In the hospital.
The smell of disinfectant was strong, and people were bustling in the corridors.
The doctor was filling out a form in his office while talking: “The cut is quite deep. Don’t get it wet, avoid certain foods, and come back in half a month to remove the stitches.”
Yu Xun sat opposite him, meticulously noting down the instructions.
He then took the form and went out to pay the fees.
When he returned, he saw Yun Ci sitting on a chair in the hospital corridor, waiting for him from a distance.
Yun Ci was wearing a white jacket, his eyes lowered, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow, making him look as cold as ever. A child in hospital clothes was running around in the corridor, almost bumping into him.
He extended his other hand, placing his palm on the child’s head to prevent him from falling: “Stand firm, kid.”
…
The hospital corridor seemed endless.
Like a crack in a space-time tunnel.
Countless Yun Cis appeared before him, overlapping continuously.
Yun Ci in school uniform, Yun Ci at home, Yun Ci accompanying him to play games in the internet cafe, Yun Ci, proud and arrogant at the competition venue.
The Yun Ci he had a crush on, the Yun Ci he secretly kept in his heart.
And the Yun Ci who straightforwardly and passionately said he liked him, responded to him.
This person had been in his life since their first year of high school. Until now.
When he was hiding with Yu Ying, living in daily chaos, he wondered how he drew such a bad hand. Why did someone like Yang Wei have to enter his world and mess up his life?
But Yun Ci appeared.
He often felt, how could he be so lucky?
Yu Xun suppressed his surging emotions, but his eyes were still burning.
When Yun Ci withdrew his hand and looked up, he saw Yu Xun walking towards him. Instead of sitting down in the empty seat beside him, he squatted in front of him.
This man was originally taller than him. Squatting down, there was a height difference, and Yun Ci could only look down at him—as if looking at a large domesticated animal, and this large animal’s eyes were red.
Yun Ci broke the silence: “I know you are touched.”
He added, “But there’s no need to cry secretly.”
Joking at this moment was clearly ineffective.
Yu Xun didn’t respond. He lowered his head, adopting a posture almost of humble devotion, resting his forehead on the back of Yun Ci’s hand, and asked in a low voice: “Why did you go alone?”
“It was just a coincidence,” Yun Ci said, “It happened suddenly.”
Yu Xun continued, “He had a knife. What if something happened?”
“…”
Yun Ci: “I thought I could handle it.”
Yu Xun repeated his words: “Thought.”
Yun Ci admitted: “I didn’t think too much at the time.”
He added: “If he had escaped…”
During the bail pending trial stage, cases of suspects fleeing were rare but not unheard of. If Yang Wei had really risked everything and escaped, all of Yu Xun’s efforts over the past year would have been in vain.
And as long as Yang Wei was not caught, Yu Xun couldn’t live a normal life.
But before Yun Ci could finish, Yu Xun interrupted him decisively, hoarsely: “Then let him escape.”
“You are more important.”
“…”
He was willing to endure unrest.
He would rather the knife was pointed at him.
The only thing he couldn’t bear was Yun Ci being hurt.
On the way back, Yu Xun was unusually silent.
He held Yun Ci’s hand very tightly, so tight that there was almost no gap. His hand was nearly sweating from the grip.
Yun Ci didn’t feel much himself. He didn’t find the stitches particularly painful, but the way Yu Xun held his hand made it seem like he was in more pain than him: “Why does it feel like you’re hurting more than me?”
As they spoke, they reached the intersection.
Under the flashing traffic lights, Yu Xun said in a muffled voice: “Even if he had stabbed me, it wouldn’t hurt as much as now.”
Looking back, Yun Ci felt he was a bit impulsive at the time. They had called the police, and the more rational approach would have been to stall for time until they arrived.
He pursed his lips and said: “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
Before crossing the street, Yu Xun looked at him and said: “No one will ever hurt you again.”
After returning from the hospital, Yu Xun didn’t even bother to feed the cat food to Yu Chichi. He grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom to run the water.
Before Yun Ci entered the bathroom, he tried to argue: “I still have one hand.”
Yu Xun leaned against the door, blocking him and said: “One hand is inconvenient.”
Yun Ci: “It’s quite convenient.”
Yu Xun said in the gentlest tone, but with the most ruthless words: “I’m not negotiating. Get in.”
“…”
Half an hour later.
Yun Ci was pressed onto the sofa, having his hair dried.
Yu Xun’s movements were gentle, as if touching something fragile. The pressure on his hair was barely noticeable.
When they went to sleep at night, Yu Xun woke up almost every hour.
At first, Yun Ci thought he couldn’t sleep: “Did you have a nightmare?”
But Yu Xun just opened his eyes a crack, glanced at Yun Ci’s hand to make sure it wasn’t pressed, and then closed his eyes again: “No, I just want to check on you.”
He tightened his hold around Yun Ci.
Yun Ci knew he was still scared, so he comforted him: “It’s okay.”
Then, he suddenly said, “Actually, the way I fought today was pretty cool.”
“?”
Yu Xun didn’t react for a moment, wondering what being cool had to do with anything.
A desire engraved in Yun Ci’s genes quietly surfaced: “I’ve got your back.”
Yu Xun responded with an “Mm.”
Yun Ci got to the point: “So, in the future, it’s not too much to say I’m your big brother, right?”
“……”
Yu Xun was rarely silent.
This boyfriend of his.
Catching a knife with his bare hands during the day.
At night, still obsessed with whether he could be the big brother.
Yun Ci finished speaking and waited for Yu Xun’s answer.
This answer was important to him. It wasn’t the kind of casual “big brother” in a game.
But a real big brother.
“Alright,” Yu Xun couldn’t refuse him, patting his head, “From now on, you’re my big brother.”
Yun Ci enjoyed a month of being the big brother.
Although it was the kind of big brother where everyone wanted to feed him at meals.
But still, he was a big brother.
In the group chat with the brothers.
Yu Xun’s nickname was changed to: [Yun Ci’s Little Brother].
Liu Zi was the first to notice: [……]
Liu Zi couldn’t hold back his anger, thinking Yun Ci changed it himself, and thought how childish he was for an adult.
He angrily typed: [Please return the phone to my brother.]
Someone replied: [This ‘please,’ Liu -ge, you’re really starting to be polite.]
Liu Zi replied to him: [Shut up.]
Li Yan was initially confused: [What are you talking about?]
Li Yan scrolled through the chat history: [Wrong group?]
Liu Zi: [You don’t need to know.]
Li Yan: [???]
Li Yan’s competitive spirit started to flare: [Why can you know and I can’t?]
When he accidentally opened the group list, he sent a string of laughs: [Hahahahahaha]
Liu Zi: [……]
For the first time, Li Yan highly approved of this relationship, and remarked that if he had known they could conquer each other this way, he would have set them up in high school.
Liu Zi: […………]
Are you crazy? And that would be early dating.
Yun Ci saw the message “Please return the phone to my brother” in the evening.
As usual, Yu Xun was drying his hair.
He typed with one hand, replying to Liu Zi.
yc: [Didn’t take his phone]
During the pause in the hair dryer, Yun Ci signaled Yu Xun to log in and speak: “Check your phone.”
The black avatar with the nickname “Yun Ci’s Little Brother” appeared in the group, sending two messages.
First: [Yes, he’s my big brother.]
Second: [I’m willing.]
The group went silent for a moment.
Then Liu Zi started spamming the group with emojis.
Liu Zi: [Damn it, let’s just disband this group.]
–
After half a month, Yun Ci went to the hospital to remove his stitches.
About a month later, the wound had mostly healed. Meanwhile, Yang Wei’s case was in its final stages, with the sentencing being increased due to maliciously injuring someone with a knife.
On the day of the court’s verdict, Yu Ying and Yan Yue also came. The scene was a bit awkward; Yun Ci hadn’t expected to “meet the parents” at court.
Yu Ying looked different from before, her hair cut short, and she spoke very calmly: “Thank you.”
She said to Yan Yue: “He always told me you were a very good teacher, thanks for taking care of him during high school.”
Yan Yue adjusted his glasses, unusually flustered.
The two exchanged some polite words.
Before leaving, Yu Ying turned to Yun Ci and said: “He used to mention your name a lot.”
Yun Ci: “?”
Used to.
Back in high school? He wondered.
He couldn’t have been calling him a crush back then, it was probably “archenemy.”
Yu Ying finally said: “He said you were a very good friend.”
A very good. Friend.
Yun Ci was taken aback.
It was as if he traveled through time, seeing the high school Yu Xun he considered an enemy, still in his school uniform. On the surface, they fought at school, but at home, in front of Yu Ying, he said: “A very good friend.”
…
On the way back, Yu Xun saw he wasn’t speaking: “What are you thinking about?”
Yun Ci: “Thinking about how I never said a good word about you in high school.”
Yu Xun: “That’s normal.”
He asked again, “What did you say?”
Yun Ci blurted out: “Idiot, moron, and that lunatic.”
He thought Yu Xun might mind, considering none of these were good words.
But Yu Xun just casually asked: “Who did you talk to?”
Yun Ci: “Li Yan, probably.”
Yu Xun: “Often?”
Yun Ci thought for a moment: “Several times a day.”
Yu Xun’s tone slightly lifted, sounding quite satisfied: “Oh, so you mentioned me that many times a day back then.”
“…………”
Yun Ci used strong mental suggestion to remind himself, this person is now his boyfriend, and he couldn’t call him a lunatic anymore.
In the evening, the two returned to the apartment.
Before bed, due to Yu Chichi running around on the bed, neither of them felt sleepy.
As the night grew darker, the temperature between them gradually rose.
That night, Yu Xun didn’t kiss him anywhere else, but bent down and kept kissing his scarred palm.
One kiss.
Then another.
…
After countless kisses.
He suddenly said, “I was wrong last time, there is actually one thing that can trap me.”
“You.”
But this person never thought about tying him down.
He hoped he would be like the wind, freer than anyone else.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! That scumbag really wanted to bring Yu Xun down with him and Yun Ci! Don’t be so reckless fnxnjx