Qin Shu was focused on the rearview mirror when he suddenly heard Xu Ning’s voice and nearly jumped out of his skin. Once he realized it was the sound from Baby’s WeChat, he couldn’t help but break into an auntie-like smile.
As expected of Ning Ning—on the day after doing it, he still didn’t forget to care for his own husband’s health, even asking whether his back hurt. Such a gentle beauty of a shou—he could eat this for a hundred years!
Wait—Qin Shu’s brows furrowed. Something wasn’t right.
“Does your back still hurt?”
Back?
Back…?
BOOM—
A “bolt of thunder” struck straight down from the sky onto Qin Shu’s head. His smile froze on his face while his entire body turned to a skeleton.
Baby, a strong gong, did it with his wife, and the next day he… his back hurt?
How could that be… Did Xu Ning—? Holy sh*t! #￥%……&？！
Qin Shu split apart.
Meanwhile, Chu Cheng, no matter how many times he pressed play, couldn’t hear the voice message Xu Ning had sent, and thought WeChat had glitched. He kept tapping, but not a peep came out. He made the face of a subway grandpa looking at a phone: “What the h*ll is this cr*p? Garbage!”
But in the car, Xu Ning’s gentle, caring voice kept replaying over and over:
“How’s your body feeling? Does your back still hurt?”
“How’s your body feeling? Does your back still hurt?”
“How’s your body feeling? Does your back still hurt?”
…
The sky spun, the earth collapsed, mountains shook and seas split, the end of the world was nothing more than this.
Already reduced to a skeleton, Qin Shu was being whipped again and again. His heart hurt so much it went numb; the whole world lost its color. The black before his eyes wasn’t black, the white you spoke of wasn’t white.
He couldn’t see the vehicle closing in through the rearview mirror, nor hear Chu Cheng’s frantic shouts. A man whose heart was dead—how could he see or hear anything?
Ah, thunder again. A rumbling boom, with a shockwave. Perhaps this was the sign of a man about to die.
Chu Cheng watched in horror as his idol’s car slowly crept toward a small van parked at the side. At the moment of impact he shut his eyes. Thankfully he did so quickly—otherwise he really would have witnessed the crash.
…Except it really did crash, holy sh*t!
Fortunately, the car’s safety features kicked in. After the collision warning, it automatically braked. The car stopped, “embracing” the little van—me in you, you in me.
Chu Cheng rushed to the window in a fury, roaring: “Are your ears stuffed with sh*t? I yelled for you to stop until my throat’s raw, and you still kept backing up?! You okay in there?!”
Qin Shu’s expression said it all—he was not okay. In fact, something major had happened.
His eyes were empty, shrouded in gray mist. Across his forehead were four big words: No Will to Live.
Chu Cheng was startled stiff by his state. Nervously: “Holy cr*p, did you hit your head? No way. This kind of fender-bender, not even a hair should fall out. How could it knock someone stupid?”
“At least say something if you’re fine.” He waved his hand in front of Qin Shu’s eyes. “Qin Shu? Bro?”
No matter what Chu Cheng called, Qin Shu didn’t react in the slightest. Grinding his teeth, Chu Cheng tried: “Dad?”
Still nothing. Not even a twitch of the eyelids.
Now Chu Cheng panicked. “Bro, hold on! I’m calling 120 right now!”
He fumbled with his phone, dialing emergency. At last, Qin Shu moved. He grabbed Chu Cheng’s arm, voice trembling: “You—”
Just then, the van’s owners returned—a middle-aged couple. Seeing their car bumped by an Audi, with the driver dazed inside and a good-looking young guy clinging to the window babbling, they immediately came forward.
The woman: “What’s going on? My car was parked properly, and you still managed to hit it? Do you even know how to reverse? Did you pass the driving test with your feet?”
The man: “Nothing more to say. Don’t even need to check the cameras—clearly it’s all your fault!”
Qin Shu was still petrified, leaving the young and innocent (??) Chu Cheng to shoulder the responsibility. The accident was obviously Qin Shu’s fault. Chu Cheng had never dealt with this kind of thing before, but he’d at least seen how it worked.
“Brother, sister, sorry about this. It’s definitely our fault,” Chu Cheng said. “Do you want to go through insurance, or settle it privately?”
The couple exchanged a look and went off to discuss.
While they were gone, Chu Cheng kept trying to rouse the stupefied Qin Shu. “Do you have the insurance company’s number for this car?”
“If we can settle privately, that’d be best. You only nicked them a little, and it’s just a Wuling Hongguang—it shouldn’t cost much.”
“I’ll call Brother Lan later, since it’s his car.”
At the word Brother Lan, a faint will to live flickered in Qin Shu’s eyes. He croaked: “Take photos.”
“Huh?”
“Whether insurance or private, first photograph the scene. Then move the car so it doesn’t block traffic.” These were things Xie Lanzhi had once taught him.
Seeing Qin Shu a little more lucid, Chu Cheng finally breathed half a sigh of relief. “Okay, I’ll take photos now.”
Because they were blocking the lane, cars behind couldn’t pass, and the parking lot entrance was jammed. Qin Shu quickly pulled into a spot, then got out and stared unblinkingly at Chu Cheng.
Snow had fallen that day, temperatures hitting a new low—but no cold was colder than Qin Shu’s heart.
Chu Cheng felt creeped out by the stare. “What’s wrong now? You sure you don’t need me to call 120?”
Qin Shu studied Baby from head to toe, not missing a single inch.
Crew-cut hair, tanned skin, high nose bridge. He recalled Chu Cheng in nothing but underwear: broad shoulders, long legs, six-pack abs, sharply cut Adonis belt—And you’re telling me this is a shou? I refuse!
He would not give up. Unless Chu Cheng admitted it from his own mouth, the “Cheng-Ning” shipper boy would not surrender!
At this point, Qin Shu no longer cared about privacy. He grabbed Chu Cheng’s arms like a dying man clutching an oxygen mask. “You and Xu Ning… who’s on the bottom?”
Chu Cheng’s face went crimson. “The f*ck… at a time like this, that’s what you’re asking?!”
Qin Shu roared: “Answer me!!!”
Faced with Qin Shu’s bloodshot eyes, Chu Cheng froze. Normally, if Qin Shu asked this, he’d tell him to get lost. But right now Qin Shu was clearly shaken by the crash, his mind unstable. He couldn’t provoke him further.
Scratching his head, Chu Cheng muttered, “Does it matter who’s on top?”
“Of course it matters!” Qin Shu’s voice cracked into sobs. “Tell me—please, I beg you, I want to hear it from your own mouth!”
“Alright, alright.” Chu Cheng coughed, turning his head awkwardly. “Xu Ning’s so small, I was afraid he’d hurt, and I’m not that good at it either. Instead of fumbling and making us both miserable, better to just lie down and let Xu Ning… Well, honestly, there’s no real difference.”
Qin Shu’s hands slid from his shoulders. Staggering back two steps, trembling—
Gone. His last shred of hope was gone.
The car keys slipped from his hand. His knees buckled; only by clutching a utility pole did he keep from collapsing.
The van couple returned from their discussion: “Alright, give us 1000 and we’ll settle it privately—”
“No—”
Snowflakes drifted onto Qin Shu’s body. From the hotpot restaurant nearby came Fei Yuqing’s A Cut of Plum:
“Snowflakes flutter, north wind howls, the world vast and bleak. A plum blossom stands proud in the snow, its fragrance only for the beloved. Love who I love without regret, this feeling forever in my heart…”
Chu Cheng and the couple froze. That soulful A Cut of Plum, paired with Qin Shu’s blood-crying wail, gave them a deep sense of déjà vu.
Chu Cheng couldn’t help blurting: “Did you just get a call telling you to stop calling, or else Charlotte will misunderstand?”
Tearfully, Qin Shu shook his head. “I can’t afford 1000 yuan. Can’t afford it. Too much…”
The man: “You drive an Audi and you can’t pay 1000?”
Chu Cheng quickly explained: “It’s not his car—he borrowed it.”
The woman softened at the sight of Qin Shu’s tears. The kid looked barely an adult, cute and pitiful, terrified just from hitting their van. Maybe he was from a poor family, borrowing a friend’s car for fun, never expecting this to happen. Their van was dirt cheap anyway, and the 1000 they quoted was just inflated to avoid being lowballed. She gave her husband a look. “They’re students with no money. Let’s just charge the real price.”
The man hesitated, then held up five fingers. “500. Not a cent less.”
Sniffling, Qin Shu choked out: “I’ll WeChat you 500. I’m sorry, brother, sister, for wasting your time.”
The woman smiled kindly. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Just be careful driving next time.”
Qin Shu forced a smile. “I will.”
The matter resolved, but neither of them had any appetite for Little Sheep hotpot anymore. Chu Cheng didn’t dare let Qin Shu drive in that state, so he took the wheel himself. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Qin Shu stared bleakly out the window. “No need. Take me back to the dorm.”
“You sure?”
Qin Shu nodded, his voice heavy with world-weary desolation. “Mm. I just want to lie in bed and breathe oxygen.”
But sadly, an oxygen tank alone might not be enough—he probably needed a ventilator, a defibrillator, and a tracheal tube just to survive.
Chu Cheng, stomach empty, brought Qin Shu back. Without a word, Qin Shu clutched the oxygen tank Chu Cheng had once gifted him, climbed into bed, and lay there.
For minutes he stared blankly, then his face twisted in pain, sucking in a breath of oxygen, only to stare blankly again. Over and over, in a loop.
Unable to watch anymore, Chu Cheng called his roommate’s husband.
At lunchtime, Xie Lanzhi was dining with his parents and grandparents. Feeling his phone vibrate, he excused himself.
Seeing the caller ID, he had a bad feeling. Every time Chu Cheng called, it meant trouble.
“Hello.”
“Brother Lan! Qin Shu’s in trouble!”
Xie Lanzhi’s expression changed. “Explain clearly.”
“He backed into a van by accident, and then—”
Xie Lanzhi cut him off. “Is he hurt?”
“No, not at all. Not even a hair missing.”
Leaning against the wall, Xie Lanzhi let out a breath, loosening his collar. “Then what?”
“He seems really shaken. Totally spaced out, won’t talk, won’t eat, just lies in bed breathing oxygen.”
Xie Lanzhi pictured the scene. “You’re in the dorm now?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m coming immediately. Stay with him.”
He hung up, returned to the table, and apologized to his elders. “I have something urgent—I need to rush back to school.”
His grandparents, who doted on him, waved it off and even arranged a driver.
Xie’s mother, seeing her son so rattled, asked as she walked him out, “What’s wrong? Should we help?”
“No need for now. I’ll go first.”
With the driver speeding under the limit, it took over two hours before he reached campus. He rushed straight to 419, Chu Cheng opening the door. “Brother Lan, thank god you’re here!”
Xie Lanzhi, breathing a little hard: “Where is he?”
Chu Cheng pointed inside. “There.”
Qin Shu had only gotten up to use the bathroom before losing the strength to climb back into bed. He sat blankly in a chair, but when he heard Xie Lanzhi call his name, his unfocused gaze gathered. “Brother…”
Xie Lanzhi bent down, frowning, his warm palm pressing to Qin Shu’s forehead. “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”
Qin Shu’s eyes burned. He threw himself into Xie Lanzhi’s arms and burst out crying: “Brother, my CP… they… they reversed! Ahhh—they reversed!!”
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