Chapter 9: Applying Medicine
Inside the dilapidated residential building, the voice-activated sensor light flickered on and off, casting shadows on the two faces at the door like a scene from a ghost story.
Qi Zui dug around in his pocket for ages before finally fishing out his keys. He inserted the key into the lock, but just as he was about to turn it, he suddenly froze.
Under Wen Xubai’s puzzled gaze, Qi Zui suddenly pressed his index finger to his lips, making a “shushing” gesture. He whispered, “My mom should be asleep by now. Let’s keep it down so we don’t wake her.”
Wen Xubai: “……”
It was supposed to be a normal overnight stay, so why did this feel like a son secretly sneaking his “girlfriend” home, terrified of being caught by his mother…?
But since he was the one asking for a favor…
Wen Xubai nodded and gave a soft, “En.”
Seeing Wen Xubai agree, Qi Zui flashed him a smile.
Then came the creeeaaak of the iron gate. Qi Zui opened the door just a crack, winked, and signaled for Wen Xubai to slip in first. He followed last, tiptoeing as he gently closed the door behind them.
Wen Xubai: “……”
Okay, he took back what he said earlier.
They didn’t look like a couple having a secret affair. They looked more like…
Thieves breaking in to steal something.
With a crisp click, the last ray of light from the hallway vanished, plunging them into total darkness.
When Qi Zui regained his bearings, he inadvertently glanced toward the innermost room of the house.
Wen Xubai followed his gaze and saw that the door was tightly shut.
“Go, go, go, to my room.”
Qi Zui produced a small portable lamp from somewhere and stuffed it into Wen Xubai’s hand. Then, pushing Wen Xubai by the shoulders, he shoved him into the room opposite that closed door.
Only after ensuring the door was shut tight did Qi Zui let out a sigh of relief. He switched off the small lamp in Wen Xubai’s hand and turned on the overhead light in his room.
Snap!
The scene before them finally became clear, and the furnishings of the room fell unreservedly into Wen Xubai’s view.
One glance, and he was stunned.
The room was incredibly small—a bed, a moldy wooden table, a small sofa that looked scavenged from somewhere, and a small shelf. There was nothing else…
Wen Xubai couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.
Even though he had guessed that Qi Zui’s financial situation was average, he hadn’t expected his room to be like this…
Perhaps he had seen too many high-rises and luxury mansions; Wen Xubai found it somewhat hard to believe.
With two full-grown men suddenly squeezing into such a cramped space, the room instantly felt incredibly crowded.
Qi Zui bent down to move a box that was blocking the way. As soon as he bent over, he let out a muffled groan.
He had pulled at the wound on his back…
Wen Xubai stepped forward and helped him move the box away.
“Thanks…” Qi Zui rotated his sore shoulder, grimacing in pain again.
“Do you have a medicine kit?” Wen Xubai asked.
“Huh? Yeah.”
Qi Zui pointed to a small medical box on the bottom shelf of the cabinet. Just as he was about to move to get it, Wen Xubai pressed him down onto the edge of the bed.
Qi Zui: “???”
“Are you hurt?” Qi Zui couldn’t help but ask.
Wen Xubai fought back the urge to retort. He grabbed the box, sat down beside him, and said coldly, “Take off your clothes.”
Qi Zui: “!!!”
“Hey, hey, hey, Chen Che, you… what are you doing?! You couldn’t be…?!”
“Fine, I treat you as a brother, but you actually…”
Seeing Qi Zui cross his arms over his chest and glare at him with a look of “I’d rather die than submit,” the veins on Wen Xubai’s forehead pulsed. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed the hem of the other man’s shirt and said through gritted teeth, “Applying medicine!”
Qi Zui was stunned for a moment. When he snapped back to reality, his shirt had already been lifted nearly to his chest. He quickly shouted as if facing a great enemy, “I’ll do it myself!”
Saying this, he stripped off his tank top with practiced ease and tossed it onto the shelf nearby.
Then he squeezed his eyes shut, puffed out his chest, and with an air of “risking it all,” shouted, “Come on then!”
Wen Xubai: “……”
Wen Xubai tossed the medicine box next to him, crossed his arms, and sat on the sofa to the side. He said speechlessly, “Do it yourself!”
“Ah, don’t, don’t, don’t…” Qi Zui immediately dropped the act. He scooted over to Wen Xubai with an ingratiating smile and wheedled, “I was wrong, I was wrong… How can I reach my own back? Have a heart, help me apply it…”
Hearing the man’s tone, which sounded suspiciously like whining, Wen Xubai felt a chill run down his spine. But remembering that he was currently in the man’s room, he kept a dark face and snatched the medicine box back.
“Turn around.”
Qi Zui obediently turned his back.
Wen Xubai was suddenly startled.
The man had a great physique—broad shoulders and a narrow waist, without an ounce of excess fat. His muscles weren’t the bulky kind built in a gym, but the lean, refined strength honed by years of hard labor.
However, the bruises on his back ruined the view. Black and blue patches connected in a terrifying map of pain. It was obvious they were from being slammed into the wall back at the noodle shop. They were far more severe than the wounds on his face; many areas had broken skin and were oozing beads of blood.
It looked painful just staring at it…
Wen Xubai recalled how Qi Zui had argued with the police and then run all the way here with him just moments ago. He couldn’t help but feel astonished…
He couldn’t resist asking, “Qi Zui, can you not feel pain?”
He even had a bandage wrapped around his head…
Qi Zui hadn’t expected the question. Even with his glib tongue, he was momentarily stunned.
After a long while, he shrugged nonchalantly. “Ha, it’s nothing. Just a small injury. This level of injury isn’t even as bad as when I fought those punks in middle school. I’m used to it.”
Wen Xubai’s gaze darkened. “Why did you fight with punks?”
Qi Zui suddenly went stiff all over.
Seizing the opportunity, Wen Xubai slapped a glob of ointment onto his back!
“Hiss—” Qi Zui sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, barely suppressing a cry of pain.
“Dude, can’t you give a guy some warning?”
“Studies show that diverting attention reduces the sensation of pain,” Wen Xubai said indifferently.
Hearing this, the corner of Qi Zui’s mouth twitched.
As they spoke, Wen Xubai pushed another glob of ointment onto the skin.
The bruises needed to be massaged out, so Wen Xubai didn’t hold back. Qi Zui flinched from the pain, shrinking away, only to be forcibly pulled back by Wen Xubai.
Cold sweat from the pain beaded on Qi Zui’s forehead. He gritted his teeth and said, “You know so much about it; looks like you got into plenty of fights when you were young too, huh?”
Hearing this, Wen Xubai’s hand pressed down harder, and Qi Zui instantly shut up.
Wen Xubai’s hands didn’t stop moving, but his eyes lowered.
It wasn’t that he fought a lot. It was that he was beaten a lot…
Once the medicine was applied and had dried a bit, Wen Xubai told Qi Zui to find a loose shirt to throw on, preparing to tend to the wound on his head next.
But just as he reached out, a crisp crash suddenly echoed from outside the door, sounding like something shattering!
Qi Zui’s eyes narrowed. He threw the door open and rushed out!
“Mom?!”
Wen Xubai followed him out.
Entering the living room, it was still pitch black. The lights weren’t on, but a figure could be vaguely seen standing in the center of the room…
“Ah! Ahhhhh! Who is it?! —Don’t come over! Don’t come over!” A piercing female scream rang out!
Wen Xubai clearly saw Qi Zui’s back go rigid, freezing him in place.
The figure quickly retreated, backing all the way into a corner, assuming a defensive posture as if terrified to the extreme.
“Mom, it’s me, I’m Xiao Zui…”
As Qi Zui spoke, he found the switch on the wall and pressed it!
Instantly, the entire living room was illuminated!
The woman in the corner flinched, shrinking back further. Her disheveled hair and nightgown were instantly revealed to the two men in the hall.
The woman’s face was filled with terror, seemingly still in shock. She stared at Qi Zui, her pupils slightly constricted…
Wen Xubai frowned slightly.
In the dark, it wasn’t strange to be startled by a sudden voice or figure. But to be this agitated and afraid… even after seeing her own son’s face, the fear didn’t seem to diminish in the slightest…
Wen Xubai didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he felt that the moment Qi Zui’s mother saw Qi Zui, her expression… seemed even more terrified.
Would a mother… be this afraid of her own child?
Qi Zui frowned as well. Looking at the woman’s bare feet standing amidst a pile of glass shards, he said anxiously, “Mom, why aren’t you wearing slippers?”
He quickly fetched the woman’s slippers from the room and had her put them on.
Qi Zui’s mother seemed to finally calm down a little. She smoothed her messy hair and said with a trembling voice, “It… it’s you…”
As she spoke, as if trying to cover something up, she reached for the broom nearby to clean up the glass shards on the floor. But Qi Zui snatched it from her, speaking softly, “I’ll do it.”
From beginning to end, Wen Xubai stood to the side, but Qi Zui’s mother seemed completely unaware of his presence.
“Mom, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to go with you to the hospital?”
“No need… no need. I… I was just thirsty and wanted a drink of water, but my hand slipped…” Her voice was still trembling.
The light in Qi Zui’s eyes dimmed. As he swept up the debris, he asked softly, “Mom, did you take your medicine today?”
“Took it… I took it…” The woman smoothed her hair again, looking somewhat guilty.
Only then did she notice Wen Xubai standing to the side. She froze for a moment and asked, “This is…”
“Mom, he’s my friend. He just arrived in Jiangcheng and doesn’t have a place to stay, so I’m letting him crash here for the night,” Qi Zui answered quickly.
“Oh, I see… Then… then you two go ahead. I… I’ll go back to sleep…” With that, Qi Zui’s mother fled back to her room as if escaping something, slamming the door shut behind her.
Leaving the two men in the living room, bewildered in the metaphorical wind.
Wen Xubai clearly saw a trace of disappointment on Qi Zui’s face…
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