Chapter 41: Donst Leave Me. (1/2)

Translator: Claire.KK

Zhishu He fell on the ground, with his chest soaked with blood. After he struggled with the suffocating pain, leaving the unprecedented quietness in the room.

He stared at the unadorned ring on the third finger of his left hand. He had worn the ring for more than a decade and rubbed it for ten million times, which had been turned into a rope that firmly tied his heart.

But he did not know that his precious ring was just a cheap and rough thing in others’ eyes. The cruel fact told him that his persistence in love was as funny as a joke.

Zhishu He took off the ring slowly. As he had worn it for too long, it was difficult and painful to do with it. But in the end, what the ring could leave was only a white and shallow trace.

He threw the ring far away with his eyes closed, hearing nothing but a few light sounds as the ring fell down and bounced under the sofa.

Zhishu He lay on the ground for a long time before getting up. Then he washed his face, cleaned his clothes, and cooked for cats. He felt that he might be really numb like a puppet, mending his broken heart again and again with needle and thread. Between the happy years and the sad years, he spent time like this.

When Wenxu Jiang went home, Zhishu He was reading in the living room, pretending that he didn’t know Wenxu Jiang’s return. Well, he just smiled with a light satisfaction, slowly turning over the pages.

“Little Shu.”Wenxu Jiang was attracted by that smile, and he called Zhishu He with deep feelings which seemed to have been accumulated and concealed for more than a decade.

“I'm back.” He finally came back like a kid tired of playing outside, being afraid to be beaten.

Zhishu He put down the poems written by Jian Zhen and looked up at the man who still stood in the entryway. Wenxu Jiang was holding a large bundle of gypsophila paniculata, a pair of affectionate eyes staring at Zhishu.

Zhishu He smiled, “Is it for me?” He stood up to pick up the flowers and was kissed on the cheek by Wenxu Jiang. “Of course. The jasmine hasn't bloomed yet in the garden of Old Duan. I'll pick it for you when it blooms.”

Zhishu He did not answer. He took over the flowers, but he could not find a vase to contain them. Later on, he remembered that the vase had been broken before.

Wenxu Jiang thought Zhishu He so cute and funny when he stood there foolishly while holding the flowers in his hand. Then, he begun to feel slightly moved and painful seeing Zhishu at a loss.

“Just put it aside. I'll make it into dry flowers for you, which is easy to keep.” Wenxu Jiang looked at him with a smile and said, “You haven’t had dinner, right? I have bought some ingredients.”

It was only 6 pm. Zhishu He didn't eat so early when he was alone. Even most of the time, he didn’t eat anything. And the medicine was enough to make him feel full.

Zhishu He stood behind the door of the kitchen and looked at Wenxu Jiang cooking like a boy. He said from time to time: “Less salt...no vinegar...don't add coriander to the fish, you stupid!”

As a result, there was too much salt, vinegar, and even the coriander.”

“It was your fault to disturb my heart.” Wenxu Jiang smiled and pinched the cheek of Zhishu He, and then he was astonished by Zhishu He’s haggard face.

Zhishu He turned around and waited in the living room. He didn't hope there was nothing esculent tonight.

Three dishes and one soup were served on the table. The first one made under the “guidance” of the Zhishu He was tasted by neither of them. That was in dinner, Wenxu Jiang found that the ring on Zhishu He’s finger disappeared.

“Where's your ring?”

“Where's my ring? Where is it?” Zhishu He immitated the tone of Wenxu Jiang and smiled.

Wenxu Jiang's face changed, but he calmed down soon. Looking at the shallow mark on Zhishu He’s finger, he said with a low sound, “Little Shu, seriously, put the ring before I take you to pick a new one on the New Year's Day. Is it ok?”