Antidote - - - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Cheng Ke had never eaten this kind of glutinous rice ball before. To be precise, he had never eaten any kind of glutinous rice ball from a breakfast stall.

He felt a little surprised that this glutinous rice ball, which had a piece of lotus leaf underneath it, actually tasted really good.

It was just a little small. Once he reached the east entrance, he had already finished it.

“How much was that rice ball?” He asked Jiang Yuduo. “It tasted quite good.”

“You want to pay for it?” Jiang Yuduo said, “Ten dollars.”

“I wasn’t thinking of paying…” Cheng Ke answered.

“Oh,” Jiang Yuduo gave him a look. “Five dollars, plus a dollar for the meat. A total of six dollars.”

“Why’d you have two different prices?” Cheng Ke looked at him but Jiang Yuduo didn’t speak, his gaze facing forward. Cheng Ke reacted, “What? You wanted to earn four dollars off me when I went to pay for it?”

“If you can’t accept it, then spit it out.” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke gave him a thumbs up. “I’m extremely satisfied.”

A taxi drove over and Jiang Yuduo waved his hand out to it.

As the taxi came closer, just when it was a few meters away from them, a voice came from behind them, “Taxi! Nice!”

Cheng Ke was stunned. A short look told him that they were likely a group of hooligans as they ran over and pulled the door open, boarding the car.

“The hell?” Cheng Ke was dumbfounded, turning around to look at Jiang Yuduo.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t make a sound, just standing there staring.

The taxi started up and drove a short bit before stopping again.

The car door opened, with the few people who had just boarded it completely getting off. A bald boy came running towards them, turning back to point at the taxi while running. “Wait for me!”

“Third Bro,” Baldie ran up to them and stopped, giving Jiang Yuduo an awkward smile. “We didn’t see that it was you.”

Jiang Yuduo clicked his tongue. “You’re used to snatching already?”

“No that’s not it, we didn’t see that it was you two that wanted the taxi.” Baldie scratched at his head.

“What a load of bull,” Jiang Yuduo said. “If we weren’t flagging the cab then why did it stop here? You could have just called a cab!”

“Third Bro, you get on the cab.” Baldie gave him a bow.

Jiang Yuduo walked towards the cab, turning around to give him a look. “You’re not coming back tonight, right?”

“Mm, even you could tell?” Baldie asked.

“Nonsense! Today’s such a cold day, you could come out with such little clothes on?” Jiang Yuduo pointed to his head. “Your scalp’s already freezing!”

“It’s fine.” Baldie touched his head, laughing.

Jiang Yuduo took off his hat and tossed it to him. “Scram!”

“Thank you Third Bro!” Baldie shouted.

After boarding the taxi, Cheng Ke could still hear Baldie from outside, chasing the taxi while yelling at the top of his lungs, “Third Bro! Thank you!”

“Thank your head, there’s no end to this.” Jiang Yuduo said in a soft voice.

Cheng Ke looked at him and whispered, “I thought that people on your street don’t say thanks?”

“He’s my junior.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Isn’t he about the same age as you?” Cheng Ke didn’t understand.

‘He’s my brother’s brother,” Jiang Yuduo said. “Grandson junior, understand?”

“Understood.” Cheng Ke nodded.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t speak anymore, taking out his phone instead, probably to read novels again.

Cheng Ke leaned against the glass window of the car. The temperature outside was scarily low, the wind was also too strong, but the sun was just right, so sitting in the car with warm air blowing without wind felt really comfortable.

He squinted his eyes to look at Jiang Yuduo’s side profile.

Jiang Yuduo looked quite focused, but he read quite slowly; He probably spends half a day on one page of the novel Cheng Ke thought to himself jokingly.

“Is it really that long?” Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo turned to take a look at him. “Yeah.”

Cheng Ke laughed.

“There’s not much point to it now,” Jiang Yuduo furrowed his eyebrows. “My favourite character died. If I had known earlier that they were going to die in this chapter, I wouldn’t have fucking bought it.”

“Isn’t it quite normal for a few people to die in a novel?” Cheng Ke said. “It’s not like the main character died, but just because a side character died, you’re not going to read it anymore?”

“If the main character really died, then I wouldn’t have many feelings about it.

Besides, so many people pay attention to the main character, whether they’re happy or sad, whether they’re well or not, whether they’re dead or alive,” Jiang Yuduo withdrew from the novel world, speaking softly, “It’s a different story for side characters, especially the minor ones. No one ever cares about them.”

Cheng Ke looked at him without saying a word.

“Just like me.” Jiang Yuduo added softly.

“Ai,” the driver said, “Boy, you think too much. Let me tell you, you are the main character of your own life.”

“I’m not.” Jiang Yuduo stated.

Cheng Ke was stunned.

The driver probably only knew how to habitually use this inspirational quote, but when he encountered Jiang Yuduo’s answer, he couldn’t continue, so he sighed and kept quiet.

—

Xu Ding held an event at a prestigious art gallery. It was a small exhibition; It’s main theme was “Awe”, with a few art pieces and photographs.

Cheng Ke felt that “Awe” was a good name. When people saw the name, they would immediately stare in awe*.

(*T/N: The word used here, 茫然 (mang ran), has two meanings. On its own, it’s ignorance, but when you used to describe a feeling, it’s something along the lines of awe, which is why Cheng Ke thinks it’s a good name due to its double meaning.) However, he did not look up the event’s connotation, only caring about his own section. Today, he only needed to let his creativity flow. There were no restrictions, he could do whatever he wanted to do.

“Whatever you draw, can attract awe.” Xu Ding once said.

That made a lot of sense. After all, given the theme, most people would force themselves to stick as close to the theme as possible. Those who can’t stick to it would be too embarrassed to admit it.

—

“You won’t be able to go in later,” Cheng Ke looked at his surroundings, “There’s also nowhere for you to hang out. You should head back, you can’t possibly wait here the whole time.”

“You don’t have to bother about me,” Jiang Yuduo said, “I can find somewhere to hang out though? I’m not you.”

“Fine…” Cheng Ke nodded. “I’ll go in now, I have things to prepare.”

Jiang Yuduo hummed in reply.

Cheng Ke took one last look at him, before turning around to enter the exhibition from the side entrance.

Jiang Yuduo had never been to such a high-class place before.

The only place he’d ever been where art was the main focus was probably one of those shopping malls stalls that auctioned oil paintings starting at a dollar. When a painting went over 300 dollars, no one wanted it anymore.

He looked around at his surroundings. There were many exhibition halls, each hall showcasing different “art”. On a day with such cold weather, there was a surprising amount of people here.

Everyone was very quiet and looking on in silence, with some occasional talking.

The sound they were making felt almost soft.

Jiang Yuduo walked around inside, originally wanting to find a place to sit, but in the end found none. He couldn’t adjust well to this atmosphere. Everyone here came to admire the art, whereas he looked like he had walked through the wrong door.

He strolled over to the entrance of the gallery where there was a trash can by the wall. If it weren’t for the lady smoking a cigarette next to it, he really wouldn’t have realised that that thing was a trash can.

He walked over and lit a cigarette.

The lady gave him a look and moved to the side, giving him some space, before asking, “Why aren’t you going in?”

“Hm?” Jiang Yuduo looked at her.

“Didn’t you come here with Cheng Ke?” The lady asked.

“You know Cheng Ke?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Had a few meals with him before,” the lady laughed, “But everyone who’s dabbled in sand painting more or less knows him.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yuduo nodded. He never really thought about it, but Cheng Ke was a celebrity in the trade.

The lady took a puff of her cigarette and scanned him from top to bottom. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“Do you know everyone around Cheng Ke?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“More or less,” she snubbed out the cigarette and extended her hand. “My name’s Milier.”

Jiang Yuduo took a look at her. It didn’t sound like a proper name, so he clapped his hand onto her awaiting palm. “I’m Third Bro.”

“That’s a nice name,” Milier laughed. Her gaze landing behind him, waving her hand in the direction of the entrance. “Little Yi is here too.”

Jiang Yuduo turned around and saw Cheng Ke’s little brother, Cheng Happy.

(T/N: Cheng Ke’s brother is called Cheng Yi, but Jiang Yuduo calls him Cheng Kaixin here. Kaixin = Happy)

“Cheng Yi’s his brother. Do you know each other?” Milier asked.

“We’ve met.” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Yi nods to Milier. Just as Jiang Yuduo wanted to walk away at seeing his obvious hesitation, Cheng Yi was already walking towards them.

“Why are you here?” Milier looked at Cheng Yi and laughed, “Doesn’t this sort of thing bore you?”

“I’m interested in it now either, I just happened to pass by and came to look,”

Cheng Yi said. “Your idol is going to perform soon, aren’t you going in?”

“Going.” Milier waved to the two of them and ran to the entrance.

The two of them, Jiang Yuduo and Cheng Yi, were left standing beside the trash can.

A gust of wind blew over. Cheng Yi pulled on his scarf, covering half his face.

Jiang Yuduo realised that when looking at him like this, the two brothers actually looked very much alike.

However, the difference in their gaze was vastly different. Jiang Yuduo judged a person’s character based on their gaze. Their actions can be fabricated, their expressions can be false, their smiles can be faked, but their gaze is hard to change.

There are some gazes that he will never be able to forget in this lifetime.

Even when Cheng Ke’s anger flared up, he wasn’t like his brother, who appeared sharp, giving a look that seemed to pierce through invasively.

This sort of gaze didn’t intimidate Jiang Yuduo, rather he felt uncomfortable with it.

He was with someone that he wasn’t familiar with, didn’t know his name and never spoke to before, so he turned around to walk past the trash can, preparing to leave.

“Are you waiting for my brother?” Cheng Yi asked from behind him.

Jiang Yuduo turned to look at him without saying anything.

“Why didn’t he let you in?” Cheng Yi said, “He wouldn’t need an invitation to bring someone in.”

“What would I do in there?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“It’s warm inside.” Cheng Yi laughed.

“Do I look like someone who’s afraid of the cold?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Just because you’re not afraid of the cold doesn’t mean you don’t feel cold.”

Cheng Yi added while laughing, “I’ll bring you in, my brother won’t say anything about it.”

Jiang Yuduo scrunched his brow.

What Cheng Yi said didn’t make him feel good. Although vague, he said it with a smile and a warm tone that implied only one thing; Cheng Ke didn’t allow him to go in.

How shameless.

“Do you not understand what I just said?” Jiang Yuduo said with a hint of annoyance.

Surprisingly, Cheng Yi didn’t get mad. He just continued to look at him with a smile.

Jiang Yuduo’s ever dealt with young masters before. The only exception were his interactions with the great Jaeger-LeCoultre; A useless someone with no tempter.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t know what Cheng Yi wanted to say or do with him nor did he want to know either. Jiang Yuduo would not be going along with him.

He pulled out his phone instead and dialed Xu Ding’s number.

“Hello? Third Bro?” Xu Ding answered on his end.

Listen to Xu Ding’s tone!

“I’m outside,” Jiang Yuduo said. “Come out for a sec.”

“Now?” Xu Ding seemed stunned. “Outside the gallery?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yuduo took a look at Cheng Yi.

“Alright,” Xu Ding said, “Give me two minutes.”

Jiang Yuduo hummed in reply.

Just as he was about to hang up, Xu Ding added, “Are you alone?”

“No,” Jiang Yuduo said, “I’m chatting with his brother, Cheng Yi.”

“I’ll be out right now.” Xu Ding said.

Jiang Yuduo hung up and lit another cigarette to hold in his mouth as he looked at the trashcan and spaced out. He didn’t have much to say to Cheng Yi. What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.

The more he thought about it, the more unsafe he felt.

Cheng Yi still hadn’t answered for the time he had driven his car through Jiang Yuduo’s territory and wandered around. Perhaps he could bring it up today.

If people had noticed Cheng Ke, Cheng Yi was the bigger threat.

Jiang Yuduo was suddenly aware that his hand was beginning to feel cold.

“Have you known my brother for very long?” Cheng Yi asked with his usual warm tone. It was comforting so long as one didn’t look at his face.

“Not long.” Jiang Yuduo glanced at him.

“I was quite surprised when I saw you the last time we had a meal,” Cheng Yi said,

“I always thought that my brother liked those pretty and cute types.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t say anything.

He realised what Cheng Yi was saying after a few seconds. Cheng Ke embracing a group of beautiful and ethereal people wearing lipstick.

He felt sick for a moment.

“Do you think that any man that stands next to him has that sort of relationship with him?” Jian Yuduo says, slightly agitated

“Am I wrong?” Cheng Yi looked at him, the corner of his eye smiling.

What do you mean are you wrong? What isn’t wrong?

What the fuck is he asking for?

Does Cheng Yi suspect that he has some sort of relationship with Cheng Ke?

Or is he saying that Cheng Ke had relationships with whatever man he was with?

Jiang Yuduo couldn’t understand what Cheng Ke was trying to say. He snuffed out the cigarette.

“How is any of this your fucking problem? He’s not even taking you to bed, so what’s it to you? If you were that interested, why don’t you take your car out for a spin over there.”

Cheng Yi glared at him, his smile wavering for a moment.

“Don’t look at me,” Jiang Yuduo said, “If you farted in my territory, someone would be telling me what you last ate within three minutes.”

The smile on Cheng Yi’s face finally disappeared at his words, his brows beginning to furrow.

Xu Ding walked out of the main entrance.

“Over here!” Jiang Yuduo called out while walking towards him. He didn’t wish to spend another second hanging around Cheng Yi.

Xu Ding walked over and whispered, “How did you end up bumping into Little Yi?”

“You ask him,” Jiang Yuduo was annoyed. “Why would I want to bump into him, as if I have nothing better to do.”

Xu Ding laughed. “Why don’t you head in, I’ve already told the staff at the entrance.”

“I…” Jiang Yuduo hesitated for a moment. “Alright, I’ll go in.”

Xu Ding nodded, walking over to Cheng Yi, who was standing behind him and greeting him, “Why didn’t you go in?”

“I wasn’t invited, so why would I dare to just go in?” Cheng Yi laughed.

“Since when did you require an invitation?” Xu Ding said.

These few exchanges felt normal enough, but Jiang Yuduo couldn’t help but feel uneasy at hearing it; Feeling that Xu Ding and Cheng Yi’s relationship had more to it than it seemed.

But he didn’t have any intentions of eavesdropping, how frustrating.

Xu Ding also didn’t tell him how he should get in, but the staff member standing at the exhibition hall’s entrance saw him coming over and was already welcoming him in. “Mr Jiang, is it?”

“Yes.” Jiang Yuduo wasn’t used to being called that. It seemed that he had never been called that before.

“Please come with me,” the staff member said.

Jiang Yuduo followed behind him into the exhibition hall.

One inside, he could feel the difference between this and paintings at the oil painting auction stalls at the mall.

The exhibition hall had many paintings and photographs that were not only on the walls, there were some in the centre of the hall as well. A pillar here and a platform there – they all had art placed on them, as well some things that he couldn’t make out. A few square blocks stacked together could be counted as a piece, and even a headless dog sitting on its own brain was one.

What the hell.

The only thing that was pleasing to the eye, was probably only Cheng Ke’s piece over there.

Cheng Ke stood in the middle of a space with a lit up table in front of him. By his hands were a few containers of sand. Behind him a screen that would project both his hands and the table’s surface.

“Feel free to look around.” The staff whispered and led him near Cheng Ke.

“Mm, thank you.” Jiang Yuduo said.

He didn’t know much about sand art. The only time he encountered it was when Cheng Ke used salt on his table to draw Meow and him, as well as the ‘art’ his neighbor’s kid would sometimes make.

But looking at Cheng Ke now, it felt completely different to when he sat at the side of his table — using his finger to move the salt around.

There was music playing in the exhibition hall — it was soft and quiet, and although he couldn’t hear what it was clearly, it still sounded pretty.

Jiang Yuduo looked at his surroundings. At the corner of the exhibition, there were a few circular couches which already had people sitting on them, but most were standing.

He found a pillar to gently lean against, which was surprisingly sturdy despite looking like it would fall over. So he leaned against the pillar as he watched Cheng Ke.

A waiter holding a tray walked past him and from one look, he could see the little cakes on it. So he reached over and took a piece, stuffing it in his mouth in two bites.

Cheng Ke really was a rich kid.He didn’t realize that he should’ve bought another serving of food after finishing off his own. It would be more accurate to say that he never would’ve even considered that sort of thing.

Tch.

Cheng Ke had his head lowered, grabbing a handful of sand from the side and gently scattering it across the table’s surface.

The quiet murmurs of the exhibition hall slowly dissipated, everyone’s attention fixed on the projector. There were even people who took their phones out and began to film what was going on.

Jiang Yuduo felt around his pocket for his phone. He thought about it, but didn’t take it out in the end.

He felt a bit foolish.

Cheng Ke’s fingertips landed on the fine sand on the tabletop and began to draw.

The sky, and clouds.

In the distance — a mountain? Yes, it was a mountain. Ah, my god, it looked so much like a mountain.

Trees? Oh, no, was it a person… What’s that underneath the person? Grass? Ah, it’s snowing!

What’s that?

Oh is that a river?

Where’s the people? He’s formed a boat?

Oh my god, it’s like animation… Things were forming one by one…

Jiang Yuduo felt like his eyes were too busy to keep up, looking back and forth between Cheng Ke and the screen.

To be honest, he only needed to look at the screen. Whatever anyone filmed, it would be of the screen most of the time.

But in the end, he chose to look at Cheng Ke.

The things that Cheng Ke was drawing were pretty, but he felt that, in comparison, watching Cheng Ke had more meaning.

Cheng Ke hands were the hands of a regular person, they were slender. But when the fine sand slipped through his fingers and landed, it looked extremely nice.

And that focused yet calm expression on his face; As if the people around him simply didn’t exist. No matter how many people there were around him, no matter how many gazes were on him, to him, the only thing that mattered was the space right before his eyes. He didn’t even lift his gaze to look at his surroundings even once.

Jiang Yuduo was a bit spellbound at the sight.

Except for webnovels, he hadn’t looked at anything this seriously in a very long time.

Especially this kind of “art”.

Of course, what he was looking at wasn’t even art. What he had been looking at was Cheng Ke — his face, his hands, his shirt with the sleeves rolled up. And in the midst of it all, he had even worried whether the wound on the back of his head would get infected without covering it with a bandage…

Only when he heard soft laughter coming from the crowd around him did he take a look at the screen.

He realised that Cheng Ke was no longer drawing a continuous animation, but was now drawing a young lady holding a phone. Jiang Yuduo took a look in the direction that everyone else was looking at, and saw that it was a smiling Milier, who had her phone currently raised.

So they were indeed familiar with each other.

As usual, Cheng Ke didn’t look at his surroundings. He only looked down at the surface before his eyes, which made Jiang Yuduo wonder how he could see Milier and still draw her.

Just as he was pondering, the scene had changed. Milier disappeared and what appeared on the drawing surface was a… pillar?

Beside the pillar, was a person leaning on it.

Jiang Yuduo froze.

People were starting to look in his direction, and in that moment, he didn’t know if he should smile or whether he should stand up straight, or whether he should just maintain his position.

As Cheng Ke’s hand swept across the art’s surface, it began to change. The pillar and person both vanished, and gradually, a face began to appear, like as if it was an enlarged version of what was previously drawn.

He didn’t know if the o shape on his lips in the final art piece was an expression of awe or shock.

Laughter and applause erupted from around him. It was only then did Jiang Yuduo regain his bearings and stood up straight.

Cheng Ke’s performance had ended. After giving everyone a nod, he wiped away the sand on the tabletop. A few staff members went over to help him pack up.

The screen’s projection was switched off as well, and a few people who wished for the performance to continue began to whisper softly.

Cheng Ke walked over to where he was standing.

Jiang Yuduo glared at him when he stopped in front of him. “Hey, do I really look like that?”

“You were like that the whole time.” Cheng Ke said.

“There’s no way,” Jiang Yuduo touched his lips. “I’ve never fucking made such a stupid expression before.”

“Let Xu Ding play the recording later, then you’ll know.” Cheng Ke raised his hand to wave at Xu Ding, who was hurriedly walking over to them. “Let him show you a clip of it.”

“No need.” Jiang Yuduo scoffed. “When did you spot me?”

“I saw you the moment you came in,” Cheng Ke said. “How did you get in?”

“Came in after fighting with the guy at the entrance,” Jiang Yuduo said. “I didn’t even see you looking in my direction, yet you managed to spot me?”

“I saw you in my peripheral vision,” Cheng Ke said, “Wait for me for a moment, I’ll talk a bit with Xu Ding and then we can leave.”

“Mm.” Jiang Yuduo nodded.

Watching Cheng Ke and Xu Ding walk around while nodding their heads and greeting people, he suddenly felt a bit distant. He never once thought about Cheng Ke’s life before, was it like this?

It was pretty classy.

He couldn’t even associate him with the useless person who didn’t even know how to light a stove.

解药

(Antidote)

「