Your Distance

The bicycle made its way through the empty meadow under the starry sky, and entered an old area in the city center.

Just like hundreds of years ago, the stone road was only one car wide, and bicycles traversed it freely. As far as they could see, dark green creepers grew on the small colourful houses on either side of them. All the shops had already closed for the day, and only the display windows were still lit up. At this hour, those that were still open were mainly bars. The dim lighting settled over everything like haze, making one feel drunk.

In the distance, the top of a church’s bell tower peeked out above the stacked roofs. The huge moon hung beside the bell tower.

The church was a church from the eighteenth century, and the moon, too, was a moon from the eighteenth century.

Ting Shuang spread his arms open in the back seat of the bicycle, welcoming the breeze, “It’s nice to come out and have fun.”

Bai Changyi smiled and asked, “Where are we going?”

Ting Shuang looked at the lights and signboards of the bars on both sides of the road, “Let’s look for a place to get high.” After that, he pretended to be gracious and considerate. “Um… Bai Laoban, is it that middle-aged men can’t really let loose? Let’s not push ourselves… After all, the old have weak bones. How about we find a quiet place to drink a cup of chrysanthemum tea with wolf-berry in it? Then we can go back and have a foot bath, right…”

His tone was one that was used when sending warmth(1) to seniors.

He was begging to be smacked.

Bai Laoban has always been called young and handsome in his social circle. But now, when it came from Ting Shuang’s mouth, he became an elderly person who needed help even when crossing the road.

‘Little bastard’, Bai Changyi cursed in his heart.

When Ting Shuang said that, he was ready to be beaten (or kissed), but he didn’t expect that Bai Changyi would give no response. He just parked the bicycle outside a lively bar.

They went in, making their way to the bar to order alcohol.

Ting Shuang ordered a glass of gin and tonic.

With the difference in ethnicity, the bartender couldn’t judge his age. He just felt as if he was very young and looked like a German high school student. Ting Shuang was thus asked to show his ID.

This time, they had decided to go out at the last minute. Ting Shuang reached into his pocket; he had remembered to bring his wallet and mobile phone, but he hadn’t brought his passport or residence permit. He looked at Bai Changyi and begged, “Can you tell him, you know I am twenty-four…”

Bai Changyi glanced at Ting Shuang, lips curving up, “Aren’t you super young, how are you twenty four?”

Fuck.

The old professor held grudges.

“Then at least tell him that I’m of legal age… I want to drink…” Ting Shuang exclaimed, acting especially sweet, “Dear…”

Bai Changyi took that ‘dear’ in stride, turning his head and smiling at the bartender, “He is only fifteen, please give him a glass of cola.”

Fifteen???

Bai Changyi, are you shameless?

Ting Shuang immediately turned to the bartender, refuting, “He is lying!”

As he fetched the coke and ice cubes, the bartender looked at Ting Shuang amusedly and asked in disbelief, “Really?”

Obviously, compared to Ting Shuang, Bai Changyi, who was mature, well mannered, and had perfect enunciation (as well as the look of a guardian), was more convincing.

Ting Shuang was indignant, “I am twenty-four! I don’t want to drink Coke! I want to drink alcohol!”

Bai Changyi shrugged his shoulders gracefully, and said helplessly to the bartender, “Kids are always like this in their adolescence.”

The bartender nodded sympathetically and said, “Yes, my nephew is often like this too.” He then passed the iced coke, with a straw in it, to Ting Shuang and asked Bai Changyi, “So, what would you like to drink?”

Bai Changyi glanced at Ting Shuang, who was sullenly biting the straw, and said meaningfully, “Chrysanthemen-Tee.”

Ting Shuang didn’t understand the first word, only knowing that it was some kind of tea.

Bai Changyi continued, “Mit chinesischem Bocksdorn.“

The bartender said there was no Bocksdorn, only Chrysanthemen-Tee.

Bai Changyi nodded.

Ting Shuang was puzzled, “What did you order?”

Bai Changyi said calmly, “Chrysanthemum tea, plus wolf-berry.”

Ting Shuang was stunned, and couldn’t stop laughing once he started, “You really ordered it?”

Bai Changyi said, “Well, after all, I am old. Unfortunately, they don’t have wolf-berries here, so I’ll bring some with me in a thermos flask next time I go out.”

Ting Shuang laughed so hard he almost fell off the high stool.

The bartender made the tea and came back to see that Ting Shuang was now so happy, even though he was still angry a moment before. He smiled and asked, “Did something interesting happen while I was away?”

Bai Changyi glanced at Ting Shuang and grinned, “We never know what young boys are thinking, do we?”

After finishing his coke, Ting Shuang wanted to disco dance. He leaned on the high stool, and evaluated Bai Changyi from his head to his feet; his button-up shirt, trousers, and leather shoes. “Hmph hmph… Bai Laoban, how about you sit here and watch me dance? You probably haven’t done disco dancing before. It’s not a suitable activity for you, what if you twist your waist or sprain your feet, right?”

What a joke.

When Bai Laoban did disco dancing back in the days, Ting Shuang, this kid, probably couldn’t even memorise the multiplication table.

Afterwards though, he had concentrated on more serious matters, and hadn’t done disco dancing in more than ten years.

Ting Shuang was still provoking him, chattering non-stop.

If he didn’t dance, he wouldn’t be a young man.

If he didn’t dance, he’d be an old man.

“Let’s go,” Bai Changyi stood up, unbuttoning his cufflinks and folding up his sleeves as he walked towards the dance floor.

Ting Shuang immediately followed, patting Bai Changyi’s bottom under the dim lighting, then quickly running ahead of him.

He reached the dance floor first. Under the light, he shook his hips and winked at Bai Changyi. As he twisted his hips, he slowly lifted his shirt—

Belt, low waistband, beautiful abdominal muscles…

Just when his chest could almost be seen, he let his shirt down again.

All at once, he made many people whistle.

A girl wearing a spaghetti strap top was closest to him, and started sliding up against him while dancing.

Not good.

The person he ended up attracting was not the one that he wanted to attract.

The girl had a particularly nice figure. She was pretty too, and she also took the initiative. Ting Shuang didn’t know where to look. He could only look around for Bai Changyi, wanting him to hurry over and declare his sovereignty.

Unexpectedly, Bai Changyi didn’t come over. He only watched him from the sidelines, smiling.

Ting Shuang stared at Bai Changyi for a long time, before Bai Changyi finally came over and hugged his waist, calmly pulling his pants up a little.

“What took you so long?” Ting Shuang continued to stare at Bai Changyi while dancing.

Bai Changyi said, “I’m old, my legs don’t work as well.”

Ting Shuang felt the urge to laugh, but held it back. He slid up against Bai Changyi, looked up, and ordered fiercely, “Hurry up next time!”

Bai Changyi gave a low laugh, “Okay.”

The two danced for more than half an hour. Ting Shuang’s back was soaked with sweat by the time he pulled Bai Changyi out.

“I’m so hot I could die-” Ting Shuang grabbed his clothes and fanned himself twice. “Should we go back? We’ve had enough fun.”

Bai Changyi rubbed off the sweat on Ting Shuang’s forehead and said, “I’ll buy us two bottles of water.”

Ting Shuang nodded and followed Bai Changyi to the bar.

“Wait-“

Ting Shuang saw the people walking over. His footsteps halted, and he whispered, “That’s…”

Bai Changyi saw them too.

Across them, the three people also caught sight of Bai Changyi, and stopped walking.

“Professor.”

“Professor.”

“…Professor.”

Those three greetings came from the three PhD students under Professor Bai, and one of them was the teaching assistant in Ting Shuang’s class. The three boys who usually wore ordinary shirts and jeans to the LRM department were currently wearing…

It was hard to describe.

One of them even wore a tight shiny miniskirt and fishnet stockings.

In contrast, the professor who had just finished disco dancing (with a suspicious young boy of unknown origins behind him) was very calm.

Bai Changyi said, “Good evening.”

“Good evening.”

“Good evening.”

“… Good evening.”

To the boy in the miniskirt, Bai Changyi said, “The skirt’s not bad.” Then he nodded slightly to the three of them, “I’ll see you at Wednesday’s meeting. Viel Spaß.