and rough-textured walls. The sky was so blue it looked unreal. Fan Qing was holding a lamb, gazing at the camera with a faint smile, his eyes as clear as distant mountains and fields.

“You know, you two look quite alike,” Luan Ye added.

“…Who?” Fan Qing adjusted his hold on the lamb, worried it might fall.

“You and it.” Luan Ye turned the phone around and pointed to the photo of the man and lamb.

“Big eyes, long eyelashes,” Luan Ye analyzed, “and obedient.”

“…Thanks a lot,” Fan Qing sighed while holding the lamb.

“You’re welcome.”

Luan Ye switched the camera to selfie mode without turning his head and said, “Come closer.”

So dumb, so dumb, so dumb…

Fan Qing stood next to Luan Ye, still holding the lamb.

The camera frame was a bit crowded with two people and a lamb. The eaves of the old town and the sky only peeked in from the corners. The little lamb was surprisingly photogenic, leaning its head against Luan Ye’s shoulder.

Hesitating a moment, Fan Qing followed its lead and took a small step toward Luan Ye—their shoulders touched.

Luan Ye smiled and pressed the shutter.