FQ chapter 26

Xu Song was someone Luan Ye had met during college. They first ran into each other in San Diego while shooting sunsets. At the time, Luan Ye was just getting into photography, while Xu Song had already been doing it for years. Later, Xu Song returned to China and opened a studio, mostly shooting magazine spreads and top models. He had tons of connections. 

Three days later, he messaged Luan Ye saying he had everything.

“The two lenses you wanted were out of stock. I had a friend bring them from Hong Kong—they just arrived last night.”

Xu Song must’ve been working—the voice message came with background noise and chaos.
“I’ve already mailed everything to you. Courier says it’ll arrive Monday.”

Luan Ye sincerely thanked him and asked how much he owed. Xu Song replied a while later:

“No rush. Use it first.”

A few minutes after that, he sent another message:

“Bai Mingchuan is definitely going to look for you again. When the time comes, talk to him. No matter what, you’ve known each other for so many years.”

Luan Ye stared at the message for a long time but didn’t respond. He didn’t want to reject Xu Song’s kindness outright.

Xu Song wasn’t wrong.

He still remembered the first time he met Bai Mingchuan—he hadn’t even turned fifteen. It was his first time in a foreign country, staying with a completely unfamiliar host family. At that time, he was like a startled bird.

The host father was an American and often away on business trips. The host mother was Chinese-American, gentle and kind, always telling Luan Ye to treat their home like his own. But still, Luan Ye couldn’t sleep for several nights in a row.

One night, he woke with a start and went downstairs to get water. Not wanting to wake anyone, he didn’t turn on the lights. As he picked up the cup, he heard someone unlocking the door from outside.

Still haunted by everything he’d read about U.S. crime, Luan Ye whipped around, knocking the cup over. It rolled across the table and hit the carpet. The door opened. A tall figure stepped inside.

Terrified, Luan Ye looked up, frozen. Before he could scream, the man flicked on the light.

Dressed in a suit, he stood in the doorway, frowning as he looked at the wet table and carpet—then glanced at Luan Ye.

That was Bai Mingchuan. He had just graduated from college at the time.

From that moment on, Luan Ye had called him “ge” for nearly thirteen years. Over the past decade, Luan Ye had truly been grateful to him—but had also deeply hated him.

Those two emotions had sometimes blurred into one another, but often coexisted.

……

From the kitchen, the smell of cooking wafted out. Granny Mu poked her head out the window and called into the courtyard,
“Dinner time! Go call Xiao Qiao!”

Luan Ye let out a sigh and stood up.

He knew that running away wasn’t a solution. They were both adults now—someday he would have to sit down and have a proper conversation with Bai Mingchuan. But not now.

Besides, he was still pretty busy. So many people were waiting for him to take their photos.

“Over forty, maybe close to fifty,” Granny Mu said excitedly over dinner. “They all signed up with me. I told them I had to come back and check with you first.”

She asked, “Is that too many? Will you be able to handle it?”

“We can split it into two days. Should be doable,” Luan Ye thought for a moment. “But editing and printing the photos will take longer. They’ll need to wait a few days.”

Hearing that, Granny Mu was relieved. “That’s fine. It’s not like we’re taking the photos and dropping dead right after. They can wait.”

“Aiya, you—” Luan Ye laughed with a sigh. The old lady really didn’t shy away from anything.

The equipment would arrive Monday, and he needed to test it first. He thought for a bit. “Let’s start shooting next Wednesday. You guys should get ready—think about what to wear and where to take the photos.”

Granny Mu’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “Perfect. A bunch of the old men and women were worried they wouldn’t make it in time. Some were planning to buy new clothes at the next market day for the shoot.”

Qiao Feibai had been listening to their cryptic conversation for a while and was so curious he lost his appetite. He suddenly blurted out, “What, what—what kind of photos?”

“Portraits for memorials.”

Granny Mu turned to him cheerfully and explained everything from the beginning.

When Qiao Feibai finished listening, his eyes were wide like a startled kitten meme. He looked at Luan Ye with complete awe.

“Holy crap, Ye-ge, you’re amazing! This is seriously—seriously…”

Qiao Feibai was so moved that his eyes were turning red. “You should be on Touching China!*”

This kid ignited like hydrogen gas—one spark and he was blazing. Luan Ye was both amused and helpless. “Alright, alright, stop flattering me. I can’t even take it.”

“I mean it!” Qiao Feibai raised his voice to prove his sincerity. Granny Mu smacked him twice and said, “Don’t shout!”

He quickly lowered his voice. “Let me know if you need help. I’ll definitely come.”

The photos weren’t even being taken yet, but now Luan Ye had two volunteers. He couldn’t help laughing. “And what exactly can you help with?”

“Whatever you need. I’ll do anything,” Qiao Feibai said, practically treating him like an idol. “Carry stuff, trim photos, put them in frames. If we need more people, I’ll call Qu Jie and Yao Ge.”

Luan Ye took a second to realize he was talking about the two shop owners from the bar Go See the mountains. He couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re bossing your bosses around now?”

“Don’t worry, they’ll be more than happy to come,” Qiao Feibai promised. “Besides, don’t you need makeup and stuff for a photo shoot? Qu Jie is great at it. She has loads of products and even did mine once.”

“You wear makeup for performances?” Luan Ye was surprised. “So professional.”

“No, it was when I hit 30,000 followers on the app. The fans wanted to see me in drag,” Qiao Feibai said shyly. “Qu Jie did a look for me—I cosplayed as Anya.”

Luan Ye: “…………”

It sounded ridiculous, but somehow made perfect sense coming from Qiao Feibai.

Luan Ye hadn’t thought about makeup at all, but now that Qiao Feibai mentioned it—and with Granny Mu saying the elderly really valued the shoot, even buying new clothes—it actually made a lot of sense.

“Alright, ask them for me,” Luan Ye said. “If they’re willing.”

Qiao Feibai was fired up and nodded solemnly. “Got it!”

Thinking Luan Ye might need the items urgently, Xu Song chose express shipping. On Monday morning, Fan Qing received a call from the courier. It took him a moment to remember what it was about.

Two seconds later, he realized it must be the package Luan Ye had ordered.

After hanging up, Fan Qing immediately called Luan Ye. The phone rang for a while before it was picked up. Luan Ye answered with a muffled “Hello.”

Fan Qing paused. “Were you sleeping?”

He immediately regretted making the call.

Luan Ye didn’t answer right away. Fan Qing clearly heard rustling on the other end, like Luan Ye was sitting up. His voice was clearer now. “What’s up?”

“Your stuff’s here,” Fan Qing said. “The courier just called me.”

“That was fast.” Luan Ye’s tone perked up. “Are you in the village? Want to go get it together?”

“I took some people to Baima Snow Mountain. On the way back now,” Fan Qing paused. “You should go back to sleep. I’ll pick it up on the way through town.”

“…Sleep? You woke me up with a phone call, and now you’re saying you’ll handle it?”

Luan Ye was amused and couldn’t help laughing. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Fan Qing also felt a bit ridiculous and cleared his throat to cover the awkwardness. “…I was just worried you might be in a rush, so I called ahead.”

They’d spent all day looking and hadn’t found what they needed. Getting a friend to buy it probably wasn’t easy either.

Luan Ye chuckled for a while before replying, “I’m not in a rush. Drive safe.”

Fan Qing picked up the package from the town. There was quite a bit—several tightly packed boxes. He loaded them all into the car and drove to the alley by Granny Mu’s house.

This time, he didn’t call Luan Ye. His hands were full, so he nudged the door open with his shoulder and peeked inside.

It was already afternoon. Luan Ye was alone in the courtyard, lounging on a bamboo chair under the big tree with his eyes closed, enjoying the breeze.

Hearing the door, Luan Ye didn’t look up. It wasn’t until Fan Qing approached that he opened his eyes.

“I thought you were still asleep.” Fan Qing placed the boxes steadily on the small wooden table.

“I was.” Luan Ye picked up a teacup nearby. “Someone called me this morning and woke me up.”

“…I just wanted to surprise you,” Fan Qing sighed. “Didn’t you wait long for these?”

“You call that a surprise?” Luan Ye laughed. “No wonder you’ve never dated.”

Fan Qing glanced at him but didn’t respond.

When Luan Ye went to the kitchen to get a fruit knife and began opening the boxes, Fan Qing finally spoke.

“So if you were dating—” he watched Luan Ye’s hands, “what would count as a surprise?”

“Hm?” Luan Ye looked up, not quite following.

Fan Qing immediately felt silly. He didn’t know where that question had come from. Maybe because Luan Ye had mentioned dating, a whole bunch of random thoughts had surfaced—but now he couldn’t even remember what they were.

Or maybe he was afraid to think about it.

He’d been in this confused, cloudy state for a while, like walking on clouds—never sure if he’d fall the next second.

“…Forget I said anything.” Fan Qing held one of the boxes. “Never mind.”

Luan Ye looked at him for a moment, then went back to opening the packages.

The only sounds left in the yard were the slicing of packing tape and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

“Just like now,” Luan Ye suddenly said.

Fan Qing blinked and looked up quickly.

“I was dozing off, wondering why you were taking so long—if something had happened, or if my call this morning scared you off…”

He saw Fan Qing struggling with words and smiled.

“And then you walked in, I opened my eyes, and there you were.”

“That’s enough,” Luan Ye said.

Fan Qing felt his brain short-circuit. His eyes stayed fixed on Luan Ye’s face.

Then Luan Ye’s calm voice continued:
“—Just an example.”

Oh.

Just an example.

Fan Qing’s brain came back online.

“Sometimes, the surprise in a relationship doesn’t have to be something dramatic. Just something that makes you feel… safe.”

Luan Ye smiled again, then opened the last package.

“Never mind, I’m just rambling. Don’t take it seriously.”

Fan Qing didn’t respond. He actually thought it made perfect sense.

At least if Luan Ye said it, then it must be how he truly felt.

Luan Ye unwrapped all the packaging and tested the camera in his hand with a few light taps. He looked very pleased.

“You free the day after tomorrow?” he asked.

Fan Qing was still stuck on what he’d said earlier and replied instinctively, “Yeah.”

“Good.” Luan Ye nodded. “Be sure to come early. We’re starting the shoot.”