Flying Ash - Chap 39
-My brother knows
When Zhou Jinheng received this message, he had just finished filming a night scene.
He hurriedly changed out of his costume, told the assistant to ask the director for a leave for him, went back to the hotel to get some things and left.
Most of the flights to the south were affected by the typhoon and were cancelled. Zhou Jinheng went directly to the high-speed rail station. He used his mobile phone to book a ticket on the road. Jiang Yimang hadn’t responded when he logged on to Weibo. After hesitating, he clicked on the private chat interface of Xiao Hui Xia and typed the words “Are you asleep?” Sure enough, it couldn’t be sent out, he had been blocked.
Zhou Jinheng put down his mobile phone, leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.
He shouldn’t have delayed it until this time.
No matter how he learned the truth, Yi Hui would inevitably be angry with him. It was also because he knew that this storm would eventually come that Zhou Jinheng involuntarily became indecisive in this matter, even though he usually dealt with other things resolutely. He dragged it on out of selfishness, thinking that even if it was only for one more day, it would still let him do more within his power to compensate Yi Hui.
In the past half a year, he had done everything he could, but he still felt that it was not enough.
Maybe the problem wasn’t even that it was not not enough, but that even doing so much could not fill the gap in his confidence. Only when he hid behind a different name did he dare to say or do anything and have the certainty that he would not be rejected.
Zhou Jinheng even thought about using Dora-Hum-Hum to accompany Yi Hui for the rest of his life, but after thinking about it, he felt ridiculous. Not to mention whether Yi Hui needed such a friend who didn’t dare to show up in real life, he himself couldn’t bear the pain of having something clearly right in front of him but being unable to touch it.
Both roads were steep and difficult to walk. Now that God made the choice for him, he had to make a plan and bite the bullet.
At dawn he was halfway through his journey. Zhou Jinheng opened his eyes after taking a nap. The first thing he did was to raise his hand and touch the place on the left side of his chest near his heart, making sure that the box was there, and then take out his mobile phone.
Jiang Yimang woke up and sent him a string of messages, saying that she went home late last night and her brother made a big fuss and told her not to contact him again.
Zhou Jinheng had never seen Yi Hui angry and he couldn’t imagine what it was like for Yi Hui, who was usually soft and gentle, to get angry. He asked: How is he now, is he still angry?
Jiang Yimang replied: The door is closed, I can’t hear any movement… I have to go to school, my mother is at home, it should be fine!
Zhou Jinheng thought how could it be fine if he was angry. After thinking about it, he felt that it was better for him to be angry than to be sullen and silent. He would rather go there and let Yi Hui scold and beat him. After his anger subsided, he could always think of some good memories, even if they were no bigger than his fingernail. He hadn’t worked for nothing for half a year, had he?
The city had just been hit by a typhoon and there were few pedestrians and vehicles on the road. Yang Chengxuan helped him arrange the car from the city’s high-speed rail station to town.
When he got in the car, Yang Chengxuan called and asked if he wanted to book a hotel. Zhou Jinheng said, “No, I shouldn’t have the opportunity to stay in a hotel.”
Yang Chengxuan didn’t know what happened, so he said, smiling, “Moving so fast, are you going to live in someone’s house?”
“I will take him home.“ There was no confidence in Zhou Jinheng’s heart and he was not sure who he was talking to. “If it goes well, I can take him home this time.”
It took Yang Chengxuan a long time to understand the meaning of his words: “… you dare to still treat him as Yi Hui?”
“He is Yi Hui.”
After saying that, Zhou Jinheng looked out the window. So soon after the typhoon, the ground was messy and deserted wherever he could see. This scene inexplicably gave him a little encouragement.
Maybe Yi Hui was also tired, looking for a place to find shelter and rest.
He was the one who was going to hold Yi Hui in his arms.
It was almost noon when he arrived in town. Jiang Yimang sent a message saying that she had just come home and her brother was still stuffed in his room, reminding him not to act impulsively.
Zhou Jinheng was not impulsive. After entering the Jiang family’s house, he bowed to the elder generation in a polite greeting. Just as he was about to explain his intention, there was a soft click from upstairs. Unexpectedly, the door opened.
Jiang Yimang immediately climbed upstairs to meet Yi Hui. Jiang Xuemei hurriedly went to the kitchen to bring out the soup in the pot, raised her voice and shouted upstairs: “Yi Hui, your friend is here, just in time to have lunch together.”
Only Zhou Jinheng stayed as calm as ever. But it was only superficial; in fact, his heartbeat was thunderous. When he saw Yi Hui’s thin ankles in slippers appear at the corner of the stairs, his brain was running insanely fast, trying to come up with what to say when they were face to face.
Since he opened the door when he heard the movement and since he was willing to meet him, didn’t it mean that everything was not just his wishful thinking and the little fool didn’t hate him that much?
This guess made Zhou Jinheng feel ecstatic, his joy no less than at the time he had found Yi Hui. He didn’t care that this was someone else’s house and strode forward, but the smile that had just raised the corners of his mouth froze when he saw Yi Hui.
Yi Hui didn’t come down empty-handed. He was holding a huge box in his hands, so big that it blocked him from being seen by the others. The blue yoga mat that was too long was sticking out of the box, very conspicuous.
The box contained all the things he gave to Yi Hui.
He didn’t remember since when, but Zhou Jinheng developed a habit of thinking about Yi Hui in everything he did. Even if he was filming outside and finally had time to go to the store to buy some daily necessities, looking at the various things, he always wondered if Yi Hui needed it.
Most of these things were handed over by Jiang Yimang and the feedback he got was “my brother likes it very much.” Then why should he pack all these things that he liked very much together now?
Zhou Jinheng wouldn’t be presumptuous enough to think that he had bought identical things for him. He packed everything like this into a box, obviously he didn’t want it and planned to throw it away.
Jiang Yimang was anxious, persuading him as he went down the stairs: “Brother, why did you pack up these things, where are you going to send them? Hey, brother, walk slowly, be careful on the steps… Oh, don’t throw it away if you are angry, money was spent buying it.”
Hearing this, Yi Hui, who hadn’t said a word since opening the door, suddenly reacted. He stood still in front of Zhou Jinheng with the box in his arms, looked sideways at Jiang Yimang, his eyebrows raised in puzzlement: “Throw it away, why throw it away?”
Jiang Yimang patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief: “You scared me… Let me just say, you two need to sit down and talk about it. Is there any conflict that can’t be solved?”
Yi Hui still had no expression when he turned. Zhou Jinheng tried to see if his movements were unnatural and was disguising something, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find the slightest trace of anything. If it weren’t for his shallow breathing when he spoke, he would be like a lifeless paper doll.
He pushed the box in his hands forward: “Yours, take it away.”
Zhou Jinheng’s lips were half open, but he didn’t know what to say. The script he had just typed in his mind disappeared in an instant, leaving nothing but a few words.
It turned out that it was not to throw away, but to return to him.
He subconsciously didn’t want to raise his hands to pick it up, as if as long as he didn’t take it, it could be regarded as if Yi Hui had never rejected him and had never thrown his heart away like unwanted garbage.
It was definitely useless to refuse silently and reason told him that he should try to keep fighting. Zhou Jinheng suddenly remembered what he had brought and reached into his pocket to touch it.
These hasty movements exposed his inner panic. When he took the ring out, he also carefully recognized the positive and negative aspects.
This was the second time in Zhou Jinheng’s life that he had opened a ring box, but it was far less calm than the first time. He knew that this was not the right time, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to keep Yi Hui. As long as he could keep him, he could do whatever he wanted.
He held the ring box in one hand and opened the lid in the other. When he opened it, the ring faced Yi Hui.
“This ring has been prepared a long time ago.” Maybe he was too nervous; he couldn’t hear his own voice clearly. He only noticed that his adam’s apple was trembling as he spoke, “There is also a pair of bracelets left by my mother. She said they were for her daughter-in-law. I left in a hurry and didn’t have time to bring them.”
I’ll show it to you when we get home – Zhou Jinheng couldn’t say this sentence. If Yi Hui showed anger or sadness, he had a reason to say more, but Yi Hui did not react. He simply did not have a chance to see the “angry” that Jiang Yimang had mentioned.
Yi Hui didn’t even look at the ring and pushed the box forward again: “Take it away.”
Every time he said “take it away”, Zhou Jinheng’s heart became cold. Fortunately, he was not so fragile that he could be easily defeated. Taking advantage of Jiang Yimang stepping forward to pick up the box, he walked up and took Yi Hui’s hand to give him the ring.
Whether you wear it or not, as long as you don’t refuse, as long as you are willing to accept it, then it’s okay.
When he touched his skin, Yi Hui instinctively avoided him. He didn’t hold the ring box firmly enough and it fell to the ground, the ring also fell out and bounced twice on the floor, rolling towards the door.
It was Yi Hui who reacted quickly this time. He strode to the yard, bent over to pick up the ring as it rolled to the edge of the sewer, allowing Zhou Jinheng, who followed, to breathe a sigh of relief.
He finally had to take a look at the ring.
The ring as a whole was plain and simple, but the names of the two were engraved side by side in a conspicuous place. This was always the little fool’s wish. When Zhou Jinheng pretended to be asleep, he laid on the side of the bed holding his hand and whispering.
Seeing Yi Hui’s eyes flicker, Zhou Jinheng’s heart came alive again. He instinctively took a step forward. Who knew that in the blink of an eye, Yi Hui would turn back, throw the ring in his hand into the box, pick up the box with great effort again and turn to Zhou Jinheng. Any light of surprise or grievance in his eyes was gone.
“It’s all here, take it away.” Yi Hui said, “Don’t send anything in the future.”
He had envisioned a lot of “future” before, but now he took the initiative to cut it off.
It sounded a bit selfish, but he didn’t want to toss around with him anymore. It was enough to get here.
The atmosphere plunged into silence. In the end, the two onlookers who did not know the situation lost their patience first. Jiang Xuemei put down her spatula and came out of the kitchen: “What’s the matter, why is it awkward? What is it, an overnight feud between children? Yi Hui, quickly put down the things and invite your friend for dinner.”
Jiang Yimang also tried to smooth the situation and said, “Yes, yes, let’s eat first, only when we are full will we have the strength to continue making trouble.”
He had no intention to listen but the word ”trouble” unexpectedly touched a certain string that Yi Hui was hiding in his heart. After replying “not a friend”, he became impatient for no reason, used the box as a weapon and pushed the man standing at the door outside as he moved forward.
Zhou Jinheng retreated steadily, only to come out of his stupor when he realized he retreated outside. He raised his hand to hold the door frame: “HuiHui, listen to me, I know I was wrong, I will…”
“Don’t call me that, don’t call me that…“ At first it was a normal low tone, but then Yi Hui suddenly turned up the volume, almost yelling, “You go!”
When he screamed, the box that he had been holding for a long time couldn’t bear the weight and a hole opened in the bottom and a pile of messy items fell out.
There was a Doraemon-patterned umbrella, chocolate moulds, a scented candle, a doll, photo frames, puzzles, used scented essential oils, brushes, pigments and scattered packs of candies. Most of them were bought by Zhou Jinheng at the bottom of the mountain last year. The rest were given by Dora-Hum-Hum through the driver when he went to S City a few months ago.
The former must have been untouched because of disgust, and the latter must have been put in his pocket and taken home as a souvenir.
The scene in front of him was so ridiculous that Zhou Jinheng himself seemed to have just realized that the two of them were actually the same person.
The little fool said he could not accept deception, not even deception using concern as a cover and he should have known it when he chose to cover his ears and steal the bell.
The result was obvious. Yi Hui didn’t want to merge them. If only one of the two people could survive, his choice was to kill Dora-Hum-Hum, who was good to him, and leave Zhou Jinheng, who had hurt him.
Yi Hui squatted down and picked up the things scattered on the ground into the box again, asking Jiang Yimang to get the tape to repair the box.
After that desperate roar just now, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if it had been torn apart like that box and a steady stream of real emotions was rushing out. The cracks got bigger and bigger and he could do nothing to stop it.
He simply threw out the tape and then threw the things out one by one. Zhou Jinheng refused to pick them, so he threw them all on the cement floor outside. He didn’t want any of them to stay in his home and he didn’t want to see them again.
“Brother… Brother, what are you doing? Stop it, didn’t you say you won’t throw them away?” Jiang Yimang couldn’t stop Yi Hui and turned to pull Zhou Jinheng’s sleeve bitterly, “Say something quickly, hurry up and coax him!”
Zhou Jinheng seemed to be speechless, standing there without a motion. When Yi Hui remembered something halfway and ran back into the house, he only watched him go in in a daze and then watched him walk out holding something.
“This one is yours too.”
Yi Hui refused to even approach him this time, so he raised his hand and threw the thing from a distance of several metres. Zhou Jinheng didn’t dodge, letting the heavy object hit him head-on, swiping over the side of his face. The sharp metal corner cut an inch long slash on his skin.
Amidst Jiang Yimang’s screams, Zhou Jinheng raised his hand to wipe his face. When he saw the blood stain on the back of his hand, he still didn’t feel any pain.
Hearing Yi Hui say ”you can go now,” he lowered his eyes and looked at the ferris wheel pendant lying on the ground. He remembered that the little fool had hung it on his backpack, cherished it in the palm of his hand and fiddled with its long and dense tassels.
The dazzling sunlight hit his eyes, reflected by the broken diamonds on the disk, and Zhou Jinheng remembered in a daze that evening four years ago when the colourful lights of the ferris wheel suddenly lit up, a warm, soft light had fallen over them.
At that time, his little fool was red-faced and close to him, wanting to hold his hand but not daring, so he had to look up at him from time to time, afraid that he would leave him behind.
At that time, his little fool still loved him.
And now, the little fool who was no longer stupid was standing so far away from him, packing all his thoughtful gifts and returning them, refusing even to give him looks of pity.
No one stopped him, and the metal door closed smoothly this time.
The moment it was about to close, Yi Hui’s eyes swept through the crack in the door and saw Zhou Jinheng standing in place as if he had lost his soul, his gaze still locked on him, desperately refusing to give up. His eyes were bloodshot and the wound on his face shocking.
After closing the door and locking it, Yi Hui felt his inner support gone. His whole body suddenly went limp, his legs so soft that he could hardly stand. It was as if he had experienced a life and death situation. He didn’t have enough strength to clench a fist, his flaccid palms was full of cold sweat.
Back in the room, Yi Hui saw Jiang Yimang bite her lip and hold back her tears and knew that she felt aggrieved. If she hadn’t thought him to be her brother, she wouldn’t have let him into the house at all.
He had to use this opportunity to give her an explanation and a legitimate reason for his crazy behaviour just now.
Yi Hui patted the empty seat by the bed: “Sit down.”
Jiang Yimang sat down reluctantly, without turning her face and looking at Yi Hui, said sullenly: “If you have something to say, say it quickly, I still need to give HengHeng medicine for his injuries.”
Yi Hui took two tissues and handed them over: “Don’t you want to know what happened between me and him?” The hysterical voice was dry and hoarse. He swallowed a mouthful of air and barely stopped the trembling of his breaths, “I’ll tell you now.”
