Mr. Insulator also has a soft heart

"Gu Yansheng," he began, his voice low and clear, carrying an unmistakable weariness and determination, "You must see a psychiatrist regularly."

His heart skipped a beat.

"Hypersensitivity of the skin in rainy days is not an ordinary allergy. It is the physiological projection of your psychological state and a mark of trauma. Relying solely on antihistamines to suppress the symptoms is only a temporary solution and not a cure for the root cause. Those allergies will take your life!" Jiang Lin spoke slowly, and every word was like a hammer hitting Gu Yansheng's heart.

"You need professional intervention. You need to learn to face and deal with the root causes of your emotions, rather than pushing yourself into a corner again and again and letting them explode and backfire on your body."

He paused, his eyes sharp as a knife, as if to cut through all of Gu Yansheng's disguises. "You say you are busy, I understand. But it's not an excuse. No matter how busy you are, taking an hour a week is worth it for you and us. I will contact Hu Meiling again and coordinate the time. You must go."

The tone was imperative, but it carried unquestionable concern.

Gu Yansheng moved his lips, wanting to say something, but was completely nailed to the spot by Jiang Lin's next words.

"Also," Jiang Lin's eyes locked onto him, a deep wound and pain swirling in his eyes... a fear of the aftermath. "There should be no more deception between us. No matter what the reason—fear, embarrassment, or the self-righteous feeling of 'for my own good'—don't lie."

His voice was slightly hoarse, but every word he spoke clearly struck Gu Yansheng's eardrums:

"If you tell too many lies, they will become a thick wall, built up one by one, and eventually separate us. Shengsheng, I don't want you to build a wall against me."

"Don't lie to me."

"I can't stand it."

Jiang Lin spoke the last three words very softly, but they seemed to carry a tremendous force, hitting Gu Yansheng's heart heavily.

boom!

Gu Yansheng felt his mind go blank, all sounds vanished, leaving only the deafening thump of his heart in his chest. He stared at Jiang Lin in disbelief, seeing the hurt and vulnerability nakedly revealed in those deep eyes.

Jiang Lin… said, “I can’t stand it”? The Jiang Lin who was always calm and composed, seemingly indestructible, the Jiang Lin who just now ruthlessly enforced the “rules”… actually said to him, “I can’t stand it”?

The immense shock washed over him like a tsunami, instantly sweeping away all his grievances, anger, and self-pity. It turned out that his self-righteous "pushing away," his careless words of hurt, and his heartbreaking talk about "self-abduction" had truly pierced Jiang Lin's heart like a knife.

Jiang Lin was not indifferent or annoyed, he just... was trying to hold on to him and make him get better in his own way, clumsily and even a little paranoidly.

That ruler, that cold execution, that oppression that ignored allergies, and the tenderness of carefully applying the medicine and the frank exposure of vulnerability...all of them were Jiang Lin saying in his own language: I care about you, don't push me away, don't lie to me, don't destroy yourself.

The pain, deeper than the beating from the ruler, was the guilt that surged over him, nearly drowning him. He felt as if he had been stripped of all his outer shell, standing naked before Jiang Lin, seeing clearly the deep scars his own willful behavior had inflicted.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt clogged with scorching sand, no sound emanating. Only tears, streaming down more violently and silently, hit his palm, still red and hot from the ointment, and Jiang Lin's gaze, heavy as the night. Those cold tears seemed to carry a scorching heat, burning his very soul.

Jiang Lin watched his tears well up, the shock and deep guilt swirling in his eyes. He didn't say another word. He simply reached out and, with his fingertips, very gently and clumsily wiped a tear from Gu Yansheng's cheek. Then, he stood up, picked up his medicine box, and turned to leave.

This time, the door wasn't closed, leaving a gap. Light from the living room outside filtered in faintly, like a silent invitation, or a crack that was just beginning to heal with difficulty.

Jiang Lin went to the guest bedroom to rest, where his clothes and pajamas were also prepared. A big part of the reason he didn't leave was that he was always watching the weather forecast. It might rain lightly in a few hours. Gu Yansheng had a rash on his arm due to tonight's emotional outburst, so it would definitely be dangerous if it rained.

He even prepared the adrenaline in the medicine box. He was very afraid that the symptoms he had when he first had the disease as a child would reappear. If the driver had not run a red light and taken him to the emergency room, Gu Yansheng would have been killed by him.

After taking a cold shower, the skin will experience a period of hot and cold adjustments. When he was blowing his hair, the door of the guest bedroom was pushed open. Gu Yansheng stood by the bed with a pillow in his hand and looked at him.

It’s better that it comes to my door. I don’t have to wait for it, so I feel more at ease.

Jiang Lin didn't say anything, but turned on the hair dryer to dry his hair. Gu Yansheng put the pillow on the other side of the bed, then lifted the quilt and lay down in it.

After waiting for the other person to come over and the mattress sank, he turned around and looked at Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin was wearing glasses and looking at his mobile phone, apparently reading a medical article.

"I'm sorry, Jiang Lin, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that to you, and I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm sorry."

Gu Yansheng's right hand pulled his sleeve, and the movement of his hand made the clothes slide down. The rash areas were not as red as before, and showed some signs of disappearing.

"Got it. Go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll go hiking and get some exercise."

Jiang Lin seemed to have erased that barrier. He took off his glasses, turned off the headlights and left only a small light on.

"How much gift money will you give for Wu Mingyi's wedding?"

"Um?"

Gu Yansheng opened his eyes and stared at him. They hadn't had a night talk for a long time. So the two of them lay in bed and chatted about the trivialities of life.

"one thousand?"

"So much? You can give me 500 and I can give you 500. Don't be so generous. You should learn to plan for yourself."

Jiang Lin basically doesn't attend anyone's wedding. He thinks these are useless social events that will not help his future at all. If it weren't for the heavy rain in City A during this period, he wouldn't have gone.

"Jiang Lin, do you have someone you like?"

“???”

Looking at Jiang Lin's puzzled face, Gu Yansheng wanted to laugh. This guy really hadn't thought about his future family.

"Do you have someone you like? Who is he? Where does he live? What's his education level? Are you from your research institute?"

A series of questions hit Gu Yansheng's head. How could Jiang Lin be emotionally indifferent? Not at all. He was also very curious about his good friend's private affairs!

"No, our world as gay men is very small. But you're different. You're straight, and there should be many outstanding women around you. Why are you still single at the age of 32?"

"Because if you date them, it will be annoying. They need a lot of emotional value, which I can't provide. So, don't get into a relationship."

Jiang Lin rested his head on his arms and looked at him with his head tilted. "I like my own world. It's okay for you and Xiao Fei to come into this world occasionally."

Boom boom boom… Boom boom boom…

Gu Yansheng's heart was beating faster. He avoided the other person's gaze and turned his back to him.

"I'm sleepy...ha."

Wuyin yawned, and Jiang Lin smiled without exposing his clumsy performance. He was more concerned about the weather conditions tonight.

The rain continued to fall in the middle of the night. It wasn't heavy, but the sleeping person still reacted. He grabbed Jiang Lin's clothes uncomfortably and rubbed his arms against the mattress. His overly sensitive skin became more and more uncomfortable the more he rubbed, but it became itchy if he didn't rub.

The bitter pill was stuffed into his mouth, but his dry throat was unwilling to swallow it. An unreasonable finger pressed on the tongue arch, causing a swallowing reflex, and the pill was swallowed. At the same time, he reflexively held his finger in his mouth and swallowed it.

His burning, itchy skin was wrapped in a cool arm, and the scent of soapberry surrounded him. The familiar comfort slowly calmed him down. Gu Yansheng's lips unconsciously rubbed against the other's neck...

The flame in Gu Yansheng's dream turned into a clear pool, and his hands and feet tied with rough hemp ropes were untied by the young man.

…

"It's okay, go back quickly..."

"Won't you go with me?" Gu Yansheng's fragile body was trembling with fear, but he still stretched out his hand to pull the ragged and empty-eyed young man opposite him to leave together.

"I don't want to leave. The mud belongs in the garbage dump. You don't belong here..."

The young man pushed him...

…

The strong sense of separation woke Gu Yansheng up. That was the scene when he first met Jiang Lin, the abandoned factory where he was kidnapped, the source of all his nightmares...