(M?) Chapter 30 – Request
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*
֍֍֍
Following her son’s gaze, Luo Xi also noticed and became neurotically sensitive after accepting this fact. As soon as she thought about Li Yu’s sexual orientation, things became clear. She looked at Chen Qian with great difficulty.
Chen Qian still had a polite smile on his face. He nodded to Luo Xi and Li Xin, then walked towards the door without looking back.
Having seen Chen Qian and Liu Fan’s affectionate display before, and not being very accepting of her son’s sexual orientation, Luo Xi had no position to ask him to stay. She wrung her hands together. Her expression seemed very troubled.
Li Yu didn’t make any more sounds. But his expression was very gloomy. Luo Xi covered her mouth and sat down by the hospital bed, “Yu, don’t think about anything. Just focus on getting better.”
Li Xin sighed, feeling helpless.
Liu Fan was waiting outside, not knowing what had happened inside. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. He just woke up,” Chen Qian remembered what Liu Fan had said before and felt a bit guilty. “Let’s go.”
Liu Fan could sense that it wasn’t really nothing. But he didn’t ask further. The two drove to the furniture mall, with their first target naturally being the coffee table Liu Fan had been longing for.
The shop assistant enthusiastically received them, introducing several styles popular among young people.
Liu Fan asked, “Do you have any coffee tables that aren’t easily damaged?”
The shop assistant’s smile became a bit confused.
Liu Fan explained, “You know, the kind that won’t break if kicked into a wall.”
Shop assistant: “…”
Chen Qian’s mouth twitched, knowing Liu Fan was teasing him. He looked at him helplessly and weakly added, “Right. Do you have any made entirely of stainless steel?”
Shop assistant: “…”
However, the most kick-resistant would probably be a safe. But they couldn’t really put a safe in the living room as a centrepiece. In the end, they chose a solid wood coffee table that Liu Fan liked and placed an order for home delivery.
After buying the coffee table, they didn’t rush to leave. Chen Qian’s home was quite sparse in furniture, so they took the opportunity to fill it out. Liu Fan and Chen Qian’s tastes were quite different; the former had somewhat of an artistic temperament, while the latter preferred clean-lined, minimalist styles. This led to quite a few arguments while choosing furniture.
Chen Qian pointed at the sharply designed wall clock in Liu Fan’s hand: “What is this thing, it’s so ugly! Can you even read the time clearly? Did you buy it to ward off evil spirits?”
“This is called design, understand?” Liu Fan retorted, “You uncultured dog…”
They argued noisily until lunchtime, having ordered quite a few items. Chen Qian then took Liu Fan to his place to move books. He stood at the doorway with his arms crossed, watching Liu Fan rummage around like a squirrel in its nest. His expression was like that of a debt collector.
Liu Fan’s books were usually scattered everywhere. He hadn’t noticed when they were spread out. But when gathered together, they filled several large boxes. Many books were still in their plastic wrapping, bought during promotional sales on Amazon and Dangdang.
They went back and forth until evening. Chen Qian went home and made garlic fried eggs for Liu Fan again. After dinner, he went to wash the dishes while Liu Fan organised the books.
The phone rang. Chen Qian answered without looking, saying “Hello.”
“Hello, may I speak to… Mr. Chen?”
Chen Qian turned off the dishwasher, “Yes. Who’s calling?”
“I… I’m Li Yu’s mother, Luo Xi. We met this morning.”
“Hello, Ayi.” Chen Qian frowned but kept his tone polite. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Nothing in particular…” Luo Xi’s voice was a bit hoarse. “Have you had dinner yet?”
Chen Qian replied politely, “Yes, I have.”
“Oh.”
Luo Xi was silent for a long time. Chen Qian waited a while, about to say something to hang up when Luo Xi finally spoke, “Li Yu isn’t in good spirits… I heard you two have a good relationship. Could you come and see him?”
It wasn’t clear who had told her this. But Chen Qian, apart from clashing with his own father, never embarrassed other elders face-to-face. He spoke carefully, “Your family hasn’t gathered in a long time. I better not intrude.”
Luo Xi seemed to feel awkward. She then agreed, thanked him, and hung up.
Upstairs, Liu Fan had a beef jerky in his mouth, putting books on the shelf one by one. Hearing a noise, he turned to see Chen Qian standing at the door, watching him.
Liu Fan was puzzled and asked unclearly, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Chen Qian looked a bit irritated. He walked over and bent down to help pick up books. Liu Fan tilted his head, looked at him, took out a beef stick from his pocket and put it in Chen Qian’s mouth. He then took the book Chen Qian handed him and placed it on the bookshelf.
They didn’t communicate verbally. But Chen Qian gradually felt comfortable in this tacit silence. It seemed that all worries were insignificant. After Liu Fan finished arranging the books, Chen Qian took him back to the bedroom, where they made love and then slept.
The next day, neither of them went out. Their passion for reunion suddenly exploded. Perhaps due to a sense of territoriality, Chen Qian’s desire was hard to suppress in his own domain. He kept wanting to fuck Liu Fan. He was like an insatiable beast. Liu Fan was unusually compliant and cooperative. When too tired, he would be half-asleep listening to Chen Qian’s soft words of love. He hazily held on to Chen Qian’s neck, leaning in like a newborn kitten with closed eyes, finding Chen Qian’s lips by touch for a light kiss, murmuring in response: “Mm, I love you too.”
The result of their indulgence was difficulty getting up in the morning. Liu Fan felt like his waist was about to break. He instantly became a level one disabled. He struggled to make himself presentable. As he sat in Chen Qian’s car, he suddenly remembered, “Are you going to visit Li Yu at the hospital today?”
“It’s not a serious illness. No need to go every day,” Chen Qian said nonchalantly. “We’ll have dinner at your family’s home tonight. Let your mom know in advance.”
Liu Fan usually didn’t meddle in Chen Qian’s affairs. Since Chen Qian said this, he didn’t ask further. Regarding Li Yu, they had already said what needed to be said during their previous argument. There was no point in dwelling on it. Whether he found out or not, these were matters for Chen Qian to resolve. He really couldn’t find anything to discuss with Chen Qian about this.
***
Chen Qian truly didn’t expect to encounter Luo Xi at his company’s entrance.
After that day, he had received several calls from Luo Xi, which he had politely evaded. He hadn’t anticipated Luo Xi would be so persistent.
“Good morning, Ayi,” Chen Qian said. He had been dropping Liu Fan off at work every morning lately. So he arrived at his own company a bit late. “Are you here to see me?”
Luo Xi’s eyes were full of worry. “I’m sorry, Mr. Chen. I don’t want to trouble you. But… Li Yu refuses to sleep and keeps asking if anyone has come to see him…”
Chen Qian stated matter-of-factly, “I sent a colleague to visit him. Has his condition worsened?”
“No, that’s not it… But I know Li Yu really wants to see you…” Luo Xi looked uncomfortable saying this, her eyes darting around. She apologised again, “I’m truly sorry for making such a request. I also…”
Luo Xi choked up a bit, “We hadn’t seen him for so long. When we got your call, his father and I took an overnight flight to get here. But I never imagined that finally seeing our son again would be in a hospital room. Acute appendicitis – he clearly hasn’t been taking good care of himself… So, so we don’t care anymore that he likes men…”
Chen Qian said calmly, “Li Yu is fortunate to finally have your understanding. I’m sure this wasn’t easy for you either.”
Luo Xi wiped her eyes and nodded, “You… um, last time I saw you with that young man…”
Chen Qian said frankly, “He is my partner.”
Luo Xi was uncomfortable discussing this topic. “Um… I know this puts you in a difficult position. But Li Yu barely eats, doesn’t sleep all night, and won’t talk to us. He only chats with us when we bring up topics about you…”
At this point, Luo Xi glanced quickly at Chen Qian. He then took a moment to regain her composure and logic. “He just had surgery. This behaviour is harmful to his health. I have no other requests, I just want to ask you to persuade Li Yu not to mistreat his own body. After hearing so much about you from him, I think he’ll listen to you.”
Chen Qian was quiet for a moment, then nodded, “Alright. I’ll accompany you to the hospital.”
֍֍֍
*Translator’s Note: I’m so annoyed even after reading this chapter for the third or fourth time. LY, just fucking move on! CQ, settle this matter once and for all. Hmph! -K
*GLOSSARY:
- Dangdang is an online store, often compared to Amazon in China. It was founded in 1999 and initially focused on selling books, but over the years, it has expanded its offerings to include a wide range of products such as electronics, clothing, household items, and more. Dangdang is one of China’s major e-commerce platforms and is well-known for its extensive selection of books and competitive prices.
Next update: 2024.10.05
֍֍֍
