TDH Chapter 18

Close to midnight, Jiang Cenglan’s phone suddenly began ringing madly, startling both him, who had been playing games, and Zhang Ruien, who had been busy plagiarizing.

 

Jiang Cenglan nearly flung his Switch across the room, consumed by panic. He glanced at the caller ID, swallowed hard, and stepped out onto the balcony to answer.

 

On the other end came Pei Zi’s ghostlike, bitterly resentful voice: “I washed the dishes, mopped the floor, and you still haven’t come back! Jiang Cenglan, where the hell did you die off to?!”

 

Jiang Cenglan confessed honestly: “Zi Zi, I’m at the Intercontinental right now…”

 

“What?! Jiang Cenglan, are you out of your mind?! Did you open a hotel room with that scumbag?! You!”

 

“I’m out of my mind, I’m out of my mind! Just, don’t get worked up yet…”

 

Jiang Cenglan shrank down, speaking softly and coaxingly, until his roommate’s blazing fury cooled a little. Then he explained the entire situation from beginning to end.

 

There was silence on the other side for a while. Probably even Pei Zi realized that at such a critical moment, there really wasn’t a better solution. He only reminded his friend to send him a photo of the contract later, so he could help check for traps in the fine print.

 

Jiang Cenglan was as obedient as could be, and finally managed to hang up, soothing the wrathful Buddha.

 

Though Pei Zi’s daily persona was that of a gaudy, flamboyant queen, that is, an even more obvious bottom than Jiang Cenglan himself, Jiang Cenglan had seen firsthand what that young master looked like when he snapped.

 

The first time they met was through the campus forum. At the time, Jiang Cenglan was preparing to study abroad. While browsing posts, he saw one seeking a roommate in New York. The conditions were perfect for what he wanted, so he quickly contacted the poster.

 

After exchanging some basic information, both sides seemed satisfied and agreed to meet in person.

 

But the moment they met, Jiang Cenglan was horrified. The person whose WeChat Moments were full of peaceful still-life photos, looking like some sort of serene “Zen influencer,” turned out to be one of the most infamous figures at their school, the guy who had just appeared in the local evening paper a week ago for almost landing in jail after a violent fight!

 

Jiang Cenglan was terrified, and the word fear was practically written across his face.

 

But Pei Zi only found it funny and let out a chuckle, saying, “The deposit isn’t refundable.”

 

Jiang Cenglan clutched his chest. That was a lot of money! Apartments downtown were insanely expensive!

 

“Then, then…” he stammered for a long time, unable to come up with anything.

 

Pei Zi motioned for him to sit: “Let’s talk, alright? It’s not like I’m going to beat you up in public, you know.”

 

Jiang Cenglan thought: But wasn’t it exactly because you beat someone up in public that you made the news?!

 

He didn’t dare say it.

 

Pressed by the sheer force of the older man’s presence, he sat down with Pei Zi at an outdoor café. Jiang Cenglan’s phone buzzed twice, and Pei Zi gestured for him to check. He opened it suspiciously, but after just the first two pages, he couldn’t stop himself from swearing.

 

“Fuck! How can it be like this!” he fumed. “The newspaper didn’t explain it clearly at all!”

 

“Exactly. How can it be like this?!” Pei Zi lit up a cigarette and began to tell him the inside story of the case.

 

“I count as a second-generation rich kid, right? The law firm I interned at was opened by my dad, and our family has had a designated sponsorship program for years. This was the first case I handled independently after getting my license. My mentor went with me to meet the client, and the moment I saw her, I recognized her as one of the kids my family had sponsored. I’d never forget her. My mom and I personally visited the orphanage after the college entrance exams to finalize the sponsorship list.”

 

“The adoptive family wasn’t bad to her. What was bad was that family’s relatives, her so-called cousin. That beast… During the settlement negotiation, he actually said, What’s the point of sending me to prison? Once I’m out, I’ll still have her…”

 

At that point, Pei Zi could no longer go on, and Jiang Cenglan couldn’t keep listening either.

 

The documents Pei Zi sent him over WeChat, along with his spoken account, were enough for Jiang Cenglan to piece together the entire truth. He said with utmost sincerity: “Sorry, Senior. I didn’t understand the real story. You’re a real man! If it were me, I would’ve hit him too.”

 

He paused, then asked: “And afterward?”

 

“Afterward,” Pei Zi said flatly, “that poor girl’s adoptive father’s elder brother only had that one son. He was their family’s only male descendant in three generations. And the grandparents were still alive as well…”

 

Jiang Cenglan understood. Although the truth proved Pei Zi to be a man of feeling and a good person, the truth also meant that those who had suffered would have a hard time receiving absolute justice.

 

It must have been that they wanted a private settlement, and the other side must have spewed plenty of outrageous, lawless words. That was why Pei Zi couldn’t stop himself from lashing out. Jiang Cenglan sighed lightly, saying solemnly: “Senior, I’d be glad to share an apartment with you. From now on, we’re roommates! Please take care of me!”

 

Saying that, he earnestly extended his hand.

 

Pei Zi chuckled, reached out, and shook it. Then he added offhandedly:

“I’ll take care of you, alright, but I did hit someone out of impulse, and I really do have bipolar disorder.” Saying that, he gestured to the rubber band around his wrist. “If anyone bullies you, I’ll help you beat them up.”

 

Jiang Cenglan felt a fresh wave of terror!

 

Later, he learned that Pei Zi hadn’t always been prone to violence, and it was that girl’s case that drove him from depression into mania. Under normal circumstances, he wasn’t different from anyone else. In fact, Pei Zi’s personality was lively and cheerful, and he was genuinely good at looking after people.

 

That was also why, much later, when Jiang Cenglan saw the identical scars on Li Que’s wrist, his first reaction was to think he had driven Li Que into a manic episode himself.

 

Pei Zi told Jiang Cenglan that, because the case involved adoption policies, the girl’s experience wasn’t suitable to be discussed in public since it would only cause her secondary harm. His father was working on that matter behind the scenes. So in the end, it was only Pei Zi, who had indeed put someone in the hospital, that made the news. But no matter the reason, hitting people was still hitting people. Violence could not be excused. His lawyer’s license was revoked, and he also lost his direct admission to the doctoral program.

 

Still wanting to continue in law, after discussing with his parents, Pei Zi decided to go abroad. He arrived in New York ahead of Jiang Cenglan, handling all the little matters while waiting for him. And like that, the two became the best of roommates and extremely important friends in each other’s lives.

 

Pei Zi was strikingly beautiful, with androgynous, almost feminine features, a long-haired goddess who really did takegood care of Jiang Cenglan. The last time he had seen him lose control was when the two of them had been stalked by some creep. However, that had been more than a year ago, and Jiang Cenglan had nearly forgotten that Pei Zi had bipolar disorder… That is, until today, when he kicked Zhang Ruien. The memory brought back the fear of their very first meeting, when he mistook Pei Zi for some “Law & Order” criminal type.

 

After hanging up on the midnight call that felt like it came from a female ghost inside a horror movie, Jiang Cenglan wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and sighed at how dangerous that had just been.

 

He felt terribly guilty inside…

 

Stuffing the phone back into his pocket, he sniffled and was about to head back inside when his fingers brushed against something hard in his pocket.

 

A supermarket receipt? Jiang had grabbed a jacket off the rack when leaving, and it happened to be the one his Senior had given him after the expo, embroidered with a pattern he’d stitched himself.

 

Jiang Cenglan pulled out the hard little rectangle.

 

It was the contact information for Li Que’s psychiatrist, Dr. Brown.

 

He stared at the business card, sinking into thought. It felt as if something unseen was urging him… Why not try reaching out to Dr. Brown tonight?

 

Hadn’t Dr. Brown said before, ‘If anything comes up, contact me?’ Now his safety was in some sense compromised, wasn’t it?

 

Should he? Should he reach out? Jiang Cenglan wrestled with the thought. Emotionally, he couldn’t believe Li Que would toy with him or ignore his situation after treating him so gently, giving him that sense of being valued and carefully treasured. Besides, right now, Li Que was already on a small plane, desperately flying toward New York.

 

He longed to witness Li Que’s feelings for him, just as urgent and just as sincere as his own yearning for Li Que.

 

But rationally, Jiang Cenglan knew Li Que was definitely hiding something from him. Normally, he wouldn’t have minded since everyone was entitled to their little secrets. That sense of mystery was part of Li Que’s charm, and Jiang Cenglan preferred to think of his reserved way of speaking as an expression of his restrained nature.

 

But!

 

Given the situation now, it wouldn’t be too much to dig a little deeper, right?!

 

With that thought, Jiang Cenglan glanced at his phone screen. It was 11:30 p.m. in New York, an inconvenient hour perhaps, but theoretically, a highly-paid private doctor should be on call at all times, right? With that mindset, he typed out a message to Dr. Brown:

 

Hello, Dr. Brown, I’m Cielo, Richard’s friend. Do you remember me? Sorry to bother you so late, but did you happen to see the latest entertainment news? There are some things I’d like to confirm with you.

 

After sending the message, Jiang Cenglan sniffled again.

 

He prayed Dr. Brown would see it quickly. And his prayer was answered less than a minute later, when a call came through from an area code beginning with 201[mfn]A 201 area code phone number is a telephone number associated with Northern New Jersey, including key areas such as Jersey City and Hoboken[/mfn].

 

“Hello, I wanted to ask…” Jiang Cenglan had originally meant to say that he wanted to ask about Li Que’s latest blood test results. And… why hasn’t Li Que ever slept with him?! Zhang Ruien had already asked him that three times! Three times in one night!

 

Zhang Ruien obviously kept pressing on about Li Que’s supposed sex addiction, so what was his purpose? Jiang Cenglan didn’t know.

 

Still, if things were truly desperate, he considered that before he and Li Que sat down for a serious talk tomorrow morning, maybe he should just… let Li Que have him first.

 

After all, he really was craving Li Que.

 

Li Que was beautifully built there, with a perfect shape, flawless color, and impressive size. As a pure bottom, Jiang Cenglan had been craving him for a long time.

 

And even if, one chance in a million, Li Que really was just toying with him, then at least sleeping with him solidly once wouldn’t be a loss, right?!

 

But before he could even voice his secret thoughts, the middle-aged man on the other end of the line, who had clearly mistaken the situation as an emergency, cut him off.

 

“My God!” Dr. Brown exclaimed anxiously. “Cielo, are you okay? Are you in trouble? Are you safe right now? Don’t be afraid, Richard would never lay a hand on you, no matter what! Are you calling me from a bathroom stall? Don’t worry, I’ll help you. But whatever you do, you mustn’t contact Richard’s ex-husband…”

 

The rush of rapid-fire questions, mixed with American slang that was unfamiliar to him, left Jiang Cenglan’s head spinning. He couldn’t even process them all, including the words “ex-husband,” which he was still trying to digest.

 

In the midst of Dr. Brown rustling around, clearly getting dressed, and urging him on in a panic, Jiang Cenglan finally managed to blurt out the rest of the sentence he’d originally meant to say:

 

“…I was asking about Richard’s sex addiction…”

 

“Hyperaesthesia sexualis[mfn]An abnormal increase in libido. Hypersexuality is a proposed medical condition said to cause unwanted or excessive sexual arousal, causing people to engage in or think about sexual activity to the point of distress or impairment. Hypersexuality may be a primary condition, or the symptom of other medical conditions or disorders such as Klüver–Bucy syndrome, bipolar disorder, brain injury, and dementia. It may also be a side effect of medication, such as dopaminergic drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease[/mfn].”

 

The term was repeated aloud, in someone else’s voice.

 

Jiang Cenglan instinctively turned his head and saw Zhang Ruien leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, no telling how long he’d been standing there, or how much he’d heard.

 

Jiang Cenglan frowned, watching him warily. But Zhang Ruien’s gaze was mocking, his lips curling into a faint smile as he continued: “Sexual hyperactivity,” he translated into Chinese. “So that’s how Li Que fooled you? He told you he had a sex addiction?”

 

“You silly boy. He doesn’t have one at all! In fact, he’s practically frigid in that department! You’ve been tricked!”

 

…………………………