Drawn to You

4. Gege and San Lang

"I know you're going to say: you're too young to live in Yanaka, near Nippori Station, that's such an old-fashioned place!", Xie Lian was saying, putting the books Hua Cheng was passing to him back on the shelf, "Everybody says that!", he concluded with a light shrug.

"It's a nice area for a Sunday morning stroll", Hua Cheng replied, thinking of when he somehow ended up there once, after a crazy night out. He kept walking around, dying for a place to sit down and have a strong coffee to cure his hangover, in vain. "I just wish there were more cafés there", he concluded.

He started showing up a few weeks before, to spend a couple of hours at least, looking at Xie Lian's books and taking notes. Hua Cheng then started coming almost every day, and now he was helping Xie Lian to tidy up his shelves, which was needed from time to time.

He passed another book to Xie Lian, who glanced at it, muttering, "Hmm, baroque", then looking for the right spot for it: he simply had too many volumes on European art.

"That's right, it's very residential. Well, the Yanaka Ginza Shopping Street is quite fun though", Xie Lian said, while Hua Cheng passed him a rather old, heavy volume on Greek and Roman sculpture.

"Gege got quiet neighbours at least", Hua Cheng commented, teasing Xie Lian for living between two cemeteries. As Xie Lian himself pffted a laugh, Hua Cheng again thought how he was different from everyone he knew, making him feel so at ease, relaxed.

He was used to the dry, sarcastic sense of humour of He Xuan, or the toxic putting you in your place of Qi Rong and the other guys he knew (saying he hung out with them would be a stretch).

Xie Lian also seemed to enjoy working by himself, but liked his company too: that made Hua Cheng feel as if they knew each other since forever.

He even had started calling Xie Lian "Gege", older brother in Mandarin, a cute and flirtatious way to refer to an older man (not much older, just right, like Xie Lian), borrowed from the danmei novels he read as reference.

It started with a joke, with Xie Lian pffting a laugh and playing along, only more contained, calling Hua Cheng "San Lang", third boy, (which he got from Google Translator), as Hua Cheng once told him he was the third in his family.

Xie Lian went on, "You don't need to live where the action is, do you? You can get a taxi there".

He then laughingly mentioned two old friends who sometimes insisted in dragging him out partying, just to get drunk and argue with each other about anything and everything all the time.

"They already bicker a lot when sober, but when they drink", he added, rolling his eyes, "I go, guys, get a room already. So it's a good excuse to leave, saying Oh I live in Yanaka you know – "

Hua Cheng couldn't imagine Xie Lian being friends with guys like that, and just smiled. He himself lived right where the action was and loved it, but just to be polite he agreed, "It's nice and quiet, it must be good to live there". Since when he was this polite, he wondered.

Xie Lian smiled brightly, adding, "Plus, my uncle owns the flat, he cuts me some slack on the rent".

"Something important to consider", Hua Cheng commented, passing him a few thin volumes, a collection from some art museum in Austria or something.

"Right?", Xie Lian said, smiling brightly at him, "So, where do you live?" Oh-oh.

"Huh. Near Okachimachi Station", he replied, "I moved in there years ago. It was close to uni and the rent was cheap. I need to start looking for another place one of these days though", he completed, again, saying something totally opposite to what he really thought.

"Is it close to Ameya-yokocho Market? I've been there once, long time ago", Xie Lian replied.

"Gege, you should drop by sometime, I can show you around", Hua Cheng replied, "I'll take you where the good stuff is", he added with a conspiratory wink, passing the last book to Xie Lian.

He smiled and said, "I will. Thank you for helping me with organising this shelf, San Lang", and, glancing at a clock on the wall, added, "Banyue must be arriving any minute now".

Banyue was another student he mentored, that girl who worked at Ueshima Coffee. During these few weeks he's been coming over, he's seen Xie Lian mentoring students, working on his PhD, attending meetings, doing lesson planning and paperwork for the Art History Department. He was a busy man.

But, no matter how big was his to do list, he always looked cool, greeting Hua Cheng with a smile, showing him something on his books, talking about random things he saw on his way to work.

"Right, I better make myself another coffee", he said, "Would you like one, San Lang?"

Sometimes Hua Cheng stayed there only sketching, or half-reclined on the office's sofa, letting his mind wander freely. He did that a lot at the early stages of coming up with a plot, but he could do it elsewhere really. Xie Lian didn't seem to mind at all, he kept answering e-mails, reading, or typing, letting Hua Cheng be.

Banyue arrived: a shy, petite girl, who, seeing Hua Cheng, looked at him warily.

"Ah, Banyue, come in!", Xie Lian greeted her, and, turning to Hua Cheng, "Just stay where you are, San Lang, I'm going to see Banyue by my desk so we can do some edits on her paper – "

Hua Cheng nodded, sitting back on the big table where he had been sketching, then again focusing on the pencil going against the paper texture: from the very black with a slightly metallic reflection to a barely-there light grey. He was in control, blowing away lightly that graphite powder, or smudging it with his fingers –

Using proper paper and his HB pencils to sketch whatever: that's what really made the ideas flow for Hua Cheng, and, not really thinking consciously, he had a feel different art styles could make the story more layered, richer, deeper. And with Xie Lian's soothing voice on the background –

At times, he even half-closed his eyes to listen.

"... asserts that we should focus only on the formal properties of art—the form, not the content, right, those formal properties might include, for the visual arts, colour, shape, and line, and, for the musical arts, rhythm and harmony. Hmm, formalists do not deny that works of art – "

His voice was beautiful: smooth, composed, and sweet. No wonder why he was so popular with the students: his voice alone showed how much he loved art: when he talked about it, it felt as if he was whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

•

"Ah San Lang, I almost forgot to tell you", Xie Lian said, a few days later, "Don't bring cake tomorrow, I won't be around". Oh right, tomorrow is Thursday, cake day.

He started bringing cake every time he showed up, till Xie Lian, saying this way he'd have to stay twice the time at the gym, made him promise it'd be only once a week. On Thursdays.

"I'm taking a class to the Asian Gallery at the Tokyo National Museum", he went on, "I mean they can't complain. The museum is just across the road", he added, pffting a laugh. The students these days, he was always saying, shaking his head, were too unwilling to get out of their way, go for the unknown, for a bit of adventure.

Hua Cheng realised Xie Lian in fact meant don't come around tomorrow, but was too polite to say it.

"Ah that's alright. I've got work to do in my studio, haven't been there for ages", he said with a nonchalant smile.

What was the big deal, he worked alone all the time, in fact he liked working alone: he never hired any assistants, even if it meant more work for himself, and endless arguing with He Xuan. Did Xie Lian think he'd be bored, or even feel rejected if he just told him not to come over?

He thought, smiling to himself, isn't he cute?

You can't fool us, Hua Cheng... you miss Xie Lian already. 😉

Thank you for reading, please comment, vote and/or follow me for the updates!