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The snow had called Lan Yuan outside. A chilled night, bordering on the morning and stuck between days, welcomed his fresh footprints. A time in the night too late for owls, and too early for birds. A moment with no movement, a plane of existence outside every regular day.
It was what Lan Yuan’s mind needed to take his thoughts away from his piles of papers that kept him from sleeping. Walking in the quiet hour with no direction to go, he breathed in the still air. He could watch the fluffed clumps of snow fall through the dim yellow casts of light from lamp posts, and not have to think of anything other than how they landed.
Soon his legs would grow tired, or his cheeks would become numb enough to convince him to turn back home, and he’d be able to steal a few more hours of sleep before cycling through a new day. Pushing his nose into his wool scarf bought him more time against the latter, giving his breath the job of circulating heat.
With the turn of a new corner, the snow continued to reflect what city light it could. It was a glow that imparted the feeling of seeing forever, even when surrounded by the dark sky. Lan Yuan took in the changed backdrop for the falling snow and scanned down the road. Not even a single set of tire tracks could be found, covered or current, only a lump in the middle of the street.
Lan Yuan’s head tilted at the puzzling sight. Keeping to the walkway, he moved closer, wondering if a trash bag had rolled off the curb through a sudden gust. A few steps more, and Lan Yuan was greeted with more than the winter’s cold when the lump moved.
A grumble of all things expected.
It was a person with their back flat on the snowy pavement. As Lan Yuan edged himself to the end of the walkway, teetering above a gutter grate, he could make out how completely under-dressed the person was. Dark jeans blending him into the night, a thin shirt, and the only form of covering as a small coat was cast to their side, not even within their reach.
Lan Yuan’s heart jumped. An immediate thought of the stranger being hit by a car flooded up. His boots crunched against the fallen snow as he stepped onto the road. Taking care to spot for ice, Lan Yuan moved closer, angling his chin into the air as if it would improve his vision.
“Excuse me?” Lan Yuan called forward, only a few steps from the stranger. “Are you alright?”
When the snap of the other’s head shot up with a kick of their legs, Lan Yuan knew he should have expected the spoken irritation. “Do I look alright!”
With the change of position, Lan Yuan could make out the other’s features. Delicate cheekbones and brow cutting against the sky, and soft hair brushing against his cheeks. He was certainly alright.
Grabbing at the top of his fingers, Lan Yuan pulled off a glove. His bare hand felt the cold quickly. It was another wonder how the stranger wasn’t shivering. “Here, let me help you up.”
The offered hand was considered by the other, only to be rejected with a sneer. The man’s head landed back down on the pavement, letting the sudden movement eject his arms into the air. “If I get up, then I can’t get run over.” The reasoning was mumbled as if it was a completely sane and sensible fact.
Taking a moment to process what he was told, Lan Yuan could only come to the conclusion that the stranger was a lost bar straggler. From the jerky movements, to the lack of self preservation, it was all the signs Lan Yuan needed to choose simpler sentences. “That doesn’t sound nice.” His given hand bounced in the air, accentuating his point. “Wouldn’t it be nicer to sit on the sidewalk?”
“If I don’t get run over,” The other snapped again, taking a beat to lick at his dry lips. “Then I can’t sue and use the money to pay for a hitman!”
Lan Yuan’s eyebrows struggled on agreeing how they wanted to react to the new explosion. Their movements twisted, gradually settling into a knot.
“They’re expensive, you know.” More felt facts from the stranger, spoken as if having worldly experience.
A nod came easier to Lan Yuan than finding ways to unpack what was given to him. Dropping down to a crouch gave him a better view for the man’s scowl. “That does sound complicated.” Reaching back on his years of mediation experience was tested as Lan Yuan chose his words carefully. “Maybe we should go over that plan where we can sit.” The suggestion was layered with a tone of command. A needed push to move them away from staying in the middle of the road.
“We could talk then.” Lan Yuan attempted to encourage a smile using his own. “How does that sound, um…” A catch of his tongue reminded Lan Yuan he had no way to address the stranger. His usual tried and trues were saved for calming children, or animals, all forms of address he was sure the other wouldn’t be thrilled with.
Lan Yuan knew to be thankful for the split moment of tangible sense when the man’s eyes caught what he was trying for. “It’s Jin Ling.”
“Jin Ling,” Lan Yuan echoed back, growing his smile. “There’s a bench nearby. Why don’t we go sit there?”
An arm slid down Jin Ling’s face, pulling at his lips for a practically puppy dog droop. His chin rolled against his forearm, guiding his sight to look away as he spoke. “My pants are already wet.”
The gears in Lan Yuan’s mind whirled, chugging to catch up and translate what Jin Ling had meant. The answer was repeated in his head, soon clicking into place. It made no difference where they sat, Jin Ling was already acclimatized to the snow.
“Okay,” Lan Yuan popped the word with a new enthusiasm. “Then we’ll sit here.”
Scuffing his boot to the ground tested for thin ice. A quick precaution before coming fully in contact with the ground. It wasn’t as frigid as Lan Yuan first thought, but it was just as wet.
Jin Ling was next for a change in position, scrambling to sit up the moment Lan Yuan touched down. The collar of his coat was grabbed, using the hold to fling the snow dusted material into his lap. “You can’t sit here!” Jin Ling’s words burst out with a misplaced intensity. “You’ll get hit!”
A laugh was successfully muffled into Lan Yuan’s scarf as it slunk around and off his neck. “We won’t get hit. There’s no cars.” The soft woolen scarf left Lan Yuan, taking his stored body heat with it. “Besides, isn’t that part of your plan?”
A cross of Jin Ling’s arms subtracted years of his age, displaying a polished pout. “My plan doesn’t include you getting hit.” An accusatory finger pointed out, adding to his tone. “I’m not splitting what we win."
Lan Yuan hummed at the declaration, choosing to take the opportunity to lean forward and loop his scarf around Jin Ling’s neck. An out of character reaction, normally asking before enclosing on personal space, but the shake of the other’s shoulders convinced him to act first.
“We won’t get hit.” Lan Yuan reassured as his hands busied themselves with folding the fabric. In the gentle work of his hands, Lan Yuan stole a moment to take in more about the other even with downcast eyes stuck to his work. His fingers pressed the scarf out for a slack knot, and he felt Jin Ling breath, hot and tinged with bitter smells. Drinks had been long dried to his tongue.
“Now,” Lan Yuan exhaled as he sat back up, content with his work. “Why do you need to hire a hitman?” Lan Yuan knew to congratulate himself later for his ability to not laugh as he posed his question.
Jin Ling’s breath began to cloud again as his chin warmed to the scarf. “I need to get some people whacked.” The given emphasis with the reply came with a swing of Jin Ling’s arms. An act if he was on a batting pitch, and as if his sentences weren’t getting wilder by the minute. The uncoordinated movement dropped his arms back to lap, falling down to his coat. “That will teach them to ditch me.”
Brushing his gloves off on his knees, Lan Yuan latched to the new information. “Who ditched you?”
Jin Ling clicked his tongue, pausing his stream of fury as he stitched his story together. “You know what?” His rhetorical question was held in the air as Lan Yuan reached over, taking the raised hands into his. “I don’t even want to call them friends because friends wouldn’t just leave without saying anything!”
Lan Yuan’s lips twitched into a grimace, his physical agreeance answering first. It was filtered away as he brought their clasped hands to his mouth, exposing his cup of Jin Ling’s fingers for a slow stream of hot air. “That really doesn’t sound like what friends should do.” He spoke against their skin, puffing another gust into their cocoon.
“Right!” A loud crack of sound bounced out of Jin Ling’s lungs and down the street at the validation. “So they deserve…” Jin Ling searched for more words, letting his eyes line his lower lid. He stopped at their joined hands, holding his mouth open with no sound ahead of a new eruption. “Whack!”
A snort broke out from Lan Yuan’s throat, interrupting and chopping up his steady stream of breath. Laughter tumbled next, failing to be caught and only encouraged more when he found Jin Ling’s smile light up the night.
“Hm,” The remaining laughter buzzed Lan Yuan’s chest. “I guess they do deserve a whack.” Lan Yuan’s continued work of warming their hands stalled still, giving him time to consider his choice of words. “I may not have terrible friends, but…” Thoughts of preventing himself from opening up to a complete stranger should have stopped Lan Yuan. He didn’t know more than Jin Ling’s name, and yet it was the lean in from the other that encouraged Lan Yuan’s honesty. “Today is my birthday. Well, I guess you could say yesterday was my birthday.”
Jin Ling’s lips parted, soundless words gumming at the air. It was a reaction, and a prevention of one that gave Lan Yuan an opening to continue.
“My friends did have their reasons, so they don’t deserve a hitman.” Lan Yuan sighed, turning Jin Ling’s hands around. “But I wish I didn’t spend it alone just… studying.” The therapeutic confession circulated his lungs, lifting a weight in his mind as his shoulders dropped. His sleep deprived mind felt more at ease with the release, and reminded him of the dry winter breeze.
“You-!” Jin Ling’s sharp sound cut into their bubble of quiet. Without thinking, he yanked his hands to his chest, pulling Lan Yuan with him. “Take my phone!”
Lan Yuan blinked. He waited a beat, hoping for a correction, or a more detailed explanation for Jin Ling’s newly engineered plan.
Jin Ling’s eyes widened, quickly clicking into what he said. “I mean!” A shake of his head sprayed his breath in more cold coiling clouds. “Take my number!”
A chuckle bounced up from Lan Yuan. “Your number?”
“Yeah!” Jin Ling’s tongue raced ahead of him. “You deserve a good birthday, so let me take you out.” The next pull of their hands was to Jin Ling’s coat pocket, diving through the damp fabric to a caseless phone. Lan Yuan would have taken time to marvel how the phone wasn’t broken from the amount of times it was swung with the coat, if Jin Ling didn’t slam it into his hands.
“Jin Ling,” Lan Yuan breathed. “You should go home. Drink some water, and get some sleep to save yourself from a hangover.”
“And then we’ll go out!” The declaration rang out from Jin Ling as he pushed his phone deeper into Lan Yuan’s palms. “Put your number in, and then I’ll text you so you have mine.”
Even through the most sense Jin Ling had spoken during their conversation, Lan Yuan couldn’t wade out of his hazy uncertainty. “I’m sure you’ll think differently when you’re sober.”
Jin Ling huffed, shoving Lan Yuan’s hands that carefully cradled his phone towards him. “I’m hardly drunk.” A loose strand of hair was blown out of Jin Ling’s eyes, giving him the excuse to pull his own arms back to cross once more.
“Oh?” Lan Yuan lifted an eyebrow as he turned on the forcefully offered phone. It took more strength than Lan Yuan thought he might have to refrain from commenting on the enlarged husky face that took up the phone’s lock screen. “So, are you always like this?”
Jin Ling flicked his chin into the air. “Oh yeah.” The peculiar boast shot out as Jin Ling’s eyes looked over the top of his phone. The obvious supervision to ensure Lan Yuan was entering his number went unmentioned. “This is what you get. So you know if you ditch me…” The leading end came with a hiked smirk on Jin Ling’s face.
Lan Yuan looked up, eyes highlighted by the blue light of Jin Ling’s phone. “Whack?”
Another mimed gesture took hold of Jin Ling’s body, turning him into a temporary professional golfer, watching his imaginary ball soar.
“Alright, alright.” Lan Yuan chuckled, feeling himself grow warmer under the cold weather. “If you still remember in the morning, then we can go out.”
The pass off of Jin Ling’s phone was a fumbling return. Jin Ling’s fingers were too quick with snatching it back, racing to check his contacts. His thumbs pressed around on the screen, soon settling along with his smirk.
“So tomorrow then?” Jin Ling’s proposal mirrored the energy in his eyes. His phone was lowered from his face, and his legs shuffled on the ground. The lift he took to stand was with the slightest wobble, refusing to use his hands to balance as both gripped tightly at his phone.
Lan Yuan followed the change of altitude, dusting off the snow he could from his pants, already feeling moisture clinging into the fabric. A clear of his throat to underline his clause again was overshadowed by the sound of steps being taken.
“And to make sure…”
A whip up of Lan Yuan’s head caught Jin Ling in his retreat, taking sharply coordinated steps back.
“I’m taking this, so I can return it to you.” The it Jin Ling referred to became prominent as he pushed his nose into Lan Yuan’s forgotten scarf. Only by the tops of Jin Ling’s cheeks could Lan Yuan tell the other was smiling wildly behind the fabric.
Raising a hand to speak and attempt more sense was lost as Jin Ling turned. His take down the street bordered on a skip, maintaining his lack of care for the snow he bounded over. He only spared a twirl around, tugging Lan Yuan’s scarf down to yell from the new distance. “And get off the road! You could get hit!”
Lan Yuan could only stand frozen to the spot, gloves fallen to the road. He watched as Jin Ling’s form turned fuzzier, growing further out of view. He took a burn of promises with him, and Lan Yuan’s favourite scarf.
A hopeful distraction through the night had certainly found him. Unexpected, but with the chime of his phone, he knew to categorize it as welcomed. With the string of emoticons that highlighted his phone screen, Lan Yuan felt he could melt the winter with what formed in his chest. He read the message that was squeezed between the colourful emojis, and felt the words to his lips.
Happy Birthday.