03
Qi Shuitang changed out of his sports clothes and wiped his sweat with a towel. When he habitually checked his phone, he saw five missed calls from the same number.
He called back, but the call was hung up after two rings. As Qi Shuitang stared at his phone in confusion, wondering if it was a spam call, his teammate punched his shoulder and asked, “What are you thinking about, Lao Qi?”
“Nothing.” Qi Shuitang high-fived his teammates and cockily made a three-pointer before they all changed clothes and left the gymnasium, chatting and laughing.
“Hey Lao Qi, you were on fire today. Shouldn’t you treat us to dinner?” A teammate wrapped an arm around his neck and teased, “That rebound dunk you made! Did you see how red the other team’s forward’s face got?”
“Hahahahaha!” Qi Shuitang laughed along, but his phone vibrated again with the same number. He answered, “Hello?”
“Qi. Shui. Tang.” It was a male voice on the other end, speaking slowly, enunciating each character of his name in an odd way.
“Who is this?” He gestured at his loud teammates to quiet down while asking into the phone.
“Twelve yuan.” The male voice spoke again, still slowly. Somehow, Qi Shuitang could hear the dejection in his voice even through the phone.
He thought for a moment but couldn’t remember anything about twelve yuan. Growing impatient, his tone became harsh. “Can’t you just say what you want clearly? Who can understand you when you mumble like that?”
“Jianbing… mine… twelve yuan.” Yi He pressed his lips together, wiping away the tears that came from his frustration. When he got anxious, his thoughts became scattered, and he could only pick out disconnected words that popped into his head. His finger traced over the “twelve yuan” repeatedly.
“Ah!” Qi Shuitang slapped his forehead as he remembered. He apologized profusely, “I’m so sorry, little boss! I’ve been busy practicing basketball and haven’t left campus much. I completely forgot after waking up this morning. Wait there, I’ll bring it right over.”
He turned his head to see his teammates looking at him expectantly, then chuckled into the phone, “Little boss, are you busy right now?”
“Not busy.” It wasn’t dinner time yet, and students were still in class.
“Then make me twelve jianbings. I want mine fully loaded, and you can add whatever to the others. I’ll come pick them up soon.” He hung up and glanced sideways at his teammates, saying, “Didn’t you want me to treat you to dinner? I’ll treat you to something special.”
After walking a few steps, he remembered something and told the group, “You guys go ahead. I need to get some cash.”
04
Yi He put down his phone and clasped his hands together, trying hard to contain his emotions. After a while, he wiped his eyes and began pouring the first ladle of batter.
He spread the batter, cracked an egg, sprinkled green onions and pickled vegetables, placed two fresh lettuce leaves, arranged the just-fried ham and pork on one folded corner of the pancake, added the crispy cracker, spread the sauce, and finally rolled it up. He cut it in half and placed it in a paper bag on his left.
Yi He made Qi Shuitang’s fully loaded jianbing first, then proceeded with the remaining eleven. Unable to keep track of the random ingredients in each one, he simply added sausage and pork to all of them. All twelve were stacked together, freely releasing their steam.
He pursed his lips and picked out a sausage for himself, cooking it slowly. After a while, he stuck a toothpick in it and brought it to his mouth, gently blowing on it before taking a bite. The savory meat flavor spread in his mouth, its oily richness somewhat soothing his unhappiness. He tossed the toothpick into the nearby trash bin and looked up to see a group of people carrying basketballs standing at the school gate, seemingly waiting for someone.
Yi He looked on enviously. He had only touched a basketball once, and it was just a small rubber ball painted to look like a basketball for children. Yi He didn’t know that real basketballs were larger and heavier. He had only bounced it a couple of times before finding it fun, but the teacher took it away by evening.
After waiting until the basketball team grew impatient, Qi Shuitang finally came running out, panting heavily. With a wave of his hand, he led the group to crowd around Yi He’s tiny jianbing stand, saying cheerfully:
“Boss, I’m here with your money!”
He easily picked out his fully loaded jianbing from the row and turned to his group behind him, “Help yourselves! Don’t be shy! It’s on me today!”
“Lao Qi, you’re such a dog!”
Against the background of playful complaints, Qi Shuitang placed a pile of loose change on the counter and asked, “Boss, how much for everything, including last time?”
Yi He pressed on his calculator, stopped to count, stopped again to think, and finally said, “One hundred yuan.”
“Really, boss?” Qi Shuitang pointed at the pile of jianbings, questioning, “All of this for just one hundred?”
Yi He’s lips turned slightly downward, showing his displeasure. He knew he wasn’t smart, but he had calculated this several times. It couldn’t be wrong.
“That’s right. One hundred!” Yi He said firmly, looking at Qi Shuitang’s teammates who were almost finished eating. “There’s a trash bin here. Throw your garbage here when you’re done.”
Qi Shuitang handed him a red bill, but when Yi He tried to withdraw his hand, he was held back, and a soda-flavored lollipop was pressed into his palm. He looked at Qi Shuitang, who smiled and winked at him, saying:
“Consider it an apology gift, treating you to candy!”
It was Yi He’s first time receiving something from someone else, and even though it was just a gesture, he was very happy. With curved eyes, he tucked the lollipop into his pocket and earnestly thanked Qi Shuitang.
The little boss wore a grayish-green sweater inside, with the same festive red apron printed with “Delicious Malatang” on the outside. It not only looked mismatched but also somewhat silly.
Standing in the cool autumn wind, Qi Shuitang suddenly, as if possessed, reached out his hand, then withdrew it halfway, pointing at his own cheek and saying to Yi He:
“Little boss, you’ve got some batter here.”
Yi He raised his hand and wiped it with his sleeve, rubbing a small patch of skin into a flush of color that stood out particularly against his pale skin. He blinked twice, then looked at Qi Shuitang with crystal-clear eyes, asking, “Is there more?”
Qi Shuitang quickly glanced up before looking away, saying softly, “No, that’s all.”
He pressed his fist against his lips and swallowed hard.
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