Since deciding to pursue the self-study examination, Xie An’yu had been spending all his free time in the library. Even before going to bed at night, he would bury himself in the study, reviewing exam preparation materials. He had just started preparing and was first reviewing the compulsory public subjects.
Yu Feng walked into the study carrying a plate of cut pineapple. The study door was open, and Xie An’yu was so engrossed in his book that he only noticed the movement when Yu Feng approached him. He looked up.
Yu Feng placed the fruit plate on the table: “Take a short break? I want to talk with you for a bit.”
Xie An’yu was still holding a pen, taking notes. Hearing this, he set the pen down: “What’s up?”
Yu Feng didn’t know much about the self-study examination, only that it was a way to pursue further studies. After Xie An’yu decided to take the exam, Yu Feng looked it up online and discovered that passing the self-study examination only granted a certificate, without requiring attendance at a school. In short, the self-study examination was equivalent to a graduation exam, not an entrance exam. The end result was obtaining a diploma, not returning to school to study.
Xie An’yu had decided to take the self-study examination precisely because he wanted to return to school and continue his studies. If the self-study examination couldn’t fulfill this wish, then spending so much time and energy preparing for it might not be worth the effort.
“Do you know that if you pass the self-study examination, you don’t have to go to school to study?” Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu.
“I know.”
“Didn’t you want to go back to school to study?”
“For adult college entrance exams, you need a high school diploma or a junior college diploma to register. I want to first take the self-study examination to get a junior college diploma, then register for the adult college entrance exam.”
Once Xie An’yu decided to do something, he would always set a clear plan for himself and had the patience to see it through. His steadfast character was something Yu Feng had always admired.
Yu Feng ruffled Xie An’yu’s hair: “But you should know that nowadays, most adult universities offer mostly online courses. The opportunities to actually attend classes on campus are quite limited. Of course, it’s not that there are none, but compared to regular universities, the amount of in-person class time is much less.”
Xie An’yu hadn’t looked into this aspect in such detail.
Yu Feng said: “If you plan to study a major you’re interested in, or one that’s related to your future career, then I think it’s fine to take the exam. But if you’re only doing it to go back to school and study, I think… it might not be entirely necessary.”
Xie An’yu listened attentively. Yu Feng speared a piece of pineapple with a fork and brought it to Xie An’yu’s lips, then continued: “I looked it up yesterday—it takes at least a year or so to get a certificate through the self-study examination, and you have to pass over a dozen subjects. After you get the certificate, you’ll need to prepare for the adult college entrance exam, which will take more time. During this period, the time you spend studying on your own will far exceed the time you’d spend studying in a school environment. You want to go back to school to study, not just to get a □□ diploma, right? Wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?”
“The time cost of this is too high. If the meaning isn’t significant, I think you might as well put your energy into things you actually enjoy,” Yu Feng said.
Xie An’yu had actually considered whether this endeavor was meaningful. Before deciding to take the self-study examination, he had looked up the majors available for the adult college entrance exam. He loved wood carving, and the majors related to wood carving were all in the art and design category. However, these majors had certain thresholds—most required applicants to have a background in fine arts. Xie An’yu had learned wood carving from Master Wen and hadn’t systematically studied fine arts. Without the status of a fine arts student, he couldn’t apply for these majors.
After understanding this, he realized that taking the self-study exams was actually quite meaningless. Even if he successfully obtained a □□ college diploma and got into an adult education university, he would just be spending time on a major he had no interest in. This actually went against his original intention of returning to school and was essentially ‘useless effort’.
Just as Yu Feng had said, it was putting the cart before the horse.
Xie An’yu made his decision in an instant: “Then I won’t take the exams.”
Yu Feng was taken aback, not expecting him to be so decisive: “You’ve already made up your mind? I was just giving you a suggestion, not telling you not to take them.”
“I’d thought about everything you mentioned, just not in as much detail. Once you pointed it out, it all clicked.”
Yu Feng smiled: “It clicked, but now all those days of studying were for nothing. How much did you review?”
“Not much. Luckily, it clicked early. I was even planning to sign up for a class—good thing I didn’t waste that money.”
Yu Feng gently tugged his ear: “Then from now on, focus on what you really like.”
Yu Feng ate a slice of pineapple, and it was so sour that he squeezed his eyes shut, barely managing not to spit it out. He looked at Xie An’yu: “Are you missing your sense of taste? How can you have no expression at all when it’s this sour? I thought it was sweet.”
Xie An’yu chuckled: “I wanted to see your reaction when you ate it, so I deliberately kept a straight face.”
Yu Feng pinched his cheek: “How did you become so sneaky?”
“We should blacklist this fruit shop from now on.” Yu Feng picked up the plate, about to throw the pineapple away.
Xie An’yu stopped him: “Don’t waste it; it’s edible.”
“Your mouth will be sore by tomorrow if you eat this.” Yu Feng looked at him. “It’s so sour, your throat might get inflamed too. Don’t torture yourself.”
Without another word, Yu Feng took the pineapple to the kitchen and threw it away. Then he held Xie An’yu and lay down with him on the living room sofa, turning on the TV.
Xie An’yu rarely watched TV. Modern TVs were different from the old ones—they didn’t automatically play programs from various channels when turned on. You could choose what to watch, which was both convenient and inconvenient.
Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu what he wanted to watch. Xie An’yu thought for a moment and said, “Calabash Brothers1葫蘆娃 (hú lu wá): Calabash Brothers or Hulu Brothers is a Chinese animation TV series produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. It was extremely popular when it aired on TV in 1986–1987.. Can we watch that?”
Yu Feng laughed and kissed his cheek: “What did you eat growing up to be this cute?”
“Calabash Brothers is really good.” Xie An’yu rubbed his nose. He hadn’t watched many shows, and the ones that immediately came to mind were the cartoons he often watched as a child. That cartoon was so old, Yu Feng must have seen it too.
Yu Feng hummed in agreement: “It is really good. Have you seen Legend of the Sealed Book2天書奇譚 (tiān shū qí tán): The Legend of Sealed Book is a Chinese animated feature film produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. It is also referred to as Book Which Came from the Sky, Tales about the Heavenly Book and Secrets of the Heavenly Book.? That one’s good too.”
“I’ve seen it.”
Yu Feng found the source for Calabash Brothers and clicked on it, saying, “Suddenly, I feel like there’s no generation gap between me and you, a post-2000s kid.”
Xie An’yu laughed: “Was there ever a generation gap between us?”
Yu Feng glanced down at him: “When I was taking the college entrance exam, you were still wearing split pants.”
“That’s called an age difference, not a generation gap.”
Yu Feng stroked Xie An’yu’s chest: “Your parents… how old were you when they passed away?”
“Twelve.”
Yu Feng’s heart sank: “And your grandmother has been taking care of you since then?”
“Mm. After my parents passed, her health declined. Those last two years, she was just struggling through each day.”
If not for having someone to worry about, she might have let go long ago.
“Did you drop out of school to take care of your grandmother?”
Xie An’yu nodded: “Medical expenses and medicine cost money. If I’d continued studying, I wouldn’t have had time to work.”
At first, Xie An’yu’s grandmother’s condition wasn’t that serious, and he could still work part-time while studying. But later, it became impossible—the little money he earned during his free time was far from enough to cover the family’s expenses.
Xie An’yu stopped attending school after his second year of high school, and his grandmother never found out before she passed away.
“How did your parents pass?” Yu Feng’s voice was deep.
“They were out at sea and had an accident,” Xie An’yu replied calmly, his expression and tone steady as he focused on the TV screen. “They rarely went out to sea in winter, but at that time, I was about to start middle school. They said they needed to save more money to send me to a big city for university someday.”
Fishermen are usually strong swimmers, and under normal circumstances, there’s a chance of survival in a maritime accident. But winter reduced those odds—his parents froze to death in the sea.
Yu Feng held Xie An’yu tightly and kissed his forehead. “Brother Yu is here with you.”
Xie An’yu gripped Yu Feng’s hand firmly.
“I’ll take you to see an exhibition tomorrow afternoon,” Yu Feng said.
“What kind of exhibition?”
“A wood carving exhibition.”
Xie An’yu visibly lit up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
This wood carving exhibition was a solo show hosted by a renowned wood carving artist Yu Feng knew. Back in university, Yu Feng had photographed the artist’s works for a photography collection. It was thanks to this old connection that he managed to get an invitation.
Xie An’yu turned his head and kissed Yu Feng: “Thank you, Brother.”
“We’ve been together for a while now. Do you plan on calling me ‘Brother’ forever? Haven’t you thought about using a different nickname?”
“Then what else should I call you?” Using his full name felt too distant, and ‘Brother’ didn’t quite fit for a couple. After a moment’s hesitation, Xie An’yu tentatively suggested, “Baby…?”
Yu Feng glanced at him. “Just stick with ‘Brother’.”
As a pure top, Yu Feng really wanted to hear Xie An’yu call him ‘husband’. It was a bit of a kink triggered by Xie An’yu—precisely because he couldn’t imagine Xie An’yu saying it, he wanted to hear it even more.
The unattainable always stirs desire.
***
The next afternoon, Yu Feng drove Xie An’yu to the wood carving exhibition. Two women in Hanfu3漢服 (hàn fú): Hanfu, the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese (‘Han clothing’ — the majority of Chinese are of Han ethnicity). There are several representative styles of hanfu, such as the ruqun (an upper-body garment with a long outer skirt), the aoqun (an upper-body garment with a long underskirt), the beizi and the shenyi, and the shanku (an upper-body garment with ku trousers).
stood outside the exhibition hall—one was responsible for checking the invitations, the other was responsible for guiding guests into the hall.
To control the flow of people in the hall, entry quotas were limited, so guests entered in small groups of twos and threes.
The exhibition hall was quiet, and as soon as Xie An’yu stepped in, he caught the scent of wood. This aroma brought him a sense of peace, much like Yu Feng’s own scent.
Talking wasn’t forbidden in the hall, but everyone kept their voices low.
Every piece on display left Xie An’yu in awe. It was hard to believe they were all created by the same artist. He realized his perspective had been limited, previously confined to Master Wen’s secluded wooden workshop.
Footsteps approached from the side, and Xie An’yu turned to look.
The person walking toward them was the creator of these works.
Yu Feng gave the man a polite nod: “Teacher Liang, it’s been a while.”
“Indeed, it has been,” Liang Huaiyu smiled. “Must be five or six years now. I thought I saw you from over there and came to check.”
Yu Feng chuckled. “When I shamelessly asked you for an invitation, I was worried you might have forgotten all about me.”
“That’s impossible. You’re so handsome, you definitely leave an impression. And out of all the people who’ve photographed my works, you’re the only one who managed to capture their soul. That photography collection is still in my study—I flip through it from time to time.”
Yu Feng replied modestly, “You flatter me.”
“To be honest, I was quite surprised when you contacted me. I’ve held many exhibitions over the years, but this seems to be the first time you’ve shown interest in visiting one.”
“You’re making me a bit embarrassed.”
Liang Huaiyu laughed. “No need to be embarrassed. Not everyone is interested in this kind of thing.” He glanced at Xie An’yu standing beside Yu Feng and asked, “And who is this?”
“My younger brother. He likes wood carving, so I brought him to see your works.”
“Oh… no wonder. You asked for the ticket for him, didn’t you?”
Yu Feng nodded.
Liang Huaiyu looked at Xie An’yu. “Not many young people are interested in wood carving these days. You has a calm and steady aura—you must have done some carving yourself, right?”
Xie An’yu gave a soft ‘Mm’.
“I knew it. You can tell at a glance.” Liang Huaiyu smiled faintly. “What’s that called? Mutual attraction between magnetic fields.”
“Take your time looking around. I’ll head over first,” Liang Huaiyu said to Yu Feng.
Yu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
Happy Christmas everyone~~ May your days be calm, your nights cozy, and your heart content.
Looks like Liang Huaiyu is a character that appeared in another novel by the same author; 越界, Crossing the Boundary. At first, I want to translate it along with this novel, but I noticed that this novel is marked as having publishing contract, similar to Classmate’s Engagement. To avoid problem, I decided not to translate it.
List of Idiom in Chapter 71.1
一年半載 (yī nián bàn zǎi): about a year; quite a long while; for a year or so; for a long time; for a considerable period; for a while; for some time; refers to an indefinite period of time.本末倒置 (běn mò dào zhì): lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect; putting the cart before the horse; to stress the incidental over the fundamental; take the incidental for the fundamental; take the branch for the root; a metaphor for reversing the importance of things.
背道而馳 (bèi dào ér chí): to run in opposite directions; to run counter to; to be inconsistent with; go against; be diametrically opposed; be contrary to; diverge; be in opposition; describes running away from the correct goal and heading in the opposite direction.
嘆為觀止 (tàn wéi guān zhǐ): to gasp in amazement; to acclaim as the peak of perfection; astonished; breathtaking; marvel at; admire greatly; be struck with admiration; an idiom derived from historical stories.
Check out my completed & current project at my carrd. If you like my translation, you can buy me coffee at Ko-fi~ Thank you.
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