The moment he arrived at the club, before he had even taken a seat, Liang Zhijie was already being scolded.
“You useless idiot, how did you fail to bring Qin Shun again?”
“I’ve been grievously wronged!” he protested, sitting down and pouring himself a cup of tea. “What can I do if he refuses to budge no matter what? Young Master Qin is famous for his loyalty and fidelity. It’s not like you don’t know that.”
“So, who exactly is he being loyal to?”
“No comment.”
“Tch, what’s there to be mysterious about? You’re just afraid that if you say it out loud, his glorious reputation will be ruined.”
“That kind of story isn’t uncommon. An outstanding, exceptional man who remains hung up on his first love, who turns out to be just an ordinary girl at first glance, how deeply devoted.”
“Or maybe he’s fallen for someone he shouldn’t, so he doesn’t dare to make it public.”
“The newspapers even wrote last time that he’s homosexual. If this keeps up, his reputation will only get darker and darker…”
“My cousin is homosexual. He gave up his inheritance just to elope with his boyfriend and went all the way to America. Who knows if he’ll ever come back.”
“What courage!”
“Heh, just reckless bravery. Once he runs out of money, he’ll come crawling back in disgrace.”
“But the family has already lost all face. His parents told him never to step foot in the house again, cursed him to die outside and become a wandering ghost. How could that ever be undone?”
“He’ll definitely regret it someday.”
“Who will regret it?”
“…Men with men, it’s really perverse.”
“It has nothing to do with us anyway.”
“How could they possibly stay together for life? Which country would even let them get married?”
“No country would.”
“In this day and age, even men and women don’t necessarily stay bound together for life. As long as they’ve loved, that’s enough, no need to force anything more.”
Liang Zhijie didn’t join the discussion.
He was thinking about Lin Shuosheng, that refined, elegant man. What exactly was he to Qin Shun?
An uncle or a lover?
Whichever it was, he must be someone so important that Qin Shun would abandon everything for him.
Liang Zhijie had always been a carefree sort. For no particular reason, he suddenly began to imagine Qin Shun confessing the truth to him.
That proud, untouchable Qin Shun might one day find it hard to speak and say to him: If I tell you the truth about my relationship with him, please don’t despise me.
And he himself would simply smile lightly and reply: What does it matter to me what your relationship is? I only know that you’re my friend.
How effortlessly cool. Truly, effortlessly cool.
In any case, he genuinely didn’t mind.
They had been friends for four years, friends who got along well from the beginning. He thought Qin Shun was a very good man. Though not easy to approach, once you earned his friendship, you never had to worry about loyalty.
Besides, when they were studying abroad, the Qin family provided generous allowances yet Qin Shun lived frugally and often cooked for them. His culinary skills were exceptional. After all, when you’ve eaten someone else’s food, you owe them a certain softness, that was a basic principle.
Qin Shun had never liked talking about his private affairs, nor did he pry into others’ and Liang Zhijie’s own moral compass wasn’t exactly conventional, he truly didn’t care.
Homosexuality might not be legal but it wasn’t a crime either.
Liang Zhijie pretended to know nothing. If Qin Shun didn’t speak, neither would he.
He merely helped his friend quietly fend off romantic entanglements, occasionally stopping by with an extra gift, remembering to bring something for Qin Shun’s “uncle.”
He had heard the man was a writer, gifts of calligraphy or fine stationery would never go wrong.
But ever since that last time, he had not seen him again.
Qin Shun had said, “My uncle is a shy person. Don’t bother him.” When he said it, there had been an unconscious hint of a smile on his face.
Liang Zhijie had sucked in a sharp breath. “You’d better not say things like that outside. Be careful people might notice.”
“Notice what?”
“You know exactly what.”
Before leaving, he finally caught a glimpse of Lin Yansheng’s figure.
From a distance, he stood beside the flowerbed.
It was already winter and the weather had turned cold.
Lin Yansheng wore a fashionable short down jacket, white as a fluffy marshmallow. He seemed particularly sensitive to the cold and had wrapped an additional deep red scarf around himself. The wind brushed past, lifting the scarf again and again to graze his cheeks.
He adjusted it repeatedly but each new gust of wind sent it into disarray again, making him frown in mild frustration.
Qin Shun walked up to him and lowered his head, saying something softly.
Lin Yansheng tilted his face up, his neck lifting slightly and in a few swift, practiced motions, Qin Shun neatly tied the scarf for him.
Liang Zhijie stood there, momentarily dazed.
The look in Qin Shun’s eyes was so gentle it was almost melting; for a brief instant, he even thought the two of them might kiss…
He scratched his cheek, unexpectedly feeling a little embarrassed just watching.
Strange.
He could sit through performances of dazzling women dancing in nightclubs without the slightest change in expression.
He thought about it for a long time.
Then, in the middle of the night, it suddenly dawned on him: perhaps this was the first time he had ever witnessed what people called pure love.
In the blink of an eye, it was January.
Thin layers of ice had already formed over the small puddles on the ground.
Qin Shun came to him and asked, “I remember you have a relative in the United States who’s a doctor. Could you help me ask about chronic lymphocytic leukemia, already in its late stage? The patient is a fifty six year old woman. Would it be better to seek treatment in Boston or New York? Which hospital would you recommend? I’ve heard there are new treatment plans and I want to try them.”
Two days later.
At the airport.
Qin Shun had made thorough preparations, bringing Lin Yansheng and Lin’s mother onto a flight bound for the United States.
Lin Yansheng went to the restroom.
Lin’s mother sat in her wheelchair, speaking wearily. “At my age, even the doctors say I don’t have many days left. Treatment in the United States will cost a fortune and you’ll have to travel back and forth, delaying your work.”
“It’s alright,” Qin Shun said. “Every extra day is another day gained. I hope you hold on.”
“You’re hoping Yansheng will feel more and more indebted to you, until he won’t dare to leave you.”
“In the past,” Qin Shun said with a gentle smile, “the first time I spent the New Year with Uncle, he didn’t say anything but he had tears in his eyes the entire night. You are his mother, he loves you. When he was young, how much he must have longed for you to be by his side during the New Year. So many years were missed but it’s not too late to accompany him now. Even once would be enough. I want to fulfill that wish for him.”
What a formidable young man.
She thought to herself.
Completely and utterly defeated.
After settling everything for them, Qin Shun boarded a return flight back to Chucheng.
Lin Yansheng stayed at the hospital, keeping vigil at the bedside. He bustled about, busy with various tasks yet seemed noticeably lighter.
Lin’s mother asked, “With Qin Shun gone, you seem happier.”
“No,” Lin Yansheng replied quickly, his arm stiffening as if caught off guard, his face flushing red.
“He’s truly devoted to you,” she said.
At that, Lin Yansheng suddenly laughed, his eyes bright. “That’s not it. He’s simply filial and kind by nature. I understand him best, he originally wanted to study medicine. His mother’s death from illness has always been his greatest regret. So when he encountered this again, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
She was taken aback, as if wanting to say something yet hesitated.
It seemed to make sense and yet something about it felt off.
Lin Yansheng tucked the blanket more securely around her.
He thought: still, he really was a bit happier. Being a little apart gave him a chance to rest. A’Shun had been demanding intimacy almost every night, he truly couldn’t endure it anymore.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
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← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · UncleChapter 2 · Ran AwayChapter 3 · TimidChapter 4 · DeceasedChapter 5 · Grow upChapter 6 · CharmChapter 7 · EndureChapter 8 · Biological FatherChapter 9 · ContestChapter 10 · MisunderstoodChapter 11 · BreakChapter 12 · ReunionChapter 13 · MeetChapter 14 · To clearChapter 15 · InstructionsChapter 16 · RegretChapter 17 · SecretChapter 18 · Subtle SophistryChapter 19 · GuestChapter 20 · KissingChapter 21 · Extra 1Chapter 22 · Extra 2Chapter 23 · Extra 3Chapter 24 · Extra 4Chapter 25 · Extra 5Chapter 26 · Extra 6Chapter 27 · Extra 7Chapter 28 · Extra 8