Chapter 73

Chapter 73

"If I go home and don’t return to school, don’t reach out to me first. Even if you pose as a teacher or a friend to ask about me, don’t do it."

"Why?" Gu Jinglan asked him.

"My family will find out."

"So what if they do?" Gu Jinglan scoffed.

If they do, it’s over between us. Qi Yanyu lowered his eyes, keeping this to himself. He simply shifted the topic, "Can you do that?"

"How will I know if you’re ignoring me because you’re angry, sick, or if you got hurt somewhere?"

"I’ll call you when I can to let you know I’m safe, but you can’t contact me first," Qi Yanyu said.

Gu Jinglan looked at him, thinking to himself, *Then what’s even the point of us dating?*

But he couldn’t say that out loud now, not wanting to upset Qi Yanyu.

Wanting to cheer him up, Gu Jinglan asked instead, "What do you want to eat tomorrow? I’ll take you out."

Qi Yanyu lay on the bed, his face tingling from Gu Jinglan’s kisses, his heart melting.

"Or how about we play a few games now?" Gu Jinglan looked at him. After being sick, his face was still pale, as if he’d lost a bit of weight. "Brother Yu, carry me for once."

This time, it wasn’t Qi Yanyu playing solo—it was with Gu Jinglan.

At the esports hotel, Gu Jinglan knew he loved gaming, so he’d booked a four-star esports hotel.

"Brother Yu, what should I play?"

"Play support, stick with the ADC," Qi Yanyu ordered, since Gu Jinglan had said he’d never played League of Legends before.

"Then are you playing ADC, Brother Yu?" Gu Jinglan asked.

Qi Yanyu shook his head. "No."

"What are you playing?" Gu Jinglan asked, then saw Qi Yanyu lock in Xin Zhao in the game.

Of course, Qi Yanyu was still playing Xin Zhao. Across his accounts, he’d nearly played ten thousand matches with Xin Zhao. So Gu Jinglan locked in a top laner. If Qi Yanyu’s Xin Zhao liked camping top lane, then he’d pick top.

Switching chairs, Gu Jinglan pulled Qi Yanyu into his lap, adjusting the keyboard and mouse slightly so he could still play.

Qi Yanyu: "?"

"Help me, the enemy jungler’s camping top again, Brother Yu." Gu Jinglan held him but absentmindedly clicked the mouse and keyboard to control his champion.

There were two keyboards and two mice in similar positions, but Qi Yanyu fumbled at first. After a few tries though, he got used to it and managed decently.

Later, Qi Yanyu realized why Gu Jinglan wanted to hold him—it made it easier to kiss his neck while playing and murmur teasingly in his ear, asking him to come save him.

So Qi Yanyu also let go of all his worries and focused entirely on League of Legends.

Gu Jinglan had claimed he didn’t play League, but he picked a flashy top laner. He’d told Qi Yanyu he’d never played before, but in reality, he’d secretly practiced for days in his dorm. After every team fight, Qi Yanyu was stunned: "You said you’d never played, but you’re pulling off combos!"

"Brother Yu, how’s my top lane?"

Qi Yanyu lazily replied, "Not even close to Brother Yu in his prime."

Gu Jinglan listened with a faint smile. He knew Qi Yanyu was back to his usual self—there was always a touch of cockiness and attitude in him when he was in a good mood.

He thought to himself that he might have to put Qi Yanyu in his place sooner or later, so he wouldn’t be able to talk that way anymore—maybe even soften up and call him “brother.”

“Is that so? Maybe we should settle this mano a mano sometime.”

“What kind of match?” Qi Yanyu assumed he meant a 1v1 in the game.

“Tonight, in the hotel room, on the bed.” [laughing] Gu Jinglan teased.

“…” Qi Yanyu’s face flushed unnaturally—was that really a “match”? “Not tonight, Brother Yu’s off his game.”

Gu Jinglan kept at it, “Not even if I wind you up?” like he was the one doing the winding.

Qi Yanyu shot back bluntly, “…No.”

“Then Brother Yu must be a bit weak—needs some *reinforcement*.”

As Qi Yanyu was still overthinking what Gu Jinglan meant by “reinforcement,” Gu Jinglan’s top laner “died,” setting him up for a 2v4 that ended in a quadra.

Seeing the “Quadra” flash across the screen made him get hyped.

Gu Jinglan held him close, his hand slipping under his shirt, watching the quadra with delight.

“Brother Yu is amazing.”

Qi Yanyu rambled, hyped up from the win: “The enemy couldn’t touch me,” “My Xin Zhao gets quadras like slicing butter,” “How’s the view from my back?” “Am I strong?” “Tell me, have you ever seen such a jungle god?”

But Gu Jinglan’s head rested against Qi Yanyu’s neck, lips brushing his skin as he chuckled and murmured, “So damn good it makes me wanna wreck Brother Yu.”

“…”

Just as Qi Yanyu was about to fire back, he heard the man holding him whisper softly:

“If you disappear like that again, I’ll lose it.”

“…”

“I wouldn’t know what happened to you,” Gu Jinglan hugged Qi Yanyu tighter, feeling how thin he’d gotten. “I’d think your heart stopped again…”

Qi Yanyu’s chest burned, like a bear tumbling through spring grass.

He needed to focus on treatment and make sure the surgery went well. Then his heart wouldn’t act up anymore.

Once he paid off Jiang Tiyan, he could be happy with Gu Jinglan—no strings attached.

Then they’d date—during internships, after work. He’d even work at the same hospital as Gu Jinglan.

Far away from Qi Muyao, somewhere out of town.

They’d be a clandestine thing. When their schedules matched up or they had days off, they’d spend the whole day playing League of Legends at home.

During breaks, they’d buy groceries and cook. If there was a new movie out, they’d catch it after work.

They’d go everywhere linked up in a city where no one knew them, trying new restaurants. They’d sync their vacations and travel together.

If his health wasn’t great, Gu Jinglan could be his doctor while he worked an easy desk job, so he wouldn’t burn out. He’d still have enough energy to play League of Legends with Gu Jinglan at night.

They played thirteen matches—thirteen wins, a perfect 13-0 streak.

Qi Yanyu was in a great mood.

So much so that Gu Jinglan kept pestering him, asking, "Am I your official boyfriend, Brother Yu?"

Qi Yanyu answered insincerely, "Uh-huh. Did you see how I wrecked with Xin Zhao earlier? Took on five solo!"

"Am I your boyfriend or not?"

"Was I badass?"

"Of course my boyfriend is awesome."

The next day, Gu Jinglan waited for him to wake up. He wrapped up his tournament project, knocked out this week's homework, and even did a few of Qi Yanyu's assignments, logging into Qi Yanyu's account to submit them.

He figured Qi Yanyu wouldn't have time to do his homework over the weekend.

When he'd finished up, he sat by the bed, watching the still-sleeping man, and automatically reached for Qi Yanyu's hand.

He'd rolled too close to the edge while sleeping. Gu Jinglan had moved his chair right next to Qi Yanyu's bed earlier to work on assignments and tournament stuff.

Now, he ran his knuckles lightly across Qi Yanyu's sleeping face. Gu Jinglan opened a food delivery app, planning to order in if Qi Yanyu wouldn't get up to eat.

As he scrolled through menus, Qi Yanyu's phone rang.

Gu Jinglan picked it up. The caller asked, "Made up your mind yet?"

The voice sounded young, very much like Jiang Tiyan.

Gu Jinglan mumbled "Not yet" into the phone. The person on the other end genuinely thought it was Qi Yanyu answering. "You're actually awake?" Even though it was almost noon, for Jiang Tiyan, who usually contacted Qi Yanyu around this time, he'd usually still be asleep.

"Are you free? I'm still in Kanbei today. Wanna get lunch?" Jiang Tiyan added over the phone, planning to feel Qi Yanyu out during the meal.

Gu Jinglan looked away from the room as he stepped out of the bedroom.

After finishing the call, Gu Jinglan returned to the bedroom—they had a suite.

Qi Yanyu was still groggy, seeing him walk back in. Thinking he was being woken up gently, Qi Yanyu reached out for a hug.

Gu Jinglan obediently went to lift him up, but Qi Yanyu didn’t quite catch the faintly indifferent expression on Gu Jinglan’s face.

"Eat out later, or order in?"

Gu Jinglan’s tone was calm as he lowered his eyes, doing up Qi Yanyu's buttons.

"We've got afternoon classes. Let's eat out," Qi Yanyu said, fastening his own buttons.

"Are we together, Qi Yanyu?" Gu Jinglan asked after helping him into a jacket.

Still groggy from sleep, Qi Yanyu blinked at him in confusion.

Seeing how dazed he was, Gu Jinglan chuckled softly but didn’t press further. He led him out to the suite’s living room, where a full-length mirror stood. Gu Jinglan angled the mirror toward them, letting Qi Yanyu see his own reflection.

On the sofa, Gu Jinglan held him while Qi Yanyu remained somewhat out of it.

Gu Jinglan’s hand wandered over Qi Yanyu’s body.

Qi Yanyu's eyes went wide, his reflection in the mirror showing surprise before quickly turning flustered. Gu Jinglan whispered by his ear, "Are we together or not?"

His eyes turned serious as he studied Qi Yanyu’s reflection.

Qi Yanyu's face, already flushed from sleep, contorted into a strange frown.

"Brother Yu, after your thirteen-game winning streak last night, you said you'd try being with me,"

Gu Jinglan continued, pressing close to his ear and cheek, his hands never pausing.

Qi Yanyu was completely flustered, wanting to lower his head to look, but his face was cupped and forced to stare at his own reflection.

"Brother Yu couldn't be just messing with me, could you? Hmm?"

This was way too early for this kind of thing for Qi Yanyu. So he frowned even harder, his face burning unnaturally hot.

But he had only said those words out of happiness—he didn’t want to admit it too quickly. After all, shouldn’t being together have at least some difficulty? Wouldn’t that make it too easy for Gu Jinglan?

"I… forgot. Did I say that?"

Playing dumb? Gu Jinglan scoffed. "What even counts as being together, Brother Yu? Give me a clear answer."

"If you don’t tell me exactly what to do, I won’t know where to put in the work, Brother Yu."

Though he kept calling him "Brother Yu," his hands were entirely devoted to pinning Qi Yanyu against the wallpaper.

Qi Yanyu wanted to yell, to protest, but his hands kept trying to pull Gu Jinglan’s away.

Gu Jinglan could pin both of Qi Yanyu’s hands with just one. "Huh? You’re not just leading me on, are you, Brother Yu?"

Later, Gu Jinglan added softly, "It’s fine if you are—just make it official, Brother Yu."

It wasn’t until past one o’clock that Qi Yanyu, completely drained of energy, was helped up by Gu Jinglan. When he tried to twist open a water bottle but failed, he wordlessly looked at Gu Jinglan, silently asking him to open it. Gu Jinglan took the opportunity to ask again:

"Brother Yu wants water? Then, do I count as your boyfriend?"

"...Just open the bottle for me first." Qi Yanyu was too exhausted to even raise his voice.