YPHC Chapter 46

“Why are you looking at me? Have you really been…”

 

Yan Jie could make up nonsense effortlessly with vivid details, but Jiang Nan’an didn’t believe a word of it.

 

After hearing that speech, he just looked at Yan Jie for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze and said coolly:

 

“Impossible.”

 

“Oh?” Yan Jie raised an eyebrow slightly:

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

Jiang Nan’an looked him up and down, sighed slightly:

 

“Male birds don’t lay eggs. I wouldn’t make such a basic mistake. The part about dragging you to hell together might be possible.”

 

“Well…” Yan Jie affectedly batted his eyelashes at him:

 

“Little Spring may not have much, and though I can’t compare to Mr. Hang, my beauty is still somewhat presentable, right? What if you found me attractive and were bewitched, wanting to carry me back to your nest to lock me up? Tsk, tsk, tsk… how troubling.”

 

“…” Yan Jie was being annoying as usual. Jiang Nan’an instinctively wanted to mock him, but as his gaze fell on him, he didn’t know where to begin.

 

Yan Jie had spent the night slumped by the bed, his hair now a mess, with a hint of darkness under his eyes, and stubble on his chin that hadn’t been promptly cleaned up. Though he looked disheveled and haggard, he was far from “ugly.” With those almond eyes carrying a bit of fatigue and humor, even in his dejected state, he was still handsome.

 

He was different from Jiang Nan’an. Although Jiang Nan’an’s appearance was often praised, his “good looks” somewhat blurred gender lines. The softness of his features and bone structure tempered the ruggedness of masculinity. While he was far from being mistaken for a woman, people described him as “beautiful” much more often than “handsome” or “striking.” Like some of his fans who loved to call him “wife.”

 

But not Yan Jie. He exuded masculine pheromones from head to toe, sometimes even with a hint of aggression.

 

So how could there be a mistake? No matter how attractive or flamboyant such a masculine human might be, no one would think he could lay eggs or produce little fire birds.

 

“Why are you looking at me? Have you really been captivated, husband?”

 

Jiang Nan’an was lost in thought, inevitably staring at Yan Jie for too long, giving him another opportunity to show off.

 

Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow slightly and was about to say something when the door to the hospital room was suddenly pushed open with a “bang.”

 

Xiao Sun, seeing Jiang Nan’an sitting up in bed, looked like he was about to burst into tears.

 

“Brother! You’re finally awake, brother!”

 

Xiao Sun pattered to the bedside. His demeanor made it seem as if Jiang Nan’an had just undergone brain surgery and was struggling to open his eyes in the ICU.

 

Xiao Sun dragged out his words, dramatically wailing halfway through, but before he could continue, his face froze in a rather comical expression for half a second.

 

Then his gaze dropped to see Jiang Nan’an and Yan Jie’s clasped hands.

 

The simple-minded boy immediately asked innocently:

 

“Why are you two holding hands?”

 

“?” The young nurse who entered behind Xiao Sun kept stealing glances at them while preparing medication, but her mask covered most of her face, so no one could see her expression.

 

“Oh…” They had been chattering so much, yet neither realized they were still holding hands.

 

Yan Jie nonchalantly let go of Jiang Nan’an and casually said:

 

“I was reading his palm.”

 

“Wow, Brother Spring, you can do that too?”

 

“Yes, in the jianghu they call me Spring Half-Immortal.”

 

“So what did you see? How’s my brother’s career and love fortune?”

 

“Ah? Oh, I don’t read those things.”

 

“Then what do you read?” Xiao Sun really had no tact, pushing his Brother Spring to the edge of the cliff.

 

“I think your brother must be hungry. Should we order him a bowl of porridge?”

 

Actually, Xiao Sun had bought three portions of porridge last night, and even specially prepared a thermal food container for Jiang Nan’an’s portion. But despite waiting and waiting, they never saw Jiang Nan’an wake up, and the porridge grew cold.

 

Yan Jie said this cold porridge couldn’t be given to Jiang Nan’an, and reheating it would make it less fresh, so the two of them had shared that bowl of porridge as breakfast an hour ago.

 

Now given his orders, Xiao Sun didn’t have time to worry about palm reading or whatever. He quickly grabbed his phone to browse food delivery apps, saying while scrolling:

 

“Brother, have you been wearing too little and catching cold winds recently? How did you suddenly get sick, and with such a high fever too? You scared me to death. I can’t even imagine how serious it would have been if you were alone in the dormitory all night. Brother Spring is really reliable-he watched over you all night, changing towels and rubbing alcohol to reduce your temperature. I feel completely inadequate!”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Really, Brother Spring gives such a sense of security. Mainly because I’ve never taken care of a sick person before. If I had been alone with you, I wouldn’t have known what to do. It’s good we had him, hehe.”

 

What a sweet mouth.

 

Yes, promote me just like that.

 

Yan Jie straightened his back.

 

The porridge and pastry delivery arrived quickly. When Yan Jie brought the bowl of porridge to Jiang Nan’an’s bedside, he had one arm hooked up to an IV drip and the other arm holding the thermometer the nurse had given him, unable to free his hands to eat.

 

Yan Jie was very accommodating. He immediately stirred the corn porridge with a spoon:

 

“Come, Mr. Hang has temporarily lost the use of both arms, so let Little Spring serve you. Little Spring will be your strong hands.”

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an looked at the porridge in his hand, then at his smiling face, his expression somewhat refusing:

 

“No need, just put it there. I’ll eat after the thermometer is removed.”

 

“That won’t do. We can’t let Mr. Hang go hungry for another second.”

 

Yan Jie lowered his head to blow on the porridge in the spoon, then moved it toward Jiang Nan’an:

 

“Here.”

 

“No.”

 

Jiang Nan’an wasn’t used to being treated this way, but Yan Jie seemed to be enjoying himself:

 

“Come on, come on, my arm is getting tired. If I shake and spill it all over the bed, I’ll spread the word that a certain Mr. Jiang, male actor, was putting on celebrity airs, bullying his assistant, angrily throwing corn porridge, dirtying public facilities, and causing trouble for medical staff.”

 

“You have all the advantages of timing, location, and support. If I took a knife to your throat now, you could be in the operating room within three minutes. With luck, you might still salvage a life to continue plaguing the world.”

 

“Wuwuwu, then Little Spring has only one wish left in this life-Mr. Hang, please drink this porridge, fulfill Little Spring’s wish and let Little Spring die content-”

 

“.” His stance was as if Jiang Nan’an not drinking the porridge would lead to endless pestering. Jiang Nan’an didn’t have the energy to continue this battle of wits. After an internal struggle, he decided that drinking a few sips of porridge from his hand wasn’t such a big deal. So, resignedly, he lowered his eyes, leaned forward slightly, and took a small sip of the perfectly temperatured sweet corn porridge.

 

The porridge was fragrant, with a rich corn flavor and a hint of sweetness. After swallowing, Jiang Nan’an looked up slightly to see Yan Jie carefully blowing on the next spoonful of hot porridge.

 

Actually, Jiang Nan’an never thought of himself as someone who needed to be taken care of. He rarely got sick, and even when he did, he didn’t think it was a big deal-just endure it, sleep it off, and it would pass. But with Yan Jie, these things seemed very important. If you’re sick, you need treatment right away; if you’re not feeling well, you need care; he was even willing to personally feed him, just so he could eat and regain strength as soon as he woke up.

 

But it was just a slightly high fever. The hospital had doctors and nurses; even if left alone, he wouldn’t die. Why did Yan Jie need to busy himself taking care of him as Xiao Sun had described?

 

It was just that he temporarily couldn’t free his hands, not that both arms were broken. What would happen if the porridge sat there for five minutes? The porridge wouldn’t get cold, and he wouldn’t starve to death on the hospital bed just because he couldn’t eat for five minutes.

 

Yan Jie was such a strange person. With him, Jiang Nan’an always felt an illusion that “he himself was very important.”

 

“What are you thinking about? Come, have another sip.”

 

Seeing him lost in thought, Yan Jie called to him with a smile.

 

“…Nothing.” Jiang Nan’an’s earlier resistance seemed to have dissipated somewhat. He sighed inwardly and accepted Yan Jie’s care:

 

“Thank you.”

 

“What are you thanking me for? If you really want to thank me, take better care of yourself in the future… Actually, you don’t even need to do that. I’d just be grateful if you could honestly tell me when you’re not feeling well. Don’t make me worry like this again, it’s so draining, you know?”

 

“…” Jiang Nan’an didn’t respond to this. He silently drank the porridge Yan Jie offered, and after a moment, asked:

 

“When are we going back?”

 

“Going back? Back where?” Xiao Sun was sitting on a small stool nearby, watching in amazement as Spring demonstrated his gentle techniques with his brother. He was thinking that he should follow Brother Spring’s example and take more meticulous care of his stubborn brother in the future. Suddenly hearing this question, he couldn’t help but interject.

 

In this condition, where did his brother want to go??

 

“Probably back to training,” Jiang Nan’an paused, then added:

 

“The finals are coming up…”

 

Yan Jie was truly helpless:

 

“Alright, the patient shouldn’t be worrying about the finals now. Missing a couple of days of practice won’t affect anything. Getting your body healthy is more important than anything else right now.”

 

The finals were the day after tomorrow, Sunday night. Yan Jie’s point was that Jiang Nan’an’s fever had been too high last night, so he wanted him to stay in the hospital for a couple of days for observation before going back. But Jiang Nan’an was very firm-no matter how Yan Jie tried to persuade him, it was useless. He didn’t want to stay even one extra day, and even if Yan Jie threatened not to let him touch a computer, he was determined to go back.

 

Jiang Nan’an was so stubborn on this matter that not even ten oxen could pull him back, so Yan Jie had no choice but to give in.

 

So, the big patient Jiang Nan’an finished his day’s IV drip, underwent a few simple examinations, and left the hospital in the afternoon, riding the production team’s car back to the film and television park.

 

But as a condition for early discharge, Yan Jie would move into Jiang Nan’an’s room to stay with him for these two days. After all, he was really afraid that Jiang Nan’an would again mistake a high fever for lack of sleep and fall asleep until reaching 42 degrees without anyone knowing.

 

Jiang Nan’an didn’t understand at all why Yan Jie was so anxious.

 

He felt completely recovered, it was just an ordinary fever, nothing serious. Therefore, after returning, he still wanted to go to the training room to play a few solo games, but this time the coach and teammates of Makeshift Troupe rarely united in their stance. When they showed concern for him, each one was more caring than the next, and their attitude about not letting him touch the game was equally firm. They guarded against him like thieves; whenever he got slightly close to a gaming station, their eyes would all widen like brass bells.

 

With no choice, Jiang Nan’an could only obediently return to his room to read.

 

Later in the evening, when it was time for his usual night run, he wanted to change clothes and go out, but on second thought, Yan Jie wouldn’t even let him touch the computer and had repeatedly instructed him to stay in the room and rest well, calling him immediately if he felt unwell anywhere. If Yan Jie found out he went for a night run, he would probably make a fuss.

 

Better not.

 

So Jiang Nan’an also removed this activity from his daily plan and decided to skip to the next item-going to the bathroom to take a shower.

 

No sooner said than done, Jiang Nan’an took his change of clothes and towel and was about to enter the bathroom, but before he could open the bathroom door, the room lock made a “beep” sound, and someone swiped a card and pushed the door open.

 

Yan Jie made a grand entrance carrying his own bedding and pillow. He tossed them onto the bed next to Jiang Nan’an’s, and thinking that he hadn’t seen him for several hours, he quickly went over to feel his forehead and asked, “Not feeling unwell, are you?”

 

“No.”

 

The temperature felt normal, and Yan Jie was relieved. He was about to turn around to arrange his bedding, but after turning for a few seconds, he suddenly realized something and turned back to scrutinize Jiang Nan’an:

 

“What are you planning to do?”

 

“Take a shower,” Jiang Nan’an said naturally.

 

“?” Yan Jie took a deep breath, wearily scratched his hair, and asked a soul-searching question:

 

“Who takes a shower in the evening after recovering from a fever in the morning?”

 

“Is that not allowed?” Jiang Nan’an had never heard such a notion before.

 

Yan Jie really felt that Teacher Jiang had struggled too much to grow up to this point, so he once again became a kindergarten life teacher and educated him:

 

“Taking a shower right after a fever subsides can easily cause a relapse. Even if you’re physically strong, you shouldn’t strain yourself like this.”

 

“I’ve always done it this way.”

 

Jiang Nan’an really didn’t understand where Yan Jie got all these notions from, why he was being treated so delicately, as if having a minor illness made him as fragile as a porcelain doll, unable to do this or touch that.

 

“Then you’ve been lucky. Listen, Jiang Nan’an, let it go for today, take it easy, be patient, at least until tomorrow morning. If you really can’t stand it, you can wipe yourself with warm water, but don’t wash your hair,” Yan Jie looked at him, smiling and shaking his head, casually saying:

 

“How can you live so carelessly, teacher? Didn’t your parents teach you these things?”

 

“…” Hearing this, Jiang Nan’an lowered his eyes, remained silent for a moment before responding:

 

“Mm.”

 

Hearing this response, Yan Jie felt a twinge in his heart.

 

Oh no.

 

Seems like he said something wrong.

 

He raised his hand and lightly tapped his mouth, silently put down the pillow in his hand, and walked over to look at Jiang Nan’an:

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Jiang Nan’an, who was not allowed to shower and was just organizing his change of clothes, looked up in confusion:

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t know… did I say something wrong?” Yan Jie probed.

 

“What words? Which sentence?” Jiang Nan’an was bewildered by his sudden apology.

 

“…”

 

“The part about not being able to shower? Actually, can I?”

 

“No… that part wasn’t wrong…”

 

Yan Jie rubbed his face, truly unable to understand how Jiang Nan’an’s mind worked:

 

“…Never mind.”

 

“Oh.”

 

With his expectations dashed, Jiang Nan’an didn’t want to pursue what strange mood this person was in now.

 

No training, no night running, no showering-surely changing clothes was allowed?

 

Thinking this, Jiang Nan’an swiftly grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled off his top, but seeing this scene, Yan Jie let out another yelp:

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

Yan Jie hadn’t expected Jiang Nan’an to suddenly strip without warning, and was startled, instinctively raising his hand to cover his eyes.

 

“Changing clothes.”

 

Jiang Nan’an looked at him with increasing confusion:

 

“Is this not allowed either? Or are you uncomfortable seeing an adult male’s body? The balcony is over there; you can go out first and come back in after I’ve changed.”

 

Yan Jie was still confused and unconsciously asked a silly question: “Why?”

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an sighed and explained to him:

 

“Because this was originally my room. And obviously, I can’t stand on the balcony to change clothes. If someone passing by takes a photo and posts it online, I’ll be labeled as having an exhibitionist fetish, which would be a devastating blow to my career.”

 

After he rattled off this explanation, Yan Jie finally came to his senses.

 

Actually, he didn’t know why he had such a strong reaction. Normally, in the dormitory with inBlue, they would occasionally be shirtless in front of each other without issue, but why did it feel so uncomfortable with Jiang Nan’an?

 

“…It’s nothing, I’m just being weird. Go ahead and change.”

 

Yan Jie lowered his hand, intending to turn around and quietly arrange his own bed, but before turning, as he lowered his eyes, he happened to glimpse Jiang Nan’an’s waist and abdomen.

 

Jiang Nan’an looked thin, but without his shirt, he had some flesh. Probably due to low body fat, his lean muscles were quite visible, with smooth and attractive muscle lines. His skin was fair, and his waist was slender, making him truly pleasing to the eye.

 

But what caught Yan Jie’s attention wasn’t his physique.

 

Yan Jie saw that Jiang Nan’an had many faint circular scar marks on his waist and abdomen, unevenly distributed, extending to his side. Judging by the pattern, there were probably quite a few on his lower back and back as well.

 

Though faint, Yan Jie could see clearly and guess what they were-

 

Those were cigarette burns.

 

#

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(advanced chapters available on kofi)