When Shou-wife received a call during a meeting, the other person on the line was a serious sounding woman. She said that a family member of his had gotten involved in a car accident and told him to quickly come over to the hospital.

After hanging up the call, Shou-wife’s mind was completely blank. It took him half a minute before he came to his senses. He immediately left the meeting that was ongoing and went straight to the hospital.

Earlier when he had picked up the phone, his entire being was trembling and he did not listen carefully which ward the person was in. Reaching the emergency room, he saw that there were many people coming and going. Shou-wife was like a headless fly searching amongst the crowd.

Eventually,Shou-wife managed to find the big sister nurse who called him. The nurse said the person was hit by a grandmother who was riding an electric scooter while crossing the road. His left leg was broken and he needed to be hospitalized for a week. It will be fine after the swelling is reduced and a plaster will be fixed. Shou-wife temporarily let out a sigh of relief.

At this time, the Broken-Leg Gong was lying on a temporary bed along the corridor. When he heard Shou-wife’s voice from afar, he immediately sat up and waved frantically. Baby, I am here!

Looking at Broken-Leg Gong, his spirits still looked good, although his appearance from head to toe seemed pathetic. His top was stained with dirt and blood, and part of his hand was torn open, exposing a large piece of bright red flesh. There was also a scrape wound on his face but it seemed iodine which stains has been applied on it, making it look a little fierce.

Shou-wife’s heart was distressed by the sight and his eyes became red. Broken-Leg Gong was worried the tears would start falling in the next second and wanted to lighten the atmosphere. “Baby, am I going to be disfigured? If I am no longer handsome, will you still love me?”

“You shut up!”

Seeing Shou-wife being busy here and there to settle his hospitalisation procedures, Broken-Leg Gong did not talk anymore. After all was settled, Shou-wife went home to pack some clean clothes and toiletries. Shou-Wife used a hot towel to help Broken-Leg Gong wipe his body. Broken-Leg Gong laid on the hospital bed and was hooked up with antipyretic medication. Not long after, he fell asleep. Shou-wife silently stayed by the bedside and watched him.

Actually, Shou-wife has not carefully looked at this man for many days now. A few years ago, Broken-Leg Gong started a creative company with a friend. Currently, it was in a critical stage and every night, Broken-Gong had to entertain clients until it was very late before he returned home.

Shou-wife had a healthy daily schedule. Usually even before it reached 10pm, he would lay down. By the time Broken-Leg Gong reached the bed, Shou-wife would already have had several dreams. Even if he felt the goodnight kiss from Broken-Leg Gong, he would not wake up.

This morning before he left the house, during that brief few minutes they got to spend time together, Broken-Leg Gong embraced Shou-wife. Broken-Leg Gong said once he was done being busy this week, on the weekend he would bring Shou-wife to the neighboring city to view the cherry blossoms. Shou-wife was very happy. On the way to work, he was even thinking of a suitable outfit to view the cherry blossoms with. But now, they would not be able to see anything anymore.

During this period, Broken-Leg Gong was indeed very tired. He would sleep the whole day and only wake up at night. Shou-wife would prepare congee with small dishes. Since one of Broken-Leg Gong’s arms had the drip, while the other arm was injured, he could be fed by Shou-wife slowly, one mouthful after another.

Broken-Leg Gong’s expectations as a patient was rather high. First he found the dishes were too bland, next he noisily wanted to eat meat. Shou-wife had no choice since he could not allow him to eat anything that was too spicy or oily. In the end, he could only go down buy a bag of Latiao (T/N: a spicy kind of snack popular in China). He opened it by the side and allowed Broken-Leg Gong to smell it.

How could Broken-Leg Gong have gotten hit by an electric scooter for no reason? Broken-Leg Gong hem and hawed, said that while crossing the road after lunch, he did not pay attention. Shou-wife found it puzzling. At their office building, there wasn’t a need to cross the road to get food and there wasn’t any electric scooters either. But he did not probe further.

At night, Shou-wife set up a foldable bed beside Broken-Leg Gong’s hospital bed. The foldable bed was shorter in height. Broken-Leg Gong extended his hand to hold Shou-wife’s hand. They have been together for 3 years and every night, they would sleep like this because Shou-Wife would get nightmares easily. He would dream that he was falling off a cliff.

Broken-Leg Gong said this was a sign of insecurity and if they were holding hands, Shou-Wife need not worry about falling off anymore. Thus, this habit of holding hands continued until now.

The next morning, Shou-wife went to work as usual. As his office was located far away from the hospital, Broken-Leg Gong said it would be too exhausting to travel to and fro at noon so he told Shou-wife to only come over after work.

Shou-wife helped him to wash his face, brush his teeth and went downstairs to buy breakfast. Before Shou-wife left he repeated again to Broken-Leg Gong: at noon, remember to order takeaway earlier, if he was feeling unwell, call the nurse and to eat the medicine prescribed by the doctor promptly. Broken-Leg Gong nodded his head obediently.

Shou-wife asked again, “Do you have any food you are craving for? I will buy it after work.”

Broken-Leg Gong, “Floss cake.”

(T/N, he asked for 肉松小贝. I don’t really know the english term but it is a kind of floss cake. You can google for the image).

Shou-wife chuckled and replied okay. He was about to leave when Broken-Leg Gong grabbed a corner of his clothes. He saw that Broken-Leg Gong was looking at him expectantly like a puppy.

Shou-wife asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I want a kiss.”

Shou-wife leaned in and gave him a kiss on his lips.

During work, Shou-wife was not at ease and kept worrying. In the end after deliberating, he took leave in the afternoon and returned to the hospital. On his way, he went to buy some floss cakes.

When he reached outside the ward, before he could go in, he heard voices.

“Why were you so careless?”

“It’s fine, small accident.”

Shou-wife felt that this voice was very familiar. He quietly peeked in. In front of the bed sat a handsome man and he was holding Broken-Leg Gong’s hand. The two of them were staring at each other and did not realize Shou-wife was standing at the door.

Shou-wife walked away and gave the floss cakes in his hand to the nurse. He said, “Takeaway for Ward 324.”

After that, he went downstairs and sat on a bench outside. He took out a bread and ate it as lunch. The bread was dry and he could not even swallow it. Shou-wife thought sadly that he should not have given the floss cakes to Broken-Leg Gong. For all he knew, Broken-Leg Gong would be share the cakes with Bai Yueguang (White Moonlight)*, eating one bite after another and be extremely happy. Shou-wife was even more sad.

(T/N: bai yueguang or directly translated is white moonlight. something that is always in the heart but not within reach. This ‘third party’ name is also Bai. So I will just call him Bai Yueguang)

The man sitting in the room earlier was the Broken-Leg Gong’s ‘Bai Yueguang’. Shou-wife had met him when they were in school. At that time, he was just a freshman. During the opening ceremony, he fell in love at first sight with Broken-Leg Gong, who was a senior of the same major. And since then his journey of a secret crush started. In that year, he joined the student union which the Broken-Leg Gong was in. When he had any free time, he would go to the classes where the seniors were at just to see Broken-Leg Gong from a distance. Broken-Leg Gong has a best friend, and that was Bai Yueguang. Bai Yueguang was from the Art department. Broken-Leg Gong and him were inseparable on campus.

Both Broken-Leg Gong and Bai Yueguang were members of the school’s basketball team. And people on the court had some unspoken understanding between them in life. Shou-wife would secretly skip classes to go and watch Broken-Leg Gong play basketball. Broken-Leg Gong’s skills were sharp. When he ran on the basketball court, it was like his entire being was glowing. Extremely handsome.

Shou-wife stood outside the court, his two eyes staring intently. When Broken-Leg Gong finished, coincidentally he walked towards the direction Shou-wife was standing at. His gaze met with Shou-wife. He smiled and turned back to Bai Yueguang to ask, “Xiao Bai, come and look. Is that your little brother?”

Shou-wife had a thin skin, the moment he was looked at by the other man, his face turned red.

Bai Yueguang came up and pushed Broken-Leg Gong, “Don’t tease the junior.”

The two of them walked away while chatting and laughing. Shou-wife stood rooted at the original spot, his heart beating extremely fast. This was the first time Broken-Leg Gong talked to him. To put it accurately, the words were not spoken to him directly but he was still very happy.

After that, Broken-Leg Gong graduated and Shou-wife did not come into contact with him anymore. Shou-wife thought that his secret crush had ended like that but he did not expect that during his internship, they would meet again. Coincidentally he entered Broken-Leg Gong’s company and was in the same group as him.

During the first day, when Shou-wife was doing a self-introduction to everyone else, he was so nervous that he became tongue tied. It was because Broken-Leg Gong kept staring at him. Shou-wife realized, they have not seen each other for so long, his longing did not diminish with time. His heart would still be moved by just one glance from Broken-Leg Gong.

Shou-wife’s desk was just separated from Broken-Leg’s desk by a board. He thought about the next few months and how he would working in such close proximity to Broken-Leg, he could not control his excitement. For the whole morning, Shou-wife was immersed and lost himself in such happiness. Even when everyone had left for lunch, he did not realize until he regained his senses. The office was empty except Broken-Leg Gong who was rushing a report and him who had a face full of emotion.

Broken-Leg Gong asked, “Shall we eat together? Wait for me, I am almost done.”

Shou-wife blankly nodded.

Broken-Leg Gong brought Shou-wife to a place with Japanese food located downstairs. On their way there, Broken-Leg Gong eagerly called somebody. “Our department has a new little kid…my junior, the one who really looks like you. Alright, alright, I won’t tease him.”

As he talked, Broken-Leg Gong turned back and looked at Shou-wife and chuckled. Shou-wife felt that he lost his soul.

The two of them sat face to face to eat. Broken-Leg Gong seemed to be particularly interested in Shou-wife. He kept asking questions, as though he was investigating him. In the end, he still asked the one question, “Are you really not Bai Yueguang’s long-lost blood brother?”

Shou-wife answered all the questions, his expression was calm but he felt frantic in his heart.

Am I eating too fast? Is there sauce on my face? If I eat too much, will I seem like a pig?

Shou-wife was too concerned about his image. He only ate abit before setting his chopsticks down. Broken-Leg Gong asked if he did not like the food here and they could go to another place to eat tomorrow. Shou-wife felt so happy that he could explode. They could eat together again tomorrow!

With Broken-Leg Gong around, Shou-wife was very hardworking daily. Other than finishing his job, he would help to pour tea and fetch water. Especially towards Broken-Leg Gong, he was extremely attentive. Shou-wife placed a cup of freshly brewed coffee in Broken-Leg Gong’s hand.

The big sisters in the same group teased him, “If we didn’t know better, we would think we have hired a little nanny.”

Shou-wife was embarrassed and went back to his desk with a red face. He thought inwardly he should hold back a little. The moment he turned his head, he saw that Broken-Leg Gong was looking at him while smiling. He said, “Little nanny, help me to photocopy these materials.”

Shou-wife eagerly went to do it.

After work, Shou-wife went downstairs together with Broken-Leg Gong. There was a tall and slender man leaning against the door. His dressing was flashy, and there was a piercing on his ear. His look was rather similar to Shou-wife.

The moment Broken-Leg Gong saw him, a smile appeared and specially ran down to meet him. Shou-wife hastened his speed.

“Xiao Bai, what are you doing here?”

Bai Yueguang lazily lifted his head. “Finding someone for dinner.”

“Okay!”

Broken-Leg Gong and Bai Yueguang left, making Shou-wife feeling really envious.

At work, Broken-Leg Gong would specially take care of Shou-wife. He pulled Shou-wife into his own project and personally mentored him. Being so close everyday, Shou-wife felt like he was dreaming. No, he would have never dreamed of such a day.

Sometimes when he lifted his head, he would see that Broken-Leg Gong was looking at him. Shou-wife’s heart would jump. He quietly suppressed the pink bubbles emerging from his head, and told himself not to be too hopeful.

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The project that Broken-Leg Gong was in charge of smoothly ended. The project team held a gathering after work and Shou-wife followed along. Everyone took turns to make Broken-Leg Gong, the head of this project, to drink. Broken-Leg Gong’s mood was very good and did not turn away anyone’s request to drink.

Shou-wife saw him drinking alcohol one after another and felt abit unbearable. He stepped out of line and went before Broken-Leg Gong to help him block the drinks. Broken-Leg Gong was already abit drunk. With one tug, pulled Shou-wife over and whispered right beside ear, “I am fine.”

Shou-wife felt as though he was going to melt on one side of his body. The ear that was close to Broken-Leg Gong was so hot it felt like it was going to smoke.

After the gathering ended, Shou-wife flagged a cab down and sent the drunk Broken-Leg Gong home. Shou-wife wanted to leave after sending him in. But in the end, the moment the door opened, he was pressed against the door. Shou-wife was startled and wanted to ask what was going on but before he opened his mouth, his lips were blocked.

Shou-wife was stunned and was pressed against the door like a piece of wood. He did not even dare to move as he allowed Broken-Leg Gong’s tongue to pry his lips open and occupy his entire mouth.

He shut his eyes and the strong scent of alcohol surrounded him, making him giddy. He felt that every inch of his skin was heating up and his entire being was suffocating. Shou-wife instinctively reached out his hand and wanted to grab on to Broken-Leg Gong’s arm. At this moment, he heard Broken-Leg Gong murmur, “Xiao Bai.”

Shou-wife immediately sobered up and shoved away the person before him before escaping.

Shou-wife did not sleep the entire night. His mind kept replaying the kiss by Broken-Leg Gong. That gentle touch seemed to be lingering on his lips. And the call that did not belong to him, stayed on his mind.

The next day,Shou-wife was nervous on the way to work. He had no idea how to face Broken-Leg Gong. However, Broken-Leg Gong did not appear the entire morning. He only arrived when it was almost noon.

For the first time ever, when Shou-wife heard Broken-Leg Gong sitting at his desk, he did not stand up to welcome him. He sat at his desk and stared at the computer screen, pretending to be seriously at work. But in fact, he did not open up any thing and on the screen was only a desktop wallpaper.

Everyone went out for lunch. Shou-wife wanted to sneak out among the crowd, but his wrist was caught.

“I have something to talk to you about.” Broken-Leg Gong said.

Shou-wife’s heart sank as he was dragged downstairs. Broken-Leg Gong, who usually did not smoke leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. Shou-wife felt he looked particularly fragile today, extremely different from his usual cheerful self. Broken-Leg Gong blew out a puff of smoke and said, “Sorry, I drank too much last night.”

Shou-wife bit his lip. “You remember what happened?”

“Hm.”

“You.. like Senior Bai?”

“Yes.”

Broken-Leg Gong did not hide the truth. “I fell in love with him at first sight the moment I saw him.”

Shou-wife was irritated by the smoke smell and coughed twice, his eyes teary. I also fell in love with you at first sight, he thought to himself.

“I understand. Senior, don’t worry. I will pretend like nothing happened.”

The author has something to say: Just very dog blood!