PTBLSI chapter 23

 

The gloomy weather outside suddenly cleared, and the sun come out at that moment. It was setting on the mountainside to the west, casting a vivid orange-yellow patch that spilled through the window and branded itself on Qi Xi’s back. It also entered Fu Yanchuan’s field of vision.

Qi Xi slightly narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know what this feeling was. He had never experienced anything like this before—his lips being touched by warm skin that didn’t belong to him and something foreign being forced into his mouth at a temperature that wasn’t his own. He couldn’t see clearly; he felt as if Fu Yanchuan had used an invisible force to bind him and force him to let Fu Yanchuan handle him obediently.

“How is it, Qi Xi?”

Fu Yanchuan pulled back slightly and stared at Qi Xi’s face. From his cheeks to his neck, his skin was flushed red. The silver thread that had been pulled out hung broke from his vivid red lips. His beautiful eyes, filled with watery mist, stared blankly at Fu Yanchuan as if he didn’t know how to answer.

The hand holding his waist tightened, pressing them close together. Their chests pressed almost seamlessly against each other. He lightly wiped the moisture from Qi Xi’s lips, leaned in, and gently licked his own lips. “Does it feel comfortable?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

It was as if Fu Yanchuan had stolen Qi Xi’s strength. His whole body collapsed forward and he lay on Fu Yanchuan. Suddenly, Fu Yanchuan laughed and asked again, “Do you want to continue?”

He couldn’t answer. Fu Yanchuan abruptly pressed his lips back aginst Qi Xi’s. The annoying yet strange sensation tangled around his tongue again. He let out an uncontrolled, muffled sound, his arms unconsciously wrapping around Fu Yanchuan. His hands braced against Fu Yanchuan’s shoulders as he tried to retreat backward.

But Fu Yanchuan didn’t give him the chance. He retreated a little, but Fu Yanchuan pulled him back again. Unable to dodge, he was overwhelmed by Fu Yanchuan, who held and entangled him. A reaction he had never experienced before rose in his body. He felt like he was about to be burned by something.

Fu Yanchuan’s other hand slipped into the hem of Qi Xi’s clothes and crawled up his waist to his back. Qi Xi’s spine tensed instantly.

Sensing his tension, Fu Yanchuan stopped moving. After a moment, he released Qi Xi’s red lips, which he had sucked bright. At a distance so close that even their breathing couldn’t separate them, he softly called Qi Xi’s name.

“Qi Xi.”

Qi Xi seemed to lose his soul to that call. He started panting rapidly, his chest rising and falling nonstop and his limbs turning stiff.

Using his experience from last time, he suddenly switched positions with Qi Xi and let him fall onto the sofa. Leaning over Qi Xi, he covered his mouth and nose with both hands and asked, “Is it very uncomfortable?”

Qi Xi stared straight at him. The reddened corners of his eyes looked like two peach blossoms with a spring color that hadn’t faded yet. It looked as if countless invisible tentacles were tightening around him, winding over his body and pulling him toward a deep abyss.

Qi Xi’s breath warmed Fu Yanchuan’s palm, hot and damp. His gaze tangled with Qi Xi’s uncontrollably, as if the connection transcended the body. Yet it was also as if their lips and tongues were still grinding together in the same mouth.

Aside from breathing, neither of them moved. Fu Yanchuan felt crazy for even thinking it. The physical sensation he hadn’t felt while kissing Qi Xi now appeared as they stared at each other.

When Qi Xi’s breathing finally steadied, he leaned closer and asked, “Better now?”

Qi Xi nodded slightly. He asked again, “Should I take my hand away?”

This time, Qi Xi didn’t answer. After a moment, he finally moved his hand away, as if reluctant. The vapor from his breath left Fu Yanchuan’s palm completely damp. Fu Yanchuan hooked Qi Xi’s waist and leaned against the back of the sofa. He asked, “Do we still need to go to the hospital?”

Qi Xi suddenly shook his head and leaned in to hug him. He buried his face against Fu Yanchuan’s chest without speaking.

Fu Yanchuan lightly touched Qi Xi’s reddened ear. A faint smile lifted the corner of his lips as he asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m embarrassed.”

Fu Yanchuan’s smile became even more obvious. He said deliberately, “Wasn’t this what you insisted on doing?”

Qi Xi tightened his arms around him. After a while, he said, “I didn’t know it would feel like this.”

“What kind of feeling?”

Qi Xi thought carefully about it, unconsciously trembling a little again. He lifted his head and met Fu Yanchuan’s eyes. “I feel like my heart is about to jump out.”

“And what else?”

“And also—”

Qi Xi’s face, which hadn’t lost its color yet, heated up again. Fu Yanchuan wiped his lips with his fingertip once more, pressed down, and said, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Qi Xi nodded, then carefully asked, “Will you not want me because I’m not good enough?”

Fu Yanchuan couldn’t help but bite the fingertip that had brushed against Qi Xi’s lips as he spoke, his voice softening as he said, “Go rest for a while. I’ll call you when the night falls.”

Qi Xi softly answered “Mm.” Fu Yanchuan asked him again, “Do you want me to carry you to bed?”

“No, no.”

Fu Yanchuan moved Qi Xi’s legs aside, sat down on the sofa sideways, and released him, letting him get off the sofa by himself.

Still muddled, Qi Xi didn’t notice Fu Yanchuan’s deliberate action. He touched Fu Yanchuan’s leg and climbed down from the sofa. He had just put on his slippers and was about to leave when Fu Yanchuan suddenly pulled him back by wrapping an arm around his waist.

Qi Xi fell back into Fu Yanchuan’s arms. Fu Yanchuan’s palm rested on Qi Xi’s neck, lightly rubbing his Adam’s apple. He subconsciously called out, “Brother Yan.”

“Go.”

Fu Yanchuan released him. Qi Xi froze for two seconds before leaving his arms. After getting down, he turned back warily, staring at him and saying, “Don’t suddenly pull me in again!”

Leaning lightly against the sofa, Fu Yanchuan looked at him and nodded reassuringly. He watched Qi Xi move toward the bed, looking back every few steps. Only after confirming that Fu Yanchuan wouldn’t do anything did Qi Xi climb onto the bed and quickly wrap himself in the blanket. After a moment, he wriggled around once under the blanket like a caterpillar and finally settled down properly. Fu Yanchuan then got up and went to the bathroom.

Qi Xi slept until evening. When it was time to eat, Fu Yanchuan couldn’t wake him, so he had the meal brought to the room. He filled a bowl with porridge and brought it to the bedside. Smelling the porridge, Qi Xi was finally willing to get up.

“Brother Yan, I’m so sleepy.”

“Eat first, then sleep.”

Qi Xi took the bowl of porridge Fu Yanchuan had filled and drank several big mouthfuls. Then he refused to eat any more, flopping back onto the bed to sleep some more.

Fu Yanchuan regretted it, wondering if he had gone too far that afternoon. Despite knowing about Qi Xi’s illness, he still didn’t restrain himself. He didn’t wake Qi Xi, but instead wrung out a hot towel to wipe him down and changed his clothes. He then let Qi Xi continue sleeping.

Qiu Yizhou, who had come to call Fu Yanchuan and Qi Xi for dinner, saw through the crack in the bedroom door that Fu Yanchuan was taking care of Qi Xi. His jaw nearly dropped in shock.

When Fu Yanchuan came out, Qiu Yizhou couldn’t hold back and asked, “President Fu, are you raising a stand-in or a son?”

Fu Yanchuan shot him a sideways glance. Qiu Yizhou immediately shut up. Facing the dinner delivered to the room, he teasingly said, “I won’t disturb you two anymore.”

But Fu Yanchuan sat down at the table and said, “He’s asleep. Eat with me.”

Qiu Yizhou glanced at the tightly shut bedroom door, sat down across from Fu Yanchuan, looked him over, and asked, “What did you do to him?”

Qiu Yizhou didn’t want to suspect anything, but he had known Fu Yanchuan for so many years. Fu Yanchuan was really like a monk. Even when he used to hang out with Qiao Ye abroad in places of nightlife and indulgence, Fu Yanchuan was like a saint.

At first, Qiu Yizhou thought that Fu Yanchuan was keeping himself pure, holding Qiao Ye in his heart and having no interest in anyone else. But when Qiao Ye got drunk and fell into his arms, trying to kiss him, and was pushed away, Qiu Yizhou thought that maybe Fu Yanchuan actually believed in Buddhism and abstained from desire.

Fu Yanchuan didn’t answer Qiu Yizhou’s question, saying flatly, “I want the result of Huang Yujian’s case as soon as possible.”

“Don’t worry. Can’t you see who I am? I guarantee Qi Xi will be satisfied.”

After a moment, Fu Yanchuan said, “He doesn’t need to know that. Calculate how much the final compensation will be. I’ll give it to you, and you give it to him in a few days.”

Qiu Yizhou immediately stared straight at Fu Yanchuan, confirming that he was still the same person. He couldn’t help asking, “Don’t you think he has the right to know?”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t respond. He already knew the answer. For the sake of knowing him for so many years, he couldn’t help but remind him: “Even if you don’t tell him, he’ll still have to appear in court.”

“I believe you have a way to let him not know so much.”

Hearing this, Qiu Yizhou suddenly understood Fu Yanchuan’s meaning. Someone as simple as Qi Xi—like a blank sheet of paper—was far too rare in this society, especially for someone like Fu Yanchuan, who lived in a world of calculations and suspicion.

Fu Yanchuan hoped Qi Xi could stay simple forever, deliberately wiping away the darkness in front of him. But people always mature. Qi Xi couldn’t stay this pure forever.

If Fu Yanchuan was just playing around and was going to throw Qi Xi away once he passed the age of simplicity, that would be far too dirty for Qi Xi.

Unless, of course, Fu Yanchuan was serious about protecting Qi Xi for a lifetime.

But how could that be possible for someone like Fu Yanchuan, who puts benefits above everything else?

Qiu Yizhou finally came to a conclusion. Fu Yanchuan was truly a man with despicable thoughts and dirty methods. He instantly felt sympathy for Qi Xi.

Qi Xi woke up in the middle of the night from the heat. He vaguely felt that someone had gotten into bed at some point. For some reason, he crawled into that person’s arms and used their arm as a pillow, sleeping contentedly.

But now, he was unbearably hot. He pushed away the person holding him and rolled over. With that roll, however, his stomach started hurting as if it were trying to kill him.

“Qi Xi?”

Hearing this, Qi Xi slowly opened his eyes. In the dim light, he saw Fu Yanchuan and said, “Brother Yan, my stomach hurts.”

“You’re running a fever, too.”

Fu Yanchuan touched Qi Xi’s forehead, covered him back up with the blanket he had kicked off, and then got out of bed immediately. Qi Xi hurriedly called out to him. “Where are you going? Don’t ignore me. You promised to take care of me when I’m sick.”

“I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Fu Yanchuan changed his clothes and brought Qi Xi’s over. He had originally wanted to change Qi Xi out of his pajamas but was afraid that putting clothes on and taking them off again would make Qi Xi’s illness worse. Instead, he put a coat on him, took a hotel blanket, and wrapped it around him. Then, he picked Qi Xi up.

He carried Qi Xi to the next room and kicked the door open, like a violent thug.

Qiu Yizhou was woken up by the noise. Still grumpy from sleep, he went to open the door. Seeing Fu Yanchuan holding a wrapped blanket, his groggy brain not working well, Qiu Yizhou asked, “What are you doing? Stealing hotel blankets?”

“Qi Xi has a fever. Go away.”

Only then did Qiu Yizhou notice that there was someone inside the blanket. His muddled brain instantly cleared. Shocked, he asked, “What did you do to him? Sure enough, when a man abstains for too long, he just doesn’t understand gentleness.”

Fu Yanchuan completely ignored him, urging, “Hurry up,” as he went to press the elevator button. Qiu Yizhou went back to his room, changed clothes, grabbed the car keys, and chased after Fu Yanchuan.

There weren’t any well-equipped private hospitals here. Fu Yanchuan had to take Qi Xi to a public hospital. Fortunately, there weren’t many people in the emergency room in the middle of the night.

Fu Yanchuan sat Qi Xi down in a resting chair. Qi Xi was wrapped up like a cocoon, lying bundled on his lap. He bent down and asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Qi Xi answered with a heavy, nasal “Mm.” Fu Yanchuan immediately scooped him up, holding him partially in his arms. He reached his hand into the blanket and used his palm to rub Qi Xi’s stomach.

The “servant” Qiu Yizhou went to register. When he returned, he saw Fu Yanchuan holding Qi Xi so gently that he looked like someone he didn’t recognize at all.

The announcer finally called Qi Xi’s name. He curled into a ball and couldn’t stand, so Fu Yanchuan picked him up and took him to the consultation room.

The doctor was startled the first time he looked at Fu Yanchuan’s, and startled again when he looked at the person Fu Yanchuan was holding. The doctor had Fu Yanchuan put Qi Xi on the bed and asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

“Fever and stomach pain.”

The doctor opened the blanket covering Qi Xi, pressed on his stomach, and asked where it hurt. After Qi Xi answered, the doctor asked Fu Yanchuan, “What did he eat tonight?”

“Just a bowl of porridge.”

“At noon?”

“He ate a lamb hotpot and drank two and a half cups of milk tea at noon. What he ate this morning should be fine; it’s what he usually eats.”

The doctor asked, “Does he have any medical history?”

Fu Yanchuan wasn’t very familiar with Qi Xi’s medical history, but he remembered the results of the last checkup and gave the doctor a brief summary.

After listening, the doctor glanced at Fu Yanchuan and said, a little nervously, “You wait outside. I’ll call you when the examination is done.”

Fu Yanchuan left the consultation room and leaned against the wall. Qiu Yizhou asked him from across the room, “Is it serious?”

He didn’t answer until the doctor called him in.

Qiu Yizhou went in with him. When the doctor looked over and saw the tall man, he felt nervous again. He cleared his throat and said, “The patient has acute gastroenteritis caused by not adapting to the local environment and eating hot and cold foods together. He also has a fever. Go pay the fees first, then take him next door for an IV.”

Upon hearing the diagnosis, Qiu Yizhou looked at Fu Yanchuan with disappointment. The doctor handed him the forms he had written. Fu Yanchuan instructed him, “Go pay.”

Qiu Yizhou couldn’t help but take a few more looks at Fu Yanchuan, wondering what exactly this person had done.

Qi Xi was half-asleep at that moment. When he felt Fu Yanchuan come over, he subconsciously leaned into his arms and hummed, “Brother Yan.”

“I’m here.”

Fu Yanchuan adjusted Qi Xi’s pajamas, wrapped him in the blanket again, and carried him outside.

Qi Xi naturally leaned against him and suddenly said, “I thought you were going to carry me on your shoulder again.”

“You want that?”

Fu Yanchuan deliberately bounced his arm upward a little. Qi Xi hurriedly burrowed into his coat and said, “I’m hurt.”

As soon as they entered the emergency infusion area, the heavy smell of medicine hit them. The beds were covered in stains from who knows how many people. The nurse led them over. Fu Yanchuan didn’t want to put Qi Xi down, which drew a puzzled look from the nurse.

He carefully wrapped Qi Xi in a blanket before placing him on the bed. While the nurse hung up the medicine for Qi Xi, he suddenly woke up, grabbed Fu Yanchuan’s hand, and said, “Brother Yan, don’t go.”

“I’m not going.”

Fu Yanchuan stood beside the bed. His height made people around him look over.

The nurse felt a lot of pressure being stared at by someone like him—even though he was just a big, handsome guy—while she inserted the needle. She finished quickly, told Fu Yanchuan when to change the IV, and fled immediately.

As the medicine entered his body, Qi Xi felt both cold and hot. The last time he went to the hospital, there weren’t this many people nor this strong of a medicinal smell. The examination room smelled nice, the doctor was gentle, and the hospital didn’t trigger his memories.

But this time, he was in a familiar hospital. The noise and smell of medicine made him recall many hospital experiences, as did the formulaic doctors.

When he was 14, he had surgery for appendicitis. That night, his father went home and hired a caregiver, but she didn’t show up. In the middle of the night, he was so thirsty that he wanted to drink water. However, the thermos was empty, and the water dispenser in the ward was dry.

He endured the pain, got out of bed, and fell at the door of the ward while looking for water. The nurse on duty found him, helped him back to bed, and gave him a drink of water.

He smiled and told the nurse he was fine. After the nurse left, he covered himself with the blanket and cried sadly for a long time.

The next day, he complained to Xie Hui. That night, Xie Hui secretly ran away from home, saying that he would take care of him. However, at 15, Xie Hui didn’t know how to take care of anyone. He fell asleep and couldn’t be woken, no matter how much Qi Xi called him. Qi Xi still had to get out of bed and pour his own water. Fortunately, it didn’t hurt as much the next day.

“Brother Yan.”

Thinking of the past made Qi Xi sad again. He turned his head and saw Fu Yanchuan sitting on the stool beside the bed. He said softly, “I want to drink water.”

“Wait a moment.”

Fu Yanchuan wasn’t familiar with the hospital. He went out and looked around before finding a cup of warm water for Qi Xi in a paper cup.

He helped Qi Xi sit up and fed him. “Do you want more?”

Qi Xi shook his head and suddenly leaned over, bumping into Fu Yanchuan’s arms. Fu Yanchuan quickly said, “Don’t move around. There’s a needle in your hand.”

Ignoring him, Qi Xi buried his face in Fu Yanchuan’s arms, sniffed, and said, “Brother Yan, you’re the best to me. I don’t want Xie Hui anymore.”

Fu Yanchuan took Qi Xi’s hand with the IV needle and laid it flat. He replied, “Isn’t Xie Hui your best friend?”

“Not anymore. You are!”

Qi Xi said firmly. “He’s not as good to me as you are. He doesn’t remember my birthday, won’t pour me a glass of water, and doesn’t talk to me as gently as you do.”

As he spoke, he suddenly lifted his head to look at Fu Yanchuan. His eyes were watery as he asked, “Can I be your stand-in for my whole life?”

 

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