CH 115

Chapter 115 Heart Sound

“Why should I tell you? It’s a matter between me and Jian Chi.”

Shao Hang’s provocation was mixed with a hint of ambiguity, and he deliberately blurred the boundary, as if to imply something to Ji Huaisi. Jian Chi’s tired temple throbbed and he explained to Ji Huaisi: “After coming out of Shao Hang’s house, he stopped a car. We went to the mall to have dinner and then came back.” 

The atmosphere became dull in an instant, Shao Hang stretched the corner of his lower lip displeased, then finally did not say anything. Ji Huaisi stopped looking at Shao Hang, his cold face softened slightly, “After Zhang Yang told me about the situation, I called you a few times, and it was always unanswered, I realized that something was wrong. In the afternoon I called your dad at five o’clock, and I was relieved to know that you contacted him with your new number. I just didn’t expect you to come back so late, until it was dark.” 

The last words were mixed with a sigh, venting his not so obvious fatigue. Jian Chi felt guilty, but suddenly remembered what Shao Hang said, ‘Use all kinds of methods to deceive you’, and the guilt that had just risen was forcibly weakened by half.

Jian Chi suppressed the strangeness and avoided Ji Huaisi’s concerned gaze, “Did you tell my dad what happened today?”

“I told uncle that the school would send your prize certificate to my home, and I called to confirm the address and number. Uncle said that you just changed your number, so I took advantage of the situation and asked for your new number.”

Jian Chi’s eyes widened, “When did I get a prize certificate…”

“I said there is one, so there is one.”

This answer simply had nothing to do with Ji Huaisi’s gentle expression.

Jian Chi was also stunned for a moment before asking, “Did you call me?”

“I dialed after I got it,” Ji Huaisi’s voice was so soft that he couldn’t tell whether it was a smile or a chill. ” Shao Hang picked it up.” 

Shao Hang, who received Jian Chi’s gaze, put his arms around his chest, leaned against the railing beside the bed, and nodded without hesitation: “Yes, I picked up.”

“When did you pick up? “

Jian Chi’s brain was almost not enough, and he was faintly numb. Hasn’t Shao Hang been with him all day? When he couldn’t stop him, what did Shao Hang say to Ji Huaisi?

“When I went to the bathroom, I thought it was uncle who called back, so I picked it up.”

However, Shao Hang’s sloppy expression didn’t seem to be mistaking it for Jian Chengchao’s number, but when he said so, Jian Chi couldn’t even ask him. Was it intentional? The matter had already happened, and it was meaningless to ask the reason. Jian Chi can only pretend not to care and ask Shao Hang: “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I asked if your situation was safe, and I didn’t talk to Shao Hang anymore. He may have not thought it necessary to tell you.”

Ji Huaisi kept a faint smile and answered before Shao Hang answered. Shao Hang, who was leaning on the side, did not refute, and even nodded in affirmation, even though he seemed unhappy about agreeing with Ji Huaisi.

That simple.

Is it really that simple?

Jian Chi wasn’t that out of his mind. Shao Hang’s hatred for Ji Huaisi was beyond words. Ji Huaisi’s mood during the phone call must not be considered stable. Jian Chi can hardly believe that Shao Hang will not take the opportunity to stab at him a few words, and from Ji Huaisi’s slightly extreme behavior and vigilance against Shao Hang when he saw him just now, it was obviously not as simple as ‘not talk anymore’.

He felt like the shaky water during a typhoon, experiencing constant ups and downs. Jian Chi met Ji Huaisi’s deep eyes and nodded silently, “I’m a little sleepy, I want to go to bed first. By the way, tomorrow… After class tomorrow, can I come find you? I have something to tell you.”

Can’t wait any longer. Jian Chi thought.

The problem between him and Ji Huaisi needs to be resolved properly.

Ji Huaisi was silent for a few seconds, his eyes flashed gloomy during the pause, and he whispered: “I also have something to tell you, I wanted to tell you when you came back, but…” Then the connection was made. After the slightly heavy second half of the sentence: “Forget it, maybe tomorrow will be better.” 

The last sentence aroused Jian Chi’s originally sunk curiosity, and he couldn’t help asking: “What happened?”

“Wen Chuan’s grandmother passed away in the early hours of this morning.” 

His voice fell, as if an invisible big hand grabbed his heart. Hot blood flowed to every corner of his body, and Jian Chi’s palms froze for a while.

Indeed, tomorrow was better.

But it was too late.

After a whole day of tortuous escape, when he came back, he received this terrible news. Although his exhaustion had broken through the limit, Jian Chi couldn’t close his eyes no matter what.

Shao Hang was forcibly taken away by Ji Huaisi, leaving Jian Chi to his quiet private space. This quietness made him stare at the dark ceiling involuntarily, thinking of Wen Chuan’s Grandma’s kind smiling face, and a trace of sadness flooded. Jian Chi couldn’t imagine how sad Wen Chuan was, who had long regarded his grandmother as his most important relative. It must be devastatingly sad.

He always felt nervous and uncomfortable about Wen Chuan’s situation, perhaps because there was something in Wen Chuan that Jian Chi was very familiar with, and it was also in him. Jian Chi understood Wen Chuan’s emphasis on family affection and what it meant to lose a family member to a person who was already emotionally deficient. Jian Chi had also experienced that feeling.

Even though his impression of He Yueqing had been blurred, in Jian Chengchao’s memories full of guilt and nostalgia, Jian Chi seemed to have experienced his mother’s departure over and over again. Maternal love was a magical thing. Whenever Jian Chi looked at the photo of He Yueqing next to the TV, he can miraculously draw in his mind the happy smile on her face when he babbled. Later, when his grandfather died and his father became Jian Chi’s last relative in the world, Jian Chi couldn’t imagine how he would react if something happened to Jian Chengchao.

It would be too scary.

At this moment, he didn’t dare to imagine Wen Chuan’s reaction.

Jian Chi put aside the plan to talk to Ji Huaisi without hesitation. During class the next day, he paid special attention to the corridor that Wen Chuan might pass by, but he didn’t see a familiar figure until the bell rang. Jian Chi sent a text message to Wen Chuan. It was the first time since this period of time that he took the initiative to contact him, and every word was typed nervously and solemnly.

Jian Chi: You didn’t come to class today?

Holding the phone for a long time, Jian Chi sent the next sentence: I have heard about your grandmother, my condolences.

Wen Chuan’s reply came five minutes later. Jian Chi didn’t know that only five minutes had passed. He felt like he had waited for half an hour. The reply was very simple, Wen Chuan’s consistent style: I’m in my bedroom.

Jian Chi couldn’t get a glimpse of Wen Chuan’s mood through this text. If he insisted on saying something, he even felt that Wen Chuan was very calm. However, this kind of calm showed the fragility and instability of the situation, like the calm before the storm. Jian Chi came to Wen Chuan’s room during his lunch break. After ringing the doorbell, he lowered his head and typed on his mobile phone: I’m at the door of your room.

After pressing send, the door in front of him opened, and at the same time, Wen Chuan’s phone vibrated. Jian Chi raised his head to meet Wen Chuan’s eyes, his heart was hanging high by a very thin rope, “Wen… Wen Chuan, are you okay?”

Wen Chuan looked down at him, his expression as cold as ever. This kind of indifference had changed from a thick wall in the past to an extremely thin wall, as if it would fall apart from the middle with just a poke of a finger. His silence made Jian Chi’s heart tighten more and more, making it hard to breathe, “I’m a little worried about you.”

“Come in first.”

Wen Chuan said in a low voice.

Jian Chi walked into the bedroom behind Wen Chuan. Like the last time he came here, the curtains were pulled tightly in all directions. Jian Chi didn’t know if this was Wen Chuan’s habit, or how Wen Chuan treated himself when he was vulnerable for protection. When a person was in despair, light can be turned into sharp thorns to intensify the attack. Jian Chi looked at Wen Chuan’s back, and involuntarily stopped in place. He had a lot of comfort he wanted to say, and he had already thought about it in advance and practiced it in his mind, but when he saw Wen Chuan, Jian Chi couldn’t remember a single word. 

Wen Chuan’s voice suddenly sounded.

“Grandma’s condition suddenly deteriorated last night.”

His voice was very low, as if he was playing an ancient and dilapidated cello, and the unstable vibrato came out from time to time.

“I stayed with her in the hospital all night last night. When she left, she was in good spirits. She  talked a lot. The nurse who took care of my grandmother also said that her condition was getting better. I walked out of the hospital for five minutes, and the doctor called and said that I needed to sign the consent form for the operation, and the patient couldn’t wait any longer.”

“My grandmother had performed many operations, and each time she was placed on the operating table after all the indicators met the standard. I know what emergency surgery means, not to mention, she’s already so old.”

Wen Chuan took a deep breath, trying his best to contain the trembling and other things that Jian Chi didn’t want to find out.

“I have prepared many times, but when the time came, I still couldn’t accept it. After the doctor announced the news, I felt like another person was controlling my body, going through various procedures, and the real me was hiding behind the shell, covering his ears and shrinking into a ball.”

Jian Chi couldn’t listen anymore, he stepped forward and wanted to pull Wen Chuan, but Wen Chuan lowered his head and neck, unwilling to let Jian Chi see his expression from beginning to end. Jian Chi couldn’t help but tremble when he heard his own voice: “Wen Chuan, grandma is gone, she doesn’t have to suffer from the pain anymore, you have to be happy for her. We went to see her together on Jingjing’s birthday, she was already ill. It was hard to swallow food. I think grandma holding on for so long, it must be for you, for Jingjing. Now she has gone to a better place, you can’t indulge in sadness all the time. Grandma definitely doesn’t want to see you like this. “

“I feel very useless.”

Wen Chuan raised his hand to cover his eyes, and his low hoarse voice squeezed out of his shaking chest: “Before, I thought that as long as I did the best in everything and obeyed all the orders, I can get the favor of my adoptive parents, but I am still inferior to their biological son who had achieved nothing. Now, I thought that as long as I worked hard to make money, I could get rid of the Fu family and give my grandmother a better life, but it didn’t occur before she left, before she could realize it.”

“No, she had already realized it.”

Wen Chuan withdrew his arm from Jian Chi’s hand, and lowered his palm the moment Jian Chi peeped into his dark, wet and red eyes, and in the next second, he was tightly surrounded by a hug. Wen Chuan hugged him as if he was hugging him like the last piece of driftwood he could catch. He buried his head on Jian Chi’s shoulder, breathing hard, saying every word with all his strength.

“Jian Chi, I don’t want to lose you again.”