Antidote - - - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jiang Yuduo said nothing. He walked around the table to stand next to Cheng Ke and looked at the picture on the table. After a moment, he walked into the bedroom and brought out the cat who had been sleeping.

“Meow,” he pushed the cat’s head down a bit and said, “Look, this is the picture that the young master drew of you using salt. If you think it looks like you and is well done, meow once. If you don’t meow, then he loses.”

“Do you have any shame?” Cheng Ke looked at him.

“Meow, look,” Jiang Yuduo wasn’t moved and kept pressing against the cat’s head.

“I’ll count to five. If you think it looks like you, meow. One, two…”

“Meow~~” Cheng Ke suddenly mewed from behind Jiang Yuduo.

Jiang Yuduo paused.

That was pretty close? He almost thought it was Meow who made the sound.

Just as he was about to turn around, the cat in his arms suddenly mewed, just like Cheng Ke did.

Meow.

“Fuck me?” He instantly froze and looked down at the cat. “What the hell is your problem?”

“It mewed.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo tossed the cat onto the sofa, turned around and said, “You’re pretty good at imitating it.”

“Yeah,” Cheng Ke leaned against the table and said, “I’m scared of mice so I learned how to meow like a cat as self-defense.”

“Did it work?” All of a sudden, Jiang Yuduo was a little bit curious.

“No idea. I didn’t have a chance to confront any mice.” Cheng Ke answered.

“Oh.” Jiang Yuduo picked up the bowl on the coffee table and downed the liquor inside. He came back to the table and looked at the picture of Meow, done in salt on the table.

“I’ll count to five. You can think of another reason to renege,” Cheng Ke said, “If you can’t, then admit defeat, Third Bro.”

“One, two, three,” Cheng Ke counted slowly, “ Four …”

Jiang Yuduo suddenly hooked the corners of his mouth upward and smiled at Cheng Ke. “Fine.”

“Five.” Cheng Ke paused but insisted on finishing the count.

“How do you want to play?” Jiang Yuduo kept the smile on his face as his hand drifted downward and his fingers pulled down the waist of his pants.

Cheng Ke felt his brain stuttering. If you had to talk about shamelessness, he stood absolutely no chance against people like Jiang Yuduo, who probably mixed among the street folks ever since he could walk.

He had to thank Jiang Yuduo for keeping the last shred of his rationality. If he lowered those pants another inch, Cheng Ke would practically be revisiting the earlier case of running around naked.

He hadn’t really wanted to do anything. From the very start, nobody took this bet seriously. He just blurted the sentence out in order to poke fun at Jiang Yuduo, whose first response when he lost was to force the cat into reneging for him. And Jiang Yuduo was a boss to boot.

Now that Jiang Yuduo asked, Cheng Ke didn’t know how to answer that question.

If this had been Liu Tiancheng and his crew, Cheng Ke could probably handle it.

Sometimes when they’ve had too much to drink, they would get up to wild shenanigans.

Ah, that’s right. They’ve had too much to drink.

Cheng Ke snuffed out the cigarette, grabbed the bowl, and sipped at the alcohol. If they hadn’t had too much to drink, who the eff would be arguing with Jiang Yuduo over these meaningless things?

“Afraid?” Jiang Yuduo said. “I’ll give you three seconds to think it over. Past that, I’ve honored the bet but you were the coward.”

Cheng Ke glanced at him. The corners of Jiang Yuduo’s mouth lifted in disdain and a challenge.

How vexing.

Cheng Ke picked up the bowl and sipped again.

Screw you and your arrogance.

There was just a thin layer of alcohol left at the bottom of the bowl. He downed all of it.

Fuck your arrogance.

The smooth wine heated a trail all the way from his throat to his belly.

He might be worthless, but he had never been afraid of anything. In such a scenario, there was no way he could resist a challenge.

He put down the bowl, grabbed Jiang Yuduo’s shoulders and shoved him hard against the back of the sofa.

As Jiang Yuduo bounced against the sofa, that taunting smile was still on his face.

“You’ve got some strength to you?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Ke leaned forward and his elbow pressed against the wall above Jiang Yudo’s head.

Jiang Yuduo wanted to say something but Cheng Ke reached out a hand and grasped Jiang Yuduo’s neck. Cheng Ke’s thumb pressed with just enough force against Jiang Yuduo’s adam’s apple and whatever Jiang Yuduo was about to say got lost.

When Jiang Yuduo frowned and moved to shove Cheng Ke’s hand away, Cheng Ke let go but pressed his hand against Jiang Yuduo’s forehead. As Jiang Yuduo leaned his head back, Cheng Ke kissed him.

Cheng Ke could feel that the second their lips pressed against each other, Jiang Yuduo lifted his leg and bowed his body. Then he froze.

Fuck.

Let’s see how arrogant you are!

Jiang Yuduo remained frozen in that position, with his leg half raised, until the tips of Cheng Ke’s tongue brushed one last time against his lips and then separated.

Cheng Ke wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He stared at Jiang Yuduo for a few seconds and then turned around and wiped at the table. Then he took out another pinch of salt from the bag.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t recover his wits for a while. Then he touched his lips.

The sensation of Cheng Ke’s lips pressed against his lingered there.

But he couldn’t describe it, just that it tasted of liquor.

“Fuck me,” Jiang Yuduo looked at Cheng Ke’s back and exclaimed, “You’ve got some moves. Impressive.”

Cheng Ke didn’t say anything but kept drawing with his fingers.

“It’s just a little fast.” Jiang Yuduo continued. “Did you finish already?”

“There wasn’t enough time for a reaction.” Cheng Ke didn’t turn around. He took another pinch of salt and continued sprinkling it against the table.

“Then you’re incapable.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Third bro,” Cheng Ke answered, “I would advise that you leave yourself some room to back out. If you antagonize me one more time, I’ll strip you naked and I won’t even wear a condom. You best consider whether you stand a chance against me with your hands between two boards.”

Truthfully, Cheng Ke surprised Jiang Yuduo somewhat tonight… no, he surprised him very much. Jiang Yuduo never thought that the little young master, who didn’t have a temper otherwise no matter how hard he pressed, would be like this after a bit of drinking.

But after he stared at Cheng Ke’s back for a while Jiang Yuduo thought something was off.

“I have a question.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“I came here because I didn’t know where else to go after getting chased out of my home.” Cheng Ke said. “I used to come here all the time with friends, so that’s why.

You can also think of me as coming here to dig through trash.”

“Not this,” Jiang Yuduo said. He rooted around for a cigarette only to realize that it was the last one. He picked it up and stuck it in his mouth. “You can go at it with a man, just like that?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Ke nodded. “I can go at it with a man, just like that. If it were a woman, I’d have no reaction whatsoever.”

Jiang Yuduo’s hand, which held the lighter and was about to light his cigarette, froze in mid-air.

Only when Cheng Ke patted the salt away from his hand and poured himself another bowl of drink did Jiang Yuduo let out a soft, “Fuck me.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted me to draw you?” Cheng Ke asked. “It’s done.”

。

Jiang Yuduo paused and then hurriedly stood up to walk over to the table. He saw that the cat from earlier had been mostly wiped away, leaving behind just a tail, and his own face appeared in the center of the table.

He actually wasn’t that familiar with his own face. He could see someone else multiple times a day, but he really only saw his own face twice a day while he washed up.

So he couldn’t resist taking out his phone and taking a selfie. Then he put the phone onto the table.

“It really is me.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone having to take a photo on the spot to check if it’s tem.” Cheng Ke sighed.

Jiang Yuduo picked up the phone and took a few more photos of the drawing on the table. He thought about things and sighed too, “This drawing will disappear in a bit right?”

“Yeah,” Cheng Ke replied. “Even if we don’t touch it, the salt will melt.”

“That sucks about this type of art.” Jiang Yuduo turned around to look at him, “It’s gone when you’re done drawing it.”

Cheng Ke smiled. “A lot of things are like that. They’re only in your mind.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t say anything. His eyes felt out of focus and he sat back down on the chair. He lit up the last cigarette and stared at the drawing on the table.

“I’m sleepy.” Cheng Ke collapsed onto the sofa. “What time is it?”

“Almost five.” Jiang Yuduo glanced at the phone. “You can sleep?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Ke rolled himself haphazardly within the blanket, turned around and laid down so that he faced the back of the sofa.

Jiang Yuduo stood beside the table for a few more moments. Then he reached out a hand and messed up on the salt drawing on the table. After, he walked over and turned off the light in the living room and dragged out the cat snuggled in the comforter by Cheng Ke’s leg.

“You’re gay?” Jiang Yuduo walked a few steps toward the living room and then stopped again.

“Yes,” Cheng Ke answered. “If you’re afraid then shut the door. Come morning, I’ll leave after you grab the keys for me.”

“Did you get kicked out because of this?” Jiang Yuduo asked again.

“No.” Cheng Ke turned around and looked at him. “If I were half as good as my younger brother, my family wouldn’t care if I slept with a dog.”

“… Is that so?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“My father said it.” Cheng Ke turned back so that he faced the back of the sofa again. “In my family, that doesn’t really matter much. But they couldn’t put up with me having wasted 27 years of my life.”

Jiang Yuduo said no more and walked into the bedroom.

Maybe it’s because he drank a lot of alcohol and got stupidly drunk. But he felt relaxed and tingly throughout his body. Cheng Ke closed his eyes and felt his body slowly sinking downward, so relaxed he could sink into the sofa.

He didn’t even have time to consider Jiang Yuduo’s attitude before he fell asleep.

He only opened his eyes when someone kicked his butt.

The first thing he saw was the back of the sofa. But differently than when he shut his eyes last night, he saw the loose threads on the sofa cover. He figured that must be the handiwork of the cat.

He turned around. In the bright sunlight, Jiang Yuduo and Chen Qing stood side-by-side as they stared down at him.

“Damn.” He raised a hand and blocked the sunlight. It was a little bit awkward to have two people watch you sleep during the day. “What time is it?”

“Ten.” Jiang Yuduo put a ring of keys on his pillow. “I need to go take off my splint.

The keys are here. You don’t need to drop them off after you open the door. I’ll grab them on my way back since it’s on the way.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke nodded, still a bit dazed.

“There’s breakfast on the table.” Chen Qing told him. “It’s still warm. Get up and eat it.”

“Thanks.” Cheng Ke responded.

Jiang Yuduo closed the door and followed Chen Qing into the car.

Today Chen Qing drove a red Porsche from the shop.

“How about it?” Chen Qing patted the steering wheel. “I picked a red one to celebrate you getting those boards off.”

“I’m so touched.” Jiang Yuduo rubbed his eyes.

“You couldn’t sleep again last night, right?” Chen Qing looked at him. “Still feeling dizzy?”

“Not dizzy.” Jiang Yuduo closed his eyes. “Just a little sick.”

“If you need to, take some sleeping pills or something.” Chen Qing said. “Didn’t Qian Sis get you some? If you can’t fall asleep then take one.”

“No.” Jiang Yuduo rejected the suggestion.

Chen Qing sighed and drove toward the hospital.

“The clinic can do it.” Jiang Yuduo turned around to look at him.

“Hospital.” Chen Qing bit his lip. “I can’t go along with you today. It’s fine if you go to the clinic to change the meds, but we should go to the hospital to take off the splint. The doctor needs to check how things are healing…”

“Turn around.” Jiang Yuduo’s voice sank.

“I can lose my head and I can bleed, but I refuse to give up the hospital.” Chen Qing said. “You had no problems with getting the splint on. It doesn’t take that long to get it off.”

“You fucking!” Jiang Yuduo slapped him on the shoulder. “That doesn’t even rhyme!”

“You can beat me to death.” Chen Qing insisted stubbornly. “Before I die I’ll make sure to deliver you to the hospital.”

Jiang Yuduo’s brows furrowed as he glared at Chen Qing for a long time. Finally, Jiang Yuduo sighed and leaned against the window with his eyes closed.

As they walked into the examination room, Jiang Yuduo thought that he hadn’t gotten better at all. Everything hurt.

It was an intern doctor who took the splints off. The doctor smiled at Jiang Yuduo,

“How come you’re sweating. Still hurts?”

“No.” Jiang Yuduo answered through gritted teeth.

“He’s just nervous.” Chen Qing said from the side. “If you could please get it done quickly. Just tear everything off.”

“Taking it off is fast.” The doctor nodded. “I’ll write an order for you in a bit. Go take a photo and see how the bone’s healing…”

“No need for the photo.” Jiang Yuduo decided. “It definitely healed.”

After this, he heard nothing of what the doctor or Chen Qing said.

After the sound of chaos faded, there was just deathly silence in his ears and a blur in front of his eyes. It felt like he could see everything but also nothing at the same time, or at least, he didn’t know what he was looking at.

Jiang Yuduo closed his eyes.

Chen Qing half-supported and half-dragged him out of the examination room and then hauled him to pay the bill. Then they went to get an X-ray. By the time he got onto the examination table, his breathing was still unsteady.

Everyone looked at him strangely.

Of course, a big dude like him, no visible injuries but so nervous he sweated buckets and could barely walk.

That’s why he doesn’t want to go to hospitals.

He’s afraid of hospitals.

He was so afraid he didn’t even remember why he was so afraid.

If getting shots didn’t count then he had no terrifying memories when it came to hospitals. He had only visited the hospital a few times in his recollection, but he had always remembered the sensation of being so nervous and hating the hospital so much that his back muscles spasmed.

When they left the hospital and walked on the streets, Jiang Yuduo felt like he had been reborn and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Where to?” Chen Qing asked.

“Let’s go grab the keys at Cheng Ke’s.” Jiang Yuduo looked at his phone. “He should be home now.”

“Okay.” Chen Qing opened the car door for him.

As the car got closer to Cheng Ke’s neighborhood, Jiang Yuduo gave Cheng Ke a call.

The phone rang and rang before being picked up. Cheng Ke’s somewhat sleepy voice drifted over the line, “Oh fuck. I’m still… at your place?”

“How do you not know where you are?” Jiang Yuduo demanded.

“I’m so sorry.” Cheng Ke’s voice sounded more awake as he blurted out, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I fell asleep again. I’m still on the sofa at your place.”

“You sure can sleep.” Jiang Yuduo was very jealous. “It’s fine, just wait for me at home. We’ll go back, pick you up, and then drop you off.”

“I’m sorry.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo sighed and cut off the call. “Go back, he’s not up yet.”

“Well damn,” Chen Qing said, “he sure can sleep.”

“He didn’t sleep last night.” Jiang Yuduo answered.

“…What did he do?” Chen QIng was a bit surprised. “He also has insomnia?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yuduo pressed against the center of his forehead.

“Then you can keep each other company at night.” Chen Qing said. “You two can stare at each other, drink with each other and chat with each other… oh that’s right, I totally forgot to ask. What did you guys do? That’s salt on the table, right?”

“Laundry powder.” Jiang Yuduo answered.

“No way, I licked it. It’s super salty!” Chen Qing exclaimed.

“Do you have problems?” Jiang Yuduo glanced at him. “You don’t even know what it is and you put it in your mouth?”

“I thought it looked like salt.” Chen Qing defended. “What were you two doing sprinkling salt all over the table in the middle of the night… exorcism?”

“Screw you.” Jiang Yuduo retorted.

Since his memory wasn’t broken by sleep, he remembered very clearly what happened the night before.

From seeing Cheng Ke cry, to him saying they should talk, then to drinking and eating, the sand drawing and that unexpected kiss. Until they ended on Cheng Ke saying that he’s only capable of getting it up for a man…

Jiang Yuduo shook his head with furrowed brows.

He couldn’t pinpoint what he felt when Cheng Ke said those words. Aside from surprise, there was just speechlessness.

Cheng Ke probably hadn’t been lying. After all, even if it was for a bet he wouldn’t be able to kiss a man, even if … he turned around and looked at Chen Qing.

Nevermind, Chen Qing’s serious face as he drove made Jiang Yuduo want to laugh.

If he really had to kiss Chen Qing, he’d probably burst out into laughter before he got any closer than 50 cms.

Though now that he thought about it, he became self-conscious all of a sudden.

Cheng Ke was a gay?

He had many hypotheses when it came to Cheng Ke, but he hadn’t thought about this.

By the time they got home, Cheng Ke had already cleaned up. The comforter was folded up on the sofa, the pillows stacked on the comforter, and the salt on the table had been cleaned away.

“Where’s the salt?” Chen Qing asked off-handedly.

“In the trashcan.” Cheng Ke answered.

“Well damn, so much and you just threw it away?” Chen Qing looked at him.

“You’re so wasteful.”

“…If we don’t toss it, are we going to eat it?” Cheng Ke asked.

“It’s not dirty.” Chen QIng answered. “If I drop a piece of meat on the ground my mom will have me wash it off and eat it.”

“Oh shut up.” Jiang Yuduo looked at the breakfast on the coffee table and turned around to ask Cheng Ke, “You didn’t eat breakfast?”

“My head feels a bit heavy and I don’t have an appetite.” Cheng Ke answered.

“Bring it.” Jiang Yuduo instructed.

“No need…” Cheng Ke swallowed his words halfway through the sentence and picked up the bag of breakfast.

He didn’t know what Chen Qing did for a job, but the guy drove a different car every time Cheng Ke saw him. Cheng Ke held on to the bag of breakfast as he sat and stared out the window in the back of the car.

“What were you two playing last night? Sprinkling a table full of salt.” Chen Qing asked as he drove.

Last night.

As soon as Cheng Ke heard those words, he glanced at Jiang Yuduo in the passenger seat. Jiang Yuduo leaned his head against the window and didn’t react at all.

He had taken advantage of the alcohol to let loose. He felt super embarrassed now that he thought back on it. He wouldn’t have that before and it was probably because he had been repressed himself for so long.

When it came to his sexual orientation, he didn’t care what others thought of him.

The people he had hung out with before didn’t really care about this either but he and Jiang Yuduo… weren’t familiar with each other. Jiang Yuduo had even said that he didn’t see Cheng Ke as a friend.

But Jiang Yuduo hadn’t given any reactions at all.

“What did you guys play?” Chen Qing persisted in asking.

Cheng Ke sighed, “You draw, I guess.”

“… How interesting. Couldn’t you use a pen and paper?” Chen Qing was a bit surprised. “How creative to use a table full of salt.”

“Ah.” Cheng Ke responded.

“Let me join next time,” Chen Qing continued, “I love this game. I used to play it with Third Bro a lot before.”

“Screw you.” Jiang Yuduo said, “I drew a damned sun and you couldn’t guess it.”

“Why don’t you say that it’s because your drawing sucks.” Chen Qing demanded.

“The kid next door draws better than you.”

“What did you guess?” Cheng Ke asked.

“Watermelon, potato, onion, persimmon.” Chen Qing answered.

“Were you hungry?” Cheng Ke asked.

“No!” Chen Qing disagreed. “He drew a sun but didn’t draw that wuuuuuu thing!

How was I supposed to guess!”

Cheng Ke stared at the back of Chen Qing’s head and couldn’t understand what the wuuuu thing was.

“Even a three and a half year old would know that the sun has a wuuuu ring around it!” Chen Qing said.

“…Oh.” Cheng Ke finally understood.

Jiang Yuduo tsked and took out his phone. He poked the screen several times and then handed it to Cheng Ke. “What is that?”

Cheng Ke glanced at it. There’s a circle on it and around the circle was another wavy circle. “Fried egg.”

“Fuck it, you and Chen Qing could be long-lost brothers.” Jiang Yuduo put the phone back in his pocket.

Chen Qing laughed, “How did you two play like this without getting into a fight last night?”

“We didn’t fight,” Jiang Yuduo said, “We even kissed.”

Cheng Ke jerked his head up and stared at Jiang Yuduo.

“I’ll be damned.” Chen Qing was still dying of laughter. “Next time when you’re kissing, tell me. I’ll get two girls to come over.”

“Sure.” Jiang Yuduo tilted his head and gave Cheng Ke a look.

Jiang Yuduo’s face had no expression and his gaze was also very calm.

But this seemingly innocuous glance made Cheng Ke feel a bit uncomfortable. He seemed to feel a sense of vexation under the veneer of indifference.

But Jiang Yuduo had been the one to start the bet. He’d also been the one to toss down the challenge.

Even if they kissed, he’d asked for it.

So what was he pissed about?

Hadn’t he always been serious to the point of making him fulfill words said only out of politeness? He was the one who said he’d fulfill any terms of the bet and now he refused to honor the terms?

Cheng Ke leaned back with his head closed.

Perhaps it wasn’t because of the kiss but because of the word “gay.”

Chen Qing parked the car downstairs and waited. Jiang Yuduo and Cheng Ke walked into the elevator together.

“I can bring it down for you.” Cheng Ke said.

“It’s no trouble,” Jiang Yuduo reassured, “I can check out the unit as well.”

“Oh.” Cheng Ke nodded. “You can take a photo and then compare it during the next check-over.”

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him, “Are you still asleep?”

“I’ve been awake for a long time.” Cheng Ke said.

“Then what’s up with the temper?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“…Me?” Cheng Ke looked at him as well.

“Couldn’t be me,” Jiang Yuduo said, “I didn’t sleep a damned wink last night. If I wanted to throw a tantrum it’d be yesterday. We’re way past the time now.”

For a moment, Cheng Ke was so speechless he could only stare at the changing numbers.

After he opened the door, Cheng Ke returned the keys to Jiang Yuduo. “Go do your checks.”

“Yup.” Jiang Yuduo walked into the kitchen and walked immediately back out. “You don’t turn off the gas stove when you go out?”

“I turned off the valve.” Cheng Ke answered.

“So reasonable.” Jiang Yuduo declared. “Be more careful. I’m worried that you’ll die of poisoning here.”

“Natural gas doesn’t poison people that easily.” Cheng Ke poured a cup of water for himself.

“Then what about explosions?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“…. Thanks.” Cheng Ke sighed and sat down on the sofa.

Jiang Yuduo walked into the kitchen again and switched off the stove. Then he dug out another cigarette box from his pocket and wrote down a number. He put it next to Cheng Ke and said, “Lu Qian’s phone number. Next time you don’t have your keys you can call her. Don’t do it after 10 at night, you’ll get yelled at.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke nodded.

After Jiang Yuduo walked out, Cheng Ke threw himself backwards on the sofa. He still felt pretty tired but he couldn’t fall asleep anymore.

He laid there for a while before getting up and grabbing a change of clothes from the bedroom. Then he walked into the bathroom.

He turned the shower to the hottest setting and let out a long sigh when the water crashed down on him.

He rarely drank this much and it was even rare for him to drink so much and not be able to sleep. He leaned against the wall and though he felt relaxed, his heady was still heavy.

The kind of cotton-stuffed head feeling that came with not being quite sober.

But he couldn’t sleep now.

He shook his head violently and pressed the top of it against the wall in frustration.

The hot water and the steam trickled down along his skin. It had felt good at first and then slowly his breathing turned labored.

This difficulty in breathing didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, it encouraged all kinds of thinking such as remembering other scenarios in which your breathing could become labored.

Though Cheng Ke did not wish to remember the kiss from last night, his brain involuntarily replayed the scene on a loop.

Jiang Yuduo’s naked body.

Half-naked.

Clean and sharp lines of muscle.

A smirk on his lips.

…

Cheng Ke glanced at his phone as he walked out from the bathroom. He had been in there about twice as long as he usually spent in the bathroom.

Usually he didn’t take this long in the bathroom, no matter what he did. But today, after doing that, he stood under the showerhead and let the hot water wash over him and almost fell asleep. He only woke up when he knocked his head against the wall. Then he had hurriedly turned off the water and opened the window just a crack.

In the bedroom, he messily yanked the comforter and the bedcovers over him. He closed his eyes and yawned.

This was the best time to catch up on sleep.

“I’m gonna go back to the shop.” Chen Qing sat on the sofa and held his phone as he smoothed his hair. “Got hair gel?”

“I’ve never, in my life, used that stuff,” Jiang Yuduo had his head lowered as he read the novel on his phone, “Don’t ask me every time. Do you know how annoying that is?”

“I’ll bring a bottle over when I get the chance.” Chen Qing said and then asked,

“What part are you on.”

“Flashback,” Jiang Yuduo answered, “It’s been flashing for three chapters and we’re still not back.”

“Did he remember who killed him in his past life?” Chen Qing asked.

“No,” Jiang Yuduo lit a cigarette and continued, “If he remembers now how’s the author going to come up with the million characters?”

“You’re right.” Chen Qing nodded and then asked, “You recharged your account, right?”

“Yup.” Jiang Yuduo answered.

“Then I’ll use your account tonight to read,” Chen Qing finished fixing his hair and stood up. “I’m leaving.”

“Don’t you get a salary? You’ve sunk so low as to mooch novels.” Jiang Yuduo looked up.

“I’m starting to save money to get married.” Chen Qing answered. “If I don’t save money I can’t even afford to get into a relationship. My arm’s grown thicker.”

“Fuck off.” Jiang Yuduo waved at him and hurriedly flipped through several pages on the novel in order to get through the flashbacks.

When he read a novel, he just wanted to go forward in the plot. He had no interest in memories of any sort, even the ones that were important to the plot he didn’t want to read about. What’s with all these memories and remembering things so clearly.

Especially those painful ones. Who the fuck wants to torture oneself in the memories out of boredom.

But the content today made him more frustrated than usual. He was so frustrated that even when he got through the flashback he didn’t want to keep reading anymore.

He didn’t know what he was bothered by.

After several moments of staring blankly at nothing, he picked up the phone and read a few more chapters despite his impatience. But in the end, he had no idea what he had just read.

This was the pain of not being able to sleep.

He stood up and wore his jacket and then headed out.

Supposedly there was a temperature drop these days. Outside, the wind was indeed bitter and Jiang Yuduo took out the hat he stuck in his pocket and put it on his head as he wandered around aimlessly along the streets.

When Xu Ding’s call came in, Cheng Ke was still dreaming. Recently he’s had a lot of dreams and they always had a plot. He could even remember them when he woke up.

He grappled for his phone and answered, “Hello?”

“Sleeping?” It sounded noisy and chaotic wherever Xu Ding was. There seemed to be a lot of people.

“Mmhmm,” Cheng Ke glanced at the time and noticed that it was almost five.

“You’re there?”

“There,” Xu Ding said. “But I’m not done with the prep work. If you leave now you should get here just in time. We’ll grab something to eat and then start.”

“Sure,” Cheng Ke sat up. “Noodles are fine. Don’t make it too rich. I don’t have much of an appetite these days.”

“Then we’ll go to the noodle place by the front door.” Xu Ding decided.

“I’ll be there in half an hour.” Cheng Ke jumped off the bed after hanging up.

Experts claim that naps shouldn’t be longer than 40 minutes. There probably was some truth in that. His nap went to 5 in the afternoon and now his legs still felt weak. When he walked into the bathroom he almost collapsed in front of the toilet.

As he was washing his face his phone rang again. He picked it up and saw that it was the reminder alarm he had set before. The rent was due tomorrow.

He looked at the date on the phone. A month has finally passed and he has no idea how.

This month was especially boring. Aside from grabbing food with Xu Ding a couple of times, he had stayed home. He didn’t remember what he did.

He never thought before that life could get so dull. Maybe that was because the only turbulence in his otherwise non-turbulent life hasn’t come around for a long time.

Ever since getting the keys the last time, he and Jiang Yuduo hadn’t been in touch.

After all, he wan’t really Mr. Incapable-of-taking-care-of-himself. There was nothing that he needed to have Jiang Yuduo come help with.

Besides, Jiang Yuduo gave him Lu Qian’s phone number. That had been a hint that made everyone awkward and Cheng Ke wasn’t incapable of understanding what Jiang Yuduo meant. Even if there were things that he couldn’t figure out he wouldn’t casually call Jiang Yuduo again.

Now that he thought about it, he was a little at a loss.

He didn’t really want anything to do with Jiang Yuduo but at the least, they shouldn’t become awkward and self-conscious around each other like this because of a random kiss.

Xu Ding’s studio had moved. After Cheng Ke got out of the taxi he realized he had the wrong address. He spent a long time searching before calling Xu Ding and asking him to come and get him.

“Are you going bankrupt?” Cheng ke followed after Xu Ding and asked. “The little house from before was so nice. Now you’re crowded together with so many other companies in the same building.”

“There’s an atmosphere here,” Xu Ding explained, “Besides, the taller the building, the farther you can see.”

“How far.” Cheng Ke asked.

“You can see until you can’t see.” Xu Ding answered.

Cheng Ke smiled.

Xu Ding had a studio before that did work completely outside the scope of his office. It produced various cool looking videos and organized various cool-sounding events. Cheng Ke’s partner had always been that studio.

Now the studio moved into a skyscraper that looked very intimidating. It was close to the top level and occupied a large amount of floorspace. Though it was bigger than it had been when it was in the three-story little building, Cheng Ke still preferred the ambience in that little building better.

Xu Ding showed him around. The studio’s style had also changed greatly. Before, it was closer to country chic and now it was modern abstract.

“That’s quite a change.” Cheng Ke said.

“I like different things.” Xu Ding brought him to his own office and stood by the French windows looking out. “If I live a kind of life too long, I want a change.”

“I lived the same type of life for 20 years.” Cheng Ke said.

“Do you still feel lost?” Xu Ding turned around and asked.

“It’s fine.” Cheng Ke walked up to the window and said, “I can manage.”

“From here you can see… the building your dad’s company is in.” Xu Ding pointed to something in the distance.

“Is that so?” Cheng Ke followed the finger and looked over.

It was very far away, so far that he almost couldn’t see anything, just the word

“Corporation.” If it hadn’t been for that familiar logo at the top, he almost wouldn’t have noticed it.

“I think I’ve only been there twice after that building got erected,” Cheng Ke reminisced.

“Let’s go eat.” Xu Ding said. “I had my assistant buy noodles and the food should be here soon.”

“Didn’t we say we’ll eat there?” Cheng Ke asked.

“I had a look there and the environment isn’t that great,” Cheng Ke explained, “I’m afraid you won’t be comfortable.”

“I’m now…” Cheng Ke looked back at the tall building over there, “no longer as picky.”

Xu Ding didn’t say anything, just smiled.

Cheng Ke was pretty familiar with the processing of creating a video. He just needed to confirm what he needed to draw.

This time it was a set of scenery. Xu Ding handed him the photos and he had to present the changes in the scenery, piece by piece. It didn’t need to be exactly the same but the mood and what the photos wanted to convey should be the same.

Before he’d use his own sandart table because he was more familiar with that. But this time, Xu Ding prepared everything for him.

“Okay?” Xu Ding asked.

“Better than the one I had before. That one was pretty old.” Cheng Ke smiled and thought about the sandart table that ended up in the trash. His heart throbbed with pain.

“If it works for you, I’ll have someone deliver it to you.” Xu Ding said, “I fear you’re too lazy to go and buy your own.”

“Sure.” Cheng Ke said.

This time they used colored sand, but just in a shade of gray-green that Cheng Ke liked. It wasn’t overly bright or dull. It was both solmen and also joyful.

He grabbed a fistful of sand in his hands and felt the way the sand slowly compressed in his hands. He involuntarily closed his eyes and the sensation of the sand rubbing against each other soothed him.

It definitely felt better than salt.

“Let’s start.” He put the sand back.

While Xu Ding called the camera in and adjusted the angle, Cheng Ke quickly came up with a plan in his mind and sprinkled down the first fistful of sand.

The fine sand went from thick to skinny and covered the glass lit up with the warm glow of whitelight.

After several layers, he used the side of his hand to gently swipe at the sand. As the light revealed itself again, he temporarily forgot the troubles over the past two months.

They took multiple repeat shots for the video. By the time they finished, it was past nine and the streetlights had lit up, one after the other, until they connecte into a line.

Cheng Ke stretched when he walked out of the building. This had probably been the happiest hours he had spent over the last two months.

Xu Ding wanted to drive him home but Cheng Ke refused. He had always gone home by himself before and even though he didn’t have a car now, he didn’t want to change anything.

Xu Ding didn’t insist, just dropped him off at a crossroad where it was easy to get a car. “When we’re done I’ll call you.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke nodded.

“We have a live session next month. Consider it and if you don’t have any questions, we can talk about the details on another day.” Xu Ding said.

“Okay.” Cheng Ke touched the cigarette box in his pocket and realized that it was empty. He immediately felt a bit upset.

Xu Ding handed over a box of cigarettes and said, “Dying of repression for the last few hours?”

“I counted how many times you walked out for a smoke.” Cheng Ke accepted the cigarette and walked over to the corner of the wall to light it up.

“About the live…” Xu Ding hesitated and then said, “Don’t tell anyone ahead of time.”

“Hmm? Sure.” Cheng Ke paused.

That was odd from Xu Ding. They’ve partnered up on lives before, but Xu Ding had never asked him to keep anything secret and there hadn’t been any need for secrets.

As soon as he got into the taxi, he started trying to puzzle it out.

About ten minutes into the trip, he frowned suddenly and took out his phone to dial Xu Ding’s number.

“What’s up?” Xu Ding picked up.

“Why did you move your studio?” Cheng Ke asked.

“I told you,” Xu Ding answered, “I wanted to experience something new. I’ve been at the previous place for too long.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke fell silent and then hung up the phone.

If Xu Ding didn’t want to say anything, there was no point in him asking.

Maybe this was just him overthinking. After not thinking about these things at all, it was easy to over-exaggerate now that these things were on his mind.

Maybe it wasn’t overthinking.

Xu Ding was the only “friend” who hadn’t changed how he treated Cheng Ke. Cheng Yi might not have noticed Xu Ding before but there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do if he did notice Xu Ding now.

In this city, a building or a land could easily belong to his father’s company. Cheng Ke didn’t know which parts of the business Cheng Yi has now taken over.

He was neither interested nor interested in finding out. He just felt frustrated when he thought of that.

He got off the car at the entrance to his neighborhood and stood, unmoving, even after the car drove off.

He wasn’t sleepy or tired and had no special desire to lie down on the bed. But he was hungry after working several hours; the bowl of noodles hadn’t been enough.

When Xu Ding asked if he wanted anything to eat, he hadn’t felt hungry. Maybe it was because of his emotions, but now, amidst the annoyance, he felt so hungry it was as if someone took a spoon to his stomach and scooped away every last morsel of food.

He was hungry enough to puke.

What was going on?

Cheng Ke sighed and hesitated for a few seconds before walking off in the direction of the crossroad. He might as well go to Starbucks for a bit to eat something and drink something.

Actually he really wanted barbeque right now. The kind from those messy and chaotic little roadside shops.

He had only been two or three times before. His friends had thought it was too noisy, too dirty, the tables were too oily, the seats too uncomfortable, and the service too horrible. He had gotten diarrhea every time they went, more predictable than being poisoned.

But everytime he went to the supermarket now he’d pass by a few barbeque shops.

Their cotton curtains blocked the bitterly cold evening wind and the light and activity inside gave the shops a liveliness of another world.

He had really wanted to go in as he watched but unfortunately he couldn’t find anyone who’d go in with him.

That made him feel worse.

He pulled his collar up a bit. The wind was too strong and the jacket was barely enough.

He had randomly bought his clothes two months ago. He’d bought a lot and, as soon as he felt like he had enough clothes for a week, he never thought of buying clothes again.

Even when the bitter north wind slapped him upside the head yesterday he hadn’t remembered that he needed to buy some heavier winter clothes. But now that he could barely keep his eyes open because of the wind, he realized that if he didn’t go clothes shopping tomorrow he probably wouldn’t be able to go out anymore.

The distance between here and Starbucks wasn’t too far. He could stroll there in five minutes. But it wasn’t close either. It wouldn’t take a minute for the wind to freeze him and he’d suffer for the next couple of minutes.

What an idiot. Why hadn’t he told the taxi to drop him off there? He had to wait until he got out of the car to think about eating.

But he was already at the crossroads and it was also a long way back home.

He should have just walked straight home and ordered takeout.

…Fuck!

Why was getting hungry at night such a big deal when it came to him.

He frowned and followed the road until he turned into an alley. He remembered the last time he walked here with Jiang Yuduo there had been a side-street that led directly there. The end of the side-street led to the trash can he had dug through and was pretty close to Starbucks.

It looked like it would snow that night. In this type of weather there weren’t a lot of people on the streets. As he walked along the street all he could see were the light coming from the windows of houses on either side. He looked especially lonely.

He walked a bit and saw the road split into three.

Where did that three-way junction come from?

He looked behind him to make sure that he hadn’t taken a wrong turn.

He had to take out his phone and open up the navigation, which told him that he wanted the right one .

“Might as well go.” He said quietly and held the phone like a compass, following its guidance forward.

It took a few steps for him to realize that he seemed to have just passed Jiang Yuduo’s home. He must have walked too far since the crossroad was before Jiang Yuduo’s home.

It wasn’t that he had a terrible sense of direction, it was that his howling empty stomach had led him astray in the bitter cold wind. He followed the little path back onto the main street and realized he was about 200 meters off from the junction he had originally intended to use.

But it wasn’t too bad. He could already see the sign for Starbucks.

At 10pm, the street was at its busiest. Various bars and clubs twinkled against the backdrop of the night but there were few people walking about on the streets. They all drove up in their cars, parked by the entrance and then immediately dove into the steamy atmosphere filled with the scent of alcohol and the sound of music and laughter.

Cheng Ke put his phone back in his pocket.

As he walked forward he suddenly felt like someone was behind him.

He glanced back and didn’t see anymore.

Maybe this sense of being quarantined in the darkness, away from all the light, made him anxious.

Or maybe… a few people stood by the two trash cans not far from here. He couldn’t see them clearly, just the flickering light from the burning butts of the cigarettes they held in their hands or against their mouth.

They were chatting happily but their laughter made him uneasy.

The laughter that squeezed out despite them trying to hold it back made it clear what they were talking about.

Cheng Ke frowned and was about to cross the street when one of them laughed madly and joyfully kicked one of the trash cans.

The lid to that trash can wasn’t properly closed and the trash can was pretty full.

The guy had used a lot of force and in the second the guy knocked over the trash can, Cheng Ke sensed the trash flooding out.

Though he had once fought with Jiang Yuduo to the point where the trash can had lost its shape, he still felt disgusted at this very instant. But before he could speed away, a container containing who-knows-what flew over and landed about a meter from him. The lid to the box was knocked off and the unknown liquid splashed across his pants.

In his extreme disgust, Cheng Ke felt like some of that even fell on his face.

“Fuck!” Cheng Ke wiped at his face as he let out a curse.

His “fuck” hadn’t been loud but it quickly got a response from the other side.

“Say ‘fuck’ one more time –” Someone cried and jumped up to kick hard at something that looked a lot like a takeout box.

Normally that kick wouldn’t do anything except to shatter the takeout box and the scatter the leftover bits along the ground.

But it was different now. There was wind and Cheng Ke was downwind from them.

He dodged the flying takeout box but couldn’t avoid the leftovers in there.

A cacophony of laughter rang out.

Cheng Ke really didn’t understand. He’d been here so many times before and, even if they ran into trouble, it was just people making trouble in the bars. But now that he moved, he ran into these annoying things time and time again on the streets.

What was going on?

He felt his chest about to explode from the pressure of the sudden inferno of anger.

Cheng Ke stepped over the trash on the ground and walked to them.

There was a metal rod in the trash, like something that had been taken out from a window. As he passed it, he kicked it lightly on one end.

The metal rod sprang up and twirled twice in the air. He caught it.

Their laughter died away.

Idiots.

This was a trick Cheng Ke had learned out of boredom. Every time they trimmed the trees in the backyard branches would scatter all over the ground. At first he only kicked at them in play but he gradually found the pattern and rhythm to how much force was needed. As long as the angle was right, he could kick any stick-like thing from the ground into the air and then catch it with his bare hands.

This trick was worth shit during an actual fight, but it was great at creating tension and putting pressure on the other side. It gave off the mistaken impression that “oh shit this guy’s powerful” and then he can strike out.

Cheng Ke struck out with the rod and hit the leg of the guy who kicked the takeout box.

The guy stood in a daze for about half a second and then threw himself at Cheng Ke with a furious shout. Cheng Ke dodged aside and grabbed his wrist and used the momentum to yank him forward.

The man immediately crashed forward and Cheng Ke landed a kick on his back, which made the guy fall into the trash on the ground.

His ears caught the sound of something whistling through the air. It was too close and Cheng Ke couldn’t move aside so he could only adjust his body so that the strike, which had been meant for his shoulder, landed on his arm instead. After all, there was muscle on the arm so the bone was less likely to get injured.

It was a water pipe.

Cheng Ke grabbed onto the water pipe and yanked on it. He pulled the person behind him forward but the guy landed a punch on his waist, though it didn’t hurt that much.

Cheng Ke twisted the guy’s wrist and the guy cried out in pain as he fell sideways.

He resisted completely falling down by using his knees to support him.

Cheng Ke kicked at the guy’s ribs and so the guy also fell onto the ground.

That felt good.

So much better than fighting with Jiang Yuduo.

These guys were too weak and he could hit accurately every time without messing up his form.

When several of them came at him all at once, he ducked and kicked at the guy who had fallen down first. That guy had been in the process of getting up but was now knocked back to the ground and shouted out in anger.

Cheng Ke smacked the metal rod in his hand backward so that the people behind him took a few steps back. He didn’t turn around to look; he wouldn’t be able to hit someone’s head from this angle. As long as he didn’t hit someone’s head it was all okay.

Then he landed a kick on the shoulder guy who was about to go pick up the water pipe.

He got hit a couple of times but he didn’t feel any pain. As long as he didn’t fall to the ground, he’d focus on hitting the two that landed the first two punches.

After so many rounds that he lost count, the two guys’ nose and mouths were bloody and he finally felt pain coming from the back of his head.

Fuck, who was this stupid!

Cheng Ke turned around and violently punched the guy behind him. The guy covered his nose and let out a yelp of pain as he fell to the ground.

The pain coming from the back of his head made him kick out again at the guy covering his face.

He saw the knife when he turned around.

But the guy holding the knife received a chop at the wrist and let his knife fall so it didn’t do anything.

Cheng Ke realized the guy stood frozen.

He looked around at the others and realized that they stood, sat, or bent at the waist; but they were all frozen and looked behind him.

Cheng Ke breathed slowly and turned around in the direction they were facing.

What… a coincidence.

Jiang Yuduo held a cigarette between his lips as he stood in the window and silently looked at them.

“Third Bro”. Someone said.

“Scram.” Jiang Yuduo spat out a single word as he smoked his cigarette.

“Third Bro,” the other spoke up as well, “We…”

“One more word and you crawl out of these streets.” Jiang Yuduo said.

They quickly clambered up and passed by Cheng Ke as if they were in a line. Every single one of them glared at Cheng Ke before disappearing into the darkness.

After a period of silence, Jiang Yuduo walked a few steps toward him and asked,

“Whatever possessed you?”

Cheng Ke didn’t say anything. In the suddenly silent environment, the restless heat dissipated from his body in an instant. Right after, the pain from the back of his head spread throughout his body.

Then his leg started screaming in pain.

Fuck.

Cheng Ke couldn’t prevent himself from falling to his knees, his entire mind filled with that one word.

What a great scene. After a chaotic battle, he’s falling to his knees in front of the boss of these streets. Maybe he’ll even kowtow to the guy because he couldn’t support himself.

Fuck!

But that didn’t happen.

As his body started falling toward the ground, Jiang Yuduo had already stepped forward and caught him. The cigarette in his mouth almost poked Cheng Ke’s face.

Cheng Ke turned his head aside to avoid the cigarette. After a moment of unsteadiness, he got his footing back.

Jiang Yuduo let go of Cheng Ke and, after looking down at his hands, reached out and wiped his hands against Cheng Ke’s clothes.

Puzzedly, Cheng Ke glanced down and asked, “What?”

He had worn black and couldn’t tell what Jiang Yuduo had wiped there.

Without saying anything, Jiang Yuduo reached out a hand and waved it in front of Cheng Ke.

There was blood on his palms.

“You’re injured?” Cheng Ke asked in surprise. He couldn’t figure out how Jiang Yuduo had gotten injured.

“This is your damned blood,” Jiang Yuduo looked at him, “idiot!”

“…Ah.” Cheng Ke paused and reached a hand back to swipe at his neck. His fingertips came back tainted with blood. He was very shocked, “Fuck me.”

Jiang Yuduo snuffed out his cigarette against the trash can lid and walked toward the nearby path. “Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Cheng Ke asked.

“My place.” Jiang Yuduo turned back, “Or you can try and get a taxi to the hospital.

Let’s see if you can get a car to take you.”

Cheng Ke followed behind in silence.

Jiang Yuduo’s place hadn’t changed. Not even the pillow and comforter Cheng Ke used the last time had been put away; they were still on the chair.

Cheng Ke took off his jacket and sat down on the chair by the table.

The room was warm and the chill in his body quickly faded. His frozen body began to recover its senses and pain came rushing in.

It was like explosions along his body. Everything hurt.

“Take off your shirt.” Jiang Yuduo took out the first aid box and put it on the table.

Cheng Ke recognized the first-aid box. It was the one that Jiang Yuduo had put at his place before.

After a moment of hesitation, Cheng Ke took off his shirt. He wanted to toss it on the sofa but he caught sight of the blood along the collar and tossed it onto the nearby floor instead.

Jiang Yuduo walked over, picked up the shirt, and put it on the sofa.

“It’ll make it dirty.” Cheng Ke said.

“I’m not as fussy as you.” Jiang Yuduo opened the first-aid box and took out the ethanol. “Let’s clean the wound first. Right now I can’t see where the wound is.”

Cheng Ke looked at the bottle of ethanol. It probably wasn’t the bottle from last time since Jiang Yuduo poured that one over his head like he was watering flowers…

Cheng Ke got nervous when he recalled Jiang Yuduo’s way of treating wounds.

“How about I do it myself.”

“Scared?” Jiang Yuduo looked at him. “You were pretty fearless when you were fighting.”

“Fine, have it your way. Fuck.” Cheng Ke felt the back of his head go numb with pain and didn’t have the energy to argue with Jiang Yuduo. He propped his elbow against the table.

Before he found a stable position, a sharp pain came from his elbow. He hurriedly raised his hand and saw a pretty deep gash there. But it wasn’t long; he just didn’t know when he got injured… did his clothes rip again?

Jiang Yuduo put a finger against the back of his head and pressed down. “Bend your head.”

“Here? We’re not going into the bathroom?” Cheng Ke asked. “It’ll make a bloody mess in a bit.”

“Just do as I say!’ Jiang Yuduo shouted. “Do I need to draw you a bath and sprinkle some petals?”

Cheng Ke shut up and laid down on the table. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and prepared himself for the moment the ethanol got splashed onto his wound.

Humans were pretty strange. They didn’t fear getting hurt while fighting and could even bear the pain, or not feel it at all, if they did get hurt. But the tiniest pain while taking care of the wounds could make someone tense up.

Maybe it was because they knew it was going to hurt. The more they thought about it and the longer they waited, the more they were afraid of getting hurt.

Sudden pain didn’t count as pain.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t pour the ethanol directly onto his head. Instead he opened up a big bag of medical cotton and yanked out about half of the bag. He pressed the cotton into a ball a little bit bigger than a bun.

Then he poured a bit of ethanol on it and wiped the ball of cotton on the back of Cheng Ke’s neck.

“You’ve already used half. Do you still have enough left for when you dress the wounds?” Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo didn’t say anything. He just slapped Cheng Ke’s back.

Because Cheng Ke’s upper body was naked, that slap sounded really loud. If the room had been bigger it would be echoing.

Cheng Ke pushed down the anger that sprang up again. He gritted his teeth, said nothing and didn’t move.

Jiang Yuduo wiped Cheng Ke’s neck and shoulder. Then he slowly poured a bit of the ethanol into Cheng Ke’s hair at the back of his neck and asked, “Is it here?”

“No, a little higher.” Cheng Ke answered. “I think it hurts up there.”

Jiang Yuduo put down the things and walked into the bedroom. He brought out a lamp and shone it onto Cheng Ke’s head. Then he rooted around a couple times in Cheng Ke’s hair before announcing, “Found it.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke answered.

“It’s not deep, which is good. It’s not bleeding too much now. But if it were me getting injured, I probably wouldn’t stop bleeding for two days.” Jiang Yuduo said. “I need… a pair of scissors.”

“What for?” Cheng Ke looked up in fear.

“We need to cut some of the hair or you won’t be able to shower.” Jiang Yuduo rifled through the first-aid box and took out a pair of tiny pink scissors with the blades rounded, like a child’s craft scissor.

Cheng Ke had no desire to get a bald spot and was even less willing to get a bald spot because of this kind of scissors. He grabbed the scissors from Jiang Yuduo’s hands and said, “No.”

“No, what no?” Jiang Yuduo asked. “If you go to the hospital, they’ll shave this entire part.”

“I’m not going to the hospital.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo remained silent.

“I have a life performance next month,” Cheng Ke sighed. “It’s just a few days away.

I can’t very well perform with a bald head.”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yuduo opened his mouth to ask, “Is that your only way of earning money?”

“Yeah.” Cheng Ke confirmed.

“… Fine.” Jiang Yuduo put down the scissors. “Just take it slow when showering.”

“Thank you.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo was probably an old hand at treating wounds. Cheng Ke sprawled on the table and could feel Jiang Yuduo lifting his hair bit by bit and then patting the area with a small ball of cotton. Jiang Yuduo’s movements were gentle and, aside from the sting of the ethanol meeting the wound, there was no other pain.

Cheng Ke didn’t know why Jiang Yuduo treated his wounds with the urgency of a hurricane tearing through land.

The wound at the back of his head took so long that Cheng Ke lost track of time.

After the stinging pain of the ethanol the wound became numb. It didn’t hurt but he also couldn’t feel anything except for the small ticklish sensation of his hair being moved around.

Sprawled on the table, Cheng Ke inexplicably felt as comfortable as if he were enjoying a massage. The heat in the living room must have gotten fixed because it was warm now. He started to feel sleepy.

So comfortable that he almost fell asleep.

That was probably the concussion.

Jiang Yuduo had taken care of many wounds. His own, others. When his underlings got hurt, they’d come find him and he would do his best to patch them up.

But out of everyone, this was the first time that he’s met a person who could fall asleep while getting his wounds looked at. The guy was even purring.

He had spent the last 30 minutes bending forward so much that his waist hurt like hell and Cheng Ke was sleeping on the table?! At first he thought the purring came

from Meow, but when he turned around he found Meow perched on the sofa looking at him.

It was only then that he confirmed that not only was Cheng Ke asleep, but he was fast asleep.

If this had been Chen Qing, he’d toss the guy out without any clothes. Let him freeze to death.

But he had a harder time doing that to Cheng Ke.

In contrast to those who had spent their lives on the streets, this little young master was probably suffering. A lot of the things that they took for granted would be huge obstacles to Cheng Ke.

He could tell that Cheng Ke was frustrated.

That’s why despite being a little weirded out by Cheng Ke liking men, Jiang Yuduo still helped him.

If it had been another homosexual, he’d have squatted across the street with a cigarette and watching the show.

After he cleaned the wound, Jiang Yuduo first used tape to fix Cheng Ke’s hair to either side of the guy’s head so that the wound was revealed. Then he covered it with the gauze.

As he was applying the gauze, Cheng Ke let out a small hngn as if he was going to wake up. Jiang Yuduo stopped and waited, only to discover that the guy was just making a small sound.

It wasn’t until he pulled Cheng Ke’s arm in an attempt to look at the wound on his arm that Cheng Ke jumped and sat up straight.

They stared at each other for several seconds before Cheng Ke asked, “Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yuduo nodded.

“I’m sorry, I just felt really sleepy.” Cheng Ke rubbed his face. “I don’t even know when I fell asleep… all done?”

“All done.” Jiang Yuduo said. “Buy some medicine at the pharmacy. They have those that make the wound heal faster. Apply it yourself and it should be fine.”

“Oh,” Cheng Ke hesitated and then nodded, “I’ll give that a try.”

“There’s a gas station on your way here, right?” Jiang Yuduo continued. “There’s a clinic behind the gas station. If you can’t do it yourself go there and have someone apply it for you.”

“Okay.” Cheng Ke let out a breath and then moved his arm about. “I’ll do this one.”

Jiang Yuduo pushed the first-aid box toward him.

He had to say that if Cheng Ke’s movements while doing sand painting rated a ten out of ten on elegance, then his attempts at patching himself would be a negative score.

He held things so awkwardly that several times Jiang Yuduo wanted to go and slap him a few times.

“If you can’t bear to watch,” Cheng Ke sighed, “Then go and do something.”

Jiang Yuduo took out his phone. He hadn’t even grasped it properly before a call came in.

“Who is it.” He picked up the call.

The wound was on the outside of Cheng Ke’s arm. In order to apply the medical cotton to the wound, he had to press his arm against the table and then twist his body as if giving himself a hug.

He wiped at it intently.

He didn’t like having people around while he talked on the phone and also didn’t like being around people when they were on the phone.

But Jiang Yuduo didn’t seem to have as many rules as he did. Jiang Yuduo remained leaning against the sofa as he talked, “How many? Oh… I know who they are looking for… don’t mind them, just avoid them…”

Jiang Yuduo hung up the phone and stood up. He walked over to the table and grabbed Cheng Ke’s wrist.

Before Cheng Ke could react, Jiang Yuduo already picked up the bottle of ethanol and poured it over the wound on his arm. Then he grabbed a ball of medical cotton and swiped it at the wound.

Before Cheng Ke had time to feel the pain, the blood on the wound had been cleaned off.

Then Jiang Yuduo pressed another piece of gauze against it and said, “You just stay here for a while.”

“Hmmm?” Cheng Ke asked in confusion.

“Those guys called their boss and are looking for you on the streets.” Jiang Yuduo put away the medicine box, lit a cigarette, and laid down on the sofa.

“… I thought those were your guys.” Cheng Ke answered.

“No,” Jiang Yuduo responded, “I don’t even know them.”

“But they ran off when they saw you.” Cheng Ke moved his neck. It was fine, just a little sore.

“Yeah, they ran off when they saw me. I didn’t run off when I saw them.” Jiang Yuduo frowned. “Go to the hospital and take a picture. How did a single knock to the head turn you into damned Chen Qing?”

Cheng Ke sighed.

“They won’t be out for too long. It’s too cold.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Okay,” Cheng Ke leaned against the chair. “I thought you were the only bigshot around this area. There are others?”

“No matter where,” Jiang Yuduo explained, “You can call yourself a bigshot when you walk out. Who cares. It’s like it’s the most excellent citizen award.”

“Then your ‘boss’ title,” Cheng Ke looked at him, “was something that Chen Qing and the others helped you get, right?”

Jiang Yuduo frowned as he glanced at Cheng Ke. Then he fell silent and stared at his phone.

Cheng Ke only figured things out after five seconds. According to what he saw, Jiang Yuduo was probably talking about the other gang’s ‘boss’. He suddenly fully experienced the tragedy of being possessed by Chen Qing.

After sitting around and daydreaming for a while, the hunger that got chased away once again found Cheng Ke. He took out his phone and, after a moment of hesitation, looked at Jiang Yuduo and asked, “Do you want something to eat?”

“Not hungry.” Jiang Yuduo stared at his phone and didn’t lift his head.

“I’m super hungry. Can I get takeout delivered here?” Cheng Ke aked.

“What do you want to eat?” Jiang Yuduo looked up.

“…. barbeque,” Cheng Ke waved his phone around. “I see it in the available takeouts.”

“From where?” Jiang Yuduo asked again.

“Let me see.” Cheng Ke turned on his phone and checked. “Chubby Luo’s Barbeque.”

“Never heard of it. Won’t be good.” Jiang Yuduo tsked. “Don’t eat it.”

Cheng Ke looked at him and waited for Jiang Yuduo to tell him which place had good barbeque. But Jiang Yuduo didn’t say anything and went back to looking at his phone with his head lowered.

Cheng Ke had no choice but to turn back to his phone and try and find one. “Big River Barbeque? Best Barbeque? Chen Family Barbeque… Does Chen Qing’s family own that one….”

“Urgh!” Jiang Yuduo sighed heavily and tossed his phone aside. “Tell me, what do you want?”

“Barbeque.” Cheng Ke answered.

“I know!” Jiang Yuduo kicked the chair once. “What kind of barbeque!”

Cheng Ke fell silent. Right then he realized that he had been craving barbeque but he had no specific food in mind or any memories of any special taste.

To be specific, he probably really just wanted to experience the feeling of being in a noisy environment like a barbeque place. He didn’t really care about what kind of barbeque…

“I don’t know.” Cheng Ke sighed. He couldn’t explain it to Jiang Yuduo; he felt that in the next moment Jiang Yuduo might jump up and make him deaf through shouting.

But Jiang Yuduo neither jumped up nor shouted. He stared at Cheng Ke for a while before picking up his phone and dialing a number.

“Bring me some barbeque.” He frowned, “Whatever is fine. 10 skewers each, veggies as well. Chives, broccoli, eggplant… no alcohol, I’ve got some.”

Silence descended after Jiang Yuduo hung up the phone.

Cheng Ke didn’t know whether he needed to say thanks. Every time he was with Jiang Yuduo, he got the dizzying sense of chaos and being overwhelmed, except for that time they drank together…

“Let’s play something.” Jiang Yuduo suddenly stood up, dragged a chair over and sat by the desk. He smoothly took out a bag from underneath the coffee table and poured its contents over the table.

“Play…what?” Cheng Ke looked shocked at the tableful of salt.

“You draw, I guess.” Jiang Yuduo answered.

“Us two?” Cheng Ke asked. “Then wouldn’t it be too easy for you to guess what I’m drawing?”

“You wanna play or not?” Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

“Fine, how do we play.” Cheng Ke sighed.

Jiang Yuduo found an hourglass and put it on the table. Then he grabbed his phone.

“The hourglass is for 30 seconds and we start timing when we start drawing. Find a random novel and then draw the nouns in the order of appearance.”

“Fine.” Cheng Ke nodded. He picked up his phone, found a site, and randomly picked a novel.

“I’ll go first. You guess?” Jiang Yuduo looked at his phone.

“Okay.” Cheng Ke nodded and smoothed out the salt on the table.

“Here I go.” Jiang Yuduo flipped the hourglass over and started to draw in the salt.

“One character.”

Cheng Ke stared at his hand, which drew a rectangle first and then four vertical lines, one at each of the corners.

“Bed.” Cheng Ke guessed.

“Correct,” Jiang Yuduo nodded. He stood up and grabbed a bag of kibble to put beside them. He took out a single piece and put it next to Cheng Ke’s hand. “Your turn to draw.”

Cheng Ke looked at his phone.

It was morning and the third young lady sat in front of the window…

“Two characters.” He flipped the hourglass, smoothed the salt, and started to draw a mirror.

He first drew an oval.

“Egg.” Jiang Yuduo continued, “Chicken egg, duck egg, goose egg.”

“Wrong.” Cheng Ke continued drawing. In order to make it easier for Jiang Yuduo, he decided to draw the simple kind that young girls used. The kind that can spin around on the table. That should be pretty easily identified.

He drew a vertical line next to the oval.

“Balloon.” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke drew another line on the other side.

“Ice cream sandwich.” Jiang Yuduo said.

He then drew the base underneath.

“Globe.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Two characters.” Cheng Ke reminded him.

“Ball of the globe.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“…. Is that even a phrase?” Cheng Ke didn’t know what to say and hurriedly started drawing a person next to the mirror. It was a miniature human combing her hair while looking at the mirror.

A few strokes later Jiang Yuduo slapped a hand against the table. “Putting on make-up!”

“Putting on make-up is a fucking verb.” Cheng Ke looked at the hourglass. The time was almost up.

“Looking in the mirror!” Jiang Yuduo slapped the table again.

The remaining bit of sand in the hourglass fell down because of the force of that slap.

“Mirror!” He shouted again.

“Overtime.” Cheng Ke said.

“Is not,” Jiang Yuduo placed a kibble in front of him. “My turn.”

“Fine.” Cheng Ke patted the salt off his hands.

Jiang Yuduo glanced at his phone, made a tsk sound, and drew two circles in the salt with his fingers. “Two characters.”

“Glasses.” Cheng Ke said.

“No.” Jiang Yuduo added a couple of strokes.

Cheng Ke thought it looked more like glasses. “Sunglasses, blindfold.”

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him and carefully drew a bowtie between the two circles.

“…. Bra?” Cheng Ke asked in disbelief.

“Fuck me, you’re good.” Jiang Yuduo said. “I thought you wouldn’t be able to guess this.”

Cheng Ke glanced over his phone screen. Earrings.

“Two characters again.” He quickly drew a circle and then drew two half-circles on either side of the circle. “Two characters.”

“Candied hashaws.” Jiang Yuduo frowed. “Why do you suck so much more at this than at your sand drawings?”

“To match your skill level.” Cheng Ke then added two smaller circles onto the half-circle and drew an arrow pointing to the two smaller circles. “Two characters!’

“Earrings!” Jiang Yuduo shouted angrily.

Meow jumped down from the sofa and fled into the bedroom. Cheng Ke’s heart also beat faster as a result of that shout.

“You got it.” He placed a kibble next to Jiang Yuduo’s hand.

Next Jiang Yuduo drew something that looked like a triangular ladder, then he added a line on the longer side of the triangle. To be honest, this thing looked abstract but Cheng Ke could guess what it was based on the bra.

“Panties.” He said.

“Four characters.” Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

“…. Bikini panties?” He tried an answer.

“Fuck,” JIang Yuduo nodded. “That’s right.”

Cheng Ke’s Third young lady kept torturing herself in front of the mirror. After earrings came necklaces, but since this was a pearl necklace Cheng Ke drew a shell as a hint. But Jiang Yuduo pointed at the shell and called it a butterfly, so he missed it.

“What novel did you click into?” Jiang Yuduo sighed. “Is it a fucking fashion guide…. My turn.”

“Draw.” Cheng Ke nodded.

Jiang Yuduo looked at the phone and seemed to pause.

“What?” Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo bit his lip and drew two circles.

“Bra.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo tsked, and then drew an upright mushroom between the two circles.

Cheng Ke froze after one look. It took him several moments before he said, “Are you reading erotica?”

“Why do you care?” Jiang Yuduo pointed at the picture. “Two characters!”

Cheng Ke had guessed what the thing was, but he really couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“The cruder version of those two characters.” Jiang Yuduo expanded.

“…. Fuck.” Cheng Ke sighed. “I give up.”

Jiang Yuduo scrolled through the phone again. “This chapter is so damned porno…

the author was probably trying to hit word count. So many words.”

“Let’s switch to another one.” Cheng Ke asked, “What are you reading?”

“Cultivation.” Jiang Yuduo answered. He contemplated and then looked at Cheng Ke as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he couldn’t resist, “Hey, Cheng Ke, let me ask you something.”

“Yeah.” Cheng Ke reached out and wiped the picture away.

“Do you usually look at those things?” Jiang Yuduo asked quietly, “I mean… gay porn?”

“I don’t read them.” Cheng Ke squeezed his eyes shut, “I watch porn.”

解药

(Antidote)

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