Qiming Chapter 85

Chapter 85

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"Who sent the message?"

"Lin Xiangrong." Xu Chengyue unlocked his phone, the screen still displayed the photo he had secretly taken of Gu Yunfeng before. Though Gu Yunfeng hadn’t fully woken up, his gentle expression brought a deep sense of peace. Xu Chengyue hadn’t bothered to change the background, he was both too lazy and unwilling to do so.

"She said Fang Xing went to Jinsha Beach. What’s he doing there?"

Gu Yunfeng pressed down above the stitched wound, enduring the pain as he shook his head in confusion. His fractured ribs creaked, the movement exacerbating the pain.

"Why did she send you that message? She’s Fang Xing’s subordinate, isn’t she? I haven’t heard of any conflict between them."

It was true that Lin Xiangrong didn’t like Fang Xing’s leadership style, but there was no deep-seated hatred between them. It wasn’t enough to make her inform the police so quickly. However, after interacting with her for some time, Xu Chengyue had come to understand her temperament. She didn’t always act with a particular motive. Sometimes, she acted out of a sudden burst of anger or just on a whim.

"She enjoys stirring things up, creating chaos." Xu Chengyue sneered and immediately called Lin Xiangrong, raising his voice to question her. Even the faint electric static carried a sense of agitation.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Nothing, I was bored and found you guys amusing, so I thought I’d lend a hand." Her voice was light and teasing. Though he couldn’t see her face, Xu Chengyue was certain she wore a smirk.

It was as if she was watching a show.

"Is your friend still alive? I heard Mr. Fang attacked a police officer and might have killed someone. He’s regretting it now, acting impulsively and firing a shot. It was clearly self-defence, but now it’s become a case of assaulting and killing an officer."

"Alive and well." As he spoke, Xu Chengyue turned on the speaker and started recording. Lin Xiangrong’s voice came through clearly and calmly: "That's good to hear. Fang Xing is always so impulsive, he’s not young anymore, yet he still resorts to criminal behaviour at the drop of a hat."

She weaved her way through the bustling streets, heading in the opposite direction towards the subway. She put on a mask and swiped her card to enter the station. It was lunchtime, so the nearby restaurants were packed, but the subway remained relatively empty.

The events of the past few days have irreparably damaged the reputation of Zhiyin Biotech. Though most of the news had been suppressed before it spread too far, the company’s stock, which had just gone public, still plummeted dramatically. Within just two or three days, its market value had shrunk to two-thirds of its original worth.

Now, with Fang Xing facing charges for assaulting a police officer and rumours of illegal experiments circulating among a select few, it seemed likely that he would soon be ousted and imprisoned.

When that happened, Zhiyin Biotech would surely pin all the blame on Fang Xing, washing its hands of the affair entirely. Lu Yong, pretending to be clueless, would likely face nothing but ruin and a lifetime behind bars.

Or, perhaps, he could flee abroad while there was still time.

The thought almost made her laugh. Sitting in the near-empty subway, Lin Xiangrong asked Xu Chengyue, "Where are you now? At the hospital?" She had wanted to mention that she had picked up a Type 92 pistol but decided against it at the last moment. She wasn’t planning to do anything drastic with the gun. She had carefully concealed it in her sleeve, fantasising that perhaps one day it would come in handy.

"On our way," Xu Chengyue replied, before abruptly hanging up. He didn’t enjoy talking to this woman. If it weren’t necessary, he would avoid seeing her altogether. He didn’t even want to hear her voice.

She had once claimed to have a good relationship with Xu Chengyue, but how good could it really be? She understood him better than he knew himself, and every word she spoke carried a sense of absolute dominance in both tone and presence.

"Why did you hang up all of a sudden?"

"Oh, she wasn’t going to say anything useful," Xu Chengyue lowered his head.

"Then why are you willing to work with her?" Gu Yunfeng’s complexion had improved slightly. Though still pale, a hint of colour had returned. He coughed violently, covering his mouth with one hand. When he opened his palm, there was no blood.

"Did she offer you something? Or did she threaten you?" As he spoke, Gu Yunfeng leaned forward, his bloodstained palm brushing Xu Chengyue’s face, his cold forehead pressing against Xu Chengyue’s lowered head.

"No..." Xu Chengyue responded quietly.

"You can tell me." Gu Yunfeng gently lifted his face, his gaze deep and complex, "If you don’t want to talk about it now, we can discuss it later."

Then he hugged him tightly. At such close range, it felt as if his rib might pierce through a blood vessel. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain, listening to the steady, warm rhythm of Xu Chengyue’s heart.

He felt Xu Chengyue try to push him away, but this time Gu Yunfeng firmly grasped his fingertips, their fingers interlocking.

"There’s no need to doubt yourself. You are Xu Chengyue, the same Xu Chengyue I know. This body is yours, and so is your soul," he whispered into his ear. "I’m yours too."

—————

"Old Qin, you guys..." Professor Xu's call came through just as Qin Wei was enjoying the breeze by the bridge.

"That bastard got away."

"You had so many people and still couldn’t catch him?"

Qin Wei took a deep drag of his cigarette, almost choking on it out of embarrassment. The wind from the sea was strong, blurring the line between sky and ocean, lifting clouds and churning waves. Looking around, he had to admit there were indeed plenty of people on his team, seven or eight young men, all in their twenties, yet they’d been played by just three people, one of whom was a young woman.

He felt too ashamed to even mention it.

"We chased him to the beach, and he escaped on a yacht." He slapped his thigh and sighed. He was still puzzled how they'd lost him. They had been right on the tail of their target, with three police cars chasing his vehicle. Just as they were about to close in, the young woman in the car rolled down the window and tossed out some smoke bombs.

In an instant, thick white smoke had enveloped them, and when they finally cleared it, they’d come to a fork in the road. Two of their cars had taken one route, and the third took the other. Eventually, two of the cars caught up and stopped the target vehicle. But when they forcefully opened the doors, they found it completely empty.

The area was undeveloped, with no buildings, just a stretch of wilderness along the road and a nearby forest. They had gotten out of their cars and combed through the forest for over three hours. When they finally crossed the forest and reached the coast, they had just caught sight of a yacht speeding away, getting smaller as it moved farther from shore.

Hearing Qin Wei's account, Gu Yunfeng, who was lying on the hospital bed, sat up, wincing from the pain as he clutched the bandages around his abdomen. He slipped on his slippers and grabbed the phone from Xu Chengyue, who had been holding it, launching into a tirade. He didn’t really want to berate his senior, but ever since Fang Xing had fled the building where he had been held, Gu Yunfeng had found the situation suspicious. How had Fang Xing managed to escape when so many officers were stationed at the exits?

Even if he had climbed over a wall, how did he know where the police were posted? And who had arranged for someone to pick him up?

Three police cars, eight officers, and they had still let him get away at the beach?

"He escaped on a yacht, and you didn't chase after him?" Gu Yunfeng demanded, furious. "Old Qin, I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, but you’d better investigate if someone on your team tipped him off."

"Also, how could someone who hasn’t eaten or slept properly for two days manage to hike five kilometres through the woods and still make it to the shore?"

At this point, Gu Yunfeng was beginning to suspect that the police had driven Fang Xing to the yacht themselves.

"Captain Gu, we didn’t know at first that he had attacked an officer. We thought he was just a victim, and although he killed the kidnappers, that was self-defence..." one of the officers who had been with Qin Wei tried to explain cautiously.

"Didn’t I already tell you, he stole my gun! You know the consequences of losing a gun, right? You know, right?"

After getting shot for no reason and nearly losing his life, Gu Yunfeng was infuriated that they had let a man in his forties slip through their fingers.

Luckily, he hadn’t died, or the situation would have been even worse.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He thought to himself, hadn’t he almost fallen into the hands of this seemingly weak, unassuming man as well?

And then his gun had been taken. Admitting that out loud was a little humiliating.

As he continued venting over the phone, a nurse wheeled in a cart, and he was quickly ushered back to his bed.

"Patient in bed twenty-eight, please keep your voice down and remain in bed." Under the nurse’s stern gaze, he fell silent, lying down obediently. Once his dressing was changed and the nurse left, he resumed the conversation, speaking at a normal volume while his IV dripped steadily.

"Who were the two people with Fang Xing?"

"One was the driver, and the other was a young woman. I think I’ve seen her somewhere before..."

"It’s probably Qiu Lu." He glanced over at Xu Chengyue, receiving a nod of approval from the other party.

"Who?"

"From the Jiang family case, Jiang Shuishan's tutor."

"Ah...? Does that case have anything to do with Fang Xing?"

"Yes." Gu Yunfeng told Qin Wei, "One of the things Wei Han was probably planning to expose had to do with the Jiang family case. Unfortunately, Zhiyin Biotech managed to suppress it."

"At the time, I really didn’t pay much attention to the girl..."

"She hid herself well," he glanced up at the large bottle of medication, looking utterly dejected. "Now we’re reinvestigating Qiu Lu’s family background and relationships."

This bottle of medication would take an estimated three to four hours to finish. Due to minor cuts on his stomach and oesophagus caused by his ribs, he couldn’t eat much, relying mainly on IV fluids.

Since he met Xu Chengyue, this was already his third time staying at the hospital.

Apart from the first time when Xu Chengyue was hospitalised, the following two occasions were due to his own injuries, each time worse than the last. Fortunately, none of them had left any lasting effects. Xu Chengyue pulled up a chair and sat beside him, playing a game. He leaned in, watching and offering random suggestions.

Just a few months ago, he had been a dull professor who only read academic books, even skipping through films to save time, maximising every second of his day. He didn’t understand life and had no sense of fun. But now, here he was, wasting hours playing games with no shame.

What could games bring him? Happiness? Pleasure? Or a comforting sense of conformity? Perhaps all he wanted was to feel like an ordinary person, with ordinary hobbies and an ordinary life, rather than being weighed down by the heavy chains of technology.

The sky outside was gloomy, thick clouds churning. Before long, flashes of lightning lit up the sky, and torrential rain poured down. The rain pelted the window in a rhythmic pattern. Xu Chengyue put down his game, walked over to close the window, and wiped his glasses with a tissue. His dark circles were prominent these days due to several nights of poor sleep, yet his eyes remained clear and bright, as if stars were twinkling in them.

"My resignation letter has already been submitted?" After closing the window, he continued to sit on the edge of the bed and play his game. After a few rounds, he suddenly remembered his resignation.

"It’s been submitted," Gu Yunfeng replied, sounding a little frustrated. "You really should’ve handed it in yourself, and until it’s officially approved, you should try to show up at the team."

He glanced sideways at Xu Chengyue, "But if you don’t want to go, forget it, I won’t force you."

"But it still isn't safe to live alone..."

"Pfft–" Xu Chengyue couldn’t help but laugh. "Are you unsafe, or am I unsafe?"

"Neither of us is safe," he replied with a straight face.

"And I’m injured again, so I’m not very mobile, I need someone to look after me."

"How exactly are you not mobile?" Xu Chengyue raised an eyebrow. Aside from two fractured ribs and an abdominal wound, Gu Yunfeng’s limbs were intact and his mind was clear. Although he wasn’t bouncing with energy, he certainly didn’t have any mobility issues.

"My limbs are useless, and my bones are shattered."

Xu Chengyue looked at him, blinking innocently, and suddenly found him rather endearing. He reached out to touch Gu Yunfeng’s face, tracing the sharp angles of his features. His deep-set eyes gazed steadily back at him. His fingers moved over the skin and bones until they slid down to his neck, where they were suddenly caught.

Gu Yunfeng was half-sitting on the hospital bed, holding his fingers. He lowered his head and kissed them. His long, fair fingers, with their distinct joints. He kissed along the blue veins, from fingertips to wrist, as if tiny electric currents from his heart were spreading across every inch of skin.

Before this moment, it felt like there had always been a barrier between them, an invisible distance that prevented them from truly seeing each other. But now, the bullet lodged in Gu Yunfeng’s rib cage had shattered that barrier. Through the excruciating pain of the knife cutting into his wound and the life-or-death moment of blood pouring out, their beating hearts had finally come together, hearing the sound they desired the most.

What did he desire most? To be a normal human being, to experience all the ordinary moments of life from birth to death. Why should it matter whose body this was, or what made up his soul? At least in this moment, his soul was connected to this body, so this body was his.

He should do everything he wanted to do, say everything he wanted to say, and seek the freedom he desired. He would experience life with both his body and soul.

That gentle kiss moved from the veins of his wrist to his neck. Their breathing became heavier, erratic. Warm breath tickled his ear as adrenaline surged through his body. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he let out a low, husky gasp.

Then, Gu Yunfeng raised his head and, with his hand that didn't have the IV needle, unbuttoned his shirt. Grabbing the loosened collar, he nuzzled Xu Chengyue’s face with his nose. As their breaths became rapid and soft moans escaped, Gu Yunfeng decisively covered his dry lips with his own, leaving only the sound of lips and teeth intertwining.

Professor Xu’s lips were always dry, should he gift him a lip balm?

No, giving a man that sort of thing was too strange, and anyone overthinking it might feel insulted. Maybe he should just remind him to drink more water. The autumn and winter seasons were too dry, and without enough water, it was easy for this to happen. Or perhaps – he should just keep doing this in the future, using his own kisses to make up for the dryness of his lips and skin.

Xu Chengyue wrapped his arms tightly around Gu Yunfeng’s neck and shoulders, his hands pressing against his back as he sat on his lap, trying to get closer, ever closer. It was best if there was no distance between them, to become a part of each other.

Sensing the heat of their desires, Gu Yunfeng abandoned his usual gentleness, roughly tearing off Xu Chengyue’s clothes. He forcefully pried open his teeth, their tongues intertwining like two battling forces.

He had never imagined that one day he would fall in love with a man, that they would go through life and death together, saving each other, loving each other. Now, their chests were pressed tightly together, and they trusted each other completely, even with their vulnerabilities.

"When do you think I should be discharged from the hospital?" Gu Yunfeng asked, pressing his forehead against Xu Chengyue’s. His clothes were soaked with sweat from the heat between them, and his forehead was cool.

"You can rest a few more days, make sure your bones heal."

"No, I need to go home as soon as possible, this is a public space, after all."

"Home?"

"Well... back to the team, work comes first."

"So, should I still come over to live with you?"

"You should, of course you should. From now on, my home is your home, but your home will always be yours."

"Where will I sleep?"

"Wherever you like. If it's too cramped, I can sleep on the floor or the couch, just don’t make me sleep on the streets."

"That would be too pitiful."

"So, pity me and let me sleep in the bed." He whispered in Xu Chengyue’s ear.

"Pfft– I'll give you a chance to sleep in the bed, but you’ll be responsible for cooking and doing the laundry."

"And in winter, I’ll have to warm the bed, and in summer, I’ll have to fan you?"

"Yes."

"Are you looking for a husband or a servant?" Gu Yunfeng rolled his eyes involuntarily.

"Is there a difference?"

"There is, one gets paid, and the other doesn’t."

"Then obviously I’m looking for a husband." Xu Chengyue patted him on the shoulder with a straight face, speaking in a sympathetic tone, "A husband’s duties are indeed many. It’s hard work, I'll sympathise with you in spirit."

They both smiled at each other, looking out the window at the torrential rain and listening to the thunder that sounded like fireworks exploding.

A few seconds later, there was a sudden knock on the door. Xu Chengyue quickly straightened his clothes and sat on the chair, pretending to continue playing his game. Gu Yunfeng, bored, stared at the half-empty bottle of nutrient fluid, then glanced down at the IV needle in the back of his hand. There was a bit of blood pooling, and the capillaries slightly burst, forming a bulge.

It was probably because they got a little too excited just now.

After just two knocks, the door was pushed open. Ying Xizi stood there, wearing a burgundy knitted dress, a black shell-shaped bag, and her usual high heels, and peered into the room.

Her hair was slightly wet, and her sweater was damp too, suggesting she had been caught in the rain.

"I heard that Captain Gu got injured again," she said, emphasising the word "again" as she placed a bag of fruit on the cabinet. This time, Gu Yunfeng wasn’t staying at Ruihe Hospital. After all, Ruihe was mired in public controversy, and the hospital had its share of unclear issues, so Gu Yunfeng had chosen a hospital closer to home for his stay.

"Yeah, I was shot in the abdomen. Luckily, it didn’t hit any organs."

"That’s very fortunate..." Ying Xizi nodded, relieved that there didn’t seem to be any lasting effects. She pulled up a chair and sat down, but when her eyes fell on Xu Chengyue, she sensed something was off.

"Why is your face so red? And your collar is unbuttoned." She stared at the two of them in confusion, glancing at the air conditioner on the wall, "Is it hot?"

The air conditioner clearly wasn’t on, and they weren't wearing much in this weather, so it was more likely they were cold than hot. It had started raining just as she was about to arrive at the hospital. She’d found a place to wait it out for a bit, then ran to the inpatient department when the rain had let up.

Looking around the room, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something in the air. After a few more seconds and noticing their awkward expressions as they looked at each other, she cautiously asked, "Did I... interrupt something?"

Before anyone could respond, Ying Xizi’s eyes widened, as if she suddenly recalled something unpleasant. "You two... just now... you weren’t..."

"Don’t overthink it..." Gu Yunfeng, utterly exasperated, wanted to deny it, but felt there wasn’t much to deny. Who knew what kind of scenario this girl had conjured up in her mind? The way she was looking at them made it seem like they were some kind of beasts.

They hadn’t done anything particularly outrageous!

With a look of utter heartbreak, she clutched her chest, dramatically protesting the torment of being force-fed dog food. Noticing the swelling around the needle in Gu Yunfeng’s hand, she quickly called the nurse to replace the IV.

She hesitantly glanced at Xu Chengyue, clearly wanting to say something but too shy to bring it up.

"Is there something on my face?" Xu Chengyue felt uneasy under her gaze and ran a hand over his face, but there seemed to be nothing there.

"I... want to speak with Captain Gu alone," she said apologetically, lowering her head. "Chengyue, could you give us a moment?"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Merry Christmas! 🎅🎄

It was best if there was no distance between them, to become a part of each other. My heart ❤️

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: September 12, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 5, 2024 by Angel