Still Frame Chapter 52

Zhang Liuxin’s expression looked like he was crying, but no actual tears fell. He resembled a quietly placed doll, simply looking at his husband with docile obedience.

Tu Yier felt that his state was wrong and wanted to say something to Wen Jin, but the language barrier stopped him. He left the living room to the two of them and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

After bandaging his wound, Wen Jin simply draped his shirt loosely over his shoulders and told Zhang Liuxin, “Sit and wait for me.”

Zhang Liuxin nodded.

Wen Jin entered the kitchen, found a basin, and filled it halfway with water. Tu Yier watched the handsome, aloof man lean against the stove with a hint of dejection. Because he was looking down, his eyelashes appeared very long, and the way his brows were furrowed made him look quite melancholic. This was one of the few times Tu Yier genuinely sensed his emotions.

Tu Yier subconsciously took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapped one out, and offered it to him. Wen Jin looked surprised, glanced at the cigarette, and shook his head.

“Chen, he doesn’t look good.”

Although he knew the other man couldn’t understand, Tu Yier slowed his tone and spoke word by word: “You should spend more time with him.”

Perhaps because his expression was too worried, and he pointed toward the living room, Wen Jin understood his meaning. He nodded and replied in Bernlinian, “Thank you.”

Carrying the basin of water, he returned to the living room. Zhang Liuxin was still sitting blankly. He only looked up when he heard the footsteps. The upward angle made him look a little pitiful. Wen Jin thought of the cat back home. The first time he saw that cat, it was terribly thin and kept looking up, meowing incessantly.

Wen Jin used a wet towel to wipe Zhang Liuxin’s hands, his movements patient. Occasionally, he felt the calluses on his hands from writing, and he would pause to ask Liuxin how far along he was with his book.

“Just the ending left,” Zhang Liuxin looked down at Wen Jin’s hands, which were slightly larger than his. Just looking at them, they were quite delicate, very suitable for playing the piano.

Zhang Liuxin poked Wen Jin’s calluses. Wen Jin mostly typed on a keyboard, so the calluses on his hands were gun calluses left over from shooting practice, which was very different from the impression he gave off.

Wen Jin caught his hand to stop him from moving, dried his hand, and picked up the iodine to slowly dab the scraped skin.

“Are you injured anywhere else?”

Zhang Liuxin shook his head.

Wen Jin set the iodine aside and said in a flat tone, “You’re lying.”

As soon as his expression changed, Zhang Liuxin recalled the scene from noon, where the other man stood before him, backlit and looking down. A wave of fear washed over him, and he quickly grabbed Wen Jin’s wrist, smearing the recently applied iodine.

“My knee, my knee too, I knocked it.”

Wen Jin’s expression softened slightly. He rolled up Zhang Liuxin’s pant leg and told him to put his leg up on the sofa.

“No.” As soon as his lower leg was exposed, Zhang Liuxin instinctively resisted.

“Liuxin,” Wen Jin’s tone grew sterner, “Be obedient.”

Zhang Liuxin’s knee was already red and swollen. After applying ointment, it had turned into a dark mess. He seemed to have scraped off another layer of skin during the fall. The cluster of injuries stood out starkly against his fair skin.

“Does it hurt?” Wen Jin treated the wound, first wiping away the excess ointment, then applying some iodine. “Where did you fall?”

“Right by the door, there’s a step there,” Zhang Liuxin added. He didn’t want the other man to think he had become a useless person who tripped over flat ground without his exoskeleton. But the moment he opened his mouth, he remembered Wen Jin’s words from noon, “You don’t trust me.” A chill ran through him, and he swallowed the rest of his explanation.

“What did you want to say? Are you still feeling unwell from the cold today?”

“I feel much better after taking the medicine.”

Zhang Liuxin had originally intended to say “It’s nothing,” but seeing Wen Jin’s poor expression, he instinctively felt that if he said that, Wen Jin would look at him with that indifferent expression again. He felt that his spirit was as fragile as his body right now and probably couldn’t withstand another cold treatment from Wen Jin.

“This afternoon…”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Several heavy knocks sounded at the door. Zhang Liuxin paused and exchanged a look with Wen Jin. Tu Yier came out of the kitchen, having clearly heard it too. The person outside knocked a few more times and shouted loudly, “Yier, are you inside? Yier? Open up!”

“It must be my colleague. You two hide inside,” Tu Yier whispered to them. “They might be asking about that plane.”

“Okay.”

Zhang Liuxin stood up. Wen Jin went around the sofa, picked up the exoskeleton, and quickly returned to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist to guide him into the room.

Only after confirming the door was closed did Tu Yier open the front door, zipping up his pants as he said, “Coming, coming.”

The forest ranger was a middle-aged man with a large beard and a somewhat fierce look. As soon as the door opened, he eyed Tu Yier suspiciously. “Why did it take you so long to open the door?”

Tu Yier smiled sheepishly. “I was in the bathroom. Come in, sit down, come in.”

The bearded man wrinkled his nose. “Why does it smell like blood? Are you hurt?”

He looked at the basin on the coffee table and the bloody gauze in the trash can. “Are you badly hurt? I just heard a gunshot. Was it those turtle-son-of-a-bitch illegal loggers again?”

Seeing this, Tu Yier clutched his arm. “I fired the gun. My back has been hurting lately. That little bastard must be from the border area. He was quick as hell, fired a shot to scare me, and I didn’t dodge in time.”

“Good thing you’re alright. Those cowards from the border deserve to die.”

The bearded man spat harshly, then caught a scent of cooked rice. “Starting dinner so early?”

Tu Yier nodded and offered him a cigarette. “Since I’m alone anyway, it doesn’t matter if I eat early or late.”

The bearded man lit the cigarette and puffed smoke for a while, then pointed to the documents in the corner of the sofa. “You’re getting work done so quickly. I thought you went to town just a few days ago.”

Tu Yier thought there might still be Zhang Liuxin’s handwriting on those papers and grew nervous, stammering, “O-of course. My back has been hurting lately, so I’ve been slacking off a bit, haven’t gone out. I’ve just been messing with these things. My eyes are going blind from looking at them.”

The bearded man felt his speaking speed was a little too fast and wondered why he was nervous, but since he couldn’t tell, he didn’t press further.

“Have you seen any suspicious people lately?”

Tu Yier feigned confusion. “Suspicious people? I’ve run into several illegal loggers, though. Next time, I’ll definitely catch them.”

The bearded man stroked his chin, scrutinizing him. “It’s about that plane. It caught fire inside, but no bodies were found. Everything else was burned up, but the plane was traced back to Yinzhou. Maybe the people ran off toward your area. The leadership is taking this seriously and might require a search.”

“A plane from Yinzhou…” Tu Yier hesitated. “Where would they start searching? It’s been several days, the people might have already crossed the border.”

The bearded man frowned. “How do you know it’s been several days?”

Tu Yier broke out in a cold sweat and rubbed his nose. “I heard it from the investigation team arranged by the leadership.”

“Border defense said they haven’t caught any outsiders from other states recently. I suspect they might be hiding in town, but we can’t manage the town,” the bearded man shook his head. “But since it was a private plane, there shouldn’t be any possibility of espionage, right? That plane wasn’t small. Anyone who can afford it must be a big tycoon.”

Tu Yier nodded in agreement.

Inside the room, there were no lights on and no windows, so it was very dark. Zhang Liuxin suffered from night blindness and didn’t dare move after entering the room, afraid of bumping into something and making a sound.

Wen Jin put an arm around his shoulder and led him to the bed. Then, he felt Wen Jin’s breath suddenly draw near, and a soft whisper reached his ear: “Sit down for a moment.”

He sat down and quickly felt the mattress beneath him dip. Wen Jin had sat down beside him.

Everything was pitch black. Zhang Liuxin felt uneasy. He cautiously extended his left hand to feel around beside him, touching Wen Jin’s thigh. Wen Jin then grabbed his hand and patted it gently, signaling that he was there.

No sound could be heard from outside. In the darkness, there was only the sound of their quiet breathing. Wen Jin suddenly spoke. “What were you trying to say just now?”

He spoke deliberately close to Zhang Liuxin’s ear. The warm breath hit his earlobe, and Zhang Liuxin felt his ear flush, as if an electric current had flowed through him.

“Will they hear us outside?” Zhang Liuxin whispered.

“No.”

Wen Jin’s chin rested on his shoulder, like a seductive siren. In the pitch-black environment, his breathing and low voice made Zhang Liuxin tremble.

“Senior, I’m sorry about this afternoon. I… I don’t distrust you, and I don’t distrust the physical therapist,” Zhang Liuxin felt the hand holding his tighten slightly, and he continued, “In Yinzhou, I only took off the exoskeleton during physical therapy. Now that the exoskeleton is dead, I’m very uncomfortable.”

Wen Jin didn’t reply immediately after hearing this. Zhang Liuxin instantly felt an invisible hand fiercely gripping his heart. His breathing was linked to a dull, heavy ache until Wen Jin’s voice returned.

“Liuxin, you don’t need to apologize. I’m not angry,” Wen Jin said, his voice clear and pure, carrying a hint of tenderness that could be misleading. “When we were in Yinzhou, I spoke with your physical therapist. He said your attitude was very negative.”

Zhang Liuxin was stunned, having not expected anyone to notice.

“I considered talking to you about it, but I felt it was your own business,” Wen Jin looked at him. Zhang Liuxin’s sightless eyes stared blankly ahead. “But Liuxin, you should have more confidence in yourself. You can distrust me, you can distrust current medical technology, but you must trust yourself.”

“It’s too hard,” Zhang Liuxin lowered his head and covered his face. “I can’t control my body at all. I can’t run, I can’t walk normally. I’m sorry.”

Wen Jin extended his arm, placing his palm against Zhang Liuxin’s back, slowly embracing his trembling shoulder. He deliberately softened his shoulder and rested his chin on the crown of the other man’s head, saying softly, “Take it slow. Don’t say sorry.”

“Why did you run so fast when you heard the gunshot today, and why did you fall?”

Zhang Liuxin’s voice was slightly hoarse. He slowly began, “Because I knew Brother Tu had a gun, but the gunshot clearly wasn’t a hunting rifle. I thought it was like three years ago, and I was afraid you might get hurt.”

“Three years ago,” Wen Jin gently patted the shoulder his hand rested on. “The way you felt this afternoon and just now, it was exactly as you described.”