CWITAR Chapter 19

He smiled and told a beautiful lie.

 

In that moment, Yu Yue Sheng felt that the young man in the video looked very familiar. Watching him slowly fold his body, pressing his stomach with his arm, perhaps it was discomfort, or maybe he was enduring pain. His whole body was trembling slightly.

 

The video was silent. At first, Yu Yue Sheng thought that his phone was muted, but after turning up the volume, he realized that the video itself had no sound.

 

Looking at that young man, he couldn’t help but think of Qi Juan, thinking of the person hugging a trash bin in a curled-up position, thinking of that person using a mineral water bottle to press against his stomach, thinking of that person leaning against the corner and coughing up blood…

 

He knew how much pain he was in, but sometimes he could only watch from afar and couldn’t do anything.

 

The scene appeared to be handheld, and the recording wasn’t very stable. Yu Yue Sheng leaned against the back of the chair and watched the person vomit for seven or eight minutes. From his perspective, he saw himself raise a fist and smash it onto the young man’s stomach, causing a noticeable indentation on his abdomen.

 

The young man almost instantly clutched his stomach and rolled back onto the bed. Yu Yue Sheng thought of what Han Xiao had said earlier, that Qi Juan had been hit in the stomach by Chen Geou. When he had only heard the description, it didn’t feel like much, but seeing a similar scene now, he couldn’t help but grip his fingers so tightly that they turned white.

 

The camera zoomed in even closer to the young man, and the person inside the frame lifted their arm to cover their eyes. After a while, they slowly moved their hand away. Yu Yue Sheng saw the camera focus on the young man’s face, and it was as if a magnet had locked onto his gaze, causing his heart to beat irregularly—

 

Those pitch-black, moist eyes had gentle contours, as if they were harboring infinite emotions waiting to be narrated. A faint teardrop mole lay beneath his eyes, as if the creator had left a wonderful stroke of the brush while painting those bright and clear eyes.

 

At that moment, the young man’s complexion went from cold white to pale, and a split appeared at the corner of his lips.

 

It couldn’t be anyone else but Qi Juan.

 

After the screen turned black for several seconds, Yu Yue Sheng saw the phone being moved aside, and Chi Yin deeply kissed Qi Juan.

 

The video suddenly stopped, and the dual impact on his visual and mental senses caused Yu Yue Sheng to furrow his brow.

 

Prior to this, Yu Yue Sheng had heard rumors about Qi Juan’s glorious feat of taking on three people shortly after entering school. Except for the time when he was outnumbered during the encounter with Chen Geou, he had come out on top in every situation. Unless he chose otherwise, no one could lay a hand on him.

 

Yu Yue Sheng turned off the phone, his expression filled with frost, as he gazed blankly at the passing scenery outside the window.

 

On Monday morning, after attending the first two classes, Yu Yue Sheng hurriedly went to the hospital.

 

Sunlight poured in through the window, creating a tranquil and serene scene, and Qi Juan slept at the end of this warm light.

 

He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes casting faint shadows on his eyelids. The blanket was tucked under his slightly pointed chin, outlining his clear profile.

Beside him, a pale hand hung outside, connected to an IV line with small, reddish puncture marks on the veins.

 

Yu Yue Sheng walked softly, and when he sat down on the empty bed next to Qi Juan, Qi Juan gently opened his fluttering eyelids.

 

“Are you awake?” Yu Yue Sheng said.

 

“I didn’t sleep, I heard some noise. My aunt came to visit and left not long ago.” Perhaps due to exhaustion, Qi Juan’s usual spirited demeanor was missing from his tone, and he sounded more content with the current situation.

 

His hand was kept over the area of his abdomen, and there were tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, shimmering in the sunlight.

 

“Is the incision painful?”

 

“It’s just hunger, not a big deal.” Qi Juan replied, sitting up with a rustle, “Why did you come so early, Teacher? Did you have breakfast?”

 

“No more classes. Yes, I ate.” Yu Yue Sheng promptly placed a pillow behind him, and when he withdrew his gaze, it fell on the pink thermos flask on the bedside table.

 

It quietly rested there, adorned with a slightly tilted hello kitty on top, and there was a label attached, with the words “Remember to call the doctor to change the dressing when you wake up.”

 

Qi Juan saw Yu Yue Sheng hesitate and explained, “It’s my aunt’s girlishness.”

 

Yu Yue Sheng absentmindedly responded with a “Hmm.”

 

“She didn’t know I can’t eat now, so she brought porridge. It’s not convenient for her to bring it to the factory, so she left it here. It hasn’t been touched, and it should still be warm. laoshi, do you want to have some more?”

 

“No, thank you.”

 

“Alright, then it will stay there.” Both of them fell silent for a while. Qi Juan didn’t look at him anymore, just lowered his head and fiddled with the IV tubing on his hand, gently squeezing it flat and then releasing it.

 

Suddenly, Yu Yue Sheng asked him, “Has the dressing been changed?”

 

Qi Juan replied, “It was changed yesterday.”

 

Thinking of Chi Yin, Yu Yue Sheng hesitated with the intention of getting the ointment but then headed towards the call button instead. Qi Juan reacted and quickly raised his hand to stop him.

 

“It might disturb the wound,” Qi Juan couldn’t help but take a sharp breath and grimaced, “Don’t press it, I’ll change the dressing myself.”

 

He smiled mischievously and said, “What if that doctor from yesterday comes again to change the dressing? I might not survive.”

 

Yu Yue Sheng remained silent.

 

Qi Juan reached into the plastic bag on the bedside, took out the medicine bottle and cotton swabs, and unbuttoned two buttons of his hospital gown from below. He skillfully held the edge of the gown in his mouth and began to remove the gauze.

 

Glancing at Yu Yue Sheng, Qi Juan noticed that he had turned his face away at some point. So he let go of the gown and made a soft sound.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“It’s nothing,” Qi Juan said, placing his hand back on his abdomen.

 

He felt conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to ignore Yu Yue Sheng, but on the other hand, perhaps he hadn’t had enough fun in his past life, as he couldn’t resist teasing him when he saw his serious expression.

 

“So, what’s your name?” Qi Juan asked.

 

“I have a toothache,” Qi Juan said nonsensically.

 

“…” Yu Yue Sheng furrowed his brow and used his fingertip to pick at the tape on the edge of the gauze. His hand occasionally brushed against the fair skin, and he had a strong sense that Qi Juan was staring at him intently. Yu Yue Sheng didn’t even dare to raise his head.

 

Various images flashed through his mind – sometimes he thought of Chi Yin throwing a punch at Qi Juan’s abdomen, other times he remembered Chi Yin kissing him, and then there was Chi Yin changing his dressing.

 

What exactly were these two playing at?

 

When Yu Yue Sheng regained his awareness, he realized that he didn’t have a headache this time. He quickly removed the tape and unwrapped the gauze.

 

As he turned back and looked closely at the incision, he had an impulse to use his ice-cold fingertips to smooth it out.

 

Dipping a cotton swab into iodine, he carefully applied it between the bloody flesh. Qi Juan’s forehead was now covered in more cold sweat, and he instinctively avoided Yu Yue Sheng’s reaching hand.

 

“Is it too painful?” Yu Yue Sheng asked.

 

“It’s not the pain on the surface, it’s the inside,” Qi Juan eased a bit and continued, “It’s okay, you do your part.”

 

He slowly bent his knees and used his fingers to fiddle with the bedsheet, creating crooked and twisted wrinkles. He clenched his back teeth tightly in discomfort.

 

Yu Yue Sheng finished changing his medication and wrapping the sterile gauze, and Qi Juan’s grip on the bed eased slightly.

 

Qi Juan laid his clothes back down and curled up on the bed again. “Laoshi, give me a moment, I need to take a break.”

 

His stomach felt like it was filled with cold air, causing excruciating cramps. Just two minutes later, he climbed up again, leaning over the bed and dry heaving into the trash bin.

 

His shoulders and arms trembled slightly, and he kept his hand pressed against his stomach. Unfortunately, post-surgery instructions prohibited drinking or eating, so nothing but acidic water came out.

 

As Yu Yue Sheng supported him from behind, he could feel the person in his arms trembling violently. “I’ll call the doctor to take a look at you.”

 

Qi Juan was in so much pain that he couldn’t speak. His body convulsed, and he continued coughing up stomach acid even after feeling utterly exhausted, before finally collapsing back onto the hospital bed.

 

He gasped for breath while lying on his back, still covering his abdomen with his hand. He closed his eyes in agony and slowly rolled onto his side, burying his face in the bedsheet and pressing against the covers in discomfort.

 

“Why is he still in so much pain?” Yu Yue Sheng pointed at the person curled up on the bed.

 

“There’s nothing we can do. The fever-reducing medicine is irritating his stomach,” the doctor explained.

 

“Fever-reducing medicine?”

 

“Yes. His temperature reached 41 degrees last night. He just needs to endure a little longer; there are only two bottles left.” The doctor hung a new bottle of medication on the stand and added, “Call me when it’s finished.”

 

Yu Yue Sheng: “…Okay.”

 

He lowered his eyelashes, not daring to look at Qi Juan directly, and helplessly curled his fingers by his side.

 

Under the irritation caused by the fever-reducing medicine, the pain in Qi Juan’s abdomen was so intense that it felt like he was on the verge of dying. He felt his stomach being violently stirred, almost about to burst open the surgical wound. Trembling, he bit the knuckle of his index finger with his silver teeth, clenching it tightly.

 

His complexion turned as pale as death, and a faintly sweet and fishy taste lingered on his lips and tongue. The pain in his firm finger bones seemed to be a way to slightly alleviate the discomfort from other parts of his body.

 

“Hey! Young man, don’t bite yourself.” When the doctor turned around with a tray in hand, he was startled by the scene.

 

The medicine bottles on the tray shook and collided, making a clinking sound. The pungent smell filled the air, and with a little more force, the bottles would probably shatter completely.

 

“Qi Juan,” Yu Yue Sheng tried to remove his hand, but he couldn’t budge Qi Juan at all. He could only pat his shoulder and sighed, “Qi Juan, let go.”

 

Qi Juan couldn’t listen, gasping heavily. The back of his hospital gown was soaked with thin sweat, and he curled his knees up.

 

“Keep him down, don’t let him move around,” the doctor told Yu Yue Sheng and swiftly administered a pain-relief injection, pushing the syringe to Qi Juan’s lower back. Qi Juan trembled, his forehead creased in pain, cold sweat dripping down, struggling so much that Yu Yue Sheng felt like he couldn’t keep him restrained.

 

“It’s okay now, it’s okay,” the doctor quickly administered the medication, chanting as he did so.

 

Qi Juan’s hand went limp. He seemed like a fish washed ashore by the waves, convulsing laboriously and gasping for breath. Once the doctor eased off, Yu Yue Sheng finally pried Qi Juan’s hand away. As his hand was pulled out, there was a small pool of blood left at his fingertips.

 

As the doctor was bandaging him, Qi Juan leaned against the bedhead, his complexion still pale. He stared at Yu Yue Sheng and gasped, “I had a sudden spasm just now. It’s okay.”

 

“Don’t let the wound get wet,” the doctor had intended to tell him to endure the pain and not rely too much on painkillers, but after witnessing what happened earlier, he refrained from doing so. “If it hurts, just press the call button.”

 

My apologies for the confusion. Here’s the translation with their names correctly stated:

 

Qi Juan leaned lazily against the head of the bed and casually smiled, “Yu Yue Sheng, I ate the cake you gave me, so it’s only fair.”

 

Yu Yue Sheng’s face was serious, “Then why did he hit you?”

“Why did you bring that up when my stomach was hurting?” muttered Qi Juan, curling up, “It’s not a pleasant memory.”

 

“I won’t ask anymore.”

Seeing Yu Yue Sheng become silent after two sentences, Qi Juan continued on his own, “Why, you ask? Did we have a fight or something?”

 

Qi Juan’s tone was teasing, even though he was clearly in pain and could only lean on the headboard for support, he still lazily curled his lips, looking mischievous, “Or maybe, it’s just the fun between little lovers? Haha… Isn’t it quite entertaining?”

 

Yu Yue Sheng: “…”

 

“If I could be with you, I could do it too. Whatever games you want to play, I can go along with them. I know a lot, s.m, confinement… and besides, I’m also gay.”

 

Tln : “S.M” stands for sadomasochism, which refers to the enjoyment of receiving and/or inflicting pain during consensual sexual activities. It is a part of the BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, masochism) spectrum.

 

Qi Juan held his stomach, lowering his voice, and continued to whisper intimately, “Life advice, Yu Yue Sheng. What you should be thinking about now is how to, stay, away, from, me.”

 

“Qi Juan.” Yu Yue Sheng interrupted him.

 

“What’s wrong? Or is it that you’re feeling tempted?”

 

“I just can’t understand the things you young people are into nowadays. You’re only 18 years old. If you continue like this, your stomach will be completely ruined, and your body will break down, you know?”

 

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“If it’s going to be ruined… then let it be.” Qi Juan said, “Today, when I was in pain, I suddenly thought, if that’s the outcome, I hope I can have less of a presence. Otherwise, when I like someone, and he doesn’t like me back, I become his torment. And if he ends up liking me too, won’t I just be burdening him?”

 

He looked at Yu Yue Sheng, who listened in silence. At that moment, he wished he could brand the other person into his heart. Despite the turmoil in his mind, he surprisingly managed to speak calmly.

 

Yu Yue Sheng asked, “Are you talking about Chi Yin?”

 

Qi Juan fixed his gaze on a bright spot on the ceramic tiles, which was swaying, likely due to the wind. 

 

“Yes,” he smiled and told a beautiful lie.