Throughout the following two lessons, Zhai Yao’s mood remained at an all-time low.
On one hand, it was because of fencing, and on the other hand, it was because of Zhai Bing.
Though primarily speaking, it was mostly due to the latter.
With eyes cast downwards, Zhai Yao repeatedly swiped his phone screen, going through information of several rental listings. After determining a few promising options, he promptly bookmarked them, intending to make an on-site visit later after school.
“Did you register for fencing?” Shen Heng’s voice drifted from beside him.
The mere mention of this matter grated on Zhai Yao’s nerves. He gave a cold response without even lifting his head. “Mm.”
Unfortunately, there was a certain someone with a knack for bringing up exactly what should remain unmentioned. And this someone persisted in touching his sore spot, pausing briefly before asking, “Do you know how to fence?”
“.” Zhai Yao tossed his phone aside, flashing him a cold smile. “Back when I was in 8th High School, I hurled a twig across the length from the east to west, landing it squarely in some idiot’s trousers’ waistband. Do you wanna have a try?”
Shen Heng’s focus remained fixed on his book as he lightly remarked, “That’s not fencing. If we’re being generous, it’s more like javelin throwing.”
“I also sent the director’s wig flying with another twig.”
“That’s just being funny.”
Zhai Yao clamped his eyes shut. “Lately, I’ve been contemplating using a twig to pierce someone’s tonsils, so they can no longer spout bullsh*t. Would that be even funnier?”
“You want to beat 2nd High School, don’t you?” Shen Heng gently closed his book.
Zhai Yao’s voice faltered as he looked towards Shen Heng.
Shen Heng turned his head, locking eyes with him.
“I do too.”
“So?” Zhai Yao frowned.
“And so, I can teach you.”
…
*
After school, everyone remained on campus for the first round of preliminary matches. Those who emerged victorious would comprise the official team for the district sports competition.
Since out of the entire school, only Shen Heng and Zhai Yao had registered for fencing, they didn’t have to participate in the preliminary and could proceed directly to the competition.
Even though Zhai Yao still didn’t believe it, or perhaps subjectively wasn’t willing to believe that Shen Heng would know how to wield what bloody sword, he still chose to follow the latter home at noon.
Though it was mainly because he hadn’t had the chance to visit Shen Ziyao recently. Truth be told, he also found himself somewhat missing that scatterbrained old man.
On the way, they passed by the underground passage, and Zhai Yao suddenly remembered that several apartments he had bookmarked were nearby. As such, he said to Shen Heng, “You go ahead first; there’s a place I wanna go.”
“Apartment hunting?”
Zhai Yao’s expression darkened. “Were you peeking at my phone?”
“By accident.” Shen Heng brushed it off casually. “Next time, keep your phone under the table when you use it. Don’t cross the boundary line between our desks.”
Zhai Yao cursed a “f*ck” under his breath but couldn’t find a retort to argue back.
He had become accustomed to sitting alone, claiming space for himself, and thereby lacking a personal space awareness. Even after becoming desk mates with Shen Heng, he would still inadvertently occupy one and a half of the desk’s space.
In spite of that, he still remained steadfast in his refusal to yield. “Are you a primary school student, drawing the 38th Parallel?”
After everything that was said, Shen Heng ultimately accompanied Zhai Yao to view the apartments. However, it later turned out that the online listings were nothing but a scam!
Either the actual properties were starkly different from the pictures, or the intermediary landlords aimed to profit by charging them more than what they themselves paid to the primary landlords. They even encountered a middle-aged man with greasy, unkempt hair, who couldn’t keep his hands to himself and attempted to lock Zhai Yao inside with him upon his entry, prompting Zhai Yao to nearly beat him to a pulp.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
As a result, all the apartments, without exception, were marked with a “PASS.” Zhai Yao bought two bottles of ice cola at the convenience shop, threw one to Shen Heng, and gulped down the other one himself.
“Let’s go, to your place.”
Shen Heng accepted the cola but didn’t drink it. He gazed wordlessly at Zhai Yao for a while, appearing as though on the verge of saying something but ultimately held back, choosing instead to remain silent in the end.
Upon seeing Zhai Yao, Shen Ziyao became visibly excited, pulling his hand and bombarding him with questions, seemingly mentally sound. The wrinkles on his face folded together, giving him the appearance of a kind-hearted and benevolent elder.
Meanwhile, the senior caregiver was busy warming up food in the kitchen. Shen Heng left Zhai Yao and Shen Ziyao to have their own chit-chat while he went to the balcony to tend to the flowers. Upon his return, he carried a faint scent of smoke.
After their meal, Zhai Yao and Shen Heng returned to the room together.
Shen Heng motioned to him with his chin. “Help me support the bed platform board.”
Zhai Yao thought to himself: You sure treat your guest well, but nevertheless still rolled up his sleeves and stood at the foot of the bed, assisting Shen Heng in lifting the platform board.
Shen Heng’s bed frame, crafted from solid wood, was notably heavier than those using typical plywood.
Zhai Yao watched as Shen Heng bent down, half of his body leaning in under the bed, meticulously opening and searching through each neatly arranged storage bag.
“Can you hurry the hell up?” Zhai Yao didn’t know what exactly he was searching for, urging impatiently.
“Lift it up higher.”
Upon being instructed, Zhai Yao only felt an urge to loosen his grip and crush this idiotic ding-dong to death once and for all. With a cold expression, he gave the platform board another hoist.
Shen Heng unzipped the storage bag nestled in the deepest recesses, emitting a crisp “ziiip” as it opened.
Although the space underneath the bed was not that brightly illuminated, Zhai Yao could still discern the contents stored within at a glance.
—It was a thick stack of completion and award certificates, neatly piled together.
Did those belong to Shen Heng’s mom’s?
Or…
Shen Heng didn’t even bother looking at those honourable medals, dismissing them as if they were like a pile of outdated, useless newspapers. He zipped the bag shut and then proceeded to search through the nearby cardboard boxes.
Finally, at the bottom-most of one of the boxes, he pulled out a set of fencing attire and a mask.
Zhai Yao slightly arched an eyebrow. He really does know how to fence, huh?
“This set is for you,” Shen Heng said, gesturing for Zhai Yao to free his hands as he took over the platform board, lowering it back down.
Zhai Yao took the fencing attire and found it in pristine condition, much like Shen Heng’s white shirts—all were washed spotlessly clean and neatly ironed.
Perhaps due to being stored in the box for so long, it carried a faint scent of mothballs.
Very faint, but not really that unpleasant.
“If you give this to me, then what about you?”
Shen Heng smoothed out the bedsheet, erasing every wrinkle on the surface. “I have another set. This set is the one I wore in third year of junior high school; it’s too small for me now.”
Zhai Yao nodded with an “Oh,” then suddenly realized something wasn’t right.
“If it’s too small for you now, won’t it be the same case for me too?”
Shen Heng stood up straight, his gaze sweeping Zhai Yao from head to toe.
“Not small.”
Zhai Yao let out a resentful chuckle. “You want me to smack you right here, right now?”
Shen Heng shifted his gaze away, then turned to leave the room. “Try it on first. Just wear the fencing pants and protective clothing. I’ll wait for you outside.”
With that, he even closed the door behind with much consideration for Zhai Yao.
As the door clicked shut, Shen Heng adjusted his glasses with a lowered head, his lips subtly curving upwards.
Shen Ziyao, who was watching TV, turned to glance at him and voiced his qualms softly, “He knows how to smile now? …Geez, that’s creepy.”
In the bedroom, Zhai Yao felt an inexplicable surge of mockery enveloping him, coupled with an overwhelming urge to simply open the window and toss the clothes out.
He threw the entire bundle of fencing attire onto Shen Heng’s bed, intending to sit on top of it.
He even planned on smoking in Shen Heng’s room and flicking all the ashes everywhere to cure that idiot’s obsession with cleanliness!
Just then, a knock echoed from outside the bedroom door, and Shen Heng’s voice came through. “Done yet?”
“Rush your—” Zhai Yao’s swearing teetered on the brink of being voiced aloud, but as the word “mother” hovered on the tip of his tongue, it was ultimately swallowed back. After a brief pause, it changed into: “The hell you rushing me for!”
He hastily picked up the fencing attire and threw it on any old how, then opened the door while holding the fencing mask in his hand.
Shen Heng was leaning against the wall; upon hearing movement, he glanced towards Zhai Yao’s direction, and a subtle tremor danced through the gleam in his eyes.
“Not bad.”
He delivered a brief evaluation.
Even if Zhai Yao was unwilling to admit it, the size of this fencing attire did indeed fit him perfectly.
He was naturally slender to begin with, so the fitted fabric hugged his frame perfectly, further accentuating his slim waistline.
The volume of the television suddenly increased, and in an instant, the whole apartment reverberated with Li Yunlong's line — “Second Battalion Commander, bring forth Laozi’s Italian cannon!”
As Zhai Yao’s eardrums throbbed, he quickly covered them with his hands, only to witness Shen Ziyao’s eyes widening as he abruptly stood up from the sofa. He was tightly clutching the remote control in his hand, and his fingers just so happened to be pressing on the volume button.
“He—he—”
A strange, raspy sound emanated from Shen Ziyao’s throat, and Zhai Yao earnestly tried to decipher it for a while before realizing he was probably attempting to say “Hengheng.”
Shen Heng also noticed Shen Ziyao’s unusual behaviour and quickly said to Zhai Yao, “You go back in first.”
Just as Zhai Yao turned to head back into the room, Shen Ziyao suddenly stumbled towards him, catching Zhai Yao’s hand in one swift motion.
“You, are you heading off to the competition now?” Shen Ziyao asked, his mouth trembling along with his beard.
Feeling somewhat at a loss, Zhai Yao glanced dazedly at Shen Heng, who pursed his lips and nodded slightly in response.
Zhai Yao composed himself and slowed his tone. “Mm, Grandpa.”
“Good, that’s good!” Shen Ziyao’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he nodded vigorously. “Do you still remember what Grandpa taught you? Extend your arm—shift—feint—advance lunge! Come, give it a try quickly!”
Zhai Yao didn’t know anything about fencing at all, let alone understand what Shen Ziyao was saying. He looked at Shen Heng, silently requesting for help once again.
Shen Heng stepped forward and calmly said to Shen Ziyao, “Shen Ziyao, Zhai… your grandson and I still have to hurry back to school for training. The coach is waiting for us.”
Shen Ziyao’s gaze remained fixed on Zhai Yao’s face, but Zhai Yao knew that he was actually looking at another person from another time and space.
After yet another brief stand-off, Shen Ziyao nodded slowly. “Go on then, go quickly!”
He gently caressed and patted Zhai Yao’s hand, his eyes full of tender affection. “Good child, just seeing you in this attire makes Grandpa very happy—”
When the senior caregiver came out after having finished washing the tableware and saw Shen Ziyao in that state, she knew right then that his mind was unclear again. She quickly stepped forward and supported Shen Ziyao with an arm, saying to Shen Heng, “Let me take gramps back to the room first; it’s time for his afternoon nap. You guys continue your chat!”
With that, she half coaxed and half pulled Shen Ziyao back into the room.
Shen Ziyao looked back with a reluctance to leave. Catching Zhai Yao’s concerned gaze on him, he smiled reassuringly and waved his hand. “Go quickly—come back home early after school!”
As the bedroom door gently shut, the living room was left engulfed in the deafening roar of the television.
Shen Heng walked to the coffee table, picked up the remote control, and turned off the TV. Then, he turned back to Zhai Yao and said indifferently, “Go downstairs.”
He placed a slender sword in Zhai Yao’s hand.
Zhai Yao tightened his grip around it, feeling its lightness; the sword blade was much flexible than he had imagined, with a rectangular cross-section.
“This is a foil,” Shen Heng said as he opened the door and stepped aside to let Zhai Yao pass. “Let’s go, there’s not much time left.”
…
The glaring midday sun beat down relentlessly, but fortunately, the courtyard of the residential compound where Shen Heng resided offered ample refuge in its shady corners, so it wasn’t too hot.
As soon as Shen Heng stepped out, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette pack, promptly lighting one for himself.
Zhai Yao could tell that Shen Heng was simmering with restlessness and irritation at the moment; even his movements while lighting the cigarette seemed disjointed.
The speed at which Shen Heng burnt through his cigarette was quick. Meanwhile, Zhai Yao also calmly lit one for himself in an unhurried manner.
Both of them stood beneath the sprawling canopy of a towering banyan tree, with the cacophonous chirping of cicadas amidst the height of summer filling their ears.
After one last drag, Shen Heng extinguished his cigarette and said to Zhai Yao, “Pass me the foil.” His voice was slightly hoarse from the smoke.
Zhai Yao handed the foil in his hand back to Shen Heng. After taking a deep breath, Shen Heng adjusted his mood, and then spoke in a lowered voice, “Fencing is mainly divided into three disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre. And foil, is the discipline for the sports competition.”
Zhai Yao, with his arms folded, leaned against the tree and silently continued to smoke while watching Shen Heng.
Shen Heng: “The foil was originally crafted not for combat, but for the nobility of the French Court to participate in competitions with minimal risk of serious injury. Among these three types, it’s the one that leans most towards sport, possesses the highest safety factor, and is suitable for both speed and technique in offence and defence… At the same time, it also has the smallest target area.”
Taking a few paces back, Shen Heng gestured with the foil’s tip towards Zhai Yao’s body for demonstration. “The head, arms, and legs lie beyond the target area; only the upper torso counts.”
Zhai Yao didn’t speak, still casually sizing up Shen Heng with indifferent eyes.
Shen Heng became taciturn. “Are you listening?”
“Why did you make me wear this thing and stay down here? Laozi’s gonna get heatstroke,” Zhai Yao lazily asked. “Are you doing this on purpose?”
“I’m afraid you’ll get injured.”
Zhai Yao raised an eyebrow. “With this thing? It’s as soft as noodles, how could I possibly get—Ouch!”
A sudden, fleeting stab of pain pierced his chest.
“You actually thrust at me, the hell!”
Shen Heng drew his lips into a thin line, slowly lowering his hand and reaching for his cigarette again.
“Let’s call it quits for now. You don’t seem to be in the right mood anyway.” Zhai Yao began to take off his fencing attire, handing it back to Shen Heng. “In any case, there are still a few days left. I doubt 2nd High School has any real professionals too.”
A hush settled over Shen Heng as he wordlessly took one puff after another.
Glancing at him, Zhai Yao couldn’t resist asking, “How did your grandpa… how did he end up like that? Alzheimer’s?”
“Who was that person who came to school looking for you that day? Why are you looking for an apartment to rent?”
Zhai Yao knew Shen Heng didn’t want to answer his question, so he returned another one he himself didn’t want to answer.
However, he still felt annoyed by having his question deflected, and couldn’t be bothered to say more to Shen Heng. He then turned his head and held a cigarette between his lips. “You do realize that you have a way of really getting on people’s damn nerves, yeah?”
Shen Heng lowered his eyes and acknowledged with a “Mm,” his voice carrying inexplicable conflicting emotions that weren’t easily noticed.
“I do,” he added.
…
The author has something to say:
UV: Efujgvlcu ofcmlcu, P ibbxfv eq rbwf lcobgwjalbc bc Djlve jybea atf qgjmalmji mbwyja jqqilmjalbc jcv bglulcr bo ofcmlcu, fam. Tbeg vgjubc (jeatbg lr gfofgglcu ab tlwrfio, yjrfv bc tlr qfc cjwf) vbfrc’a jmaejiis xcbk jcsatlcu jybea la dkd.
Plz guys, communicate a bit more ! 😖😽
They’re really good at getting on each other’s nerves aren’t they 🤦