Morning and Evening Chapter 6

Chang Ming’an was surprised to receive a call from He Mu just a few days later. He had just finished class, answered his students’ questions, picked up his books, and walked out of the large lecture hall when his phone rang. It was an unknown number calling.

He answered, “Hello.”

There was a sound of rapid breathing on the other end of the phone, and after a couple of breaths, a voice came through.

“It’s me, I’m He Mu.”

He Mu, so his name was He Mu.

Chang Ming’an, holding his phone between his shoulder and ear, awkwardly stuffed the book into his bag and stopped under a ginkgo tree. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

Seemingly facing something difficult to say, He Mu hesitated for a long time. His tone was not as assertive and sharp as usual; instead, it softened, and he stammered, “Where… where are you…”

Chang Ming’an sensed something was amiss and said seriously, “I’m at school, just finished class.”

“Could you come over here?”

Chang Ming’an initially thought He Mu meant to go to his home, but as he listened, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He Mu wanted him to go to the dance department building at their university, A University. Completely confused, he was about to ask again when He Mu gritted his teeth and said, “If it doesn’t work, then forget it…”

Chang Ming’an quickly replied, “Okay, I’ll be right there, in fifteen minutes.”

He walked quickly, not having time to properly respond to the students who greeted him along the way, only managing a hurried nod. Upon reaching the dance department building, following the room number indicated by He Mu, he found himself in the counselor’s office. Chang Ming’an gently knocked on the door.

He Mu opened the door for him, and Chang Ming’an froze on the spot.

The first time he saw He Mu without women’s clothing, he looked like most ordinary college students, wearing a hoodie and jeans. His long hair was neatly tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. He had no makeup on his face, a clean and fair face, round almond-shaped eyes with a hint of red at the corners. He had transformed from a hedgehog with nowhere to start into a frightened rabbit. “Please come in.” A male voice came from inside.

Chang Ming’an walked in and saw a male teacher sitting behind the desk. Chang Ming’an didn’t recognize him; they had only met a few times. He knew the teacher was a counselor at the school, and it seemed he was He Mu’s counselor.

“Teacher Chang?” The counselor looked surprised. “You’re He Mu’s…”

He Mu quickly replied without changing his expression, “Teacher Li, Teacher Chang is my cousin, and my parents have passed away.”

Chang Ming’an glanced at He Mu, who stood beside him with his head down, his ten slender fingers twisted together, looking very uneasy. Seeing this, he had no choice but to continue, “Yes, may I ask what’s wrong with our He Mu?”

Upon hearing this, Teacher Li’s expression immediately changed. She stood up, pointed to a chair on the side, indicating that Chang Ming’an should sit down, and poured him some tea. She said politely, “It’s nothing, it’s just a small conflict with my roommate.”

Chang Ming’an also saw that besides He Mu, there were three other boys standing by the wall in the office. They were obviously from the art school. Their T-shirts were covered in paint smudges, and one of them had long hair like He Mu’s, which was tied up haphazardly.

The long-haired man, who also had pierced ears, looked completely nonchalant and immediately said, “He Mu’s drawer is full of women’s underwear.”

He Mu hurriedly raised his head and protested, “No… it’s not mine…”

Another roommate chimed in, “It’s not yours. You didn’t steal it, did you? I heard a lot of underwear went missing from the girls’ dorm recently…”

The counselor quickly smoothed things over, saying, “Alright, stop talking. He Mu, it’s okay to make a mistake, as long as you know it and can correct it.”

Chang Ming’an’s brows furrowed more and more as he listened. He suddenly stood up, towering over He Mu, who was wearing flat shoes, and said gently but firmly, “This student, whether it was theft or not, we’ll see after we find the video footage. What personal items a student keeps in their drawer shouldn’t be under the school’s jurisdiction.”

“Women’s underwear is nothing, I’ve even seen him wearing women’s clothes on the street,” the long-haired man muttered under his breath, “pervert.”

With each word He Mu heard, his face paled a little more. His ten fingers were twisted together, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his lips were pressed tightly together. He remained silent.

Chang Ming’an said bluntly, “I wonder if we could change He Mu’s dormitory.”

Teacher Li said with difficulty, “Well… we’ve already changed it for him several times before…”

“I don’t want to live at school anymore, is that okay?” He Mu said, looking down.

“This…”

Teacher Li was somewhat troubled. Living off-campus at University A required an application, and counselors generally wouldn’t approve it without special circumstances. She glanced at Chang Ming’an’s furrowed brows and the faint anger in his eyes, and finally gave in.

He Mu said cautiously, “Thank you, teacher, about this matter…”

Teacher Li waved her hand dismissively: “It’s just a minor conflict between classmates. You should be more careful in the future. Make sure you move out by this Friday.”

Before Chang Ming’an could speak again, He Mu quickly grabbed his arm and led him out of the office. His three roommates walked past them, and one of them bumped into Chang Ming’an’s shoulder hard as he passed by, causing him to stumble. Chang Ming’an tried to help him up, but He Mu gently brushed him aside.

The two descended the stairs in silence. He Mu walked ahead, the ends of his ponytail swaying gently against the back of his fair neck. Unlike his alluring and passionate demeanor when wearing a cheongsam, He Mu now resembled a wilted plant, his head bowed, the slightly protruding bones on the back of his neck making him appear somewhat pitiful.

University A had planted many ginkgo trees, and now was the time when the ginkgo leaves turned yellow, creating a golden scene that rustled in the wind.

Chang Ming’an whispered, “Are you a dancer?”

“Thanks.”

“Um?”

He Mu tugged at his clothes uncomfortably and said, “He said he wanted to find my parents. I told him you’re my cousin, but he didn’t believe me. He insisted that I bring you over, saying that if you don’t have my parents, you’ll get a demerit.”

Chang Ming’an sighed inwardly, remembering that he had mentioned his parents’ passing, and said, “It’s alright, but your roommates were really rude. I thought art students, being unconventional and open-minded, would be more open-minded, but I didn’t expect…”

As if what had just happened had nothing to do with him, He Mu said indifferently, “They are a minority among ordinary people, and I am an even smaller minority. It’s normal.”

Chang Ming’an thought about it and realized that it made sense. No matter how small the group is, as long as you are in the minority, you will always be excluded.

He Mu said, “Thank you.”

As he spoke, he took out the bank card that Chang Ming’an had given him that day from his pocket, handed it back to him, and said with his eyes downcast, “Here you go. I don’t need the money. I was just joking that day. I didn’t use the money in it.”

Chang Ming’an didn’t take the card, so He Mu kept his hand raised. The autumn wind was chilly, and he shivered almost imperceptibly from his thin clothes. Chang Ming’an had no choice but to take the card back. He Mu said, “I really don’t need the money. I have a part-time job and I have living expenses.”

“If you’re not staying in the dorms, where will you live? Do you need my help moving dorms?”

“No need,” He Mu said decisively. “Thank you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, He Mu turned and walked out, his hands in the bag in front of his stomach.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

Chang Ming’an took two steps forward, rummaged through his bag for his textbook, flipped through a few pages, found the ginkgo leaf that had been tucked in that day, pinched the stem between his two fingers, and handed over the now-dry leaf.

“Then this is for you.”

He Mu looked at the leaf swaying gently in the wind, then looked up at Chang Ming’an, who was smiling slightly, and felt as if he were coaxing a tantrum-throwing child. He hesitated for a moment, then finally took the leaf, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave without looking back.