Chapter 13
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Sui Yang felt that Xie Min didn’t really want him to change his work plans, so he went to the planned dinner but left soon after.
On his way home, he received a friendly text message from Dr. Zhuo, asking how his past few days had been.
He replied, “I rested well, so I didn’t have any more hallucinations.”
Dr. Zhuo hoped Sui Yang could make it for the next counseling session on time, but Sui Yang wasn’t certain.
He couldn’t tell Dr. Zhuo about the recent temporary arrival of a LEGO toy rabbit at his home that became incredibly reliant on him. It was actually Xie Min, who would peacefully chat with Sui Yang, control the TV in Sui Yang’s house, playfully hit and kick Sui Yang’s fingers, and roam around on Sui Yang’s carpet, pretending not to be as close as they were at the auction venue.
When Sui Yang woke up in the morning, the little bunny lay beside him on the pillow. He reached out, lifted the toy rabbit, and shook it, hearing Xie Min’s voice.
This was something challenging to explain to Dr. Zhuo.
Sui Yang was also helpless, but there was no way he could change the counseling session time. He had to postpone it. He knew the little bunny’s time in his home might be short, so he wanted to cherish this unexpected stroke of luck.
During dinner, Sui Yang had a glass of red wine. It didn’t affect his body much at first, but as he reached home, his heartbeat started to slightly accelerate.
The living room was noisy. Xie Min had chosen to play a series of tough-guy movies on continuous mode. He was currently on the fifth one, right at the thrilling moment, with gunshots filling the room.
Sui Yang paused the movie, lowered his head, and searched on the carpet. He first found the rabbit’s ears.
He walked over, bent down, and saw the LEGO toy bunny lying diagonally on the wool, like a toy discarded after being completed.
The little bunny was ordinary and went unnoticed by others. It had the chance to accommodate Xie Min and become Sui Yang’s special little bunny.
“Xie Min,” Sui Yang said, looking at the little bunny.
Xie Min fell back asleep.
Sui Yang reached out and picked it up from the cluster of wool. Even though he knew that Xie Min wouldn’t feel any pain in the toy, he held it gently, placing it in his palm. He used his thumb to play with Xie Min’s tiny front paws and softly called out its name.
The pink little bunny stayed still in his hand for over ten seconds, then suddenly kicked its hind legs and moved its front paws, lightly scratching Sui Yang. “Don’t disturb me while I’m asleep.”
After that, it clumsily flipped over, assuming a prone position, and its round plastic tail faced Sui Yang, as if by turning away, it couldn’t hear Sui Yang calling its name anymore.
Sui Yang tapped Xie Min’s tail lightly. “Only elementary school students go to sleep at nine.”
“Get lost,” Xie Min weakly retorted. “I have a healthy sleep routine.”
“Xie Min,” Sui Yang suddenly noticed that the tail was a separate piece and informed him, “Your rabbit tail can spin.”
“…Sui Yang,” with Sui Yang’s constant pestering, Xie Min finally gave up on sleeping and sat up. It hopped once and faced Sui Yang, attempting to reason, “Can you stop moving my limbs randomly? I’m not your toy.”
Xie Min’s genuinely unhappy expression was more real than any video footage of Xie Min that Sui Yang had seen before, or even the times they passed each other at a distance. It had a stronger sense of Xie Min’s true self.
Sui Yang nodded and couldn’t help but say to Xie Min, “Understood, even Xiao Tu has bodily autonomy. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
As expected, Xie Min got upset. “Can’t you talk without using Xiao Tu in your words?”
The little bunny stood up straight in Sui Yang’s palm, its already wide eyes appearing even wider, as if saying that it was fierce and had a world-class level of aggression.
“Sorry,” Sui Yang smiled and coaxed him. “Alright, I won’t say it anymore.”
Somehow, Xie Min paused for a few seconds and then, with less confidence, continued to scold Sui Yang. “And you woke me up.”
“I’m sorry,” Sui Yang apologized once again.
“Because I watched movies all day and didn’t sleep,” his voice grew even softer as he explained to Sui Yang, “I’m very tired.”
“If you’re really bored, you can come to work with me,” Sui Yang suggested.
Xie Min didn’t fall for it. “It’s not that boring.”
“I used to have a busy job,” Xie Min told Sui Yang, “and suddenly having free time feels a bit strange. Plus, I’m too small to do much.”
His voice sounded perplexed, neither fast nor slow in pace.
Sui Yang had never imagined having such casual everyday conversations with Xie Min, but when Xie Min spoke, it felt natural.
“I originally planned to switch to a different movie in the afternoon,” Xie Min informed Sui Yang, “but before I could press the button on the remote, I slid down, and the remote is still on the sofa.”
Xie Min wasn’t complaining. His tone was narrative, and his pitch was normal. However, because he was inside the little bunny, Sui Yang had an erroneous feeling that he was complaining or acting spoiled.
Sui Yang looked into the little bunny’s eyes and whispered, “I told you I could come back in the afternoon, but you didn’t want me to.”
“It’s not that I can’t watch,” Xie Min paused slightly and said calmly, “It’s just too troublesome for you to come back.”
Sui Yang’s intention was to convey that it wasn’t troublesome, but he knew Xie Min wouldn’t want to continue arguing about it. After thinking for a moment, he asked Xie Min, “Which movie do you want to watch? It’s been a long time since I watched a movie. I can keep you company.”
Xie Min didn’t refuse and mentioned the name of the movie he wanted to watch. They sat together on the sofa peacefully, watching.
Sui Yang placed Xie Min about twenty centimeters away from himself. Xie Min squatted quietly on the sofa, looking tiny, like a lost button on the couch.
Xie Min had chosen a film from the festival’s co-production section. During the movie, Xie Min remained silent, surprisingly calm, causing Sui Yang to start getting distracted.
Watching movies with Xie Min used to be different for Sui Yang.
Xie Min would often lean against him, holding onto the potato chips or popcorn that they never ate, and give comments on the movie plot. When Xie Min noticed some possible inconsistencies that might not be actual plot holes, he would proudly ask Sui Yang, “How smart am I?”
The first time they watched a movie, they were simply pure friends.
Xie Min had a fight with his father and didn’t want to go home. So he followed behind Sui Yang, carrying his backpack, and casually entered Baoqi Garden, confidently taking the familiar route to Sui Yang’s home. He said, “I’ll be staying at your place today.”
On that occasion, Sui Yang’s mother and grandmother took a green train to Yuanguang. They wanted to borrow money from their relatives to hire a lawyer. They had just left that morning and wouldn’t be back in Yuhai for three days. Sui Yang was alone in the house.
There was no one at home to cook dinner, so Sui Yang cooked noodles for Xie Min and fried two sunny-side-up eggs.
Sui Yang, who had never stepped foot in the kitchen for more than ten years, cooked like an inexperienced young master. The sunny-side-up eggs turned out unattractive, and the noodles were overcooked and broken. He took a bite and found it hard to swallow, but Xie Min silently finished the meal without a word.
After finishing their meal, Sui Yang took a spray prescribed by the school doctor and changed the dressing on Xie Min’s hand. Xie Min’s hand looked pale, making the scars appear even more horrifying. Sui Yang carefully wiped it, causing Xie Min to let out painful sounds, making Sui Yang hesitant to apply too much pressure.
Xie Min said, “Sui Yang, are you sure you know how to change the dressing? I might die in pain at your place.”
“I still have homework for two courses,” Xie Min said, lowering his head to look at his hand. “When my left hand hurts, it feels like my right hand loses strength too.”
Xie Min had a talent for being manipulative, successfully making Sui Yang do someone else’s homework for the first time in his life.
That day, Sui Yang turned on the television and played the assigned movie for his film appreciation class. Xie Min sat next to him, doing nothing in particular.
Sui Yang still remembered the name and content of that movie. The scenes in the film changed rapidly. Sui Yang held Xie Min’s laptop, writing his homework while trying to pay attention to the movie’s plot.
“Did the police officer have an affair?” Xie Min kept asking questions. “Is that his wife?”
Sui Yang multitasked, providing explanations, but Xie Min interrupted, “Sui Yang, I never expected you to write homework so quickly and still remember the movie’s plot. You truly deserve the title of the outstanding student who improvised his speech at the freshman orientation.”
Xie Min’s cheerful appearance made it seem like his hand wasn’t in pain at all.
Out of concern for the injured hand, Sui Yang patiently endured but asked Xie Min to stop talking so much and focus on the movie. However, Xie Min paid no heed and became even more enthusiastic in their chatter.
Later, when they watched movies together, if Xie Min kept talking, Sui Yang would kiss him. When Xie Min was kissed, he stopped moving around and asking random questions. He became docile.
After the kiss, Xie Min would remain quiet for about ten minutes, and then start accusing Sui Yang, “You always do this,” and “You never let me speak.”
However, during those moments, Sui Yang was too busy bantering with Xie Min and never explained why he kissed Xie Min at those times. It was never because he found Xie Min too noisy. Sui Yang simply wanted to kiss him.
The little bunny stayed with Sui Yang, watching nearly half of the movie. He yawned and said he felt sleepy, genuinely wanting to go to sleep.
“Tomorrow morning, I need to freshen up and go to the company with you to meet Master Yi,” Xie Min said.
Sui Yang turned off the TV and carried Xie Min back to their room.
The next morning at around half past nine, Master Yi made a video call. Xie Min crouched on Sui Yang’s desk, looking towards Sui Yang’s phone, appearing serious and alert.
Following the plan discussed between Sui Yang and Master Yi yesterday, Sui Yang stuck to the original story and told Master Yi that he had a friend who was in a car accident. He wanted to know when his friend would wake up, so he provided Xie Min’s birth information to Master Yi.
“Your friend is inside a vessel-like biological entity. He is awake, just not in his own body,” Master Yi’s tone was slightly more flamboyant compared to yesterday. However, Xie Min didn’t seem suspicious. He curled his paw against his chest, seemingly surprised by Master Yi’s accurate inference. His previously bent leg straightened a bit, as if expressing respect.
“This is all because his physical body is in too much pain, causing his soul to break free from its shackles and go to a safe place,” Master Yi slightly closed his eyes and recited, “Once his body is no longer hindered and the pain subsides, the soul will automatically return to its original place. Mr. Sui Yang, you don’t have to worry too much.”
After hanging up the phone, Xie Min immediately said to Sui Yang, “That master’s predictions were more accurate than I imagined.”
Sui Yang nodded, and after a while, Xie Min continued, “Sui Yang, can you help me ask why I ended up here with you? Why didn’t I go to Jiang Ci’s place?”
“Forget it,” Xie Min quickly dismissed his own question. “I don’t seem to know how to ask.”
Xie Min still sounded perplexed. “So, do I just have to wait inside this rabbit’s body? What if I can’t go back?”
Sui Yang didn’t want Xie Min to dwell in a state of worry. He gently touched Xie Min’s bunny ears and asked, “Next week, I have a business trip to Yuhai. How about I take you there to see how your body is recovering?”
Xie Min immediately became excited and politely thanked Sui Yang.
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