WBAI Chapter 02

Xie Li’s words made Xie An’yu’s nose tingle with emotion. Setting aside her own family circumstances, Xie Li said in a relaxed tone, “Of course you can, silly boy, what are you thinking? Do you really think Auntie would turn you away if you came to Auntie’s place? Besides, since you’re planning to leave the island anyway, just come stay with Auntie then. At least there’ll be someone here to look after you.”

Xie An’yu’s gave a quiet ‘Mm’, his heart felt considerably more settled. His aunt’s phone call made him feel that reality wasn’t as bad as he’d thought. He still had family; he still had a place to go.

“When are you planning to leave?” Xie Li asked.

“In the next few days. I need to pack things up at home.”

“Alright.” Xie Li felt a little worried—Xie An’yu had never left the island before. “How about Auntie comes to Shuangye Isle to pick you up? We can go back to Beicheng together.”

“No need, that would be too much trouble for you. I can make my own way there.”

“The ferry doesn’t go directly to Beicheng—you’d have to transfer. You’ve never left Shuangye Isle before. I don’t feel comfortable with you traveling alone.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I can manage on my own.”

Xie An’yu had originally planned to leave the island alone. It was just that his aunt happened to call at the right time, and he instinctively regarded his aunt as a lifeline.

No matter how much he had been through, in the eyes of his elders, he was still just a child.

To get from Shuangye Isle to Beicheng, he would have to transfer at Haitong County. Plane tickets were too expensive, so Xie An’yu had no choice but to take the high-speed train—a five-hour journey. Even the train ticket, wasn’t exactly cheap for him.

When Xie An’yu asked his aunt how much the ticket would cost, the answer completely stunned him. Xie Li asked if he had enough money for the fare, and he said he did.

Yes, he had enough—but buying the ticket would leave him with almost nothing left.

With his grandmother gone, he had to start over from scratch. He had started working odd jobs to earn money long ago, but after all these years, he hadn’t managed to save a single penny. His grandmother’s medical expenses had been too high—not only had he failed to save money, but he had also accumulated scattered debts here and there.

The people of Shuangye Isle were simple and honest. Though none of them lived in abundance, their hearts were warm. When a young child’s family was in difficulty, and there was a sick elderly person to care for, they lent what they could.

The house was mostly empty, and there wasn’t much he could take with him. Two days were enough to pack everything. Xie An’yu neatly arranged his belongings, left a letter for Ding Xiaofei, tucked it into the door handle, and set off for the pier.

The pier in the early morning was a little deserted. Xie An’yu was going to take the earliest boat to Haitong County.

The ticket hall at the pier had been built just a couple of years ago. It wasn’t large and was still somewhat crude. In the past, when Shuangye Isle wasn’t even considered a tourist destination, the place had been practically cut off from the outside world. The ticket office had been nothing more than a small booth—nowhere near as developed as it was today, with dedicated ticket windows and seating areas for passengers waiting to board.

Xie An’yu remembered seeing that ticket booth as a child. At that time, his grandparents were still alive. His aunt had brought his toddler cousin, who couldn’t even speak yet, to visit the island. Xie An’yu remembered the aunt at the ticket booth smiling with crescent-shaped eyes as she fished a piece of corn soft candy from her pocket and pressed it into his hand.

Xie An’yu chewed the candy while his mother held him in her arms as they stood on the pier. He muttered that he liked the booth. As a child, he didn’t know how to express himself properly—what he really liked was the gentle aunt inside.

His mother cradled him in her arms, gently rocking him as she gazed at the distant coastline. With a smile, she said, “When your aunt left for university back then, that booth didn’t even exist yet.”

Xie An’yu had arrived too early—the ferry wouldn’t depart for another hour. He pulled the canvas tote bag closer to his feet, hugged his backpack to his chest, closed his eyes, and dozed off in the chair for a bit. Barely fifteen minutes had passed when Xie An’yu heard a gradually approaching, angry shout.

Xie An’yu opened his eyes—the shout was calling his name.

Ding Xiaofei threw the letter directly at Xie An’yu’s head, panting heavily. “Are you out of your damn mind? Leaving me with just this lousy piece of paper before taking off?”

Xie An’yu picked up the envelope that had fallen to the ground, patted off the dust, and said, “Everything I wanted to say is written inside.”

“You’re leaving, and you’re not even going to say goodbye to me?” Ding Xiaofei was both furious and hurt. “I consider you my best friend, but clearly, you don’t feel the same.”

Xie An’yu lowered his head. “That’s not true.”

Ding Xiaofei plopped down beside him. “I’m so pissed right now.”

He had read the letter. Despite his anger, he had teared up a few times while huffing and puffing his way over, running against the wind. There were still two dried tear streaks on his cheeks, smudged with dust from the wind, leaving two gray marks when he wiped his face.

Fortunately, Xie An’yu hadn’t left yet. Fortunately, he could still say something before he leave.

He marveled at Xie An’yu’s decisiveness—just two days ago, Xie An’yu had mentioned wanting to leave the island, and now here he was, packed and ready to go. But it wasn’t surprising. What was left for him here? His home was about to be demolished, his only remaining relative was gone, and his house was gone.

Ding Xiaofei turned his head to glance at Xie An’yu’s forehead—he had thrown the letter pretty hard earlier. HeHis anger had gotten the better of him, making him forget Xie An’yu’s current situation.

Ding Xiaofei broke the silence: “Will you ever come back?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Do you have my phone number saved?”

Xie An’yu nodded. “I’ll call you.”

“Then… you’re really leaving now.” Ding Xiaofei’s tone sounded like he was talking to himself.

“Mm. The ferry leaves at seven-thirty.”

“Then I’ll wait with you.”

The two stared blankly at the ground. Not long after, the ticket inspector announced over the loudspeaker: “Early boarding for Ferry 356! 356, 356!”

Xie An’yu shouldered his backpack and stood up, still clutching the letter he had written for Ding Xiaofei. Ding Xiaofei picked up the tote bag from the ground and handed it to him. Ding Xiaofei wanted to hug his best friend goodbye but hesitated—it felt too sentimental, especially with others around. He couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Instead, he snatched the letter from Xie An’yu’s hand. “Don’t take my letter with you.”

Xie An’yu chuckled softly. “Take care of yourself. I’m off.”

Xie An’yu had his ticket checked and boarded the ferry. Ding Xiaofei ran to the shore again, stretching out his arms and waving vigorously at him.

Xie An’yu stood on the deck, gazing at him from afar. He had stood here before, watching his parents leave and waiting for their return. He could no longer remember when was the last time he had waited here from sunrise to sunset.

His parents were born from the sea and buried in it. When grief over their departure left him unable to eat or sleep, his grandmother had patted his head and said, “The sea simply took them away. They’re still here—they’ve always been here.”

For the first time, Xie An’yu stood on the deck, looking at the people on the island.

Ding Xiaofei was smiling as he waved at him, Xie An’yu returned the gesture with a faint smile of his own.

Ding Xiaofei waved even more enthusiastically.

The journey from Shuangye Isle to Haitong County would take a full day and night by boat. Xie An’yu remained on the deck, watching as the island gradually shrank in the distance.

Xie An’yu had bought a four-person cabin ticket for the boat, where passengers slept in bunk beds. The man in the upper bunk was a middle-aged man with a beer belly and unshaven stubble, whose thunderous snoring kept Xie An’yu awake all night. He kept his money tucked securely in an inner pocket of his jacket, and the first thing he did upon waking was check to make sure it was still there.

After brushing his teeth in the ship’s shared restroom and splashing some water on his face, Xie An’yu grabbed his luggage and disembarked. Standing at the pier, he could still see the sea from here, but the scenery here was a completely different sight from Shuangye Isle. There were no rolling hills, no stretches of maple forests—just residential buildings everywhere. Yet, it wasn’t the bustling prosperity Xie An’yu had imagined.

The place felt deserted, the surroundings unkempt, the sky dull and overcast.

Xie An’yu took a direct bus to Haitong Railway Station. As the buildings outside the window gradually grew taller, the streets also transformed from desolate to bustling. He finally understood why he had felt that way when he first stepped off the boat—he hadn’t yet reached the most prosperous area of Haitong County.

Xie An’yu stared blankly out the window, a mix of emotions swirling inside him. The sea was no longer visible here; he had never been to a place where the sea was out of sight, nor had he ever seen so many towering buildings.

Xie An’yu had never taken a high-speed train before. The station was enormous, and there were too many people. He couldn’t find the ticket counter. He had to ask a staff member at the entrance, “Excuse me, where can I buy a ticket?”

These days, the only people who asked where to buy tickets were usually middle-aged or elderly people who didn’t use smartphones. The staff member gave the young man a puzzled look before pointing at the self-service ticket machines. “You can purchase tickets over there.”

Xie An’yu asked, “Is there a manual ticket counter?”

“You can buy them directly at the self-service machines over there.”

“I don’t have a smartphone.”

The staff member paused, then pointed south: “The ticket hall is over there, just keep walking straight in.”

“Thank you.”

The prices for regular trains and high-speed rail were different. Xie An’yu didn’t know the difference between the two, so he chose the cheaper option—a seated ticket—and endured five long hours on a hard green plastic bench[mfn]T/N: LoL, 5 hours is still tame. I had once sat on a 33 hours-long train from Beijing to Guangzhou because it’s high-season and I couldn’t get the high-speed train ticket or the sleeper ticket. 💀💀 Not an experience I’d like to repeat.[/mfn].

It wasn’t that Xie An’yu didn’t own a phone—it just wasn’t a smartphone and couldn’t access the internet. This phone was his grandmother’s old-style mobile, an ‘elderly phone’. Its ringtone was 《Gong Xi Fa Cai[mfn]恭喜發財 (gōng xǐ fā cái): lit. congratulations for becoming rich; Happy New Year (congratulations and best wishes for a prosperous New Year); May you have a prosperous New Year! (New Year’s greeting); wish you prosperity and wealth; wish you a fortune.[/mfn]》, incredibly loud, and not the Andy Lau version, but a more boisterous cover, even more festive and ear-piercing.

As the train neared its destination, Xie Li called. The sudden blaring of the ringtone jolted awake the drowsy passenger beside Xie An’yu.

Xie Li had to work overtime today and didn’t have time to pick up Xie An’yu. She told Xie An’yu to take a taxi home and she would reimburse him.

“Taxis are too expensive,” Xie An’yu said.

“Then take the subway. The station isn’t far from home anyway. Do you have a lot of luggage?”

“Not much.”

“I’ll send you the route later and explain how to get there. Be careful on your way.”

After Xie Li sent the text message to Xie An’yu, she suddenly remembered he didn’t have a metro card and had never been to the city before. He probably didn’t know how to use mobile payments either. She immediately called Xie An’yu again. When the blaring ‘I Wish You Wealth’ ringtone sounded, half the subway car turned to look at Xie An’yu.

Wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes, Xie An’yu’s ears burned red. A girl nearby covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, then turned to exchange amused glances with her companion.

***

Yu Feng was scrolling through his phone when the booming ‘Wish You Wealth’ made him jerk in surprise. He looked up toward the sound and spotted a tall young man on the phone not far away, standing out in the crowd—a black baseball cap obscured most of his face, a red-and-black ‘elderly phone’ pressed to his ear, his bright red ears particularly noticeable.

His own phone vibrated, and he glanced down.

“Where are you? Have you arrived?”

“No.”

“It’s been half an hour. How come you’re still not here?”

“I took the subway today. Couldn’t drive because of the license plate restriction.”

“You should’ve said so earlier. I could’ve picked you up.”

“Gotta go, almost there.”

“Waiting for you.”

When Yu Feng looked up again, the young man in the baseball cap was gone.

***

The temperature in Beicheng was lower than in Haitong. Xie An’yu sneezed as soon as he stepped out of the subway station. Not only was the temperature lower here, but there were also far more people than in Haitong. It was rush hour, and Xie An’yu was almost flattened into a pancake exiting the station.

Xie Li’s phone call had made Xie An’yu want to crawl into a hole for a good thirty seconds. His aunt was worried he wouldn’t know how to ride the subway, so he told her a girl who got off at the same station had helped him swipe her card, and he paid her back in cash.

His aunt praised his social skills, but he was too embarrassed to admit he’d been staring cluelessly at the automatic ticket machine until the girl, unable to bear it any longer, offered to help.

Before coming, Xie An’yu had researched how to take the high-speed trains—knowing there were the high-speed ticket counters and also the automated machines—but he hadn’t considered the subway. Because he hadn’t prepared for it in his mind, asking strangers for help became unexpectedly difficult.

Xie An’yu looked up at the sky. The stars here weren’t as numerous as those over Shuangye Isle.

Beicheng was so cold.

So, I just realize that the title for this novel; The Wind Blows Across the Island—風吹過島嶼 (Fēng chuī guò dǎo Yǔ) contains both MC & ML names! The Feng 風 (Fēng) in Yu Feng 餘風 (Yú Fēng) means wind, while the Yu 嶼 (yǔ) in Xie An’yu 謝安嶼 (Xiè Ān’yǔ) means island. So, the title could also be translated into something like (Yu) Feng Swept Over (Xie An) Yu.

[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 02″]
救命稻草 (jiù mìng dào cǎo): (figurative) life-saving straw; (one’s) last straw to clutch at; one’s last hope; originally refers to a person who is drowning and wants to grab even things that cannot save his life, such as straw or leaves. It is a metaphor for taking ineffective measures in a panic in a critical moment. Now, it mostly refers to the only hope in a difficult situation, and is often used in a derogatory context.

與世隔絕 (yǔ shì gé jué): to be cut off from the rest of the world (idiom); be sequestered and far removed from reality; be secluded from the real world; withdraw into one’s shell.

氣喘吁吁 (qì chuǎn xū xū): to pant or gasp heavily; to be out of breath; to gasp for breath; be out/short of breath; be breathless/winded; gasp/pant for breath; puff and blow/pant; huff and puff; breathe heavily; the state of a person who is extremely tired, or describes the person’s rapid breathing and heavy panting.

自言自語 (zì yán zì yǔ): (idiomatic) to talk to oneself; to think aloud; mutter to oneself; to soliloquize.

鬍子拉碴 (hú zǐ lā chā): wear a stubble of untrimmed beard; with a bristly unshaven chin; (of beard or moustache) untrimmed; unshaven; stubbly; refers to a man with an untrimmed beard on his face, which shows a decadent and dirty feeling.

渺無人煙 (miǎo wú rén yān): to be deserted; to be desolate; to be uninhabited; remote and uninhabited (idiom); God-forsaken; devoid of human presence; isolated; barren; empty of people; describes a deserted, desolate area with no inhabitants.

川流不息 (chuān liú bù xī): (usually of traffic) flowing past in an endless stream; the stream flows without stopping (idiom); unending flow; endless stream; ceaseless flow; continuous flow; unending stream; neverending stream; incessant flow; something is continuous like a flow of water.

高樓大廈 (gāo lóu dà shà): high-rise buildings; tall and towering buildings.
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