The waiting time was not long, half a minute or less, and the door was opened from the inside.
It was getting dark, but the lights were not on in the house. The light from the corridor fell in, barely tearing a gap in the darkness.
Sheng Min's figure was hidden in the darkness. Li Xuan couldn't see him clearly. He could only see his slender and bony fingers resting on the door handle, like porcelain just out of a kiln.
"You're sweating." The porcelain-like hand retracted and quickly handed over a tissue, "Wipe it off."
"Thank you." Li Xuan took a step forward before he could see his face clearly.
He has lost so much weight. Li Xuan thought, he didn't know if it was because there were too few sunny days in the south or for some other reason, he seemed to have lost his color.
"Why are you here at this time?" Sheng Min seemed to be at a loss for words. He smiled softly and said, "Long time no see."
"Twenty-seven days." Li Xuan blurted out.
After the words fell, there was a look of surprise on each of their faces that they couldn't hide in time, but they turned their heads tacitly to avoid each other's sight.
The silence lasted too long, and the voice-activated light above his head went out automatically. Li Xuan tapped the wall to turn the light back on. The light came on suddenly, and Sheng Min's gaze on him was too late to be restrained, so he could only hastily lower his head again.
"Would you like to come in and sit for a while?" he asked hesitantly after a while.
"Is it convenient?"
"It's okay." Sheng Min took a step to the side, "Come in."
In the shoe cabinet, the slippers Li Xuan had worn were still there, making him look like a man returning from a long journey.
Sheng Min hesitated before turning on the light: "The house is a little messy, don't mind it."
"It doesn't matter."
With a slight noise, the broken cups, tilted chairs, and smashed cakes in the living room were all exposed to Li Xuan's eyes, as well as Sheng Min's slightly uncomfortable face.
The cream fell on the wooden floor like moldy cotton wool, and the chocolate twenty-two was stepped on by someone and shattered into pieces without a trace of its original shape.
"I haven't had time to clean up yet." Sheng Min tried her best to smile as if nothing had happened, but she didn't dare to look him in the eye.
Li Xuan certainly knew whose masterpiece this was. If Sheng Min didn't mention it, he wouldn't poke at his scars. He just choked up a little: "Are you okay?"
"Of course." Sheng Min smiled, "Please sit down."
Li Xuan pursed his lips and went to the storage room to get a broom and mop. Sheng Min saw his intention: "No, I can do it myself..."
"I'll do it." Li Xuan said without allowing any refusal.
The tables and chairs were a small matter, they could just be put aside. However, the scattered glass and porcelain pieces were more difficult to clean up. When they were all swept into the trash can, Li Xuan discovered that there were not only cups and bowls, but also several ceramic decorations that Sheng Min liked very much.
"I'll buy you a new one later." He felt very upset and said subconsciously.
Sheng Min pursed her lips, not saying yes or no, but just urged him: "Okay, give me the broom. Go wash your hands."
When I came out of the bathroom, I didn't see Sheng Min. I looked around and found him on the balcony.
The draft blew through the curtains in the living room and lifted up his thin shirt, making it puff out behind him like wings ready to fly.
It was dynamic, but Sheng Min was as still as a painting. Ink painting, perhaps, doesn't need too many colors. Li Xuan leaned against the door frame and stared at him for a long time before slowly walking through the living room.
After the stains were cleaned, everything in the living room looked familiar.
The pillow on the sofa was bought by them together. On many ordinary afternoons, when Li Xuan came out of the study, he saw Sheng Min holding one of the pillows with his chin resting on it, reading the script quietly.
The decorative paintings on the wall were hung together, and he held the ladder for him.
Even the pens placed under the TV cabinet were the brands that Li Xuan was used to using...
Li Xuan was a little dazed, as if the nearly one month of separation had never happened and they were still living together.
When I passed the door of the study, I suddenly wanted to see if the bed had been moved. As soon as the thought came to my mind, I couldn't control it. My fingertips moved before my brain did, and I pressed down.
The sound of the door hinge turning was lighter than a sigh. The single bed was left in its original place, and the potted plant was not taken away... Everything behind the door was like an old photo frozen in time.
The only extra thing was a huge express box placed in the corner. Li Xuan recognized the logo on it, which was from a well-known computer manufacturer. He had a vague guess in his mind, like a needle piercing him, but the next second, he still walked over.
The model and specifications were printed on the bottom of the carton. From the host to the display, it was all of the highest configuration. My guess was confirmed when I saw the recipient's name. The two words "Li Xuan" had never been so glaring.
There were light footsteps behind him. Li Xuan turned his head and coughed before he could speak smoothly: "Sorry, I opened the door directly."
Sheng Min shook his head: "It's okay."
Li Xuan put his hand on the carton, and seeing that he was in a dilemma, he still asked, "When did you buy it?"
Sheng Min was silent for a moment: "One night, you said that there was a problem with the software and that you couldn't take your laptop with you, so you had to go back to the company... It was already very late at that time."
But it was clearly Li Xuan's trick to get him out of the way. Later, Sheng Min also found out.
Probably thinking of this, Sheng Min stopped talking, and Li Xuan could only make small talk: "Just leave it here? No one was asked to assemble it."
"I don't need it."
"Then why don't you retreat?"
"Why do you want to return it?" They stood at the opposite corners of the room. The light came from different places, and the shadows on the ground overlapped. Sheng Min stared at it for a long time and said softly, "It just arrived too late. I found out after I ordered it that it was out of stock and I had to wait for another month... I thought it could be your birthday present."
He raised his head, looked at Li Xuan and said, "Happy birthday."
"Happy birthday." Li Xuan answered him softly.
Sheng Min smiled and said, "It's good that you came today. I can take it back with me... It's been several days since I got here, and I don't know how to give it to you..."
This smile made Li Xuan feel sad.
"Sheng Min." He interrupted him and called his name in a gentle voice, "I came here to ask you, do you want to go to the play?"
I hurried to the theater and the show was about to start in ten minutes.
There were posters on both sides of the door, in a very abstract style, with tender green leaves floating over a winding river. In the middle was the title of the play "When the Moon Sets" written in childish handwriting like a child's graffiti.
Director and screenwriter Yin Qianpin is very famous and a leading figure in domestic avant-garde drama.
But as Qi Boyuan said, no matter how boring the engine development paper is, Li Xuan can read it for a whole morning without distraction. He is not very interested in drama and music. He doesn't care much about whether it is famous or not. He chose this drama because Sheng Min seems to like the works of this director very much - most of the drama scripts he often read are written by this person.
This is a new play, with few performances and hard to get tickets. Most of the people who came were loyal fans. The auditorium was full early. Fortunately, their seats were almost in the middle, so it was easy to find.
"It's okay, no one recognized me."
After sitting down, Sheng Min took off his ivory baseball cap and carefully pulled up his mask. Li Xuan whispered in comfort.
Sheng Min nodded, the mask covering most of his face, revealing only a pair of bright eyes like a crescent moon. The seats were close, and the air conditioning was turned on so high, but he could still vaguely feel the warmth of the other's skin. During the movement, the back of Sheng Min's hand accidentally brushed against his fingertips, and for a short moment, Li Xuan's breathing stagnated slightly, and his fingers froze uncontrollably.
Fortunately, the lights in the audience dimmed at the right time and the play officially began.
The story has no specific time background. It seems to be set in the last century, but also seems to be set in the present.
In the early spring when the snow had not yet melted, a young man met a dancer in a small border town. After their eyes met, they spent a spring night together.
It wasn't love at first sight, and they never fell in love. It was just that maybe the town was too small, and they always met again at different street corners. Sharing a meal or a night together. Parting without saying goodbye.
A week later, the young man left the town without any warning, just as he had come. The dancer stayed where she was, continuing her uneventful life.
Spring passed quickly and summer came to an end.
In the last scene, the dancer sits in front of a half-broken mirror in the attic, sorting out summer clothes that she no longer needs. When she looks up again, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure appears in the mirror.
The scarlet curtain fell, and only a hoarse male voice read the final narration.
"Shay looked out the screen window.
The moon was hidden behind the clouds, and the rotten leaves fell, casting a broken green shadow on the ground. It was still dark, and no one knew when it would be.
But at least he's back.
They are together until the next separation comes. "
The author has something to say:
This script was a short story I had planned to write before, but I made some changes to it, and the last line was also the ending I had written long ago. Later, because I was too lazy, I wrote half of it in bits and pieces and put it aside for two years. I will find a chance to write it again when I have some free time.