Chapter 113

unedited

Meow.

Shen Yans eyelids trembled in his deep sleephe seemed to have heard a cats soft call.

The source of the voice was very close, as if just by his ear. Even though he still didnt wake up, he still felt something touching faintly against his ear, not much like a furball of a kitty, but just as warm.

Meow. The second time was softer than the first one.

This time, that thing touched his face. It didnt feel like a cats paws or whiskers, but more like a humans finger tracing over his cheek lightly, only to finally press on his eyelashes.

Mn. He made a vague noise, instinctively raising his hand. His fingers seemed to have managed to touch the kittys head, so just as he would usually do when patrolling the sickrooms in the clinic, he stroked it very gently.

Thats not right

What his palm touched wasnt quite the same as a cats silken fur. Each strand and lock was just as thin and soft, but there was a certain degree of stiffness to it. After stroking it a few times, he didnt manage to touch the hairy and pointy ear, but a fleshy and warm onea human ear.

Shen Yan was startled, then quickly opened his eyes. The person opposite him crossed eyes with him immediately, seemingly just as startled.

Shen Yan was the first to come back to his senses. He finally realised what he was doing and took back his hand, embarra.s.sed, Sorry, force of habit.

Qi Jing was just putting his hand on the pillow, laying on his side docilely as he let Shen Yan stroke his hair, but when he heard him say so, he got taken aback at first, then sputtered with laughter, his eyes narrowing into smiling crescents. As he laughed, he really flipped over and drilled back under the duvet in a cat-like movement, hugging him close and tight in his arms.

At first, he was only quietly watching the sleeping face of the man on the other side of the pillow, then he meowed twice by his ear like a kitten, wanting to see if he would wake up. He just didnt expect Shen Yans force of habit to make him reach his arm out and rub his headand he accepted it with pleasure, even diligently a.s.suming kittys role in enjoying this treatment.

Because honestly, it was so cosy.

For a moment, he felt a bit envious of the kitties Shen Yan looked out for in the clinic.

The sunlight of an early winter morning made everything slow down, as if the light itself also entered a hibernationfalling quietly on the floor, the furniture, and the hands of the clockholding back their ends so that unbeknownst to them, the time seemed to have slowed down as well.

And it wasnt only timehuman movements also became slow too. The hugs, caressing, kissesthey were all unhurried, languid.

It was still chilly outside the duvet, so Qi Jing had no inclination to get up from bed. Under the pretext of seeking warmth, his two hands roamed slowly all over Shen Yans body, from front to back for quite a while, and Shen Yan also opened his arms to hug him, stroking his hair gently. There was no fabric between their skin, so they rubbed against each other with nothing to keep them apart, the satisfaction it sparked hard to describe.

I finally changed the screensaver on my phone. For a while, Qi Jing said nothing in his embrace, but once he spoke, it was a topic Shen Yan didnt really know where it came from.

The screensaver?

Mhm. Qi Jing chuckled, then sighed with nostalgia, I havent changed it for a long time already.

Usually, without Qi Jings permission, Shen Yan wouldnt touch his private things, like his work doc.u.ments, folders, the contents of his laptop and so on Of course, it also included his phone. Thats why, he really has never even seen what his phones screensaver was.

At that time, Qi Jing slowly raised his upper body and took the phone from the side of the pillow to put it before his face, smiling indolently, When you were still sleeping just now, I took a picture of you with my phone, wanting to use it as my new screensaver to look at everyday.

Hearing this, Shen Yan was startled, his gaze following his movement to the phones screensaveron the screen was a close-up of him, as if taken from a very close distance with just the right angle. Him in the picture had his eyes closed, seemingly deep asleep on the pillow, his expression just as gentle as the sunlight falling on his face.

After a while, Shen Yans gaze moved to Qi Jing. During the whole process, Qi Jing kept smiling faintly; seeing him look over, he took an initiative to s.h.i.+ft over and lay a kiss on his cheek.

Then what was your previous screensaver? After waiting silently for the kiss to end, Shen Yan asked huskily.

At that moment, Qi Jing paused for a short while before chuckling quietly, It was also you. Saying this, he opened the gallery on his phone and without waiting for Shen Yan to react, he found a picture inside.

This picture was taken from a bit far away, but the person on it was indeed himand it was also him in his sleep. He was on the sofa in the clinics resting area, with a thin blanket and a small furry patient in his embrace, sticking out its head from under the blanket to lay feebly on his chest. Because of the window curtains being down at the time, the lighting on the picture wasnt too good and both the human and the cat figures were blurry, but was still a kind of meaningful aesthetic to it.

Shen Yan recalled this scene and couldnt help but freeze from shock.

That was Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Qi Jing came over to send the mooncakes

You

At that time, I already developed feelings that went beyond friends.h.i.+p to you. Qi Jing continued speaking calmly.

Shen Yan stared into his eyes, unmoving, yet Qi Jings gaze lowered to take a look at this nostalgia-inducing picture.

I must have gotten possessed for a moment, because I took this picture and saved it in my phone, and then I decided to never meet with you again.

Saying this, Qi Jing laughed self-mockingly, his voice hoa.r.s.e.

When I was pressing the shutter at that time, I was thinking This man cant possibly be with me, he cant belong to me. He muttered quietly and slid with his thumb, returning to the homescreen. In its palm-sized frame, there was a face of a man hugging him in a sleep after the night of pa.s.sion, causing a tinge of sweetness to slip into his bitter smile, melting into it as he spoke, But when I was taking the picture just now, what I thought was, this man belongs to me, he will always be with me.

It was a very strong, but also a very confident thought

At that time, Qi Jing tossed the phone aside without a word and lowered himself to hug this person firmly.

Come with me. He said.

Okay. Shen Yan replied calmly, as if it was a very normal, very simple thing being discussed.

It was just a single word, but Qi Jing knew how much went into it.

He had clearly received a reply he wished for, but his heart couldnt help but jolt. All of the emotions weighing on him seemed to be shaken all at once, leaving him unable to tell which one was joy and which one was sadness But right now, he no longer needed to separate them, because rather than the end of the journey, how they would continue going forward was more important.

The news channel director received a message from Qi Jing.

These few days, he gave Qi Jing quite a few calls, all of them mostly about the same as he tried to persuade him to accept this scholars.h.i.+p opportunity, and Qi Jings answer never changedI will give it another thought. Hence the Im giving you three days also became Im giving you four days, and then Im giving you five days, but each time he ended up hanging the call indignantly.

Thats why when he received those three words,I accept itin a message, he couldnt process it for a moment.

By the time he processed it, he had already managed to dial Qi Jings number. Aiya, Xiao Qi, you finally got it!

Im sorry, Director, this time I really inconvenienced You Qi Jing smiled, a bit ashamed, looking through an online catalogue of apartments in Beijing on his PC screen as he took the call. If they wanted to go to Beijing, then they naturally had to first solve the housing issue.

Director was beyond pleased with his decision, his compliments to him and his understanding girlfriend unceasing. He expressed that he would first contact the Beijing side, because before sealing the deal the person in charge from CCTV would most likely want to see Qi Jing himself and have a face-to-face interview with him out of pure formality, to get to know him or whatsoever. During this time, he could take his time preparing to move.

As Qi Jing was preparing to leave, the woman was preparing to leave too.

She told them this plan as they visited the hospital to bring her food, the reason being, I cant let you two take care of me forever, and the hospitalisation fees for staying here day after day wont make a small sum.

As she spoke up to say so, Qi Jing was taken aback, nodding his head instinctively.

You too have your own life. She said faintly.

Shen Yan didnt reply immediately.

Qi Jing on the other hand couldnt sit still. After he got to know that Shen Yan told her about their relations.h.i.+p, the three of them never brought it up anymore, but everyone of them had a tacit understanding of it. Qi Jing was a bit overcautious before the woman, always feeling too ashamed to look her in the eyes. The woman on the other hand didnt show any intention of avoiding him, even silently staring at him for a while at some times, then smiling with frustration, making it hard to fathom what she was thinking.

Auntie, maybe it would be better for You to recuperate a bit longer, If the reason was what he thought it was, then maybe it would be better for him to take an initiative and appear less before the woman, In fact, soon I will have to go back to my job, so Shen Yan can spend more time with You.

He should accompany you more when he has time. Yet he didnt expect the woman to suddenly say something like this. Qi Jing was caught off guard, his cheeks flus.h.i.+ng a bit.

Mom At that time, Shen Yan also spoke up.

Dont worry, Im really fine already. What the woman said wasnt wrong. After the recuperation these days, although her complexion couldnt be said to be rosy, it also wasnt sickly anymore. During the check-up, the doctor also said that her body functions were all mostly recovered and that she could already consider leaving the hospital.

Her stay at the provincial capital also wasnt short, and she got a husband and new family after her remarriage, so she also couldnt stay here for too long. Shen Yan also used up all the days of his leave and could only come over after his s.h.i.+ft, so the commuting back and forth would be a bit inconvenient in the end.

Under the womans insisting, the discharge procedure was finished by the next day and Shen Yan also prepared her return ticket and all the meds needed for the recuperation period. In the morning, Qi Jing went to the company to make the preparations for his return to work, then hurried to eat the last lunch with her at noon before sending her out together with Shen Yan to the provincial bus station.

It was still an hour before the departure of the bus, so the three of them were sitting in the waiting room, silent.

The silence lasted until the woman suddenly asked, Xiao Qi, are you still in contact with your family?

Qi Jing was taken aback for a bit, then remembered that he had used the topic of being abandoned by his family to get closer to the woman at first. His face turned gloomy as he smiled bitterly and shook his head. No, He said quietly, What I said to You before wasnt a lie, Auntie. My family really doesnt want me anymore. Last time I saw them was years ago, and we dont even call each other more than some five times a yearafter my car accident, we only talked twice.

What did they say the last time?

The last time Qi Jing hesitated, recalling the content of his conversation with his father.

After youre finished with the interview, call me back Tell me if she did.

The last time was when I called my dad before I came to the hospital to see You, He slowly clenched his hands on his knees, continuing with difficulty, I told him that I need to interview a certain mother, ask her if she regretted

If she regretted abandoning her child.

He didnt finish his words, but the woman already understood what he meant to sayback then, Qi Jing already asked her this question. She turned her head to take a look at Shen Yan. His head was lowered as he sorted out her luggage and he didnt say anything, so she took her gaze back.

Then what did your dad say? Her voice sounded even more quiet than usual.

He wanted me to tell him the outcome after the interview ended.

But the so-called

interview

wasnt in fact a real interview and at that time, he didnt know if he should proceed with the conversation with the woman, so in the end, she neither confirmed or denied. And so, this matter dragged on all the way until now, still unsolved.

And the reason for it to remain unsolved, aside from the woman herself, was mostly because of his fathers motive.

The way I see it, my dad probably wants me to hear from You that You didnt regret it.

To let it prove that him having no regret was right.

To let it prove that his son was only expecting too much.

Qi Jing wanted to smile self-mockingly, yet he felt that the corners of his lips were a bit stiff, unable to quirk up. If it really was like that then he would rather never call him back in his life, to spare himself getting his face slapped and getting mocked for shooting himself in the foot.

The woman didnt say anything for a long while. Just as Qi Jing was thinking that this topic has already pa.s.sed, the womans next words left him dazed. Call your dad back. After calling, you tell him that That the mother you interviewed has a few words for him.

Hearing this, Shen Yan stopped what he was doing and took a profound look at the woman.

The woman didnt say anything anymore, only encouraging Qi Jing gently, Call him.

It took a few seconds for Qi Jing to get over his astonishment. For a moment, he didnt know what to do, so he instinctively casted a perplexed glance at Shen Yan. At this time, Shen Yan slowly looked away from the woman, nodding his head towards him.

Qi Jing remained silent, only taking out his phone slowly after a while. He found the number, one he barely called a few times these years, yet didnt forget a single digit of it. He tried pressing that green calling b.u.t.ton twice with no avail, only pressing the right place by the third timethen he realised that this dull calling sound couldnt no longer cover his suddenly urgent breathing.

With a

clack

, someone seemingly took the call.

h.e.l.lo?

Qi Jing shook slightlyit was his father. The landline in their house had a caller display, so his phone number was surely displayed on it He didnt know if his father saw it before he took the call.

The answer was yes. He clearly did, because fathers voice was like the heavy and humid air before a rain, with a trace of overbearance to it. Before he could even speak, he asked coldly, How long do you need for an interview? Why do you only call now?

Qi Jing opened his mouth to speak, then shut it back.

Seeing his son not speaking, Qi Jings father also seemed to mild down a bit, remaining silent with him, only coughing every one and then from his chronic laryngitis.

That mother, the one I interviewed She wishes to talk with You. After a long while, he said so dazedly and without waiting for fathers response, he directly put the phone in the womans hands.

The woman received it without a word, then put it slowly by her ear.

h.e.l.lo, Mr Qi, After saying her greetings, she went straight to the point, I am that mother that got interviewed, right now Im making this call with my son by my side Theres a few words that I wish to tell You.

A/N:

I really think that Shen mama should introduce herself like this: Im your sons boyfriends mom (This kind of fighting fire with fire What to do, it really has a bit of that something to it)

The previous chapter has been locked by JJ six or seven times already I dont have energy for it anymore. Those who havent seen ch112 yet, please go and read the author notes there _(:3)_

T/N:

Lucilla: I kinda wonder what the frustration in Shen Yans mothers smile meant whenever she looked at Qi Jing meant Was she frustrated because she still had a bit of a hard time getting used to her son being in a relations.h.i.+p with a man? Or maybe she was thinking of her own past relations.h.i.+p, and of how she also once wanted to be accepted and protected by her loved one? So, what are your thoughts guys?