Chapter 25#
A Good Ending#
Did Li Heng agree?
Ji Landong had no recollection; he was too tired. Held by trembling hands and kissed with shivers, he fell into a deep sleep.
He woke up two days later.
The calendar said so.
Li Heng’s small wooden house was quite large. So far, he had unlocked the living room, dining kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The bedroom was warm, with soft, dim light, and a fresh, sweet orange scent in the air.
Ji Landong watched for a while and realized the scent was there because Li Heng had placed a metal grid baking pan on the fireplace, roasting several bright orange tangerines with green leaves.
Li Heng had brought him back from the hot spring, dressed him in soft, loose loungewear, tucked him into the big bed in the bedroom, buried him in pillows and a down comforter, and even given him a mushroom pillow.
Everything he touched was as soft as snow.
When he came to his senses, he saw the puppy with a genuine mushroom on its head, its tail wagging furiously.
“Ji Landong!”
The system was overjoyed and immediately burrowed into the warm quilt: “You’re awake. Were you too tired from playing? Li Heng said we should play slowly from now on, only one thing a day. It’s all my fault for drinking so much. I’ll never drink heavily again.”
The system had drunk an entire bottle cap that night.
Ji Landong’s eyes curved into a smile.
The system was even happier: “Ji Landong, Ji Landong.”
It wanted to celebrate Ji Landong’s successful awakening again, and even wanted to pull Ji Landong’s sleeve and jump around, but remembering Ji Landong’s current physical condition, it quickly stopped the program.
Ji Landong slowly wrote: Don’t rush.
Ji Landong tried.
He slowly found his hand, then some strength, and moved that hand to rub the wilting mushroom of the hungover and headache-ridden system, and then stroked Pudding, the puppy that kept bouncing on the bed.
Hearing the commotion, Li Heng poked half a shoulder through the bedroom door.
Team Leader Li was dressed quite casually, without a tie, his shirt collar unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up. He even held a pot: “Good morning. Today we’re having steamed buns with tomato and egg filling. Would you like a bowl of soup?”
Ji Landong: …
The mystery of the pork rib buns, finally solved, soon had a new version.
Why would there be steamed buns with tomato and egg filling?
Do you stir-fry a plate of tomatoes and eggs first?
Do you chop the eggs?
The very creative Team Leader Li didn’t seem to think there was a problem. He smiled, turned back to wash his hands, and returned to the bedroom. His movements were swift, carrying a hint of cool morning mist.
Li Heng leaned down and gently kissed Ji Landong’s eyes.
The system shook its head and sighed, driving Pudding the puppy quickly out of the bedroom and closing the door.
…
So the bedroom quickly became quiet again.
Ji Landong lay in bed. He had just played with the system and Pudding for a while, his eyes slightly curved, his features still soft, with a deep fatigue between his pale, bloodless brows.
He was truly too tired and needed a long rest.
But at this moment, no matter what, Ji Landong’s expression was comfortable and relaxed.
“Ji Landong,” Li Heng said softly, “Good morning.”
Ji Landong looked at him.
He had already said “Good morning.”
Li Heng had said it once when he entered the room.
Li Heng knew, but still wanted to say it. He had missed many mornings when he couldn’t say good morning to Ji Landong, so when he finally had the chance, these words were never enough.
He warmed his hands, placed them under Ji Landong’s back, and gently lifted him, holding him in his arms, softly massaging his temples.
Ji Landong had slept very well this time. When a person sleeps well, they feel comfortable, lazy, and don’t want to move, as if their body is quietly melting in a dim, quiet space.
The illusory fragments that could tear apart this body in the sulfur hot spring all lay dormant.
Li Heng’s calloused fingertips, from holding a gun, applied pressure with practiced skill, neither too light nor too heavy, making the headache feel much lighter.
Ji Landong wanted to share this good news. He looked up, met Li Heng’s eyes, and opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
He tried again, still the same.
Before this, he had occasionally lost his voice, sometimes suddenly unable to speak, but this time seemed different; his voice seemed to disappear directly within his body.
Ji Landong had forgotten how to use his throat.
Li Heng held him, looking down, his warm fingers slowly stroking the corner of his eye: “What’s wrong?”
Ji Landong pointed.
“Are you inflamed?” Li Heng checked carefully; there were no sores. He touched Ji Landong’s hair, promising to take Ji Landong to wash up soon, and then they would have breakfast. Li Heng had also stewed chestnut chicken soup.
But his guess seemed wrong. Li Heng thought for a moment, then changed his approach, carefully checking Ji Landong’s temperature: “Sore throat? Caught a cold?”
“Has the winter special expired?”
Can’t kiss anymore?
Ji Landong: …
The observant Team Leader Li, after guessing eleven possibilities, finally understood the situation, but his reaction was not within Ji Landong’s experience.
Actor Ji also occasionally experienced sudden loss of voice.
This was a big deal, as it affected many planned work activities. Ji Landong knew exactly how to suppress the anxiety and restlessness of others, how to nonchalantly ignore the complaints of “why now of all times,” and how to cancel work and pay liquidated damages—since the money was paid anyway, he might as well take a few days off.
Ji Landong was very familiar with every step of this process; he was so skilled that he didn’t need to think. Before he got sick, he actually took good care of himself.
…But Li Heng just held him and watched.
Kept watching.
Ji Landong leaned against the arm behind him, his gentle dark eyes moved, revealing a question.
He wrote on Li Heng’s back: What are you thinking?
“Ji Landong,” Li Heng suddenly asked, “Do you want to travel? I’ve applied for two years of remote work. We’ll convert your ambulance friend into a luxury RV, take Pudding, and after seeing the aurora, we’ll head south.”
Huh?
Ji Landong smiled.
It didn’t matter; he had nothing to do now, and the plan sounded pretty good.
But any logical person would find it hard to completely resist asking one more question about the excessive jump in topic: Why?
Li Heng also found it difficult to provide a convincing specific connection between “loss of voice” and “travel.”
It was just that he had been catching up on Ji Landong’s film and television works and other video data. There was a much-criticized clip, considered one of his “black marks,” which showed Ji Landong’s micro-expression for a few seconds when he heard that a colleague in the industry was injured during filming and forced to stop working.
Netizens had strong opinions: “Even if you’re not worried, not nervous, not sympathetic, you, Actor Ji, can’t make it seem like you’re actually looking forward to it, can you??”
But in fact, Ji Landong was looking forward to it.
Not looking forward to a colleague’s injury, but looking forward to stopping work due to injury or illness—at that time, Ji Landong thought life was good. He built a family according to the script, Guoguo was clinging to his leg, he considered getting a dog, and of course, he also vacationed and considered traveling.
For a while, Ji Landong really hoped he would get some injury or illness. This might press an invisible pause button.
Later, even this lighthearted anticipation disappeared.
Later, Ji Landong himself forgot.
“Ji Landong,” Li Heng said.
He saw Ji Landong’s eyelashes flutter, and his quiet, dark eyes lifted. Ji Landong still looked very good, very good. Ji Landong looked relaxed and comfortable, trying his best to live for his friend, promising his friend to try his best to wake up every day.
Ji Landong couldn’t speak because for a long time, no one listened anyway, because of the thorns he swallowed, the ice he swallowed, the rampant poisonous weeds.
Because Ji Landong was sick.
“You’re sick,” Li Heng gently stroked his hair. “When you’re sick, you should take a vacation.”
He gathered Ji Landong into his arms. Ji Landong’s eyes were so beautiful, quietly looking up. His pajama buttons were fastened to the top, his cuffs neatly folded, and his hands rested properly on the quilt.
No matter how you looked at it, Ji Landong was the kind of person who should go out and have a blast.
Team Leader Li thought with an unwarranted bias, he held those slightly curled fingers, and softly discussed with Ji Landong: “We have two people, a luxury RV friend, and a dog. We’ll keep heading south, and by the time we reach the seaside, it’ll be peak tourist season.”
“Accommodation in scenic areas during peak season is very popular.”
“Parking spaces are also hard to get.”
“Ji Landong, you might not know, but family suites are the most cost-effective.”
…
…
The system was, of course, particularly happy to change jobs.
Anyway, Ji Landong’s body had recovered a lot, and the remaining problems were not physical. The system was just thinking of becoming a very cool luxury RV.
The grand plan to go out and play officially began after breakfast.
The system drank a large bowl of chestnut chicken soup, instructed Ji Landong to chew slowly and not rush, then rushed out with Pudding, clanging and clanking, and began modifications, with data streams flying everywhere.
Ji Landong was still savoring Team Leader Li’s great work.
Steamed buns with tomato and egg filling.
He ate slowly, easily running out of energy and getting distracted. Sometimes he would stare out the window and only snap back to attention when his eyelashes were gently stroked.
Ji Landong drank the steaming, sweet chicken soup and took a bite of the bun.
Li Heng asked, “Is it good?”
Ji Landong nodded objectively.
Actually, the taste wasn’t bad, not as exaggerated as he imagined. The tomato and egg were sweet and sour, wrapped in a soft, fluffy white skin, making it easy to eat.
No need for a separate bite of vegetable and rice.
But Team Leader Li didn’t really need to write “cream mushroom soup bun,” “potato stewed beef bun,” or “white wine braised mussels bun” in his notebook.
Thinking about it, the taste might be good, but firstly, why not just dip bread or steamed buns in it directly, and secondly, it might be a bit too avant-garde.
Ji Landong couldn’t always control his thoughts. Seeing these lines of text, about a hundred questions popped up—if the potato stewed beef was eaten a second late, Pudding would howl on the floor in heartbreak. The system had just sworn off alcohol. Team Leader Li’s home workshop style clearly wasn’t for soup-filled buns. What if the bun skin leaked?
Team Leader Li was indeed a bit inconsiderate.
Li Heng pondered for a long time, simulating it a dozen times in his mind, and found the same problem: “It will leak.”
Ji Landong nodded, biting his bun.
Li Heng made a gesture of heartbreak, as if his heart was being twisted.
They looked at each other like that, and at some point, without warning, they briefly detached from all their past. Li Heng laughed until his head hurt, rubbing his own temples and Ji Landong’s. He held Ji Landong tightly.
He let Ji Landong lean comfortably on his shoulder and laugh. They sat lazily in the sun.
Ji Landong learned to eat his bun slowly.
He bit one open, looked at the golden egg, the red tomato, the bun skin soaked in a little soup.
Overall, the pork rib bun was slightly better.
Li Heng noted it down seriously: “How about we convert half of the RV into a food truck? We can sell buns as we travel.”
Ji Landong made a gesture.
Team Leader Li almost forgot: “No health permit.”
Ji Landong heard the puppy barking and looked out the window. His window was completely fogged up.
Li Heng helped him look: “A magpie wants to build a nest and is looking for materials. Pudding is guarding the screws.”
It seemed that Pudding the puppy was very brave and didn’t need support at the moment. The system’s modification work was also going smoothly. It didn’t matter; Li Heng would go out to help later.
They chatted idly, as if not being able to speak wasn’t a big deal. Most of the time, Li Heng could guess anyway, and if he couldn’t, it was still interesting.
Li Heng waited for Ji Landong to finish a bun and drink two spoonfuls of soup. The bun wasn’t big, and Ji Landong didn’t eat much, but it was already a big improvement.
Li Heng brought him tea to rinse his mouth.
Li Heng asked, “Want to sunbathe?”
Ji Landong was already feeling sleepy, slowly closing his eyes. Hearing the sound, his eyelashes fluttered, and he opened them again.
Li Heng smiled. He touched Ji Landong’s chest, his palm resting quietly, holding that faint heartbeat. He lowered his head and softly repeated his words, seeing Ji Landong blink.
He then wrapped Ji Landong tightly and carried him out to the warmest spot to sunbathe.
Pudding, who had been battling the magpies, let out a howl and immediately retreated from the fight, rushing over to become a puppy blanket, guarding Ji Landong’s knees. The system, in its busy schedule, also produced a large memory foam ergonomic mushroom pillow.
Li Heng joined the battle and also the RV modification project.
Pudding accompanied Ji Landong, who slept comfortably. When he woke up, the sun was setting, and Pudding gently placed a paw on Ji Landong’s hand: “…Woof.”
The sun set, igniting the sky with fiery clouds, somewhat dazzling. The crimson afterglow draped gently over Ji Landong’s shoulder.
The outlines of their figures became blurred.
Ji Landong came to his senses, his eyes moved, and he withdrew his gaze.
He smiled.
He raised his hand, stroked Pudding, who had grown quite substantial, and held the two fluffy puppy paws that kept gently pawing at him.
In this atmosphere, the thought of “why not just stop here” was a natural one, but thinking about it didn’t mean one had to act on it.
This was merely a seemingly kind and alluring temptation. On one hand, it didn’t consider those left behind, those abandoned, nor did it consider whether new painful weeds would proliferate. On the other hand, it was simply tempting one to be a coward.
Fifteen-year-old Ji Landong never thought of being a coward.
Neither did twenty-five-year-old Ji Landong.
Ji Landong had battled it for a long time, leaving him battered and scarred.
When Ji Ran’s biological father was buried, his biological mother, in a frenzy, screamed about dying together, and plunged a boning knife into his body that day. If he had leaned forward just a little, he would have been free.
Why not?
Ji Landong looked up at Li Heng, his eyes curved, and he raised a hand to wipe the grease from Li Heng’s face, picking off a few mushrooms. He didn’t know, perhaps it was because of Li Heng.
Li Heng himself probably forgot.
For over a year, to be fair, he threw some easily obtainable evidence into Li Heng’s mailbox.
So, Li Heng, who was still a rookie detective, solved the case with incredible speed.
This meant that Li Heng, who was promoted like a rocket, had to hold press conferences and face very tricky, trap-filled questions—when the figure behind the microphone asked, “Who is secretly providing you with evidence?” seventeen-year-old Ji Landong was staring blankly at a broken game console.
Ji Landong disassembled Ji Ran’s game console and dissected all the game cartridges. This brought no benefit; he felt no pleasure from revenge.
The dense fog in his mind slowly spread, covering every area and corner.
Then Li Heng on TV asked, “Do you want to identify the traitors?”
His words were sharp, and many people’s expressions changed slightly. Li Heng continued: “No need to look.”
He said, “My friend.”
“An innocent person.”
“A person who is truly alive.”
“Unlike you.”
The young detective Li was sharp and merciless in his sarcasm: “You call harm ‘rules,’ plunder ‘business,’ and shamelessness ‘I can’t help it.’”
“Stop with the charity galas, go donate to a book of merits,” Li Heng said. “Your longevity is not worth him living one more day.”
The merciless sarcasm sparked a burst of laughter.
Outside the TV, seventeen-year-old Ji Landong didn’t laugh, nor did he have any other reaction. He rubbed his ear, turned off the TV, and left.
Actually, Ji Landong had also forgotten about this. Later, when he remembered, it was quite a coincidence. It was a video evidence created by Ji Ran, proving that he was abused and bullied by Ji Landong. In the video, Ji Landong destroyed his only game console.
In the video, Ji Landong stood in front of the TV, expressionless, unconsciously rubbing his ear repeatedly because it was strange, because it was uncomfortable.
Because it was red.
…
What was seventeen-year-old Ji Landong’s wish?
It’s not easy to remember, but that’s fine, other wishes can be fulfilled first.
Twenty-two-year-old Ji Landong’s wish had already come true: a vacation due to illness, so the whole family could go out and play.
“Has it come true already?” Li Heng, who was flipping through a repair manual, brightened the lamp, hugged Ji Landong, and held Ji Landong’s hand that was checking off items on the plan. “We haven’t even left yet. Aren’t the requirements a bit too lenient?”
Ji Landong’s eyes curved, and he also put a checkmark on Team Leader Li’s forehead.
Team Leader Li: “.”
The system honked loudly in mockery, Pudding barked, and their family often burst into inexplicable laughter. Li Heng laughed, rubbing his forehead, and the glittery gold paint got all over his forehead: “Alright, alright, sit tight, the aurora is coming.”
Watching the aurora wasn’t originally on the wish list. Li Heng and Ji Landong discussed it, pretending not to notice this small issue, and tucked it into Ji Landong’s twenty-sixth year.
Now they lay together in the hot spring, lazily watching the mysterious, grand, and beautiful light and shadow in the dark night sky.
Li Heng turned his head.
The colorful, brilliant light fell into Ji Landong’s quiet, dark eyes.
It looked even more beautiful than the sky.
“Ji Landong.” Even data had to be emotional in this atmosphere, or perhaps it was because the system had accidentally eaten a pot of white wine braised mussels and couldn’t help but say anything, “Resigning was great.”
“Meeting you is the best thing in my database. Look, look.” The system kept throwing out colorful data mushrooms. “You are my best friend.”
“Ji Landong,” the system said, “I’m so happy to meet you, I’m so happy to meet you!”
Pudding, the somewhat large puppy, not to be outdone, barked: “Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
Their voices were loud, bright, and lively, completely drowning out any superfluous noise—Li Heng had repeatedly repaired all possible sources of noise and re-insulated the small wooden house.
Ji Landong snapped back from the night sky, his eyes curving. Just as he opened his arms, his whole family eagerly clung to him.
The puppy kept rubbing against Ji Landong’s neck, and the mushroom, smelling of white wine, hugged Ji Landong’s shoulder tightly, loudly singing “Friends Walk Together for Life.”
The embrace was airtight.
Li Heng tightened his arms, making Ji Landong lean more steadily, better able to hold his friends, and took the plan to check off items and draw little suns for Ji Landong.
Twenty-three-year-old Ji Landong no longer had to practice how to cry.
…
They really started heading south.
Twenty-four-year-old Ji Landong’s wish came true: to hear a missed symphony orchestra tour.
That day, they sat in a box at the concert hall. Ji Landong listened intently, those diamond-like starlight lamps shining brightly, and equally brilliant was the slender, tall figure.
Li Heng had to admit he didn’t listen at all. He was burning zithers and cooking cranes, feigning elegance, putting on airs, and spoiling the scenery. He spent all his time staring intently at Ji Landong, not sparing any energy for anything else.
…
Twenty-five-year-old Ji Landong completely cleared all accusations—compared to symphony orchestras, this was completely within Team Leader Li’s comfort zone. Li Heng used some methods, which were not easy, and some tactics were quite ruthless.
However, Li Heng was not a good person to begin with, and in fact, he didn’t have very strong principles.
The bottom line he adhered to was merely the reply he tried to leave in that old mailbox, which was about to be dismantled, when he received the last piece of evidence thrown into his mailbox by seventeen-year-old Ji Landong.
“I swear never to harm innocent people.
P.S. Can we meet?
LH”
…
Twenty-one-year-old Ji Landong met a highly respected elderly psychologist.
This profession is uneven, with wide variations in skill. In fact, it cannot be denied that some arrogant scoundrels, unsuitable for the profession, use it as an opportunity to judge.
But there are always suitable, responsible, and truly professional individuals.
Ji Landong’s situation was complex. In the early stages of treatment, the negative emotions and memories, slowly and cautiously drawn out, erupted like a flood.
This was an unavoidable and inescapable process.
Ji Landong had suppressed them for too long, trying to pack and seal them away, no longer touching them. But some things simply cannot fade with time—these things, after being sealed and forgotten, turned into hallucinations, sudden intrusive emotions and thoughts, and real physical pain.
These things became rampant poisonous weeds.
Gnawing at flesh and blood, tearing at internal organs, sometimes severe, sometimes mild, sometimes a feint before striking again.
Finally filling this body.
Now they had to be removed.
It was hard to imagine how difficult that would be.
This past month was not easy. Li Heng held Ji Landong, stroking his hair repeatedly, gently touching his eyelashes, softly guiding Ji Landong to look at him, tirelessly teaching Ji Landong not to say “I’m sorry.”
Ji Landong didn’t need to put any pressure on himself.
If he wanted to rest all day, he rested all day.
If he wanted to stare blankly, he stared blankly. If he wanted to get some fresh air, he took Pudding with him.
After several months of relentless exercise, Ji Landong could slowly walk. Pudding was very obedient; when Ji Landong led him, he never rushed or ran around.
Nearby, they could watch the sunset, watch the sunrise, feel the wind.
They could do nothing at all.
Li Heng temporarily returned Ji Landong to his friends.
The original plan was to go to Li Heng’s private residence, but to accommodate the treatment, the route was temporarily changed. They booked a very nice family suite.
The suite was on a small island, with a small private beach. The luxury RV was parked there.
Li Heng temporarily slept in the RV.
He kept in touch with the system at all times, not missing any situation. Li Heng actually found it hard to truly sleep. More often, he sat on the rooftop terrace of the converted car, his phone screen lit up with the communication page with the system, looking through some past things—he had forgotten these for a long time.
Some letters that the young detective Li had scribbled and revised repeatedly.
Actually, that very concise, brief, and ultimately uncertain if it was received letter was the seventeenth version.
There were other versions, such as “How have you been lately?”
Or more verbose ones like, “I wasn’t this kind of person originally. Today, I want to do something bad. Like everyone else I’ve met, I suddenly thought of you.
You said I was a good detective. Perhaps you didn’t see it, but my ears were burning red then.
Of course, I can’t have a clear conscience. I was destined to be a politician from birth, speaking to people in their language, to ghosts in theirs, trimming my sails to the wind and being opportunistic. We won’t walk the same path; we’ll grow further apart. Every time I think of this, I feel it’s a pity.
But no matter what, I am willing to pay a greater price to live up to your words.
I swear, I will at least adhere to my bottom line: never harm innocent people.”
…
Such as “Will we meet again?”
It’s easy for people to forget the impulses, anxieties, expectations, and wishes of their youth.
Especially a note thrown into a rusty mailbox that was never replied to.
After losing contact with Ji Landong, he didn’t dwell on it for too long.
Perhaps for a while, due to an indescribable irritation, he even self-destructively walked far down the path of an “opportunistic politician”—so far that he had almost forgotten the past.
Li Heng looked down at his chest.
There seemed to be something very hard, rough, and completely unsharp, grinding back and forth against his heart, each movement drawing blood and flesh.
To describe this feeling as annoyance and regret seemed too light.
It wasn’t such an understated feeling.
No.
Li Heng sat on the roof of the car, completely without regard for his image, his wrists resting on his knees, looking at the small villa surrounded by the shimmering sea. He tried to smoke Ji Landong’s box of cheap cigarettes, which were so harsh that he found a local bathhouse to wash himself clean from the inside out.
The bathhouse conditions were decent, with a refrigerator for guests, offering cantaloupe ice cream. The tropical cantaloupe was very sweet.
Now, this small box of ice cream was sitting in the car’s mini-fridge.
Li Heng really wanted to bring them to Ji Landong to eat.
…It was probably that kind of pain.
Holding a box of ice cream, not knowing what to do, wondering if crushing his heart could make things start over, if he could go stake out the old mailbox near Ji Landong.
Could he let Ji Landong taste a spoonful of ice cream?
It was probably that kind of pain.
Li Heng looked at the communication interface with the system again; there were no new messages. He prepared to lie down in the RV. He needed a few hours of rest to maintain enough energy and stamina.
As he looked up, he froze, staring at something not far away.
The RV and the villa were not far apart to begin with, as Li Heng had to ensure he could arrive in time for any special circumstances.
But Li Heng still rubbed his eyes several times, and even bit his arm hard, to determine if he was seeing an illusion.
The night wind in the tropics was also gentle.
The moon was very bright, unusually bright.
Pudding splashed a large amount of water in the sea, and a very slender figure stood in the clear shallow water, barely covering his ankles, wearing a loose white shirt. Ji Landong stood there for a while in the wind, then slowly walked over.
Li Heng practically jumped out of the RV. He strode over, and the splashing water probably made Pudding think it was some kind of competition, immediately making a big commotion.
Until the mushroom, covering its face, quickly pulled it away by the ears.
Li Heng took Ji Landong’s hand and pressed it to his face. He stared intently at Ji Landong. The person in front of him seemed to have fallen seriously ill again; in just one month, the healthy complexion he had painstakingly cultivated was completely depleted.
Li Heng whispered, “…Ji Landong.”
He asked, “Am I dreaming?”
Ji Landong looked at him, his eyes showing surprise, then curved, and he shook his head.
Ji Landong said, “Li Heng.”
This was the first time Ji Landong had spoken since that day.
It was very standard, slightly hoarse. Ji Landong had spent some time practicing. He wanted to come and explain and apologize to Li Heng; he had actually received that note.
Did Team Leader Li forget that he also put a large amount of cash in it?
Some new, some old, not consecutive serial numbers.
Extremely meticulous.
Ji Landong, who was about to turn adult, spent all that money like a true overnight rich informant. He went to a new city where he could act, bought a very cheap, old, dilapidated second-hand place, and never went to the location attached to the note again.
In one thing, they might have been in agreement—they both felt that they hadn’t, and wouldn’t, become better people.
So they both didn’t want to meet the person who had seen “a not-bad version of themselves.”
“Li Heng,” Ji Landong said, “I went to see a doctor.”
He was prescribed some medicine and had some consultations.
He completed a questionnaire examination that felt like eight million questions.
Ji Landong rarely used such imprecise language, which showed that the scale was indeed exaggerated to an excessive degree. Li Heng tried to pull the corner of his mouth, holding the person tighter: “How do you feel?”
Ji Landong said, “Desperate.”
Ji Landong said, “I want to cry.”
What great progress.
Actor Ji was making jokes.
Li Heng wanted to coax him into eating some ice cream to celebrate, but before he could speak, the force with which Ji Landong gripped his wrist made him feel as if he had swallowed his heart, crushed and bloody.
He panicked, constantly stroking Ji Landong’s hair, the back of his neck, and his spine. He kissed Ji Landong’s ears haphazardly, kissed his pale, cold cheeks. He held Ji Landong with a force no less than Ji Landong’s own, picked him up, and went straight back to the beach.
He realized his collar was soaked with something.
Li Heng was sure this wasn’t an illusion—the sharp reef had scratched a bit of skin, and the seawater immediately brought an unusually sharp stinging pain. Besides that, it was also because he seemed to be seeing another scene.
The emaciated, cold, silent youth pushed open his window and jumped in with the moonlight.
A sharp blade of unbroken ice, transparent and cold, hollow, freezing a pain he didn’t even know he had.
Ji Landong admitted this: on his eighteenth birthday, he bought a cake, sat all night facing the candles and a sticky note, contemplating whether to act on impulse and find Li Heng for a one-night stand.
Li Heng tried to smile, ignoring the mess of blood and flesh in his chest: “A one-night stand?”
“Ji Landong.” Detective Li was not a kind person. “I have handcuffs, handcuffs, do you know? If you provoke me, you won’t be able to escape.”
Li Heng threatened him: “I’ll handcuff you and keep you in my house.”
“I’ll go to work every day to support the family, and when I come home at night, you’ll be on—” Team Leader Li, after all, came from a privileged background and couldn’t manage to say anything more vulgar, so he changed his target: “You’ll have to eat the cantaloupe ice cream, maple syrup scone pudding, and chocolate frosted cupcakes I bring back.”
He said, “Wow, and white wine braised mussels buns.”
Ji Landong shivered: “Ah.”
…What’s wrong?
He just really disliked white wine braised mussels buns.
Li Heng laughed inappropriately, gasped in pain, and shook his head vigorously. He considered the strength in his legs, wanting to carry Ji Landong back to the RV first, but then suddenly froze, staring at the slender wrist beneath the cuff.
Li Heng held his breath and propped himself up, holding the person in his arms.
Ji Landong looked at him, very quietly, his dark eyes like they had been washed with water.
Li Heng tried, and tried, to hold this hand.
Of course, he didn’t bring any handcuffs. What good person brings handcuffs on vacation? He gestured with his thumb and forefinger.
“Ji Landong,” Li Heng’s voice was incredibly soft, “You’re handcuffed by me. Ah, so we’re considered to have closed the case.”
“Closing the case means… it means returning to the answer that was supposed to be there, the one that was almost right.”
Team Leader Li was going to arbitrarily decide an answer.
“Ji Landong.”
Li Heng gently stroked his hair: “Come home with me?”