Happiness achieved after climbing 108 steps

That countryside was short of rain and overcast for a long time. It was rare to see a glimpse of blue sky outside the twilight. Walking on the misty streets, I realized that my dream was not as fragile as I thought. I had less than 200 yuan with me, and at any moment, I might have to brave the wind and rain. In a panic, I dialed my classmate Guan Qiang's phone number.

Guan Qiang wasn't doing much better in this city either. He worked as a repairman in a computer company and lived in a house in the suburbs, on the attic floor of the seventh floor. Following the dark and narrow staircase down, I often bumped into piles of junk left in the hallway. Guan Qiang told me that from the entrance of the building, there were a total of 108 steps.

Guan Qiang's house, starting from the wall, was densely covered with two-color patterned cardboard. At first glance, it looked like it had been remodeled. Since it was an attic, the lighting wasn't ideal. Looking out of the half-sized windows that let light in, one could just about see the old residential area across the street and those solitary wooden houses.

I knew that I would be staying here for a while until I found work, Taobao.com. When I stepped out of the house with a sigh, I knew I couldn't turn back. Guan Qiang set up a bed on the floor for me and hung a curtain as a partition, which he explained to his daughter. While he was doing these things, honestly speaking, I was really grateful to him. Going downstairs was still 108 steps, and though I easily overlooked them, Guan Qiang could count each step clearly.

Upstairs, there was an old man who sold suspended oven cakes. Dressed in clean clothes, he kneaded each cake and placed them into the oven. After flipping them a few times and taking them out, these pale cakes suddenly changed color. While they were still warm, he brushed some raw oil on them, and when they came out again, they turned golden and very appetizing.

Finding a job turned out to be unexpectedly easy, probably because I had lowered my employment standards. Very soon, I found a job as an inspector in an electronics factory. Every day, I worked 9 hours, inspecting defective products under three conditions, then boxing them. The factory provided lunch every day, but no accommodation. Guan Qiang started work an hour later than me and finished half an hour earlier than me. Therefore, every time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I would see him waiting for me to go upstairs together, always holding a golden oven cake.

He tore the oven cake into two halves, giving me the smaller one, and said with a smile: "Eat, you'll have more energy to climb the stairs." So, in that period of memory, there was always the smell of an oven cake. We went upstairs together, opened the door to the attic, then lay on our respective beds, chatting intermittently, but it still felt like home.

I will always remember that day because a woman gave me a bunch of flowers, and I agreed to be her boyfriend. That person was Guan Qiang. Back then, a bouquet of roses costing forty or fifty yuan was a rare luxury for me. That day, after working overtime, Taobao Mall, by the time I returned, it was the last bus. City buses usually stop around 8 p.m., and the last bus was crowded. I remembered that it was my birthday that day, so I specially bought some food to share with Guan Qiang.

When boarding the bus, I saw someone standing far away, it was Guan Qiang. As I got closer, I noticed a mysterious smile on his face. Closer still, when he suddenly handed me a small bouquet of roses and wished me a happy birthday, I was moved beyond words. As we climbed the steps together, I curiously asked him how he remembered my birthday? He smiled and said: "Did you forget my job at school? Actually, I remembered your birthday back then." Suddenly, I remembered that he had worked part-time managing school records. I cried and said: "I almost forgot, turns out you are quite thoughtful." He laughed and pretended to chase me, and I ran laughing down the 108 steps, finishing them quickly.

Breathing heavily, I stopped at the door, holding the roses, waiting for him to open the door. His eyes suddenly softened, then he hugged me tightly, carrying a faint male scent. I didn't struggle, perhaps because I had been longing for such an embrace in this lonely city, and also because of the accumulated feelings over time, I had reasons to reciprocate his feelings.

Guan Qiang still waited for me every day after those 108 steps, regardless of the time. We held hands and ate our respective halves of the oven cake. I cried and asked him: "Do you think the old man selling oven cakes is some kind of deity? Why do I never feel tired going downstairs after eating his cakes?" Guan Qiang chuckled and teased me for being silly, while wiping my eyes forcefully with his hand.

I was very satisfied with this intimate gesture of his. For quite a long time, it was almost our fixed way of becoming close when climbing the stairs. His gentle yet slightly rough fingers, starting from the corner of my eye, drew a soft arc, then he looked at me with deep affection and said, "I really care about you." The smell of the oven cake would then waft out of my mouth again, like his enduring and deep embrace.

We happily climbed the 108 steps. Sometimes, he would mischievously count them, one, two, three, all the way to one hundred and eight. I truly knew which corner had a missing half-step because at that point, he would unconsciously push me. And which step's railing was a bit loose because at that point, he would automatically walk to the side of the railing. I laughed at him and said: "You're treating me like a child." He laughed, and I snuggled closer happily because even a fool could see that he cared about me in his heart.