EAY Chapter 49

His Reliance

His Reliance

49

Shi Ran is a little liar. He didn’t even send him a message for two days after returning home, let alone come over to his house.

Qi Ye was depressed. He found that he missed Shi Ran so much that it was unbearable.

Thinking back to the summer vacation of his senior year, he and Shi Ran were separated for so long, and he thought he would never see him again in this lifetime. That kind of pain was long and deep, buried in his body, but he was able to endure it and could pretend to live as if nothing had happened.

Now he’s much more impatient and can’t even pretend.

Perhaps the mode of getting along with Shi Ran every day at school had made him used to it, and also made him unknowingly become greedy, as if Shi Ran should spend some time with him every day.

If not, time is like a rusty gear, turning very, very slowly.

There are only two reasons why Qi Ye could bear not looking for him for two days. First, Qi Xue seemed to see his anxiety and subtly told him that everyone would be particularly busy during the time before the New Year, especially those children who take care of their families early, who would undertake more housework and New Year’s shopping.

Second, Qi Ye himself was also assigned a lot of work by his family because his father accidentally slipped in the bathroom and suffered a minor injury. Therefore, as the only remaining male laborer in the family, he was responsible for some large items that needed to be disassembled and washed, as well as the transportation of New Year’s goods.

That’s why Qi Ye was able to restrain himself from going to find Shi Ran.

But he could only bear it for two days. On the third day, when Qi Ye finally couldn’t help but prepare to send a message to Shi Ran, Shi Ran called. His tone was very anxious, and he was speaking incoherently. Qi Ye barely recognized key words like “Grandpa” and “hospital,” so he quickly asked Shi Ran for his current address.

When Qi Ye arrived at the hospital, Shi Ran was sitting on the ground, hugging his knees, leaning against the wall, his head lowered. Without thinking, Qi Ye knelt down in front of him and called him softly.

Shi Ran raised his head, his eyes already swollen from crying. Seeing Qi Ye, he felt even more aggrieved. He hugged him tightly and sobbed, “What to do, what to do, what about my grandpa, he can’t have anything happen…”

“It’s okay, nothing will happen, nothing will happen,” Qi Ye comforted him quickly, his heart also aching.

After Shi Ran’s emotions stabilized a little, Qi Ye helped him sit on a long chair. He didn’t know what had happened to Grandpa Shi yet. Just as he was about to ask, the light in the operating room went out. After a while, the doctor took off his mask and came out. Shi Ran quickly stepped forward and asked, “Doctor, how’s my grandpa? Is he okay?”

The doctor said, “Fortunately, his head is fine, just some external injuries, and his waist is also twisted. He just needs to rest at home.” He also instructed, “Although the old man is in good health, don’t rely on that to climb high places, especially pay attention to rest on weekdays, supplement nutrition, and do less labor, understand?”

“Understood, understood, thank you, doctor,” Shi Ran nodded repeatedly, his heart finally settled down. He exchanged a smile with Qi Ye.

God bless, Shi Ran sighed in his heart.

After a while, Grandpa Shi was wheeled out on a hospital bed. His head was wrapped in gauze, and the effects of the anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet, so he was still asleep. The nurse said that the patient had to stay in the ward for observation tonight and could be discharged tomorrow, and that family members should pay the bill first.

Qi Ye said, “I’ll go, you stay with Grandpa.”

“Thank you,” Shi Ran said gratefully, then quickly followed him to the ward.

After paying the bill, it was already past lunchtime, but Qi Ye didn’t have much appetite. He didn’t know if it was because he was too nervous, but his stomach had been shrinking. He guessed Shi Ran was the same, so he first went to the supermarket next door to buy drinks and mineral water.

Grandpa Shi was still sleeping. Shi Ran and Qi Ye were afraid of disturbing him, so they went outside the ward to talk. Shi Ran took a sip of his drink, feeling a little better. Qi Ye asked him what he wanted to eat, but he shook his head, “I can’t eat anything.”

Qi Ye asked what had happened to Grandpa Shi. Now that the crisis had passed, Shi Ran put his worries aside and instead felt angry with his grandfather: “The old man is too disobedient. He insisted on using a ladder to fix a light bulb. I told him to leave it there and I’d do it. I just went out to buy groceries, and when I came back, he had fallen to the ground and couldn’t be woken up. It scared me to death.”

“So that’s what happened,” Qi Ye said, also feeling lingering fear. “Fortunately, he’s okay.”

“He should learn his lesson this time,” Shi Ran sighed, leaning back against the wall.

Qi Ye looked at his eyes, which were still slightly swollen from crying. He touched his pocket and found a pack of tissues. He took out two and wet them with mineral water, then said softly, “Close your eyes.”

“Huh?”

“Just close them for now.”

Shi Ran did as he was told. After a while, he felt something cool on his eyelids. He reached out to touch it, but Qi Ye grabbed his hand: “Your eyes are swollen, just apply it for a bit.”

“What is it?” Shi Ran felt that he was being too attentive. His eyes were fine, but it felt good to have something cool on them.

Qi Ye thought he was disgusted, so he said, “The conditions are simple, I can only use this as a substitute.”

Shi Ran stopped moving. When he felt that Qi Ye was about to let go of his hand, he subconsciously pulled it back, “Just stay like this for a while.”

He had cried too hard just now, and now that he relaxed, he felt drained. Grandpa’s matter could be put aside for the time being, but Qi Ye was confusing him again.

He couldn’t say why, but when he was most helpless and uncomfortable just now, the first person he thought of was Qi Ye. Even if Qi Ye couldn’t come, just hearing his voice would make him feel more comforted.

Shi Ran had long since given up hope on his parents, but they were still his parents after all, and they still appeared in front of him from time to time. They were just selfish and didn’t love him that much, but they hadn’t done anything else to hurt him, nothing unforgivable.

But just now, Shi Ran hadn’t thought of them at all. The only person he thought of was Qi Ye.

Shi Ran had just figured out that he liked Qi Ye, but he also realized that he was so reliant on him. That probably wasn’t a good thing.

As for Qi Ye, he felt lightheaded again when Shi Ran held his hand. He felt like his left hand was about to separate from him, as if he wasn’t holding his hand. His heart was pounding, and he was about to faint.

Shi Ran felt that his eyes were a little more comfortable, so he took off the tissue and threw it into the trash can next to him.

Then, he looked at Qi Ye’s hand that he was holding tightly. For some reason, he suddenly wanted to cry, “Why don’t you pull away?”

Qi Ye: “What?”

Shi Ran knew that it was because Qi Ye was too kind. He was so stupid to fall in love with such a good person.

“Even the best of friends can’t do some things. You have to learn to refuse,” Shi Ran said clearly, but his hand was still greedy for the warmth of his palm, reluctant to let go. “If you feel uncomfortable, don’t just go along with me like this, you’re not an idiot.”

“Okay, let go,” Shi Ran said, again in a joking tone, “People will think we’re dating if they see us.”

As soon as he let go, a cold temperature came over, but the next second, Qi Ye naturally grabbed his hand again.

“I’m not an idiot,” Qi Ye turned his head and looked at him deeply. “I don’t refuse because this is something I want to do too.”