“Xie Tingchuan, say something!”
There was no sound inside the room for a long time, making Lin Qing’an’s already worried heart feel even heavier as countless bad thoughts crashed recklessly in his mind, mercilessly gnawing at his inner self.
“No, I cannot keep doing this to no avail.”
A trace of determination flashed through Lin Qing’an’s worried gaze. He took two steps back, took a stance, and kicked fiercely toward the door in an attempt to force it open.
However, right at that split second, the tightly closed door was pulled open, and Xie Tingchuan’s figure appeared before him.
Lin Qing’an was too late to check his momentum and could only force his right foot to veer off in another direction, crashing directly into the adjacent door frame and sending his entire body sprawling to the floor.
Seeing Xie Tingchuan appear right in front of him, Lin Qing’an finally breathed a complete sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing along with it.
Yet in the very next second, a sharp pain surged from his head, causing Lin Qing’an to let out a soft cry and reach out instinctively to touch it, his fingers immediately meeting a sticky, damp wetness upon contact with the injury.
Blood?
Looking at the fresh blood staining his fingertips, Lin Qing’an felt the wound on his forehead throbbing with even more intense pain.
“Lin Qing’an,” Xie Tingchuan frowned, “Why did you come over?”
“I heard a sound downstairs and thought something happened to you.” Lin Qing’an made to stand up as he spoke, but the moment his hips left the ground, he tumbled down once again.
A piercing pain shot from his ankle, making it impossible for him to stand up, his right foot had been sprained.
“It might be a ligament strain,” Xie Tingchuan briefly examined Lin Qing’an’s ankle before grabbing his arm and pulling him up from the floor.
“Let’s go to the hospital for an X-ray, and your forehead needs to be bandaged as well.”
“No need, there shouldn’t be any major issue,” Lin Qing’an shook his head in refusal. “Do you have any iodine here? I can just wipe it simply.”
Xie Tingchuan did not speak, his frown deepening further.
Hopping on one leg and steadying himself against the wall, Lin Qing’an slowly hopped into Xie Tingchuan’s home.
As soon as he entered, Lin Qing’an spotted glass shards scattered all over the floor. After sweeping a glance across the living room and confirming there was no other damage, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He must have accidentally dropped and broken the cup, yet he had rushed blindly over to hammer on his door, even getting injured in the process, and now he was still relying on him to treat his wounds.
He was just causing trouble and getting in the way for someone who probably didn’t want a friend like this.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Qing’an felt like he was sitting on pins and needles as he watched Xie Tingchuan holding a small medical kit, feeling once again that he had brought trouble to him.
Yet even if he could do it over, upon hearing that explosive crash, Lin Qing’an knew he would still run back upstairs to check.
“Hiss.”
An ice pack was suddenly pressed against his ankle, and Lin Qing’an realized that in just a few short minutes, his ankle had swollen up quite high.
It looked like he would have to go to the hospital whether he wanted to or not.
“Apply the ice pack first. I’ll help you treat the wound on your forehead, and later I’ll send you to the hospital for an X-ray to see if there is any internal injury.”
Xie Tingchuan’s expression was gentle, but Lin Qing’an acutely sensed a trace of well-hidden irritation emanating from him.
As the other person gently wiped his forehead with iodine, Lin Qing’an’s eyelashes trembled slightly. He wanted to observe the other’s expression at that moment, but felt that such a bare gaze would make him repulsive.
He was already being disliked.
With a heart full of anxiety, Lin Qing’an spoke up, “No need, I already sent a message to my friend, and he is on his way over. I won’t trouble you anymore.”
Xie Tingchuan did not make a hard demand to take him to the hospital, and hearing him say this, he felt a measure of relief in his heart. He placed a piece of gauze over the wound on his forehead and reminded him,
“Remember to let a doctor look at the wound on your forehead, as you might need stitches. The cut is quite large.”
“Mm, thank you.” Lin Qing’an reached out to touch the injury, feeling only a layer of gauze this time, while the dull, aching wound constantly reminded him of his own foolish stunt.
“Sorry, I’ve caused you trouble again.”
Lin Qing’an’s sincere apology was met with a light chuckle, “You were just afraid I might have an accident, so I should be thanking you.”
Following that, silence fell between the two of them.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Qing’an watched Xie Tingchuan clean the room, though Xie Tingchuan had used too much force when dropping the cup, otherwise, he wouldn’t have frightened Lin Qing’an downstairs into coming up to investigate.
Because he had thrown it down with such force, glass shards had splattered everywhere, and with just a glance, Lin Qing’an spotted glass debris hiding right beneath the TV cabinet.
Xie Tingchuan was not particularly skilled at cleaning, managing only to clear the main floor area. Yet on the rug, beneath the coffee table, and even on the very sofa he was sitting on, Lin Qing’an couldn’t help suspecting there might be tiny glass fragments, leaving him feeling restless and unable to sit in peace.
“Why don’t you just hire a cleaning service to do a thorough deep clean?”
“What you said makes sense.” Xie Tingchuan straightened his back, finding the one-meter-high broom far too short for someone standing one meter ninety.
It was only simple cleaning and didn’t take long, but bending over like that had left his back sore. Prompted by Lin Qing’an, Xie Tingchuan gladly accepted the convenient out and agreed immediately.
As the fifteen-minute ice compress came to an end, Lin Qing’an propped himself up using the sofa, hopped twice on one leg, and told Xie Tingchuan, who had just put down the broom,
“My friend should be arriving soon, so I’ll go back home and wait for him.”
“Wait here. In your condition, it’s inconvenient.” Xie Tingchuan pointed at the other’s foot. Although he had caused the injury himself, at the end of the day it stemmed from a desire to check on him, and Xie Tingchuan couldn’t completely disregard it.
“It’s fine, there’s an elevator, and a few steps are no problem for me at all,” Lin Qing’an said as he hopped toward the exit. Worriedly, Xie Tingchuan followed him all the way, escorting him into the elevator. He originally intended to send him all the way back to his apartment, but was directly rebuffed.
The refusal was extremely decisive, as Lin Qing’an shoved and pushed Xie Tingchuan right out of the elevator.
Fearing he might accidentally cause Lin Qing’an further injury, Xie Tingchuan had no choice but to agree.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lin Qing’an pressed the button to close the elevator doors, waved and smiled at Xie Tingchuan, and said, “You head back, my friend is arriving right now, goodbye.”
The instant the elevator doors slid shut, the smile on Lin Qing’an’s face vanished completely. Leaning his frail body weakly against the elevator wall, he gripped the handrail tightly with his right hand.
It hurts so much! The wound on his forehead hurts, his ankle hurts, and even his bruised tailbone from the fall hurts!
Why has his luck been so rotten lately? Every few days he always ends up carrying some kind of injury, is this the bitter fruit of his deception?
Lin Qing’an tried to pull the corners of his mouth upward, but it only resulted in a cold sneer, and even the blurry reflection on the elevator wall showed how forced and ugly that smile truly was.
With a sigh, Lin Qing’an gave up on smiling.
Hopping on one leg back into his apartment, he found his phone on the coffee table and tagged Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi in their trio chat group.
Lin Qing’an: ‘Two older brothers, rescue party needed urgent!’
A few seconds later, Duan Xuan replied.
Duan Xuan: ‘Oh, what kind of unsolvable problem did you run into this time to use three exclamation points? Are you ready to start calling me Godfather?’
Lin Qing’an sighed helplessly; Duan Xuan was always like this, using his habitual clowning to bring joy to those around him. Only, he didn’t need joy right now, he was in a lot of pain and needed a doctor.
The very next message was a caring inquiry from Qin Zhiyi.
Qin Zhiyi: ‘Qing’an, what do you need help with?’
Lin Qing’an hammered at his keyboard rapidly: ‘I sprained my ankle and need to go to the hospital for an X-ray, you two, hurry over!’
Qin Zhiyi: ‘Coming right now.’
Duan Xuan sent a string of voice messages: ‘Bro, how did you even manage this? You can manage to get yourself injured just resting at home. Get ready to call me Godfather, Zhiyi and I are heading out right now.’
Within a mere ten minutes or so, Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi both appeared in Lin Qing’an’s living room.
Grimacing as he looked at Lin Qing’an’s heavily swollen ankle, Duan Xuan curiously poked it, earning a glare of fury from Lin Qing’an and an unsparing smack from Qin Zhiyi.
Glancing at him with disapproval, Qin Zhiyi gave a low scold, “Duan Xuan!”
Lin Qing’an hurled the throw pillow from his lap straight at Duan Xuan, cursing softly, “Are you cheap or what!”
“Look at how swollen that ankle is, tsk tsk,” Duan Xuan marveled continuously. “Quickly tell your bro what grand achievement you pulled off this time.”
“Alright, let’s head to the hospital first.” Supporting Lin Qing’an by the arm, Qin Zhiyi walked slowly alongside him.
Duan Xuan trailed leisurely behind the two of them, complaining helplessly, “You guys are walking way too slow. Even a turtle moves faster than you.”
With that, Duan Xuan squatted halfway down in front of Lin Qing’an.
“Get on, I’ll carry you on my back.”
Without standing on ceremony, Lin Qing’an draped himself over his shoulder and smiled, “Once my foot heals, I’ll treat you guys to a big feast.”
Qin Zhiyi agreed with a smile, and taking turns with Duan Xuan, they carried him down to the underground parking garage. The black G300 sped rapidly along the highway toward their destination: the hospital.
As dusk gradually fell, over half a day had passed.
To ensure a faster and better recovery, Lin Qing’an’s right foot had been put in a cast, and the one-meter-eighty-five tall young man was now sitting pathetically on the sofa with a pair of specially purchased crutches by his side.
Meanwhile, Duan Xuan and Qin Zhiyi were bustling back and forth packing luggage for Lin Qing’an.
Yes, packing luggage.
With a severe ankle sprain accompanied by ligament tearing, Lin Qing’an was in no shape for mobility.
Since there was only one week left in the semester and final exams were already finished, he had successfully secured a leave of absence after reporting his injury to the instructor.
Qin Zhiyi asked, “Qing’an, did your uncle mention when he’s arriving tomorrow?”
“Seven in the morning.” Lin Qing’an tried to pick up his crutches to stand up, seeing which Qin Zhiyi immediately stepped forward to help support him.
“So early?” Qin Zhiyi continued, “We don’t have classes tomorrow morning, so there’s no need to make your uncle rush.”
“He just happens to be coming here for something else and said he wants to catch up with an old friend.” Lin Qing’an suddenly sighed, about to start complaining about this uncle he hadn’t laid eyes on for two years, when for some inexplicable reason, his mind drifted to the pajamas tucked beneath his pillow, and subsequently to the owner of those pajamas.
He wondered what Xie Tingchuan was doing right now.
Staying in the company of his good friends, Lin Qing’an didn’t dare pull up Xie Tingchuan’s chat window at all, fearing both that the other might send something embarrassing that they would accidentally catch a glimpse of, and even more reluctant to let them see how he and Xie Tingchuan interacted.
‘Ding-dong, ding-dong.’
The doorbell rang, and as Qin Zhiyi went to open the door, a tall figure appeared in the entryway.
It was Xie Tingchuan.