Chapter 12 – Still Friends
Novel Title: 我们已经分手了 (We Have Broken Up)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 刘帆 (Liu Fan -MC), 陈谦 (Chen Qian -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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“Trouble, trouble. You’re really trouble,” Chen Qian grumbled as he turned his back again, bent his knees, and leaned forward. Liu Fan, familiar with the routine, hopped onto his back effortlessly. Chen Qian reached back to secure him and took a few steps, “Your bones are poking me. Do you even eat properly?”
“I eat three regular meals a day.” Liu Fan clung to his back. When they reached the elevator, he pressed the button without being asked. Their actions were synchronised. “How long have you known Li Yu?”
As Liu Fan spoke, his warm breath tickled Chen Qian’s ear, causing him to tilt his head uncomfortably. “He joined Liuxin a few months after I did. We’re both in sales, so we met right away.”
After saying that, Chen Qian warily asked, “Why do you want to know?”
“Why?” Liu Fan thought about it and decided to drop it. It wasn’t his place to meddle in this matter. Besides, as someone who could spin love stories out of work incidents, he might just be overthinking things. “Just curious. I think it’s impressive he became your assistant. By the way, I read your company’s profile. It was quite surprising. You started as a salesperson?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Chen Qian asked. “Did you think someone without a degree could only be a security guard?”
“I thought you’d become a bouncer, given your background. Back in school, many gang leaders wanted to recruit you.” Liu Fan laughed as he adjusted his grip on Chen Qian’s shoulders. “Tell me, have you ever beaten up a customer?”
“I’m an outstanding employee,” Chen Qian replied lazily. “What do you think?”
Liu Fan, noticing that Chen Qian’s back seemed broader than before, swung his feet like a child. “You probably didn’t hit anyone openly. Just behind their backs, right?”
Chen Qian snorted but didn’t answer.
Since there was no underground parking, Chen Qian couldn’t get in without someone leading him to one. His car was parked outside. Though it was a bit eye-catching for two grown men to be piggybacking like this, Liu Fan, being an easygoing person, didn’t mind. Chen Qian also seemed unbothered by the curious stares from people around them.
When they reached the car, Chen Qian carefully set Liu Fan down. He opened the car door and helped him into the passenger seat before getting in himself.
Being native to the city, they didn’t choose the nearest clinic. Since they had a car, they headed straight to the city’s orthopaedic hospital. Once there, Chen Qian parked the car and carried Liu Fan inside again.
He was as diligent and dependable as ever.
Neither spoke. Liu Fan clung to Chen Qian’s back like a child. Their body heat blended at every point of contact. The warmth seemed to seep deep into their hearts, stirring a vague emotion. This feeling crept up slowly, as if usually deeply buried, now rising like a tide with each breath. It gradually engulfed them.
Liu Fan took a deep breath. Chen Qian heard it and turned his head slightly, asking, “What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”
Liu Fan, resting his head near Chen Qian’s neck, shook his head without answering.
Chen Qian didn’t ask further and took him to the emergency room. The doctor examined them and concluded that neither the foot nor the hand was seriously injured. The hand was just bruised and the ankle was slightly more severe but not a major issue.
“Seeing the fuss you made, I thought you had a broken leg,” the doctor said, writing a prescription. “It’s just a sprain, nothing serious. Rest well for a few days, and you’ll be fine.”
Liu Fan also felt it wasn’t that serious. Since he had been sitting in the car and was carried by Chen Qian, his foot hadn’t touched the ground and didn’t hurt as much.
Chen Qian listened intently to the doctor, then went straight to pay and get the medicine. He only paused to point at Liu Fan with his finger, indicating that he should behave.
Seeing this, Liu Fan decided not to move around unnecessarily. He rubbed his nose and took out his phone to text Wu Shuang to apply for leave. Knowing that no one at their company went to bed before midnight, he received an immediate reply from Wu Shuang: No need for leave, just work from home. Your work can be done as long as you have the internet and a computer. By the way, is there anything to handle with Fanyu?
Liu Fan thought for a moment: I’ll contact them directly.
Wu Shuang: Then it’s fine.
He had just finished this brief exchange when Chen Qian returned, having paid and collected the medicine. Like a loyal dog, he huffed and puffed, carrying Liu Fan back home again.
Being carried back and forth by Chen Qian, Liu Fan felt more like he was paralyzed than having a bone fracture. The more he thought about it, the more amused he became. He couldn’t stop snickering behind Chen Qian’s back.
In the silent elevator, his muffled laughter echoed, creating an eerie atmosphere. Chen Qian, carrying him with a twitching face, asked, “What’s wrong with you? Did you break your head too?”
Liu Fan didn’t respond. He leaned slightly and rested his chest’s weight on Chen Qian’s back.
Suddenly, he felt an urge to hug Chen Qian. So he tightened his grip a little.
Probably noticing this movement, Chen Qian seemed like he wanted to say something but ultimately didn’t.
“There’s cola in the fridge. Want me to get you one?” Liu Fan, now gently placed on the sofa, was about to get up. Chen Qian’s look made him sit back down. Chen Qian fetched two cans of cola from the fridge. He opened one for Liu Fan and sat beside him with the other, downing half of it in one go. Although he had good stamina and wasn’t tired from carrying Liu Fan, he had sweated a lot. His shirt was soaked at the back. He unbuttoned his collar and removed his tie.
Seeing this, Liu Fan grabbed a magazine and fanned Chen Qian diligently. “Thanks a lot.”
Leaning against the sofa, Chen Qian glanced at him, “What’s this? After all these years, are we strangers?”
His words were casual yet pointed. Liu Fan pondered for a moment and said frankly, “Because I felt like you weren’t happy to see me at first.”
“Should I have been happy?” Chen Qian slammed the cola can back on the table. “Who was it that just disappeared without a word? You spent the whole summer hiding at home, not coming downstairs even when called. Were you practising immortality at home? And who do you think packed up your stuff in the dorm?”
The imagery was vivid. Thinking of Chen Qian packing his things under the puzzled gazes of their other roommates, waiting for Sun Yiyi and the others to collect them, Liu Fan felt both amused and sympathetic. Sun Yiyi and Liu Xing never mentioned this because they didn’t know the details.
However, the accusatory tone in Chen Qian’s voice made Liu Fan feel a bit defiant.
Memories from years ago suddenly resurfaced. During that hot summer, Liu Fan spent his days staring blankly at the brilliant sunlight outside. His heart felt like a can under the scorching sun, stuffy and restless. He was unable to muster interest in anything. He was both angry and aggrieved, constantly wondering when Chen Qian would come looking for him.
And so, an entire summer passed without Chen Qian appearing. It was as if Liu Fan being yelled at and running off was a trivial matter. In all their past arguments, Liu Fan had never taken it seriously. He would always set up a way to make up and then slip away.
But youth is ultimately spirited, full of complaints and grievances. Why should one endure the other?
“Was there anything wrong with not wanting to go out in the sweltering heat? And besides, you never called for me. So why do you care whether I went out or not…-” As Liu Fan spoke, he suddenly realised something, “How do you know that no one could get me to come out? And that I didn’t go out the entire summer?”
“Heh.” Chen Qian’s face was expressionless. But veins popped on his forehead. “I was just speaking off the cuff. But you really didn’t go out for two months? I’m amazed.”
Instinctively, Liu Fan moved his foot. He was about to retort. But when his foot touched the coffee table, the dull sensation slowed his response.
Chen Qian immediately said, “Why are you moving around? Do you want it to really break?”
He crouched down in front of Liu Fan to check on his foot. Liu Fan extended his foot, which had been treated with medication. “It’s not broken. It’s just twisted. Could you think positively for once? Are we still friends or not?”
Chen Qian gave him a glance. It was one that was difficult to interpret.
But, no matter what, he didn’t refute the last question.
After a pause, he looked down again, checking Liu Fan’s injured hand. The swelling had already reduced significantly after applying the medication.
Standing up without a word, Chen Qian said, “You’re not going to work tomorrow.”
He spoke in a flat tone. Liu Fan couldn’t tell if it was a question. He nodded in response, “I’ve already taken leave.”
Chen Qian asked, “So, is that thing finished?”
“What thing? Oh, the framework. It is finished.” Liu Fan had outlined it before dinner today, originally planning to show Chen Qian the finished product. Since the client had asked about it directly, he decided to bring it out and show it.
He couldn’t move easily right now, so he pointed with his hand, “If you want to see it, the computer is in my bedroom.”
Chen Qian didn’t stand on ceremony either. He calmly entered his bedroom, taking out the laptop. He placed it on the coffee table, listening as Liu Fan directed him to go through the materials.
As he went through them, he couldn’t stand it any longer. He pointed at the screen, asking, “What’s all this mess on your desktop?”
“‘Huh? They’re the photos and documents I downloaded?’ Liu Fan leaned in to discern, the items taking up two-thirds of the screen. When he downloaded or received things, he liked to place them directly on the desktop and often forgot to tidy up afterward. Besides the desktop, his hard drive was also in a similar chaotic state, completely unorganised.
Since childhood, Chen Qian had taken care of Liu Fan, who was indifferent to order. This had inadvertently developed into a compulsive habit. Seeing the mess on the computer, he couldn’t just ignore it. Instead of searching for documents scattered about who knows where, he began sorting them out one by one.
Liu Fan awkwardly said, “Let me handle it myself.”
Chen Qian didn’t even acknowledge him. Leaving this to Liu Fan meant an indefinite delay, a lesson he had learned long ago.
As Liu Fan watched him meticulously organise layer by layer, opening and confirming every image and video before placing them into newly created folders, he faintly felt a sense of impending doom.
“Chen Qian,” Liu Fan couldn’t even remember where or what he had on his desktop, “You don’t have to go through all this trouble, huh? Isn’t it already sorted out?”
Chen Qian clicked open a folder named ‘TOEFL 100 Days,’ filled entirely with videos. Each of them was named in random characters. Liu Fan grabbed Chen Qian’s hand holding the mouse, “Don’t look at this one.”
Chen Qian, without lifting his head, asked, “Why not?”
Liu Fan replied frankly, “They’re all GVs.”
Only then did Chen Qian slowly turn to look at him. Liu Fan innocently met his gaze, as if to say; ‘Am I not a normal gay person? Is it not reasonable to have some sexual release needs?’
Raising an eyebrow, Chen Qian disregarded the resistance and double-clicked on one of the videos. The screen immediately started playing.
This particular film might have been closed halfway through if seen before. Now, it started playing directly from the middle, showing two foreigners already in their second round with their moans and gasps synchronously broadcasted.
Liu Fan stared at the intertwined bodies on the screen, “…”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Chen Qian calmly said, “Didn’t we used to ‘study’ together before?”
He unexpectedly brought this up as if it were nothing. Liu Fan pondered how he should react. Normally, he would feel awkward. But they were too familiar with each other to be embarrassed, right? Huh? He had stopped watching halfway through last time. He didn’t expect it to get so exciting later. Oh, oh, oh, that position looks amazing…
Lost in thought, Liu Fan started focusing intently on the film.
Chen Qian, noticing that Liu Fan’s attention was completely on the GV, sighed, “…”
The moans and sounds from the screen were becoming annoying. Chen Qian promptly closed the GV before Liu Fan could react to the exciting video. So he turned and asked, “Why did you close it?”
Chen Qian remained silent.
Clutching his fists and resisting the urge to punch someone, he opted instead to put on a contemplative face and continue organising Liu Fan’s computer.
֍֍֍*Author’s Note: A friend said Chen Qian is just like a grumpy old cat… which had me laughing so hard. Hahahahaha. -Yu Xiaofan
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*Translator’s Note: Hahahaha LF is so clueless! -K
Next update: 2024.09.17
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