Contract Marriage

In the bathroom, Han Yang washed his face in the sink. He had tossed and turned for so long earlier in night, all the sweat on his body had now dried, leaving him feeling rather oily[dirty]. Smearing the clear liquid over his face one last time, he shook his hands dry, opened the door and left the lavatory.

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“You... first just let me down.” Han Yang whispered.

[T/n: I think this line got misheard while he whispered]

“I still haven’t left you, so you hate that I’m still here.” HeLian Qing said.

“......That’s not what I meant.” Han Yang corrected.

“Then just be quiet.” The man added.

“......” Oh just forget it, the boy thought. He was not in the mood to talk anymore either.

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“I bought them.” HeLian Qing simply stated.

“When could you have found the time to buy them?” After all, he was only in the restroom for maybe two or three minutes.

“While you were sleeping.” HeLian Qing replied, pouring a glass of water before handing it to him.

“......” Han Yang was once again left speechless. It turned out that man had had a new pair shoes but neglected to tell him, making it so the he had to borrow the one’s the man wore since other than the man himself, there was no one else there.

Noticing Han Yang had not yet reached for the cup being handed to him, HeLian Qing picked up the smaller man’s hands himself and placed the filled vessel within them, all the while sneering, “Is it your stomach that’s hurt or your hands? Do you want me to feed you too?”

“No.” Han Yang shook his head.

HeLian Qing groaned, thinking to himself ‘If you really wanted me to feed you, I would’ve shown you some mercy.’

But now he had no chance to show this mercy of his.

Meanwhile, Han Yang became aware of something of his own, the realisation that since earlier that night, he seemed to have built up a higher tolerance towards HeLian Qing’s sharp tongue. As he held on to the cup and brought it to his lips, he caught a glimpse of the older man’s foot pushing the trash bin beside the bed, then stepping on the pedal to open up the lid, saying, “Rinse your mouth out first.”

Having vomited quite a few times earlier, the lad did feel his mouth was indeed tinged with a bitter taste. Amazed by HeLian Qing’s attentiveness, he did as instructed, using the warm water to wash out his mouth which unsurprisingly, left him feeling much better afterwards.

The used cup in his hand, containing the left over liquid, was soon taken away by HeLian Qing, who made his way to the bathroom to dispose of the remnants. Next, the man switched the old cup for a new one, filled it with water then handed it to the boy again, “Drink some.”

“Thank you.” Han Yang accepted the glass and took a drink. The warm water flowing into his stomach, made him more at ease.

“I’m going out to get you some congee. If anything happens, just push the button by the bedside.” The man announced just as he started for the door. He had not gotten very far before Han Yang quickly caught hold of him, “You don’t have to trouble yourself, I’m not even hungry.”

[T/n: Congee is a simple rice porridge.]

HeLian Qing turned his head to look at the boy, his gaze then dropped to the his own arm where the boy held, “Let go.”

Han Yang immediately released his grip. HeLian Qing simply said “Behave and wait” right before exited the room. Translated by -[iana]-, read at :anameescans [DOT] wordpress [DOT] com

Following his departure, Han Yang checked the time to discover it was already past four in the morning.

“Where is he going to buy congee at this hour......” Han Yang thought aloud. A dose of fatigue struck him, causing him to lay back on the bed, and tug the blanket up over his legs.

During his wait for HeLian Qing to return, a nurse had stopped by during one of her rounds. Seeing the boy was awake she asked him how how he was faring.

“Oh, where is that gentleman who was keeping you company earlier? Did he leave?” The nurse asked.

“He went out to buy something.” Han Yang replied, knowing she was referring to HeLian Qing. Thinking for a while, he then asked, “Excuse me, do you know if there are any shops that sell congee around here?”

“There’s a twenty-four hour congee shop not too far from this hospital.” The nurse explained, then continued, “So he left to go buy you some porridge, huh? That’ll definitely be good for you to eat when you take your medication. By the way I have to say, he treats you very well. He kept an eye on you for most of the night. When I did my rounds earlier I even saw him wiping away your sweat a few times, just so you know.”

Soon after the nurse left, Han Yang again laid back on the bed–dumbfounded. He had known that man was beside him from the very beginning, but hearing those things from someone else felt entirely different, but what specifically felt different about it, he could not say for sure.

When HeLian Qing finally came back he saw the boy staring blankly out the window, he was at a complete loss as to what the lad could have been thinking of at that time, but once his own arrival was noticed, the boy soon snapped back to reality.

“You’re back.” Han Yang saw him carrying some items in his hand, so he lifted his covers with the intention of giving the man a hand.

“Sit still.” HeLian Qing said to stop him. He then walked over, placed the bought congee on the cabinet beside the bed then placed the bed-tray on the mattress, arranging the congee and it’s side dishes on the tray for the younger man.

“Thank you.” Han Yang said.

“You don’t need to. I was hungry myself.” HeLian Qing mentioned while he carried his own container of *pork-bone congee, sitting beside to eat.

“......” Would a little honesty kill you?

Han Yang’s plain congee was watery and definitely perfect to drink given his current state. HeLian Qing had also asked for some light side dishes of pickled radishes along with boiled pak-choi, diced very finely so they would be easier to digest.

Did he especially make the congee diner do this? Han Yang thought as he stealthily peeped at the other man, not at all expecting to be caught red-handed.

“What are you looking at? Eat your porridge.” HeLian Qing chided, eating a bite of his own congee, “This one isn’t your share.”

“I don’t want to eat yours.” Han Yang murmured before he bowed his head and drank his congee.

“Tsk.” HeLian Qing clicked his tongue, “Fine, next time I’ll take you to go eat something else so stop showing me that downtrodden expression of yours.”

“......I never said that.” Han Yang said those words, however the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted.

Despite the empty state Han Yang’s stomach was in, he was still unable to eat much due to his present condition. After finishing off a good amount of the gruel, HeLian Qing cleared away the used containers–tossing them into the trash, before going to pour Han Yang a glass of water so he could take his medication.

Not too long after the younger man had taken his pills, HeLian Qing urged him to get some rest and the lad, being quite tired himself, laid down then reached for the blanket to pull all the way up. Standing beside him, HeLian Qing assisted the boy by tucking him under the covers properly, then–just as before–took a seat on the nearby chair.

Han Yang looked on as the man skillfully pressed his fingers between his brows on a face marred with faint traces of exhaustion. With such a sight before him, a twinge of guilt forming within his heart was inevitable. With his gaze locked on the other man, Han Yang wanted to say something but he did not know where to start. The few attempts he had made to speak up were noticed by HeLian Qing, who thought his behaviour was rather odd so he said, “If you still can’t fall asleep, what’s staring at your husband going to do?”

Han Yang, “......”

Frozen for a moment, Han Yang soon became aware of the subtle rise of heat within his ears. He then quietly drew his gaze away from the man before, little by little, burying his face under his covers.

HeLian Qing shamelessness was simply much more than he could bear.

Seeing the boy flushed with embarrassment by his words, HeLian Qing’s mood became very good. His long legs extended, kicking the foot of the bed, “Hurry up and sleep. If you don’t sleep, I can’t sleep.”

“Oh.” Han Yang responded, shutting his eyes soon after.

A few minutes passed by, Han Yang still up, couldn’t help but part his lips to say, “HeLian Qing.”

“What now?!” The man responded rather harshly after noting the boy was still awake.

“Aren’t you cold?” Han Yang inquired with much hesitation since unlike the warmth experienced during the daytime, nightfall brought with it a drop in temperature and the man beside him had only worn a very thin shirt after all.

As soon as he heard what the boy had asked, HeLian Qing did not utter a word, just simply rising to his feet before walking towards the boy’s bedside, lowering his gaze while he quietly looked upon the younger fellow.

With his sight set directly on HeLian Qing, a cold shiver was sent down Han Yang’s back thinking he must have done something wrong. Just then he heard the man say, “Oh, are you cold? I’ll help you warm up then, alright.”

Without even waiting for Han Yang’s reply, the moment he finished speaking– he lifted off the covers, shed his shoes and climbed onto the bed.

Huh? What’s with this rapid plot development [1]?! Han Yang was stupified.

But contrary to expectations, HeLian Qing was quite calm as he laid down embracing him from behind, with both their heads now squeezed onto one pillow.

“You......” he wanted to continue but HeLian Qing interrupted him, “Be good and go to sleep.”

Thinking of how HeLian Qing watching over him for most of the night and was also really tired, Han Yang said nothing more. Anyway, it was not the first time they would be sleeping together, so he complied with the request. Furthermore, he was himself quite worn out, so not long passed before his mind soon lost its consciousness and his eyes gradually sealed themselves as he fell asleep.

HeLian Qing soon followed him, but not before first drawing the boy’s back into his close embrace.

The following day, Han Yang already felt heaps better. His next doctor’s exam had nothing other than questions and a few things to pay attention to after he was discharged. HeLian Qing had bought them both some toiletries which they used to wash up while they were still at the hospital prior to their leaving. Afterwards, he drove Han Yang to the congee diner, where he had bought their earlier meal, to have breakfast.

Parked, Han Yang undid his seat belt, but before he was able to get out the car, HeLian Qing had already left his seat on the other side, came to over to his own to help him open the car door, even having a hand outstretched to support him.

“I’m alright.” Han Yang did not know whether to laugh or cry as that man’s doings seem to be beyond any cure[2].

“Oh.” HeLian Qing shrugged his shoulders, then helped him close the car door, before he led Han Yang into the congee diner.

Han Yang followed him, not fully understanding if it was something about his current mentality that made him not struggle to be released from HeLian Qing’s grasp.

The congee diner’s ambiance was pretty good, the two soon found a place to sit. Han Yang could only eat plain rice congee with some simple side dishes at this time but HeLian Qing on the other hand, had ordered steamed dumplings stuffed with shrimps, along with egg pancakes as sides to his own chicken congee. His order compared to the boy’s was as different as the sky was to the earth.

A sweet fragrance emanating from the steamed buns and pancakes mixed itself into the air surrounding Han Yang, arousing him, making him unable to help himself from lifting his head to sneak a few peeks, as well as, feeling that the plain congee in his mouth was actually extremely dull and tasteless.

“Want some of this?” HeLian Qing asked him.

Han Yang nodded honestly, seeing that, HeLian Qing smiled wickedly, teasing, “You can only look though, I don’t want to end up watching over you for the entire night again.”

Han Yang, “......”

Could that tongue of yours be any sharper, Princess Qing. Han Yang thought.

“So, what did you eat yesterday?” HeLian Qing questioned.

“I had eaten a hotpot with my classmates.” Han Yang replied. He himself had guessed the hotpot must have been the cause of his issues.

“Tsk.” HeLian Qing frowned, “In the future don’t go out and eat at those messy places [3].”

“Yeah.” Han Yang nodded.

“When it hurts that much don’t you know you’re supposed to go to the hospital? Are you an idiot?” HeLian Qing asked.

“......No.” On that night, Han Yang had originally thought he could bear the pain, he had believed if he just endured, it would have eventually passed. But it had gotten to where he could not hold on anymore, so he phoned the hospital and not too long after that, HeLian Qing had appeared.

“Next time something happens just give me a call.” HeLian Qing stated, pausing, before he added, “I only got the message you sent yesterday not too long ago.”

Huh? Han Yang looked at him in shock. Was this HeLian Qing’s way of explaining it to him? Was this his explanation as to why he never replied the day before, rather than being about him not receiving the message to begin with?

“What are you looking at? Eat your own.” HeLian Qing said, pushing the dish on table a bit awkwardly.

“Uh, okay.” Han Yang lowered his head and drank some of his porridge, the corners of his mouth tugging into a smile.

After they ate breakfast, they returned to the apartment sometime around ten in the morning. Luckily, it was the weekend so Han Yang could just stay at home and rest. HeLian Qing however, was not that carefree since today at his company there was a very important client arriving in L-City that he must accompany.

HeLian Qing had a shower, tidied up and was just about to head out before he told Han Yang, “At noon I’ll have someone come over to deliver your lunch. If anything happens give me a call, so just relax and don’t move about.”

“Got it.” Han Yang answered while internal muttering, I’m not a child.

HeLian Qing then paused, not moving an inch, Han Yang asked, “Is there something else?”

“Just behave and stay put.” Suddenly, HeLian Qing reached out, tussled Han Yang’s hair, then picked up his coat and left.

Thanks to this single action by that man, Han Yang was left dumbstruck as he stared off blankly in the direction where HeLian Qing left. A good while passed before he was able to react and say a proper word but his hand only lifted to touch the place HeLian Qing had rubbed, as he just blinked.

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................................

Notes:

[1] 神展开: shèn zhǎn kāi: lit. God unfolds – it’s when a story’s plot moves along much faster than the viewers expect.

[2] 病入膏肓: bìng rù gāo huāng: (idiom) lit. the disease has attacked the vitals; fig. A hopeless situation; incurable.

[3] 乱七八糟: luàn qī be zāo: (idiom) in disorder; very messy.

*T/n: Porkbone congee: The bone is used to make the broth the rice is boiled in.

PS the “pork” was inserted for clarification. It just said ‘bone’ originally.