What most people think the challenges of polyamory are: jealousy, lack of commitment, insecurity.
What better-informed people think the challenges of polyamory are: calendar management, social stigma.
What the challenges of polyamory actually are: when your husband and your lover bond over classical music, and your lover suggests to your husband that he would really enjoy Stravinsky. And it turns out your husband does really enjoy Stravinsky, but unfortunately with the exception of the opening bit of Firebird, which is OK, you fucking hate Stravinsky. And the background music of your life is Stravinsky for months on end because your husband loves Stravinsky now. So even when the three of you meet up together it turns into Stravinsky Fan Club Time. Plus a third wheel of you.
I identify the most with the woman who has a green velvet ribbon around her neck and keeps being like "DONT untie my neck ribbon or something really bad will happen" and then her husband unties the ribbon and her head falls off. this is extremely real to me. spent my whole life like "please don't do this thing to me or really bad stuff will happen" and everyone around me being like "that sounds fake" and doing it anyway. and then my head fell off!
(In which Bian Nan and Qiu Yi meet and exchange first meeting gifts, of a sort.)
Wan Fei heard this name, froze, followed by immediately turning his head to look at Bian Nan.
“En.” Bian Nan made a noise of agreement, didn’t ask further, shoved his hand into his pocket and walked away along the road.
“Fuck me, we’re doing Qiu Yi,” Wan Fei said in a small voice only after following along for a bit, his voice seeping with excitement, “Isn’t it exactly what you want.”
“Right now I just want to eat something,” Wanting to find a piece of candy to eat, Bian Nan felt in his pocket for ages, but the end result was he only ferreted out a grocery receipt; he turned his head and looked all around, “Where’re we going to eat?”
“Hometown Comforts, I want to eat their spring wraps,” Wan Fei said; he stopped for a while before speaking again, “I knew Pan Yifeng would be the first to stir trouble up with Qiu Yi, just didn’t expect he’d be able to endure until this semester.”
“Like hell there’ll be spring wraps at this hour……” Bian Nan pointed to the row of restaurants ahead, “Just settle for a random noodle stirfry.”
“Whatever, if Young Master you don’t even mind, then I’m even more fine with anything,” Wan Fei waved his hand, not caring that spring wraps had directly become making do with stirfry noodles, “If it’s stirfry noodles then I’ll treat you.”
In the small restaurant, Bian Nan and Wanfei sat at a little two person table close to the window to await their stirfry noodles.
As soon as it was past nine in this shitty place, the only lights still on were in internet cafes, knockoff goods stores, karaoke places, and midnight snack eateries.
Bian Nan kept looking outside the window with his head tilted, but there wasn’t much that could be seen, the nearest streetlight was far, and there were many that had been shattered and still not fixed; outside was ink dark, the glass only reflected what was inside the restaurant.
Counting himself and Wan Fei, there were only four people inside the restaurant, the other table should be an aviation student, head lowered while eating noodles, without ever saying a word.
“You’re not going home this week?” Wan Fei asked.
“En.” Bian Nan nodded, took out his phone and eyed it for a while, then sent Zhang Xiaorong a message.
Have time to come out and eat a meal this Saturday?
He wouldn’t usually use this kind of wording when making plans with a girl, directly saying I’ll treat you to a meal on Saturday would be fine, but Zhang Xiaorong wasn’t fine.
“Not going again? You didn’t go last week either right.” Wan Fei struck a pose, he raised his hand and made a two.
“No point in going,” Bian Nan held his phone towards Wan Fei and snapped a photo, “Bian Xinyu’s birthday the day after tomorrow, why would I go back.”
Bian Xinyu was Bian Nan’s younger sister by the same father but different mothers, only younger than him by half a year, he’d never had anything to say to her ever since he was young, the amount of words they’d spoken in the decade or so until now probably wouldn’t even be enough to write a pear blossom style poem.
Compared to actually talking, there was much more indirect communication.
Usually it went like this: Bian Xinyu said, Daddy, Bian Nan hit me. Bian Nan said I didn’t. Bian Xinyu said, Mommy, Bian Nan snatched my dolly. Bian Nan said I didn’t.
“Mostly it’s to avoid Bian Hao right?” Wan Fei poured him a cup of tea, Wan Fei’s known him since they entered the sports school’s middle school, his family’s melodramatic ethics tale Wan Fei knew as well as his own front door.
“En,” Bian Nan drank a mouthful of tea, “he has to go home for his younger sister’s birthday.”
Bian Hao is Bian Xinyu’s full blood brother, he and Bian Nan didn’t even have a pear blossom poem, they start fighting on sight if anything’s not suitable.
“Go to my house then,” Wan Fei said, “My mom’s making dumplings this week, don’t you love eating the flatbreads she panfries, have her panfry flatbreads for you.”
“We’ll see,” Bian Nan shook his phone, “If Zhang Xiaorong doesn’t eat with me then I’ll go eat flatbreads at your house.”
“Can you two eat a meal for two days.” Wan Fei tsked.
Bian Nan smiled and didn’t speak.
Zhang Xiaorong’s message only came after the noodles were all eaten.
My mood isn’t great these days.
“Truly hard to serve, waited an age to get a sentence of bullshit back,” Bian Nan watched his phone, furrowing his brows, “Is it not wanting to eat because of the bad mood, or is it needing to eat because of the bad mood? A sentence, eating or not, requires this much effort.”
“Don’t all females have this attitude.” Wan Fei moved closer and got an eyeful, then laughed for ages.
“Fart, is it this much work when you talk to Li Dan 李丹 [third, first] and those other girls.”
“If talking to Li Dan’s not hard, then you chase Li Dan.” Wan Fei tsked.
“Too fierce,” Bian Nan prodded his tooth and also tsked, lowering his head to reply to Zhang Xiaorong.
Come out then, I’ll keep you company until your mood gets better.
After leaving the noodle restaurant, there was still some time until ten thirty; Bian Nan and Wan Fei slowly meandered over to Wintergreen Internet Cafe.
Since this area had three schools, other than eateries, there were the most internet cafes, there were more than ten of them, big and small.
But internet cafes were also divided by territory, usually athletics students wouldn’t go to the ones around Wintergreen, aviation students also wouldn’t come over to the internet cafes by the sports school.
If people showed up at the other party’s territory at this hours then it basically meant they were there to find trouble.
This type, full-body-athletic-wear-even-their-down-jackets-had-white stripes-one-glance-and-it’s-clear-they’re-from-the sports-school, like Bian Nan and Wan Fei, were especially offensive to the eyes when walking near the aviation school.
On the way they passed two new buildings that hadn’t finished construction yet; Bian Nan went in and took a turn around the place, found two hollow pipes, he weighed it in hand, handed one to Wan Fei: “Be more clever later, don’t let nails snag on your pants again.”
“Fuck.” Wan Fei accepted the steel pipe.
Bian Nan didn’t know how many people Pan Yifeng called on, but just looking at the ones at the foot of the wall just now, going by the skill level relative to high school brawls they were already mid high level fighters, none were good seeds, they were all hard hitters, plus Wan Fei.
Although Wan Fei could get hung on a wall by nail while trying to go over it, in a fight he was both dedicated and experienced, that vigor definitely exceeded the usual high school skill level, if he couldn’t reign it in he’s bound for the streets.
Bian Nan didn’t count himself in this; he also fought, hadn’t stopped since kindergarten, it was because he kept fighting that dad spent money to stuff him into the sports school saying it was for him to use up that energy, but he usually didn’t start things, it was only that his temper wasn’t good, he was easily provoked upon encountering anyone seeking trouble.
They hadn’t walked for long when they saw the words Wintergreen Internet Cafe brightly illuminated within a spotlight.
Bian Nan’s hand tightened on the steel pipe, he didn’t see Pan Yifeng’s people; Pan Yifeng wasn’t the kind to ditch an appointment last minute, the only possibility was they’d already gone into the internet cafe.
“Go over.” Wan Fei increased his pace and walked ahead of him.
When they had gotten within fifty meters of the internet cafe, the two of them heard a ruckus from within, followed by seeing people run out from the main entrance.
“Block the door.” Bian Nan said one sentence, then the two ran towards the entrance.
A few people who ran out were very panicked and startled, the expressions on their faces clearly visible under the spotlight, none of these were their target, they were only escaping outside after being scared by the fighting.
Following them another two ran out, bloody tracks upon their faces; the things in their hands reflected metallic light, Wan Fei rushed up and swung the metal pipe towards the arm of the one in front.
Bian Nan’s metal pipe crashed onto the hand of the other, the thing that person held fell from their hand onto the ground with a clatter, he swept a glance, it was a stainless steel armrest dismantled from an internet cafe chair.
Bian Nan swung again for their shoulder, this person let out an agonized shriek and held his shoulder as he swayed, yet reached out a hand wanting to pick up the armrest from the floor, Bian Nan kicked the armrest away with one foot, then directed a kick towards his ribs.
He didn’t use much force in that kick, but that person was still knocked over by him.
After Bian Nan and Wan Fei laid the two flat, just when they were about to rush into the internet cafe, suddenly four or five aviation students suddenly rushed out, all with weapons in hand, fiercely wielding them in every direction as soon as they came out.
Bian Nan didn’t stop in time, it was unclear as to whose hand and what thing exactly flicked towards his face, he raised a hand to block, the back of his hand immediately hurt, a searing raw hurt like fire.
“I’ll fuck your grandfather.” Bian Nan cursed, then couldn’t care about anything else, swung the metal pipe and smashed it into the person ahead.
His hand felt somewhat numb, jarred by the impact after the metal pipe in hand crashed into their body, in the chaos Bian Nan’s own body also sustained several hits, he wasn’t wearing much, just a t-shirt, outside it was a very thin down jacket, these hits pissed him off a bit.
The people who boiled out of the internet cafe weren’t few in number, only Bian Nan and Wan Fei were at the entrance, unable to block it, they were swept away.
Pan Yifeng brought a few people and followed them out in pursuit, looking at the situation likely he’d gotten swept up in the brawl, when he came out and saw Bian Nan, he asked: “No issues right!”
“No issues.” Bian Nan agreed.
“Chase!” Pan Yifeng shouted. “No one better fucking think of running!”
The group of aviation students had already run to the road, Bian Nan chased over and went over the pedestrian lane guard rail, swinging for the back of someone’s knees, that person kneeled on the ground then rolled once, Wan Fei caught up and stomped a foot down onto their back.
Group fights were often very brief, it hadn’t been more than five or six minutes total since Bian Nan and Wan Fei joined the fight to the formation of the scene of one group fleeing and one group chasing.
This time Pan Yifeng’s target was Qiu Yi, but even now Bian Nan didn’t know which one out of this mess of a group was Qiu Yi, only feeling that the newly minted boss of the aviation school turned out to be this unable to hold up in a fight.
Chasing to running to stopping to getting a few hits then back to chasing to running to stopping to getting a few hits in….after this procedure repeated twice or thrice, Bian Nan heard a girl’s high pitched yet brief shriek behind him.
Bian Nan felt this sound was a bit familiar, closely following, behind him was the sound of a somewhat low male voice: “Hey.”
Hey your granddad. Bian Nan looked back.
A neon green bicycle hurtled over from behind him, in an instant it was before his eyes, Bian Nan only had time to clearly see that the person on the bike wore a mask, the deepset eyes visible above the mask really made people take notice; without waiting for him to react, the top of his right shoulder strongly suffered an impact.
The enormous pain this wrought nearly had Bian Nan audibly yelling, the metal pipe in hand seemed about to slip and fall.
This person riding the bicycle seemed to pass him like a galeforce wind, what seemed like a police baton raised in his left hand, borrowing the forward motion of the bike, he smashed it onto Wan Fei’s ribs.
Unguarded, Wan Fei stumbled and kneeled onto the ground.
“Behind!” Bian Nan hollered, giving Pan Yifei and the rest a reminder.
But just in the few seconds the people ahead turned their heads to look back, the bicycle had already rushed straight behind Pan Yifeng’s body, the same instant Pan Yifeng looked back, the bike rider’s hand went up, the police baton went from down to up and smashed him under his chin, Pan Yifeng was violently hurtled backwards by this hit, collapsing onto the ground.
At this time, the aviation students all stopped fleeing for their lives, and turned back to look.
Fuck!
Hurtling over, Bian Nan switched the metal pipe to his left hand.
No matter the results of previous brawls, Pan Yifeng was the instigator this time, him being knocked out meant the sports school had been humiliated.
And instinct told him, this person was Qiu Yi.
After Pan Yifeng was knocked down, the person on the bike stopped for a brief moment, Bian Nan rushed over to his side in this blank.
The metal pipe in his hand was aimed towards this person’s face.
This person reacted quite fast, he raised his hand to block before Bian Nan swung onto his face.
But Bian Nan hadn’t used a small amount of force, the metal pipe first smashed onto his left hand, then following, that the top of the metal pipe obeyed inertia and harshly clipped the corner of his eye.
When Bian Nan prepared to smash the second time, that person violently pedaled, the bicycle fled forth and away.
Before that person got on the bike, he turned back and cast him a glance, Bian Nan saw the wound under the corner of his eye was weeping blood.
When Pan Yifeng was pulled up off the ground by people, his chin, slightly deformed from impact, and his wonky expression looked a bit pitiful.
“I fucking…..” Pan Yifeng somewhat painfully cursed half a sentence, the words he spat were somewhat unclear, he’d probably also bitten his tongue.
“Clear out first.” Bian Nan said, the location of Pan Yifeng’s injury was not the place to be hurt, as the leader of this event, having his chin smashed out of shape directly affected command.
The aviation people had originally been beaten savagely, but after this person suddenly appeared, they immediately recovered their vigor, some people wanted to rush over, that person obstructed them, at a suppressed volume, he said one word: “Go.”
After the people from both sides threw down some harsh words, the aviation people turned and went.
The aviation people had been beaten pretty terribly, if not for that person laying Pan Yifeng out flat in the last exchange, today would have to be counted as their successfully picking a fight.
Other than Pan Yifeng, over here on the sports school side, no one had any major issues, these people’s constitutions were all good, suffering a few hits didn’t count for much.
Wan Fei had been thrashed pretty cruelly, at this point not much of an impact could be seen.
Two people accompanied Pan Yifeng to a hospital three kilometers out to be seen in urgent care, the others all dispersed, some went to an internet cafe, Bian Nan and Wan Fei went over the wall back into school.
Bian Nan only discovered his shoulder injury was more serious than imagined when climbing up along the water pipe, lifting his right elbow upwards was very strenuous, and no force could be exerted.
“Cunt!” Bian Nan climbed into the shower room and cursed as he leaned against the wall, then reached a hand back and pulled the hanging-on-the-window-ledge-because-he-couldn’t-get-in-due-to-rib-pain-Wan-Fei inside.
“Fuck,” Wan Fei lifted his own clothes, a big patch of crow black purple jade blue green already evident, “Fuck!”
Bian Nan pressed that crow jade patch: “It’s fine as long as the ribs aren’t broken.”
“That person is Qiu Yi?” Bian Nan asked in a gloomy voice.
“En, look at the bike and you know.” Wan Fei puffed a few breaths towards his own ribs.
“Really fucking disgusting!” Bian Nan ground his teeth.
Bian Nan only returned to the dorm after using cold water to run over his shoulder for ten something minutes in the shower room with his teeth clenched, took his clothes off, borrowing the light outside the dorm, discovered that his own shoulder had also entirely bruised, not as swollen after running cold water over it.
He clenched his teeth and moved his arm, the bone shouldn’t have any problems, but even the slightest extension of the muscle was so painful he wanted to kneel, the shoulder and even neck altogether hurt so much it felt numb.
“Damn……” Zhu Bin in the upper bunk stuck out half his body, “What’s happened to you?”
“‘s visible?” Bian Nan eyed him, “pretty good vision you’ve got.”
“No shit this one big bright patch of color,” Zhu Bin got off the bed, pawed a bottle of spray out of a drawer, sprayed a few pumps towards Bian Nan’s shoulder, saw the big splotch on Wan Fei’s body, tsked, “What’d you two go do?”
“Paintball.” Bian Nan said, pulling the covers aside and collapsing onto the bed; having fought for so long, this was the first time he’d been beaten without any preparation.
But the thing that made him most depressed wasn’t this.
When walking back, he saw Zhang Xiaorong standing just at the entrance to a milk tea shop by the side of road.
In that moment he realized, that familiar shriek behind his back was Zhang Xiaorong’s, and at the time it was pretty close, Bian Nan could guess Zhang Xiaorong likely just hopped down from Qiu Yi’s bike.
Fuck!
Bian Nan didn’t have too many opinions about Zhang Xiaorong originally, he just felt Zhang Xiaorong was beautiful, and not the tawdry kind of beauty, the really elegant sort.
As soon as he thought of Qiu Yi now, his heart felt stuffed up inside, the wound on his shoulder burned like fire in an unspeakable kind of pain.
So this Zhang Xiaorong had to be chased ‘til he had her in hand!
A stomach full of pent up fury, and it was the kind that built up more the more he fucking thought about it, yet Bian Nan somehow fell asleep not long after.
When he was awoken the next day by the school’s loudspeakers when the sky hadn’t even lightened, he even felt this sleep was particularly sound.
Only the violent pain of his shoulder being wrenched as he turned to get off the bed reminded him of the events of last night, at once he was somewhat pissed again.
When Wan Fei got out of bed he did so holding his ribs with his body turned aside, seeming like an old lady with his back hunched over.
“Training today will be miserable.” Wan Fei walked out of the dorm, towel in hand, back hunched.
The athletics uniform clad sports students running laps along the sidewalk every morning had always been “the second city center’s” bright and beautiful scenery.
The nearby early rising moms and pops often paused to admire this.
Bian Nan ran in the middle of the ranks, it felt like torture every time his arm moved back and forth, although he could endure, when he’d hurt his shoulder training before it also pretty much felt like this.
Having just run half a lap, Bian Nan felt he saw a smear of dazzling green in the corner of his eye.
He violently whipped his head around to look over, stilling: “Fuck me!”
A neon green bicycle was parked on the other side of the street, the person on the bike had one leg propped against the ground, both hands in his pocket, as he just happened to be looking over in this direction.
====
loach corner:
god i love boys who brawl and this should've been more fun to translate but this author sure uses very little to no variation in words TT hitting someone with a metal pipe is always the same verb: 砸。and many other examples i can't think of rn. so, the boys are brawling on the page and two wolves are brawling inside of me: my desire to be faithful to reproducing the text as is and my fear of readers thinking this is my writing skill/level/style
howling . im howling . i prommy i love word variations and poetic prose and and and. i'll write wwfnp fic eventually and you'll see!!! sob.jpg
