Daydreaming about having plenty of time

　　“Lai Yiu-fai, how about we start over?” Ho Po-wing leaned against the doorway, looking at Lai Yiu-fai softly. Lai Yiu-fai never dared to look Ho Po-wing in the eye, but there was no doubt that he had fallen into Ho Po-wing's trap again; that was a fact, unchangeable.

　　The day they started over was Lai Yiu-fai's birthday, his 34th birthday. Ho Po-wing had spent 14 of his birthdays with him. In fact, Lai Yiu-fai often forgot his own birthday; Ho Po-wing usually reminded him. If Ho Po-wing was away again, he would only occasionally remember that he hadn't celebrated his birthday with Ho Po-wing long afterward. That day, as usual, Lai Yiu-fai returned to his apartment from the shop and was about to start cooking noodles when there was a sudden, urgent knocking at the door. Lai Yiu-fai vaguely guessed who it was, staring at the door for a long, long time, but the knocking continued. “Lai Yiu-fai, Lai Yiu-fai, open the door!” It was Ho Po-wing.

　　"What are you doing?" "Hey, aren't you going to let me in for a bit?" Ho Po-wing stood at the door, peering inside. "Talk here. Come on in when you're done." Ho Po-wing shoved Lai Yiu-fai aside and walked straight in. "Hey, Lai Yiu-fai, how poor are you?" Ho Po-wing pointed disdainfully at the noodles in the pot. "Ah, am I better than you? You have someone to support you with food and lodging, but I don't!" "Hey, there's no need to say that. I just came to celebrate your birthday out of kindness, who knew, tsk, well." Ho Po-wing shrugged and curled his lip. Lai Yiu-fai was reminded by Ho Po-wing's words and glanced at the calendar out of the corner of his eye: April 17, 1996. "Come on, I don't need you to celebrate my birthday! I have hands and feet, I can celebrate by myself, it's not like it's the first time I've celebrated by myself!" Lai Yiu-fai chased Ho Po-wing to the door. "Lai Yiu-fai..." The power of those three words seemed to surge through Lai Yiu-fai, and instantly, all was silent except for the bubbling sound of the noodles cooking. “Lai Yiu-fai, how about we start over?”

　　Lai Yiu-fai and Ho Po-wing only confirmed their relationship in 1979. That year, Lai Yiu-fai was 17 and Ho Po-wing was 18. Ho Po-wing once asked Lai Yiu-fai what type of girl he liked, and he told him, “Just the one I like.” In fact, Lai Yiu-fai felt much more comfortable with Ho Po-wing than with others, including his parents, even though Ho Po-wing was always willful and temperamental. But he was always a little insecure about Ho Po-wing because he was too handsome. Of all the people Lai Yiu-fai had ever met, no one could be as beautiful as Ho Po-wing, even in a simple brown coat. Sometimes, Lai Yiu-fai would even feel that he was androgynous. Ho Po-wing was always very confident in Lai Yiu-fai. He knew his charm, like the most alluring and beautiful rose in the midnight, making Lai Yiu-fai willingly infatuated with him. He Baorong was like a kite in Lai Yiu-fai's hand. As long as Lai Yiu-fai didn't let go, no matter how high or far he flew, he would eventually return to Lai Yiu-fai to rest. He also believed that Lai Yiu-fai would never let go; he wouldn't be willing to leave him alone to wander the world. Therefore, He Baorong had the confidence to come back again and again.

　　"Hey, Lai Yiu-fai," He Baorong said, playing with the key necklace on Lai Yiu-fai's chest. Lai Yiu-fai looked at He Baorong, who was lying on his chest, without saying a word. "Hey, say something! I still want to go out and have some fun." "How are you going to have fun? You've spent all your money; it's not enough." Lai Yiu-fai was glad that his parents hadn't yet discovered how much money they had lost. “I have it! I brought a lot of money this time, enough to make up for what I’ve spent!” “Where did you get the money?” “I don’t want to tell you!” “I know even if you don’t tell me!” Ho Po-wing sat up in bed and put on his vest. “Hey, where do you want to go?” “I don’t know, there are many places we haven’t been to.” “Then let’s do this, we’ll go wherever we end up, and for the places we haven’t been to before—we’ll go together!”

　　Ho Po-wing always talked about “later” a lot, things that couldn’t be done now were all entrusted to the future. “Later” seemed very, very far away to Lai Yiu-fai: in some time and space, another Ho Po-wing and Lai Yiu-fai would meet again in the same place and fulfill the “later” promises. But it seems that for the current Lai Yiu-fai, “later” is like the future itself, something he can’t grasp or predict. He can only piece together his vision of the future with the knowledge in his mind. Therefore, Lai Yiu-fai has never agreed to Ho Po-wing’s promises for “later”.

　　"No way, it's always so bland and watery. Hey, look at me, look at what you've made me into!" Ho Po-wing moved closer to Lai Yiu-fai. Lai Yiu-fai glanced up. "Hurry up, I have something to tell you today!" "Ugh, I already told you, next time buy me a fish and stew it, I'll be malnourished..." "Hey, do you want to eat or not?" Ho Po-wing shook his head and reluctantly sat down, picking up his bowl. Lai Yiu-fai also sat down and put a piece of food on Ho Po-wing's plate, staring at the rice in his bowl for a long time. "I'm going to talk to my dad and the others..." "I want to go out and play, but they—don't want me to go." "It's not them going, it's you going, it has nothing to do with them." "But I can't just sneak out!" "Right, didn't I sneak out before?" "Hey, if we both run away, who's going to support us? You will!" "Hey, hey, hey, don't poke me, Lai Yiu-fai, why are you thinking so much? Let's take it one step at a time."

　　In the end, Lai Yiu-fai couldn't bring himself to say anything to Ho Po-wing, but as a child, secretly taking a large sum of money from home to run away and play was inappropriate both morally and logically. He knew he didn't have Ho Po-wing's decisiveness. Ho Po-wing was taking a gamble, just like when Ho Po-wing left home back then, he wasn't entirely sure Lai Yiu-fai would take him in, but he still left so resolutely. Lai Yiu-fai didn't have that kind of courage.

　　He Baorong had guessed from the beginning that Lai Yiu-fai's family wouldn't let him leave, but he hadn't expected Lai Yiu-fai to tell his parents so quickly. He Baorong had always disliked Lai Yiu-fai telling his parents everything and had talked to him about it many times, but each time Lai Yiu-fai remained silent like a block of wood. But He Baorong was He Baorong; he always found a way to make Lai Yiu-fai give in. As long as he made a request to Lai Yiu-fai in a coquettish way, Lai Yiu-fai usually couldn't refuse. This was a weakness that He Baorong had guessed over the years.

　　"Hey, He Baorong! The fish is almost dry! Aren't you going to check it?" Lai Yiu-fai threw down the rag and hurriedly ran to the stove to turn off the fire. "Hey, can't you see what I'm doing? Wow, hanging a curtain is really dangerous! Okay, come down!" At this moment, Lai Yiu-fai had already brought the fish from the kitchen to the table. Ho Po-wing smiled and sniffed it. "Be careful of the bones, you got one last time..." "I know, be careful of the bones, don't worry about me, you gossip!" When Ho Po-wing was a child, he got a fish bone stuck in his throat once. He was so scared that he sat on the bed waiting to die (Ho Po-wing was very afraid of dying). Later, he tried very hard but couldn't find the fish bone, so for a long time afterward, Ho Po-wing didn't dare to eat fish again.

　　On May 12, 1996, Ho Po-wing and Lai Yiu-fai set off from Hong Kong by car. They were going to take a commemorative photo in front of the Statue of Liberty, go shopping in London, then go to Niagara Falls for a shower, climb Mount Fuji, ride camels in the Sahara Desert, go to the Netherlands to see tulips, and finally arrive in Argentina to see the South American waterfalls. Once they've finished sightseeing, they'll drive back to their little apartment along the same route, put up photos on the wall to commemorate their trip.

　　But actually, they're both looking at the map and neither remembers how they got there, so they might take a different route back.