On the first day in Lanzhou, Liang Zhen didn’t directly take Shao Mingyin home. Instead, they stayed at Ningwo Zhuang on Tianshui Road.

In terms of duration, Liang Zhen most often stayed in a villa community on Yantan North Road. But when it came to feeling at home, he definitely wanted to take Shao Mingyin to the residential building where he lived with his grandfather during his childhood. The green environment there was among the best in Lanzhou. However, it was an old neighborhood. After he stopped living there, his grandfather moved to a military nursing home, and Liang Chongwei rarely stayed there. Liang Zhen wanted to take Shao Mingyin there, and they had prepared in advance. But since it had been so long since they lived there, they decided it was enough to just visit the old house. If they were to stay somewhere, they would book a room at the nearby State Guesthouse.

So Liang Zhen booked three days at Ningwo Zhuang. After three days, Shao Mingyin would have to return to work. With limited time and urgency, Liang Zhen naturally wanted to take him to all the worthwhile places and eat all the worthwhile foods in the city. The older generation, understanding the eagerness of the young couple, didn’t take up too much of their time. So the meal with Liang Zhen’s grandfather was also arranged at Ningwo Zhuang.

The State Guesthouse had a variety of cuisines. Liang Zhen’s grandfather, considerate of Shao Mingyin, ordered mostly dishes from Hebei. Liang Chongwei was also present. He was now Liang Zhen’s investor and business partner, and they could talk for a long time about both business and personal matters. Liang Zhen’s grandfather had spent most of his life in the system and got along well with Shao Mingyin. In short, the meeting with the elders went very smoothly. Liang Zhen’s grandfather even said he had bought tickets and asked his grandson to prepare well. He was looking forward to seeing the performance the day after tomorrow.

“Oh, it’s going to cool down in the next few days,” Grandfather reminded them, “Make sure to dress warmly. Don’t catch a cold. And be careful when you go to the Yellow River these days; it’s windy there.”

Liang Zhen naturally agreed, but the next day, he wore a mask and didn’t wear long johns. Fortunately, it was a sunny day, and he didn’t feel too cold when he went out. They didn’t have breakfast at the hotel but went to a nearby local restaurant. Shao Mingyin had seen pictures and heard stories about Da Kuan, so he was very curious about this local specialty.

Liang Zhen had never ordered Da Kuan before, and he rarely saw locals eat it either. So he asked Shao Mingyin again, “Are you sure you want to order this?”

“It’s your order,” Shao Mingyin said, “I know it might seem silly to order this, so I’ll have a Double Thin instead, and you order the Da Kuan.”

Liang Zhen: “…”

Liang Zhen could only order the Da Kuan. He wasn’t sure if the chef could tell from their accents, but the noodle master didn’t joke like the ones he had seen online, saying “Only idiots order Da Kuan.” Since there were more people ordering small ones, they were served faster. Shao Mingyin found a seat and sat down while Liang Zhen brought the Da Kuan over. Shao Mingyin had already peeled two tea eggs by the time Liang Zhen arrived.

He swapped bowls with Liang Zhen, imitating him by first drinking the soup, then putting a stack of beef and eggs into it, and then starting to eat the noodles. He picked up a chunk of noodles about two fingers wide, took two bites, but still preferred regular noodles. After a silent glance at each other, Liang Zhen swapped bowls with him again, and they didn’t switch back this time.

Halfway through the meal, Liang Zhen stood up and fetched a plate from another table. After putting it next to him, he took out a clove of garlic from inside and meticulously peeled off its outer layer. Shao Mingyin watched his movements, his chopsticks paused.

“What’s wrong?” Liang Zhen asked, holding a tender, white clove of garlic.

“Wait… how do you eat that?”

“Just like this.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

Shao Mingyin pinched his chopsticks together. “You’re not allowed to kiss me until you brush your teeth.”

Liang Zhen: “…”

Feeling wronged, Liang Zhen was about to put the garlic back, but then he suddenly felt he couldn’t give up so easily. So, he urged Shao Mingyin to try this way of eating garlic. Shao Mingyin couldn’t stand the strong taste of the garlic clove, so Liang Zhen guaranteed that the soup would definitely neutralize the flavor. With a try-it-and-see attitude, Shao Mingyin took a small bite. He still didn’t quite like it, but Liang Zhen generously said that even if Shao Mingyin ate garlic, he would still let him kiss him.

Shao Mingyin rolled his eyes helplessly and silently continued to eat his noodles. The bowl of beef noodles with extra meat and eggs cost only fifteen yuan but was exceptionally filling. As a result, when they went to eat Hand-Pulled Lamb at noon, Shao Mingyin’s fighting power was not at its best. Coupled with the hearty Northwestern cuisine, the portions were particularly generous. He looked at the remaining one and a half kilograms of lamb and thought they might have to pack it.

But he wasn’t alone. Liang Zhen, who grew up eating beef and lamb, said that this amount was totally within his capacity. He could easily handle another two kilograms with just some salt. Seeing Shao Mingyin sitting idly, Liang Zhen ordered a bowl of milk egg porridge for him. This was a specialty in Lanzhou, and it was authentic no matter which restaurant you went to.

But Shao Mingyin really couldn’t eat anymore. After tasting it, the remaining food, along with the Hand-Pulled Lamb, ended up in Liang Zhen’s stomach.

After filling their stomachs, it was time for some activity. Liang Zhen took Shao Mingyin for a walk by the Yellow River, and after a few steps, they spotted a riverside teahouse. Remembering Shao Mingyin’s fondness for teahouse cups, they sat down at the open-air teahouse, ordering two cups of the signature covered-bowl tea priced at twenty-five each. Liang Zhen had eaten quite a bit and felt a bit bloated, so he leaned back on the chair with back support, legs stretched out, holding the tea bowl leisurely. If he had a few strings of beads around his wrist, he would perfectly fit the image of a playboy. As he sipped his tea, he began to crave something else and reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of black Lanzhou cigarettes, tearing open the plastic wrap in front of Shao Mingyin, holding up a single stick, saying, “Just one.”

Seeing that Shao Mingyin didn’t mind, Liang Zhen used a plastic lighter on the table to light one. This was the first time Shao Mingyin had seen Liang Zhen smoke in two years. Just like two years ago, when Liang Zhen exhaled smoke, his smoking hand would go behind the chair. Since Shao Mingyin kept looking at him, Liang Zhen asked if he wanted to know the taste of the black Lanzhou, then handed over the half-smoked cigarette to him. Instead of taking it, Shao Mingyin surprised him by kissing him on the lips when he least expected it. After sitting back in his seat, Shao Mingyin licked his lips and said it was quite mild.

Liang Zhen’s ears turned red, and he laughed, unable to find words. At that moment, a speedboat passed by and did a drift. He was accustomed to such things since childhood and showed no interest, but a sheepskin raft floating in the distance immediately caught his attention. After confirming with Shao Mingyin, they headed to the Waterwheel Expo Park, where there were master craftsmen who piloted sheepskin rafts.

Liang Zhen was eager to try it out, but after putting on a life jacket, he felt a bit hesitant. To be honest with Shao Mingyin, he admitted he couldn’t swim. The master told him that sheepskin rafts might look intimidating, but there had never been any accidents in all these years. However, if Liang Zhen was so worried, it might be better not to try.

Knowing that riding a sheepskin raft was a long-standing wish of Liang Zhen’s, Shao Mingyin insisted on giving it a try. If Liang Zhen got scared, he could hold him. However, when the sheepskin raft hit the water, it wasn’t as rough as they imagined. Liang Zhen became excited like a tourist from out of town, taking photos and shifting positions. He asked Shao Mingyin to take photos of him and even struck a victory pose. Shao Mingyin suggested he should buy a windmill from the souvenir shop and hold it while taking photos, saying it would be just like a meme.

Because they had eaten so much for lunch, they skipped dinner and only felt hungry later in the evening, so they went to Panxuan Road for supper. When they arrived at the entrance of the Desert Barbecue, it was already crowded outside, so Liang Zhen took him upstairs, where there was only one room with a large table inside. Luckily, there were two seats available next to each other when they arrived, so they sat down. Soon, a waiter in traditional Chinese attire handed them the menu. Shao Mingyin looked at the menu, which had fewer than twenty dishes listed, and couldn’t understand why this barbecue restaurant was so popular.

“You’ll know once you taste it,” Liang Zhen began to mark the quantities on the menu. Except for eggplant and baked cakes, everything else was ordered in multiples of ten. Shao Mingyin said it was too much, so Liang Zhen reduced the grilled lamb skewers to five.

“Five skewers is still a lot, and I don’t eat grilled lamb skewers,” Shao Mingyin said.

“But when you’re in Lanzhou, you have to order at least half a dozen skewers,” Liang Zhen insisted, refusing to reduce the order any further. “Besides, if you don’t eat them, I will.

Liang Zhen also made his order, and after giving the menu to the waiter, they were served a bowl of lamb soup first.

Leaving aside the taste, Shao Mingyin was already amazed by the ingredients used in the soup. After all, outside of Lanzhou, you couldn’t find another city where you could get a bowl of beef noodle soup for seven yuan and a bowl of lamb soup with meat and bones for two yuan.

The barbecue at this restaurant was indeed delicious, especially the apricot peel water. Just like how it was hard to find authentic Lanzhou beef noodles outside of Lanzhou, it was rare to find authentic Dunhuang apricot peel water outside of Dunhuang. Liang Zhen told Shao Mingyin that the apricot peel water at the Desert Barbecue was the closest thing he had tasted to Dunhuang’s, and even if they didn’t eat anything else, coming here just for the apricot peel water was worth it.

They ordered a large pot of apricot peel water. After finishing it, Shao Mingyin wanted to order more, but the waiter said they were sold out. This happened every day at the Desert Barbecue; if you arrived late, you wouldn’t get any apricot peel water. Shao Mingyin thought about going downstairs to get a bottle of soda, but before he could get up, the two people sitting next to them pushed their half-pot of water over.

Shao Mingyin said thanks, but one of the girls said they were students and could come anytime they wanted, so if they were only staying for a few days, they could have the rest of the pot.

“Neighboring school?” Liang Zhen asked, noticing their attire resembled college students. “From Lanzhou University?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you know we’re only staying for a few days?”

“Because…” The girl turned to look at the boy next to her, then glanced at Liang Zhen before feeling a bit embarrassed. “You’re Liang Zhen, right?”

Liang Zhen hadn’t expected to meet someone who knew him here, so he felt a bit embarrassed too.

“My boyfriend is from Lanzhou,” the girl tugged at her boyfriend’s clothes, “and he really likes you! He wasn’t sure, so he asked me to confirm with you.”

“It’s me, but I’m really just an ordinary person,” Liang Zhen said, putting his arm around Shao Mingyin from behind. “You can come to the music festival the day after tomorrow.”

“Yeah, we’ve already bought tickets.”

Neither of them showed excessive joy, just chatting like friends. The couple ordered a beverage, and when Liang Zhen went downstairs to pay, he also settled their bill. The road back to Ningwo Village was not smooth, so Liang Zhen took Shao Mingyin there the day after the rehearsal. After wandering around the Panxuan Road campus for a while, Shao Mingyin said that Lanzhou didn’t seem as lonely as it was said online, and Liang Zhen wondered why he hadn’t chosen to come here four years ago.

He didn’t look for other fancy excuses, he just told Shao Mingyin straightforwardly that his scores weren’t high enough.

“And I spent three years at the Yuzhong campus, which is really rural. It takes an hour to get from that neighborhood to the city center, and it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides. You really need to ride a camel to go to school. Even if my scores were enough, it wouldn’t be suitable for me to go there. After the college entrance examination, I wasn’t even eighteen yet, so I couldn’t even get a camel license.”

“Really? There’s such a thing as a camel license?”

“Of course! If you don’t believe me, search it online!”

Shao Mingyin made a gesture of “got it.” He didn’t understand Liang Zhen yet, but as long as he said it seriously, it must be false.

“Then if you could choose again,” Shao Mingyin asked him, “which city and university would you most want to go to if your scores were high enough?”

Liang Zhen didn’t hesitate, saying it would still be Wenzhou.

“It’s funny you should say that. When I was filling out my college application, I really felt my scores were embarrassing. Having one more point would mean more choices, and having one less point would mean less need to hesitate. But then I met you,” he smiled, “I met Shao Mingyin, and I felt that this score was just perfect, not one point more or less.”

They came out of Lanzhou University after seven o’clock. Liang Zhen took Shao Mingyin to the Zhengning Road snack street, where there was a famous old brand called Laoma’s Milk and Egg Fermented Soup. There were too many people coming just for the reputation, and for Shao Mingyin, no matter how delicious something was, if the queue was too long, he didn’t think it was worth it. So after eating lamb offal, they went to a nearby café called “Fang Ha” and ordered a cup of hot cement Ahua Tien mocha and sweet embryo milk tea.

This café was also very popular in Lanzhou, but the queue wasn’t as scary as before. After they got their drinks, they sat on the second floor near the corner. Shao Mingyin looked at the food and place names written on the special milk tea cup, muttering to himself, counting where else he hadn’t been and what flavors he hadn’t tried.

“Don’t worry,” Liang Zhen leaned against the sofa, “there’s always next time to try the others. Besides, we’ll definitely be in Lanzhou for Chinese New Year this year, no hurry.”

As he spoke, he rested his head on Shao Mingyin’s shoulder, and Shao Mingyin adjusted his posture to make Liang Zhen more comfortable.

They didn’t speak for a long time, just maintaining this cuddling position. They didn’t know if anyone was looking at them, because they didn’t care if anyone was looking at them.

So when Shao Mingyin called his name, Liang Zhen just responded with a “hmm,” wanting to sit for a while longer. He didn’t expect Shao Mingyin to follow up with “I love you” in a corner of a café, saying to Liang Zhen, I love you.

Liang Zhen’s eyes suddenly became a little moist. Physiological reactions are always very accurate; his slightly sour nose also reminded him that this was the first time Shao Mingyin had said “I love you” to him in two years.

Liang Zhen couldn’t get enough, so he snuggled closer to Shao Mingyin, coaxing him to say it again.

“Say it again?”

“I love you.”

“Say it again and again!”

“If you want to hear it, I’ll say it to you every day from now on,” Shao Mingyin smiled, ruffling his hair, “Liang Zhen, I love you.”

Those three words were so beautiful, whether they were prefixed with Shao Mingyin’s name or spoken by Shao Mingyin, they transcended all rituals and meanings.

“I love you too,” he said to Shao Mingyin. At that moment, he felt like the richest person in the world, loved by the one he loved, life was worthwhile, without regrets.

The person he loved also came to see his music festival the next day.

Liang Zhen originally wanted Shao Mingyin to watch from the side stage, because the number of people entering the park that day exceeded ten thousand, and he was on the main stage. It was unlikely that Shao Mingyin would find a good spot if he stayed below.

But Shao Mingyin wanted to watch from the stage, wanting to be with other audience members and Liang Zhen’s family. He and Liang Zhen’s grandfather and Liang Chongwei stood in a relatively back position, listening to Liang Zhen say “hero” and then pointing the microphone towards the audience backstage, where the fans shouted the slogan in unison.

——Heroes originate from Lanzhou, rapper Liang Zhen’s attitude.

Then he began to sing. His microphone was fully open, but for the stage effect, there would also be backing tracks in his accompaniment. However, Liang Zhen controlled every pause precisely, whether he needed to lead the audience in chorus or sing by himself. Standing on the stage, he always appeared so poised and effortless because, offstage, he meticulously planned every movement and position, every expression and gesture when singing each word.

The applause and cheers weren’t just given; he rehearsed countless times behind the scenes, in that 40-square-meter home, after countless battles in live houses with audiences ranging from dozens to hundreds. It was only after all this that he could stand confidently in front of nearly ten thousand people, hearing everyone shout his name with a clear conscience.

And Shao Mingyin knew about those efforts because he had always been there. But about those somewhat bitter efforts, Liang Zhen never mentioned nor intended to mention them to anyone. He had grown up; he wouldn’t boast about the sacrifices behind him but would focus on presenting a better stage.

This kind of maturity was evident in every aspect. For instance, now, Shao Mingyin looked at the Liang Zhen on the big screen, realizing that his face couldn’t completely overlap with that from two years ago. The 21-year-old Liang Zhen had grown taller, his features had matured, and the youthful aura had faded into maturity. From nineteen to twenty-one, the current Liang Zhen was a grown man, firm-footed on the ground.

Liang Zhen had grown up rapidly, like a bamboo breaking through. He had only taken two years to go from singing on Nantang Street to performing at music festivals, owning his label, his company, and a group of like-minded friends. With all this at just twenty-one, with his current popularity and influence, he could very well become the first rapper to hold concert tours. He was only twenty-one, but his future was immeasurable.

Yet, in some ways, Liang Zhen seemed not to have grown up at all.

When Shao Mingyin saw the camera sweep over Liang Zhen’s ripped jeans, revealing slightly reddened knees, he remembered this morning when Liang Zhen, after checking the weather forecast, hesitated between jeans and thermal pants. In the end, he found a solution: he wore both, but he cut off the parts that showed, pretending he wasn’t wearing any, unfazed by the cold, maintaining his composure.

Liang Zhen, who had come up with this idea, felt incredibly clever, proudly showing off in front of Shao Mingyin after cutting them. Shao Mingyin remarked that some angles could still give it away. Liang Zhen couldn’t see it, and though Shao Mingyin found him childish, he still helped him cut them.

Liang Zhen hurried to attend the final rehearsal in the morning, leaving before Shao Mingyin finished washing up. He had already left, but within a minute, he swiped his key card back in, entered the bathroom without saying a word, and tightly hugged Shao Mingyin from behind while he was brushing his teeth. Shao Mingyin could only rinse his mouth, raise his hand to touch Liang Zhen’s hair, and turn his head to kiss him on the face, helplessly saying he really was a kid.

Liang Zhen quickly left again, wearing his perfectly disguised thermal pants—while everyone marveled at his stage presence, immersed in his unique singing style, cheering for his name and joining the grand chorus, Shao Mingyin alone knew that the rapidly growing and changing youth still behaved like a child, specifically cutting off his thermal pants for ripped jeans.

And nowadays, Liang Zhen rarely argued with Shao Mingyin, emphasizing that he wasn’t a kid anymore, because in front of Shao Mingyin, only in front of Shao Mingyin, he behaved like a kid. Even if he were thirty-one or forty-one, as long as he faced Shao Mingyin, he couldn’t help but reveal his childish side.

Because it was Shao Mingyin, the Shao Mingyin he loved in every aspect, who allowed twenty-one-year-old Liang Zhen to have infinite possibilities, the twenty-one-year-old Liang Zhen in his prime.

And Shao Mingyin, “trapped” in his love, spent his lifetime with him.

—end—

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