Chapter 23

The music continued to beat. He Weichen, the closest person, who had heard their entire conversation, stood motionless, as if blending in with the leafless, old branches outside the building. It wasn't embarrassment, but rather a sense of sadness for Ling Yin, though it was hard to say what was right or wrong in such a situation. He Weichen, always known for his ability to insult, never comfort, could only stand still for now, acting as a branch ready to respond at any moment.

Jiang Lin only heard part of it, but he could roughly guess what was going on. He sighed and slumped back into his fabric camping chair. Le Anyi, who hadn't heard anything, was the only one spinning around anxiously: "What's going on?! What's going on?! Can you turn down the music? Why did the stars go away? Did you two have a fight?"

Qi Rui got up and turned off the music.

Jiang Lin then tilted his head and said soothingly, "It's okay, Captain. In our line of work, our profession is our top priority. When you retire, you can talk to whoever you want."

He Weichen regained his composure and said dryly, "That's right, there are others besides Qu Xing. There are many handsome, cute, and good gamers in the world."

Ling Yin looked up at him with a complicated expression.

“…”

Jiang Lin slapped He Weichen on the butt: "Sit down."

Le Anyi: "No, what happened?"

Jiang Lin glanced at the terrace exit, making sure Qu Xing hadn't returned before whispering, "Xingxing said he wanted to stay away from the team leader for a while to process the situation. I guess he's having trouble accepting it."

"Fuck—" Le Anyi's eyes widened. "Are you so homophobic? No matter how gay the captain is, he's still the captain. Why didn't we tell him to stay away from him?"

He Weichen: "But isn't there a saying that homophobic people are closeted? Captain, why don't you try to turn him gay?"

Jiang Lin slapped him again, then turned to Le Anyi and said, "Nonsense! If the captain likes you, you'll have to digest it for a while."

Le Anyi choked.

Seeing Ling Yin leaning back in his chair, the miserable star in his hand was pinched and squeezed by his two fingers. Zhou Si patted his shoulder: "Don't be sad. Xingxing still likes you very much. Our DL likes you the most. You two are still the best couple."

Ling Yin didn't say anything.

Although he felt a little sad, he felt something was wrong.

He Weichen's reasoning was sound, but he still couldn't understand how someone so drunk they didn't even know why they were in his bed could have noticed his reaction. Qu Xing had her back to him. Except for her hands, every part of her body was at a distance from him.

Or... did Qu Xing know it in some other way?

The pre-set New Year's Eve clock began to count down. But in this atmosphere, no one was in the mood to care about New Year's Eve.

Le Anyi picked up a skewer and said, "Forget it, let's eat first."

He Weichen was speechless: "You haven't eaten enough yet?"

Le Anyi said embarrassedly: "No."

“…”

Qu Xing stood at the end of the dim corridor and whispered, "Why did you tell me that Qu Hongfei was sick?"

Qu Chen's voice was still familiar and weak: "Brother, I don't want to tell you that your father is sick. I want to tell you... I... have also been diagnosed with this disease."

Qu Xing's mind suddenly went blank.

Qu Chen said, "Dad doesn't have many years left to live because of his heart disease. The doctor said the risk of developing the disease increases after the age of 20. I found it early, so if he develops the disease in the future, he can live for more than five years with proper treatment. I'm very satisfied, but brother..."

After a pause, Qu Chen said, "This is a genetic disease. Brother, no matter what, you are your father's child."

Qu Xing clutched the window sill, wanting to say, "I'm not." But from what he knew so far, he did share Qu Hongfei's blood.

Qu Chen told him the name of the disease and said, "Go get it checked out. Take a blood test and do a genetic test."

Qu Xing: “Yeah.”

Neither of them spoke again, but neither of them hung up. After a long moment, Qu Chen's intermittent voice rang out in the darkness: "Actually, I think... it's good to know I don't have much time left. That way, I won't have so much pressure while I'm alive... Brother, if you find out too, come here and recuperate with me. Dad doesn't have many years left to live, and we... can die together."

The light outside the window was blurry from time to time. Qu Xing leaned against the windowsill to steady himself and sighed softly, "You're just as psychotic as your father."

“…”

After a while, Qu Chen said, "Or, if there's a chance, I'd like to come find you, is that okay?"

Qu Xing said, "Whatever."

“…”

"Then... I'm hanging up, brother." Qu Chen said: "I wish you good health."

Qu Xing closed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Is the probability of inheritance high?"

Qu Chen: "About 80 percent."

Qu Xing clenched his phone, lowered his head and let out a long sigh.

He didn't even know when the call was disconnected. Qu Xing raised his head, leaned against the windowsill, and looked outside for a moment. He raised his fingertips and pressed the brightest light in the distance through the glass. He whispered, "Wish me good health."

The group on the rooftop terrace languished in the cold air for a while, but there was really no way they could get excited. They left one after another. Those who needed to go home went home, those who needed to sleep went to sleep. Those who were diligent continued to train, and those who hadn't eaten enough continued to eat.

Ling Yin sat alone, staring at the deformed star in his hands for a long time. For some reason, he couldn't bear it. He disassembled the star and returned it to its original shape, returning it to its original shape. He then spent another half hour meticulously shaping it into a perfect, plump star. He held it in his hands, motionless.

He thought that his relationship with Qu Xing would be in a very tense state for at least a week, or even longer. When he opened the door and saw the person on the sofa, Ling Yin thought he had entered by mistake.

No. This is his room.

Ling Yin stood at the door, silently watching the man with his back to him, his hands hanging down and dangling. He walked closer and asked, "Why are you in my room?"

Qu Xing moved his head, turned around and clung to him, and said in a low voice: "Feng Shen, can you accompany me to the hospital tomorrow?"

!

Ling Yin instantly forgot everything and held Qu Xing's face in his hands: "Where do you feel uncomfortable? Do you want to go now?"

Qu Xing shook his head, pulled Ling Yin to sit down, and leaned over and said, "Come and hug me."

Ling Yin was confused, but he still cooperated by raising his arms and holding the thin boy in front of him: "What's going on?"

Ling Yin felt the person in his arms tremble slightly, and quickly tightened his arms, becoming more and more anxious: "What happened? Who called just now?"

"My brother's." Qu Xing whispered, "He asked me to go to the hospital."

Qu Xing raised his head and said, "He said my biological father has some kind of heart disease and won't live long. He also found out himself that the heritability is about 80%, so he asked me to go get it checked."

Ling Yin was stunned for a moment when he was addressed as "that biological father". When he heard the word "genetic disease", he didn't even know what disease it was, and he panicked and his blood ran cold.

Some unknown force compelled Ling Yin to forget the brief bond he had with the man before him. As if they had known each other for ages, Ling Yin subconsciously said, "You won't get sick."

Qu Xing smiled and said, "You seem very confident."

Ling Yin looked at Qu Xing's face and said, "You are that 20%."

Qu Xing stared at him intently.

Ling Yin frowned and said seriously, "You were created by God alone, a gift. You are much more powerful than your biological father. God will not let his children be influenced by that man."

Qu Xing: "Do you believe in God?"

Ling Yin: "I will believe it when necessary."

Qu Xing smiled.

Ling Yin frowned slightly and raised his hand to ruffle his hair. Suddenly, his other hand was grabbed.

Ling Yin was stunned.

Qu Xing held Ling Yin's hand and leaned against him: "What should I do? I don't want to die so soon - um."

A strong hand first covered his mouth, then lifted it and pushed, holding his chin tightly shut. Qu Xing felt the warm body in front of him lean closer. The two of them were almost like a pair of lovers entangled in a desperate struggle. He looked up and saw Ling Yin's eyes filled with earnest sadness. His heart tightened.

I couldn't tell whose heartbeat it was. I didn't know if it was for some terrifying fusion of soul and body, or for the life that was being strangled by invisible strings.

Qu Xing wondered if Qu Hongfei's illness had truly been passed down to him. It felt like his heart was broken, causing him to feel uncomfortable, suffocated, and in pain. Why did Qu Chen say the illness wouldn't relapse until after age 20? Could he have already developed it? Wasn't his life span limited?

The silence of the night magnified all emotions. Qu Xing suddenly felt as if the entire world, from the inside out, from the past to the present, had collapsed into the tiny space he and Ling Yin occupied. He instantly forgot about Qu Hongfei and his heart attack, about the person he was supposed to be walking away from, and even about where he was, his past, his dreams, his reality. He could only maximally sense the scorching warmth and the faint fragrance of the person before him.

His heart was pounding. Qu Xing closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, looking over Ling Yin's shoulder. He was dazed to find the entire room blurry and pitch black. He wanted to ask if the lights were off, but the moment he opened his mouth, he felt nauseous.

Ling Yin suddenly let go of him and touched Qu Xing's forehead: "Why are you sweating? Is it hot?"

Qu Xing swayed slightly and lowered his head: "...What?"

"Qu Xing!"