The ring

Shan Ye went back to the hotel and began packing. They were leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and the drive from here to Muzhou would take eight hours.

He was in low spirits as he packed. He really wanted to stay a few more days. He hated to leave Osmanthus City, hated to leave Fan Jin.

His phone chimed. Shan Ye immediately picked it up.

"Is this yours?" Fan Jin had sent a picture of a silver ring.

He had left the ring at Fan Jin's place on purpose. Before leaving, he had taken advantage of Fan Jin going to the bathroom to put it on his table.

Shan Ye's lips curled up as he replied, "Yes, Fan Jin. I took it off when I was washing the vegetables and put it on your table, then forgot to take it with me ^_^"

He sat on the bed, chatting with Fan Jin. "That ring's pretty important. How about I come over and get it? Have you gone to bed yet?"

"No."

The other person was typing. Shan Ye waited a little.

"It's too late. Don't come over. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

Shan Ye: "Around eight."

Fan Jin: "I'll wait downstairs at your hotel tomorrow morning."

"You're so good to me, Fan Jin."

There was no further reply.

Shan Ye raised his eyebrows. Mission accomplished. He had just wanted to see him one more time before leaving.

At six the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, a figure appeared beneath the streetlight outside the hotel, amid the damp, hazy mist.

Fan Jin stood there, lightly dressed in a thin black jacket over a simple white T-shirt.

He held a cigarette between his fingers and exhaled a wisp of bluish smoke.

For some reason, he had gotten up before dawn. He couldn't sleep even when he lay in bed. He knew Shan Ye might still be asleep, so he planned to wait downstairs until Shan Ye called him.

He finished one cigarette, and then his phone rang. He checked the time. It was only six twenty.

He answered, and Shan Ye's bright voice came through. "Fan Jin, I know you're definitely still in bed. Sorry for waking you."

Fan Jin gave a soft chuckle. "You didn't."

"I just... wanted to see you sooner, so I had to wake you up. Can you get up now? I'll come over." There was a hint of excitement in Shan Ye's voice.

"No need."

Shan Ye blinked. He froze for a few seconds before saying, "...Are you angry? Or do you not want to see me?"

Fan Jin's voice was low, but no longer cold. "Can you see downstairs from your room?"

"Yes." He answered very quickly.

Then it dawned on him. "You..." He hurried to pull back the curtains, his phone still pressed to his ear. The sky remained a dim, hazy blue.

But Shan Ye immediately made out the man leaning beneath the streetlight.

Fan Jin saw him too. A window, neither particularly large nor small, was pushed open in excitement, revealing a handsome face.

Shan Ye laughed. "Fan Jin, when did you get here? It's so early."

Fan Jin could hear his voice from upstairs as well as through the phone.

"Didn't you say you wanted to see me? Why aren't you coming down?" His gaze never left Shan Ye's face.

Shan Ye quickly disappeared from the window. Fan Jin knew he was running downstairs.

The corners of his mouth lifted as he waited for him.

Shan Ye moved as though someone had sped him up. He ran so fast he almost tripped on the second-floor stairs. The call was still connected, and a voice by his ear said, "Slow down."

He didn't want to slow down.

In less than a minute, he had run down from the third floor.

Fan Jin watched him rush out of the hotel entrance, his face a little damp and flushed.

He ended the call and took a few steps forward.

He noticed the faint dark circles beneath Shan Ye's eyes. "What time did you go to sleep?"

Shan Ye was still catching his breath. "I forgot. Pretty late, anyway."

"I couldn't sleep, and I woke up early too."

Fan Jin stared at him for a few seconds. "What were you doing when you couldn't sleep?"

Shan Ye blinked and fell silent. He licked his lips and looked away. "...You didn't ask last night, Fan Jin, and now you're asking me."

He couldn't exactly say he had lain awake in the hotel, thinking of him while taking care of himself.

Fan Jin said nothing. He took a ring sealed in a ziplock bag out of his jacket and handed it to Shan Ye.

Shan Ye looked at the carefully packaged ring and accepted it gently. "Thank you, Fan Jin."

In truth, the ring was just an accessory he had bought on a whim. It wasn't valuable or important. But Fan Jin had treated it as something precious, putting it away carefully and bringing it over so early in the morning.

In an instant, the ring became worth a fortune.

He actually had another idea: he wanted to give the ring to him. But that felt too thoughtless, and the time wasn't right yet.

"Fan Jin, what time did you get here?"

"Six."

Shan Ye frowned. "Why didn't you call me when you arrived? Now I've missed out again."

Fan Jin didn't understand what he meant.

Shan Ye explained with a smile, "I missed out on twenty minutes of seeing you."

His smile was harmless, yet far too bold, working its way straight into the heart.

They stood together, and Fan Jin lit a cigarette for him. The smoke drifted out, forming a line between their lips.

Fan Jin narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did you drive here?"

"Yeah, we took his car."

"Is he driving? Or are you?"

Shan Ye paused for a moment. "He'll probably drive. I'll take over when he gets tired."

Fan Jin lowered his lashes without saying anything, turning cold again.

"Want to have breakfast together?" Shan Ye's eyes shone.

To be honest, Fan Jin didn't particularly feel like eating right now, but he didn't want to turn down that look in Shan Ye's eyes.

He led Shan Ye along the roadside. Steam rose from the breakfast shops along the way. Shan Ye asked him what there was to eat around here.

"Fried dough sticks and soy milk. Do you eat those?" Fan Jin asked.

"Yeah. I'm not picky."

They went into a small storefront eatery and found seats in a corner.

The owner brought over two bowls of soy milk, two fried dough sticks, and a basket of soup dumplings.

Fan Jin pushed one of the bowls of soy milk in front of Shan Ye. "Drink this one. It's warm."

Shan Ye murmured an assent and cupped the soy milk in his hands, warming his palms.

He took a bite of his fried dough stick and chewed with relish, but didn't dare eat with too much abandon, afraid Fan Jin might find him annoying.

Neither spoke as they ate, in tacit understanding. They were about to go more than ten days without seeing each other, and Shan Ye wanted to make a proper fuss in front of him, to get him to come back sooner. But he had no standing in his life yet. At most, he was a suitor, and he didn't dare go too far.