Chapter 32 Hand Injury

Chapter 32: Hand Injury

When Chu Yan opened his eyes, it was just past six in the morning.

He had slept a full twelve hours that night.

He vaguely remembered Dr. Chi drying the wet ends of his hair, while he himself had sprawled across most of the bed, leaving Dr. Chi only a corner of the blanket to tuck around himself and cling to the edge.

The room was dark, but the snow outside made everything bright. Chu Yan got up to draw the curtains, then wandered around the room for a while. Three cigarette butts ended up in the bathroom ashtray, and there was a thin blanket casually tossed on the sofa—anyone else would likely not have recognized it as signs that someone had been fighting to fall asleep.

Just like before, Dr. Chi wasn’t particularly willing to share a bed with him. The four-year-old Chu Yan at He’an Hospital hadn’t understood why, but now he knew: it was Dr. Chi’s way of protecting himself, and also the line he was drawing between them.

The room was warm, but Chu Yan still had his upper body bare. He curled up on the sofa and draped the thin blanket Dr. Chi had used over his legs, then opened the memo on his phone.

He added a new note.

"Process of obtaining the medicine—smooth.

Current relationship: friends

Rules for dealing with friends: respect boundaries, keep proper distance, help each other out in hard times.

I’ve been doing a decent job with all that.

Things to keep in mind: Dr. Chi made a point of saying he likes men and admitted I’m attractive in his eyes. Not sure if he was joking or serious. Dr. Chi is an upfront guy; he's said over and over that he could never like me, so I wouldn't get the wrong idea. But if it is true...

Even if it’s true, it doesn’t matter. Compared to his ex-boyfriend, I’d at least get a ticket to the competition.

Dr. Chi would make a great partner. No need to worry. If it really came down to a give-and-take arrangement, I could handle it."

Chu Yan sat on the sofa for about an hour. Seeing that Dr. Chi still hadn’t woken up, he called the front desk to order breakfast and asked them to bring it up at exactly eight.

Then he just waited, until nearly nine, when Dr. Chi finally turned over and stirred in bed.

Chu Yan’s spot was just outside Dr. Chi’s line of sight, so he could clearly see everything on the bed.

Dr. Chi wore a plain white cotton short-sleeve shirt. When he opened his eyes, he first glanced to the side, then stared at the ceiling without focus. Chu Yan didn’t bother him; he just waited silently for him to speak.

In the quiet, Chu Yan’s patience paid off. Dr. Chi’s waking process lasted nearly half an hour.

Luckily, they’d ordered Western breakfast; otherwise, by the time he washed up, it would’ve been cold and unappetizing.

“Awake?”

Chu Yan finally made a sound.

But it seemed to startle the man who had just sat up in bed.

Their eyes met from an awkward angle. “I thought you’d gone out. Why didn’t you make any sound?”

Chu Yan stood up, and the thin blanket slid to the floor with his movement. As he bent to pick it up, he caught sight of his loose pajama pants and for no reason, he remembered that morning at Dr. Chi’s place.

He realized then that Dr. Chi had lain still in bed for that half hour probably waiting for a certain morning-sensitive body part to go down.

The first rule of dealing with friends is to respect boundaries, so naturally he wouldn't say anything about it.

“Dr. Chi, you didn’t really get your fill yesterday, did you? Let’s wash up, eat breakfast, then head back to the slopes for a bit.”

Chi Suiyong ran a hand through his sleep-tousled hair. “Same drill as yesterday?”

“No, today we’ll go to the kids’ area.”

Dr. Chi clicked his fingers. “Great.”

When they arrived at the ski slopes again, it was nearly ten. Dr. Chi only seemed to relax when he was surrounded by kids. He rented a double sled and even agreed to a multi-team race when two kids nearby invited them.

Two grown men crammed into a kids’ sled looked cramped and totally ridiculous.

Dr. Chi didn’t get in first this time. Chu Yan hugged his knees, trying to leave as much room as possible. At the little referee’s whistle, Dr. Chi gave a hard shove, and the sled with Chu Yan in it went careening down.

During the initial acceleration, the adult team lagged behind the little kids because of the weight. Chi Suiyong hunched down and pushed hard toward the first slope. Chu Yan chuckled at how hard he was trying. “Should I get off?”

“That’d be cheating. Wait for the next round,” Dr. Chi panted.

When they reached the first small slope, Chi Suiyong jumped into the sled nimbly, but he lost his balance and tumbled toward Chu Yan.

Chu Yan caught him and sat him down steady.

Despite their efforts, they lost the first round—and came in dead last.

Dr. Chi tsked. “How did that happen…”

“Next round, I’ll push.”

Strength-wise, he was definitely stronger than Chi Suiyong. But there was one thing he couldn’t pick up on so quickly: winning or losing meant absolutely nothing to Chi Suiyong.

So for the second round, Chu Yan was dead set on winning. Before the whistle, he mustered all his strength.

Chi Suiyong got swept up in his seriousness too, gripping the sled’s handles, waiting for the wind to rush past.

The little referee’s whistle blew. Chu Yan crouched and pushed the sled, starting slowly, letting inertia take over, then sprinting and releasing all his force.

Dr. Chi wobbled, looking startled—clearly the force was too much for him.

Right before the pushing zone, Chu Yan leaped into the sled. The huge jolt sent the sled spinning wildly across the snow, its speed already out of control, and it was at risk of crashing into other sleds.

They approached another big slope. Their sled hit a frozen chunk of snow, reducing friction and making the loss of control even worse.

Chu Yan still had no idea; all he saw was that he and the kid next to him were dashing ahead neck and neck.

The two sleds drifted closer and closer, completely uncontrollable.

Seeing that they were about to crash into the child, Chi Suiyong instinctively reached out to block. In the chaos, his left hand pushed the nearby sled, but the impact slammed the sleds together, trapping his fingers between their edges.

Chi Suiyong grunted in pain. His injured fingers could no longer hold the sled’s handle. With only one hand gripping, he lost balance inside the sled, and the next slope threatened to throw him off.

In that split second, just as Dr. Chi was about to be flung out, Chu Yan reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace.

The result was that the sled kept flying, and the two of them rolled together in the snow several times.

The injured fingers scraped against the snow repeatedly, taking further damage.

More sleds were still rushing toward them. Chu Yan pulled Chi Suiyong up and moved to a safe area. “Dr. Chi, what just happened?”

Chi Suiyong sucked in a sharp breath, holding up his left hand. “Got my fingers caught.”

The middle and ring fingers were bruised purple from being squeezed, stark against the pale skin. “It hurts a bit.”

Seeing his pained expression, Chu Yan’s heart lurched. “I’m sorry, Dr. Chi. I was only thinking about winning and didn’t control my strength.”

"It's not your fault. My reflexes are just too slow."

"Come on, let's go to the hospital to get it checked out."

With his hand injured, he couldn't drive, so they had to call a nearby hired driver. It took about two hours to drive from Lishan back to He'an, and both of them sat in the backseat, watching Chi Suiyong's two fingers gradually swell.

Chi Suiyong thought in pain, "Could they be broken?"

When the X-ray came out, they weren't broken, but there was a hairline fracture. The orthopedist said they needed to be splinted.

While getting the splint put on, Chu Yan and Chi Suiyong looked at each other, one wanting to reassure the other that it wasn't a big deal and not to worry, while the other was already thinking about hiring a caregiver to look after Dr. Chi's daily needs, since he felt most of the responsibility was his own.

Chi Suiyong endured the pain as the orthopedist adjusted the splint and said, "It's okay. It's my left hand, so it won't affect my consultations."

Chu Yan was surprised. "You're still going to work like this?"

"Well, it's not like I'm paralyzed. It'll just be a bit difficult to wash up, but I'll manage."

Chu Yan quickly pulled out his phone. "I'll call my older brother."

"... Wait, what are you calling him for?"

"To get him to find someone to take your shifts, and make sure you don't lose any pay."

"You don't need to go to such trouble. I'm serious—it's not a big deal."

After a few refusals, "If Dr. Chi just doesn't want to blame me, then let me do something for you. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty."

"Huh?"

Chi Suiyong was the one injured, but in the end, the main issue of resolving the situation was still left to him.

Maybe it was just a habit—instinctively wanting to go along with Chu Yan and soothe his emotions.

"I still have to go to work. If you want to feel better..." Chi Suiyong thought hard but really couldn't think of anything that required Chu Yan's help. "Then just watch a few movies with me."

But Chu Yan gave a rather insensitive response. "Watching movies won't help with recovery."

Chi Suiyong thought this request didn't meet the conditions he had set, since it would take up his private time every day. "Well then, forget it!"

"Forget what? Dr. Chi, suggest a few more things." Apologies needed to be sincere, and the apology had to carry enough weight. Besides, this kind of daily contact perfectly solved Chu Yan's problem—at least in the short term, he wouldn't have to rack his brain trying to find a way to ask Dr. Chi out.

"But for now, this is all I can think of. Or you can suggest something that would make you feel better."

"Today's the weekend. I'll take you back to the dorm first. It's still early, and I'll make some bone soup for Dr. Chi to eat."

Chi Suiyong: "...You can cook?"

The orthopedist, who was wrapping elastic bandages for Chi Suiyong, also glanced at Chu Yan. Someone so well-groomed from head to toe—it was hard to connect him to a kitchen full of smoke and fire.

Chu Yan tilted his head in confusion. "Is that strange?"

"You don't look the part."

The orthopedist nodded slightly too.

"Whether I look it or not, you'll know after you taste it. Dr. Chi can also order dishes to put me to the test."

Chi Suiyong smiled. "Can't really test that."

"Why?"

The orthopedist finally couldn't help but interject, "The dorm doesn't allow cooking."

Chu Yan kept his eyes fixed. "In that case, let's go to my place. I'll have my driver pick us up now."

Chi Suiyong only had a minor hairline fracture, no need for a sling, and his daily movements weren't too restricted, but Chu Yan was making a huge fuss over it.

Normally, Chu Yan rarely spoke to strangers when out and about, and even with people close to him, he would act calmly despite any enthusiasm.

Moreover, inviting someone to his home was the kind of behavior that easily invited speculation.

Chi Suiyong looked at Chu Yan, trying to find a hint of reluctance on his face to justify stopping his own rising emotions.

But there was none. Everything Chu Yan showed seemed to encourage his fall.

"Alright..."