Jiang Xiaoshuai stood not far away, watching helplessly as his disciple—who had just been complaining to him—hopped cheerfully into the car. The way he bounced around was almost on par with that little Pekingese from the neighbor’s house on East Street.
Damn it, and he still says he’s not here just to show off?
Silently grinding his teeth, Jiang stomped into the house, slammed the door shut, dumped dinner on the table, and muttered to himself: Fine, I’ll eat alone!
Whenever Jiang felt stifled, his appetite grew enormously. He’d never told Wu Suowei that he himself had once endured a period when he weighed over 200 jin, far more “glorious” than Wu’s back then.
Just as he was wolfing down his food, he glanced up—and nearly choked.
Shit, where the hell did this stray ghost pop up from? You don’t even make a sound when you walk?
Guo Chengyu’s eyes at that moment really did look like they belonged to some possessed demon. “Why are you treating me like this?”
Jiang asked nonchalantly, “Like what?”
“Cold.”
“Haven’t I always been like this?”
With casual ease, Guo snapped a chopstick in half between his fingers and said, “You’ve always been cold, sure. But this kind of cold is different. And you know damn well how it’s different.”
Jiang snorted. “The way you put it, you still can’t figure out this little bit of pettiness of mine?”
“I am but a humble man—Doctor Jiang, I hope you’ll enlighten me.”
Jiang Xiaoshuai shot back crisply: “No time.”
With that, he picked up his chopsticks to grab some food—but Guo Chengyu forcibly seized his wrist instead, a flash of cold light in his eyes as his tone suddenly turned sharp.
“You see those two getting cozy and feel upset, so you’re taking it out on me, huh?”
Guo looked baffled. “Who did I see getting cozy?”
Jiang pressed on relentlessly. “You dare say you didn’t follow his car here?”
“I left during rush hour, the whole road was jammed—how would I even know which car I was following?”
Jiang threw down his chopsticks. “Don’t you fucking play dumb with me!”
That’s when Guo finally realized—there was a misunderstanding between them. And judging by the look of it, not a small one either.
131
Peeling back his usual facade of cynicism, Guo Chengyu spoke seriously to Jiang Xiaoshuai for the first time.
The faint smell of disinfectant hung in the air of the clinic.
After a long silence, Guo finally said: “That night, I didn’t touch you.”
“I know,” Jiang replied coolly.
“And you still gave me the cold shoulder?” Guo’s tone shifted. “Or are you upset because I didn’t sleep with you that night?”
That earned him an immediate: “Get lost.”
After a moment, Jiang seemed to think of something and smiled faintly, though he didn’t quite understand why.
“Honestly, before I went into your room that night, I already knew you wouldn’t do anything. When a person’s in a state of despair, they can’t even muster the energy for that sort of thing. Of course, you can deny it—just like you denied following his car.”
Guo was a little thrown by Jiang’s train of thought. “Despair? Why would I despair?”
Jiang didn’t bother beating around the bush.
“That night when I barged into your room to question you, you must’ve known clearly I’d sneaked back to the clinic, seen something unpleasant, and exposed your little scheme. So at that moment you were very desperate—because my accusations meant I’d witnessed what you thought was a moment of intimacy.”
Guo smiled and exhaled a puff of smoke. “So that’s how you figured it out?”
Jiang sneered. “You’d die if you stopped pretending for once?”
Guo genuinely looked puzzled. “What exactly am I pretending?”
Jiang let out another cold laugh and said: “Did you know? Chi Cheng can’t stand being apart from Wu Suowei for more than an hour. They’re glued together all day, and even when they’re apart, they’re on the phone. His online name is ‘You’re My Beloved Little Loser’—and his only friend on there is Wu Suowei.”
That visibly made Guo’s face change. Then he asked: “Is it in the late stage?”
Jiang blinked, confused. “What’s late?”
Guo chuckled. “People tend to get sentimental when they’re dying. If he’s making gestures like that, what else could it be?”
Jiang said: “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m perfectly healthy.”
“So all this is your way of telling me you’re jealous?” Guo asked.
Jiang shot back mercilessly. “Could your skin get any thicker? Pushing your own thoughts on others? I’ve already spelled it out—just admit it!”
Guo was completely baffled now. Watching Jiang’s angry flailing made him uneasy, so he reached out to feel his forehead—warm, not feverish.
“Are you possessed or something?”
Jiang’s face went completely cold. He waved a hand and said flatly: “Leave. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
Guo pieced everything Jiang had said together in his mind, thought it over, and suddenly a horrifying thought flashed through him—almost singeing his hair.
“Don’t tell me… you think I like Chi Cheng?”
As soon as he said it, Jiang’s eyes finally lit up. “So you do admit it.”
Guo was speechless. He pulled the cigarette from his ear, stuck it in his mouth, and took two deep drags—he needed to calm down.
Jiang continued on his own: “But I don’t think you stand much chance. Chi Cheng’s obsessed with Da-Wei. No matter how ‘well-pickled’ your old sauerkraut is, it can’t compete with a lavish, gourmet feast.”
Guo stayed silent.
Jiang added: “Best to back out early. You two aren’t even compatible—it’ll never work.”
Guo’s cigarette was down to a nub.
But Jiang wasn’t finished. “You’re clearly a wounded man. Next time you come to the clinic, I’ll treat you to some good food and drink.”
“I won’t bother you again,” Guo suddenly said.
Jiang squeezed out through gritted teeth: “Thanks for that.”
Guo continued: “You should spend a little time treating your own illness.”
Jiang: “…”
Finally, Guo gave a perfect summary of Jiang’s emotional tantrum.
“Then let me ask you—why, when you saw those two ‘performing’ that day, did you rush to my place in such a rage? Why, just now when you saw them getting cozy again, did you storm off back to your room? When Wu Suowei was bitten by the snake, why did you throw yourself forward like your life depended on it? When Wu schemed to trap Chi, why did you help him from behind without asking for anything in return? By your own logic, shouldn’t I be asking you whether you like Wu Suowei?”
Jiang snapped, furious: “Don’t you fucking start with me!”
Guo went on anyway. “Let me tell you why I didn’t sleep with you that night. Because after I drugged you, you kept calling someone else’s name. You looked so pitiful I couldn’t bring myself to touch you.”
“Get lost. As far as you can go—get the hell out!”
Guo let out a cold laugh. “Before I go, one last thing: tell your disciple, if he doesn’t want big trouble, he’d better admit to Chi that he’s Yue Yue’s ex-boyfriend.”
Shock flashed in Jiang’s eyes. Guo was already at the door when Jiang suddenly yelled: “Hold it! Get your ass back here!”