The judge frowned and slammed the gavel twice. “plaintiff, please control your emotions and observe court decorum!”
Everyone in the courtroom turned to stare at the outburst, eyes flicking between Liu Qiuyan and Xie Quan, whispering to each other curiously.
“Your Honor,” Lu Nanyang turned to the judge, “The plaintiff is too emotionally unstable. I’d like to request a ten-minute recess.”
“Granted,” the judge said, striking the gavel once. “Recess for ten minutes. The session will resume at 11:08.”
Lu Nanyang noticed Xie Quan looked very pale. As soon as the judge announced the recess, he quickly left the courtroom. The door slammed loudly against the wall behind it.
“You get back here! What’s that supposed to mean? You little bastard, you dare give me attitude now?!” Liu Qiuyan tried to chase after him, but Lu Nanyang blocked her path.
“Ms. Liu, that’s enough,” Lu Nanyang said coldly. “Throwing tantrums in court is an ugly sight.”
“What the hell do you know?!” Liu Qiuyan snapped, shoving Lu Nanyang hard. “If it weren’t for that bastard back then, I—”
“Ms. Liu, at the very least, I know the law,” Lu Nanyang said calmly. “According to Article 234 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, intentional harm to another person is punishable by up to three years in prison, criminal detention, or public surveillance.”
Liu Qiuyan glared at him, speechless for a moment, and finally left in a huff.
Lu Nanyang watched her leave, then turned and hurried in the direction Xie Quan had gone.
……
This was already the third time this week that Xie Quan had vomited from emotional distress, but this time was especially intense. Even the stomach acid had been completely emptied, yet he still couldn’t stop.
His consciousness was being consumed by the endless urge to vomit, and in a Da Ze, Xie Quan felt that if this continued, he might throw up his own organs.
The things Liu Qiuyan said echoed in his ears like a curse.
“What the hell are you? A bastard without even a name…”
“That house should’ve been mine all along!”
“You’re not even good enough to lick his boots! You dog bastard!”
The memories he’d tried to bury over countless days and nights surged up like a flood.
“Little dog.” The man crossed his legs, the room filled with the smell of smoke, “Come here, clean my shoes.”
The leather shoes were stinky, gritty with dirt. He could pretend not to hear the laughter, but the pain was too much to bear; it made him feel like he was going to die.
The sounds squeezed in his brain, roaring and screaming, so loud that he couldn’t breathe. The ringing in his ears was sharp and relentless.
There was a brief knock on the door behind him, but Xie Quan couldn’t focus enough to respond.
The person outside was clearly anxious. The knocking became stronger, “Xie Quan? Are you okay?”
Xie Quan knelt on the floor, his body weak. After struggling, he managed to stop some of the nausea. His legs were so weak that he could barely stand.
“Get lost.” Xie Quan’s voice was hoarse, with blood in his throat.
Lu Nanyang hesitated for a moment before continuing to knock on the door, “You—”
“Can’t you understand human language?!” Xie Quan shouted, his voice rising. “I’ve been to court! I gave my testimony! What more do you want?! Are you never going to stop?!”
“…” The voice outside paused for a moment, “I just wanted to ask, do you want some water?”
Xie Quan closed his eyes, feeling as if his insides were about to explode. His throat was dry and cracked, like it was on fire.
Lu Nanyang waited for a while, and then the sound of flushing came from inside. The door lock clicked open.
Xie Quan’s face was pale, his glasses slipping down to the tip of his nose, his eyes reddened. His chest rose and fell uncontrollably, but he tried to appear calm.
Lu Nanyang handed him a thermos, “I got some hot water from the security office. I didn’t make it too hot; if it’s too cold, I can go get more—”
Before he could finish, Xie Quan snatched the cup from his hands and drank half of it in one go.
Lu Nanyang just stood there, waiting. His gaze briefly shifted to the restroom stall behind Xie Quan, where some vomit had spilled out uncontrollably. The air was filled with the sour, bile-like stench.
After finishing the water, Xie Quan was about to return the cup, but at that moment, everything seemed to spin around him. His vision went black, and he stumbled forward.
“Hey!” Fortunately, Lu Nanyang was quick and managed to catch him without dropping the cup.
“Xie Quan, Xie Quan?” Lu Nanyang was startled, patting his cheek with the back of his hand.
Luckily, Xie Quan hadn’t fainted. The prolonged vomiting and mental breakdown left him too weak to move. He tried to struggle, but when he exerted himself, he couldn’t breathe properly, and his chest hurt like a heart attack. In the end, he barely managed to grab hold of Lu Nanyang’s shirt.
“What?” Xie Quan’s voice was too soft for Lu Nanyang to hear clearly, so he leaned in closer.
“Medicine…” Xie Quan’s hand was trembling, his throat dry, “In the right pocket of my jacket…”
“Okay.”
But Xie Quan had no strength left. If Lu Nanyang let go of him, he would surely fall. So, Lu Nanyang wrapped one arm under his shoulder and supported him tightly, while using the other hand to feel for his pocket.
It was an awkward position; Xie Quan’s body slumped against Lu Nanyang’s shoulder. His chin rested limply on Lu Nanyang’s neck, his shallow breathing tickling the skin behind his ear, making Lu Nanyang shiver.
Lu Nanyang’s hand wandered for a long time, struggling to find the pocket. In the process, he accidentally brushed over a spot, and Xie Quan shuddered, letting out a muffled groan.
That sound sent a shiver down Lu Nanyang’s spine.
This was the first time Lu Nanyang had heard Xie Quan make such a soft sound, almost like a kitten. It was as if he had shed all his defenses and exposed his softest side, open for anyone to touch.
If someone had walked in at that moment, they would have thought they were hiding in the bathroom, getting intimate.
No, better focus on the task at hand.
After a lot of searching, Lu Nanyang finally found a small white pill bottle in Xie Quan’s pocket. This time, he could clearly read the label: Diazepam.
Lu Nanyang didn’t know much about medicine, nor did he know what this drug was for. He opened the bottle and was about to ask Xie Quan how many tablets to take, but Xie Quan snatched the bottle from his hand, tilted his head back, and poured some pills into his mouth.
You can take medicine like that?
Lu Nanyang was startled and quickly shoved the water cup into Xie Quan’s arms, “Water.”
Xie Quan mumbled something unintelligible and took the cup. He tilted his head back to drink. His Adam’s apple bobbed with the swallow, and some of the water spilled from the corner of his lips, trailing down his neck into his collar.
After swallowing the pills, Xie Quan soon began to calm down. His breathing steadied, and his expression shifted from chaotic distress to a lazy, hazy look, like a cat sunbathing on a winter afternoon. His brows relaxed, and his gray eyes narrowed to slits.
“Thank you.” he spoke softly, his voice still a bit hoarse, but it was clearly better than before.
“You’re welcome.” Lu Nanyang sighed in relief, “You don’t have to go to court later. I’ll call a car for you so you can go home and rest. Your testimony is done, and the judge probably won’t need you anymore.”
Xie Quan didn’t answer. After a while, he suddenly laughed.
Lu Nanyang, being considerate, acted as if they were old friends, not asking anything unnecessary.
But Xie Quan knew the truth—he had met so many people, been to so many places, but he had never had a true friend.
“What are you laughing at?” Lu Nanyang asked.
“I realized you’re actually a really kind person,” Xie Quan said with a smile. “It makes you easy to fool.”
He had just helped him, and now this scumbag was saying things like that?
Lu Nanyang frowned, about to say something, but Xie Quan interrupted him.
Xie Quan squinted his eyes, raised his index finger, and pressed it to Lu Nanyang’s lips, like a lazy wildcat.
“Shh. One more thing,” Xie Quan’s voice was light, hoarse yet dreamy, “You’re hard.”
Lu Nanyang’s breathing instantly grew more rapid. He didn’t even need to look down to know Xie Quan was telling the truth. He could feel it—Xie Quan had been pressing against his thigh the whole time.
Xie Quan lowered his hand, took off his glasses and put them into his pocket, then leaned in and kissed Lu Nanyang on the lips.
