Wang Kai Wen’s state of mind could no longer be described by anything as simple as “horror.” One second earlier, he had still been accompanying Brother Chu San through a life-or-death crisis. His last memory was of Xia Liu Yi pulling him away from the speeding van through a haze of pain and confusion while he helplessly watched Brother Chu San being taken away. Yet the moment he opened his eyes, he saw Qin Hao laughing uncontrollably… Qin Hao, that solemn, aloof man with the perpetually icy face???
Is he that happy to see me this miserable?? I only tricked him into sex once—and it didn’t even really count as tricking him! I didn’t do it on purpose!
Wang Kai Wen was so frightened that he thought he was having a nightmare. He curled up beneath the covers like a gecko rolled into a ball and refused to move. The medical staff had no choice but to ask Qin Hao to help unfold him back into human form. Before the doctor left, Qin Hao asked whether Wang Kai Wen could eat. The doctor told him not to give Wang Kai Wen anything too hard; with a concussion, chewing too vigorously would only make him dizzier.
Qin Hao therefore brought over a bowl of congee and carefully fed Wang Kai Wen, holding the spoon to his lips. “Eat slowly. If you chew too fast, you’ll get dizzy.”
Wang Kai Wen was indeed still dizzy. He slowly swallowed one mouthful, became even dizzier, and waved his hand to indicate that he did not want any more for the moment. In a daze, he asked, “Where’s Brother Chu San?”
“He’s fine. Xia Liu Yi and his family are taking care of him.”
“What about Xie Ying Jie?”
“He’s been arrested.”
“Oh.” Wang Kai Wen let out a breath of relief, then asked blankly, “Why are you here?”
“I…” Qin Hao could not possibly explain everything that had happened over the past several days in a few words. “I’ve been here taking care of you.”
Wang Kai Wen stared at him foolishly. “Why? Where’s my mom?”
“You have a mother?” Qin Hao vaguely remembered hearing him call for his mother earlier.
“Huh? You don’t have a mother?”
“…” Qin Hao really did not.
Apart from He Chu San, no one knew that Wang Kai Wen still had a mother. Both Wang Kai Wen and He Chu San had been unconscious, so naturally no one had told Qin Hao to notify her—such was the sorrow of a supporting character’s mother. For the past several days, Mother Wang had believed her son was missing. When she finally received the news, she rushed to the hospital, hugged her son, wiped away her tears, and nagged him without pause.
By then, Qin Hao had finished feeding Wang Kai Wen the congee and was standing awkwardly off to the side. “Then I’ll leave first.”
Wang Kai Wen patted his mother on the back and turned around. “Are you going back to work?”
“Not for the next two days.” Qin Hao had taken a week off to look after Wang Kai Wen and still had two days of leave left.
Wang Kai Wen gazed eagerly at him. Now that the masked man’s head was no longer quite so dizzy, he had regained his senses. He had eaten the congee Qin Hao fed him, and his restless thoughts immediately began stirring again. “Then, when you have time, could you come see me again? Could you bring me a book tomorrow?”
“What kind of book?”
“Anything with words. Brother Chu San told me to read more.”
Qin Hao nodded and turned to leave. His departing figure looked cold and distant.
But Wang Kai Wen was delighted. Hugging his mother’s arm, he asked, “Mom, don’t you think he’s adorable? Isn’t he handsome?”
“Who is he? What does he do?” Mother Wang asked.
“A new friend. He’s a police officer. Impressive, right?”
“You little bastard, always copying other people and acting like a gangster. Now you’ve copied them all the way into the hospital! And you’re friends with a police officer? Who are you trying to fool? He’s probably here to arrest you.”
“He really isn’t, Mom. I’m studying finance with Brother Chu San and trading stocks. I’m completely respectable.”
“People who trade stocks are never good people!” Mother Wang declared with absolute certainty. “Old Uncle Huang from the building opposite traded stocks until his whole family jumped to their deaths! Your Brother Chu San is so clever, so why doesn’t he teach you to behave properly? Did he turn bad after getting a boyfriend?”
“We don’t trade stocks like that…” Wang Kai Wen chattered with his mother for ages without managing to explain himself. In the end, she smacked him on the head. “Don’t hit me! I have a concussion…”
…
The next day, Qin Hao brought him a copy of Ultimate Techniques of World Champion Boxers. It even had full-color pages. Every page featured a shirtless, magnificently built muscular man posing with his fists raised or hands on his hips.
Wang Kai Wen flipped through it with mixed feelings, and his head became even dizzier.
“You don’t like it?” Qin Hao asked, studying his expression.
“Cough.” Wang Kai Wen tried to be tactful. “I wanted something with words.”
Qin Hao turned to the last few pages, where large amounts of explanatory text accompanied the illustrations. “There are words here.”
“Cough.” Wang Kai Wen could no longer remain tactful. “I don’t particularly like this type. I like Brother Chu San’s type.”
Polite, refined, and handsome? Qin Hao thought. I’m not that type.
But Wang Kai Wen had said that Qin Hao was adorable and that he wanted them to start as friends.
He probably just wants to be friends and have sex now and then, Qin Hao thought again.
Feeling a faint, inexplicable sense of disappointment, Qin Hao said, “I’ll go out and buy another one. Would a book about finance be all right?”
“No, no, don’t.” Wang Kai Wen hurriedly grabbed the hem of his shirt. The book had never been his real objective. “Sit down and talk to me for a while.”
Qin Hao sat beside his bed but could not think of anything to say. He had never been particularly eloquent. Wang Kai Wen waited for a while, but when Qin Hao remained silent, he had no choice but to speak first. “My mom went home to cook. I even asked her to bring breakfast for you this morning. I thought you’d come early.”
“I went to buy the book this morning,” Qin Hao said. After thinking for a moment, he added, “I have to work tomorrow. May I come see you before work?”
“Sure. Come drink the soy milk my mom makes. She makes it herself. It smells wonderful.”
Qin Hao gave a soft acknowledgment, then fell silent again.
The two remained quiet for a while. Qin Hao worked extremely hard to find something to say. “You…” “You…” Wang Kai Wen spoke at the same time.
They both paused. “Cough. You go first.” “You go first.”
Gathering his courage, Wang Kai Wen spoke first. “Why did you keep taking care of me these past few days?”
“I thought you didn’t have any family.”
“There wasn’t any other reason?” Wang Kai Wen asked nervously and expectantly.
Qin Hao looked at him. “Last time, you said we could start as friends. Does that still count?”
“It counts, it counts.” Wang Kai Wen hurriedly nodded.
“If we’re friends, may I hug you?”
Wang Kai Wen immediately opened his arms. Qin Hao leaned forward and embraced him tightly, then breathed in the scent at his neck. Mother Wang had wiped him down with lemon-scented soap. The fragrance was sweet and tart, and Qin Hao found it adorable.
“The doctors said a few days ago that you’d injured your head and might end up in a vegetative state. I was very worried,” Qin Hao said as he held him. “I’m glad you woke up.”
Wang Kai Wen rubbed his face against Qin Hao’s shoulder. “You still haven’t finished explaining why you took care of me.”
“Thank you for sleeping with me that night.”
“What else?”
“You’re very adorable.”
Wang Kai Wen sighed. “Do you like me a little?”
“I don’t know. What about you?”
“I don’t know either.”
Although both claimed not to know, they still clung tightly to each other like koalas, neither willing to let go. Wang Kai Wen hesitantly asked, “If we’re friends, can we kiss?”
“Probably not.”
Wang Kai Wen felt a little disappointed, because kissing Qin Hao really did feel wonderful. But Qin Hao immediately lowered his head and kissed him softly. Afterward, Qin Hao was the first to blush. Wang Kai Wen was also slightly breathless and murmured, “Then… why don’t we just start as boyfriends?” He wrapped his arms around Qin Hao’s neck.
They kissed affectionately for a while longer. Remembering something, Qin Hao pulled back. “Then you can’t keep being a gangster. I don’t want to arrest you myself one day.”
Wang Kai Wen looked baffled. “I’m not a gangster. Brother Chu San and I are both ICAC informants. We’re undercover, just like you.”
Suspicion appeared on Qin Hao’s face, so Wang Kai Wen continued explaining. “I did run with gangs on the streets for a while, but after I started following Brother Chu San, I left that life behind. Brother Chu San plotted against you back then because the Old Shopkeeper had discovered your identity and ordered Mr. Xia to kill you. So Brother Chu San acted first and intercepted the plan. We were trying to save you.”
Qin Hao frowned. “You were trying to save Xia Liu Yi.”
“Cough. Th-That too… I’m sorry.”
Qin Hao looked at him for a while. “Fine. Kiss me once more and I’ll forgive you.”
Wang Kai Wen hurriedly kissed him. Qin Hao smiled and tugged at Wang Kai Wen’s plump earlobe, still finding him extremely adorable.
Then they would start as boyfriends.
That very evening, Qin Hao stayed behind under the pretext of keeping him company overnight. He locked the ward door, and the two proceeded to fulfill their duties as boyfriends, continuing the “two-night stand” they had left unfinished last time.
Though Wang Kai Wen was so badly injured that he could not even sit up on his own, jerking each other off once still was not enough for him. He insisted on pestering Qin Hao to “get on top.” Qin Hao carefully climbed onto the hospital bed and straddled Wang Kai Wen, leaning down to kiss him as he removed both their clothes. Wang Kai Wen was soon tightly enveloped by him. Qin Hao’s formidable glutes clenched around him until he hissed through his teeth. Waves of pleasure rose and fell, tossing him about like a boat on a turbulent sea and leaving him with no initiative whatsoever. Overcome with passion, his head grew thoroughly muddled—in the most literal sense of being “concussed.”
“So dizzy… Mm… I’m so dizzy…”
“Do you want me to slow down?”
“No, don’t… Ah… You’re so tight…”
At the final, most intense moment, Wang Kai Wen was rocked so hard that he nearly fainted on the spot. Qin Hao handled the cleanup afterward as well. Wang Kai Wen lay weak and delicate beneath the covers, waiting for Qin Hao to return and cuddle him to sleep, looking every inch the pampered little wife.
Qin Hao soon returned, carefully squeezed onto the narrow hospital bed beside him, and kissed his forehead. Wang Kai Wen kissed him back and sighed. “Sorry. Once I recover, I’ll repay you properly. I really am a pure top. I’ll be a good husband.”
Qin Hao laughed and kissed him again. “All right. I’ll wait.”
…
Every day before and after work, Qin Hao visited Wang Kai Wen. Sometimes, he ran into Xie Jia Hua hurrying through the elevator—naturally, Xie Jia Hua was there to visit Lu Guang Ming.
One day, after exchanging greetings, Xie Jia Hua could not resist asking, “You’re visiting Wang Kai Wen again?”
“Mm.”
Xie Jia Hua looked suspicious. “You and he…”
“He’s my boyfriend now,” Qin Hao said.
Xie Jia Hua was rather surprised, but he knew Wang Kai Wen was He Chu San’s assistant and a decent person. “That’s good. I wish you happiness. But how did the two of you get together?”
“A one-night stand,” Qin Hao said.
He was still laughing after leaving the elevator. Every time he remembered Xie Jia Hua’s shocked expression, he found it funny all over again. Catching his reflection in the glass of a passing door, Qin Hao rubbed his face and realized that he had smiled more in the past few days than he had throughout his entire life.
So being in love really does make people happy.
He entered Wang Kai Wen’s ward. Wang Kai Wen and his mother were admiring Ultimate Techniques of World Champion Boxers together. Mother Wang said impatiently, “Aiya, no matter how much I look at them, none of them are as handsome as Hao Hao.”
“Of course,” Wang Kai Wen said smugly.
Mother Wang looked up and saw Qin Hao enter. “Perfect timing. Hao Hao, keep him company. I’m heading home.”
“Take care, Auntie,” Qin Hao said.
Mother Wang walked over, squeezed Qin Hao’s arm, and lifted his sleeve to inspect it. Then she said to Wang Kai Wen, “Much more handsome than the men in the book, and he’s even a police officer. You found yourself a better boyfriend than your Brother Chu San did.” She patted Qin Hao on the back and left, leaving Qin Hao utterly bewildered and Wang Kai Wen immensely proud.
Qin Hao closed the ward door and asked Wang Kai Wen, “Auntie knows about us?”
“I told her today.”
“She… She didn’t say anything?”
Wang Kai Wen happily pulled him closer and kissed him. “I told her when I was a teenager that I liked Brother Chu San and liked men. She couldn’t understand it for a while, but eventually she gave up trying to do anything about it. I treat her well, and my boyfriend will treat her well too. That means she has two good sons, right?”
Qin Hao gave a soft acknowledgment, though he felt somewhat uneasy inside. This romance seemed far too simple, smooth, and fast, without the slightest obstacle. Compared with the treacherous storms surrounding Brother Jia Hua and Lu Guang Ming, or the enormous waves He Chu San and Xia Liu Yi had endured, Qin Hao kept worrying that something about his relationship with Wang Kai Wen had to be wrong.
“The doctor said I can get out of bed and walk around a little,” Wang Kai Wen said. “Will you come with me to visit Brother Chu San?”
He Chu San had passed the critical period several days earlier. Xia Liu Yi had cared for him until he was out of danger, then broken up with him before being taken back into custody. He Chu San had suffered an enormous blow. During this period, he had been unable to eat, vomiting up whatever he swallowed and surviving solely on intravenous nutrition. His cheeks had hollowed out. Lu Guang Ming had visited him the previous day. He Chu San had spoken with him for a while and managed to talk some sense into Lu Guang Ming, yet he himself remained in the same miserable, half-dead state.
Qin Hao supported Wang Kai Wen as they went to visit him. He Chu San struggled into a sitting position and weakly looked Wang Kai Wen up and down, asking about every part of his condition. “Kevin, I dragged you into this.”
“Don’t say that, Brother Chu San. You saved my life, and I chose this road myself. You should hurry up and recover too. Seeing you like this has everyone worried sick.”
He Chu San lowered his eyes, his pupils dark and lifeless. “Every minute and every second that I’ve been awake lately, I’ve thought about only one thing—killing him.”
Instead, Wang Kai Wen leaned closer and said earnestly, “That’s right, Brother Chu San. Wanting to kill him is good. Killing him takes strength, opportunity, and the right method. All the more reason for you to eat properly, sleep properly, and live well. Wait patiently until the day you can see him again, then stab him hard and cut him a thousand, ten thousand times, until you’ve vented every bit of hatred in your heart.”
He Chu San smiled. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his pale hand, sat there blankly for a moment, then could not help smiling again.
He understood Wang Kai Wen’s meaning: when despair struck, he did not have to love Xia Liu Yi. Hating him could keep him alive too.
“Thank you, Kevin.”
Supported by Qin Hao, Wang Kai Wen left the ward and patted his chest in lingering fear. “Whoa. If Mr. Xia ever found out I said something like that, he’d definitely beat me to death. My legs went weak the moment I finished saying it.”
“You incited murder. I could arrest you,” Qin Hao said.
“Then arrest me. Mercy, Officer. Why don’t you cuff me tonight and play with me? I’ve never tried handcuffs before.”
“Stop fooling around.”
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