Work Text:
It was summer; the sky was blue, the birds were chirping, and Lu Guang wanted to die. He would rather be grave deep in snow than spend another day breathing in the boiling July air. The summer sun was relentless and made the days feel too long and his patience too short.
He sighed from his position sprawled out on the couch. The brown fabric had already grown uncomfortably damp from the sweat on his skin. Outside, he could hear whirring cicada songs and the occasional voices of the few people who’d decided to brave the heat. He couldn’t figure out what they were doing. Maybe they just wanted to brag to their neighbors about going out. It’s not like most businesses were even open, unless they had to be. The city had effectively shut down when the weather service shouted out an excessive heat watch three days ago.
That was also the day Cheng Xiaoshi had turned the air conditioning up to the highest setting. Their apartment had stayed cool for the first day, but the comfortable temperature hadn’t lasted long. The old AC unit hadn’t been able to keep up with the strain and shorted out soon after with a series of concerning sparks. There’d been a brief attempt to fix it, but Cheng Xiaoshi was quick to claim that all it needed was a few good kicks and a couple hours offline. Lu Guang hadn’t had much faith in that method, so he’d sent a message to Qiao Ling asking for help. It was her family’s building after all. She’d only promised to do what she could.
That was how he’d gotten to where he was now, looking up how to keep from boiling alive on his phone for the umteenth time and praying that the old, creaking fan creating the only draft in the apartment didn’t stop working.
Cheng Xiaoshi had taken to the heat better than he had. He’d begun trying to bake cookies on the windowsill hours ago, content to endlessly watch them while making his way through a video game.
“Look at this, Lu Guang! It’s starting to work, you can see them bubbling!”
Lu Guang sat up, pulling at his shirt, trying to fan some air between his skin and the material. The cookies were indeed bubbling on the thin pan, just like they had been the past few times he’d been told to look. “You’ve been saying it’s starting to work for two hours now.”
“It’s a slow process! I think it’s really starting this time. Keep an eye on them, I’m going to get a drink.” He got up from the floor and left for the kitchen.
Lu Guang didn’t see what it was he found so fascinating. The dough just looked kind of soggy and wet, like it was sweating as much as he was. Then again, the apartment had transformed into a small furnace, so maybe it would work eventually. He'd probably end up tasting them either way, no matter how unappetizing they looked. It’d probably make him sick. Nothing cooked on a windowsill could possibly be safe to eat, but it’d make Cheng Xiaoshi happy. That's why he tried all of his creations.
He turned to grab his book from the coffee table and glared at the wet ring forming under his own drink. A few droplets of condensation ran down the side of the glass. The drink inside had grown warm and unappealing long ago.
He opened the book to the right page and tried to forget he was melting on a couch after two sleepless nights with no air conditioning.
Normally, it was easy to forget about where he was when he had a book. Getting immersed in a good story was easy for him. He experienced other people’s lives for a living. Reading wasn’t dissimilar. But, he only made it a chapter in before he noticed a distinct crunching noise accompanied by some rattling.
He tried to continue reading, but focusing was hard with that godforsaken noise in the background. Lu Guang clenched his jaw in annoyance and snapped the book shut. “Are you doing something?”
Cheng Xiaoshi had returned to his spot by the windowsill a few minutes ago. “I’m losing.” He frowned and tossed his controller to the side in defeat.
“No, not that. Don’t you hear a sound?”
“A sound? I don’t think so,” he replied, grabbing his cup to take a drink.
The rattling returned. So did the crunching.
Lu Guang narrowed his eyes. “You’re chewing ice.”
Cheng Xiaoshi glanced between Lu Guang and the cup in his hand. He chewed a few more times, as if just noticing he had ice in his mouth. “Huh, I guess I am.”
“Well, could you stop?”
“Why? Is it annoying you?” He grinned, grabbing more ice from his cup.
Lu Guang moved back on the couch as Cheng Xiaoshi stood up to come closer. “Yes, it’s annoying me,” he gritted out.
Cheng Xiaoshi sprang forward and pressed a handful of ice onto the back of Lu Guang’s neck.
He went stiff at the sudden cold sensation and tried to shove at Cheng Xiaoshi. “Get off me!”
He grinned and brought his face closer, crunching the ice as close to Lu Guang’s ear as he could.
Lu Guang grimaced at the grating noise and the tickling feeling of damp hair brushing against his neck. He elbowed him in the ribs.
Cheng Xiaoshi let go of the ice before collapsing to the side, laughing.
Lu Guang wiped at the back of his neck, trying to keep the water droplets from dripping further. His mouth pressed into a thin line as he realized it was pointless. “Go to hell,” he grumbled. “Your cookies will probably cook better there.”
“You know, the heat makes you awfully cranky. Maybe you need more ice.” Cheng Xiaoshi reached forward with his other hand.
He dodged this time, opening his mouth to respond that he absolutely did not, no matter how nice it felt in theory, but the cheerful chime of the shop door opening in the other room beat him to it. They’d locked that door once they realized no one was going to come rushing to have photos developed in a heatwave. That meant it could only be one person.
“Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi!” she called out. Qiao Ling waltzed into the living room and took in the scene. “Cheng Xiaoshi, why does Lu Guang look like he wants to kill you? Did you put googly eyes on the appliances again?”
“I didn’t do anything! He’s mad I was chewing ice.”
“It’s annoying and you’re going to crack your teeth.”
“Chewing ice?” Qiao Ling hummed thoughtfully. “Well, he does get irritable when it’s hot.”
Cheng Xiaoshi vehemently nodded his agreement.
Lu Guang rolled his eyes. His friends might have a point, but it’s hardly his fault the heat was so bothersome.
“I’ll be right back. No committing murder, please. It’d be impossible to rent this place out afterwards.” She moved to walk upstairs.
Cheng Xiaoshi glanced back at Lu Guang after she got out of earshot. He leaned forward and placed the remaining ice cubes into Lu Guang’s discarded cup. “You know what? The googly eyes were great, we should’ve kept them up.”
“They were creepy. It was like the fridge was judging me,” Lu Guang huffed, crossing his arms.
“Maybe they were; you make some judgeworthy stuff.”
“Like you dont make some creative choices too.”
Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes went wide at the accusation.“You eat them every time! They aren’t all bad.”
“They aren’t all bad,” he admitted. “But never try to mix octopus and cake again. That isn’t what octopus cake is.”
“Well, I know that now.”
Qiao Ling made her way back downstairs and walked over towards the chair across from them. She threw a damp towel onto Lu Guang’s head and sat down. “There! Cool compresses do wonders for the heat.”
Rivulets of cool water trailed down his forehead. He moved to pull the towel down, but caught Qiao Ling’s stare, almost daring him to toss it aside. He just scowled up at it, instead. At least it was better than the ice.
“Why does he get one? What about me?” Cheng Xiaoshi whined.
Qiao Ling shrugged. “He isn’t the idiot that broke the air conditioner.”
“It’s not my fault! What kind of air conditioner can’t condition the air?”
“It was fine before you touched it,” Lu Guang pointed out.
“It was barely even on before I touched it.”
“Well, whatever happened, it can’t get fixed for a few more days. All the repair technicians are booked up already. A lot of people seem to have shorted their units out.”
Lu Guang groaned. A few more days of this?
“Don’t make that face. I’m sure it’ll rain soon and this heatwave will end. I brought over another fan to help. Besides it-” she cut herself off. “Why does it smell like cookies?”
He was surprised it had taken her so long to notice. He pointed toward Cheng Xiaoshi, who was still sulking on his side of the couch.
“I’m trying to see if the sun can cook them! I saw a video on it,” he explained, perking up at the mention of his experiment. He reached across the arm of the couch to grab the tray on the windowsill. “See?”
Qiao Ling stared at them, managing to hold back a grimace. The dough was even shinier than it was earlier. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the right words at first. “That’s nice.”
Cheng Xiaoshi turned to place the tray back. “I’ll save some for you.”
“Great.” She glanced at Lu Guang hoping for a way out of trying one, but he only shrugged at her tiredly, hoping the edge of the towel hid the slight amusement in his eyes. He’d already accepted that he’d have to eat the soggy cookies. She was on her own. “You know what would be even better than cookies? Something cold.”
“Like what?”
She thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “Xu Shanshan and Dong Yi went to that new sorbet shop yesterday. We should try it out. It’s pretty close to here.”
“You want us to go outside?” Lu Guang shook his head. “It’s too hot.”
“C’mon, it’ll be my treat! It’ll cool you off.”
Cheng Xiaoshi grinned. “Well if you insist, Ms. Landlady!” He hopped up and extended a hand to Lu Guang.
Lu Guang eyed it warily. Outside would surely be hotter with the sun beating down on them, but at this point he was ready to agree to anything that would potentially give him respite from the stuffy apartment. He grabbed the hand and let himself be pulled up. It was still slightly cool to the touch from the ice it’d held not long before. “Fine.”
He grabbed his phone from the table and his keys and sunglasses from where they’d been discarded on the counter. He found Cheng Xiaoshi’s jacket on the counter too, but left it there. A few minutes later the three of them walked outside and were hit with a wall of humidity.
The afternoon sun shone high above them. The hard city pavement had absorbed all the heat it could, leaving the rest to hang heavily in the air. Lu Guang shuffled behind his two friends as they walked down the street. His sunglasses did little to protect his eyes from the harsh glare caused by the shiny metal buildings and cloudless sky.
Cheng Xiaoshi and Qiao Ling chatted excitedly about a tv show they both watched, theorizing about what the newest episode would bring. Lu Guang was too busy trying to figure out if Qiao Ling had lied about how close the shop was to join in. The walk felt too long, the incline too steep. Why did anyone willingly come out in this weather? It was exhausting.
Still, he could tell they were gradually growing closer to their destination. There were more families strolling along the streets here than there were near the studio. Children streamed by holding tall treats covered in colorful toppings and hugging plush animal toys. A young boy with wild brown hair dropped a scoop of something light green onto the pavement. He let out a wailing shriek as his parents tried to calm him down. Lu Guang could practically see the steam coming off the sidewalk as it melted at a rapid rate.
They turned a corner and saw a small white sign jutting out from the awning of a dark building. The sign showed a cone with three scoops on it, still shiny and new. It was one of the only stores on the street with people streaming out of it. He was surprised to see there wasn’t a line out front. Everyone else must’ve come before the sun reached its peak.
They walked in and a bell chimed brightly. Lu Guang welcomed the sweet relief of cool air. The building was old but its wooden floors looked newly finished, if still slightly scuffed from years of traffic brought in by the prior tenets. The walls were painted black; the one behind the display cases having been turned into a chalkboard. Carefully done hand lettering listed out signature flavors in bright colors. A tall shelf in the corner held stuffed animals for sale, many holding cones that resembled the store’s logo.
Lu Guang turned his eyes toward the display case, looking at all the flavors. Many of the tubs were almost empty from the busy day. He spotted what remained of the light green sorbet the child on the street had dropped, melon. Many of the flavors were to be expected: orange, strawberry, lychee. Others were more interesting, boasting names like mango chile and eucalyptus honey loquat.
The person behind the counter looked at them with a bored expression, no doubt already tired of people coming into the shop. They wore pastel clothes that seemed out of place with their bright red eyes and dull disposition. “What do you want?”
Lu Guang looked at them blankly, shocked by the bluntness. He sometimes felt like talking like that at work too, but never did. And the photoshop was never as busy as this place seemed to be.
They made a sweeping gesture at the display case, moving like a puppet on strings.
“Right..” Lu Guang didn’t know what he wanted. Not something interesting, he knew that much. What was the sorbet equivalent of ordering vanilla ice cream?
Luckily, Qiao Ling was more prepared than he was. “A cup of sweet cherry, please! With macadamia nuts on top.”
The employee moved to scoop it out of the nearly empty container. It must be a popular choice.
Cheng Xiaoshi stepped closer to him and pointed. “Look at that one, Lu Guang. It reminds me of you.”
Lu Guang followed his gaze and wrinkled his nose at the bright blue flavor. Blue raspberry. That wasn’t even a real fruit.
“I’m getting it,” Cheng Xiaoshi said, moving forward to order.
He lost track of how many toppings got added while he stood, still overwhelmed by all the choices.
All too soon, Cheng Xiaoshi joined Qiao Ling by the till.
“And what’re you getting?”
“Lemon.” It was simple and would be more refreshing than whatever monstrosity Cheng Xiaoshi had ended up with. Probably not as good as Qiao Ling’s, but it worked for him.
The employee made a face at his decision, like they couldn’t believe that was the flavor he’d finally come up with.
He could only shrug his shoulders in response.
Qiao Ling paid and the three of them found an empty table in the corner under a dim light. Cheng Xiaoshi sat on one side while he and Qiao Ling sat on the other. She already had her phone out ready to snap photos of their orders.
Cheng Xiaoshi began eating his as soon as her photo taking stopped.
“Xu Shanshan was right about us needing to try this place! It’s so cute here,” she said, sending one of the pictures to her friend. She pulled out her spoon to try the bright red sorbet. “And it tastes amazing.”
Lu Guang grabbed a spoon and tried his own. It was the perfect balance of tart and sweet. The combination of icy lemon and cool air was almost enough to make him forget about the heatwave that’d been ruining his week. “It’s good.”
The three of them sat enjoying their sorbets and eavesdropping on the customers around them, throwing glances to each other when they heard something interesting.
Two women were sitting at the table next to them. “So, what does he do for work?”
“He’s an investmentologist.”
Lu Guang choked, staring down at his bowl. Even the speaker hadn’t gotten through the word without stumbling with unfamiliarity.
“A what?”
The woman sitting behind them sighed in exasperation. “I don’t know. Something with numbers, probably.”
Qiao Ling nudged Lu Guang with her shoulder. “I’m so using ‘investmentologist’ next time you ask about a client.”
The two of them were too caught up in the strangers’ conversation to notice Cheng Xiaoshi leaning across the table to steal Qiao Ling’s sorbet. He swiped for the bowl but knocked her arm in the process.
She jumped at the sudden sensation. The dessert that had been carefully balanced on her spoon fell off, dropping onto Lu Guang’s side.
He stared down in shock, hesitantly pressing a hand to the spot. It came back stained red.
‘Cheng Xiaoshi! What were you thinking?” Qiao Ling chided. She grabbed a stack of napkins from the table and pressed them against his shirt. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine, really,” he insisted, trying to wave her off. It was just flavored ice. It’s not like he was dying.
While they were distracted again, Cheng Xiaoshi successfully stole Qiao Ling’s bowl, holding it out of her reach.
She discarded the napkins on the table and leveled him with a glare. “This is why I don’t hang out with you anymore.”
“Lies! You love hanging out with us! Admit it!”
Qiao Ling rolled her eyes, but gave him a small smile. “Maybe.”
He placed her bowl back on the table. “We should do something fun at the apartment once the air conditioning is fixed. It feels like it’s been forever.”
“It does,” Lu Guang nodded his agreement. “We could play games or something.”
“Sounds like fun. We’ll have to pick a date once the heat passes.”
They finished their sorbets in relative silence after that, until the red-eyed employee called out that the store was closing.
Qiao Ling made them crowd together into the frame of her phone’s camera for a photo of their outing before they left. She grinned in front of them, holding up a peace sign. Lu Guang saw Cheng Xiaoshi’s saccharine smile in the frame next to him, his teeth stained a bright artificial blue. He lightly smiled back.
When they walked outside, he was surprised to find that the heat wasn’t quite as blistering as before. The sun was low in the sky and the city seemed more alive. If the apartment was like this, it might almost be tolerable. It wouldn’t be truly comfortable for days, but maybe he’d stop subconsciously thinking of it as living in an oven.
He paused on the street. An oven. The windows. The thought of the experimental cookies waiting to be taste tested was all it took to fill him with a new kind of dread.