The train rattled along, passing through plains and hills in the night. Xie Lan was in a state of confusion and couldn't sleep, so he simply turned on a time-lapse camera on his phone and placed it next to the window. He fell asleep at dawn, and when he woke up, he saw a miniature of the setting moon and rising sun.
He was still very sleepy when he got off the bus. He followed Dou Sheng in a hazy vision. When he got out of the station, he found that everyone was carrying backpacks, except him and Dou Sheng. Che Ziming's bag looked the heaviest, with a water bottle hanging outside and a pot handle sticking out of the zipper.
Dai You said: "I rented a bus. Our first stop is hiking in the Grand Canyon. Xie Lan will shoot the video. We will stay at the alpine grassland campsite tonight, and visit the hydroelectric power station tomorrow."
Xie Lan was still trying to wake himself up, so he asked casually, "What about the day after tomorrow?"
Dai You smiled, "Gather at the Yingzhong Experimental Building the day after tomorrow for the provincial math competition training."
Everyone burst into laughter, and the laughter dispelled the sleepiness. Chen Ge raised his eyebrows and said, "You good students are so miserable."
Che Ziming yelled angrily on the spot: "Get off my feet! Don't think you can stay in the lower class forever!"
The bus bumped along the way and took everyone to a village near the starting point of the hike. Everyone had a box lunch in the village, Yu Fei emptied a bag for Dou Sheng to carry the equipment, and the group immediately entered the valley.
At the beginning of the valley, there is a section of creek-tracing road. The air in the canyon is fresh, and there is a waterfall and a winding stream. The road is very narrow, and several people are walking in a line, chatting and laughing.
Dai You shouted from the front: "Those carrying things, take a load back and forth."
The two girls immediately got on the train, Yu Fei walked in front of Liu Yixuan, and Chen Ge followed behind Dong Shuijing.
Just as Xie Lan straightened the violin case, Dou Sheng in front of him turned around.
Xie Lan raised his eyes, "Hmm?"
"Remember, we have to get a ride later." Dou Sheng smiled faintly, "Listen to Dai You, he is an old donkey."
Dai You snorted and laughed in front, "Don't say these dirty words to Xie Lan, he will really think I'm a donkey."
Everyone laughed, and Dou Sheng also raised the corner of his lips slightly.
Dou Sheng had changed his clothes that were soaked in the rain at some point, and now he was wearing almost the same clothes as Xie Lan, a white T-shirt with grey sweatpants. It was simple and refreshing, and the boy's tall and delicate bones were clearly visible.
In Xie Lan's sight, Dou Sheng and himself in his peripheral vision seemed like a pair of twins, or perhaps a couple wearing matching outfits.
This realization made him a little confused. He didn't know what Dou Sheng felt, but he felt guilty. Being disturbed by the ghost, he always felt restless.
After going out of the narrow stream-tracing road and climbing up the bumpy and steep steps, we finally reached a small viewing platform.
There was only a small mountain peak protruding from the bottom of the cliff on one side of the canyon, and on both sides were cliffs that blocked out the sun. Hawks would occasionally fly by in the sky, whistling and flapping their wings across the sky. In the distance, a few sheep could be seen faintly on the cliffs of the forest. When hawks whistled by, the sheep would retreat into the cracks of the rocks, and then calmly return after the hawks passed by.
will be the time of the day when the light is the best. The morning mist has dissipated, the sky is high and the land is vast, and you can see half of the gorge at a glance.
Chen Ge used a knife to gently scrape the cane he made for girls. Che Ziming and Dai You shouted a few times at the cliff opposite. Che Ming turned around and said, "Lan, can we watch you record the video live?"
Xie Lan nodded, and found a large, stable rock at the farthest point on the top of the mountain, and put down the guitar case.
He glanced around, thought of a few preliminary compositions, and sighed, "It's a pity that the depth of the picture, uh... should I say depth? It's not deep enough, and I don't know how the close-up shot will turn out."
Dai You joked, "Let Dou Sheng climb up the opposite cliff and give you a distant view."
Xie Lan smiled and said, "I'm just talking."
He was facing the canyon with his back to everyone, when he suddenly heard a start-up sound and the sound of a machine flying near and stopping behind him.
Xie Lan turned around and looked at the silver-white four-clawed fuselage floating in the air behind him.
The drone moved back a distance and flew around him carefully. The indicator lights on its four legs flickered, and it drew an arc in the air and flew towards a vast area.
Dou Sheng operated the machine, circling away from the narrow mountain top, rising steadily into the deep space of the cliff.
His eyes sparkled with a smile, "Master, your vision is on standby."
A group of people immediately started to make a noise.
Dai You was shocked: "Why did you buy this professional version again? You crashed the machine so many times before. Didn't you swear to only play with games that cost a few hundred dollars?"
"He's addicted." Che Ziming covered his face and sighed, "He lost his mind in order to support Xie Lan."
Xie Lan looked at Dou Sheng in a daze, as if he was speechless.
As the wind blew through the canyon, he only felt a trace of restlessness being blown by the wind, growing wildly in his heart.
The camera kept moving up and down, sweeping across the empty canyon. Everyone huddled together in a small group in the corner, but each one was so clear.
Xie Lan stood on the top of the mountain, Dou Sheng stood behind him, not far away, Che Ming had his arm on Dai You's shoulder, two girls were standing on a stone, on the left and right were the skinny Yu Fei and Chen Ge in school uniform.
The first tentative sound of the piano was particularly clear and distant. Xie Lan looked at the cliffs and tree shadows and placed the bow on the strings.
He turned around and said to Dou Sheng: "Fly well, we will do it in one go."
Dou Sheng still smiled faintly, "I received the order."
The sound of the zither echoed in the canyon, and the world seemed to fall into silence. Xie Lan stood alone in the shadows of trees in the deep sky, the cliffs of the mountains and forests. When you are young, your waist is always very straight. Even if you are thin, you have a kind of fearlessness that is not afraid of anything.
Today, they played an arranged op, translated as "On the Top of the Red Flame". Xie Lan had played it once before on YouTube, but this time he put more effort into arranging the music. "Hblood" is already a thing of the past for Silentwaves, and he wanted to try to make a name for himself on B Station with a new piece of music.
The music starts with an intense and magnificent rubato, then turns to a sad and lingering slow tempo. The wind sends the vague sadness to every corner of the canyon, and soon it enters an exciting and undulating section. The fast bow is fluent, with climaxes one after another. An eagle spreads its wings against the wind and flies back and forth across the canyon several times with the movement.
The song lasted only a few minutes, but after the lingering sound faded, it seemed as if it was a lifetime ago. Xie Lan put down the piano and checked the two fixed camera positions. He was quite satisfied with the composition and put away the piano case directly.
Liu Yixuan sighed: "You are so skilled at recording videos that it makes me feel distressed. You don't look like a rookie at all."
Xie Lan just smiled and said, "There are many details in the early stage."
Liu Yixuan asked again, "Do you have similar entrepreneurial experience in the UK?"
Dou Sheng also looked at Xie Lan after hearing this. Xie Lan paused for a moment and said vaguely, "I've shot pornographic works before, but Station B is definitely a new beginning."
Liu Yixuan didn't ask any more questions. Xie Lan put the violin case back on his back and turned around to ask, "Can you take the drone back?"
Dou Sheng shook his head, "I want to use up all the electricity."
Dou Sheng followed Xie Lan not far behind him all the way. His drone also followed Xie Lan, sometimes flying behind him, sometimes flying in front of him, flying around the canyon, and then returning to Xie Lan's side.
Dou Sheng was whistling leisurely while playing the guitar. The sound of the whistle was carried to Xie Lan's ears by the wind and then to further away.
The hiking distance was ten kilometers. They walked and stopped from noon until seven or eight in the evening.
The bus was waiting at the terminal. As soon as everyone got on the bus, they started to complain of being tired and found seats to sleep.
Xie Lan was also tired. He seldom walked such a long distance and his whole body felt like it was falling apart.
Soon, several snoring sounds were heard in the car. Xie Lan yawned, but saw Dou Sheng transferring the video to his iPad, dimming the light, and starting to edit the video.
He was stunned for a moment, "Why is it so urgent?"
Dou Sheng casually explained: "I'll make a small video to share the news first."
Dou Sheng was so focused when editing the video that he even blinked less frequently. Xie Lan sat next to him, staring at him as he counted the strands one by one.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Lan lowered his head and fell asleep.
The bus slowly passed through the city and the suburbs, and it took more than an hour to get close to the campsite. Amid the sound of the sleeping people on the bus, Dou Sheng finally cut out the 15-second short film, dividing it into two versions, A and B. He tilted the tablet to change the name of version A, transferred it to the camera, and glanced to the side.
Originally, he wanted to see if Xie Lan was awake, but unexpectedly, the bus suddenly turned left, and Xie Lan, who was originally sleeping with his head down, suddenly leaned to the side.
Dou Sheng subconsciously sat up straight, just enough to hold up Xie Lan's head. The soft hair brushed against his collarbone and neck, making his skin a little itchy. In the dim light, the young man made a low whirring sound, which made him feel like there was grass growing in his heart.
Dou Sheng held his breath for a long time and carefully turned on the camera function.
Adjust the front, the screen flashes, and saves.
In the photo, Xie Lan's cheeks were milky white. Dou Sheng looked at it for a while and couldn't help but stretched out his hand and quickly pinched his face.
Sure enough, it was as soft as expected.
Xie Lan woke up, opened his sleepy eyes, and looked out the dark car window in confusion.
"Who pinched me?" he muttered.
No one answered. He raised his head in a daze, but met the eyes of Dou Sheng, who was glancing at him from above.
Dou Sheng's eyes were full of mischief. "I pinched you. You slept on me all the way, and my shoulder is numb."
"!"
Xie Lan sat up straight abruptly.
He stared out the window for a long time before trying to keep his face expressionless. He unscrewed the bottle of mineral water and took a sip.
"… oh."
Finally we arrived at the camping site. It was dark, and there were shadows of trees on the hillside, with campers' tents dotted around.
Dou Sheng and Dai You were old hands at setting up camp. After a short while, they had set up two tents, one large and one small, to separate men and women.
As soon as the crude little lantern was lit up, greetings came from other hikers next door. Dai You came out of the tent and shouted back in a way that Xie Lan could not understand.
The car was clearly unplugged and the rice cooker was used to cook food. He used mineral water to make two packets of tofu soup, added a bunch of meatballs and ham, and two blocks of instant noodles.
A group of people gathered around a pot waiting to eat. Dou Sheng broke off a piece of the baked cake he bought at noon and handed it to Xie Lan, "Try it, it's still a little crispy now."
The pastry gently touched Xie Lan's lips. Xie Lan looked at him, opened his mouth and took a bite of the cake.
Che Ziming said with a click of his tongue: "He's protecting his wife like that. Break off a bite for me too."
"Break it yourself." Dou Sheng threw the cake into his arms, "Just kill yourself if you're too lazy."
Everybody was laughing, and soon the pot was boiling. Everyone had a bowl with a few pieces of tofu, a few meatballs, half a bowl of soup, and a handful of instant noodles, which they ate with the leftover flatbread from lunch.
The meal was so simple that it was not even as good as the one in the cafeteria, but Xie Lan ate it with great relish. He even made slurping sounds with those two mouthfuls of noodles.
Chen Ge opened a bottle of wine, held it out to him and said, "Would you like some, boys?"
Dai You sighed, "Drink something, I'm too tired today."
Everyone took small cups to drink the liquor, which was quite strong. Xie Lan almost choked on the first sip.
Spicy, dry, but very satisfying.
He calmed down for a while, then took another sip slowly.
After a bowl of noodles and half a glass of wine, everyone crossed their legs on the floor. Xie Lan followed Dou Sheng for a long time before he could barely get into a decent position, with the tips of his knees touching Dou Sheng's.
Che Ziming's eyes sparkled after drinking. "Let's do something interesting. Each person will speak a true word to the person present. You don't have to reveal who the other person is, but the requirement is that it must be to one of us. Do you dare?"
Dai You smiled and said, "Why are you afraid? I'll go first."
Dai You glanced at everyone, finally landing on the greasy pot, and smiled.
"The sheep I saw today reminded me of the blue sheep in the northwest. The blue sheep ran and jumped on the vertical cliffs, and they were not afraid even if they fell and were smashed to pieces. I hope my brother and I can do the same."
Chen Ge picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and nodded silently.
"It's my turn next!" Che Ziming said, "I like people who are good at math the most. So I liked Douzi the most before, but now..."
He turned his head and looked at Xie Lan with shining eyes, like an Akita dog full of expectation.
Dou Sheng kicked him and said, "Is it your turn to like it?"
Che Ziming snorted coldly, "You are just jealous!"
Everyone laughed, but Xie Lan's ears felt hot. He raised his eyes and glanced at everyone guiltily. I guess everyone instinctively thought Dou Sheng was saying, "Is it my turn for you to like me?"
Only those who have something to hide can see through the ghosts hidden in other people's words.
Yu Fei said: "As for me, I am not interested in anything, but it is different for some people. I believe she can feel it."
Che Ziming was shocked: "Oh my god? Brother, what's going on?"
He stood up suddenly and was about to point at Dong Shuijing and ask, but suddenly he felt something was wrong and looked at Liu Yixuan in disbelief.
Yu Fei said nothing and drank the remaining wine, his neck turning red.
Liu Yixuan also blushed, and after hesitating for a long time, she whispered, "I still hope... the person who gave me the Hanfu can take it back. I don't want to think about anything too complicated before the college entrance examination."
Yu Fei stretched out his hand and pinched his neck twice, and the movement seemed to be nodding slightly.
Dong Shuijing whispered, "I don't really have much to say. I just... hope you're okay."
Chen Ge chuckled and drank the little bit of wine in the bottle that no one shared. "Then I hope you won't wait for me."
There was a dead silence all around, and Dong Shuijing's face suddenly turned pale, but Chen Ge paused and said, "I will go back by myself."
Dong Shuijing's tears suddenly fell. She wiped her tears and smiled again. Chen Ge took a piece of paper and handed it to her without saying anything.
When he got to Dou Sheng, he said to a simple small lamp on the ground, "I sent you a message."
Everyone was stunned, and after a few seconds they all started to search their pockets.
"I don't."
"not me."
"It's not me either."
"Shouldn't we report it? Then we'll know who it is."
“Yes.”
Xie Lan's heart was beating very fast, and the alcohol made his consciousness a little intermittent. He turned on his phone and saw a red 1 on WeChat. He took a deep breath and clicked it, only to find that it was just a red envelope sent by someone in the class group.
Che Ziming suddenly cursed, "Bean! I'm gonna beat your uncle to pieces!!"
Xie Lan looked up blankly. Everyone had already started to scramble for the car and the phone tacitly. Yu Fei got it first, stood on a big rock on tiptoe, and played it facing everyone.
A drone captured more than a dozen shots of Che Ziming pulling up his pants today and mixed them together, showing the same action in different locations and postures. Every time he pulled up his pants, he would twist his butt, accompanied by an exaggerated fart sound.
The whole audience burst into laughter, only Xie Lan didn't laugh. He felt a little disappointed, and just as he was at a loss, airdrop suddenly started to automatically receive the file, and before his brain could react, it had already been transferred and played automatically.
The 15-second silent video was captured by a drone, showing several silhouettes of Xie Lan in the canyon today. It includes him cautiously moving along the cliff, standing on the top of the mountain with his piano, laughter and silence, a bird's-eye view from above, and the attention from behind.
It turned out that he held someone's arm so tightly when crossing the rope bridge. He obviously had something to hide, but he laughed and joked with him so many times in one day.
After the video ended, Xie Lan looked at his own reflection on the black screen with a dazed look. After a while, he suddenly caught sight of the file name.
Just because I am in this mountain.
Seven words fit on one screen, and after a pause of a few seconds, the following words scroll out one by one.
The person I like is Xie Lan.
The moment his heart stopped beating, the blood in his body seemed to flow backwards. The impact of the alcohol suddenly surged. He shivered and almost dropped the machine into the pot.
Che Ziming yelled "I will kill you" and chased after Dou Sheng. Dou Sheng's neck was red, but his expression was as nonchalant as usual. He stood up and ran in the other direction, clearly asking Che Ming to chase him.
Not sure if it was Xie Lan's illusion after drinking too much, he felt that Dou Sheng deliberately stepped over the pot on the ground to let Che Ming run to the side. As soon as Che Ming stepped over, his foot hooked the wire that was originally stuck in his blind spot, and the only small light suddenly fell on the stone.
With a snap, everything around him suddenly became dark.
The car stopped and said angrily, "What the hell?"
Dai You immediately clapped his hands in the dark: "Everyone, don't touch the light bulbs. Be careful with the glass. Let's talk about it in the morning."
"Hmm." Yu Fei yawned, "Why don't we just go home today and go to sleep? I'm so sleepy."
"Yes, let's go."
"Xie Lan hasn't said anything yet?"
"Xie Lan, think about it and send it to the group."
Several people got up in the dark, helping each other and walked towards the tent, waving their cell phones to light up.
Xie Lan's legs were weak due to the alcohol. He could not stand up until everyone had gone over there. He poked the machine several times before it turned on.
As the flash light just came on, a familiar tall and thin figure walked over. The light was suddenly blocked by his body, and the surroundings returned to darkness. Xie Lan stopped abruptly.
Dou Sheng seemed to want to hug him, but stopped a few centimeters away.
The surroundings were quiet except for the wind lingering on the camping ground, but the wind made people even more drunk.
Everything was silent, and a hand grabbed Xie Lan's finger. He didn't need to look down to picture the beautiful shapes of those fingers in his mind, they were interlaced between his fingers, the knuckles touching him, rubbing gently.
Dou Sheng said softly, "I've finished teaching, let's do the after-class spot check."
Xie Lan had never felt such a burning sensation before. It burned from the ears to the neck, wrists, and even the fingers.
Dou Sheng seemed to be a little drunk, and after calming down for a while, he asked in a low voice: "How do you translate that poem?"
Xie Lan felt dizzy and a little dazed. He couldn't see the outline of Dou Sheng's face, but only his black eyes. Although the man spoke calmly, his eyes were very fluctuating, as if he was more panicked than he was.
The person I like is Xie Lan.
The answer was about to come out, but Xie Lan closed his eyes and thought for a while. He waited until his pounding heart calmed down a little before he answered.
But the moment he opened his mouth, his heartbeat started to get chaotic again.
The drunken boy's voice was soft, low and light, and might have been blown away by the wind without being noticed.
"The person I like is Douzi."
To those who listen attentively, it is also clear.
In the darkness, a soft kiss was unexpectedly imprinted on Xie Lan's cheek, like an arrogant but voiceless chord, playing in the boy's wildly throbbing heart.