TDH Chapter 10

Along with the address, Richard also sent a voice message. Jiang Cenglan tapped to listen, only to hear Li Que’s voice telling him where the car keys were, and suggesting he pick one of the brighter-colored ones since the weather was nice today.

 

Jiang Cenglan replied with a cute sticker but didn’t actually plan to drive one of Li Que’s super expensive cars. After returning the sandwich and milk to the fridge, he freshened up quickly in Li Que’s bathroom and headed out to hail a cab.

 

At that hour, traffic wasn’t that bad in New York, so it took about twenty minutes to arrive at the psychology clinic. After checking in with the front desk, Jiang Cenglan made his way to the second floor.

 

Perhaps because many of the clients were young, the waiting area felt very safe and cozy, with a touch of youthful magic. There were even a few children sitting quietly in front of a bookstand, reading.

 

Jiang Cenglan hadn’t been sitting for long when he saw Li Que step out of a consultation room. Since his position was very conspicuous, Li Que spotted him at once, quickly walking over to him.

 

“Good afternoon,” Li Que said while he smiled, his eyes crinkling. “I’ll be done here soon. Just wait a little longer, and then we’ll go for some French food.”

 

Jiang Cenglan nodded. “Mm.”

 

However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with Li Que’s mood, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Was it normal after a therapy session? Lowering his gaze, he noticed that the spot on Li Que’s wrist where there had once been scars was now wrapped with a band containing a chip.

 

Catching the younger man’s glance, Li Que explained: “The doctor thought the rubber bands weren’t effective anymore, so we switched to a chip. It works sort of like a fitness tracker.”

 

With that, Li Que followed a nurse holding his test results down the hallway.

 

Jiang Cenglan was about to return to his seat when he noticed a middle-aged American man in a lab coat watching him with interest.

 

They were only a few steps apart. When their eyes met, the man approached and held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Dr. Brown, Richard’s psychologist,” he introduced himself. “Very pleased to meet you.”

 

And yet, Jiang Cenglan wasn’t sure how to define his relationship with Li Que, so he simply gave his name. “Hello, Dr. Brown. I’m Cielo[mfn]Jiang Cenglan’s English name[/mfn].”

 

Dr. Brown looked like he was eager for a brief chat, sitting down across from Jiang Cenglan and asking a nurse to bring them two coffees.

 

Jiang Cenglan took a polite sip. He hadn’t eaten anything since waking up, so he didn’t really feel like drinking coffee right now. But Dr. Brown was watching him with a gaze intense enough that it could be called scorching. Slightly annoyed, Jiang Cenglan started to think about what he could do to break the awkwardness.

 

Fortunately, Dr. Brown didn’t stare for long before diving into the conversation.

 

“Cielo, I’ve been Richard’s therapist since his teenage years. He’s always come alone. You’re the first person from his personal life to appear here.”

 

It sounded like Dr. Brown wanted to share something about Li Que. And yet, Jiang Cenglan wasn’t sure if disclosing a patient’s condition to family or friends was standard procedure in therapy. Instinctively, he felt that he shouldn’t listen any further without Li Que’s acknowledgment.

 

After all, Li Que was an adult, with a right to privacy. And their relationship wasn’t close enough yet for him to be privy to medical details.

 

So Jiang Cenglan replied politely but with some distance: “Is that so? I’ll ask Richard about it later.”

 

The doctor looked at him, puzzled, as if surprised by his calm reaction. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate before continuing: “Ah, I see.” He then pulled out a cardholder from his pocket and handed Jiang Cenglan his business card, saying: “Please take this. If anything comes up, contact me. It’s important for your safety.”

 

For his safety?! …What did that mean?

 

Jiang Cenglan then quickly remembered what Li Que said about being addicted to sex, and his face flushed. But even if… Even if Li Que had that sort of addiction, he was very skilled and incredibly gentle. Jiang Cenglan hadn’t felt hurt at all during the experience.

 

But he still took the business card Dr. Brown insisted on giving him.

 

On his part, the doctor also didn’t press the issue any further, standing up and returning to his office.

 

A few minutes later, Li Que emerged from a room at the far end of the hallway, holding a stack of A4 papers. He first returned to the consultation room to hand the documents to his doctor, then came out and wrapped an arm around Jiang Cenglan’s shoulders, the two of them leaving together.

 

Jiang Cenglan couldn’t help but keep noticing Li Que’s hands. Seeing a small bandage on his fingertip, he asked: “I didn’t know therapy required blood tests.”

 

Li Que peeled the bandage off with one hand and tossed it into a trash bin. “Yeah, it’s been getting a bit more serious lately,” he answered. “They suspect it might be amygdala-related, or something hormonal. So it wasn’t just blood. They did a brain scan too.”

 

That day, Li Que drove a pink Lamborghini, parked right by the curb. He chivalrously opened the passenger door while saying: “Come on, let’s get lunch.”

 

………………

 

In the afternoon, Li Que didn’t take Jiang Cenglan back to the Steinway Building. After checking with him first, he drove straight to his studio to sign the contract.

 

“The original plan was to come home and eat with you first, then bring you over,” Li Que said. “I don’t like strangers in my private space so I’ve already told my lawyer to meet us at the studio.”

 

Jiang Cenglan felt secretly delighted that he’d been allowed to sleep alone at Li Que’s place, meaning that he was now considered someone in his inner circle.

 

As they drove into Fifth Avenue, Jiang Cenglan couldn’t help exclaiming: “Your studio’s here?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That’s amazing! I thought I wouldn’t be able to work here until after graduation.”

 

Li Que glanced over at the envious young man with a faint smile, turning the wheel and pulling into the underground garage of the AP Building.

 

“This isn’t quite what I expected,” Jiang Cenglan said. “I thought your studio would be in a fashion brand building. Why a watch brand? I mean, AP is great, of course.”

 

Most models were managed by agencies, but for someone at Li Que’s level, having his own studio was totally normal. Therefore, Jiang Cenglan had been mentally preparing to tour a fashion house, never expecting his studio to be housed inside a luxury watch company.

 

“Because they don’t charge me rent,” Li Que joked.

 

Only then did Jiang Cenglan recall that Li Que had been AP’s brand ambassador since his debut.

 

After parking the Lamborghini, Li Que turned off the engine and was about to get out of the car when Jiang Cenglan suddenly gathered his courage. “Richard, before we talk business, I want to clear something up,” he said.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What exactly is our relationship?” Jiang Cenglan stared directly at the beautiful man, who seemed completely oblivious to his subtext. Then, word by word, he said: “That’s really important to me.”

……………………………….

T.N: Thanks to MyHusbandIsDeadOrFictional‘s comment, I decided to continue translating this novel until the end of the main story. Also, I would like to rant a little bit, it seems like everyone and their mother has 2 names (a Chinese and an American one), but our Senior Sister and Flatmate still don’t have one :)) But fear not, I have read quite a bit in advance and I’m happy to announce that I won’t have to look for “roommate” synonyms for long. The boy has a name! It’s just that it comes almost at the end of the novel :)) As for Senior Sister, I fear her scenes are already over, so let us fondly remember her as the “cool rich girl who comes from a prestigious family and is very savvy at stalking cheaters on social media”.