The morning was shrouded in a thick, gray fog outside the window.
Ji An’s head throbbed with a dull ache, and his arms felt sore. Lying on his side in bed, he was overwhelmed with nausea as his vision slowly came into focus.
Was there someone in front of him?
Once he saw clearly that it was You Fu, he scrambled up, realizing he was under the covers while You Fu lay outside them, dressed in his school uniform, with one hand pressing down on the edge of the blanket.
Ji An, as if facing a formidable enemy, kicked You Fu off the bed. “What are you doing in my bed?”
You Fu woke up from the kick, stood by the bed, and looked down at him.
Ji An felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny and furrowed his brow. “Speak up, don’t pretend to be mute.”
“You don’t remember?”
“Remember what?” Ji An tried to recall, but only a flash of You Fu carrying him out of the bar came to mind. His brain felt as if it had been sawed open, the pain forcing him to clutch his hair. “Ah… you carried me again.”
You Fu adjusted his raised collar and thoughtfully stroked his chin. “You drank too much yesterday and vomited halfway through. I stayed here to take care of you.”
“Take care of me?” Ji An lowered his hand, his expression filled with undisguised disgust. “When did I ever need you to take care of me in my room?”
“Drunk people risk choking on their vomit.”
Ji An felt a wave of nausea. “Isn’t that disgusting?”
“There are documented cases.”
Ji An was momentarily speechless. After all, he had drunk too much, and You Fu was just trying to help. Just as he was about to soften his tone, he looked down and saw his pajamas, and a chill ran down his spine. “Did you change my clothes?”
You Fu replied, “You vomited on your clothes, so I changed them and washed them.”
Ji An couldn’t remember anything from the previous night. Imagining himself vomiting uncontrollably and being at You Fu’s mercy to change clothes felt awkward. He pressed his temples. “Get out.”
You Fu turned and left.
Ji An pursed his lips, noticing his tongue felt a bit sore.
No matter how hard he tried, Ji An couldn’t piece together the events of the previous night. His mouth still tasted faintly of alcohol as he got out of bed to freshen up in the bathroom.
He was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, usually avoiding drinking whenever possible because he tended to overdo it and cause trouble.
At the door, he saw You Fu adjusting his school uniform collar in front of the mirror, seemingly inspecting something. Before Ji An could see clearly, You Fu zipped it up to the top.
“Are the marks on your neck from being strangled still there?” Ji An asked.
You Fu had been keeping his collar raised to hide the alarming finger marks left by Ji Niansi on his neck.
“Almost gone,” You Fu replied.
“Let me see.” Ji An naturally reached out to pull down his zipper.
You Fu glanced at the clock on the wall, dodged his hand, and hurriedly left. “I’m going to be late.”
Ji An was secretly puzzled, feeling that something was off about You Fu. However, he confirmed one thing: You Fu seemed to sleep better when he was around, as even the fatigue on his face had disappeared.
Ji An couldn’t understand it. Despite having humiliated You Fu before, it seemed that only in his presence could You Fu sleep well. Was he seeking abuse?
Ji An found it difficult to deal with. He couldn’t possibly let him keep sleeping by his side, could he?
…
Perhaps due to the hangover, Ji An felt sluggish at work, taking a nap at his desk during lunch.
When he woke up, he moved his sore neck and casually ate a piece of toast. Gu Ziyu, who had been peeking at him all morning, approached and asked, “Are you okay after yesterday?”
“I’m fine, why?”
Gu Ziyu looked around, ensuring no one was nearby, then leaned in to whisper, “Yesterday, when we were drinking together, a woman named Xiao Ai drugged you. Luckily, I got there in time, and you didn’t drink much of that glass, or there would have been trouble.”
Ji An’s heart sank. Drugged?
Seeing his expression darken, Gu Ziyu quickly added, “But don’t worry, I’ve already reported her to the police and had her arrested.”
Gu Ziyu had thought long and hard about it yesterday and decided to report Xiao Ai to the police. After all, he had connections at the station and could have her released with a word.
He reported it to prevent Ji An from recalling the incident later and having an issue with it.
After all, he cared a lot about Ji An.
Ji An squeezed the toast in his hand into a flat sheet, saying grimly, “Thank you for that. Please don’t invite me to such drinking parties again. I’m not suited for them.”
Seeing he wasn’t too angry, Gu Ziyu turned to make a call to have Xiao Ai released.
Upon learning he had been drugged, Ji An felt uneasy. His tongue was sore, and he had almost no memory of the previous night. You Fu had only mentioned he drank too much and vomited, but was it really just vomiting after being drugged?
You Fu’s expression that morning seemed hesitant. What exactly had happened last night?
That evening, Ji An waited by the door at home. As soon as the lock clicked open, he grabbed You Fu by the collar.
You Fu stepped back, seemingly trying to avoid his grasp.
In a swift motion, Ji An yanked down his collar, intending to catch You Fu in a lie.
Seeing You Fu’s neck, Ji An gasped in disbelief.
Because aside from the faint finger marks that were nearly gone, there was nothing else on You Fu’s neck, clean and unblemished.
“What’s wrong, brother?” You Fu looked at him, puzzled.
Ji An couldn’t believe it. The image of You Fu from that morning was still vivid in his mind. Just as he was about to rub his neck, his phone rang.
Ji An clicked his tongue lightly, released him, and went to answer the call.
The call was from a new client, discussing when to measure the house.
You Fu leisurely tidied his open collar and fiddled with a small round box in his pocket.
Ji An was still bothered by You Fu’s habit of covering his neck, unsure how to begin checking. Both of them were spotless, with no evidence to be found.
The sound of the shower running came from the bathroom. Ji An lay on the sofa, resting his eyes, waiting for You Fu to finish. Recently, he had been too paranoid and exhausted, slipping into an uneasy sleep.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when a gentle breeze tickled his nose, soft and itchy. Ji An frowned, opened his eyes, and found himself face-to-face with You Fu, who was staring at him intently. You Fu’s dark eyes were unblinking, his damp hair hanging down, a droplet of water rolling down a strand and landing on Ji An’s cheek, cool and wet. The gentle breeze had been You Fu’s breath.
You Fu used his finger to wipe away the droplet from Ji An’s face.
Ji An, not fully awake, raised his hand to push You Fu’s face away.
You Fu grabbed the towel around his neck, wiped the water from his neck, then draped it over his head, casually drying his hair. He reminded, “The sofa isn’t comfortable. You should sleep in the bedroom.”
Ji An sat up, his gaze falling on You Fu’s neck, which was still slightly damp. If he had applied something, it wouldn’t withstand washing and wiping, would it?
Ji An beckoned, and You Fu obediently leaned down, pressing his face into Ji An’s palm, looking at him steadily. “Are you going to hit me?”
Ji An touched his Adam’s apple, finding no other marks. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of abuser.”
You Fu pressed his hand, forcing more contact between his palm and neck. “I don’t think so.”
You Fu’s actions made Ji An feel rebellious, unwilling to touch his neck any longer. He forcibly withdrew his hand, sarcastically saying, “Are you kidding me? You actually think I’m not bad.”
“I wouldn’t joke with you.”
“Ha.” Ji An’s gaze moved from his neck to his face, grabbing his collar to keep him from standing up, his presence oppressive. “Did I do anything last night?”
You Fu rubbed his fingertip, fabricating, “You vomited in the bushes, hugged the toilet to vomit, drank honey water while vomiting, vomited the honey water back into the cup, and even vomited on yourself.”
Ji An’s face turned a spectrum of colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—finally settling on green. “And besides vomiting?”
“You said You Fu doesn’t like sweet things, you prefer spicy boiled sour milk; you said You Fu not eating ice cream in summer is boring; you said You Fu has no friends, no one likes him, his life is monotonous; you said to take you home.” You Fu slowed his speech, “You also said You Fu is your younger brother.”
The more he spoke, the tighter Ji An’s grip became. What was all this nonsense? Yet, flashes of memory suggested he might have said something similar. You Fu wasn’t lying, but these weren’t the things he wanted to understand.
“Is that all?”
“You called me Gu, Zi, Yu.”
“Why would I call him for no reason?”
“Oh, you thought I wasn’t as good-looking as him.” You Fu’s tone was like spoiled cream.
“What?” Ji An stared at his face, thinking that even if You Fu had half his face ruined, he’d still look better than that calf-headed guy. “Is there anything else?”
You Fu slightly pursed his lips, a small smile forming at the corner. “What else do you want?”
Ji An felt his tone was like teasing a child, annoying to hear.
You Fu seemed to have a sudden realization, “Ah,” he said, “you said, ‘It’s so hot, is it summer already?'”
Ji An’s grip on his collar was nearly tearing the fabric, his eyelid twitching wildly. “And then?”
“Then you pushed me away and rushed to the bathroom to vomit. I saw you accidentally got vomit on your pants and helped you change into pajamas.”
The door that was about to open was tightly shut again, leaving a sense of incompleteness in his mind.
You Fu continued, “When I finished washing the clothes and came back, you were already asleep in bed.”
The memory resumed, with You Fu using a warm towel to wipe his face. In this recollection, he didn’t feel the unbearable heat. His racing heart gradually calmed, and Ji An quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn’t drunk much, and the drug’s effect wasn’t strong enough.
You Fu’s eyes shifted slightly, appearing both innocent and puzzled. “Why do I feel like what you want to ask isn’t this? Did something happen?”
“Nothing.” Ji An pushed You Fu’s shoulder, moving him aside, and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
While brushing his teeth, he noticed something unusual in his mouth. After rinsing, he found a small blister on his tongue, likely from drinking too much.
He bit down on the blister, realizing the soreness was from this. He thought he was being overly suspicious, imagining all sorts of disgusting scenarios.
Feeding himself nonsense.
You Fu was so obedient, how could he do anything rash?
Even if given a thousand chances, he wouldn’t dare.