No Ghosting Allowed

 

At 9:10 PM, Terminal 2 of the Capital International Airport.

 For the third time, Pei You checked his watch.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 10:30 PM. Before parting ways at Qingshan, Pei You and Zhou Qingbai agreed to meet at the terminal at 9 PM. However, now, Zhou Qingbai was already ten minutes late, and there was still no sign of him.

The WeChat chat box remained silent, with no explanation provided. Pei You fiddled with his phone, hesitating whether he should call him to inquire about the situation, when suddenly, the screen lit up, and Zhou Qingbai’s name appeared on it.

Zhou Qingbai quickly answered the call as if their minds were connected. “Hello,” his voice sounded slightly distorted through the phone, and he seemed to be breathing rapidly, almost gasping for breath. “I’ve already arrived at the airport. Please wait for me for ten more minutes.”

“No rush,” Pei You turned to look at the information board in the hall and said, “The flight is delayed; it might take off a bit later.”

Zhou Qingbai acknowledged with a sound, indicating that he understood, and then hastily hung up the phone.

Pei You didn’t know what Zhou Qingbai had been up to during the few hours they were apart, but any message was better than no message. He felt relieved and put his luggage down, walking a few steps to find a seat where he could see the entrance.

Ten more minutes passed before Zhou Qingbai’s figure finally appeared from the entrance passage. Holding his phone, he glanced around, and upon spotting Pei You, he walked briskly towards him.

“Sorry ,” Zhou Qingbai began to say from three steps away, “The taxi driver was from out of town, just started the job a week ago, and couldn’t tell between T1 and T2. He dropped me off at the wrong terminal, and I had to run here from there.”

He looked visibly exhausted, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He had taken off his coat and hung it over his arm. The jade pendant around his neck had slipped out and dangled on his chest.

Zhou Qingbai took a deep breath, then without hesitation, he slid his luggage to Pei You’s side and casually sat down next to him, sprawling back on the chair bonelessly.

Pei You handed him a tissue, and Zhou Qingbai softly thanked him before wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“If it’s so inconvenient, why don’t you buy a car?” Pei You suggested.

“No, I don’t want to. Driving is tiring. Besides, I have no material demands,” Zhou Qingbai casually replied, then crumpled the tissue into a ball and accurately tossed it into a trash bin five steps away.

“Let’s rest for five more minutes,” Zhou Qingbai said, “Then I’ll go to upgrade the ticket.”

“…But you said you have no material demands,” Pei You asked.

“It’s different,” Zhou Qingbai said with an air of righteousness, “When I say I have no demands, it means I’m fine with having or not having it. I don’t deliberately choose hardships but when there’s a simple and comfortable way to live, why not choose it?”

“Ease” seemed to be the first guiding principle in Zhou Qingbai’s life. He had no ambition, and his focus on his career was minimal. He didn’t care much about appearing prestigious; he cared only about living comfortably.

Pei You found himself convinced by his clever argument and vaguely felt that Zhou Qingbai was an interesting person.

Throughout his life, from the rocket class to Peking University Guanghua, Pei You had met countless young talents. Most of them had detailed life plans, were ambitious, worked hard, and easily garnered applause and success, becoming influential and proactive figures in society.

But Zhou Qingbai was different from all of them. His way of living and dealing with things appeared much simpler: if he didn’t like something, he stayed away from it, and if he felt comfortable, he moved closer. He didn’t plan much for his life and seemed like the type of rich second generation who simply lived life as it came.

Lack of ambition clearly wasn’t a good quality, but somehow, Pei You felt that if the person was Zhou Qingbai, it wasn’t such a bad thing.

After resting for a while, Zhou Qingbai finally regained his breath. He tried to sit up straight but either due to exhaustion or laziness, he failed and gave up.

Pei You suddenly turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” Pei You asked.

“Upgrading the ticket,” Zhou Qingbai said weakly, “I have to.”

He looked like he didn’t want to move, lying half-slumped in the chair, with his chin resting on his arm. There was a clear tiredness on his face, as if he wasn’t used to the rhythm of late-night business trips.

The airport was sparsely populated at that late hour, and besides Zhou Qingbai, there was only a couple cuddling far away in the waiting area. The bright lights on the ceiling illuminated the empty waiting area, and Zhou Qingbai, lying on the chair, guarded his two carry-on luggage by himself, looking somewhat solitary.

Pei You knew that Zhou Qingbai hated working overtime and didn’t enjoy business trips, yet he still came along.

That realization made Pei You’s heart slightly soften. He instinctively stopped walking, quietly observing Zhou Qingbai under the bright light for a while, until he had meticulously traced his profile with his eyes. Only then did he take out the chilled Coke from the plastic bag he had been holding in his hand.

The spacious hall echoed with footsteps, and Zhou Qingbai had already heard the sound of Pei You’s return, but he was too lazy to get up. Only when Pei You came to his side did he lazily stretch his arm and accurately grab Pei You’s sleeve.

 Zhou Qingbai raised his head, squinting his eyes and said, “stealing.”

“stealing what?” Pei You asked.

Zhou Qingbai didn’t say anything; his fingers traced up Pei You’s sleeve, maintaining that position. With some effort, he straightened his waist, at the same time taking the Coke can from his hand and smiling mischievously at him.

“Whatever I want,” Zhou Qingbai said.

Pei You’s expression momentarily blanked; he couldn’t immediately respond to the comment.

Zhou Qingbai chuckled, unable to contain himself, and lowered his head, laughing silently.

Pei You was introverted and often appeared too serious during work, with a cold and indifferent expression on his face.

When they weren’t familiar with each other, there was a certain distance between Zhou Qingbai and him. But as they became more acquainted, Zhou Qingbai couldn’t help but want to tease Pei You, trying to provoke new and interesting reactions from him.

Frankly speaking, Zhou Qingbai thought it was quite fun to tease him.