Chapter 17

Qin Qingzhuo was awakened by the intense sunlight outside the window.

Opening his eyes, he felt a splitting headache, as if his head were being sliced back and forth by a blunt saw.

He reached for his phone to check the time, but his thumb pressed on the power button for a while before the screen displayed the need to be charged.

Throwing the phone aside, he propped himself up on the bed, struggling to sit up.

Memories from before going to sleep last night still lingered, but the sequence from squatting on the street corner to lying on this bed was completely lost.

He remembered being carried back by Jiang Ji, and they almost got into a fight… What was it about again? He couldn’t recall.

How embarrassing… in front of a nineteen-year-old kid.

Wait… Where’s Jiang Ji? Wasn’t he supposed to be sleeping beside him last night? And he’s already up?

Staring into space for a moment, Qin Qingzhuo got out of bed, feeling dizzy again, his headache worsening, accompanied by unbearable ringing in his ears.

Walking out of the room, Qin Qingzhuo saw Jiang Ji sleeping on the couch.

Qin Qingzhuo remembered Jiang Ji’s height was one meter eighty-seven, but now he looked cramped on the couch, which was probably only about one meter sixty wide.

Jiang Ji was lying on the couch, one leg bent up, the other leg even hanging off to the ground, clearly uncomfortable.

Even though the bed was wide enough, why did he choose to sleep on the couch?

Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t sure if he had a bad sleeping posture last night due to being drunk. Actually, he had a decent alcohol tolerance; he rarely got drunk, and last night’s blackout was purely accidental.

Approaching Jiang Ji, Qin Qingzhuo intended to wake him up and ask him to sleep on the bed.

As he got closer, his gaze inadvertently swept over an area that should not be seen, quickly looking away, but a thought flashed through his mind—youthful vigor indeed.

Perhaps hearing some noise, before Qin Qingzhuo could do anything, Jiang Ji opened his eyes.

He looked at Qin Qingzhuo with his eyes half-closed, showing no sign of sleepiness, just a slightly displeased expression, either because he hadn’t slept well or because he was awakened by Qin Qingzhuo.

Qin Qingzhuo was about to speak, but his throat hurt like needles, so dry that he could hardly speak. He pointed to the adjacent room, indicating that Jiang Ji could sleep there.

Jiang Ji sat up, leaning against the couch, not sure if he understood Qin Qingzhuo’s gesture. He reached for the cigarette pack and took out a cigarette.

Seeing him about to smoke again, Qin Qingzhuo frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything, turning to the bathroom.

At the moment, Qin Qingzhuo had no mood to care about Jiang Ji. Headache, sore throat, ringing in the ears, and buzzing noises all hit him at once. When he woke up earlier, he didn’t feel much, but now, after taking a few steps, the strong discomfort awakened with his nervous system, making the aftermath of the hangover unbearable, and his stomach was churning as if he wanted to vomit.

Bending over the sink, Qin Qingzhuo turned on the faucet and splashed a few handfuls of cold water on his face, trying to clear his muddled brain.

Standing up straight, he pulled at the collar and sniffed, then frowned. The smell of alcohol on his clothes wasn’t too strong, but it made him nauseous, intensifying the urge to vomit.

He retched a few times into the toilet, but nothing came out. Whether it was a psychological effect or not, he always felt that the scent of alcohol appeared and disappeared, making him extremely uncomfortable. He wished he could take off his shirt right now.

After a moment of hesitation, he opened the bathroom door and looked outside. Jiang Ji was still sitting on the couch, arms bent on his thighs, holding a cigarette between his fingers, but he hadn’t lit it, lost in thought.

Qin Qingzhuo, with a throat filled with sandpaper, cleared his throat and managed to say, “I need to use the bathroom.”

Jiang Ji didn’t turn around. “Go ahead.”

“And the shirt, can I borrow…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Ji impatiently interrupted him, “Take whatever you need.”

The bathroom door closed, and Qin Qingzhuo stood under the shower, quickly rinsing himself to get rid of the alcohol smell on his body and hair.

His head was spinning, his feet felt weak, and he had a hard time standing. Perhaps it was the steam from the hot water, but when he turned off the shower, he had to hold onto the switch for a moment to avoid collapsing.

The aftermath of this hangover is quite severe… I don’t think I’ve experienced this before. Qin Qingzhuo thought.

After washing up, he took Jiang Ji’s dried white T-shirt from the clothes drying pole and put it over his head. The refreshing scent of soap on the clothes made him feel a bit better.

Exiting the bathroom, he saw Jiang Ji still pinching the unlit cigarette.

Should he smoke or not? Qin Qingzhuo had this thought in his mind, but he didn’t say anything, walking over to sit on the other end of the couch.

The nausea was gone, but the dizziness was still severe. Whether sitting or standing, he felt like the world was spinning.

Moreover, despite the intense sunlight outside the window, his body felt strangely cold, as if a chill was seeping out from the bones.

Qin Qingzhuo raised his hand to massage his temples, both arms bent on his thighs, one hand supporting his forehead. Probably because of the lowered center of gravity, the dizziness seemed to ease a bit in this position.

Seeing him come out of the bathroom, Jiang Ji got up from the couch and went to freshen up.

Throwing the cigarette he had been playing with all morning into the trash can, Jiang Ji saw the clothes Qin Qingzhuo had taken off also thrown in.

Standing in front of the sink, he bent down and splashed cold water on his face, exhaling a breath.

For some reason, since last night until now, whenever he saw Qin Qingzhuo, or even thought about him, there was an urge to smoke, but as soon as he held the cigarette between his fingers, the urge would disappear on its own.

This inexplicable, fluctuating impulse was starting to bother him.

It was like the feeling right before sneezing. Just as the sensation of sneezing emerged, it would vanish right before the sneeze itself.

A subtle discomfort.

Maybe he should send Qin Qingzhuo away as soon as possible, Jiang Ji thought.

After freshening up, Jiang Ji walked out of the bathroom, glancing at Qin Qingzhuo. “Can you go back by yourself?”

Qin Qingzhuo, sitting on the couch with his head down, didn’t react at all. He still looked like he was half-dead from last night, his limp black hair framing his white face and neck like paper.

Jiang Ji grabbed the half-empty bottle of mineral water from the coffee table, finished it, and then threw the bottle into the trash. “Do you want me to take you back?”

This time, Qin Qingzhuo reacted. He moved slightly, lifted his drooping head, and looked at Jiang Ji as if he hadn’t heard clearly. “Hmm?”

“I said,” Jiang Ji looked down at him, “how are you going to get back?”

As he spoke, Qin Qingzhuo’s gaze remained on his lips. Whether it was because of the steam from the shower that had just cleared or not, his eyeballs seemed to be covered with a layer of mist.

Shouldn’t people look into each other’s eyes when talking? Is his throat sore, or has he gone deaf?

Although he had just drunk water, Jiang Ji suddenly felt thirsty again, and that restless feeling returned.

Jiang Ji noticed the abnormal flush on Qin Qingzhuo’s face and his pale lips, which seemed weak.

He raised his hand and touched Qin Qingzhuo’s forehead with the back of his hand, frowning. “Are you running a fever?”

The temperature on the back of his hand was almost scalding. Seeing Qin Qingzhuo’s slow reaction and listless appearance, Jiang Ji withdrew his hand. “Let’s go, to the hospital.”

Saying that, he went to the bedroom and took one of his jackets.

He walked out and threw the jacket over Qin Qingzhuo’s shoulders, then headed towards the stairs, adding, “Put it on. I’ll go downstairs to open the door.”

Qin Qingzhuo wanted to call out to Jiang Ji, but by the time he cleared his throat, Jiang Ji had already gone downstairs.

Originally, he intended to borrow a charger and wait for his phone to turn on before calling a driver to take him to the hospital, but now Jiang Ji unexpectedly showed some kindness.

Qin Qingzhuo took the jacket that Jiang Ji had thrown to him and put it on slowly. The oversized, soft cotton jacket alleviated the chill on his body.

After putting on the jacket, he walked down the stairs. The front door on the ground floor was already open, and Jiang Ji was leaning against the doorframe, standing there with his head slightly lowered, fiddling with his phone.

Qin Qingzhuo walked in and asked hoarsely, “Motorcycle?”

“What motorcycle do you still want to ride while burning up like this？” Jiang Ji’s tone was impatient.

Watching Jiang Ji type out the name of the hospital from last night on the taxi app, Qin Qingzhuo spoke up, “Go to Puji.”

Puji was the best hospital in Yancheng, at least a dozen kilometers away from Honglu Slope. Jiang Ji looked up at him. “Just a fever, is it necessary?”

Qin Qingzhuo insisted again, “Go to Puji.”

Jiang Ji looked at him, his fingers still. “Can’t poor people’s hospitals treat you? Are you that delicate?”

Qin Qingzhuo’s face was pale, his sickly appearance making him look extremely aloof, devoid of his usual gentleness, and showing no sign of changing his mind.

“Troublesome,” Jiang Ji muttered under his breath, then frowned at Qin Qingzhuo. “Is this how you always talk to people?”

Qin Qingzhuo asked blankly, “How?”

Staring at other people’s lips. Jiang Ji thought to himself.

But he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he deleted the previous hospital name in the input box and typed “Puji Hospital.”

On the way to Puji Hospital, neither of them spoke.

Qin Qingzhuo felt extremely uncomfortable, his throat hurting so much that swallowing was a struggle.

And Jiang Ji, who had spent the whole night on the couch, hadn’t slept well at all. After helping Qin Qingzhuo borrow a charging cable from the driver, he didn’t speak again. He leaned back in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest.

A few minutes later, the phone finally charged and turned on. As the screen lit up, a series of message notifications appeared at the top of the screen, all missed voice messages from Ji Chi.

Feeling exhausted, Qin Qingzhuo exited the chat with Ji Chi and opened another person’s profile picture, sending a message, “Cheng Yun, are you at the hospital?”

As usual, the entrance of Puji Hospital was congested. Getting out of the car and seeing the traffic jam on the internal roads, Jiang Ji thought to himself that in such a crowded hospital, it’s hard to say whether they could even get an appointment. Let’s try our luck first, and if not, we’ll have to ask Zhong Yang. That guy is very versatile, even has connections with hospital scalpers. He met Zhong Yang like this when he first came to Yancheng.

But after walking a few steps, Jiang Ji realized he was overthinking.

A young doctor in a white coat stood above the steps, raising his hand to signal to Qin Qingzhuo, “Qingzhuo, over here!”

Qin Qingzhuo walked up the steps and said to the doctor, “Cheng Yun, I’m bothering you again.”

Jiang Ji saw the name badge hanging on the doctor’s chest read “Xie Chengyun.” He figured Qin Qingzhuo must be quite familiar with this doctor, which explained why they had come to Puji Hospital.

“How did your throat get this bad?” Hearing him speak, Dr. Xie furrowed his brow. “Come on, let’s go in for an examination first.”

Then he looked at Jiang Ji beside them. “And this gentleman…”

“He’s my student,” Qin Qingzhuo said.

“Do you want to come in with him?” Dr. Xie asked.

Qin Qingzhuo shook his head. “No need.”

Jiang Ji shrugged, stopped in his tracks, and didn’t follow them in. He found a seat in the lobby of the outpatient building.

—Student. Jiang Ji found it interesting that when introducing himself to others, Qin Qingzhuo used this term.

It had been almost two years since he dropped out of school, yet someone still referred to him as a student. Quite refreshing.

The outpatient building was noisy. Jiang Ji took out his earphones from his pocket and plugged them in.

The first song recommended by the music app today happened to be by Qin Qingzhuo. Was big data really that intelligent now?

The song wasn’t new; Jiang Ji remembered listening to it back in middle school and even had it on repeat for a while. The first time he heard it, he was attracted by the singer’s voice and style, a kind of textured gentleness that even made him feel beautiful. So he glanced at the singer’s name, remembering the three words “Qin Qingzhuo.” But that was as far as it went; he didn’t pay much attention afterward.

Never did he expect that four years later, he would have this kind of intersection with the singer of the song.

For the first time in his life, Jiang Ji felt that fate was sometimes cruel, sometimes miraculous.