LQDBA 13

Chapter 13

On his days off, when his roommates had all gone home, Wu Xing would curl up in his dormitory bed, staring blankly at the long fluorescent light.

He didn’t know when it started, but he began to crave money intensely, as if that were the only path to true happiness and freedom. When he first entered society, Wu Xing believed that “as long as you’re willing to bow down, there is gold everywhere.” He was cheated out of his money on his very first part-time job and spent two months living on steamed buns and salted vegetables.

After that, Wu Xing stopped believing in overnight success stories. He worked hard, stayed grounded, and focused on saving. Finally, he had just enough money to open a small shop of his own.

At the end of the dream, Wu Xing lay in the bed of his cozy little home. In the sunlight, an Alpha whose face he couldn’t see held him close. “Xing-ge, I’m home.” For some reason, he felt that person was A-Jiu.

Outside the dream, the Omega’s body shuddered as if convulsing. He suddenly opened his eyes, tears sliding down the corners of his eyes and soaking the plain pillowcase he had just changed.

“A-Jiu?” Wu Xing’s voice was hoarse; his throat felt as if it had been scorched. He called out two or three times, but no one answered. The Omega’s brain felt like a mass of scalding paste, and his entire body was limp. Forget it, he thought, I’ll feel better after a sleep.

The rain outside seemed to have eased slightly, but the howling wind still battered the windows. In typhoon weather, all businesses were required to close early—even the 24-hour chain pharmacies were no exception.

Wearing a raincoat, A-Jiu visited five pharmacies, but every single one had closed early. He was soaked to the bone, but he finally managed to buy fever medicine just before the “Happiness Pharmacy” locked its doors.

“Is this okay for an Omega to use?”

The pharmacist standing at the counter was printing a prescription. He looked up and replied, “Yes, it’s fine.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The Alpha in the raincoat looked miserable. He pulled dry cash from his pocket to pay, tucked the medicine inside his coat, and ran all the way back. This stubborn rain seemed endless, turning the entire slum district upside down.

When A-Jiu got home, he took a quick hot shower, then pushed open Wu Xing’s bedroom door with a glass of warm water. The Omega was frowning, making sticky, incoherent sounds. The Alpha leaned in to listen to the delirious muttering, but he still couldn’t understand what Wu Xing was saying.

“Xing-ge, wake up. Time for medicine.”

Wu Xing opened his eyes again, thinking he was still dreaming. He said in a raspy voice, “How come you came back again?”

A-Jiu paused, explaining, “The fever medicine in the first-aid kit was expired. I went to five pharmacies; four of them were already closed.” The Alpha leaned in, helping the Omega sit up and letting him take a sip of warm water. “The one that wasn’t closed had run out of that brand. I asked the pharmacist, and he said this one works too.”

Wu Xing couldn’t process so much information at once. He docilely lay in the Alpha’s arms and leaned toward the cup, sipping a tiny bit of water.

“Xing-ge, I didn’t mean to come back late.” A-Jiu looked down at Wu Xing, who was obediently drinking the water. He reached out to stroke the Omega’s hair and said, “Xing-ge, medicine.”

The Omega leaned toward the Alpha’s hand, using his teeth to take the light blue tablet, his warm lips brushing against the dry palm. A-Jiu’s expression shifted slightly, his gaze fixed on those lips.

Holding the tablet in his mouth, Wu Xing took another large gulp of warm water and murmured, “I feel awful. I think I’m going to throw up.”

“You’ll feel better once you’ve taken the medicine.” A-Jiu comforted him in a low voice, tucked him back under the quilt, and used a wet towel to wipe Wu Xing’s limbs with cool water.

“Don’t go.” Wu Xing reached his hand out from under the quilt and grabbed the hem of A-Jiu’s shirt, clutching it tightly and shaking it slightly.

“Okay, I won’t go.”

A-Jiu sat by the bed, gently patting Wu Xing’s back until the man fell back asleep, then he stepped out on tiptoe.

Outside, the storm raged, but a dim yellow light flickered in the kitchen. A-Jiu rinsed the millet clean, put it into a clay pot, and started cooking porridge. He stirred constantly, watching the slender grains swell until the soft, broken rice melted into a thick, fragrant porridge.

Gurgle, gurgle—

A-Jiu wondered if the lingering feeling he had for Xing-ge, beyond dependence and possessiveness, was actually love. Could a man without a past be qualified to love someone? And could he ever have a future with the person he liked?

Outside the window, the rain poured down. A-Jiu slowly turned down the heat and sprinkled in some white sugar to season it. It was his first time cooking; he was doing it entirely by feel and was very nervous about how it would taste. He sprinkled fluffy, golden pork floss onto the millet porridge, pressing it down slightly so it soaked into the thick rice pulp.

Wu Xing broke into a sweat and slept for a long time after the medicine; his fever had finally broken, though he still felt woozy.

“Xing-ge, you’re awake.”

Wu Xing climbed out of bed, intending to cook something to line his stomach, but he smelled something like sweet porridge. Seeing he was awake, A-Jiu turned and scooped a small bowl of porridge, holding it as if ready to feed him. He’d used too little water, so the porridge was very thick—it looked more like a bowl of multi-grain rice.

Seeing A-Jiu’s posture, Wu Xing whispered, “I’ll do it myself.”

A-Jiu refused, scooping up a small spoonful, blowing on it until it was cool, and holding it to Wu Xing’s lips. Wu Xing was indeed hungry. He took a small bite—it was sweet and had pork floss in it. Honestly, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly delicious either.

“You made this yourself?”

A-Jiu nodded, asking insecurely, “Does it taste bad?”

Wu Xing laughed—a bright, shallow smile that seemed to filter out all the complexity and bitterness of the world. “No, I like it very much.”

A-Jiu’s eyes lit up, and he was suddenly filled with such energy that he’d be happy to learn how to cook a full imperial banquet. “Really?”

“Really.”

On this stormy night, Wu Xing felt he had eaten the best porridge of his life. It wasn’t about the culinary skill; it was about the sincerity behind it.

After finishing the porridge and checking his temperature again, Wu Xing curled up on the sofa with his legs tucked in. A-Jiu seemed to have something on his mind, pacing back and forth around Wu Xing.

“Xing-ge, I…” A-Jiu sat down, but still seemed unable to speak.

Wu Xing leaned toward him proactively and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The light in the living room flickered twice, then suddenly cut out, plunging them into darkness. The typhoon had damaged the electrical grid in the slum district, and their area happened to be in the impact zone.

“Xing-ge?”

“Don’t be afraid, it’s just a power outage.”

In the dark, A-Jiu’s lips seemed to touch his. Wu Xing’s body stiffened; he didn’t dare move, holding his breath for three seconds.

The darkness stripped away their vision, making all other senses hyper-sensitive. The sound of heavy breathing slowly spread through the air. If the two sets of lips had only just brushed against each other, Wu Xing would have dismissed it as an accident, but A-Jiu had reached out and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“A-Jiu?”

The Alpha lowered his head and took hold of those warm lips again, his response to the Omega.

Wu Xing’s fingers, clenched in tension, were pried open one by one; the other’s fingers slowly and firmly interlaced with his. Different body temperatures merged as their hands locked together, their hearts beating in sync.

“Xing-ge, may I like you?”

The world was silent; all things held their breath. This was a treacherous and difficult question—could Wu Xing really stop someone from liking him?

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes.”

Wu Xing was completely bewildered, and before he could speak, his lips were blocked again. What kind of situation is this?

Wu Xing, the shop owner whose first kiss was still intact, pushed the apprentice away twice. A soft, unfamiliar sensation spread across his lips. Something soft was grinding against his mouth while gently nudging his lips apart, starting an assault on his closed teeth.

“Xing-ge, open your mouth.”

Wu Xing wanted to pull away. Just as he was about to speak and stop him, the other man misunderstood his intent, flipped him over, and pinned him down onto the wicker sofa. In the darkness, A-Jiu’s mood became increasingly volatile, and his licking and kissing became more intense, like a drowning man who had finally found a piece of driftwood to carry him.

There were only two thin layers of cotton fabric between them, and even their most sensitive areas were pressed tightly together. Wu Xing was burning up, feeling like his fever had returned, but his last shred of reason told him he had to make A-Jiu stop.

Breathless from the kiss, Wu Xing bit down hard on the Alpha’s lower lip and gave him a firm push. A-Jiu winced, frowning, but still held Wu Xing tight.

“Xing-ge…”

“Get off me.”

Seeing no response, Wu Xing repeated himself, and only then did the man move off his body.

The first kiss had been so intense; Wu Xing, an honest man, was terrified. He limped back to the bedroom in the dark, sat on the edge of the bed, and gasped for breath. He touched his heart; it was beating even faster than when A-Jiu had been kissing him, and his head was full of that collision of lips and tongues.

Wu Xing’s brain was a mess. When he heard two knocks on the bedroom door, he was startled.

“Xing-ge, I’m afraid.”

Wu Xing gripped the sheets, took two deep breaths; he knew A-Jiu was afraid of the dark, but being afraid of the dark was no excuse for chasing people around and kissing them.

“Xing-ge, I’m sorry.”

Inside the bedroom, Wu Xing silently processed this for two minutes. He fished out the backup flashlight from his bedside table, opened the door just a crack, and threw it out.

Clang—

The flashlight rolled out through the crack Wu Xing had opened. A-Jiu silently knelt down to pick it up.

“Xing-ge, my lip is bleeding.”

Wu Xing was completely fed up with him. He opened the door with a dark expression and demanded, “Why did you kiss me?”