Chapter 46

Thank you so much Tinsunny for a coffee! (≧∇≦)ﾉ

TLC: Lilies

Editor: Whiteflare

Shen Yan couldn’t drink.

Even during events where drinking was expected, Shen Yan would only drink a little; he was very restrained in that aspect, so naturally, he didn’t have a habit of keeping alcohol at home.

He was about to answer truthfully when he lifted his eyes and met the excited glint in Qi Jing’s. Shen Yan stared blankly for a while; at that moment, he didn’t know whether or not he should throw that wet blanket on him.

He didn’t know how many opportunities like that they would get—celebrating the same things together, sharing the joy of two people together. After a month… even seeing each other would probably become difficult. Qi Jing’s job was rather unusual—he often had to be on the move all year long and even when he was back in the province, he would need some time to rest first.

“Okay.” Suddenly, Shen Yan nodded in response, “But I don’t have any alcohol at home, so I’ll go out to buy it in a minute.”

Hearing that Shen Yan would have to go out during the rain, Qi Jing froze for a while, then immediately started dissuading him, “Ah, then forget about that. After all, it’s still raining outside…”

“Doesn’t matter, that shop is nearby, it’s only a five minutes walk.” Shen Yan, however, was insistent. He smiled faintly as he pulled away from Qi Jing’s shoulder, checking out the intensity of the rain outside the window as he asked, “What do you want to drink? You can tell me if there’s a brand you like in particular.”

Qi Jing’s father was alcoholic, so he was fairly heedful of keeping himself in check when it came to drinking. Apart from the occasions when the leaders were present at company events and he had to force himself to drink baijiu, he would usually only drink beer or red wine. The latter was weaker in comparison, so he was less likely to get drunk. Since reporters were always on the move, it was important for them to maintain a sober mind. As for the brand of the alcohol, it didn’t matter to him at all.

But since it was about two people celebrating at home, red wine still seemed like a more fitting choice to match the atmosphere.

Although it was not advisable for fracture patients to drink alcohol during the recuperation period, red wine wasn’t a strong alcohol, so drinking a couple of glasses wouldn’t pose a problem. Moreover, it was getting cold lately, so beer wouldn’t be suitable as it was a refreshing summer drink. Drinking red wine not only could warm up the body, but could also help regulate sleep.

“Buy red wine. It doesn’t matter what brand you choose, I’m not picky.”

“Okay.” It seemed like this evening, Shen Yan had changed his usual habit of paying extra care to everything Qi Jing ate—this time, whatever he said went.

Qi Jing thought to himself, maybe it’s because he’s in a good mood? He smiled subconsciously as that thought flashed by in his mind; after all, he was also a part of that ‘happy occasion’. There was nothing better than having someone to celebrate with.

“Then you take a shower first, I’ll go out to buy the alcohol in the meantime.” Turning off the computer, Shen Yan reminded Qi Jing to take care of that before drinking. His reasoning was simple—Qi Jing was injured, so if he went to the bathroom after getting drunk it would be quite possible for him to slip if he got dizzy.

But that problem didn’t exist for Shen Yan. Since his job involved dealing with a large number of animals, he developed a habit of washing himself every time he got back from work to get rid of the animals’ odour, so he didn’t need to take the second shower.

Something flashed in Qi Jing’s eyes as he heard him. He lowered his head and cleared his throat, “Alright. Then… Can I trouble you with helping me as usual?”

After so many days of living under the same roof, Qi Jing treasured those thirty seconds before getting into the shower the most—it was a secret he had never told Shen Yan.

Thirty seconds was a very short time. Shen Yan was already quite proficient with his movements as he had been repeating them everyday and Qi Jing had also learned how to move his arm to cooperate with him. He would start counting in his mind the moment Shen Yan’s hands touched the first button of his shirt—undoing them one after another and taking the shirt off, until all of the clothes on his upper body were gone. All of it took exactly half a minute.

Usually, Shen Yan’s expression would be all prim and proper during the whole process. It was as if besides looking at the button, his sight would never wander anywhere else, not revealing any sign of improper thoughts.

Qi Jing sighed inwardly. Seeing how focussed the man before him was, he also had to do his best and make himself look calm as he stood there motionlessly.

It seemed that Shen Yan treated him no different from how he took care of little cats and dogs on his operating table; his attitude really was exactly the same as during his work hours. So he, who could feel his heart race at the time like that… he really was hopeless.

Qi Jing felt helpless about that hopelessness of his. He thought he could maintain some professional ethics just like Shen Yan, behaving like a professional patient should—calmly accepting the care and the hands that undressed him.

But he could neither control his racing heartbeat nor stop all kinds of thoughts from flooding his mind. Usually, he could only endure those thirty seconds before entering the bathroom as if nothing happened. Only after closing the doors would he dare to pinch his scalding hot ear before hurriedly washing away every thought he just had with the hot water.

Perhaps it was because he heard Ning Xiaoxiao’s words that day that he started having these thoughts.

Or perhaps it was because of those lamentable male instincts.

Whatever the reason, he couldn’t let Shen Yan know what he was thinking about. Shen Yan was such an upright man, he probably wouldn’t even imagine that Qi Jing could entertain little thoughts like that. If Qi Jing accidently let him know that, wouldn’t he make himself look sleazy in Shen Yan’s eyes?

So at least on the surface, he had to be as calm as the other.

But carefully thinking, there were still some benefits there. At least during those few short minutes when Shen Yan focused on unbuttoning his clothes, he could make use of that to enjoy the feeling of that man’s fingers brushing against his skin every now and then.

But it was truly a pity that after these many days of practice, Shen Yan could already more or less take off Qi Jing’s clothes without touching him. Only at the beginning would his throat would be lightly brushed and when his shirt was being removed, Shen Yan’s hands would move around his body, brushing against his skin briefly.

But those opportunities started getting fewer and fewer with each passing day. As a result, those thirty seconds also seemed to grow shorter and slowly it became easier for him to space out.

“It’s okay now.” As Qi Jing spaced out, Shen Yan was even done wrapping his cast with a waterproof plastic film. He lifted his head only to suddenly realise that Qi Jing was staring straight at him and he froze subconsciously.

“I’ll go take a shower.” Qi Jing gathered back his thoughts and evaded his gaze sheepishly. He turned around and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door.

“Then I’ll go out and buy the alcohol?” Shen Yan called lightly through the door.

“Mhm.” The voice of the person from the other side of the door sounded no different than usual, as if everything was as it should be.

After hearing such a response, Shen Yan lowered his eyes a little, sighing with relief—seems like he didn’t expose himself this time. When Qi Jing kept staring at him just a while ago, he thought his selfish motives had been seen through. Fortunately, the subsequent exchange between them could still count as natural, as long as he ignored the small detail of Qi Jing averting his eyes.

He knew that his hand stopped involuntarily for a moment as he touched Qi Jing’s throat, just like it did when removing his shirt.

Not only did it stop, he even wished to caress it gently.

He inhaled sharply.

If it continued, Qi Jing would really realise. Shen Yan took a deep breath with great restraint. He flung his head back with his eyes closed, trying to throw off the uncontrollable thoughts seeping into his mind. He paced back and forth a few steps in his original place before going back before the door.

Although he had said he was about to go out, he still kept dawdling without leaving that place. In reality, every day after seeing Qi Jing going in, he would stay for a while in that small compartment between the bathroom and the living room.

With how it was inconvenient for Qi Jing to use his left hand, his moves were slow, so he needed to stay at least twenty to thirty minutes inside. And for the first fifteen minutes, Shen Yan would silently keep watch before the doors, just like now—the sound of turning on the shower echoed in the bathroom and the whooshing noise of falling water arose. It fell onto the ground one drop after another, just like that swarm of hurried beats drumming in Shen Yan’s chest, loud to the point of becoming painful even.

Shen Yan slowly put one of his hands on the surface of the door; he tilted his head, leaning it against the door surface as he stopped moving. In his ears, besides the noise of the running water, there was just more noise of the running water—there was no other sound. It sounded monotonous and dull, but he nevertheless closed his eyes and kept silent, listening. He also had no way to confess to Qi Jing about that behaviour, he didn’t even know how to confess that.

At first, it stemmed from the worry about Qi Jing’s safety—he was afraid Qi Jing would slip inside, so he would sit in the living room and listen.

But now.

Now even he wouldn’t believe in this sort of excuse—

When Qi Jing finished showering, Shen Yan didn’t seem to be back yet as the living room was empty. Thus, he clumsily put on a clean shirt like a child learning to dress himself for the first time, fastening the buttons at a snail’s pace. He found a hairdryer and blew his hair dry by himself for a while.

Just as his hair was almost dry, the clinking of keys and the click of the door being unlocked could be heard from the main door—sure enough, Shen Yan was back.

“Was the rain too heavy that it held you up on your way back?” Qi Jing put the hairdryer aside quickly, his brows furrowing as he went over to welcome Shen Yan back and check if he got drenched in the rain. According to Shen Yan’s words, the shop was only five minutes away and it would only take him ten minutes to be back, but Qi Jing spent at least twice this amount of time in the shower.

Shen Yan closed the umbrella, lowering his eyes as he shook his head, “It’s okay, it’s just the shop I was talking about had closed ahead of time today, so I went to another one. It was a little further away, but at least the selection of red wine was better.”

So it was like that.

Qi Jing checked all over him, making sure he didn’t get wet in the rain. Only then did he feel assured and say with a smile, “It just so happens that it’s cold outside, drinking alcohol will help us warm up. Sit down, I will look for some glasses.”

He didn’t know why, but Shen Yan kept his eyes down, only nodding at him in response as he put the red wine he bought on the table.

The rain outside the window made the night look even darker, even colder than usual. The traces left by rain droplets on the window pane were illuminated by the lamp light, contrasting with the murky appearance of the old town behind that looked so grey, it seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. All of those imageries would make one instinctively feel cold.

“I guess the temperature will continue dropping tomorrow.” This time, Qi Jing didn’t doubt the weather forecast. Just perfect, the weather like this even added on to his craving for some alcohol.

In the past, he would sometimes drink alone at home. There were also days like this, when he could, free of any worries, open a bottle and start drinking without any care about the mood; that was the bachelor’s way of drinking. It was completely different with two people.

Red wine itself was an alcohol that needed an appropriate mood. They thought of this idea on short notice, so the house wasn’t decorated in any way, and there were no ornaments prepared, no flowers or candle holders. Thus, Qi Jing made do with what he had in hand and thought of an idea—by simply turning on the white hanging lamp on the black walnut table and extinguishing the rest of the lights in the room, the surrounding were immersed in a faint radiance. It spread from depths to shallows, replacing the traditional western style candlelights, creating a kind of unique atmosphere.

“How about that? Doesn’t look half bad, right?” Qi Jing took a step back and looked around the room, smiling as he spoke.

“Mhm, looks very good.” Shen Yan said with complete sincerity. Even though the lamp light couldn’t compare with candlelight in setting the mood, with both of them sitting near the light source, their whole bodies bathed in faint whiteness, it was as if the whole warmth of the world had concentrated there, staying still with them.

From the outside, came the pattering of the rain. Inside, a cork had been pulled out of the wine bottle with a pop by Shen Yan and deep red alcohol gurgled while being poured into the wine glasses. This kind of sound was deeper than the rain, with a more murky feel—it even made Qi Jing think of the distinction in their voices.

“Actually, your voice kind of resembles red wine.” The two of them were sitting face to face. Qi Jing laughed suddenly and tossed such a phrase.

“How so?” Shen Yan stopped pouring the alcohol and looked straight at him.

“It needs to be savoured slowly.” Qi Jing cocked his brow at Shen Yan, confident like a seasoned wine connoisseur.

That’s right, only by savouring it slowly can one experience the true taste of red wine.

And once the one trying it remembered its taste, it was easy to get addicted… Just like him.

Hearing him say so, the corners of Shen Yan’s mouth quirked up silently, but he still said, “If that’s the case, then my voice isn’t in fact suited for competitions.”

Taking part in a competition was similar to producing advertisements—one needed to leave as deep of an impression as possible in the limited amount of time of one to two minutes. For unfamiliar judges and audience, the first impression formed when the competitor started talking was crucial, so people whose voices had to be savoured slowly would lose that opportunity. Qi Jing and Bronze Sparrow Terrace both had voices that immediately caught attention, the type that made everything seem brighter upon hearing it—they obviously held an advantage.

Qi Jing couldn’t deny that, but he still had something to add, “Indeed, your voice might not leave as deep of an impression when heard for the first time, but your comprehension of the speaking manners and emotions of a character is really accurate; it’s virtually perfect. The official jurors are people with a professional voice acting background—I believe that they wouldn’t be as shallow as to only care about voice, without any care about the performance.”

Shen Yan stared into his eyes silently this entire time, only now suddenly asking, “Then what do you care most about?”

Qi Jing froze. “I…” only care about you.

Those were the words that came from his heart.

But Shen Yan was sitting less than a mere metre away from him.

With their eyes locked, Qi Jing felt his throat become dry and his Adam’s apple bobbed a little. It was as if there was fire buried within it, burning up the words he wanted to say, “I just care about… you, whether you’ll be having a good time during the competition.”

Hearing that, Shen Yan’s furrowed brows smoothed, like ice melting to water, slowly flowing outwards. He smiled a little, then said in a low voice, “I’m having a good time right now, thank you.”

Seeing his still somewhat indifferent expression warm up under the lamp light, Qi Jing couldn’t help but quirk up the corners of his mouth as well. Thus, they smiled lightly as they held up their wine glasses, swirling up the silky and lustrous red wine inside, “If that’s the case, then let me officially congratulate you on qualifying for all three of your roles!”

Shen Yan also laughed lightly as he responded, “Same to you. Congratulations.”

They raised their glass and toasted.

Under the light, the two glasses came together with a clink. The place where the glasses joined refracted the light from the lamp, casting a beautiful shimmer all over the room.

Qi Jing took back his hand and raised his head, taking a sip naturally. Shen Yan’s eyes followed his movements all that time. Finally, he also rose his wine glass and mimicked him, slowly drinking his wine. He wasn’t really used to the taste of alcohol and the one he chose was red dry wine, with quite a pronounced acidity. He furrowed his brow, but he tried his best to not make Qi Jing see that.

The two people kept drinking while chatting under the dusky lamp light. The autumn rain replaced the music in providing accompaniment and turned out to be plenty satisfying, providing a hard to come by sense of tranquility.

“That’s right, let’s talk about yet another pleasant matter.” Qi Jing’s face was no different from his tone, precisely embodying the content of his words, “Today, the head of the news channel called today to tell me that the report from investigations on vet clinics has been approved. It can become a sixty minutes long episode for the ‘social investigation’ series—that’s the longest news piece I’ve worked on so far.”

Shen Yan knew Qi Jing kept thinking about it all the time, he would mention it every day when they talked about their jobs. Now, with how it was finally finalized, Shen Yan, too, felt happy for him, “So it turns out you have two happy events at the same time—in that case, we really need to celebrate.”

Saying that, he took the initiative to toast him and both of them took a few more sips. Qi Jing put down the wine glass. He drummed his fingers against the glass, laughing as he said, “Still… the matter of becoming the second presenter is still uncertain. It’s a big thing, so the department leaders still need to discuss that for a while.”

“You have the ideas, you have the skills, I think it’s just a matter of time.” Shen Yan smiled faintly.

He had personally witnessed Qi Jing’s attitude towards work; he didn’t say that to flatter him, nor did he exaggerate anything.

He didn’t know if it was because of the alcohol, but after the second glass, Qi Jing felt his excitement surging more and more with every moment. Hearing Shen Yan assuring him like that made his smile bigger and the shine in his eyes glow brighter, “Haha, since Dr. Shen says so, I can only thank you for your kind words. Come, let’s drink some more.”

Qi Jing laughed as he reached out to grab the wine bottle. He was about to replenish the alcohol in their wine glasses, when suddenly, Shen Yan who kept silent all that time asked, “If that decision is made, would you return to the station to prepare for that ahead of time?”

Qi Jing froze, unable to answer.

This question was too abrupt for him and he didn’t know how to properly answer it. For Shen Yan though, that question wasn’t abrupt at all, as he had kept that question buried deep inside him for way too long. Now, when their conversation finally got to this topic, it was the best timing to ask about it.

Seeing Qi Jing did not answer for a long time, Shen Yan heaved a sigh and took on the responsibility of carrying on with the conversation. Both his voice and his eyes lowered at the same time, falling so deep they plunged into that glass full of astringent wine before him, “If you lived here while having to get to the city centre every day to commute to work… wouldn’t that be inconvenient for you?”

In fact, both of them were very clear that the answer was definitely yes. He used an inquiring tone not because he didn’t understand that, but because of this contradictory mindset he was stuck in of being unable to change reality, yet being unwilling to point it out.

“I still don’t have the cast off, so they won’t have me go back in the near future… After all, my leader even gave me a month worth of leave.” Qi Jing didn’t know if saying it like that counted as a proper consolation, since even words ‘one month’ sounded so grating.

At that moment, Shen Yan lifted his wine glass without a word and emptied half a glass worth of wine in one swig.

“Shen Yan.” Qi Jing instantly came back to his senses and called him at once.

Red wine shouldn’t be gulped down like this, but at that very moment, it wasn’t a time to discuss propriety. It was Shen Yan’s state of mind that worried him the most.

“Shen Yan,” Qi Jing called him for the second time. He reached his right hand over the table and held his hand, wanting to test him out. There was still a faint astringent taste of dry red wine, even his words were tinted in that flavour. “If my recovery doesn’t go well and I can’t get my cast taken off even after a month… I can still extend my sick leave.”

Shen Yan gave him a faint, wry smile, “”How could I hope for your recovery to go bad?”

As a matter of fact, more than anyone else, he wished for Qi Jing to recuperate well the most. He wanted him to get well soon, even if he knew it meant that their current life together probably wouldn’t be possible anymore.

“I know.” Qi Jing replied in a low voice. Of course he knew.

“In the near future, you’ll have to go to the hospital for another check-up.” Only after the doctor examined Qi Jing would they know when his cast could be taken off.

“Mhm. Next Wednesday, I have to go take an X-ray to check how the bone is recovering.”

“Next Wednesday…” When Shen Yan repeated those two words, he closed his eyes, his brows slightly knit as he tried his best to remember his work schedule for the next week. He wanted to say that next Wednesday, he could take a leave for half a day to accompany Qi Jing to a hospital for a check up, but the schedule he never had trouble remembering was now so unusually blurred in his mind. It was as if all of the words on the calendar scattered over each and every one square, rendering him unable to see the content clearly.

Strange.

Shen Yan reached out his hand to support his head, his fingers grasping around in the air, as if he wanted to catch those indistinct words from his mind and put them before his eyes to look through them one more time.

“Ugh…” He issued a single sound with difficulty, repeating as if to himself, “Next Wednesday…”

“Shen Yan,” Seeing this, Qi Jing gasped a little and asked him gently, as if in fear of alarming him, “Shen Yan, are you drunk?”

T/N

Lucilla: Qi Jing, you might not be a wine connoisseur (The wine brand doesn’t matter??? You are no man of culture to me anymore! *growls*), but I have to give that to you—you really do have a good eye, scoring a bullseye and finding the fluffiest goose of all the geese out there ÓvÓ

Whiteflare: Ahhh, the mutual hidden thirst is amazing!! *rolls around in the fluff*