It hurts!
It hurts so bad!
It really hurts!
Her scorching hot body writhed incessantly, Hei Xu Yinsheng groaned in agony. She felt as if she were trapped inside a summer furnace, surrounded by blazing flames that refused to stop until they burned her alive.
“…Nngh.” The black-haired girl whimpered painfully, her face abnormally flushed, brows furrowed tightly, hands gripping the bedding as her nails dug deep into the bed sheet.
In a daze, Hei Xu Yinsheng reached out to grab something, but her body was instantly wrapped in some warm liquid, and an icy chill spread across her forehead. She could no longer muster any strength, as if sinking into an endless abyss.
A bizarre dream filled with fragmented memories surged into her mind. The tormented Hei Xu Yinsheng felt her head twitch, and then, under her body’s self-protective mechanism, she fell into a deep sleep.
—
Rain.
Heavy rain.
A torrential downpour, relentless and drenching.
When the door to the hospital room, reeking of disinfectant, was pushed open again, Zhao Yicheng walked in with his short hair soaked from the rain. He carried doufunao and youtiao, his school uniform plastered with dark water stains from the heavy downpour.
“Old Zhao, you…”
Xu Yinsheng started to say something, but saw Zhao Yicheng stride straight over. He set the doufunao and youtiao on the bedside table, then looked at Xu Yinsheng, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
“Eat up. Weren’t you just mumbling about being hungry? Don’t worry about me. It’s just a bit of rain.”
“Mm-hmm.” Xu Yinsheng nodded obediently and reached out to take the food, but was hindered by the IV tube on his left wrist.
Seeing this, the helplessness in Zhao Yicheng’s eyes deepened.
“Forget it, I’ll feed you.”
With that, without waiting for a reply, he picked up the doufunao and youtiao, sat down on the plastic stool by the bed, tore the youtiao into small pieces, brought them to Xu Yinsheng’s mouth, and used a spoon to scoop up two bites of doufunao, delivering them to his lips.
One bite, two bites, three bites…
The tender white doufunao, sprinkled with a bit of chopped green onion, mixed with vinegar and shrimp—a pairing of white and black. Steam rose as one bite went down, so smooth.
Paired with the golden, crispy youtiao, snapping easily when broken, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Chewing a piece, accompanied by a mouthful of steaming doufunao—what a wonderful taste!
At first, Xu Yinsheng felt a bit of shame and resistance. After all, they were seventeen or eighteen in high school—needing to be spoon-fed? If word got out, those hooligan friends would laugh their teeth out.
But slowly, spoonful after spoonful of the fragrant “fully automatic imported doufunao” led Xu Yinsheng to “enlighten” the truth of the scent theorem.
No wonder feudal landlords loved being waited on. Being fed like this? One word—nice!!
With the last spoonful of doufunao down his throat, Xu Yinsheng let out a satisfied burp, patted his belly, and lay back on the bed with a relaxed expression, lazy and content like a well-fed kitten.
“Old Zhao~ I never knew you were such a good feeder. You’ll definitely be a qualified dad in the future~ burp!”
“This was practiced for a girlfriend,” Zhao Yicheng said flatly.
But then he quickly added, “Too bad for a single dog like me. Haven’t found a girlfriend yet.”
“Got the skill, but no one to feed.”
Zhao Yicheng deliberately put on a heartbroken look and let out a deep sigh.
“Not in the mood for romance now either. It’s been 18 years, and I haven’t even gotten a single love letter. Looks like I’ll be a bachelor for life.”
Xu Yinsheng was fooled by Zhao Yicheng’s masterful acting, thinking his good brother was truly suffering from bachelor anxiety. He quickly comforted him, coaxing and cajoling until he pulled his good brother back from the “brink of depression.”
Suddenly, his eyes shifted. A flicker of hesitation crossed them, but was quickly replaced by determination. He looked at Zhao Yicheng and said:
“Old Zhao, I’m going to tell you a secret. Don’t get mad when you hear it.”
“Hm? What?”
“First promise me you won’t be angry.”
“Alright, I won’t be angry.”
“Remember Xu Jing from our class, the vice class monitor from sophomore year of high school? The one who wore white stockings in summer?”
“Yeah, good grades, sweet face. I remember you tried to hit on her back then, but failed. You even came to me to complain.”
“Well… actually, Xu Jing… she had a thing for you.”
“???”
“She even wrote you a love letter.”
“I never received one.” Zhao Yicheng blurted out, sitting up straight and upright, as if swearing to clear his name.
Xu Yinsheng’s face darkened.
‘Good brother, why are you so nervous! It’s not like you stole my girl! What’s there to be nervous about!’
“I know you didn’t get it.”
“She gave me the letter to pass on to you.”
“But later…” He looked away and coughed twice.
“Later, I don’t know where I put that love letter. I was too embarrassed to tell you.”
“Actually, you’re pretty charming. A lot of girls in our class like you.”
After saying this, Xu Yinsheng glanced at him and asked cautiously: “So… now that I’m telling you… you’re not mad at me, are you?”
‘Tsk! Destroying your good brother’s peach blossom luck? That’s… pretty damn bad.’
Slap!
A large hand mercilessly smacked Xu Yinsheng on the head, making him see stars. Zhao Yicheng viciously rubbed his scalp, grinding his teeth.
“You good-for-nothing, Xu Yinsheng! I treat you like a brother, and this is how you treat yours? You want me to be a bachelor for life, huh?!”
“Oww~ Wahh~”
“Good brother, easy~ easy~”
“I’m gonna split open~ oww~”
—
They messed around for a while until Zhao Yicheng’s anger subsided. Then Xu Yinsheng shamelessly sidled back up.
“Good brother, I was wrong. I’ll go dig through the storage room again when I get back and see if I can find it.”
“Forget it.” Zhao Yicheng rolled his eyes.
“I’m not interested in her.”
“Then what kind do you like?” Xu Yinsheng asked curiously. He had some understanding of Zhao Yicheng’s XP, but wasn’t sure about the specifics.
He only roughly estimated that the other guy liked the weak, pitiful, girl-next-door type.
Zhao Yicheng’s gaze swept over Xu Yinsheng from head to toe, and he raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Your type.”
“Longer hair, thinner waist, longer legs, softer facial lines. Throw in some fishnets and a short skirt.” He nodded, as if examining a fine piece of art. “Perfect!”
“What a pity.” Regarding Zhao Yicheng’s description, Xu Yinsheng took it as a joke between friends. He spread his hands, looking helpless.
“I’m an only child. No sister at home. But if you don’t mind, wait another eighteen years, and maybe I’ll have a sister by then.”
“But by that time, you’d be pushing fifty. My sister probably wouldn’t want you.”
“You’re not bad either.”
Zhao Yicheng sized Xu Yinsheng up again and said:
“Biological organ transplants, plastic surgery, artificial wombs. Perfectly solves the problem.”
“Good brother, be my wife. I’ll take care of you for life!”
As they spoke, a pair of synchronized laughs filled the room, bringing some life to the hospital in the pouring rain.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
The rain fell heavier and heavier, a torrential downpour, as if it wanted to wash away all the filth in the world!
Boom!
A thunderclap exploded in the pitch-black night sky. A blinding flash of white light tore through the darkness, also illuminating Xu Yinsheng’s slowly lengthening hair, cascading like a waterfall of jet-black silk.