“Stop. Inhale.”
“Now hold your breath… Can you hear me? Good. Very good.”
“Now exhale. Try to breathe normally.”
An asthma attack was always a sorry sight. Jiang Cenglan had long since lost track of which episode had him wheezing like bellows or hacking so hard that tears, snot, and phlegm flew in all directions.
Luckily, this time was one of the more dignified ones, with just chest tightness and darkness clouding his vision from lack of air.
Simultaneously, time seemed to both shrink and stretch, but that might have only been a sensory distortion brought on by the attack.
He seemed to vaguely see how Li Que pulled over the car the second he realized something was wrong, then quickly found the emergency inhaler in Jiang Cenglan’s bag and administered it with near-expert precision.
Of course, it wasn’t like he bounced back instantly.
When Jiang Cenglan’s rational mind finally returned, his first instinct was to lift a hand and wipe away the tears blurring his vision, only to realize that, from some point on, he was sitting directly on Li Que’s lap.
Face to face.
Had Li Que pulled him over like that?!
Jiang Cenglan reflexively leaned back, only to bump his lower back into the steering wheel.
“Feeling better?” Li Que reached one hand up to brush his hair, the other pressing lightly against his back to help him breathe. “No need to be shy. You’re not ugly.”
Somehow, Li Que had guessed exactly what he was thinking about. That unconscious flinch just now had been out of pure embarrassment, convinced he must have looked awful.
A little bit of shame and a little bit of guilt for being such a burden… All quietly soothed away by that gentle touch on his back.
Finally, Jiang Cenglan said: “Thank you.”
However, his words were barely audible, muffled, and thick with congestion.
Li Que smiled slightly, then told him to wait a second while he went out to buy something. He then hooked his hands under Jiang Cenglan’s armpits and lifted him up in one smooth motion. Jiang Cenglan’s legs instinctively followed the lead, thinking that must’ve been how Li Que had gotten him into his lap in the first place.
Once Jiang Cenglan was back in the passenger seat, he saw Li Que step out of the car and walk toward a patch of grass where a man holding a camera emerged from behind a tree.
Li Que exchanged a few words with the man, then the two of them walked to a vending machine by the sidewalk. The man pulled out some coins, bought a bottle of water, and handed it to Li Que.
Jiang Cenglan stayed put while Li Que walked back with the water.
“Rinse your mouth. I remember this type of medication isn’t supposed to stay in your mouth for too long.” Once back in the car, Li Que started instructing Jiang Cenglan, while he nodded and obediently drank several mouthfuls. Under Li Que’s watchful, half-stern gaze, he then leaned out the window and spat it out onto the manhole cover nearby.
The whole process was humiliating enough to make him want to cry again.
But after he finished everything properly, a small, steady sense of peace rose inside him.
As soon as Jiang Cenglan recovered completely, Li Que leaned over and personally buckled his seatbelt for him, treating the boy like he was some helpless little baby.
The man then started the car again, made a U-turn at the next intersection, and headed towards the same area in Manhattan where Jiang Cenglan lived.
…………………
“This is an open plan apartment, with a view of Central Park as soon as you open your eyes!”
“Open plan apartment? Is that a feng shui concept? It’s just a regular apartment.” The man who downplayed his real estate portfolio like it was no big deal was now in the kitchen cooking dinner.
The lights of New York glittered outside while inside, only a few small lamps were lit, maybe for atmosphere.
Given that this was the home of a top-tier supermodel, Jiang Cenglan had expected a monochrome, icy minimalist interior, similar to the one in that Long Island mansion. After all, Li Que looked the type.
But to his surprise, from the moment he walked in, he was surrounded by warm wood accents, while linen and greenery filled the space, putting him at ease.
Li Que didn’t try to fuss over him at all, casually taking off his jacket. After that, he tied on an apron and began cooking. He also told Jiang Cenglan to feel free to look around, so Jiang Cenglan walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to admire the nighttime view of Central Park.
Li Que moved efficiently in the kitchen, and from the practiced way he handled everything, he clearly enjoyed cooking.
The young man who’d been in tears half an hour ago from an asthma attack had now been stripped of all drinking privileges. While Li Que paired his dinner with a gin and tonic, Jiang Cenglan only got a glass of sparkling water.
“I was going to take you out for some kaiseki[mfn]Kaiseki (懐石) or kaiseki-ryōri (懐石料理) is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner[/mfn],” Li Que said. “But… Now you’re stuck having a Mediterranean dinner with me. Gotta keep the body in shape.”
“Sorry for the trouble,” Jiang Cenglan said.
He was quietly heartbroken over missing out on that high-end Japanese meal, with his disappointment apparently very evident since Li Que continued: “I rescheduled with the chef. I’ll take you another time.”
“Okay!”
He answered far too eagerly, and only afterward did it dawn on him: aside from a verbal collaboration agreement, there really wasn’t enough of a personal connection between them for Li Que to be treating him to fancy meals like that.
So… Between him and Li Que…
Maybe sensing his hesitation, Li Que said: “Don’t overthink it. We’ll have a proper talk later. For now, just focus on dinner.”
“Okay.” Jiang Cenglan couldn’t have been more well-behaved that night.
Li Que had a kind of presence and temperament that captivated him completely. It was different from other top models, something that made him stand out even among taller, more conventionally impressive peers.
A legendary fashion icon from the last century had once praised Li Que for possessing a kind of captivating magic aura, something that made him look forward to every collaboration.
And now, it was Jiang Cenglan’s turn to feel that, firsthand.
All the daydreams he used to have about Li Que hadn’t faded upon meeting him in person. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Even while sitting right in front of the man, he still found himself looking forward to their next meeting.
So… When would that be?
No… It was better not to think about the future and treasure that night first.
Li Que said they would have a deeper conversation later, and Jiang Cenglan almost instinctively knew it wouldn’t be about work but probably…
Maybe it was time to talk about what they’d left hanging last time, about their relationship.
And that thought made him nervous once again.
Sensing his tension, Li Que said: “Ordinarily, I’d offer you a drink right now. But you have asthma, something you didn’t tell me about last time.” He was obviously referring to the first day they met, when he’d personally made a cocktail for Jiang Cenglan.
Since there was a vague hint of reproach in his tone, Jiang Cenglan immediately cringed like a scolded child. “Sorry… When I’m with you, my brain stops working,” he tried to explain himself. “I even forgot I have asthma… Forgot I shouldn’t be drinking.”
In truth, his asthma wasn’t very severe, so he didn’t strictly avoid triggers. Sometimes, for a cheap moment of happiness, he’d allow himself a little alcohol… But he didn’t dare admit that. He felt as if he said it out loud, he’d be scolded even more harshly.
Though deep down… A part of him sort of wanted to be scolded by Li Que.
Li Que was fooled by his obedient act and seemed satisfied, reaching over to ruffle his hair. Then, he walked off to get a bottle of red wine and pour himself a glass. However, it was just meant to be a casual drink, so he didn’t bother with decanting, simply letting the wine breathe in the glass. While it was oxidizing, he even warmed up some milk for Jiang Cenglan.
By the time they were both sitting together on the soft sofa again, Jiang Cenglan was once more surrounded by the man’s subtle cologne. A finger lifted his chin, as Li Que smiled, eyes half-lidded. “Your attitude toward me isn’t exactly what I expected…” he started. “So tell me. Is there something else you want to know about the scumbag who played us both?”
To put it plainly, he was absolutely captivating.
But Jiang Cenglan’s attention was entirely focused on that hand. Tracing down from the faint, long-faded mark of a ring on his fourth finger, his gaze caught on something far more jarring… An ugly scar that had no place on a top model’s perfect body.
Jiang Cenglan went quiet for a moment. Then, solemnly, he said again: “I’m sorry, Richard. I’m really sorry for the hurt you’ve suffered. But… Could you please stop hurting your body?”
Li Que blinked, clearly caught off guard. He hadn’t expected that, after all his full-throttle flirting, the pure and almost naive young man would only see what he wanted to see.
It was truly…
…Ryan Zhang, that useless, freeloading bastard, had finally done one good thing!
Li Que’s chest rose and fell. At first, he just chuckled, but faced with Jiang Cenglan’s confused and earnest expression, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
He then took Jiang Cenglan’s hand and pulled him close, asking: “Didn’t I tell you before? It’s not your fault and I didn’t self-harm. It’s just part of the treatment for… My sex addiction.”
“You didn’t feel it? Back when you were in the car and sitting on my lap?”
