Antidote - - - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Jiang Yuduo turned around and lunged towards the door handle. He grabbed it and shook it a few times but the door didn’t budge at all. At first glance, you could tell that it was very secure.

“It’s locked.” Jiang Yuduo turned and looked at him.

“What do you think?” Cheng Ke asked, “if you use more strength, you could break the lock.”

“Fuck.” Jiang Yuduo continued shaking the door handle violently and with some hints of displeasure. After a while, he turned back aggressively.

“Did you turn off the gas stove?!”

“I did.” Cheng Ke replied.

A sigh of relief escaped Jiang Yuduo’s mouth as he continued shaking the door handle vigorously.

“Are you high?” Cheng Ke was at a loss for words when he saw the blood oozing from Jiang Yuduo’s gauze-covered hands. This man doesn’t seem to feel any pain.

“I’m not paying for it if you break the door.”

Jiang Yuduo sighed as he stopped momentarily to lean against the door.

Cheng Ke no longer knew what he was feeling anymore at that moment. Anger and frustration gnawed at him, giving him the urge to beat somebody up. Yet he felt so down that he couldn’t even summon the strength to lift a finger.

He sat unmoving, eyeing the elevator door. It felt as if he could stay like this till the next morning.

The elevator door opened.

“You should go back.” Cheng Ke said.

“I’ll go get the key,” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke didn’t reply, he didn’t want to think about anything anymore.

Jiang Yuduo stepped into the elevator and looked at him as the doors closed. He re-emerged from the elevator a few seconds later.

“Put this on.” He said, taking his jacket off.

Cheng Ke suddenly realised that he was only wearing a thin wool shirt.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t felt anything earlier, but right after hearing Jiang Yuduo’s words, the cold started biting him immediately.

It was fucking cold.

He then started to shiver excessively and uncontrollably.

Usually, even if he felt that cold, he wouldn’t be shaking so much. He’d been through a lot today, yet he felt like an idiot for shaking so much.

“Fuck.” Jiang Yuduo draped the shirt around Cheng Ke in a hurry. “You’re really weak against the cold. Don’t tell me you’re going down just like that?”

“G-get l-lost…” Cheng Ke’s teeth chattered, breaking the two words into a string of sounds.

Just when Jiang Yuduo was about to enter the elevator again, Cheng Ke suddenly came to his senses and grabbed Yuduo’s arm.

Jiang Yuduo is always dressed in a down jacket with a T-shirt. And after taking off his jacket, he was left wearing only a long-sleeved one. Regardless of how adept he was at withstanding the cold, he couldn’t possibly survive in this temperature.

“Get Chen Qing to send some clothes over.” Cheng Ke said.

“Uhm,” Jiang Yuduo nodded and started making the call on his phone.

The corridor fell into silence after his call with Chen Qing ended.

Cheng Ke searched the pockets of Jiang Yuduo’s jacket and fished out some cigarettes and a lighter. He walked onto the fire escape and started smoking by the window.

The sky was dark and little shadows danced beneath the light from his cigarette.

It actually started snowing.

Cheng Ke puffed out some smoke. It intermingled with his breath and danced vigorously for a brief moment before disappearing.

He puffed out another breath. It disappeared.

And another, which then disappeared again.

“Give me one,” Jiang Yuduo stuck his head through the fire escape door.

“Don’t smoke in the corridor.” Cheng Ke handed him the box of cigarettes along with the lighter.

“Yea.” Jiang Yuduo lit his cigarette and stuck his head through the door without stepping onto the fire escape. “I’ll just smoke while doing this.”

“It’d be great if your neck broke,” Cheng Ke muttered. “Must you do that?”

“Of course,” Jiang Yuduo said, “it’s warmer in the corridor. It’s so chilly out there and I’m only dressed in a T-shirt…”

It took a moment before Cheng Ke realised that he was only able to stand outside so comfortably because he was wearing Jiang Yuduo’s jacket. He quickly took it off, “Put this on, I’ll wait in the corridor instead”.

Jiang Yuduo hesitated for a moment before accepting the jacket. “Let’s go to the security room after this, there’s a heater there.”

“Is there?” Cheng Ke asked.

“How can they work if there’s no heater?” Jiang Yuduo stared at him.

“Oh.” Cheng Ke nodded slowly.

There were indeed heaters in the security room, but those alone were not adequate enough. Luckily, there was also a stove in the room, so it was actually quite toasty.

Cheng Ke heaved a sigh of relief once he walked into the room.

The tea the guard had been making on the stove smelled great. If the mug hadn’t looked so horrible, Cheng Ke would have really wanted some.

Jiang Yuduo obviously wasn’t as particular as the other was, and gulped the tea down after receiving the mug from the guard. He even wiped his mouth with satisfaction and asked, “you added sugar to the tea?”

“Sure I did, you have to add sugar to English black tea. I added Osmanthus sugar,” the guard replied, “isn’t it especially aromatic?”

“Definitely.” Jiang Yuduo nodded in agreement.

Cheng Ke had never tried this type of “English black tea” before, he couldn’t stand it. Before the guard could take a sip from the mug, he blurted, “let me try it.”

“Here.” The guard graciously handed him the mug.

Pu’er tea sweetened with osmanthus.

It was the most exquisite-tasting tea Cheng Ke had ever tasted in his life.

“How is it? The taste of my English black tea is great, isn’t it?” The guard asked.

Cheng Ke gave him a thumbs up.

Who knows where Chen Qing was currently working at. Almost an hour since Jiang Yuduo made the call passed before they saw a car in front of the building.

When Cheng Qing ran from the car towards the elevator, Cheng Ke couldn’t even see the shape of a human-being, he only saw a huge bundle of clothing.

“Here!” Jiang Yuduo yelled.

The huge bundle of clothing made a turn and ran towards the security room.

“Here, hurry, put this on.” When Chen Qing stepped into the security room, the small room became even smaller.

“What did you bring?” Jiang Yuduo frowned.

“My dad’s fur leather jacket,” Chen Qing said, “I’m sure you two can’t fit into my clothes, I’m a bodybuilder. We should be a few sizes apart, right?”

Cheng Ke looked at the fur leather jacket; it was of superior quality. The leather looked great and the fur lining was thick and soft… the jacket looked more impressive than anything.

Jiang Yuduo glanced over. Cheng Ke swiftly grabbed the down jacket which Jiang Yuduo had on, “I’m happy with this.”

“Is this the only winter jacket your dad owns? Is this what he wears when he goes hunting in the mountains?” Jiang Yuduo unwillingly put on the leather jacket.

“Don’t you have another one?”

“This jacket is the warmest.” Chen Qing’s answer reflected his impeccable sincerity.

Jiang Yuduo walked out of the security room after putting on the jacket.

Cheng Ke followed behind while eyeing him. It was hard to believe it but… the leather jacket actually suited him very well. If they were at another location, he could very well had been a bandit chief.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Yuduo said, “Let’s get the keys from Lu Qian.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Chen Qing brought out a bunch of keys from his pocket, “I just got these from sister Lu.”

Cheng Ke was taken aback.

He suddenly felt a rush of unhappiness after seeing the keys.

Yes, he was very unhappy.

He wasn’t aware of it earlier, but upon seeing the keys, he suddenly discovered that he felt a little… disappointed.

“Fuck.” Jiang Yuduo snatched the keys from Chen Qing and glared at him. “Why did you fucking bring the jacket when you had the keys? You just had to pass us the keys!”

“You were the one who asked me to bring a jacket,” Chen Qing said.

“I asked you to bring a jacket because we were going out to get the keys!” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Anyway, the keys are here,” Chen Qing glanced at his phone, “You can return the jacket tomorrow. I need to return the car to the shop soon, and won’t have any space to keep the jacket.”

“Get lost then.” Jiang Yuduo growled.

Chen Qing took off immediately.

“Here.” Jiang Yuduo passed the keys over.

Cheng Ke took the keys and hesitated for a while before unzipping his jacket.

“Take it off after we’re up.” Jiang Yuduo walked towards the elevator.

Cheng Ke followed him into the elevator and unlocked the front door after reaching his apartment.

“You should change to a fingerprint lock soon,” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Yea.” Cheng Ke took his jacket off, “Do you still want to have some instant noodles?”

“…I do,” Jiang Yuduo rubbed his stomach, “Can I have two portions?”

Cheng Ke eyed him, “Sure.”

After entering the kitchen, Cheng Ke took a look at the opened cup noodles packaging on the counter and felt a momentary flash of unhappiness.

Mum was just in the house. She hadn’t entered the bedroom and the spare room, but she definitely entered the kitchen, and should have seen the noodles.

He was about to have dinner with his disagreeable landlord, and they were about to have cup noodles, which was something you would only share with someone you were closer to. Mum might have her own thoughts after seeing these, and she might complain about it to dad later.

Although dad didn’t care much and was dismissive towards his sexual orientation, if mum spoke about this, dad’s unfavourable impression of Cheng Ke will worsen.

Since he was ten, Cheng Ke no longer craved any validation from others. He didn’t care about what his dad thought of him, but what hurt him the most was that nobody cared for his explanations when there were misunderstandings.

Cheng Yi was very similar to dad in this aspect. Once he’s decided on something, it was very hard to change his mind.

“Should I prepare it?” Jiang Yuduo came into the kitchen.

“No, get out.” Cheng Ke said.

“You’ve been standing around for quite a while,” Jiang Yuduo said, “Even if you’re not hungry, I am. I’m going crazy from hunger.”

Cheng Ke threw him a look before leaving the kitchen.

He laid on the couch without moving until Jiang Yuduo brought two bowls out.

“It’s done, we can eat now.” Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke got up and took a seat at the dining table, “Thanks.”

Jiang Yuduo paid him no heed and lowered his head to start eating.

“Why did you pour the noodles from the cups?” Cheng Ke frowned, the strange unhappiness he was feeling hadn’t disappeared and it felt like he might explode.

“We’ll have to wash two more bowls now.”

Jiang Yuduo eyed him and slammed his chopsticks on the table.

The sound rang through the room.

Cheng Ke stared at him.

“Plus two pair of chopsticks,” Jiang Yuduo added, “You’ll be dead tired after washing these, won’t you?”

Cheng Ke didn’t reply and started eating his noodles.

“I can’t care less for all this crap. But if you flare up at me again,” Jiang Yuduo stared at him, “I will make sure you’re unable to stand for the rest of the month!”

Cheng Ke fished out a few pieces of meat cubes from the instant noodles and examined them before chewing on them slowly.

It was strange, but the meat was tasteless and it felt absolutely meaningless to eat it.

“Your temper is actually too mild,” Jiang Yuduo said as he ate, “If I had a brother like yours, I’d have beaten him up like crazy long ago, until he starts to kneel at my feet every time he sees me.

“It started when I was two,” Cheng Ke said, “listening to my parents tell me that I have to be kind to my little brother because he’s younger than me, that I was older than him, therefore I should be more mature. I hated hearing those words, it sickened me. I’m only older than him by two years, not twenty years. But I couldn’t really do anything about it back then, I could only be exasperated.”

“Hm,” Jiang Yuduo nodded.

“But as time went by, I realised that although I was unhappy about it, I still obeyed their wishes. I don’t know why.” Cheng Ke said, “It’s as if I was brainwashed, you know what I mean?”

“Brainwashed?” Jiang Yuduo looked up.

“Right.” Cheng Ke nodded.

“I know,” Jiang Yuduo looked down as he picked up some noodles with his chopsticks. He looked as if he had something to say, before looking down and repeating himself, “I know.”

“Cheng Yi is smarter than me,” Cheng Ke sighed. “Everyone always thought that I was bullying him.”

“He’s street smart, “Jiang Yuduo said, “you definitely lose to him for that.”

“Actually leaving home,” Cheng Ke said while looking into his bowl, “made me rather happy. We can just go our separate ways. I can’t help my family much, and I don’t need anything from them either.”

“Yea.” Jiang Yuduo agreed as he lifted his bowl to his face to finish the soup.

Cheng Ke looked at the empty bowl in shock, “You finished it all? Two portions?”

“I did say that I was going crazy from hunger,” Jiang Yuduo said, “I nearly went into my room to start eating first while your mum was still here.”

Cheng Ke looked at him and started laughing suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yuduo tutted.

“You were too rude earlier,” Cheng Ke chuckled, “you didn’t even get up despite the presence of an elder.

“If your mum was alone, I would have definitely stood up,” Jiang Yuduo waved his hands dismissively, “But your brother was here. I felt so annoyed when I saw him, you should be glad that I didn’t lie down, let alone not get up.”

Cheng Ke didn’t reply, but kept chuckling.

“Are you alright?” Jiang Yuduo frowned, “you were so angry earlier, and now you can’t stop laughing.”

“I’m fine,” Cheng Ke rubbed his nose, “I just felt like it.”

After having two bites, he put his chopsticks down and sighed, “I lost my appetite, I can’t finish this.”

“… You only had a few mouthfuls,” Jiang Yuduo said, “Your appetite is so gay. Even I can eat anytime I want to.”

Cheng Ke eyed him.

“So you’re not eating anymore?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“I’m so gay that I can’t stomach anymore,” Cheng Ke said.

“Give it to me,” Jiang Yuduo reached for the bowl, “I didn’t say it earlier but actually I haven’t had my fill yet…”

“You’re rather lax with yourself,” Cheng Ke mumbled in shock.

“You can’t say that you have much self discipline either,” Jiang Yuduo smiled,

“Didn’t you drink the tea just now although you had issues with the mug?”

“Damn,” Cheng Ke was reminded of the Pu’er tea with Osmanthus sugar.

Jiang Yuduo emptied his new bowl of noodles rapidly and leaned against his chair, sighing in contentment, “I’m full.”

Cheng Ke got up and brought the bowls to the kitchen.

“If you don’t want to wash up, leave them. I’ll do it.” Jiang Yuduo said, “don’t use it as an excuse to flare up at me again.”

Cheng Ke ignored him and washed the bowls.

When he stepped out of the kitchen, Jiang Yuduo was already on his feet, reaching for his jacket.

“I’m leaving,” He looked at Cheng Ke, “give me Lu Qian’s keys.”

Cheng Ke threw the keys over to him.

He suddenly felt a rush of panic upon seeing Jiang Yuduo all dressed up and heading out.

He didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel like being alone.

Right now, even if the one by his side was Chen Qing, he would have felt more secure.

“Young one.” Cheng Ke called out to Jiang Yuduo.

“Huh?” Jiang Yuduo looked back.

“Why don’t you stay here tonight?” Cheng Ke suggested.

“Why? What happened?” Jiang Yuduo was taken aback.

“I don’t want to be alone,” Cheng Ke said, “It’s too spacious here.”

Jiang Yuduo looked at him, and finally nodded after a long while.

“You can have the bed,” Cheng Ke quickly said, “I’ll take the couch.”

“Sure,” Jiang Yuduo took his jacket off and peeked into the bedroom.

If he had done this last time, Cheng Ke would have definitely stopped him without hesitation. But despite seeing Jiang Yuduo open his bedroom door, the current Cheng Ke didn’t mind it.

Humans can have such high tolerance, especially when they are in a vulnerable state.

“Actually let me take the c…” Jiang Yuduo trailed off mid-sentence after peeking into the bedroom, before continuing “Young master, you actually have the gull to offer such a bed for another person to sleep in?”

“What’s wrong with the bed?” Cheng Ke was shocked. Jiang Yuduo was the type who would flick his cigarette ashes on the floor while smoking on the bed.

“I can give you a break if you don’t use a quilt cover, “Jiang Yuduo said, “But can’t you even use pillowcases?”