After the nurse finished changing the dressings, she left, leaving just the two of them in the room. After what happened last night, Qin Cheng didn’t even know how to look at Jian Heng.
This was his brother, whom he had kissed multiple times and even confessed his love!
It’s really fucked up.
“That,” Qin Cheng said, wiping his face. “I’ll go get you some food. What do you want to eat?”
“Is my phone here?” Jian Heng looked at him.
Jian Heng’s expression showed no signs of anything being wrong. Qin Cheng felt from the bottom of his heart that he was a real man——freaking awesome.
“It’s here,” said Qin Cheng, quickly taking it from the table and handing it to him. “It seems to still have some battery left. I’ll have Tan Qi bring over some daily necessities later.”
Jian Heng turned on his phone. Only 10% of the battery was left. He sent a message and looked up at Qin Cheng: “What about Auntie Song’s side?”
“It’s fine,” Qin Cheng said while sitting on the bed. “In the past, when I was seriously injured and couldn’t go home, I just said I was staying at a classmate’s house, doing joint live streams or something.”
The susceptible period has arrived; they can’t be apart for more than ten minutes, so they can’t even go back to show their faces.
For now, they can only manage by lying.
Fortunately, he’s used to it; he’s a seasoned pro.
After Qin Cheng went out, he first called Tan Qi and briefly explained the situation. Tan Qi’s voice rose an octave higher: “What the fuck! Qin-ge, just wait; I’ll be there soon!”
Qin Cheng stopped him: “Don’t rush over just yet. In a moment, pack up the daily necessities and other things first, and then find your Auntie Song. Explain things to her properly; just say that I’ve got some activities for the live stream recently, and I’m staying at your place. Don’t let her figure out that I can’t leave right now.”
Tan Qi breathed heavily: “Mn, I know.”
Qin Cheng, feeling uneasy, couldn’t help but remind him again: “Make sure to talk to her properly; don’t let her get suspicious.”
“Mm, don’t worry, I have a number in my heart,” Tan Qi gritted his teeth. “I’ll bring two more people with me.”
“Alright. The doctor said to stay for a week, so bring a few more to help out,” Qin Cheng said. “You know where my card is; just bring it along.”
After hanging up the phone, Qin Cheng leaned against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. He went back and stayed with Jian Heng for a while, then went downstairs to buy disposable toiletries and meals.
Ten minutes was too short; when Qin Cheng returned, he was running as if he were about to take off.
He spent the whole night in a state of fear and hardly slept. Last night, he fed Jian Heng, but he didn’t touch a bite. The elevator was broken when he was going upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, his legs gave out, and he almost fell to the ground. He stood still and steadied himself for a moment before continuing to walk.
When Qin Cheng pushed the door open and saw Jian Heng lying on the bed, his heart suddenly became calm. All the panic, urgency, and helplessness no longer matter.
With the person here, there was motivation for everything.
“Let’s wash up first,” Qin Cheng said. “I bought some plain congee1白粥 (bái zhōu): Plain congee. 
and mantou2饅頭 (mán tou): Mantou, often referred to as Chinese steamed bun, is a white and soft type of steamed bread or bun popular in northern China. Folk etymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang. 
.”
Jian Heng has an injury on his side and still can’t get up; he can only slightly tilt his head to rinse his mouth. On the side, Qin Cheng is carefully taking care of him.
The two were halfway through their meal when there was a knock at the door.
Qin Cheng turned to look at the door and called out: “Come in.”
The door was pushed open, and Tan Qi rushed in like a wind, looking him up and down. “Qin-ge, are you okay? Where did those bastards stab you? Fuck! If I catch them, I swear I’ll fucking kill them!”
Behind him, Xie Yang and Lin Xiangdi also rushed over, their expressions showing that they were itching to beat the hell out of those three knife-wielding idiots.
“I’m fine,” Qin Cheng glanced at Jian Heng and frowned. “Jian Heng blocked it for me.”
Three people gathered around the hospital bed, asking for quite a while about the injury. Jian Heng brushed it off lightly, but Qin Cheng elaborated quite a bit.
The anger in the room instantly escalated. Xie Yang looked at Jian Heng, clearly also enraged by this injury: “This matter isn’t over. There aren’t many who would dare to go this far against you. Qin-ge, think about it——have you two offended anyone recently?”
Qin Cheng was taken aback. He turned his head to look at Jian Heng. After looking at each other for a moment, the two of them spoke together.
“Zhao Hai.”
“Zhao Hai!”
Tan Qi was stunned for a moment, then slammed his fist against the wall: “I fucking knew it! This spineless bastard will definitely cause some big problems in these three years. If I don’t fucking get him locked up this time, I’ll write my name backwards!”
Yesterday, Qin Cheng was taking care of Jian Heng, and today, he finally found the time to get to the bottom of things.
Tan Qi and the others, the three of them, carried two large bags each. They opened it and saw that there were even folding beds and folding stools inside. One by one, several people sat down and started a discussion.
“The last time Zhao Hai blocked you in the alley, he received a serious reprimand,” Lin Xiangdi frowned. “During the shot put, he also wanted to sabotage Qin-ge, and when it came to the 5,000 meters, he aimed to sabotage Jian-ge but ended up breaking his own leg.”
“I don’t believe this grandson can bear it after eating so many losses! It must be him.” Tan Qi said.
“The police said there are no surveillance cameras nearby, and we have to wait to find the person,” Qin Cheng said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Wait my ass! By the time they go looking, that person will have already run off!” Tan Qi had lived here for eighteen years, so he was well aware of the law and order in this place.
“It’s fine,” Qin Cheng said, his expression unchanged as he looked at Tan Qi. “Mobile phone.”
Tan Qi didn’t say anything and handed him the phone.
Qin Cheng dialed a number. After looking at his expression, Tan Qi knew who he was calling the next second. He couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief and said to Jian Heng: “Qin-ge is about to activate his superpower.”
Jian Heng glanced at him and said nothing.
When Qin Cheng’s call connected, his tone was unusually formal: “Uncle Gong, it’s me, Xiao Cheng.”
Gong Zhengqing, his father’s childhood friend, has watched him grow up and treated him like a half-son. If he hadn’t protected Qin Cheng that year, the victim’s family could have beaten him to death.
Gong Zhengqing had just entered the company; hearing that it was his eldest nephew, his wrinkled face broke into a smile: “Finally remembered your Uncle Gong!”
“Uncle,” recalling yesterday’s scene, Qin Cheng furrowed his brow and whispered, “I almost got stabbed yesterday.”
“What?!” Gong Zhengqing nearly broke the doorknob in his grip. “What happened? Where are you now?”
“I’m fine. My classmate blocked the knife for me. It’s very serious. We are in the hospital now,” Qin Cheng looked at Jian Heng. “The police said that there is no surveillance in that area, so it’s hard to investigate and catch the person. I think——”
“Are you really okay? Which hospital? I’ll go there right now!” Gong Zhengqing said. “Leave the police to me; I’ll find a few caregivers to go over first. We can’t have any incidents at the hospital.”
Adults really do think things through. Although Qin Cheng didn’t believe Zhao Hai would go to the hospital to cause a massacre, you never know when this idiot might lose his mind.
Qin Cheng reported the hospital name and briefly explained the situation before hanging up the phone.
Several people breathed a sigh of relief together.
Qin Cheng explained to Jian Heng: “My Uncle Gong, my dad’s childhood friend, has always looked out for me. With him around, those few people won’t get away.”
Jian Heng responded with a hum: “The police will come this afternoon?”
Qin Cheng nodded: “Yes.”
Jian Heng didn’t say anything more.
***
Tan Qi led Xie Yang and Lin Xiangdi back and forth and finally managed to make the ward fit enough to stay for a week.
After tidying up, no one mentioned leaving.
When Gong Zhengqing arrived, a room full of angry little children turned to look at the door. Qin Cheng stood up first and went to greet him, calling out: “Uncle Gong.”
Gong Zhengqing frowned and looked him up and down: “Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Yes,” Qin Cheng, not at all pretentious with his uncle, raised his hand and said in a rather mischievous tone. “I almost broke a tendon in my hand. If I hadn’t managed to grab the knife, it might have stabbed me in the stomach, and you might have had to lift the white cloth off my face today.”
“Nonsense!” Gong Zhengqing was immediately anxious. Having served in the military when he was younger, he had a strong presence. With just a glare, everyone in the room except for Qin Cheng and Jian Heng jumped in fright. “These little bastards, so young yet daring to do such things, what will happen in the future?!”
“Indeed. If we can’t catch them this time, who knows when they’ll come back to mess with me again. Next time, I might not be able to stop them.” Qin Cheng agreed, then thought of something and added, “Uncle, my mom doesn’t know anything about this at all. You have to help me keep it a secret; she can’t find out.”
“I know what to do; I won’t tell her,” the eldest nephew almost got stabbed by someone. Gong Zhengqing couldn’t stop his anger from rising. “These little bastards! They wouldn’t know the height of the skies or the depth of the earth until they got in there!”
“What about your classmate?”
Qin Cheng looked at the hospital bed, frowned, and said in a particularly serious tone: “The knife was stabbed into the ribs. It went in hard. The ribs were directly fractured, and the lung lobes were torn. If it had been off by just a bit more, it would have pierced the heart.”
Gong Zhengqing walked over. Jian Heng lay there with a pale face, but his spirit was undiminished as he calmly called out: “Uncle Gong.”
Seeing this calm demeanor, Gong Zhengqing nodded subtly, patted his shoulder, and said: “Child, you have suffered. This time, your uncle will definitely get to the bottom of this for you!”
Jian Heng didn’t show much excitement, but his tone was formal: “Thank you, Uncle.”
***
Gong Zhengqing learned more about the situation and, infuriated, finally called the police station: “The child is still injured, so don’t come over and disturb us. I’ll go there myself. What do you mean there’s no surveillance? With so many stores, not a single one has cameras?! Stop trying to pull the wool over my eyes!”
“Get your chief on the phone! Does it really take time to find a few little brats? This is ridiculous!”
After sending off Gong Zhengqing, the room fell silent for a few seconds. Qin Cheng looked at Jian Heng and suddenly laughed: “Hey, that’s just how my uncle is—so straightforward.”
Jian Heng’s eyes also held a hint of a smile: “Indeed.”
Tan Qi was completely at ease now; several of them had skipped class to come out. Qin Cheng didn’t want Lao Xu to call Mother Tan, which would eventually reach his own mother. Anyway, Uncle Gong had left three male caregivers here, so there wasn’t much to take care of.
Since there was nothing more to do, Qin Cheng sent them back to class. Before leaving, Tan Qi reassured him: “I’ll take care of Auntie Song.”
Qin Cheng let out a sound of acknowledgment.
***
After the caregiver finished tidying up, they went out into the hallway, and the space once again belonged to the two of them.
Qin Cheng glanced at the folding stool by the bedside, then plopped down on the bed and began playing with Jian Heng’s hand.
No one said a word.
Qin Cheng couldn’t quite describe his feelings; it was as if the surrounding noise had suddenly vanished, and everything fell silent. When he looked up again, all that remained in front of him was Jian Heng.
In that moment, he felt a sense of relief.
After experiencing a sudden susceptible period, he found himself unexpectedly tied to a boy he didn’t know, becoming the best of brothers with him. The boy confessed his feelings; the boy left without a word; the boy blocked the knife for him…
As these events unfolded one after another, Qin Cheng felt that he was completely bound to Jian Heng. Anyone who tried to pull them apart would end up tearing away half of his flesh.
“You say,” Qin Cheng sighed, talking to himself, “what am I supposed to do about this?”
Jian Heng turned his hand to hold Qin Cheng’s: “What?”
Qin Cheng looked up: “Nothing, just talking to myself.”
Jian Heng looked at him and patted the side of the bed: “If you’re tired, just sleep.”
Qin Cheng replied hoarsely: “Okay.”
Two Alphas, each with an average height of 185 cm, crowded together on a one-meter-wide hospital bed. To avoid touching Jian Heng, Qin Cheng lay on his side, pressed against the edge.
This position was undoubtedly uncomfortable, but Qin Cheng felt that at this moment, lying like this made it easier for him to fall asleep than if he were lying alone.
The author has something to say:
The author, lying paralyzed on the bed, calculated for a moment and sighed: There won’t be many comments on this chapter.
(The next chapter features two characters; can you guess who they are? The first three to guess correctly will receive a red envelope!) Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or nourished me with nutrient solutions during the period from 2020-05-12 15:30:41~2020-05-13 17:19:22~
Thank you very much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but in Chinese culture, the younger generation always respects the elder one; therefore, if you elevate yourself one generation higher, it means you have to be respected. Conversely, if you bring someone down one generation, it implies that they must also respect you. So, when QC and friends call ZH grandson, they are insulting him; saying ZH should respect them. I hope my explanation is easy to understand.
List of Idiom in Chapter 41
咬牙切齒 (yǎo yá qiè chǐ): gnashing one’s teeth (idiom); displaying extreme anger; fuming with rage between gritted teeth; gnashing one’s teeth in anger.擔驚受怕 (dān jīng shòu pà): to feel anxious and afraid; to be apprehensive; to be alarmed; be in a state of fear; be frightened; be scared; be terrified; refers to being in a state of constant shock or fear.
輕描淡寫 (qīng miáo dàn xiě): to touch on lightly; to mention casually; to play down; to deemphasize (idiom); make little/light account (of); refers to talking about writing important issues over.
來龍去脈 (lái lóng qù mài): the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom); (fig.) the whole sequence of events; causes and effects; (figurative) origin and development; the entire process; ins and outs; In fengshui terminology, 龍脈 (lóng mài) refers to a stretch of rolling hills, the start and end points of which are termed 來龍 (lái lóng) and 去脈 (qù mài) respectively.
心裡有數 (xīn lǐ yǒu shù): lit. to have a number in one’s heart; to know the score (idiom); to be well aware of the situation; to know very well in one’s heart (e.g. what to do next, whether it is likely to succeed, etc.).
趕盡殺絕 (gǎn jìn shā jué): to drive away and kill all; to kill to the last one; to exterminate; to eradicate; ruthless; exterminate completely; wipe out; eliminate thoroughly; root out; destroy utterly; drive away and exterminate everyone, wipe out the whole lot.
怒氣沖沖 (nù qì chōng chōng): spitting anger (idiom); in a rage; be in a black/fume/great rage; be ablaze/swollen with anger; be filled with fury; be in a burning fury; furious; describes a person who is extremely angry.
不知天高地厚 (bù zhī tiān gāo dì hòu): lit. not know the height of the skies or the depth of the earth—not know one’s own limitations; not to know the immensity of heaven and earth; an exaggerated opinion of one’s own abilities; to think one knows everything; to be ignorant.
打馬虎眼 (dǎ mǎ hu yǎn): lit. to hit someone in the eye of the tiger; (dialectal) to pretend to be ignorant of something in order to gloss it over; to act dumb; to slack off (idiom); feign ignorance (of sth in order to gloss it over or shirk responsibility); to deliberately pretend to be confused and deceive others.
素不相識 (sù bù xiāng shí): to not know one another before; to be strangers to one another; to be total strangers (idiom); complete strangers; never met before; unfamiliar with each other; unknown to each other; never knew each other.
不辭而別 (bù cí ér bié): to leave without saying goodbye; take (a) French leave; go away without taking leave.
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