Chapter 52

Chapter 52 (Second Update)

The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Fengcheng University just got a new transfer student who’s quite a looker.

He’s studying acupuncture and tuina massage, and he’s really handsome.

The day the looker transferred, he arrived in a Rolls-Royce Ghost, carrying no luggage, commuting from home, dressed like a young man of wealth and taste. He stepped out of the limousine with his delicate and exquisite features, and someone took a photo and posted it on the forum. Those who didn’t know any better thought a celebrity had come to shoot a variety show, attracting loads of students to the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine to catch a glimpse of this handsome guy.

The usually empty corridors were suddenly packed with people, students from our college and others as well.

Inside the classroom.

"He’s really rich." Liang Ran leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed, glancing at the watch in Yu He's hand: “If it were anyone else wearing this watch, I’d definitely say it’s a fake. But coming from a Rolls-Royce, even if it's a fake, it’s as good as real for this young master. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a rich second-generation classmate.”

Wang Guangbin, who was next to him, also looked at the black and gold watch on Yu He's wrist, “What brand is this?”

"Audemars Piguet,” Liang Ran looked it up on his phone, “Royal Oak Offshore.”

"Wow, bro," Wang Guangbin slapped Liang Ran on the back. He was tall and hefty, yet completely unaware of his own strength. His slap nearly sent Liang Ran flying. He didn’t even notice that Liang Ran had changed from crossing his arms to bracing himself against the door frame, and continued to pat Liang Ran on the back, praising him, “Bro, how do you know so much? Even 'Audemars Piguet', you say it so well, I couldn't even learn that pronunciation.”

Liang Ran was nearly out of breath from the patting, and he weakly said, “Big Bin, you’re hitting right on my Shenshu acupoint.”

The Shenshu acupoint is located approximately 3.8 to 4.0 centimeters below the second lumbar spine’s spinous process, falling under the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang, and is one of the thirty-six deadly acupoints of the human body.①

"Are you okay?" Wang Guangbin exclaimed, instinctively reciting the definition of the Shenshu acupoint from "The Method of Acupoint Selection": "Striking this spot can shock the kidneys, disrupt the flow of vital energy, and easily lead to paralysis! Bro, you sure you're alright?"

Yu He, who had been leaning back and playing with his phone, suddenly looked over.

This was Liang Ran's first time being directly struck by the overwhelming beauty of the 'vase' and he instantly froze on the spot, dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

Yu He's devastatingly handsome looks were well known. The moment he looked up, Yang Yuqing, a classmate practicing acupuncture with great concentration, trembled in her hand, accidentally sticking the needle into her partner's flesh.

Her partner howled in pain. Yu He instinctively looked away from the needle-poking scene, only to see a fine needle, as thin as a cow's hair, standing erect in the person’s arm.

Yu He suddenly felt dizzy, chest tightness, and nausea. He tried to stand up but found his legs cold and weak. He took a deep breath, shaking as he reached for a cigarette, then realized he was at school, cursed under his breath, closed his eyes, and lay his head on the desk.

"What's wrong with you?" Yang Yuqing, abandoning her needle-stuck partner, walked up to Yu He and asked gently, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Do you need me to give you a few needles?"

Yu He: "......"

On the first day of school, Yu He became famous at Feng University not just for his stunningly beautiful ‘vase’ appearance, but also as the first student in the university's history to be carried out of the acupuncture classroom due to fainting at the sight of needles.

Why a person who faints at the sight of needles would be in an acupuncture classroom was the question on everyone’s mind that day.

When Yu He woke up on the clinic bed, he first smelled a strong aroma of herbal medicine. Lifting his head, he saw a white ceiling and a sky-blue curtain, with a pretty, round-faced girl sitting on a folding chair beside the bed. She looked somewhat familiar, and Yu He wasn’t sure if she was the one who had stuck her partner and scared him into fainting.

He sat up and asked, "Beauty, is this the school clinic?"

Hearing movement, Yang Yuqing looked up from her textbook. Her eyes met Yu He’s impossibly perfect face again. She unconsciously held her breath, her voice trembling uncertainly, "Are you calling me?"

Yu He's complexion was an enviable cool white, and now with his lips a pale shade, he looked faintly sickly, a sight that could easily arouse a girl's maternal instincts to protect.

He lowered his voice and said to Yang Yuqing, "Of course, there’s no one else here, right?"

Yang Yuqing gripped the textbook tightly and also took a deep breath, "This isn’t the school infirmary. We, the people from the Traditional Chinese Medicine College, treat each other when we get sick."

Yu He nodded, swung his legs off the examination bed, and jumped down: "Thanks for staying with me; I feel much better now."

Yang Yuqing said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I scared you faint with the needle; do you feel unwell anywhere right now?"

Yu He smiled awkwardly: "I’m a bit needle-phobic; it’s quite embarrassing."

"Fainting is a relatively serious stress response," Yang Yuqing, being the class monitor with solid professional knowledge, hit the nail on the head, "Have you had any experiences of being hurt by needles before? I've already notified your family, and they are on their way."

Yu He subconsciously reached into his pocket to take out his phone: "My family? He lives quite far away; wait a moment, I'll call him and ask him not to come."

Yang Yuqing looked puzzled: "Far? He's at the neighboring Finance College, studying finance. Isn’t Yu Qingyan your brother?"

Yu He’s thumb paused slightly on the screen unlock, and he looked at Yang Yuqing with a strange expression: "Yu Qingyan? Who told you he's my brother?"

Yang Yuqing was even more puzzled: "Your family information form; I pulled it up from the student affairs office after you fainted."

Yu He had a deep memory; when he filled out the family member information form, he didn’t fill in anything. Everything was written as "none," even the emergency contact was left blank.

Although Fu Yunzhen said he could write down his phone number, Yu He considered that Fu Yunzhen’s contact shouldn’t be disclosed casually, as these forms filled out at school had no privacy to speak of. On the other hand, and most importantly, if he caused trouble at school, he definitely did not want the school to call Fu Yunzhen to complain.

So why would Yu Qingyan’s contact information appear on his family member information form!

It must have been Yu Qingyan who filled it in secretly!

This Yu Qingyan!

Yu He took a deep breath and squeezed out a twisted smile: "Haha, Yu Qingyan really likes to joke; actually, he’s my younger brother."

"But it seems..." Yang Yuqing hesitated and then changed the topic, "Never mind, I need to get back to class. Here's my number; call me if you feel unwell. I am the class monitor of our class. Add me on WeChat, and I’ll add you to the class group. Notices for classes, assignments, and the 'Youth University' activities – all will be posted in the group."

Yu He responded, took out his phone, and scanned Yang Yuqing's WeChat QR code, successfully adding her as a friend.

Just at that moment, Yu Qingyan hurried over. Yang Yuqing quickly explained the situation and then rushed back to her classroom for her class.

Yu He leaned against the railing at the end of the examination bed, crossed his arms, and looked at Yu Qingyan askance: "Secretly changing my family information form, you’re quite something, Yu Qingyan."

Yu Qingyan lied without changing his expression, "The teaching affairs system wouldn’t accept it without a contact person listed."

Yu He, quite naively, believed him and dropped his arms, touching his nose.

It was the first time he was getting along peacefully with Yu Qingyan, and he felt somewhat uneasy.

Yu Qingyan asked, "Is there anything else you're feeling unwell with?"

Yu He responded, "Just a fear of needles."

Yu Qingyan was speechless, "Why would you choose to study acupuncture if you have a fear of needles?"

Yu He sat back down on the bed, said unhappily, "People need to overcome themselves and conquer their fears to progress."

Yu Qingyan widened his eyes, hardly believing such positive remarks could come from Yu He. He really regretted not recording it on his phone in time.

Since they parted on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Yu He and Yu Qingyan hadn’t seen each other for a month. Yu Qingyan seemed to have lost some weight and looked somewhat haggard.

Yu He pursed his lips and said, "You can go back to class; I'm fine now."

Yu Qingyan sighed, "We only had one early morning class today, and it's already nine o'clock now. The class must have ended by the time I get back, so I’ll stay with you for a while."

Just as Yu He was feeling a bit hungry, he walked towards the door of the treatment room, saying, “Then you can treat me to a meal in the canteen. I haven’t had the chance to recharge my campus card yet.”

Yu Qingyan directly took Yu He to the international students’ cafeteria at Feng Da University. This place offered a wide variety of dishes, served as individual portions of stir-fried cuisine. Yu He ordered a serving of omurice and began to eat with a disposable plastic spoon. Yu Qingyan, not feeling particularly hungry, had a bowl of wonton soup in front of him, untouched.

Midway through his meal, Yu He looked up at Yu Qingyan, “Why aren’t you eating?”

Yu Qingyan stirred the wonton soup, “I had breakfast earlier.”

Yu He reached over and pulled Yu Qingyan's bowl towards him, “Well, I’ll eat it then. Pass me some chili oil, will you?”

“Doesn’t Mr. Fu feed you at home?” Yu Qingyan stood up to get the chili oil, adding, “Eating so much now, are you going to have lunch later?”

The snow-white wontons rolled in the bright red, shiny chili oil. Yu He swallowed one whole, thoroughly satisfied, “His cooking at home doesn’t use MSG, but I just love junk food. I even want a fried chicken leg.”

Yu Qingyan, with a resigned expression, stood up again to buy Yu He a fried chicken leg.

After finishing a serving of omurice and a bowl of wontons, Yu He was so full that he felt sleepy. Unable to finish the fried chicken leg, he decided to pack it and take it home for lunch.

Missing his first day of classes due to fainting, Yu He returned home feeling dejected.

He lived in a seven-story townhouse, with two homes on each floor, very close to Feng Da University—it was only a 10-minute walk to the school’s main gate.

Yu He’s home was on the seventh floor, in the east unit.

As the key turned in the lock and he opened the door, Yu He saw Fu Yunzheng.

Yu He was delighted, “You didn’t go back to Yun Su?”

The surprise on Fu Yunzheng’s face was no less than that of Yu He’s, “Weren’t you supposed to have a full schedule of classes this morning?”

Seeing the joy in seeing Fu Yunzheng disappear, Yu He grabbed a bottle of iced cola from the fridge and gloomily recounted his fainting experience to Fu Yunzheng.

Fu Yunzheng hadn't expected Yu He to react so severely to needles. After pondering for a moment, he offered a solution: "How about changing your major?"

Yu He collapsed onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, not responding to the suggestion. Instead, he asked, "Fu Yunzheng, why didn't you go back to Yun Su?"

Fu Yunzheng wasn't adept at expressing his emotions, but knowing what Yu He wanted to hear, he stared at the pattern on the tiles and said, "I’m just worried about you being at school all day."

Sure enough, Yu He’s mood lifted, his eyes sparkling again like stars, and his tone became cheerful: "What’s there to worry about? I’m already grown up."

Although Fu Yunzheng was aware that Yu He wanted to hear words of affection and care, he chose not to express them directly. He found Yu He’s pouty and petulant side just as endearing as his cheerful side.

Fu Yunzheng spoke honestly: "But you fainted on your first day of school, and no one contacted me. Did you not list me as your emergency contact?"

Hearing the first part, Yu He felt a bit piqued, but the second part left him feeling somewhat guilty. He raised his voice defensively, "I did list you!"

Fu Yunzheng remained unperturbed, now certain of the situation.

If Yu He had truly listed him, he would have been angry instead of evasively discussing whether he had done it or not.

Without exposing Yu He’s lie, Fu Yunzheng glanced at the time, "The meal I ordered should arrive around 11:30. You have classes in the afternoon, so you should rest in your room for a while."

Stretching lazily, Yu He said, "I've been resting all morning, this is so embarrassing... Hey, I don’t have classes tomorrow afternoon. Stay here tonight, and tomorrow afternoon we can go back to Yun Su together. I’ll come back on Wednesday morning for classes. What do you think?"

Fu Yunzheng pressed his palm lightly against his nose, "If you get carsick, don’t bother. There are plenty of more comfortable and affordable places to live in Feng City than here. Didn’t we buy this place for the convenience of commuting?"

"I think this place is quite comfortable," Yu He rested his head on Fu Yunzheng’s shoulder, "There’s a snack street just two kilometers away. Let’s go when it gets warmer... Don’t leave tonight, I can’t sleep alone."

Fu Yunzheng was at a loss with Yu He: "This place doesn’t have the necessary facilities; it’s really inconvenient for me here."

Yu He nuzzled against Fu Yunzheng's neck. The area around Fu Yunzheng’s ears and neck was particularly ticklish, a secret only Yu He knew.

“If there’s even the slightest inconvenience, I can help you. I can carry you to and from bed, help you dress, and help you bathe.” Over the past six months, Yu He seems to have grown again, his shoulders becoming broader and more solid. He wrapped his arms around Fu Yunzheng, gently rubbing his nose against Fu Yunzheng's ear, inhaling the faint fragrance at his neck, and spoke in a deep voice, “I really wish you were my doll, then you would belong only to me.”

Goosebumps rose on the back of Fu Yunzheng's hand, and he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Yu He seemed to have grown up quietly in the places Fu Yunzheng didn’t notice, transforming from a teenager into a young man. Like a new king rising in a pack of beasts, his aura was sharper and more fierce, creating a strong clash with Fu Yunzheng's original aura.

The Yu He of the past wanted to stay in Fu Yunzheng's territory, but now, it seemed like Yu He wanted to bring Fu Yunzheng back to his own nest.

Yu He pressed himself forcefully against Fu Yunzheng, acting like a little child throwing a tantrum because he couldn’t get candy: "Stay with me, stay with me, stay with me."

Well, maybe it was just an illusion created by the unfamiliar environment; Yu He was still the same Yu He.

Fu Yunzheng was never very resolute to begin with, even though he was always a man of his own mind, but Yu He seemed to be born to shake his reason.

Facing the relentless onslaught of Yu He’s requests, Fu Yunzheng nodded his head.