CWITAR Chapter 9

 

Qi Juan turned his face away, “Well, that’s because you drew it too ugly.”

 

Just after washing his hair, the damp strands were still dripping with water. Chi Yin wrapped his wet hair in a towel, giving it a quick rub, and then walked over in slippers.

 

He raised his hand and hung up the unknown call, then brought a small round stool closer and sat down next to Qi Juan.

 

The wall clock on the wall was ticking away, and Chi Yin remained silent. Only when he listened carefully did he hear Qi Juan softly groaning.

 

Qi Juan had his eyes closed, enduring the stabbing pain of an empty stomach, with his back turned to Chi Yin. He hugged a pillow and curled up on the sofa.

 

His tall and slender figure hunched over, and the clearly protruding ridge of his backbone resembled a greenish-blue mountain range lying down. At this moment, it was dampened by the “rain” and presented a poetic and picturesque deep color.

 

Chi Yin couldn’t help but feel his fingertips trembling as he gently and slowly touched the distinct and clear joints through their clothes.

 

“As soon as we separated, I couldn’t help but miss you,” Chi Yin said in a low voice.

He pressed his ear against Qi Juan’s back, quietly listening to the amplified sound of his breath in the shallow chest cavity. The sounds in his ears were erratic, as if a handful of pearls had been casually scattered, allowing them to roll and splash in a water-filled jade plate, creating a seductive and hazy mist.

 

He let his slightly damp fingertips explore inside Qi Juan’s short T-shirt, touching the icy-cold upper abdomen. Presumably, that area was also in great pain. With a light touch of his fingertips, he could feel the intense spasms of Qi Juan’s stomach.

 

After massaging Qi Juan for a while, he was already trembling in Chi Yin’s arms. “I feel like I can’t be without you now, what should I do?” Qi Juan said, leaning against Chi Yin’s chest.

 

Chi Yin squinted his eyes. “You really make me sad. Are you unsatisfied with the smiley face I drew for you? Why did you throw it away? If you keep doing this, I might not want to return those hidden pills to you.”

 

Qi Juan turned his face away. “That’s because you drew it too ugly.”

 

Chi Yin: “……”

 

Qi Juan let out a cold laugh and continued, “It’s really pointless. You can keep those pills for yourself, along with your smiley face. Whether you want to collect them for observation or play pretend, it all suits you well.”

 

With each sentence, his stomach accompanied his breath, pressing against the solid bones. He spoke slowly, his tone showing exhaustion.

 

“If you’re sick, you should take medicine, right? I’ll return a box of stomach medicine to you, and you can spend one more day with me, okay?” Chi Yin insisted.

 

“Don’t talk to me about this.” Qi Juan subconsciously retreated, as if resisting Chi Yin.

 

“I’m talking to you! Why are you moving away!” Chi Yin pressed down on Qi Juan’s shoulders, forcing him to lie on his back. Immediately after, he pulled his hand back and swung a punch into his abdomen, causing the sofa to sink with an old creaking sound.

 

Qi Juan’s face lost all color, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, making him look pale and sickly.

 

He half-closed his eyelids and placed his icy fingers on Chi Yin’s hand, shifting it slightly to the side. His voice was soft and hoarse as he said, “Go ahead. Kill me.”

 

“…”

 

“What’s the matter?” Qi Juan chuckled lightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, “Aren’t you brave enough?”

 

Chi Yin’s expression darkened.

 

After all, they had been dating for a year, and Chi Yin knew very well that the spot he hit was where Qi Juan’s stomach ulcer was concentrated.

 

In the past, when Qi Juan couldn’t bear the pain, he would twist and turn, holding Chi Yin’s hand and groaning, rubbing that specific area.

 

During those times, Qi Juan would playfully pester Chi Yin, cuddling up to him and complaining about the discomfort. But he didn’t know when it had started, the distance between them had been growing farther and farther.

 

Qi Juan raised his arm, covering his beautifully delicate eyes, but his lips couldn’t help but curve into a lazy smile.

 

There was no way to describe how this intense torment felt; his mind would always burst with negative thoughts in those moments. Even though he didn’t want to, how could he digest those congested feelings of helplessness?

 

“What are you daydreaming about?” Chi Yin looked at Qi Juan trembling and gently massaged the painful area for him.

 

“I’m thinking about how to get rid of you,” Qi Juan said.

 

“You!” He really disliked how this person acted so cocky in front of him. Chi Yin lightly pressed the sofa, furrowing his brows, and then fiercely punched the spot that Qi Juan had pointed at earlier.

 

“Cough…” Qi Juan’s stomach contracted suddenly, and he immediately turned over and spat several mouthfuls of clear liquid into the trash can. His jet-black hair fell, covering his pale and delicate little face.

 

His palms tightly gripped the edge of the sofa, and the tender shoulder blades also trembled slightly.

 

Chi Yin looked at him, rubbed his wrist, and smiled, “I won’t leave, you’re just dreaming.”

If it weren’t for Chi Yin sitting there, blocking most of it, Qi Juan would have almost flipped over and fallen off the sofa.

Qi Juan slumped back, closing his eyes and couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

 

Chi Yin asked him, “Does it hurt? If it hurts, just say so.”

Qi Juan licked his molars and said with difficulty, “I don’t feel anything.”

 

“Who would believe that?” Chi Yin flipped out a box of painkillers from his pocket, opened it, scooped out two pills, and forcibly fed them to Qi Juan.

 

However, as soon as he turned around to get the glass, the pills were promptly spit out by Qi Juan. He forcefully pushed away Chi Yin’s hand that was massaging his stomach and curled up in pain.

 

“Fine! It serves you right to feel uncomfortable when you won’t take them yourself,” Chi Yin said as he handed the water glass from the coffee table to Qi Juan. He was really struggling to resist the urge to directly pour the glass into Qi Juan’s stomach and make him suffer.

 

Qi Juan took a moment to accept the glass, but when he took a sip, he frowned and spat out the spicy liquid. He slumped at the edge of the sofa and spat a few more times.

 

After coughing for a while, Qi Juan tied up his hair and said slowly, “Did you switch to white wine? If I were you, I would mix several types of alcohol in it to get drunk faster.”

 

A thin layer of sweat dripped into his eye sockets, causing a slight stinging sensation, and then his vision became blurry. Qi Juan continued, “Is that all you’ve got? Just these tricks?”

 

“Now you’re giving suggestions? I’ll definitely try something different next time,” Chi Yin said, his tone trailing off, “But today, we didn’t have enough fun. What should we do?”

 

Qi Juan fell silent for a moment, then said, “Anything else.”

 

He admitted that there was an element of self-torture in his actions. Back then, in defiance of his family, he returned to school early during the holiday. However, he couldn’t make it in time to see his father one last time, and the deep-seated guilt buried in his heart often overwhelmed him, making it hard to breathe.

 

He remembered that his father had once told him that the Chi family had helped them, and he should remember their kindness. However, it took him a long time to believe that indulging Chi Yin was a way to compensate for the unease and guilt in his heart at the time.

 

But in the end, he became exhausted. Even he himself didn’t know if he should continue.

 

The weather in summer was always changeable. Unconsciously, it started raining outside, and the raindrops splashed against the glass window, making a crackling sound as the distorted watermarks flowed down.

 

“Don’t rush.” Chi Yin took out a bag of candy from his coat pocket. He shook the bag and poured a few candies into his palm, using his fingers to play with them. “Have you seen this before? I saw someone selling this kind of candy at the school gate a couple of days ago. It seems quite sour. I wonder if you can handle it. Do you want to give it a try?”

 

In the faint warm light cast by the street lamp, one could vaguely see the swaying branches and leaves outside the window. They danced and swayed in the wind, resembling ghostly figures dancing wildly in the mortal world.

 

Qu Juan averted his gaze and looked at the candies on the table. He genuinely felt cold and wondered if the window was drafty.

 

Holding a pillow, Qu Juan asked, “If I don’t eat it now, will it appear in my cup or in the next bowl of porridge?”

 

Chi Yin counted the candies in his hand and slowly curved his lips, “That’s hard to say.”

 

The cold, white light fell on his face, making him appear devoid of warmth. Every move he made seemed like that of a very composed executioner, someone who could remain calm and even crack jokes in front of an interview camera after committing a crime.

 

Chi Yin calmly peeled off the candy wrapper and fed it to Qi Juan. It was more like he was forcing it in, and Qi Juan’s lips were almost scraped raw.

 

But as soon as Qi Juan swallowed the candy, he realized something was off. He had bought prank candies before at the school gate, which tasted sour and had a slightly sweet aftertaste.

 

However, the candy Chi Yin fed him was not sour at all; it was incredibly, incredibly spicy, with a strong sensation of having swallowed a spoonful of pepper. Could it be some new formula from a different vendor?

 

“Rumble—”

 

With a deafening thunderclap, lightning struck, and the window glass almost split into two. Immediately after, a torrential downpour fell relentlessly, hitting the security bars on the window chaotically and without order.

 

Qi Juan couldn’t even feel the spiciness. He almost instantly leaned over the edge of the sofa, trying to spit out the strange thing in his mouth.

 

“What are you doing? Don’t waste it,” Chi Yin hurriedly covered Qi Juan’s mouth.

 

The hard candy slowly melted between his lips and tongue, releasing a dense and spicy liquid. Unable to find a way out, it transformed into a wriggling venomous snake, drilling straight into his internal organs, causing hot sweat to seep from his delicate skin.

 

Qi Juan felt his tongue burning with pain, and his unsteady breaths all scalded Chi Yin’s hand back. However, Chi Yin showed no intention of backing off; instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Qi Juan’s reaction.

 

His forehead was shining, with a few strands of dark hair hanging down, as if he had just come back from being caught in the rain outside, and his body was trembling slightly.

 

Qi Juan, with a pale face, looked at Chi Yin and casually bit open the candy with a “crunch.” He chewed it a few times, his throat rolled, and he swallowed it down.

 

Seeing this, Chi Yin finally moved his hand away and said, “If you had listened earlier, it would have been fine.”

 

Qi Juan curled up, holding his stomach, and his lips seemed to have lost their color. Chi Yin touched his cheek and felt cold and clammy with sweat.

 

“I still have a lot left,” Chi Yin patted Qi Juan, who was bent over and completely ignored him.

 

He then peeled open another candy by himself, pinched Qi Juan’s chin, and forcefully stuffed the candy into his mouth. Qi Juan clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to open his mouth, and tiny lazy wrinkles appeared on his nose.

 

Listening to Chi Yin grumbling and complaining on the side, it took quite a while before Qi Juan turned his face away, burying it in the pillow, and said, “Aren’t you damn annoying? Stop touching me.”

 

His voice sounded muffled through the pillow, with a hint of youthful defiance.

 

“Fine, I won’t touch you. I’ll give them to you. You can eat them yourself,” Chi Yin put two spicy candies into Qi Jian’s hand.

 

Qi Juan hesitated for a moment before placing the candy in his mouth. He originally thought of letting it slowly dissolve, but it was too spicy. Qi Juan’s fingers trembled as he picked up the glass of white wine on the table and was about to down it in one gulp.

 

Rather than making a passive choice, he might as well face it head-on. Consider it as a retaliation… He didn’t know who to toast to, so why not toast to this damn life? Could he treat this guy better from now on?

 

Chi Yin was startled by his continuous actions and hurriedly patted Qi Juan’s back, exclaiming, “Don’t drink it!”

 

Qi Juan appeared completely calm as if he was just casually drinking water, showing no concern, which made Chi Yin worried that he might do something extreme again.

 

Fortunately, Qi Juan just placed the cup properly and smiled as he said to him, “What’s wrong? Wasn’t it you who served it to me? I drank it, aren’t you satisfied?”