Chapter 99

Chapter 99

On New Year’s Eve, at nine in the morning, Yu He was wrapped in a blanket, lazing in bed.

The little wild cat was sleeping in another corner of the bed.

Strangely enough, although Yu He was the one who took care of the little wild cat, it was more attached to Fu Yunzheng than to Yu He.

Fu Yunzheng explained, "It's because I never tease it."

Yu He responded, "Yes, you always tease me."

In summary, by the time Fu Yunzheng was dressed in his formal attire and ready to leave, both Yu He and the little stray cat were still in bed.

Fu Yunzheng hadn't spent the New Year with the Fu family for two consecutive years, and this year he had to return to the old house no matter what. However, Yu He has been in a less than ideal state lately. Even though he has improved a lot, Fu Yunzheng is still worried.

Yu He is quite confident in himself.

Of course, his confidence can't be taken seriously. After all, Yu He has been in a slightly manic state recently, feeling confident about everything.

"Are you sure you won't come with me?" Fu Yunzheng picked up the cat teaser on the sofa and poked Yu He's waist, "It's quite pitiful to leave you alone at home for the New Year."

"It's okay, Yu Qingyan said he would come and find me later. He doesn’t want to spend the New Year at home either." Yu He turned over, "My mental state has been a bit unstable recently. If someone really annoys me, I might explode."

Fu Yunzheng said, "Who dares to annoy you now? Even Fu Conglin gives you a wide berth."

"I don't want to see so many people." Yu He buried his face in the quilt, "Come back early."

Fu Yunzheng replied, "Okay, I'll come back right after twelve o'clock."

*

At three in the afternoon, Yu Qingyan came to feed Yu He, bringing with him takeaway food.

Yu He was almost starving and pushed Yu Qingyan into the dining room, almost ready to bang on the bowl with his chopsticks.

Yu Qingyan, without even taking off his coat, started unpacking the takeout boxes, saying, "Don't rush, this is all cold. I need to heat it up for you."

Yu He peeked around, reaching out to rummage through the paper bag of packed food, "Isn't there anything ready to eat?"

"There is." Yu Qingyan took out two transparent plastic boxes, "Cold dishes, husband and wife lung slices, and... roast goose."

While Yu He was eating the cold dishes, Yu Qingyan went to the kitchen to heat up the hot dishes, using the oven and the microwave as needed.

Yu Qingyan rolled up his sleeves, then quickly put them down again, taking out a frying pan to heat up the pies for Yu He.

Yu He glanced at Yu Qingyan’s back, "Take off your coat, don’t get oil on it."

Yu Qingyan, with his back to Yu He, responded, "It’s alright, it was a bit cold when I just came in."

"It's 26 degrees Celsius in here and you’re still cold?" Yu He glanced at his own short sleeves. "I was worried you’d be hot, so I even found a short-sleeved shirt for you."

Yu Qingyan flipped the stuffed pancake in the pan with a spatula. "I would never wear your clothes."

Leaning back in the chair and taking advantage of his flexible neck, Yu He bent backwards to look at Yu Qingyan. "Why are you so picky?"

Yu Qingyan turned to glance at Yu He. Beyond the sharp angles of Yu He's chin, he could see the not yet completely faded bruises on Yu He’s neck.

They were so dark they were almost black.

Yu Qingyan felt a heart-wrenching pain, but couldn’t say anything. After all, those were Yu He's biological parents. Yu Qingyan couldn’t say anything; his personality was completely different from Yu He's. Yu He had no psychological burden at all when speaking ill of Yu Shiqing.

In fact, what difference would speaking make? If merely witnessing others' misfortunes could teach a lesson, there wouldn’t be so many unfortunate people in the world.

People don’t understand pain until they’ve fallen into the pit themselves.

"What do you mean, I'm picky?" Yu Qingyan served the stuffed pancake to Yu He. "Why are you acting like such a typical straight man? Do you really think I’d fit into your clothes?"

Yu He seriously furrowed his brows in thought. His brain, running at full speed, couldn't come up with a reasonable answer, so he humbly asked for guidance: "Why wouldn’t they fit?"

Yu Qingyan tossed the plate onto the table. "They wouldn’t fit anywhere." He took off his coat and hung it over the back of the chair. "Think about it, if someone else wore clothes belonging to President Fu, wouldn’t you find it awkward?"

Yu He looked down and took a bite of the pancake. "What’s awkward about that? I found a T-shirt for you, and it belongs to him. Oh, right, he’s never worn it; it was a gift for donating blood. You’re overthinking this, Yu Qingyan."

Yu Qingyan took a deep breath but still couldn't help but give Yu He a shove. "You’re doing this on purpose."

Yu He flashed a mischievous smile. "It’s really funny watching you try to teach me how to be a better person."

Yu Qingyan placed a hand on his chest. "Can you not make me so angry?"

Yu He reached out to grasp Yu Qingyan's wrist. "How has your anemia been lately? Give me your hand; I’ll take your pulse for you."

Surprisingly, Yu Qingyan pulled back, saying, "I’ve been quite well recently."

Normally, Yu He wouldn’t notice anything amiss, but he was operating at peak performance at the moment and was exceptionally quick to respond. He caught hold of Yu Qingyan’s sweater at the cuff. "What happened to your hand?"

Yu Qingyan struggled for a bit but couldn’t free himself. He covered his own wrist. "Yu He, let go."

Yu He stood up from the dining chair and looked down at Yu Qingyan. "Show me your hand."

Yu Qingyan was immediately stunned on the spot, feeling an intense pressure that he had never experienced from Yu He before.

In his daze, Yu He rolled up Yu Qingyan’s sleeve and saw a series of blisters on his wrist.

Yu He initially thought they were rashes, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were burns.

Yu Qingyan was only wearing a loose sweater. The elastic cuff wouldn’t rub against the blisters on his wrist. As Yu He continued to roll up the sleeve, he discovered blisters stretching from the wrist to the elbow.

They were few, but covered a wide area.

"How did this happen?" Yu He frowned. "Does your other arm have them too?"

Yu Qingyan didn’t say anything.

Yu He observed the distribution of the blisters. "Did this happen while you were cooking and the pot exploded? How did it splatter so evenly?"

Yu Qingyan smiled, “Yes, the clay pot exploded while I was boiling soup. I lifted my hand to shield my face, and it all splattered onto my arm.”

“Oh dear, please be more careful, big brother.” Yu He turned around, fetched the short-sleeved shirt he had prepared for Yu Qingyan, and said, “Change into this, and I’ll help you lance the blisters.”

Yu He went upstairs to get the silver needle and tweezers needed for lancing the blisters.

When he came down, Yu Qingyan had already changed into the short-sleeved shirt, a white cotton T-shirt with a pattern of clasped hands on the back and eight red characters below: ‘Selfless blood donation, gratitude for you.’

Yu Qingyan, slim and slender, had his thin, pale arms sporadically adorned with more than a dozen blisters. The small ones were the size of soybeans, and the large ones were about as big as broad beans, which looked quite frightening.

It was fortunate that it was winter, and infection was less likely. Otherwise, Yu He would have definitely insisted that Yu Qingyan go to the hospital to treat these burns.

Yu He sat opposite Yu Qingyan, holding his wrist and scrutinizing it carefully, “If you want to avoid scars, you really should go to the hospital for burn treatment. My skills are pretty rough.”

Yu Qingyan, his eyes unfocused, stared at the corner of the table. Hearing Yu He’s words, he came back to his senses, “I'm not entering a beauty pageant. What’s a scar going to matter?”

Yu He responded, “Alright then, Dr. Yu has treated you, just remember not to get the wound wet.”

Having said that, Yu He rummaged through the medicine box, laying out alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodophor, and burn ointment across the table.

Yu Qingyan truly didn’t take the injury seriously. The hot water splashing onto him was instantly painful, and it just reddened at first. After rinsing it with cold water, he left it at that.

Over the Chinese New Year, Yu Qingyan couldn’t be bothered to go to the hospital. Meanwhile, Yu He, like a little bird eagerly waiting to be fed, had sent him more than a dozen WeChat messages urging him to hurry. Who would have thought that blisters would form during the drive from Fengcheng to Yunsu? He rolled up his sleeves to check on the way and didn’t think it was too serious.

Seeing Yu He laying out all kinds of medicine on the table, the scale of it was indeed a bit alarming.

“Isn’t it just about puncturing the skin with a needle and squeezing out the fluid? Why is it being made to seem like a surgical procedure?”

Yu He placed an empty tray on the table and used alcohol to cleanse Yu Qingyan’s arm. The cool alcohol poured onto the painful blisters provided a slight relief from the swelling and pain as it evaporated.

Holding Yu Qingyan’s wrist in his grasp, Yu He picked up a silver needle with his right hand and advised, “Don’t flinch, okay? If you do, it’ll hurt more when the needle goes through.”

“I don’t have a phobia of needles, why would I flinch?” Yu Qingyan looked at the needle in Yu He’s hand, “Why are you okay holding the needle yourself?”

Yu He’s hand was steady as he held the needle, gently piercing the blister’s surface like a dragonfly skimming water, before using a sterile cotton swab to absorb the fluid inside. “I’m not going to use a needle on myself.”

Watching Yu He skillfully tend to his wounds, Yu Qingyan asked in confusion, “Has someone ever used a needle on you?”

Yu He’s hand paused momentarily, “I don’t remember.”

Yu Qingyan seemed to think of something and hesitated before asking, “Was it Yu Shiquan?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Yu He replied reflexively, then looked up at Yu Qingyan, his gaze filled with scrutiny, “Why would you ask that?”

Yu Qingyan’s fingers involuntarily clenched slightly, “I heard from my mom that he used to hit you.”

Yu He’s expression turned cold instantly, his previously lazy eyes sharpened as he straightened his back and asked with vigilance, “Did he hit you?”

Shaking his head, Yu Qingyan responded, “No, he is too sick to hit anyone now. How could he have the strength for that?”

The hand Yu He had on Yu Qingyan’s wrist tightened slightly, “Yu Qingyan, Yu Shiquan is the type of person who takes a mile when given an inch. He will constantly test your boundaries, you need to be careful and not let him interfere too much.”

Yu Qingyan’s eyebrows softened as he gently shook his hand, trying to alleviate Yu He’s tension, “Okay, I understand.”

Yu He observed Yu Qingyan’s expression, trying to determine if he truly understood or was just placating him.

However, Yu Qingyan always had that same mild and harmless demeanor, seemingly easy to get along with, leaving Yu He unable to figure him out. Finally, he suggested, “Why don’t you move out of the Yu family’s house? You could rent or buy a place near the university.”

Buy a place?

Yu Qingyan’s eyes lifted slightly, intrigued by Yu He’s suggestion.

Having lived in an unstable environment since childhood, owning a place could indeed provide a sense of security and fill the void of displacement in Yu Qingyan’s heart.

Due to his foster parents’ massive debts, they were always on the move, dodging creditors. Adapting to new environments and schools was a skill Yu Qingyan had developed from a young age.

Yu Qingyan had a delicate appearance and outstanding academic performance, making him quite popular among the girls. Such a transfer student could easily cause isolation from the male students in his class.

Primarily among the underachieving boys sitting at the back.

Yu Qingyan was unwilling to label the bullying tactics of the boys at the back, such as tearing up workbooks or throwing backpacks onto trees, as bullying. These actions couldn’t arouse his anger or panic.

Compared to the debt collectors chasing debts, the actions of these middle school students were childish and low-level.

Yu Qingyan wasn’t angry, but he found it bothersome. After all, his family was deep in debt and didn’t have extra money for him to squander, continuously boosting the sales of pirated textbooks at the bookstore by the school gate.

A pirated textbook being sold at the price of an original one was something even the present Yu Qingyan found hard to comprehend.

Even though he now wears a six-figure wristwatch, Yu Qingyan still feels that 35.8 yuan for a textbook is expensive.

Very expensive.

In any case, Yu Qingyan later learned how to make those who disliked him accept him.

This was thanks to his exceptionally good grades. He casually left his filled-in answer sheet at the corner of his desk during a test, easily winning the friendship of the school bully in his grade.

Having become friends with the school bully, the boys at the back of the class naturally didn’t dare to bully him anymore.

Because once, when the school bully asked to copy his homework, Yu Qingyan regretfully told him, "My textbook has been torn up."

The school bully would help him sort out these minor troubles.

So, when he returned to the class, not only did Yu Qingyan see conspicuous footprints on the school uniforms of the boys at the back, but he also found a brand-new, genuine textbook on his desk.

Unfortunately, as he had always allowed the school bully to copy his papers, this led his intellectually simple friend to become overly confident in his own academic abilities.

In the end, Yu Qingyan’s school bully friend did not get accepted into high school.

It was truly regrettable.

It would have been better if they had been placed in the same examination room.

Yu He waved his hand in front of Yu Qingyan’s eyes, “What are you thinking about?”

Yu Qingyan came back to his senses and saw that hydrogen peroxide had been applied to the dozen or so blisters on his arm.

The wounds were reacting with the hydrogen peroxide, causing densely packed bubbles to form on each blister, making his entire arm look pitted and even more disgusting than a zombie’s arm.

Yu Qingyan looked at Yu He in disbelief, "Why did you treat my wound as if it’s infected with syphilis?"

Yu He: "......"

Yu Qingyan continued to inquire, “Which teacher taught you to clean wounds with hydrogen peroxide?”

Yu He, resting his chin on his hand and looking at Yu Qingyan, candidly responded in an asking-for-a-beating manner, "Nobody taught me. I studied traditional Chinese medicine, not surgery or nursing. We never had a class on trauma treatment.”

Yu Qingyan took a deep breath, "You haven’t learned wound treatment, but haven't you studied chemistry either? Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizing agent with mild corrosive properties. Now I know why my arm hurts so much. Go wash it off immediately."

Yu He opened a saline solution to help Yu Qingyan flush the wound, explaining, "Hydrogen peroxide can kill pyogenic bacteria; it's to prevent your wound from getting infected and turning into an abscess."

"Stop kidding around," Yu Qingyan said as he washed off the hydrogen peroxide from his arm, watching Yu He apply burn ointment. Suddenly, he uttered, "Yu He, I’m sorry."

Yu He looked up, surprised, "What’s wrong?"

Yu Qingyan rarely apologized so solemnly to anyone.

He almost never had a direct confrontation with anyone.

Yu Qingyan averted his gaze, staring at the reflection on the glass at the edge of the table, "When I first came back to the Yu family, I thought you really hated me, so I deliberately angered you, wanting Yu Shiqian to see you lose your temper at me."

Yu He laughed, "Why bring this up all of a sudden? Found your conscience?"

The guilt that had just begun to form in Yu Qingyan’s heart instantly dissipated, and he withdrew his arm, "I have nothing to say to you."

"Ah, fine, fine, fine, I forgive you," Yu He stretched his arms in a big yawn, pointing to the bedroom on the first floor, "I'm going upstairs to sleep, you can entertain yourself. This guest room was just cleaned out for you."

It was just past five in the afternoon, and the night sky outside was a deep shade of blue.

The streetlights outside the villa had just lit up.

Yu Qingyan said in disbelief, “What kind of sleep are you taking at this hour?”

Yu He: "The sleep I want to take."

Yu He picked up a small wild cat and went back upstairs.

As a guest, Yu Qingyan thought it wasn’t appropriate for him to wander around the villa by himself, so after briefly cleaning up the dining table, he also returned to his room.

The Guanyun Mountain was profoundly serene today on New Year’s Eve, a time when every household should be lively and brightly lit. Yet, the external festivity only rendered the entire Guanyun Mountain scenic area even more tranquil.

Devoid of tourists’ footsteps, the entire mountain seemed to have fallen into a state of stillness.

As Yu Qingyan drove up the mountain, he didn’t see a single soul along the way.

In ancient times, people spoke of retreating to the mountains and forests, and perhaps this is exactly the kind of place they referred to.

In such extreme tranquility, it was easy to attain inner peace. Hearts entwined with worldly matters would quiet down along with the mountain itself.

This was a magical feeling; Yu Qingyan felt an unusual sense of relief. The things that bothered him hadn’t disappeared, but they seemed to matter less.

The last time Yu Qingyan stayed here was a week ago, on the day Yu He went missing.

That night, cars came and went incessantly through the estate, with groups of people continuously arriving to report to Fu Yunzhe on the progress of searching for Yu He. Yu Qingyan was not able to experience the tranquility he felt today.

Lying in bed, Yu Qingyan savored this rare moment of peace and stability, contemplating the troubles surrounding him in the silence. For a brief moment, he even considered withdrawing from the world, distancing himself from all the turmoil.

But that was impractical.

Yu Qingyan was acutely aware of his own ambitions and his desire for money. A tranquil life reminiscent of an idyllic poem was simply not meant for him.

Only money could bring Yu Qingyan a sense of security.

On the other hand, Yu He’s sense of security had nothing to do with wealth. Even though no one had ever discussed this with Yu Qingyan, he was quite certain that Yu He’s sense of security probably came from Fu Yunzhe.

Entrusting one's entire emotional wellbeing to another person was something Yu Qingyan could never imagine doing.

Nothing is more fickle than the human heart.

To bear someone else’s sense of security requires tremendous courage and capacity.

And only someone with Fu Yunzhe’s power and status could firmly catch and hold onto another person’s complete trust.

So, wealth is still necessary.

With boundless yearning for money, Yu Qingyan drifted into a deep, blissful slumber.

*

It had been a long time since Yu Qingyan had slept so soundly and peacefully.

When he woke up, the world outside was shrouded in complete darkness, leaving Yu Qingyan unable to discern whether it was late at night or early morning.

The disorientation from sleeping so deeply and waking up to darkness was strangely mesmerizing.

Yu Qingyan rubbed his pillow, stretching his hand out to feel for his phone to check the time.

As a child who grew up hiding and drifting, Yu Qingyan’s extrasensory perception was exceptionally developed.

He woke up facing the window, but the moment he touched his phone, a sudden tingling sensation ran through his scalp.

There was someone behind him!