Morning And Evening Chapter 20

He Mu’s illness was completely cured, but Chang Ming’an was still sleeping on his sofa. To him, He Mu’s beauty and kindness were like wildflowers scattered across the open fields, slowly blooming and gradually forming a patchwork without him noticing. By the time he did notice, the wildflowers had spread out like a brocade, breathtakingly beautiful.

As the two passed each other in the small kitchen, Chang Ming’an could see He Mu’s snow-white nape, with one or two strands of jet-black hair hanging down. He had once caught He Mu stretching and practicing morning exercises in her bedroom at home. Her legs were straight and powerful, her hair tied up high, her cheeks flushed with sweat after the exercise. Occasionally, when He Mu was setting out food, she would hand him the chopsticks, and a fleeting warmth would linger as their fingers brushed against each other.

Another time, He Mu was teasing the cat in the living room. He squatted down, extended his index finger, and circled it in front of Mu Mu’s eyes. Mu Mu lowered its head, raised its bottom, and swayed left and right as if taking aim, then pounced like a predator. He Mu seized the opportunity and moved his finger away, so Mu Mu pounced right into his arms. Chang Ming’an was reading on the sofa and occasionally looked up to see this scene. He Mu was knocked backward by the cat’s pounce and sat on the floor with the cat in his arms. Not wanting to disturb Chang Ming’an’s reading, he just grinned silently and hugged the cat tightly, rubbing it again and again.

The weather grew colder day by day. Autumn passed silently, and winter arrived in quick succession. This winter was exceptionally cold, and snow was expected. Under Chang Ming’an’s supervision, He Mu wrapped himself in thick cotton pajamas, putting away his robes and nightgowns and folding them neatly. He was sensitive to the cold. He felt warm when he was active in class, but at home, sitting still, he felt damp and chilled, always bundled up like a ball. Mu Mu was also sensitive to the cold. As soon as winter arrived, he would snuggle into someone’s arms. He used to sleep on the pillow and blankets, but now, every night, he would burrow into the covers. Every morning, He Mu would wake up with a warm, fluffy ball tucked into his arms.

He thought Chang Ming’an was going to leave, since he was already cured and it was cold to sleep in the living room. But Chang Ming’an didn’t leave, and he didn’t say anything. The two of them lived together like this, which felt especially warm in the cold winter.

He Mu likes Chang Ming’an, but he doesn’t say it because he’s afraid that if he does, Chang Ming’an will leave.

He Mu also went back to the old house. The place he used to live in now looked very messy and cold, with no human presence anywhere. The cheongsams in the wardrobe were all made of good material and needed to be taken care of frequently. They couldn’t just be left lying around. He Mu packed all the cheongsams and transported them to Chang Ming’an’s house, where they were neatly hung in the half of the wardrobe that Chang Ming’an had given him.

Chang Ming’an happened to be there and looked on curiously, asking, “Did you buy all of these yourself?”

He Mu shook his head. “They were left by my mother.”

Chang Ming’an suddenly realized, recalling the tall but not plump Miss He in his vague memory, and then looked at He Mu’s slender but well-proportioned figure, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

He Mu felt a little embarrassed by his scrutiny, closed the wardrobe, and explained, “After I removed the old ones, they no longer fit. The material was good, and I couldn’t bear to leave them like that, so I asked a friend to help me alter them.”

This was the first time Chang Ming’an had heard him mention his friend. Although he was curious, he didn’t ask many questions.

With winter approaching, the end of the semester was fast approaching, and He Mu’s assignments for some theoretical classes were due soon. The classes were getting more intense, and he and Chang Ming’an each had their own things to do, greatly reducing the time they could see each other.

He Mu walked along the school path, wearing a thick base layer under his hoodie and an overcoat on top, with a light brown cashmere scarf around his neck. He Mu didn’t have his own scarf. Chang Ming’an had lent it to him. He Mu hid half his face inside the scarf, inhaling its scent, feeling warm and safe, and walking without his head down as fast as usual.

He saw a group of people changing posters by the roadside bulletin board, and one of the tall men stood out. It was He Jun. Since they added each other on WeChat, He Jun had contacted He Mu a few times and they had chatted a bit, mostly about trivial matters. However, He Jun was a cheerful person and his words were never unpleasant, so He Mu had a good impression of him.

He Mu saw that He Jun was directing the pasting of posters and didn’t notice him. He didn’t think about going over to say hello and just wanted to walk past quickly. But He Jun saw him and greeted him.

Now there was no way to avoid it, so he stopped and nodded at him, half of his face hidden in the layers of scarf, which made his eyes look even bigger.

He Jun hadn’t seen him for quite some time, so they chatted for a bit and He Jun told him about the posters he was putting up.

“A play that several graduate students put together is being performed at the Black Box Theater in the University Town during Christmas.”

He Mu curiously glanced at the poster, wanting to say something polite and supportive, but lacking experience, he didn’t know how to start, so he could only nod again.

He Jun suddenly frowned, then excitedly put his arm around He Mu’s shoulder and exclaimed, “He Mu, you’re a dancer! That’s great!”

He Mu, confused, stepped aside to avoid He Jun’s hand. He Jun, however, was oblivious and was still basking in his surprise. Upon hearing this, his classmates on either side also beamed with delight and began to scrutinize He Mu.

He listened patiently and found out what was going on.

In He Jun’s play, some dance elements were incorporated. The original actor in charge sprained his ankle, so they replaced him. However, the replacement had a weaker dance foundation, so the previous choreography couldn’t be used and they had to choreograph it again. But they didn’t have anyone knowledgeable in the field. With the performance approaching, everyone was thinking of backup plans. He Jun had seen He Mu dance when he picked up his little cousin Miao Miao from her dance class. He suddenly had a bright idea and decided to try his luck by asking He Mu to help with the choreography.

He Mu listened to the group chattering for a while, thinking about how to refuse. He didn’t like dealing with strangers, let alone a group of them. He liked teaching children, but not adults.

Seeing his hesitation, He Jun pleaded, “You can definitely do it. When the time is right, please come and watch with Teacher Chang.”

He Mu was suddenly moved by his words.

Watching a play with Teacher Chang on Christmas sounded like a wonderful thing, almost like a date.

He Mu had already mostly agreed in his heart. “You and Teacher Chang” sounded like they were a perfect match. After thinking about it, he finally agreed and said softly, his voice muffled by his scarf, “Okay.”

That evening, He Jun sent the script to him on WeChat and arranged a rehearsal time. He Mu snuggled in bed, using his cat as a foot warmer, and struggled to read the rather long script while holding his phone.

It was a dark fairy tale-like story.

A lonely girl has a castle called “Utopia” that shelters an alcoholic soprano, a poet who has lost his lover, and a lonely wandering painter. They both want to stay in the castle and want to leave.

He Mu was completely confused, his mind a complete mess.

Chang Ming’an was working at his desk when he saw him intently looking at his phone all night. He casually asked, “What are you looking at?”

He Mu didn’t want him to know for the time being, so he closed the document, shrank under the covers, pulled the blanket down to his eyes, looked at Chang Ming’an, and said, “Good night.”