CH 7

“I’ll take a shower first.” Lu Yong said as soon as he got home.

He hugged and touched the dirty stray dog today, and was covered with a bad smell, so he was afraid of being shunned by Shen Wenqiu.

Lu Yong remembered the time when he was ostracized by his classmates for a while in elementary school because he was a kid who sold junk.

Even if he took baths diligently, changed his clothes everyday even in winter, rubbed his hands until they were red and abrased, there were still some naughty children who held their noses and laughed at him for smelling like garbage. When they were touched by him, they would say that they had become dirty.

Shen Wenqiu looked at him and suddenly remembered to ask, “Lu Yong, when you take a bath, do you remove your arm?”

Lu Yong used to take showers secretly when Shen Wenqiu was asleep, or put on his prosthetic limb again after washing before coming out, so Shen Wenqiu usually saw Lu Yong in his complete form. He now had another arm and wanted to renew his self-image in front of Shen Wenqiu.

“En.” Lu Yong stiffened for a moment. This was his own deliberate doing “I will also take it off before going to bed. After all, it’s not a real arm. It hurts if I wear it all the time.”

Shen Wenqiu was even more curious.

Lu Yong saw that he was eager to know and asked, “Do you want to see?”

Shen Wenqiu: “Can I see it?”

Lu Yong: “Yes, you can.” After saying that, Lu Yong prepared to show him. He felt a bit ashamed when he put his fingers on the buttons of his shirt, as first he had to take off his clothes——

He dressed thinly in summer. The shirt he wore had a T-shirt underneath. Lu Yong had a very toned body with a thick back. The bulging chest muscles stretched the elastic fabric and his arms were thick.

Shen Wenqiu always felt that the current Lu Yong was different from the Lu Yong when he was a teenager. He used to be skinny, but now he had more muscles. It seemed that it was not only that. He observed more and finally figured it out. He stretched out his hand and squeezed Lu Yong’s right shoulder: “I remember your right shoulder used to be skinnier than it is now.”

As Lu Yong was touched by him, the base of his ears turned red secretly, and he said, “In the past, I could only work with my left hand, and the amount of muscle exercise on both sides were much different. I have since practiced specifically to make both shoulders as bulky as possible.”

Shen Wenqiu laughed and said: “During the time of high school military training, when you walked straight, you would always accidentally walk crookedly.” Because the two sides were not balanced.

Lu Yong’s metal prosthetic limb almost covered his shoulders. Shen Wenqiu probably knew why he didn’t wear a prosthesis when he was still a student, because it couldn’t fit. Lu Yong’s right arm stump was relatively short, and it was difficult to wear a cheaper, traditional prosthetic.

He heard Lu Yong tell him that he was not born with a disability. He was an able-bodied boy until he was ten years old. His right hand was his dominant hand, and he was able to write words beautifully. That summer, he went back to his hometown to play in the countryside. When he was picking raspberries in the woods, he encountered a poisonous snake and was bitten on his forearm.

The serum for that kind of poisonous snake was very rare, and the serum was not available in the local area. He later found two hospitals but could not be admitted, and was sent to the central hospital. After a day’s delay, he still couldn’t get the serum. In those days, medicine and communication were not really advanced, and his life was at stake. The attending doctor made a decisive decision, and had no time to wait. In the event of a last resort, he finally chose to amputate his limbs.

At least his life was saved.

Lu Yong grabbed his right arm with his left hand, pressed a button on the outer side and turned it. A slight sound of ‘click’ was heard, and the arm was easily removed.

Shen Wenqiu clicked his tongue twice, “It’s so cool.”

There was a metal gear on the cross section of Lu Yong’s broken arm. Before Shen Wenqiu asked, he took the initiative to explain, “This is the connecting end that is implanted surgically. This is the technology to integrate the bone with the prosthetic limb, so it can be mounted more firmly.”

Shen Wenqiu was itching to ask, “Can I touch it?”

Lu Yong nodded.

Shen Wenqiu stood beside him and stretched out his hand. Just as his fingertips touched his shoulder, he retracted and said, “I’ll wash my hands first.”

Shen Wenqiu came back after washing his hands, for fear that it might get infected with bacteria. Seeing Lu Yong still sitting in the living room with his shirt half undressed, waiting to be touched, he somehow felt something was wrong.

And from his point of view, Lu Yong in sitting position reminded him of Aphrodite with a broken arm, or a warrior in ancient Rome. Despite the lack of a hand, he was still full of classical beauty, and handsome regardless of gender. However, the osteosynthetic material implanted in the cross section of the broken arm had a sense of science and technology fused on him. He felt it was contradictory but attractive at the same time.

Shen Wenqiu’s fingertips were slightly cool as they were washed with water. He gently stroked the surface of Lu Yong’s severed limb, and he asked, “Does it usually hurt?”

The place Shen Wenqiu touched gave Lu Yong hot delusions. “A little, but it doesn’t get in the way.”

“I usually disinfect and do some maintenance before going to bed and getting up.”

In the first few years after his hand was severed as a child, his phantom limb pain was especially severe. He always felt that the cut off arm was still there, still being invisibly burned and torn apart. And every time he had an attack, the pain would be unbearable, making him unable to sleep all night. The doctor said that this disease was caused by the heart and there was no cure, so he could only persuade himself to endure.

It became better later, only appearing intermittently and occasionally. But when it did appear, it was still unbearable.

But since he met Shen Wenqiu, this unexplainable and incurable pain had disappeared bizarrely. It was the most comfortable and pleasant period of his life.

After they were separated, the phantom limb pain recurred. Every time it happened, he would think of Shen Wenqiu, as if his body was constantly reminding him to remember Shen Wenqiu.

He also had to remember that Shen Wenqiu loathed him and that he could no longer approach Shen Wenqiu again.

“Don’t ever appear in front of me again in this life.”

Those words were like a curse.

Several times, he almost couldn’t help but want to ask his classmates about Shen Wenqiu, but he swallowed the words at the end. If he asked, he would relapse and become addicted again.

Lu Yong heard a bit about Shen family’s bankruptcy, but he didn’t take the initiative to inquire about it. He also knew that the other was taken in by a friend and felt that Shen Wenqiu might not need his help.

See? Shen Wenqiu was such a good person.

Even if he had no money, there was still a group of friends willing to help him. He was just one of Shen Wenqiu’s many friends. He was not worth mentioning. What’s more, they broke off their friendship a long time ago, and couldn’t even be called friends.

He finally learned how terrible the situation was when he received a call from the police.

The lawyer he sought sorted out Shen Wenqiu’s piles of criminal records and informed him about them. Lu Yong only realized that when he was not paying attention, Shen Wenqiu had become a ‘bad person’ in the sense of the worldly standard.

Just as Jiang Ling said.

But if it weren’t for Shen Wenqiu turning into a ‘bad person’, how could he have the chance to pick him up and take him home?

He doesn’t mind.

Shen Wenqiu is Shen Wenqiu.

Shen Wenqiu touched, leaned over, and sniffed at him, “There’s a smell of dogs.”

Lu Yong couldn’t sit still, “I’m going to take a bath now.”

Then he asked, “If I’m at work and not free, can you help me go to the hospital to see the dog’s condition?”

Shen Wenqiu did not immediately agree. After a moment of silence, he said slowly, “If it is really inconvenient for you, since I have nothing to do anyway.”

Lu Yong just wanted to find something for him to do. When people have nothing to do, they will think wildly, and only when they have something to do can they cheer up.

Shen Wenqiu was too lazy to take a shower. He laid down on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, and thought: How can I make Lu Yong terribly disappointed in me? What bad things did Jiang Ling say about me?

This Jiang Ling guy used to have a good relationship with Shen Wenqiu. Shen Wenqiu was the one who made himself bad, but he didn’t make someone to be like him. Jiang Ling was already into gambling at first, so he went gambling with Sehn Wenqiu and lost more than five million.

Later, Shen Wenqiu found out that Jiang Ling and his girlfriend were about to get married in half a month. He meddled and sent a text message to the girl to inform her of the incident. This girl was also ruthless enough. She had obtained the marriage certificate at the time and was still pregnant with a child, but she was willing to abort or divorce in order to break up.

Jiang Ling turned against him since then, hated him to death, and called him a murderer.

Shen Wenqiu actually suspected that the place had been investigated by the police. It was Jiang Ling who reported it… Although it was about time someone would report it.

Shen Wenqiu knew what bad things Jiang Ling would probably say about him. He had heard it vaguely from others. After his family went bankrupt, he became a man of bad character.

So, Shen Wenqiu said at breakfast, “Can you lend me some money?”

Lu Yong seemed a little wary, and asked, “…What do you want money for?”

Shen Wenqiu watched him squeeze the chopsticks with his fingers, and thought to himself, he must be suspecting that I want money to go gambling, right? Normal people would not easily lend money to gamblers. A gambler was not worthy of sympathy.

Shen Wenqiu said, “It’s too inconvenient to have no money in my pocket. I want to buy cigarettes and alcohol.”

Lu Yong pondered for several minutes before he reluctantly asked, “How much do you need?”

Shen Wenqiu said: “Five thousand.”

He would dig out five thousand from him first. Being able to dig out money from such a frugal man as Lu Yong. He was quite capable, wasn’t he?

He smiled as if he thought of something, and said, “…My high school living expenses for a month was five thousand. I will write you an IOU.”

Lu Yong still didn’t want to agree. If Shen Wenqiu had money in his pocket, he could leave now that he has road expenditure.

Shen Wenqiu acted as if he regarded that Lu Yong had agreed to him, and said lightly with a grin, “Give me cash. Don’t transfer money.”

“When you transfer to my account, the bank will directly offset the debt.”

Lu Yong frowned lightly, but just for a moment. Shen Wenqiu saw it and immediately lowered his eyelashes.

He wanted to annoy Lu Yong, but when he did so, he felt like he was stabbing into his own heart. Haha, now the evidence of his poor character was irrefutable.

“Okay.” Lu Yong said. Without delay, he went directly to the 24-hour ATM at the bank downstairs and withdrew 5,000 yuan in cash to Shen Wenqiu. He then carefully kept the second IOU that he got in exchange.

He actually didn’t care about the IOU, but if Shen Wenqiu wanted to write it, he would accept it.

“Then I’m going to work.” Lu Yong stood at the door and said to him, “I will be back to cook before seven o’clock in the evening.”

He seemed to be suggesting that if you go out to play, you have to get home before seven.

“En.” Shen Wenqiu stood at the door and sent him away, with a dismissive attitude.

Lu Yong always felt that something was wrong, especially after Shen Wenqiu’s suspected behavior of leaving without saying goodbye yesterday.

He was very worried that when he comes back today, Shen Wenqiu would be gone. He really wanted to stay at home to watch Shen Wenqiu all day. However, he needed to keep an eye on the company’s experimental development process, and a variety of matters could not be left unattended. Also, it was impossible for him to trap Shen Wenqiu beside himself, locking him and chaining him up.

Only if Shen Wenqiu felt at ease around him would he stay for a long time, right?

Okay. Lu Yong left.

He was the only one left at home.

Shen Wenqiu lowered his head, looked at the new stack of banknotes on the table, and counted it five or six times. So annoying, damn it. What kind of Holy Father was Lu Yong? How come he can become the president when he was so stupid? Why did he give him money when he knew he would probably take it for gambling?

He flicked the edge of the banknote with his finger, and smelled the inky scent of a new banknote.

This money looked the same as any other money, but he knows it’s actually different. Lu Yong’s money was so clean, he couldn’t bear to get dirty.

Shen Wenqiu remembered the donation books in the study room that were signed with ‘Lu Yong’.

… After everything, if Lu Yong asked about it, he would just lie to him, saying that he used it to go dining, drinking, whoring, and gambling.