MNL Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Onset of Illness… Are you there?

Chapter 11: Onset of Illness… Are you there?

He vaguely remembered that Cha Fei’ang was scheduled to go on stage later, and given that person’s personality, he’d probably pick a name that he thought was cool but was actually incredibly cheesy.

Xu Jing swiped through the screen, eventually locking onto number fourteen.

“Thriller Campus: No One Survives.”

That’s the one.

Xu Jing was about to press the vote button when he heard a soft chuckle beside him.

“?”

Based on past experience, nothing good ever came from this person’s laughter, so Xu Jing turned to look at him.

“I’m wondering, what’s your purpose in coming here?”

Xu Jing paused, retorting, “Then what are you here for?”

Shen Yan shook his phone, displaying the voting page.

“Well, there you have it.”

Xu Jing was confident in his earlier choice and was about to continue, but then he noticed the person next to him suddenly move closer.

Shen Yan’s fingers were long and slender, with faint blue veins that looked strong but not overly prominent. They should have been very beautiful, but there was a gruesome scar on one of his knuckles. Xu Jing’s gaze lingered there.

That hand covered his, holding his hovering hand and slowly moving it down, eventually stopping at the selection circle in front of number seventeen.

Xu Jing seemed frozen, his mind filled with the image of applying medicine that day. For a moment, he even forgot to break free until a string of question marks popped up on the top of his phone screen. Xu Jing looked up and met a face filled with unresolved shock.

Yan Zhe couldn’t believe his eyes. Why would Xu Jing, who desperately wanted to stay away from all living things, allow this person to get so close, even touching him?

“…Are you two…?”

Xu Jing immediately pulled his hand back, looking somewhat unnatural. He stood up and asked Yan Zhe, “Leaving?”

Yan Zhe scratched his head and coughed softly, giving him a look towards the girl sitting beside him. Xu Jing turned to leave, but then he heard a short, “Leaving.”

“…”

Who asked him?

The event ended after dark. Xu Jing’s hat obscured half of his face, his profile appearing cold in the dim light. His head was slightly lowered, and black bangs were scattered across his forehead, making it difficult to see his expression.

Shen Yan’s gaze lingered there for a moment before he turned away.

“Want to eat dinner out?”

Xu Jing didn’t say anything, but Shen Yan knew that if he didn’t want to, he would have already turned around and left.

Shen Yan found it amusing; this awkward temper was actually kind of cute.

They went to a nearby ordinary restaurant. There were a lot of people eating at this time, and Shen Yan led Xu Jing to the most secluded corner.

Xu Jing ordered the dishes. He was about to call the waiter when he stopped and handed the menu to Shen Yan.

“What?”

Xu Jing said, “I don’t eat spicy food.”

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow. “I don’t either.”

Xu Jing gave him a questioning look. He remembered that the last time at the roadside stall, this person had ordered extra spicy.

Shen Yan seemed to know what he was thinking and explained, “That time, I was taking it for someone else.”

Xu Jing gave a faint “oh.”

After the dishes were served, Shen Yan swapped the dishes in front of them, saying, “The braised fish here is pretty good.”

The sauce was rich and colorful, with a thin layer of green onions sprinkled on top. Xu Jing picked up a piece, and the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside texture made him narrow his eyes unconsciously.

“Do you come here often?”

Shen Yan replied, “Yeah, I don’t eat at home much.”

Speaking of this, Xu Jing was curious about Shen Yan’s family situation. Even Yan Zhe’s parents, who worked away from home all year round, knew to come back and spend time with Yan Zhe during the beginning of the school year. But since he moved here, he hadn’t seen anyone other than Shen Yan enter or leave 602.

But this was, after all, a private matter, and after thinking about it, Xu Jing decided not to ask.

“What happened to your hand?”

“Hmm?” Shen Yan paused, his gaze lingering on the scar for a few seconds before casually saying, “I was injured a while ago.”

Xu Jing looked at it again. The scar was very long, like a mottled, withered vine, extending down from the back of his hand. At first glance, it even felt startling.

“It’s ugly, isn’t it?”

Shen Yan’s voice was faint, with no discernible emotion.

Xu Jing shook his head, saying, “No.”

Although Shen Yan downplayed it, Xu Jing could sense that he wasn’t as indifferent as he seemed.

Besides, he didn’t think it was ugly at all. On the contrary, he thought the scar made Shen Yan seem very special.

Xu Jing flipped the piece of fish in his bowl over, saying casually, “My mom told me to ask you why you haven’t been coming for tutoring lately.”

Shen Yan replied, “I’ve been busy lately.”

Xu Jing gave an indifferent “oh.”

“Don’t you want to know what I’ve been busy with specifically?”

Xu Jing didn’t even look up, saying, “Don’t want to.”

Shen Yan: “…”

But after a while, the person who had been eating with such focus still offered a way out.

“If you really want to tell me, I can reluctantly listen.”

But Shen Yan just wouldn’t budge.

He raised an eyebrow, saying, “I’m not telling you.”

Xu Jing: “…”

Psycho.

If he ever gave this person an opening again, he would be an idiot.

Ever since the event ended, Xu Jing’s phone had been constantly vibrating, bombarded with messages from Yan Zhe.

[God of Zhe]: Jing bro, if you’re being threatened, you have to tell your brother, okay? As friends, I won’t abandon you!

[Male]: Is that so? He said he wants three million.

Shen Yan, who had inadvertently seen it, laughed.

The other side immediately went silent, sending a “goodbye” emoticon after a long while.

Xu Jing snorted and turned off his phone.

“I didn’t expect you to have this type of friend,” Shen Yan said, somewhat surprised.

Xu Jing replied, “I’m even eating with you. What’s impossible?”

This was indeed strange.

They clearly didn’t like each other at first, but now they could sit at the same table and eat. Although Xu Jing still felt like he couldn’t have a calm conversation with Shen Yan, he didn’t know when he started to think that Shen Yan wasn’t that annoying.

After hearing this, Shen Yan nodded, saying, “That makes sense, so we’re friends?”

Xu Jing pulled his hat down a bit more, seemingly finding the answer hard to say, and just gave a soft “hmm.”

If this person wasn’t so annoying.

Then, barely, yes.

The two of them took a taxi from the city center. It would normally take about half an hour, but because the streets were congested, they were delayed for a long time. Shen Yan looked at his phone several times on the way. Thinking he had something urgent, Xu Jing told the driver to stop.

It was so congested; it would be faster to walk back.

So, the two of them ran and walked for three kilometers. By the time they got to the apartment building, the sweat on their bodies had been dried by the wind.

Xu Jing had always thought he was good at long-distance running. He had even won a city-level second prize before, but this person next to him had been running for so long without even being out of breath. He was really impressive.

So, this person always wore athletic clothes when he went out at night, not to do something shady, but to exercise.

Who could imagine that students their age would be as disciplined as Shen Yan? Recalling their first meeting and the stupid things they had done afterward, Xu Jing really wanted to crack open Shen Yan’s head and erase that memory, otherwise, he would risk being mocked from time to time.

Sensing a trace of threatening aura, Shen Yan raised an eyebrow, asking inexplicably, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Who’s looking at you?”

Shen Yan said bluntly, “It’s okay, I’m good-looking. It’s not embarrassing to like looking.”

Xu Jing sneered, saying, “You’re pretty narcissistic.”

“But next time, you can look openly, no need to be sneaky.”

“Who the hell was sneaky? You—” Xu Jing’s voice stopped abruptly.

This person must have connected the two times he followed him.

Xu Jing was about to explain, but then he didn’t know where to start. Hating trouble, he simply shut up.

As soon as the elevator opened, Xu Jing walked out, with Shen Yan following closely behind.

Living close by might be this awkward. They almost closed their doors at the same time, but both stopped at the last moment.

Shen Yan spoke first, “Good night?”

Xu Jing closed the door, but a few seconds later, he poked half his head out from the door, saying coldly, “Good night.”

Looking at the tightly closed door of 601, Shen Yan smiled silently.

But the smile didn’t last long. Shen Yan suddenly staggered twice as he entered his apartment. His chest started to hurt intensely, as if pierced by needles. His hand, which was holding the door, slipped, and he stumbled into the bedroom. The excruciating pain in his heart almost blocked the passage of air, his vision grew darker, and his strength gradually disappeared.

The glass on the table was knocked over, shattering into pieces. The person who had fallen to the ground struggled to search through the drawer, his hand trembling so much that he could barely open the medicine bottle.

He swallowed two red pills, his throat feeling extremely dry. Shen Yan leaned against the edge of the bed and struggled to bite and swallow them.

Heavy breathing echoed throughout the bedroom. The face of the person by the bed was as pale as paper. He leaned back against the corner of the desk, his chest still heaving violently.

He didn’t know how long it had been, but the suffocating feeling finally faded away. However, the pain in his heart was like someone had forcibly removed and reattached a few bones, with an even stronger aftereffect.

Shen Yan struggled to get up and found his phone, which had fallen by the coffee table, after turning on the light.

[Male]: ?

The message was sent three minutes ago, probably when the glass broke.

Xu Jing had just thrown out the trash and was returning when he suddenly heard a noise inside 602, like something breaking. Xu Jing stopped, hesitated for a long time, and did something he had never done before.

He bit his lip, took a few steps forward, and put his ear against the door.

There was no sound at all.

Immediately afterward, Xu Jing realized how perverted his behavior of eavesdropping was and immediately returned to his room, afraid that the person inside would come out and catch him in the act.

[SY]: Nothing.

[SY]: I accidentally broke a glass.

Shen Yan looked at the “typing” notification that had been on the chat box for a long time and was a little surprised that Xu Jing would send so many words, but before the thought could fully form, he received a reply.

[Male]: Oh.

Shen Yan smiled silently. As expected, he was overthinking it.