Chapter 29 Forever

Chapter 29 Forever

"No." Chen Xian frowned. He merely had his suspicions but didn't dare to jump to conclusions.

Ling Yang suddenly turned her head and looked at Qin Zhan's back. "He seems to be about the same height as him. After all, there aren't many men in City C who are that tall."

"Who?"

"Him."

Chen Xian followed Ling Yang's gaze, but Qin Zhan had already turned the corner of the building.

The person beside him fell asleep on the table again and again, while Qin Zhan stayed in the library until around eight o'clock before packing up and leaving.

As he stood up, he opened an app on his phone. The video showed someone limping out of the bathroom with a cane, looking rather disheveled. Qin Zhan's Adam's apple bobbed. Just as he was about to close it, someone bumped into him suddenly.

"Sorry!"

The phone fell to the ground, and the person's review materials also scattered everywhere.

"Sorry, I'm in a rush for class... sorry."

The boy hurriedly bent down to pick up the phone first, but accidentally stepped on the screen, which was playing a black-and-white video, covering the image completely.

His outstretched hand awkwardly froze in mid-air. He looked up at Qin Zhan, whose expressionless face gave no reaction. He silently bent down, locked the screen, and picked up the phone.

"That..."

Before he could say anything more, the person had already put the phone back in his pocket and walked towards the door.

Around nine o'clock, Qin Zhan arrived at the hospital. The nurse who usually took care of his grandmother waved at him.

"Long time no see." The nurse put the pen in her chest pocket. "Did you pay the fees?"

"Yes."

"Your grandmother just had some porridge. She spent the afternoon chatting with other elderly people downstairs. She seems to be in better spirits lately."

Qin Zhan didn't react much, only nodding.

"Go see her then." The nurse didn't say more. "I'll check on the other patients."

When Qin Zhan pushed open the door, the old woman was watching TV, leaning against the white pillow. Seeing him enter, her brain slowly processed the situation before she spoke.

"You came."

"I bought some fruit." Qin Zhan repeated his usual actions, slicing the fruit and placing toothpicks in them before handing them over. "I heard you're feeling better."

The old woman, her hands covered in age spots, picked up a piece of apple. Her voice sounded very hoarse. "Do you know why elderly people sometimes improve suddenly?"

Qin Zhan looked at her without speaking.

"It means they're close to death."

Qin Zhan's eyes darkened.

"I've been dreaming about the past lately, always about him..." The old woman sighed, not finishing her sentence. "I've regretted so many times not stopping him from treating you like that."

"What do you want to say?" Qin Zhan interrupted her.

"In my life, I've done many wrong things... forcing your aunt away, buying your mother, letting you suffer at his hands." The old woman's cloudy eyes turned to him, and she shakily held his hand. "I know it's too late to say this now, but I've always known... your father killed the dog your mother left behind by hitting it with stones."

Her rough hand felt the sudden stiffness beneath it.

"Sorry, I always lied to you, saying it was hit by a car." The old woman covered her face. "I also know... ever since then, you always searched for dead animals..."

"What exactly do you want to say?" Qin Zhan shook off her hand and stood up.

The old woman suddenly started sobbing, her dry eyes welling up with tears. "I've dreamed too much about the past. I deserve this punishment. Every time I think about how your money is keeping me alive, I can't bear it..."

"I'm in so much pain, do you understand?" The old woman cried louder, her voice sounding both pitiful and absurd. "Today is January 2nd, his birthday, and yours too... every time I remember how you knelt and begged me to find your little dog, I feel I don't deserve to live."

Qin Zhan clenched his fists, staring at the hunched old woman crying in front of him. His usually cold mind almost stopped functioning.

"I don't deserve to be your grandmother, I don't deserve to be human."

"When you come to pay the hospital bills, I can't even ask about the bruises on your body from being beaten."

"Please, Qin Zhan... stop paying the bills, Grandma really doesn't want to live like this anymore."

The old woman's emotions escalated, causing her to cough violently, as if her frail body would collapse at any moment.

A passing nurse quickly pushed open the door upon hearing the commotion. "What happened?"

She glanced at Qin Zhan, whose face showed no emotion, but his heaving chest and trembling hands betrayed him.

She helped the old woman lie down. "During critical illness, family members should not agitate the patient."

"I don't want to live... please..."

The old woman mechanically repeated these words, rubbing her eyes raw. The nurse glanced reproachfully at Qin Zhan but kept patting the old woman's back. "Grandma, your grandson treats you so well; you must live on. Your condition has improved."

A tissue was quickly handed over. The nurse hesitated but took it. As soon as the tissue touched the old woman's skin, she heard an extremely cold voice above her.

"I think you misunderstood something."

"Whether you die or not is not your decision."

The biting cold wind swept through the city, plunging it into an icy abyss.

If it weren't for the other party's sudden mention today, Qin Zhan would have had no concept of his birthday. This day was just like any other.

No one knew about this birthday, and no one would send any wishes. His isolation and gloom, ingrained in his genes, confined him within a small circle. All he yearned for was something that belonged solely to him.

When he pushed open the warehouse door, it was pitch black inside.

Qin Zhan's heart sank to the ground. He clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms, and a dark fog churned in his head. In an instant, all the blood in his body seemed to rush back into his brain, almost turning the darkness into a bloody haze.

He flipped on the light and looked at the empty space. Just as he was about to move forward, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

"Are you back?" Zhou Liao sounded surprised but also a bit restrained.

Seeing the person standing still, looking like a storm was brewing, Zhou Liao felt his heart race and spoke hesitantly.

"…What's wrong?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhan strode forward in a few steps. The other party's breathing was ragged and uneven—this was the first time Zhou Liao had seen Qin Zhan like this, since ninety-nine percent of the time, he showed no emotion.

"What happened with the light?"

"I don't know... Maybe it's broken?"

Zhou Liao took a step back, afraid, but Qin Zhan noticed and grabbed his shoulder tightly, hurting him. Zhou Liao immediately froze.

"I just accidentally spilled some porridge on my pants and wanted to wash them off..."

To prove he wasn't lying, Zhou Liao lowered his head and pointed to the wet spot: "I'm not lying."

The other party suddenly fell silent but seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"…What's wrong?"

Zhou Liao didn't get an answer. That night, Qin Zhan became unusually quiet. He didn't know what had happened to Qin Zhan outside, but he remembered the violent and anxious aura when he opened the door.

Qin Zhan replaced the light bulb, and the light came back on.

After the other party finished washing up and got into bed, Zhou Liao watched the figure lying with its back to him, as usual.

Qin Zhan stared at the metal wardrobe, lost in thought, but his hand under the covers was almost drawing blood from his arm.

After a while, there was a slight vibration by the pillow. On the phone screen was a new WeChat message.

Qin Zhan dimmed the brightness and unlocked the screen. It was a message from Chen Xian asking what Zhou Liao was doing. He wanted to block or delete Chen Xian, but he knew he couldn't; the other party was already suspicious.

He replied in Zhou Liao's usual tone. The other party then sent another message: "Don't you want to video chat? I'll show you a beautiful girl; you'll definitely like her. She's top-notch, met her tonight."

Qin Zhan frowned and replied, "I've played with more top-notch girls than you."

The other party was silent for a moment before sending another message: "Really? Show me then. We haven't seen each other in a long time. You won't even video chat with your buddy? You won't let me visit during winter break; can't I at least see you?"

"Why do you insist on seeing me? Are you gay?"

"Alright, fine, I am gay. I'll admit it—I've had a crush on you for a long time."

"Get lost."

Chen Xian read the reply and, although it was completely like Zhou Liao, he couldn't understand why Zhou Liao wouldn't even video chat. He typed a few probing words.

"Give the phone back to Zhou Liao."

Qin Zhan's grip on the phone tightened, and the unspoken anxiety surged again, almost overwhelming him.

He turned off the phone and threw it aside. Then, he suddenly turned over. Zhou Liao, who had been watching his back, now found their eyes meeting directly.

Zhou Liao immediately closed his eyes, but a male voice suddenly spoke.

"Come here."

Zhou Liao's body stiffened. He slowly opened his eyes and then got up, moving towards Qin Zhan's bed.

"What's wrong?"

"…Will you leave?"

Zhou Liao didn't understand why Qin Zhan would suddenly ask this. He sensed that Qin Zhan was testing him and was thinking how to respond.

This brief silence caught Qin Zhan's attention. As Zhou Liao was about to speak, his neck was suddenly gripped. The other party's thumb pressed against his jaw, pulling him towards Qin Zhan's bed.

"You're eager to go?"

Zhou Liao struggled to breathe and frantically shook his head.

"Then why?"

Why did someone discover and want to take you away?

Why does everything that belongs to me disappear?

Zhou Liao didn't know what he was asking. He clutched Qin Zhan's arm with both hands, his eyes pleading.

"I… I'm right here… I won't go…"

"Forever?"

"Fo… forever."

Zhou Liao's last word was swallowed by Qin Zhan's lips. The kiss was suffocating, leaving him breathless and red-faced, with saliva trailing from the corner of his mouth as Qin Zhan's tongue delved deep.

In the silent room, only Zhou Liao's faint whimpers and the sounds of saliva could be heard.

The faint light of the desk lamp fell on the wall behind them, casting two tall silhouettes of adult men onto the iron walls of the warehouse. Their lips and tongues intertwined, carrying pain that was forced to be suppressed, as they passed their emotions back and forth to each other.