Chew Slowly Chapter 4

The students at their school weren’t particularly disciplined; those who skipped class without asking for leave were everywhere. Xu Qiaochuan himself had climbed over the wall a few times and found the leave slip process troublesome and unnecessary. As long as the person came back fine and was sitting in their chair, did it matter if they had a slip or not?

Chen Zongqian smiled, not arguing, and led him to the office to find the Dean of Students.

“I’m here to ask for a leave slip. I want to take him out for a trip,” Chen Zongqian briefly explained the reason and introduced himself again, speaking both for the Dean and for Xu Qiaochuan.

Then he asked, “Do I need to call your mother?”

Xu Qiaochuan lowered his head slightly, his expression indifferent, and his tone cold: “Don’t bother her.”

Like other students, Xu Qiaochuan disliked the office and the Dean of Students, and his back naturally stiffened inside. Although the air conditioning was on, he broke out in a cold sweat.

His stomach was growling with hunger, making Xu Qiaochuan very uncomfortable. He looked at the reflection on the mahogany desk; the light stung his eyes painfully, and he felt the urge to cry again, so he quickly blinked.

After confirming the information on the leave slip, the Dean of Students approved the leave without hesitation. As Chen Zongqian left, he said warmly, “I’ll need to find you again later. You can keep my number for now.”

Only after leaving the office did Xu Qiaochuan feel a sense of immense relief. He walked slowly, keeping a large distance from Chen Zongqian, seemingly extremely reluctant.

Chen Zongqian said, “From the moment you leave school now until tomorrow morning when I bring you back, if they ask about your whereabouts during this time, they can call me. I am responsible if something happens to you or if you can’t return.”

Xu Qiaochuan frowned: “They don’t care if we just leave.”

His stubbornness made Chen Zongqian sigh: “A leave slip is a type of contract. It wasn’t designed to trouble you, but to protect you and the school.”

Xu Qiaochuan had the common rebellious streak of a student his age and didn’t want to listen to Chen Zongqian lecture him, so he changed the subject: “How did you get his number?”

“I saw it when I passed the bulletin board.”

At ten o’clock in the evening, Xu Qiaochuan left the school through the main gate for the first time at this hour. He stood on the street corner for a while, waiting for a black Audi to arrive. Chen Zongqian’s figure was separated by a layer of glass, appearing somewhat blurry.

Feeling uneasy, Xu Qiaochuan watched the passenger door open. Chen Zongqian said, “We’ll have dinner first, then go to the hospital.”

The car had no special decorations, simple and clean, without the unpleasant smell of cheap leather. Everything was as tidy and proper as its owner.

Before driving, Chen Zongqian took a phone call. Xu Qiaochuan leaned against the car window. Although his peripheral vision couldn’t see anything, his eyes were still entirely focused on Chen Zongqian. Xu Qiaochuan watched him through the reflection in the glass; only this way could he observe him carefully without reservation.

Chen Zongqian was refined and handsome, even more so after taking off his glasses. In Xu Qiaochuan’s life so far, many people he had encountered were hideous. He didn’t know how to describe a good-looking person, recalling the illustrations in his art textbook—those statues that were beautiful enough to make one’s heart tremble.

He could imagine the carefully selected stone, meticulously sculpted into bone structure, and then carved and polished by the artist’s exhaustive talent. This was a piece of art that was just right; a bit more would be excessive, and a bit less would be bland.

But unlike a statue, Chen Zongqian was a living person who spoke and smiled, always looking at others with gentleness and patience. Xu Qiaochuan was filled with worry and alarm. Why was there a person like this? Why did he appear beside him? Why did he come looking for him?

Xu Qiaochuan was best at finding his own misery. During the silent drive, he had already mentally chastised himself thousands of times. So when the car stopped and the door opened, a strange thought arose in him: finally, a chance to escape.

The evening breeze from Pingzhou Port hit him full in the face. Xu Qiaochuan snapped back to reality, pausing for a moment, and missed the opportunity to execute his escape plan.

What are we doing here? Xu Qiaochuan looked blankly at the person beside him.

“Let’s go,” Chen Zongqian didn’t say much, leading him into a tea restaurant.

The restaurant’s interior decoration was classical and elegant. The lamps were warm yellow, casting a gentle, watery light that didn’t sting Xu Qiaochuan’s eyes. A familiar waiter led them into a private room and spread the menu booklet in front of them.

The dish names were listed in order, with photos attached on one side. But to Xu Qiaochuan, the words became mere ink blots, and the pictures were colorful and chaotic; he couldn’t make anything out clearly. He felt the gaze of two people on him, both expecting him to make a choice, but what was he supposed to do?

Xu Qiaochuan felt dizzy, his fingers twisting together unnaturally. Chen Zongqian spoke up at the right moment: “The signature dish here is excellent. Would you like to try it?”

“Okay.” Xu Qiaochuan felt trapped in confusion. Chen Zongqian’s words were like a piece of aquatic grass, allowing him to grasp onto a semblance of reality. Unable to think, he agreed immediately.

“What about drinks? No black tea or coffee tonight. Do you want milk or lemonade?” Chen Zongqian waited for an answer only after scanning the drink list. He ordered two lemonades.

He looked at the nervous Xu Qiaochuan and, instead of offering comfort, just said, “Hot milk is also good. Lemonade is a bit cold.”

Xu Qiaochuan’s eyes darted away, not daring to look at people much. He felt distress everywhere: his heart, his mind, and his stomach. When he heard mention of milk, his stomach instantly churned and cramped twice, making his face even paler from the pain. He resisted, saying, “No milk.”

“Understood,” Chen Zongqian replied, remembering that Xiao Ran had lactose intolerance and would throw up after drinking it, so he didn’t like milk either.

The first dish served was chicken soup stewed with Codonopsis and Astragalus, each in a small ceramic pot, with wisps of hot steam rising. The waiter lifted the lid. The oil had been skimmed off, and the soup was clear like tea.

But Xu Qiaochuan was distracted. Even such a delicious, slow-cooked soup was tasteless in his mouth. He chewed very little, swallowing the food quickly after it passed his mouth and tongue; he couldn’t taste anything he ate.

Eating was a necessary task, like washing clothes after a shower, or pushing a dislocated bone back into place… These things had a certain routine in Xu Qiaochuan’s life. He couldn’t escape it, and to adapt, he confined himself within certain rules.

Only after everyone else had left was it time for him to eat and shower. The leftover food in the cafeteria wasn’t good, and sometimes if he couldn’t get any, he had to eat instant noodles. But it didn’t matter; everything tasted the same anyway.

Because he couldn’t be late, he had very little time to himself. Only after gulping down his food and quickly washing up could he appear in the classroom like everyone else.

A trembling hand was pressed down by someone. He lowered his eyes and saw a silver-plated cufflink, round, with a pure black bead embedded in the center. It wasn’t overly luxurious like a gemstone, but it had a watery luster compared to metal. Xu Qiaochuan didn’t know it was enamel, only that the color was pure, and his soul was almost drawn into that spot of black.

“It’s okay if you don’t like it. There’s no rush.” Chen Zongqian held his hand tightly, watching his shoulders tremble a few times before his chest’s rapid heaving gradually calmed.

Xu Qiaochuan lifted his sweaty face, tears flowing again. He took a breath, his words clear: “My mom… she won’t divorce him. Even if Xu Jian steals her money, even if he grabs her hair and slams her head against the wall, she won’t divorce him. Women where we live are laughed at if they divorce. She has nothing but her pride.”

The sensation of human contact was impossible to ignore, even though Xu Qiaochuan didn’t look at the hand or the cufflink again. Chen Zongqian held him tightly, making it impossible for him to break free. So Xu Qiaochuan didn’t struggle, using the grip to suppress the tremor in his hand.

“I don’t know why the lawyer is looking for her, and I don’t know why you came to find me.” Xu Qiaochuan stared at Chen Zongqian’s face. Saying these words took a lot of effort. The food he had just painstakingly eaten was stuck in his throat, ready to be expelled with his speech. “I told you I can’t manage her affairs, but you didn’t leave. You even bothered to take me out, take me to eat, and go to the hospital… Why?”

“Xu Qiaochuan, calm down!”

Calm down? Xu Qiaochuan felt he was very calm. Instead, Chen Zongqian’s sudden agitation was somewhat incomprehensible to him. He didn’t speak, allowing the man to pull a tissue and cover his mouth and nose. Xu Qiaochuan didn’t react immediately, his gaze shifting from Chen Zongqian’s face to himself. Blood was continuously flowing from his nose, staining half his face and leaving a large patch of blood on his white short-sleeved shirt.

Seeing this, he completely lost his appetite for the food.

Xu Qiaochuan had a ruptured artery in his nose, and Chen Zongqian quickly rushed him to the emergency department at the hospital. The doctor first performed nasal packing to temporarily stop the bleeding, but Xu Qiaochuan’s condition was still not very good.

The doctor said, “Relax, don’t be nervous. High blood pressure will cause more bleeding.”

The voice was gentle, but the three places Xu Qiaochuan resisted most in his life were home, school, and the hospital. He absolutely could not relax here. Half his nose was blocked, making his breathing difficult, but the lingering smell of blood diluted the scent of disinfectant.

Xu Qiaochuan tried to suppress the turmoil in his heart. The doctor told him to take it easy, and he obediently closed his eyes. Chen Zongqian was talking to the doctor; Xu Qiaochuan couldn’t make out what he was saying. He had initially only pinched the corner of Chen Zongqian’s jacket, but the man quickly took his hand. Xu Qiaochuan was a little reactive but didn’t dare to move.

Later, he thought, holding hands was fine; this way, he wouldn’t wrinkle Chen Zongqian’s suit.