Lu Lianning and Chen Miao stayed in the shabby apartment until dawn.
Lu Lianning lay on top of Chen Miao and touched his sweaty waist, feeling the taut, thin layer of muscle beneath his skin.
The small room was filled with the scent of citrus. Half-closing his eyes, Lu Lianning spoke to Chen Miao absentmindedly. “Doing it here almost feels like being outdoors.”
He glanced up at the dilapidated ceiling beams and said, “Chen Miao, this place is uninhabitable. Are you sure it won’t collapse?”
Chen Miao took a moment to process the question, then replied, “It won’t.” After a pause, he added, “But when it rains, it leaks a bit. I have to use an umbrella in bed to sleep.”
For some reason, the image of Chen Miao lying in bed under an umbrella flashed through Lu Lianning’s mind, making him picture Chen Miao looking both pitiful and a little foolish.
“Isn’t my place more comfortable?”
Truthfully, Chen Miao found that his best sleep at Lu Lianning’s place was always on the sofa. Whenever they ended up in the same bed, there wasn’t much sleep involved.
That thought flickered through his mind, reminding him of something.
He asked, “Lu-ge, when will you lend me the money…”
Lu Lianning was displeased that Chen Miao would bring up money at a tender moment like this. “Can’t you talk about something else!?”
Chen Miao paused, then asked, “What should I talk about?”
As they lay there, their skin pressed together, the lingering pheromones mingled with the damp, moldy smell of the room, creating a unique blend of sweet and fishy scents.
Lu Lianning’s expression grew cold. He pushed Chen Miao aside and began to get dressed. “Forget it.”
Buttoning his shirt, he told Chen Miao, “If you want me to lend you money, you’ll have to explain everything to me—every single detail.”
With that, he picked up his car keys, probably intending to slam the door as he left, only to realize that the door was already off its hinges.
Stepping over the fallen door, he cursed under his breath.
He felt as if he had gone mad to have come to this dump with Chen Miao in the first place.
After that day, Chen Miao didn’t show up in front of Lu Lianning again.
Lu Lianning sat in his company’s office with his legs crossed, while Gu Chen’s expression looked displeased.
Gu Chen pulled out his phone and handed it to him. “See for yourself.”
Lu Lianning swiped through the screen a few times, his face showing indifference with a trace of disdain. “How much has the company been making lately that they can afford to buy all these trending searches for me?”
Gu Chen’s expression grew more peculiar as he watched him, realizing Lu Lianning had no clue. “The company hasn’t bought any.”
“What?!”
Even Lu Lianning started to sense that something was off.
The Yulin Cup Film Festival’s award ceremony was still half a month away, yet Lu Lianning had been dominating the popularity polls, leading by a massive margin over the second-place contestant.
The continuous flood of trending topics and the way his name remained at the top for so long had made Gu Chen increasingly suspicious.
Especially since the company hadn’t spent a dime on purchasing these trending spots or promoting him.
That made the situation even more puzzling.
Criticism online had already started to pile up.
“Attention-seeker, buying trending searches.”
“I’m so sick of seeing him pop up. I’m going to vomit!”
“If he’s not making it big, why force it? I’ve never seen someone dominate the trending list like this. What a huge budget!”
As Lu Lianning scrolled through the comments, his expression changed.
He exchanged a glance with Gu Chen, and they both had a bad feeling.
Of course, despite all the negativity, Lu Lianning had gained a considerable number of new fans. The newcomers were clashing with the haters in the comment section.
The entire comment thread was chaotic, while marketing accounts continued praising Lu Lianning’s looks and acting talent.
“Have you found out who’s behind this?” Lu Lianning asked.
Gu Chen shook his head. “At first, we didn’t think much of it. We assumed it was just typical marketing accounts trying to ride the wave. There was already a lot of buzz after ‘Shattered Window’ won the award, so we didn’t expect it to escalate like this.”
“Spend some money to suppress the trending searches.” Lu Lianning was irritated. It was rare for someone to provoke him so openly. The paparazzi and marketing accounts spreading rumors about him were just trying to make a living; it was unlikely they would target him so directly.
Lu Lianning tapped his fingers on the desk a few times before saying, “Find out who’s behind all of this.” He opened his laptop, pulled out a bank card, and began typing in some numbers. “By the way, how did you first meet Chen Miao?”
Suddenly, a “ding” rang out, and the screen showed that the account had been frozen.
Lu Lianning’s brow furrowed. He tried another card.
Gu Chen was smoking by the window and turned his head to reply, “At the mall. He was selling shoe polish.”
Another “ding,” followed by a third, then a fourth…
Lu Lianning exhaled sharply. “No need to check anymore. I think I know who it is.” Despite the deep breath, there was no sign of relief on his face.
Gu Chen walked over, noticing the laptop screen paused on a transfer page.
“The money won’t go through?”
“Who are you trying to send three million to?”
“And you just said you know who’s behind this?”
He fired off three questions in quick succession, but Lu Lianning didn’t answer. He sat there silently for a long time.
–
Meanwhile, Chen Miao stood in the corner of a hospital elevator, holding a thermos. He was wrapped up tightly in a black mask and a hat.
The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor.
Chen Miao entered a room where the last bed was occupied by a frail Omega, wearing a knitted hat that Chen Miao had made and sent over through a hired caregiver.
The Omega’s face was unnaturally pale, but still strikingly beautiful. His delicate brows were slightly furrowed, their color faint.
When he saw Chen Miao, his eyes widened in surprise.
“You actually came! I told Lingling-jie so many times to ask you to visit, but you never showed up!” The Omega sat up, his thin wrist peeking out from the striped hospital gown as he reached out to hug Chen Miao’s arm.
Chen Miao gently pulled him away. “Come on, Xiao Yu.” He took off his mask, drew the curtains, and opened the thermos, releasing an aroma that filled the hospital room.
Chen Yu praised him, “Your cooking keeps getting better! My sister loved the food you made for her. One time, I spilled a bit, and she scolded me for ages.”
Chen Miao, his expression calm though not particularly cheerful, looked up. “You know, right? They’ve found a donor who’s a match for you. I just spoke to your attending doctor. You’re still young, and there’s a good chance you’ll recover if you go through with the surgery.”
Chen Yu looked at Chen Miao, holding the food he had prepared. Although he praised it, he didn’t take a single bite.
“What about the surgery cost? What if we don’t have enough money?”
Chen Miao stood and adjusted Chen Yu’s blanket. “Don’t worry about the fees. I’ll figure something out. All you need to do is focus on getting better. You’re going to live a healthy life.”
Suddenly, Chen Yu leaned in and kissed Chen Miao on the cheek, a bright smile spreading across his pale face. When he smiled, the resemblance to his sister was uncanny, and for a moment, Chen Miao was lost in thought.
Chen Yu said, “Thank you, Xiao Yan-ge1In case you forgot, Chen Miao’s real name is Li Yan. “Xiao” means “little”, and “ge” means “older brother”.”
Chen Miao paused, then looked at him and said, “You don’t need to do this. There’s no need to go out of your way to please me or keep mentioning your sister. I made her a promise to save you, and I intend to keep it. I’m not going to leave you behind.”
Chen Yu’s smile faltered and slowly disappeared. He wasn’t someone who smiled often, but when he did, he looked even more like his sister—so he forced himself to act that way around Chen Miao.
Chen Miao put his mask and hat back on, turning toward Chen Yu. “If you’re not hungry, leave it. There’s some left in the thermos for Lingling.”
The boy sitting on the hospital bed stopped forcing a smile. Even with a blank expression, there was a lingering gloom, perhaps from the pain of his illness.
He watched as Chen Miao left the ward, hurrying in and out, moving cautiously like a shadow that couldn’t be exposed to the light.
A mocking smirk curled at the edge of Chen Yu’s lips as he poured the soup into the nearby trash can.
The elevator area was crowded, and Chen Miao had to wait a long time for one. When the elevator reached the tenth floor, it stopped, letting some people off while a few others boarded.
As Qi Zhen stepped inside, his gaze immediately landed on someone in the corner, bundled up from head to toe.
He deliberately moved closer and greeted him warmly, “Chen Miao, right? Visiting a patient too?”
Translator’s note:
Why can’t there be any good people in Chen Miao’s life? 😫
