Liang Zhen: I want to get dreadlocks.

When Shao Mingyin saw the message, he finally understood why Liang Zhen always delayed going to get a haircut despite his reminders. It turned out that he had always been planning this.

Shao Mingyin: Are you informing me or asking for my opinion?

Liang Zhen: [cute.jpg]

Shao Mingyin: …

Shao Mingyin asked Liang Zhen to send him a picture, but Liang Zhen played coy and said he would be coming to the police station soon and that Shao Mingyin could see for himself. Since Shao Mingyin wasn’t working the night shift, he asked if Liang Zhen wanted to have dinner at the police station cafeteria. Liang Zhen didn’t reply immediately. Five or six minutes later, he called Shao Mingyin and said he was already at the station entrance.

“Why aren’t you coming in?” Shao Mingyin, who was also about to finish his shift, walked outside while answering the call. When he reached the outdoor parking lot next to the station, he saw Liang Zhen leisurely leaning against the old Santana and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the streetlights had already illuminated the parking lot, including the young man. Liang Zhen was still wearing what he had on in the morning: black canvas shoes with loosely tied laces, a dark green work jacket over a gray cotton T-shirt with a worn collar, looking casual yet spirited. One hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone to his ear, he smiled at Shao Mingyin, and his voice seemed to come simultaneously from both in front of him and the phone.

“What’s up?” Liang Zhen asked Shao Mingyin. “Is your boyfriend so handsome that you can’t move?”

Shao Mingyin ended the call, but his intention to circle around to the driver’s seat was quickly spotted by Liang Zhen. Liang Zhen blocked his way, and after several attempts to sidestep were thwarted, Shao Mingyin stopped again, his hand eventually reaching up to touch Liang Zhen’s new hairstyle.

Liang Zhen hadn’t dyed his hair. Except for the shaved sides, the rest was braided into seven or eight centimeter-long dreadlocks, with a few decorated with carved old silver beads. Shao Mingyin originally thought these dreadlocks would be stiff since Liang Zhen’s hair wasn’t soft, but upon touching them, they were surprisingly smooth.

Shao Mingyin: “Did your hair really grow this long?”

Liang Zhen: “I wanted the dreadlocks to be tied up, so I had the stylist add in some extensions.” Liang Zhen simulated the action of felting wool, “If my hair grows long again in the future, I can just tie it up at home.”

Shao Mingyin: “Hmm…” He nodded, then stepped aside, got into the car, and Liang Zhen followed, fastening his seatbelt as he asked, “You still haven’t said if I look handsome.”

Shao Mingyin smiled tightly, his expression leaving it up to Liang Zhen’s interpretation. Knowing he wouldn’t get a direct answer, Liang Zhen didn’t back down. Instead, he suggested, “Let’s go to the movies tonight!”

“We haven’t had a proper date yet,” he added. “No time like the present!”

Shao Mingyin couldn’t even remember the last time he saw a movie. “Are there any good ones out now?”

“Not a mainstream movie. I booked a private cinema room,” Liang Zhen mentioned a mall, “with a deluxe couple’s viewing package.”

Shao Mingyin still felt it was too sudden. “I haven’t even changed out of my uniform shirt.”

“No need to change,” Liang Zhen took off his own jacket. “You can wear mine, and it’ll cover your badge. We can go shopping after the movie if you need clothes; you haven’t bought anything new this year.”

Shao Mingyin took Liang Zhen’s jacket, thinking it wasn’t a bad idea. After putting it on, he realized it wasn’t just him who hadn’t bought new clothes this year. They could browse the mall after the movie, and if they found something suitable, he could get a few things for Liang Zhen as well.

It felt fine while sitting, but when they reached their destination and Shao Mingyin got out of the car, he realized Liang Zhen’s jacket was bigger than he expected. Since Shao Mingyin’s shoulders weren’t as broad, the oversized jacket made him look even younger.

“Do you know what you look like right now?” Liang Zhen helped him zip up the coat. “When we go into that movie theater later, if the staff asks about our relationship, I’ll say you’re my classmate.”

“No, wait,” Liang Zhen quickly corrected himself, “I’ll say I’m your brother.”

Liang Zhen was pleased with his improvised plan. However, when they actually entered the private cinema, although the staff who led them to the box were curious, they maintained their professionalism and didn’t inquire further. This time, Liang Zhen truly just wanted to watch a movie with Shao Mingyin. Once the door closed, he started browsing through the available movie sources with the remote control.

He didn’t find any particularly interesting movies, so he quickly scrolled through the remote control. He asked Shao Mingyin what he wanted to watch, and Shao Mingyin replied with “anything.” So Liang Zhen continued browsing randomly until he came across the Hong Kong movie category, where “Infernal Affairs” appeared on the first page.

As he hesitated with the remote control, thinking that Shao Mingyin had mentioned being an undercover agent before and was about to flip to the next page, Shao Mingyin said, “Let’s watch this one.”

So they both lay on the lazy sofa in front of the big screen, which made the opening song “Forgotten Time” very immersive. Teresa Teng’s clear voice lingered around Tony Leung and Andy Lau, just as it surrounded Liang Zhen and Shao Mingyin.

Looking at Tony Leung’s oily hair, Liang Zhen told Shao Mingyin that the first time he watched this movie, he only washed his hair once a week for a long time afterward, just to achieve that feeling of Tony Leung’s hair, both decadent and cool. Shao Mingyin laughed and asked him how he washed his greasy hair, and Liang Zhen said he washed it the same way he usually did.

Then came one of the classic balcony scenes in the movie, where Tony Leung asked Anthony Wong, “Three years, it was supposed to be three years. After three years, another three years, and after another three years, I’ve been undercover for nearly ten years.”

This number made Liang Zhen somewhat nervous, causing him to turn his head to look at Shao Mingyin, who knew what he was curious about, still watching the balcony scene in the movie. He told Liang Zhen that he had only been undercover for three years.

“Why did you want to become an undercover agent then?” Liang Zhen asked.

Shao Mingyin smiled faintly, fingers running through his own hair. “Maybe I thought being an undercover agent would be cool and handsome.”

Obviously, that wasn’t a convincing reason. Shao Mingyin was nineteen at the time; how could he not be aware of the risks of being an undercover agent, especially with his father being a policeman? How could his father agree to it?

“I told you before, I had a boyfriend at the police academy, and my dad caught us red-handed,” Shao Mingyin continued to smile, “I was quite rebellious back then, very different from now.”

Liang Zhen looked at Shao Mingyin, and Shao Mingyin looked back at him.

Shao Mingyin said, “I was probably similar to you when I was nineteen.”

“My family didn’t allow me to continue the relationship, but I insisted on it. I didn’t compromise at all. I just felt I wasn’t wrong. Why couldn’t I like men? I used to be quite rebellious. I even reported those who annoyed me to the school authorities.”

“In the beginning, it was him who volunteered to become an undercover agent so that the school authorities wouldn’t take action against me. But I felt it wasn’t right for him to bear it alone. If he was going to be an undercover agent, then so would I.”

“But actually, one of us going would have been enough. Everything started because of me, so naturally, I should go. Of course, my parents couldn’t accept it. The day I left home, my dad said, ‘Once you step out of this door, don’t ever come back…'”

“There were definitely more than just me as undercover agents. We all cooperated well, so it only took three years to completely eradicate the drug trafficking gang. Although it was thorough, for safety reasons, I still had to change my residency registration,” Shao Mingyin paused, “My ID card now says I’m from Wenzhou.”

Shao Mingyin nodded, saying that’s pretty much it.

“What about your parents…”

Shao Mingyin didn’t say. He really didn’t want to talk about it. After a while, he squeezed out a sentence, saying that some things just happen when they happen.

And it was also related to drugs.

That was another story, which happened during those three years. After the buyer’s meeting point was exposed, they hijacked a school bus, and the music teacher on the bus was Shao Mingyin’s mother, while Shao Mingyin’s father was among the special police forces who went to rescue them. Drug traffickers had no conscience; knowing they couldn’t escape, they wanted to drag others down with them. How could a husband remain indifferent upon hearing his wife’s desperate cries for protecting the students?

Feeling guilty, Shao Mingyin said, that’s why he didn’t want to go back for these three years, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t dare to.

He laughed, saying if he hadn’t met Liang Zhen, a person who had moved and changed his registration so cleanly, he would have soon forgotten where he came from.

“You…” Shao Mingyin couldn’t miss such a good opportunity to educate Liang Zhen properly, “You really shouldn’t get involved with those things. They bring nothing but harm. If you really get involved…”

Liang Zhen took a deep breath, but didn’t exhale, listening to Shao Mingyin’s words as if he was in a trial. He thought if he ever did so, Shao Mingyin would break up with him, would arrest him mercilessly, and send him to rehab… In those short few seconds of pause, he thought he had considered all the possibilities, thinking that Shao Mingyin would even hate him, and he surely wouldn’t be an exception.

But instead, all he heard Shao Mingyin say was that he would handcuff him, just like the first day they met.

“And then lock you in the room until you’re completely clean,” Shao Mingyin added, as if aware that his words lacked impact, then clenched his fists to hit Liang Zhen’s chest, adding that he would be very fierce then.

Liang Zhen just held his fist, interlocking their fingers after flattening them, saying he wouldn’t give Shao Mingyin the chance in his lifetime.

After the movie, they had hotpot in the mall. Liang Zhen had a peculiar love for vinegar, making a dipping sauce with only vinegar and scallions. To eat more conveniently, he tied up his dreadlocks, allowing Shao Mingyin to clearly see his forehead and eyebrows. Halfway through the meal, a family of three sat at the table next to them. The little boy, whose arms were too short to reach the pot, had to stand up to get his food. His father would coax him to be careful not to get burned, always putting something in his son’s bowl before eating himself.

Because Liang Zhen kept looking over at that table, Shao Mingyin also noticed. Shao Mingyin guessed that he was feeling sentimental, so he picked up some tripe and was about to put it in Liang Zhen’s bowl a few seconds later, but Liang Zhen had already picked up a big chopstick of lamb and handed it to him.

In the end, the tripe also ended up in Liang Zhen’s bowl. Liang Zhen dipped it several times in vinegar and ate happily.

After finishing the hotpot, they went to shop for clothes. For men like them, shopping for clothes wasn’t strolling around; if they found something they liked, they tried it on and if it fit, they bought it directly. Shao Mingyin also changed out of his uniform shirt and wore a T-shirt similar in color to Liang Zhen’s. Liang Zhen didn’t let him wear his jacket again, wanting them to wear couple shirts.

After buying clothes, they should have gone back, but when they passed by a trendy store’s window shoe display, Shao Mingyin stopped and asked Liang Zhen if he wanted to go in and have a look.

Liang Zhen shook his head at first, “I have enough shoes.”

“Just go in and have a look,” Shao Mingyin pushed him from behind, accidentally stepping on Liang Zhen’s heel, “Are you really going to wear a pair of Feiyue shoes for the tour?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Liang Zhen felt it was okay, “Feiyue is a shining example of domestic products, I love ‘Made in China’.”

But Liang Zhen still went in. These kinds of stores were where he used to buy clothes, pants, and shoes, but since he moved in with Shao Mingyin, his material needs in this regard had drastically decreased. Moreover, with his figure and appearance, he could turn Feiyue into Converse, so he didn’t really care about dressing himself up.

And now that they were in this kind of store again, Liang Zhen said he didn’t want to buy anything, but he actually found something he liked. After trying it on, he hadn’t put it back yet when Shao Mingyin had it wrapped up by the store assistant. Liang Zhen was about to say it was a waste of money, but Shao Mingyin then took a hair tie, folded it several times, and stuck it against Liang Zhen’s forehead, across the shaved temples, and tied it behind his head, then made a knot. After doing all this, Shao Mingyin put his hand on Liang Zhen’s shoulder, looked at his new appearance seriously, and laughed as he looked at it.

“Why are you blushing?” Liang Zhen asked him. Shao Mingyin turned him to face the mirror, then undid Liang Zhen’s hair tie, letting his dreadlocks fall. Looking at their reflection, Shao Mingyin said near Liang Zhen’s ear, “Ge looks so handsome.”

Liang Zhen’s usually expressionless face instantly turned cold at this remark, looking genuinely cool. He had grown quite a bit in the past six months, now half a head taller than Shao Mingyin, who was nearly 1.8 meters tall. Though his youthful awkwardness hadn’t entirely faded, he indeed had the demeanor of an older brother.

“Ge is so handsome, I don’t want others to see.”

Shao Mingyin’s voice was still light and teasing, making Liang Zhen’s suppressed emotions surge. But outwardly, he remained composed until Shao Mingyin handed him another hat, telling him to wear it backwards, saying, “Hide it.”

Liang Zhen’s composed facade completely crumbled at that. Walking back to the car, neither spoke. Shao Mingyin had parked far because the mall’s underground garage was full. But as they fooled around in the backseat, hearing Shao Mingyin repeatedly call him “ge,” wanting it both fast and slow, Liang Zhen lost track of how many times he asked Shao Mingyin if he did it on purpose…

After the intense pleasure, holding Shao Mingyin, who was sitting on his lap, trembling slightly, Liang Zhen had to admit a hint of regret in his heart.

He didn’t know if Shao Mingyin felt the same, but at that moment, he really wished he were truly the older brother.

He hypothesized to Shao Mingyin, if the mature Liang Zhen had met the nineteen-year-old Shao Mingyin, if he really were older than Shao Mingyin, then wouldn’t those three years have never happened? Shao Mingyin wouldn’t have missed seeing his parents for the last time, his records wouldn’t have vanished, and his hometown wouldn’t have become a place of sorrow.

Liang Zhen knew these assumptions were futile and useless, but he genuinely felt sorry for Shao Mingyin. Those three years couldn’t have been as casually brushed off as Shao Mingyin made them sound. During the darkest, most painful three years, he hadn’t met Shao Mingyin.

“You really don’t need to be so hard on yourself,” Shao Mingyin said. He spoke as Liang Zhen was already driving, and he was sitting in the passenger seat, squinting his eyes, unwilling to move, still covered in Liang Zhen’s jacket. “Everyone has to be responsible for their choices.”

“Besides, if it weren’t for those three years, I wouldn’t have come to Wenzhou.”

Shao Mingyin added, otherwise, he wouldn’t have met the nineteen-year-old Liang Zhen.

After a brief silence, Liang Zhen asked Shao Mingyin what he wanted to eat tomorrow.

“Aren’t you shooting a music video tomorrow? When will you finish?”

“Not sure…”

“Then I’ll just pack food from the cafeteria,” Shao Mingyin said. “Don’t rush tomorrow; if you finish late, I’ll come to pick you up.”

…

The atmosphere quickly lightened with these everyday conversations, smiles returning to their faces. Shao Mingyin asked Liang Zhen why he wasn’t optimistic today, saying that usually, he’d respond to such topics with “tomorrow is another day.”

“Tomorrow is indeed a new day,” Liang Zhen stopped worrying, “every day from now on is brand new.”

“Shao Mingyin.”

“Hmm?”

“Are we going back to Shijiazhuang for the New Year this year?”

Shao Mingyin didn’t answer immediately; instead, he asked Liang Zhen if he would still be touring before the New Year.

“Then I’ll set a small goal for you,” Shao Mingyin smiled, looking ahead, his eyes warm with light.

He promised Liang Zhen that if the tour before the New Year went all the way north to Shijiazhuang, he would take him back to his homeland.