Chapter 31

The call bell at the nurse's station rang. It was for Qu Yanting's bed, number three.

It was truly baffling. After Lu Wen went out, Qu Yanting lay on the bed in a daze for quite a while. The IV fluid had finished dripping, and by the time he noticed, blood had already flowed back into the tube, and a small lump had formed on the back of his hand.

He pushed the roller clamp to the top to prevent air from entering the tube and half-raised his left arm to wait for a nurse. Soon, a nurse pushed the door open and came in, with Lu Wen following right behind.

Qu Yanting's confusion deepened, because Lu Wen's appearance was too strange.

His wheat-colored skin was flushed red. Standing under the light, even the cartilage of his ears had a scorching red glow. The main thing was his expression; he lowered his head, pressing down on his brow bone, with his eyes downcast. His lips were pursed in a very telling way—a little lighter and it would be a look of wanting to speak but holding back; a little heavier and it would be speechless despair.

Lu Wen stopped at the foot of the bed, refusing to take another step forward.

People have instincts. Qu Yanting could feel that Lu Wen was deliberately keeping his distance, or perhaps avoiding something. He thought for a moment; there was no fourth person present, so it could only be because of this young nurse.

Walking to the bedside, the nurse bent over to remove the tape from the back of Qu Yanting's hand and said, "There's a bit of blood backup."

Lu Wen finally straightened his neck and lifted his eyes, looking toward the hospital bed. He had come back as soon as he heard Qu Yanting ring the bell, his sleeves still rolled up to his elbows.

"It's swollen," the nurse said. "It'll probably bruise."

Qu Yanting said it was fine, but Lu Wen, on the contrary, had an issue with it, as if blaming him for being unreliable. "You're a grown man, can't even remember to ring the bell earlier if no one's watching."

The nurse said, "Then you should have been watching him. Aren't you the one staying with him?"

Qu Yanting took the opportunity to ask, "Where did you just go?"

Lu Wen said, "To take a shit."

The nurse laughed. "He went to our nurse's station to get his blood pressure checked."

The IV needle was pulled out. Qu Yanting pressed down on the puncture wound, the back of his swollen hand aching faintly. He asked, "Are you not feeling well?"

The nurse took down the empty IV bag and answered for Lu Wen, "His blood pressure is okay, but his heart rate is too fast. We can check it again later."

Lu Wen hadn't expected the nurse to say it out loud. His face turned even redder, and he lowered his head again, seething with shame and anger at the foot of the bed.

The bleeding stopped. Qu Yanting let go, lifted the covers, and moved to the edge of the bed, dangling his legs to put on his shoes. He didn't want to spend the night in the hospital; it was inconvenient to wash up, and he had to discuss some documents with his studio tomorrow morning.

Although his fever had subsided, he still felt a bit dizzy when he suddenly got up. Qu Yanting edged along the side of the bed to the foot.

Lu Wen was still acting awkward, unwilling to lift his chin openly. When Qu Yanting entered his line of sight, for just a second, his barely calmed heart rate shot up to a new peak.

Qu Yanting found it increasingly strange. The nurse had already left, so why was this Idiot still acting like this?

Picking up the jacket draped over the footboard, he put it on while guessing, "The nurse you said you wanted to get the number of, that was her?"

Lu Wen's heart went 'thump,' like a big duck plunging into water. 'Qu Yanting really does like me. He can't even wait to start interrogating me.'

His temporary neck problem was suddenly cured. He stiffened his neck and replied, "Yes, that was her."

'Looks like checking his blood pressure was a pretext to hit on her. Quite resourceful,' Qu Yanting thought. 'But such a fast heart rate... does that mean Lu Wen has really fallen for her?'

He was a public figure, after all, so he should be more cautious about his love life. He asked, "So, did you get her number?"

Lu Wen said sternly, "That's my private business."

Qu Yanting had no intention of prying, he was just worried that with a date in the evening and a new crush at night, Lu Wen might one day cause some trouble that would be detrimental to the film crew.

He reminded him, "Then protect your privacy well, and don't cause any scandals."

Lu Wen understood. Qu Yanting was warning him. 'Don't cause any scandals' meant 'don't contact her.' No contact meant no relationship. No relationship meant staying single.

'Nothing's even started yet, and Qu Yanting is already possessive of me?'

Leaving the hospital, they hailed a taxi. Qu Yanting didn't like sitting too close to the driver, so he took the back seat diagonally opposite the driver's seat. Lu Wen had been chauffeured around since he was a child and was also used to sitting in the back.

Unlike on the way there, Lu Wen kept as far away from Qu Yanting as possible, pressing close to the car door and staring silently out the window the entire time.

They drove onto a street where the trees along the road were hung with small, colorful lights. The light painted the window, suddenly reflecting everything inside the car. Caught off guard, Lu Wen saw Qu Yanting leaning against the other side, his arms crossed over his chest.

It was a posture for when one was cold. It was late at night, and the temperature was lower than when they had come.

Lu Wen reflexively grabbed the front of his jacket, then paused. 'If I give my jacket to Qu Yanting, will he like me even more?'

Achoo. Qu Yanting sneezed softly.

Lu Wen couldn't be bothered with all that anymore. He took off his trench coat, kept his head fixed towards the window, and just stretched out his hand to toss it over. "Here, here, here. You wrap up in this first."

The trench coat landed on Qu Yanting's face. He unfolded it a bit; it was enough to cover his upper body and thighs. He sniffled and once again caught the scent of cedar.

Qu Yanting didn't know why, but ever since Ruan Feng had shown up tonight, Lu Wen had been acting strangely. From his behavior to his attitude, he was just like an emotionally unstable teenage boy.

Maybe it was the ginger soup that warmed his stomach and his heart, or maybe it was the effort Lu Wen had put into taking care of him, but in any case, Qu Yanting felt very grateful. He turned his head and met Lu Wen's eyes in the reflection on the window.

Lu Wen had nowhere to hide. His eyebrows furrowed. "What are you trying to do?"

Qu Yanting asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Lu Wen said, feeling wronged. "I... I just want to be an honest man, not get involved in other things."

Qu Yanting's face was a little pale, but it looked exceptionally handsome reflected in the colorful lights. He didn't understand what Lu Wen meant, but the phrase "honest man" made him laugh.

'I'm done for,' Lu Wen thought.

'No matter what I say, Qu Yanting loves to hear it. This is progressing way too fast.'

Qu Yanting had very little experience expressing closeness to people, and the person closest to him was none other than his own younger brother. After a pause, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly. He temporarily set aside all his misgivings and said, "Actually, you're a lot like Ruan Feng."

Lu Wen's heart tightened. He understood. This was Qu Yanting's type; he liked this young, handsome, kind, and fashionable kind of guy.

He feigned ignorance. "I don't think so... Ruan Feng is fair and delicate."

Qu Yanting said, "You're both a bit silly. You look like you'd be easy to trick."

Lu Wen panicked. Seeing the hotel building outside the window, he saw the taxi was just pulling over. As if his wallet were burning his hand, he shakily pulled out a fifty-yuan bill and shouted, "Keep the change!"

After getting out of the car, Lu Wen strode ahead like a meteor, impossible to call back. Qu Yanting was two meters behind and only caught up in front of the elevators in the lobby. Lu Wen seemed to be in a dire emergency, almost jabbing the express elevator button into oblivion.

"Are you in a hurry?"

'Arts-and-culture types probably don't like vulgarity,' Lu Wen thought, then said, "I really have to take a super massive shit."

As expected, Qu Yanting fell silent. The elevator arrived, and the two of them entered the metal box with gilded walls on all four sides. There was nowhere to hide; no matter where they stood, they were clearly visible in the reflection of the doors.

The numbers jumped upwards. The elevator was fast, but not as fast as Lu Wen's heart rate.

Upon reaching the 62nd floor, the elevator doors slowly opened, and Lu Wen shot out in a single bound. Qu Yanting was still wearing the trench coat and couldn't catch up. He turned into the hallway and called from behind, "What about the coat?"

Lu Wen swiped his card to open his door. "You can hold onto it for now!"

By the time Qu Yanting reached the door, the door to room 6207 had already clicked shut.

He returned to 6206, took off the trench coat and hung it up, then pulled a food order receipt from his own jacket pocket. Then he went into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, drank a glass of water, and flipped through a magazine on the coffee table.

Qu Yanting killed half an hour, figuring Lu Wen should be done with his business. He took the coat and went across to knock on the door. He had already taken the sweater; he couldn't just keep the man's trench coat as well.

Lu Wen was sitting on the stool in the entryway, having just calmed down from the emotions in the taxi. When the doorbell rang, he took a few deep breaths, stood up, and opened the door.

Qu Yanting handed him the coat. "Here."

Lu Wen took it, convinced that as long as he didn't speak, nothing more would happen.

Qu Yanting said, "Thank you for today."

Lu Wen had no choice. "You're welcome." He immediately added, "It's getting late. If there's nothing else, I'm going to rest."

"Wait a moment," Qu Yanting said. "Give me your phone number."

Lu Wen froze. He hadn't expected Qu Yanting to be so direct, asking for his contact information so quickly. Was he no longer satisfied with their current status? Did he want to chat privately and develop things further?

Qu Yanting urged, "What are you spacing out for? Hurry up."

Forced by the tyrant, Lu Wen recited his phone number.

Qu Yanting could memorize it after hearing it just once. He turned and went back to his room. Lu Wen stared at the plaque for 6206, dazed for a long while, before finally closing his own door.

He felt dizzy. Returning to the bedroom, he flopped onto the bed, suspecting he was dreaming.

Lu Wen employed some psychological self-consolation and decided to sleep immediately; maybe when he woke up, none of this would have happened. He hastily stripped off his clothes. His phone fell out of his pants pocket, the screen lighting up.

'It must be Qu Yanting.'

'A text message, or a WeChat friend request?'

Lu Wen nervously licked his lips, picked up the phone, and after unlocking it, found it was a notification from Alipay. Suspicious, he opened it. In the "Friends" section, there was a new stranger who had sent him a message.

"I'm Qu Yanting."

Lu Wen was a bit baffled. Why use Alipay to contact him? Was he trying to steal energy?

Just then, a second message came through. Qu Yanting had sent him a money transfer—520 yuan.

Lu Wen's fingers went limp, and he dropped his phone. 520 yuan! Who the fuck wouldn't know what that meant?!*

*T/N: 520 sounds like 'I love you' in Chinese, so many use it as slang for it

Qu Yanting was truly worthy of being a sponsor. Using money, using a number that symbolized love, he was blatantly hinting at him!

He had lived for twenty-eight years, and this was the first time someone had transferred 520 yuan to him. Not his first love, not a partner, not a wife, but someone who wanted to be his sugar daddy!

Lu Wen threw on his robe, his head hot with fury, and rushed out.

After completing the transfer, his phone died. The charger was by the headboard. Before returning to the bedroom, Qu Yanting turned off all the lights, leaving only the small spotlight above the entryway. As he walked past, someone started pounding on the door.

Qu Yanting looked through the peephole and opened the door.

Lu Wen's face was bright red, as if from anger, but also from embarrassment. The two emotions mixed and fermented, making him look fired up and full of fighting spirit.

He clutched his phone and demanded, "What is the meaning of this?!"

The phone was displaying their conversation. Qu Yanting thought it was self-explanatory, but he explained it verbally anyway. "This is me. I transferred you money."

Lu Wen asked, "Look how much you transferred me!"

Qu Yanting said, "520 yuan."

"I can count!" Lu Wen couldn't take it anymore. "What on earth are you trying to do?"

Qu Yanting asked, "What did I do?"

"Keep pretending!" Lu Wen glared at him. "You dare say you don't know what five-two-zero means?!"

Qu Yanting was perfectly composed. "It means 188 yuan plus 332 yuan. 188 yuan was for dinner, and 332 yuan was for the IV drip. 520 yuan in total."

Before coming to Chongqing, he had withdrawn some cash—all crisp red bills in sequential order, with no small change. Qu Yanting felt that returning five hundred was inappropriate, but six hundred felt a bit like giving a tip, so he used Alipay to transfer the money.

Lu Wen had been shouting himself dizzy, but he was faintly beginning to understand.

After explaining, Qu Yanting leaned lightly against the doorframe, a faint smile on his lips. "What did you think it meant?"

Lu Wen was already dumbstruck.

Qu Yanting really enjoyed teasing people. "That I'm... doing 'that' to you? Is that why you're so worked up?"

Lu Wen's heart, liver, spleen, and lungs all clenched at once. His face was so red you couldn't tell his skin tone. He was no match for Qu Yanting; the man could toy with him with just a few sentences.

"Alright," Qu Yanting said, quitting while he was ahead. "Go back and rest."

As he spoke, he reached out and gave Lu Wen a push.

His fingers accidentally caught on the silk belt at Lu Wen's waist. It was slippery, and the hastily tied knot came undone in an instant. The velvet robe, as fine as a cloud, fell wide open.

A sudden coolness spread across Lu Wen's front. He was completely frozen in place.