TSIBAMS Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Ye Xing held the medicine box, carefully reading every single word of the densely packed ingredients, efficacy, and dosage. He was stunned for a good while.

It was only when his legs had gone numb from squatting that he reluctantly settled his rear on the bed.

He tried to find some happy, all-around excuses for the existence of this medicine, at least to alleviate the enormous impact those words had on him.

He couldn’t find any.

It was obvious that this medicine belonged to Qi Guang and that it had been opened. That meant Qi Guang had taken this medicine.

He opened the medicine box, revealing a strip of pills sandwiched between the instruction leaflet. The strip contained fourteen pills, and now only four remained.

Beside him, Qi Guang was breathing evenly, sleeping like a defenseless child. Ye Xing glanced at him and suddenly felt a pang in his nose.

How much pain had this person endured alone?

He had always known that if he wanted to know, Qi Guang would share his life with him without reservation.

Whether in the past, present, or future.

He was also very certain that he had grasped every moment with Qi Guang, and even if he accidentally touched upon unpleasant memories of the past, he would carefully steer away from them.

And the more candid Qi Guang was with him, the less he wanted to ask, let alone speculate.

For example, the first time he came to Qi Guang’s house to help him bandage a wound, where did those regular scars across his arm come from?

And now, it seemed, he didn’t even need to guess, nor did he need to build any other fantasies to exclude that ninety-nine percent possibility.

How numb to life must one be to choose self-harm as a way to obtain physical pleasure?

Qi Guang, before I entered your life, or rather, in the places where I couldn’t see, what kind of life were you living?

Even though he didn’t have the habit of sleeping in, that day Ye Xing felt as if his body was being weighed down by a heavy object, unable to break free from his dreams for a long time.

It wasn’t until the sound of pounding on the door gradually grew louder that he suddenly woke up with a start and sat up in bed.

Knock knock knock…

Knock knock knock…

The sound of knocking was real.

He shook his head, hazily pulled the quilt over and tucked it around Qi Guang’s chest, then jumped out of bed to open the door.

After passing through the living room, he subconsciously glanced at the empty sofa and didn’t feel anything was wrong until he opened the door and saw Li Ke standing there. Only then did he react, “Why are you at the door?”

Li Ke raised his arm, pushed the door open a little more, and stepped inside, “I smelled the breakfast being sold downstairs and it woke me up from hunger. I bought some in a daze and then realized I didn’t have a key to get back in.”

“Are you a pig? You can even smell breakfast and get woken up by hunger…” Ye Xing gave him a look of disdain.

“Naturally, I can’t compare with you young people,” Li Ke looked at him meaningfully, “What time did you guys stay up until last night? Your eyes are all swollen, you didn’t just fall asleep, did you?”

It was fine when he didn’t mention it, but now that he did, some dissatisfaction surged in his heart.

What the hell “staying up”?

“Get out!”

“Yo, so irritable! Could it be because I was next door interfering with your fun?” Li Ke took out three cups of soy milk from the plastic bags of steamed buns and fried dough sticks, and placed them on the coffee table, “Come on, eat up, and we can fight again tonight.”

Ye Xing didn’t even want to look at him, just rolled his eyes.

The two ate breakfast while chatting casually.

One was daydreaming, and the other was distracted.

Li Ke stuffed the last bite of the steamed bun into his mouth, “He really is my type.”

It wasn’t until he heard this sentence that Ye Xing, who had been in a daze, suddenly came back to his senses. He steadied himself and asked, “Who?”

Li Ke had been chattering on and on, and he hadn’t actually heard a word of it, but he was too embarrassed to ask directly, “What did you just say?” After all, compared to that, “who” was the key point.

“Bai Shu, of course!” Li Ke crumpled up the plastic bag and threw it into the trash can, “I haven’t encountered this type before, he’s quite attractive.”

Only then did Ye Xing recall Li Ke having been chatting with Bai Shu the whole time last night. But back then, the dividing line between Bai Shu and Xu Ge was too obvious, and all his attention had been on Qi Guang, so he really hadn’t noticed any potential affair.

He smiled, “Well, I still stand by what I said, he has someone he likes. And, let me add, don’t get your hopes up.”

“I’m not getting my hopes up, I’m just coveting him a bit.” Li Ke leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling with a silly grin.

“Is there any difference?” Ye Xing said.

“My point is, I won’t interfere with the two of them, but if that guy doesn’t hold onto my type, I can make an appearance at any time,” Li Ke said.

Ye Xing glanced at him. It was the first time he had ever seen a live-action spare tire type of love contestant. If he hadn’t been holding greasy steamed buns, he definitely would have given him a round of applause, “Please, at least feed the starving masses on your phone first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft cough came from Qi Guang’s room.

Ye Xing, hearing the sound, stood up, wiped his hands, and darted over.

“You’re awake?” He walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, “Is your throat uncomfortable?”

“I choked on my saliva.” Qi Guang frowned, his eyes still closed, the sudden light was a little too much for him, “Li Ke wants to pursue Bai Shu?”

Ye Xing hurriedly closed the door, walked to the bedside, and sat down, “You heard all that?”

“Yeah, I knew when he knocked, but I guess I drank too much last night, my body felt heavy, it took a while to wake up.” Qi Guang’s eyes were still closed, his voice muffled.

“Looks like you heard for a while.” Ye Xing looked at him.

“Ye Xing, I’m sorry!” Qi Guang reached out and pulled his head down, pressing it onto the pillow.

Ye Xing lay beside his ear, “Talking nonsense so early in the morning? What did you do in your dream that you’re sorry about?”

“You made a special trip back to spend the Qixi Festival with me, but the Qixi Festival just went by inexplicably, and last night you were the one who had to drag us home.” Qi Guang turned his head and kissed his head.

Being kissed on the head felt like an ambush, Ye Xing lifted his head and pecked him on the lips, finally satisfied, “It’s okay, you’re easier to handle, you just need a direction and you can go. It’s mainly this Li Ke, he goes to a bar like it’s his own house, not at all worried about where he’ll wake up tomorrow…”

Qi Guang chuckled at that.

Ye Xing looked at him and asked, “You drank so much yesterday, mainly to keep Xu Ge company, right?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m apologizing to you,” Qi Guang said.

Ye Xing was feeling a little uncomfortable lying down for so long, so he simply took off his shoes and got into bed, lying beside him, looking at the ceiling, and said casually, “It’s nothing, their situation is really troubling, last night’s dinner was like the last supper.”

“Xu Ge thinks he’s doing what’s best for Bai Shu, but I feel something else.” Qi Guang said.

“What do you feel?” Ye Xing glanced at him.

“I’ve only ever had you as a boyfriend, I don’t know if my radar is accurate, but I just feel that Xu Ge may have feelings for Bai Shu, but he’s gotten used to this mode of interaction for so many years, this sudden leap out is also to get a clear view of himself.” After Qi Guang said the last two words, as if it were some kind of hint, he rubbed his eyes and slowly adjusted to opening them.

“Did he say that?” Ye Xing asked.

“Of course, he wouldn’t say that to me. That guy is proud, he won’t admit it until he figures it out himself,” Qi Guang said.

So that means Xu Ge’s situation is not only not over, there is a possibility of going back?

Although the odds are small, it seems that the current situation is a little complicated…

Ye Xing looked troubled, “Then Li Ke…”

“I support Li Ke,” Qi Guang said decisively.

“Damn? Xu Ge would be mad, raising such an ungrateful wretch!” Ye Xing turned to face him, reaching out and gently pinching his chin.

“Li Ke is right, if Xu Ge doesn’t hold on… everyone has the right to pursue happiness, I only admire brave people.” Qi Guang also turned to face him. He hadn’t noticed when his eyes were closed, but now that he could see, he realized that Ye Xing’s eyes were a little swollen. His heart tightened, “What happened to your eyes?”

What the hell?

Ye Xing was stunned. He hadn’t looked in the mirror when he got up in the morning, nor had he paid attention when Li Ke mentioned it. It was only when he was reminded that he felt that his eyes were indeed a little off.

And the reason they were off…

“Did you cry last night?” Qi Guang moved closer, his nose almost touching his, frowning tightly for a moment, then suddenly hugged him, “I’m sorry!”

“Huh?” He had been caught and didn’t know how to deal with it, but with this apology he was completely dumbfounded.

Qi Guang rubbed his back, “I knew you wouldn’t say anything on the surface, but you must have been disappointed. I’ll make it up to you tonight!”

Only then did Ye Xing realize what he was apologizing for.

If he hadn’t gone through his drawer last night, if he hadn’t found those medicines, and he had just drifted off to sleep with that dissatisfaction, he might have been content with his apology.

But now, hearing those three words, there was nothing left but heartache.

Actually, since last night, he had been thinking. Since fate had pointed him in this direction, he might as well lay it all out and have a good talk.

He pondered for a moment and began, “Qi Guang, can we have a serious talk?”

“Hmm?” Qi Guang moved his head back, noticing that his expression had suddenly become serious.

“I don’t know if I can express it clearly, but I feel that since I’ve discovered something, I can’t ignore it,” Ye Xing said, “It’s like, there are some things that we might think we can cover up, and if we don’t see them, they don’t exist.”

After failing to understand what he was saying, Qi Guang interrupted him, “Are we going to discuss idealism?”

“But today I realized that hiding things isn’t a perfect way to avoid them,” Ye Xing continued, “Even if you only catch a glimpse of a corner, it can make people speculate. The best way should be to face them, and then throw them away.”

“I don’t really understand,” Qi Guang said.

Ye Xing took a deep breath, looked into his eyes, which seemed like he was either not fully awake or eager to learn, and remained silent for a while.

Then, he reached out and hugged Qi Guang tightly, “Be honest with me, have you come out of it now?”

He could feel Qi Guang’s body stiffen, and the frequency of his breathing, which was in contact with his chest, started to become irregular.

Not answering meant he understood.