What Are Your Tastes? chapter 41
I Would Also Wish You Well
To complete the works for the charity exhibition, Lu Yunchu stayed in the studio late every day and often ate a set meal at a nearby café for dinner.
He hadn’t seen Zhou Yanchuan in the neighborhood for several days, but they ran into each other at the supermarket on Saturday night. This was the same supermarket where they had bought hot pot ingredients together before, the nearest medium-sized supermarket to Blue Bay.
Zhou Yanchuan seemed completely unconcerned about the previous incident and greeted him cheerfully as usual.
“Have you been quite busy lately?”
“Mm,” Lu Yunchu rubbed his shoulder, “There’s a charity exhibition in March.”
Zhou Yanchuan didn’t know much about the art world. He had been invited to a few exhibitions by friends before but hadn’t gone because he wasn’t very interested. He assumed that Lu Yunchu was participating in a similar event.
Just as he was about to return his thoughts to the items he was planning to buy, his phone rang.
“Hello,” he left his shopping cart where it was and walked to a quieter corner. “What’s up?”
The caller ID showed it was Mo Ziyang.
“I’m talking about you with my mom. She wants to know if you want to come over to our house for New Year’s?”
“Why would I go to your house?” After Zhang Hong passed away years ago, An Wan felt sorry for him and invited him to spend New Year’s at their house. But in recent years, An Wan and her family usually gathered with An Yuan’s parents, so Zhou Yanchuan felt it was inappropriate to intrude and had stopped going.
“Yuan Yuan and her parents are going abroad for vacation this year, so they won’t be with us,” Mo Ziyang continued. “There won’t be many people at our place. Just come over for New Year’s Eve dinner?”
Zhou Yanchuan didn’t say anything, his eyes drifting to the spot where he had been standing earlier. Lu Yunchu was still there, picking out fruit.
“So, what do you say?” Mo Ziyang urged. “You don’t have other plans for New Year’s Eve, do you?”
“I might… I’m not really sure.”
Zhou Yanchuan remembered how, on New Year’s Eve, Lu Yunchu had mentioned in this very supermarket that he wasn’t going home for the holiday.
If he’s not going home, how will he spend the New Year? Will he have someone to accompany him?
“What’s going on with you? Could it be… some special situation?”
“What special situation?”
“For example, if someone more important than us is waiting for you,” Mo Ziyang said flippantly, “then I can reluctantly allow you to go.”
“Get lost,” Zhou Yanchuan’s scalp tingled. “Anyway, I’ll definitely visit Auntie during those days.”
“Alright, suit yourself,” Mo Ziyang lost interest in nagging. “Let me know in advance if you decide to come.”
“Mm.”
Lu Yunchu didn’t use a cart, only a basket. He didn’t buy much, and when he saw Zhou Yanchuan coming over, he naturally walked alongside him, as if waiting for him to finish the call.
Zhou Yanchuan wanted to ask about New Year’s, but with nearly a month to go, bringing it up now seemed like making a big deal out of nothing.
As he hesitated, Lu Yunchu moved a few steps ahead, towards the checkout. He turned back and asked, “Are you heading back too?”
“Mm.” Zhou Yanchuan caught up, giving up on asking. There was still time; he’d bring it up later.
On the way home from the supermarket, Zhou Yanchuan received another call, which lasted even longer.
Lu Yunchu didn’t deliberately listen in, but he occasionally caught words like “horse farm,” guessing that Zhou Yanchuan had friends working at an equestrian club.
Because of the long phone call, they didn’t get a chance to chat further and went their separate ways.
Lu Yunchu entered his home, took a quick shower, and placed a small bowl of strawberries on his bedside table, eating them as he rested.
A few minutes later, he finished eating the strawberries, checked his phone before bed, and found a message from Zhou Yanchuan.
“Are you free next Sunday?”
Lu Yunchu typed “Yes” but didn’t send it. Instead, he decided to call him.
Zhou Yanchuan quickly answered, “What’s up, did you see my message?”
“Yes,” Lu Yunchu replied lazily. “I’m free. Do you have something in mind?”
“Yes…” Zhou Yanchuan paused, and there was silence on the other end. Lu Yunchu waited for him to speak. “Remember when I took that call on the way back?”
“Yes.”
“That was a friend from the equestrian club.”
“Yes.” Lu Yunchu had heard about the famous equestrian club outside the third ring road of Sen City, commonly referred to as the “riding club.”
“I arranged to visit next week.”
“You want to go to the riding club?” Lu Yunchu guessed that Zhou Yanchuan wanted him to go too, or he wouldn’t have asked if he was free next week.
“Yes… I have a horse there that I haven’t seen in a while,” Zhou Yanchuan said excitedly. “I really like horses.”
“I know. You mentioned it the first time we went to Hongchuan.”
But in fact, Zhou Yanchuan didn’t go to the club often, given the distance and his busy schedule. After his injury, he hadn’t been there at all.
When his friend called earlier, he felt a sudden urge to go soon.
“Umh… I feel really sorry. I’ve always wanted to… but I don’t really know your interests, so I made this decision on my own. I was wondering if you’d be interested in going? Of course, it’s on me.” As he spoke, Zhou Yanchuan felt this suggestion was too subjective and tried to correct himself. “Or if there’s somewhere you want to go or something you want to do, I can accompany you.
“I don’t have any specific plans,” Lu Yunchu said as he sank into his bed. “Let’s go to the riding club. I haven’t been there before.”
“Great,” Zhou Yanchuan said happily. “You can ride with me.”
“Okay.” He turned over, facing the mint-green curtains.
That didn’t seem too bad.
The sketchbook with Zhou Yanchuan’s drawings was brought inside again but remained put away, not drawn on anymore.
The lie was perfectly concealed.
There was some disappointment, but he had thought carefully about what he truly desired.
When he was in a relationship with Meng Xiao and found out about the infidelity, he experienced an emotional distress. What he once thought was beautiful turned into irreparable fragments.
Now he knew he liked Zhou Yanchuan but couldn’t confess to him. It was a bit regrettable but not disheartening.
In fact, Zhou Yanchuan’s clumsy kindness made his “liking” feel more precious and made him happier.
So, the faint disappointment dissipated like the foam on beer, slowly disappearing as the liquid settled.
A week later, on Sunday, it was a clear, cloudless day.
The winter sun was never unpleasant. Even outdoors, the sunlight wasn’t harsh.
Unlike pets, no matter how much you liked them, you couldn’t keep a horse at home like Sabrina. Zhou Yanchuan’s horse stayed at the club with professional care.
A tanned young man led them to the stables.
There were spacious and smooth riding grounds, a well-maintained organic vegetable garden, and a restaurant relying on it… The whole place looked more like an eco-farm.
It was Lu Yunchu’s first time at the riding club. His environment allowed for such experiences, but Lu Changming and Wu Lan had no interest in horseback riding and never considered having their child learn it. Lu Yunchu himself preferred quiet activities and never thought about it.
In contrast, Zhou Yanchuan, despite his simple and low-key lifestyle, was generous with things he liked, whether it was commissioning horse sculptures or buying a horse and joining the club with enthusiasm.
“I never knew you came here often.” Lu Yunchu carefully observed the surroundings.
“Not often,” Zhou Yanchuan said, feeling a bit guilty. “I’m usually busy, and during holidays, there are always other things to do. Sometimes it’s a trip to Wen County, sometimes I just don’t feel like going out. I haven’t seen this little guy in a while.”
It was cute when he called Sabrina “little guy,” but every horse here was taller than a person, making Lu Yunchu feel a bit out of place.
Noticing his confusion, Zhou Yanchuan added, “It’s not very old here.”
It was a dark brown horse. Lu Yunchu couldn’t tell the difference from the others, but Zhou Yanchuan’s face lit up as he approached the stall, treating it like a child.
“Do you want to touch it?”
Lu Yunchu approached cautiously and placed his palm on its neck. The horse eyed him but didn’t shy away.
“Do you want to ride?” Zhou Yanchuan didn’t know if Lu Yunchu, who had never been to a riding club, was interested. “You can ride mine or one of the club’s.”
“Why not?”
In the end, he chose a club horse, donned the gear, and with guidance, mounted. Perhaps psychologically, the view seemed broader from horseback.
The horses here were well-trained, gentle, and easy to handle. After some initial instructions and basic techniques, Lu Yunchu began riding with Zhou Yanchuan, slowly circling the grounds.
“How is it? Not too boring?” Zhou Yanchuan’s riding skills were proficient, even able to jump small obstacles. But this time, he didn’t run freely, considering his injured arm and accompanying Lu Yunchu, a beginner.
“It’s nice.” Gazing far ahead, the forest spread out at the end of the path.
“I was thinking,” Zhou Yanchuan said, “we should drive to the real grasslands someday. Riding there would be more picturesque.”
“Me and you?”
“If you’re willing,” he said with an embarrassed smile, “it’s not much fun alone.”
“I am willing. But why did you think of asking me? You have quite a few friends, don’t you?”
“Yeah, they’re all married now. Wherever they go, it’s with the whole family. I feel like a third wheel.”
Lu Yunchu teased, “So it’s a good thing I’m single too?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Zhou Yanchuan blushed, “Lu Yunchu, if you meet the right person, I would wish you well too.”