Love Me if You Dare: Pristine Darkness

The clouds covered the green hills. This was a small town in the south, a house on a hilltop.

The sky turned bright very early, and the sunlight shone into every window. It was so dazzling, a truly magnificent scene.

However, it was only a solitary house.

Under such blazing sunlight (because he had forgotten to draw the curtains the previous night), An Yan still slept like the dead until nine o’clock, whereupon he blearily opened his eyes. He stretched luxuriously before jumping off the bed.

Every otaku gets up on the wrong side of the bed. He adopted a cool expression, washed up and changed his clothes. Then, he put on his slippers and went ‘pitter patter’ down the stairs. While walking down, he opened Moments* on his cellphone. His mood improved considerably when he saw Gu Fangfang’s most recent cosplay selfie. He silently ‘liked’ her picture and just as silently saved the picture into his cellphone. After that, he looked up and noticed the sunshine flooding the house, only then sensing that today would be a good day.

*T/N 朋友圈 (peng you quan) – Moments, the social networking function of smartphone app WeChat 微信)

He made a beeline for the bedroom in the furthest corner of the first floor.

The door was shut tightly but not locked. This made it more convenient for An Yan to enter in the event that person had need of anything. He gently pushed the door open. The room was completely silent, and the curtains were closed, with no gap between them. There was a heavy, oppressive atmosphere in the room. By the faint light, An Yan saw that man was still lying, ramrod straight, on the bed, with the blanket pulled up neatly over him, and his arms and legs placed just so.

He was like a tree as he slept.

Every time he saw him this way, An Yan fell into a momentary silence.

Then, tok tok tok — he rapped relentlessly on the door.

The man on the bed twitched.

An Yan said, “Boss, it’s time to get up.”

For the first time in his life he had met an otaku who stayed up later and slept longer than he did. An Yan felt that, in some subtle way, he had lost his superior position.

Bo Jinyan pushed against the bed with his hands and sat up. Then, he reached out for the sunglasses by the bed and put them on. In the faint light, this man clad in pajamas looked especially tall and frail. An Yan watched him quietly for a few seconds before turning towards the kitchen.

An Yan finished preparing breakfast not long after. Bo Jinyan had also finished washing up and was sitting in the dining room. He had already changed into a shirt and trousers, and was still wearing his sunglasses.

An Yan muttered, “Can’t you take off those things since you’re at home?”

“No,” Bo Jinyan replied.

An Yan dropped the subject.

There is a prejudiced view that a blind person is taciturn and like a lost, wandering soul. However, not every blind person fit this view. Although this man was blind, his nose had become sensitive, like never before. He had only been seated for a second when he sniffed twice and his face turned black. “Egg sandwiches again? That you’ve been able to maintain your record of zero improvement in your culinary skills over the period of a year is truly remarkable.”

An Yan was totally unaffected. What otaku would ever be shamed by his culinary skills? He even smiled faintly as he said, “You’re wrong, I’ve maintained my record of nil improvement over 26 years.”

Bo Jinyan was speechless.

An Yan lowered his head to eat. Bo Jinyan’s fork flipped around on the plate a few times, for the food was really hard to swallow. He had a lingering memory of the varied breakfasts that Jian Yao used to prepare every morning, but the moment he realised he was reminiscing, he willed himself to stop immediately.

“Can’t you even fry some fish?” Bo Jinyan asked.

An Yan said, “Didn’t we just eat that two days ago? Moreover, who eats fish for breakfast?” He glanced at Bo Jinyan and continued, “You can’t see, so it’s not a good idea to eat too much fish. What if you choke? You mean, you even expect me to help you pick out fishbones?”

“Haha . . .” Bo Jinyan replied. “You’re too anxious. Even if I shut my eyes I can still spit out every single bone from an entire fish.”

It was An Yan’s turn to be speechless.

He really did not want to talk to this man any more. However, when he looked up, he caught sight of the two dark circles of Bo Jinyan’s sunglasses, as well as his well-defined, handsome and jet-black eyebrows. In that instant, An Yan’s heart softened, and he decided to compromise. “At most, I’ll go to the supermarket again today, and buy some fish burgers, fish sausages and fish balls. If there’s fresh fish, you can buy one.”

Bo Jinyan nodded, signalling his agreement.

After the meal, An Yan really did not want to wash the dishes. He pushed them into the pond* and pretended not to see them. He started the car, and the two men went down the hill.

*池子 (chi zi) – literally, a pond. My guess is that there is a ‘pond’ of water and unwashed dishes in the sink . . .

This place was Xun City, located in the southern hinterland. It was neither big nor small. Bo Jinyan had chosen to live here only because he had previously interacted with someone here. Even the house they were renting had been arranged for them by that same person.

They reached the city criminal investigation unit very quickly. When An Yan stopped the car, Bo Jinyan had already grasped his walking stick, and made his way slowly up the flight of steps, inch by inch. This impeccably attired man, with his handsome and slim appearance, walking into the interior of the criminal investigation unit, was actually blind. People often raised their eyebrows at the sight. Now and then, soft comments were also uttered. Bo Jinyan always remained unmoved. An Yan was the same. He stuck his hands in his trouser pockets and walked steadily forward behind Bo Jinyan, unwavering.

However, today, they did not attain their objective.

The criminal investigator in charge of receiving them said, apologetically, “Professor Bo, Xiao An, so sorry! At the last minute, our chief was asked to meet an important guest. However, the follow-up information on the case which Professor Bo helped us to crack the previous time is here. If you have any other requests, you can pass them directly to me.”

An Yan took the information and Bo Jinyan simply said, “Thank you.”

The criminal investigator wanted to continue exchanging niceties with them, but Bo Jinyan inclined his ear to listen attentively to the activity in the office. Suddenly, he smiled, and asked, “What’s the big case that you’re busy with now?”

The criminal investigator was dumbfounded. He noticed An Yan was also looking at him, and quickly replied, “Nothing. We haven’t had any cases recently. Ah, we’re such a small place, how can we have cases all the time? It’s . . . the superior is coming for an inspection, so everyone is preparing for it.”

He said this in a matter-of-fact tone. An Yan’s face showed that he understood the situation, while Bo Jinyan just smiled faintly while swiftly straightening up. “Since there’s no case, we will take our leave.” He turned to walk away.

The criminal investigator hurriedly said, “Wait! Although the chief is not here today, he’s specially booked a table at the restaurant downstairs. Some of us want to invite the two of you to a meal to express our gratitude . . .”

Bo Jinyan’s footsteps did not falter. The criminal investigator could only see the back of his head as he said, “No need, I don’t like to eat with people I’m not familiar with.”

The criminal investigator had nothing to say.

An Yan shot him an undecipherable smile before turning to follow Bo Jinyan, with his hands in his trouser pockets.

The two of them walked away swiftly. The criminal investigator stood stunned for a while, then sighed, took out his cellphone and called that person. “Hello, Chief. Bo Jinyan and An Yan came and went. They were unwilling to stay and eat with us.”

——

After leaving the police station, Bo Jinyan and An Yan went for lunch.

The southern cities were more or less similar. The same bustling and lively streets, a dazzling lineup of places to eat, buildings both high and low.

An Yan found a small eating place, and they ordered several dishes: 1.5 kg of fish, an entire plate of stewed chicken legs . . . while placing the order, Bo Jinyan asked the wait staff, “Do you have fish skin wantons*?” Nonplussed, the wait staff said, “What’s that? Nope.”

*T/N 馄饨 (hun tun) – squares of pastry folded over a meat filling and either boiled in soup or deep fried. It appears that Bo Jinyan is asking for wantons where the meat is wrapped in squares of fish skin. The picture depicts regular wantons in soup.

An Yan remarked, “Can you not have such big demands where food is concerned?”

Bo Jinyan replied, “No.”

As they drank to each other’s health, Bo Jinyan thought of the time when he had returned to China from abroad, the first ever time he had eaten fish skin wantons. It had also been in a similarly small, southern city, but she had been able to find them for him.

As well as . . . another person.

It seemed that all the warm and beautiful experiences in his life were bestowed upon him by those two people, as gorgeous as dazzling rainbows. He had once had both of them by his side at the same time, for friendship, and for love.

Bo Jinyan raised his hand to adjust his sunglasses. His face remained clear and calm.

An Yan sat beside him, silently playing a game. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Bo Jinyan was sitting too close to the walkway, putting him in danger of being knocked into by the passers-by. So, he said, “Move to the right a bit.”

He didn’t offer a reason, but Bo Jinyan obediently shifted position.

When the food arrived, both men silently started eating.

After some time, when they had eaten their fill, as An Yan was drinking a cup of iced red tea, he suddenly raised his head and asked, “Boss, when are we going home?”

Bo Jinyan kept quiet for a moment before replying, “At the most, three months. I will bring things to a conclusion with them.”

An Yan was briefly silent. Then he nodded and said, “Got it.”