"Lai Yiu-fai."
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"Name?"
"Lai Yiu-fai."
"Ho Po-wing."
After the last stamp and the last question, they packed their passports and set off for Hong Kong.
"Hey, you bought such a beat-up car?" "If you gave me more money, I would have bought a better one!" Lai Yiu-fai glanced back at Ho Po-wing, who was lying in the back seat smoking, and continued driving with a gloomy expression. They had been stopping and starting along the way for months, and the car had been repaired repeatedly, almost depleting their savings. Lai Yiu-fai was worried about this; he feared they wouldn't have enough money to get home, while Ho Po-wing remained carefree.
"Wow, this hotel is so dark and small!" "We'll have to make do; we can only afford the cheapest place!" Ho Po-wing pouted, looked at Lai Yiu-fai, and touched the edge of the bed, saying, "This bed is so narrow." Lai Yiu-fai glanced at Ho Po-wing, knowing what kind of scheme he was up to again. "We'll have to stay here for the next few days. Who knows how we ended up here! Which bed are you sleeping on?" "We're going to be staying here for several days anyway, so we might as well take turns." "Hey, be serious!" "Well, I'd prefer to sleep on the same side as you." Lai Yiu-fai rolled his eyes at Ho Po-wing and continued tidying up the room with a blank expression. "Hmm...it's just that the bed is a bit small. I don't take up much space, so we can just stack up on top of each other..." "Shut up." Lai Yiu-fai suddenly turned around and pointed at Ho Po-wing, who could only helplessly purse his lips and look to the side.
"What do you think we'll do if we run out of money?" Lai Yiu-fai looked at Ho Po-wing through the dim yellow light. Ho Po-wing straightened up, kicked the blanket, and said casually, "Run out of money? If we run out of money, I'll go to work with you. As long as we're together, that's fine!" Lai Yiu-fai covered his eyes with his arm and slowly turned over. Ho Po-wing looked at Lai Yiu-fai on the other side. "Hey, want a cigarette?" "No, let's go to sleep!"
Ho Po-wing looked at the chandelier hanging above him, trying to reach it with his hand, but unfortunately, it was hanging too high on his side. If it were Lai Yiu-fai's side, he could probably reach it.
"Hey!" Ho Po-wing jumped in front of Lai Yiu-fai and held the lamp in his hand up to Lai Yiu-fai's eyes. "Isn't it pretty?" "Wow, Ho Po-wing, where did you find this? It's so beautiful!" Ho Po-wing grinned smugly, touching his lower teeth with his tongue. "I bought it here, hey, let me tell you, it wasn't expensive, I bought it from a secondhand market." Lai Yiu-fai took the lamp from Ho Po-wing and examined it closely: it was a very beautiful cylindrical lamp, with a spiral fan at the top of the inner layer for providing light, and what looked like a small light bulb in the middle. The outer layer was covered with a lampshade made of green and grayish-yellow glass plastic sheets. Lai Yiu-fai sat down and looked at it for a long time. "Hey, hey, hey, Ho Po-wing, come here." Lai Yiu-fai pointed to the outer layer of the lamp and said, "Do you think this looks like a big waterfall?" Ho Po-wing carefully took the lamp, looked at it for a while, and slowly straightened up. "Do you think—could this be some kind of landscape?" Lai Yiu-fai and Ho Po-wing looked at each other, then turned their gaze back to the lamp.
At midnight, Lai Yiu-fai couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning several times. He finally propped his head up on his arm and looked towards Ho Po-wing's side. The dim yellow light in the corner seemed glaringly bright in the pitch-black night. Lai Yiu-fai quietly sat up, carefully placing the lamp in his lap and looking down at it, turning it. Ho Po-wing was right, this must be a scene! Suddenly, Lai Yiu-fai leaned closer, his eyes widening. There were two people on the lamp, in front of the falls, leaning over the railing, receiving the spray of the waterfall. Lai Yiu-fai couldn't possibly know who they were; they were probably a couple!
"It's Iguazu Falls!"
"Oh, okay, thank you!"
After asking around for a long time, someone finally recognized the scene on the lampshade—it was Iguazu Falls. Ho Po-wing had never heard of it before, and neither had Lai Yiu-fai.
“I really want to go there.” Ho Po-wing looked at Lai Yiu-fai. “Me too!” “Then let’s go!” “Then we can only go to this one place. We don’t have enough money. Let’s go back to Hong Kong after seeing the waterfall!” Ho Po-wing obediently lowered his head, his sharp eyes quickly scanning the area before he agreed.
Although the past few months had been tough, a constant wandering; although Lai’s parents had called a few times, Lai Yiu-fai had only listened to a few words before hanging up and never called again; although this trip was very different from what he had imagined, and the original travel plans had all fallen through, Lai Yiu-fai was still quite happy. At least Ho Po-wing would stay by his side, instead of flying around aimlessly. He remembered that a month after they left, Ho Po-wing said he would teach him tango, so that one day they could dance together in a bar. But he was so tired from driving every day that he hadn’t had time to learn. Before they returned to Hong Kong after seeing the waterfall, he would definitely make Ho Po-wing teach him tango. Back in Hong Kong, Lai Yiu-fai often saw Ho Po-wing pacing back and forth in his apartment. Turns out, he was imitating this!
"Ho Po-wing," Lai Yiu-fai said, picking up the camera from the table and looking at Ho Po-wing sternly. "I didn't say anything about you buying a lamp, but why did you buy a camera?" "We're going to see the waterfall, we have to take pictures to remember it, isn't that great?" Lai Yiu-fai glared at Ho Po-wing through gritted teeth, only saying softly, "Do you even have any money left? You don't need to buy anything anymore when you go out!" "Lai Yiu-fai, buying a camera doesn't have to kill you, does it? If you're so capable, don't use it!" Ho Po-wing sat angrily on the bed, staring at the lamp. Lai Yiu-fai put on his brown coat and went out.
Lai Yiu-fai went to a bar alone, ordered two of the cheapest drinks, and sat down at a small table to get drunk. Ho Po-wing had been going out a lot these past few days, and every time he went out, he would bring back something, big or small. Lai Yiu-fai had never said anything about the cigarettes, paper, or seafood he usually brought, but this time he brought back a camera! Has Lai Yiu-fai really spent all the money he saved through frugality? How many tubes of toothpaste could a camera buy! (Lai Yiu-fai's toothpaste tube was already squeezed out of shape.) Seeing that Lai Yiu-fai had already finished two bottles of wine, yet he was only slightly drunk, it seemed his alcohol tolerance had been trained by Ho Po-wing. "Boss, give me two more bottles of wine." "Two bottles of wine?" "Yes, pack them up for me, thanks!"
Pushing open the door, Ho Po-wing was still sitting on the bed fiddling with his camera, not even glancing at Lai Yiu-fai. In this situation, Lai Yiu-fai could only bend down and coax Ho Po-wing. "Want some wine?" "You know I don't drink often!" Lai Yiu-fai had no choice but to put the wine on the table, take out a bottle, sit on the bed, take a sip, and then take the camera from Ho Po-wing. "How do I use this?" Ho Po-wing looked at Lai Yiu-fai, half-lying on the bed. "Come closer!" Lai Yiu-fai and Ho Po-wing leaned against the corner of the wall, and with a "click," Ho Po-wing finished taking the picture before Lai Yiu-fai had even gotten into position. “Look.” “You look really handsome.” Ho Po-wing smiled as he looked at the camera. “I’ll get it developed on the street later.” Lai Yiu-fai wanted to say something, but held back.
They remembered that on September 23, 1996, they crossed the Tropic of Capricorn to Argentina. Now it was October 8th, and Ho Po-wing’s photos were ready. They were preparing to head to Iguazu Falls the next day.
That day, Ho Po-wing and Lai Yiu-fai had another argument. Afterward, Ho Po-wing lay naked on the bed, smoking a cigarette and looking at the waterfall lamp and a few photos on the table. Lai Yiu-fai, naked, faced the glass wall. The two remained silent for a long time. After a while, Lai Yiu-fai heard Ho Po-wing get out of bed. He turned his head slightly to look, and Ho Po-wing began to gently bite Lai Yiu-fai’s ear, his hands roaming over his body.
That night, in the dim light and amidst the pervasive white smoke, the two were lost in passion, waiting for dawn to break through their unspoken desires with their lips. In the narrow room, it seemed as if only He Baorong's cries and laughter could be heard.
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