Chapter 54: You’ve Got White Hair. (2/2)

His tone was filled with bitterness and sadness, ”You’ve got white hair on the sides of your face.”

*

Ziqian Ai left on the same night he came. He knew his brother so he didn't waste time on extra persuasion. He knew it was best if he stayed out of it. How long could the life of a cancer patient that refused chemotherapy last? He would be dead less than one year. And how long could a dead man be remembered? Less than one year. Ziqian Ai could wait. He reckoned it could serve as a life lesson for his brother.

Zhishu He's condition got worse. He was covered with bruises, even edema at the worst part. You could see a tiny pit when a swelling got pressed; what you couldn't see was the stinging pain.

Zhishu He was lethargic every day and had a bad appetite and was too weak to walk around. But he wouldn't like to trouble others. Instead, he kept the severest pain to himself. Recently, Zhishu was fascinated by the balcony outside the French windows on the second floor. Looking down, there were Doctor Ai's plants growing wildly in the garden. They seemed to grow buds. Looking into the distance, there was Lingyin Temple and a small lake in the tea plantation, which was a pleasant view.

Ziyu Ai was so worried about Zhishu He that he was on pins and needles every day. Zhishu was more stubborn than he thought—not only did he stay away from the medicine for his cancer, but he also cut off the painkillers and sleeping pills.

This day, Zhishu had a fever again, which burnt him out so this night; unlike usual, he slept early.

Ziyu Ai carefully stroked Zhishu's face with a warm towel. He couldn't help kissing him from between his eyebrows to the edge of his lips, then he lay next to Zhishu and cuddled him.

Ziyu Ai cuddled Zhishu a lot these days when Zhishu couldn't sleep at night. Zhishu didn't like the cold. No matter how high temperature the air-con was set at night, it would still be too cold for him. Ziyu had a warm body. He would hold the entirety of Zhishu's body in his arms and pat Zhishu on his back like he was a kid. As day went by, Zhishu could sleep better but Ziyu became a light sleeper.

So tonight, a smallest sound Zhishu made woke Ziyu up. He heard Zhishu whimpering very quietly. He turned on the table lamp but found that Zhishu hadn't awake. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, which indicated that he was suffering in his dream.

Ziyu washed the towel and wiped Zhishu's face again. His hand was shaking as he stared at the translucent tracks of tears on his cheeks. He kissed on his eyelashes, prayed that he could sleep tight tonight.

Suddenly, Zhishu He opened his eyes, looked at Ziyu Ai blankly. In a daze, he asked a question that totally came out of nowhere, ”Where is my ring?”

”Have you seen my ring?”

Ziyu Ai was confused but soon found that Zhishu's eyes were cloudy as if a nightmare had got the better of him.

Ziyu talked him into lying down. He took a look at Zhishu's fingers in his hand and saw a light mark, due to too many years of wearing a ring, was left on his third finger.