apple

Four days passed, and the hospital wasn't as boring as he had imagined. Jiang Zhi didn't stay by Fang Chengyin's side all the time. He worked from nine to five, but he would bring over a meal he had prepared for lunch to eat together. In the evening, he would, as usual, go out to find something delicious to eat on the street behind Fang Chengyin's back.

What illness do I have?

Fang Chengyin used the streetlight to touch Jiang Zhi's earlobe. He had been enjoying touching it like this for the past few days, though he didn't know why.

Jiang Zhi patted his body gently. "You've gained weight. You'll be discharged tomorrow."

Fang Chengyin loosely hugged his neck, "I know why you don't want to tell me. Because even if you did, I would forget, right? Jiang Zhi, have I forgotten you?"

Jiang Zhi paused for a moment, then continued walking: "No. You don't know me; it's me who has always had a crush on you."

"I see..." The tone didn't suggest any further explanation, but rather a change of topic: "You took it upon yourself to help me suspend my studies. Did you arrange everything for me during that time?"

"Hmm. The apples are about to be harvested. I mentioned before that I would hire you. The salary and benefits are attractive, and the outstanding debts can be written off. Are you interested?"

Fang Chengyin joked, "You said you liked me, but you kept threatening me with that debt before? Does that count as liking me?"

"Of course not. But since you don't eat properly, I really had no choice but to move in with you without your consent."

"Who said you live with someone? We share an apartment."

This was said seriously, but Jiang Zhi had actually noticed it.

Fang Chengyin's attitude towards him these past few days hasn't changed much from when they first started living together, except his temper isn't as impulsive anymore. It's less about accepting his advances and more about cooperating; he'll inevitably give himself away whenever ambiguous words are mentioned.

"Okay." There was a candied hawthorn vendor by the roadside, and Jiang Zhi asked, "Want some?"

"Yes." Fang Chengyin, on Jiang Zhi's back, told the shopkeeper he wanted two skewers. The shopkeeper laughed and said the two brothers had a really good relationship.

Fang Chengyin smiled and said, "Yes, my brother is very good to me."

With just that one sentence, Jiang Zhi's upturned lips never left his mouth, completely unaware that the camera in the dark corner had been clicking several times.

Back at the hospital, Jiang Zhi put Fang Chengyin back on his bed.

Fang Chengyin handed out another string of candied hawthorns and continued, "Should we sublet our house temporarily?"

Jiang Zhi took the apple, took a bite, and fed it directly to Fang Chengyin. Over the past few days, Fang Chengyin had gotten used to his excessive closeness, chewing on the sweet and sour apple in his mouth.

Jiang Zhi laughed: "Where will we stay after we transfer?"

"Your white villa, the one at the orchard entrance."

"You're in a remote area, aren't you afraid I'll do anything to you?"

"How about renting a room in a dilapidated building?"

"Of course not." Jiang Zhi smiled indulgently. "I've already moved my luggage. Shall we go directly there tomorrow morning?"

Fang Chengyin was taking a bite of a candied hawthorn, struggling to bite it, and had no intention of answering him.

Jiang Zhi quickly stopped him, "Finish the skewer I'm holding first."

He bit off a new candied hawthorn and fed it to Fang Chengyin, but Fang Chengyin wouldn't open his mouth.

Jiang Zhi took the candied hawthorn out of his mouth. "What's wrong?"

"Is this my illness? The neural sensations I perceive are different from what you see."

"No. I want to feed you."

"But I bit for so long, Jiang Zhi..." Fang Chengyin cried after saying this, his tears filled with grievance, "I bit for so long..."

Jiang Zhi's eyes instantly reddened, and she hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, Chengyin, I'm so sorry!"

Am I...useless?

"No! Hmm? No, Chengyin is perfectly fine. You're even going to help me pick apples, aren't you? You know I won't hire incompetent employees. I only hired you because you're perfectly fine. It's alright."

Fang Chengyin continued to complain, "If I don't have the strength, I won't be able to take care of myself... If I can't take care of myself, then... then I won't be able to find my father..."

Jiang Zhi's face darkened. He patted his back and said, "I will take good care of you," and then said nothing more, quietly listening to his sobs.

I thought Fang Chengyin would cry himself to sleep again, but to my surprise, he was making rustling noises on the side of his neck, seemingly doing something, even though he was still hiccuping from crying.

Jiang Zhi turned his head and knew what was going on. Fang Chengyin was eating a candied hawthorn, and after what seemed like an eternity, the candied hawthorn was finally in his mouth. Jiang Zhi pulled him away from the food by his shoulders and suddenly laughed.

Fang Chengyin was eating candied hawthorns while crying and hiccuping, looking as disheveled as could be, but also very cute.

Jiang Zhi kissed his slightly swollen face, only to be scolded, "Don't disturb me while I'm eating my candied hawthorn..."

"Alright, alright, the ancestors were right." She took a tissue and helped him blow his nose. "Come on, try blowing your nose..."

Fang Chengyin was unaware of how much trouble he was causing; he only knew he wasn't a three-year-old and refused to cooperate.

Jiang Zhi smiled helplessly, pinched his nose to wipe away the snot, then wrapped the candied hawthorn stick in paper, wiped the sticky syrup off his hands before returning it, and kissed the remaining tears until they were gone.

"Can I have one?"

Fang Chengyin frowned, "Don't treat me like a child!"

Jiang Zhi smiled, then realized there was someone at the ward door. He looked away and said to Fang Chengyin, "I'll go get a basin of water."

Fang Chengyin continued eating the candied hawthorn, ignoring him.

After closing the door, Jiang Zhi asked the uninvited guest, "You don't need to come here."

Zhong Qiqian held up the late-night snack in his hand. "He's been sick for so long, it's only natural that I came."

Jiang Zhi stared at him for a long time before saying, "Wait a minute."

"Was his brain affected?"

"The introduction is fine; it doesn't need your excessive concern."

Seeing his cold face, Zhong Qiqian stopped provoking him and started to get down to business: "The stock market has been fluctuating a lot recently. Chief Prosecutor Jiang was still the first to buy Apple shares, but he was somewhat reserved."

“Not enough, far from enough.” Jiang Zhi looked at Zhong Qiqian. “If anything happens to me, please take care of Cheng Yin for me for the time being.”

Zhong Qiqian laughed: "You're willing to give that up already?"

Jiang Zhi laughed, "I've endured it for four years."

"Take good care of yourself," Zhong Qiqian said earnestly.

Jiang Zhi simply smiled and let him go in to see Fang Chengyin.

·

"Xiao Zhi is back?"

"Where have you been all this time? I went to your house but you weren't there."

"Why did you bring a suitcase back? Aren't you going to school?"

Fang Chengyin had no idea how many times he had heard the fruit farmers greet Jiang Zhi like this. The alley was still narrow, and the red lights the fruit farmers had turned on to conceal the color of their fruit made it look like a ghost market, but it was clearly different from the anxious state of mind he had when he first arrived.

The fruit farmers no longer looked strange, but their smiles were genuine.

Jiang Zhi: "I'm taking a break from school until after the harvest. How's the refereeing going?"

When the topic of apples came up, the fruit farmers smiled even more broadly, and their concern for Jiang Zhi reached a new level.

The white villa still stands in the same place, but the orchard in front of the house is no longer laden with fruit; as far as the eye can see, there are withered branches and yellow leaves, which have even become a long gray line cutting through the blue sky.

Jiang Zhi cited the central location of the apple orchard as an example.

Pushing open the door, the layout was exactly the same as before, and the air was fresh, clearly indicating that someone was cleaning it regularly.

"Grandma Liu helped with the cleaning; she said she had nothing else to do," Jiang Zhi said. "The bedroom is on the second floor; let's go take a look."

After saying that, he took Fang Chengyin's luggage and went upstairs. The view from the second floor was good, but the center of the orchard was still not visible.

When Jiang Zhi put the clothes in the closet, Fang Chengyin sat on the bed watching, completely dazed, not even noticing Jiang Zhi sitting down next to him.

Jiang Zhi kissed his cheek. "Look, this was taken when I first came here to work."

Fang Chengyin then gained warmth.

In the photo, Jiang Zhi is wearing a school uniform, standing under a bright red apple. His posture is natural, and his face looks even more youthful than in the photo in his room. Although he is smiling, it doesn't seem genuine.

Jiang Zhi said, "That year I was a freshman in high school."

Fang Chengyin said seriously: "Hiring minors violates the Labor Law."

Jiang Zhi laughed: "Nobody cares about this place."

"And now?"

"Hmm...we'll see?"

Fang Chengyin stopped talking and just focused on looking at the photos.

Jiang Zhi looked at him, kissed him again, and then continued to squat down next to the suitcase to unpack. After hanging up the clothes, she took out a doll that was still in its packaging from the closet. The doll was about a meter tall, ugly but cute.

He took the photo from Fang Chengyin's hand and handed over the ugly doll: "You can borrow it to sleep with tonight."

Fang Chengyin looked up, his expression fluctuating greatly, "Who gave it to you!"

“An uncle. He gave me that photo when I took it just now. Now it seems he must be your father.”

Fang Chengyin looked at him in disbelief, took the doll and hugged it, "Why did he give it to you?"

“I picked a citronella apple for him, and he said it was a return gift.”

“Didn’t you say…” Fang Chengyin belatedly realized, “Dad was the first writer to experience the benefits of unofficial citations? The author of ‘Citation Apple Wants to Grow Bigger and Stronger’? That Jiang Zhi?!”

"yes."

"But I didn't see him with a pair of apples at home..."

"Not everyone will reveal their hobbies and interests; some even need to keep them hidden."

Fang Chengyin hugged the doll tightly. Perhaps Liu Desheng was right; his parents' relationship was not very close.

Did you see your father again after that?

Since the book was written by Fang Bokang, he must have researched ginseng and apple cultivation techniques in this area. In Fang Chengyin's limited memory, Fang Bokang was only focused on screenwriting and producing.

Jiang Zhi gently placed Fang Chengyin's hand on his: "When I first came here in the first year of high school, all I could do was pick and pack apples. Most of the time I was just going back and forth in a fixed area, so I didn't see you very often."

What has he been doing?

"Follow the orchard technicians, just like you guessed, to learn about apple cultivation techniques. Would you like to see it?"

Fang Chengyin's eyes lit up for once. He stood up, holding the doll, and followed Jiang Zhi to the rooftop.

From the top floor, one could see another world. In the center of a vast expanse of withered branches and yellow leaves, there stood a strangely shaped but lush forest. The strange shape was familiar; Fang Chengyin recalled the bizarre breakfast Jiang Zhi had made for him the first time.

"Is that referring to an apple-growing region?" He wasn't sure because he didn't see a single red flower amidst the lush greenery.

“Yes.” Jiang Zhi stood behind him and placed the binoculars, then whispered in his ear, “Cheng Yin, citing that apples are not red.”

It's purplish-black!

Fang Chengyin stared intently at one of them.

Jiang Zhi put down his binoculars and put his arm around the person: "After we've rested, we'll sneak off to pick one. I told you I'd let you try the first one."

"You are the principal investigator of the project." (Statement)

Jiang Zhi laughed: "How did you guess?"

When he first barged in, he knocked over the fruit farmers' stalls. They looked at him with a calm but strange gaze, and only Jiang Zhi's appearance made them let it go, as if they had seen their leader. But today, their attitude towards Jiang Zhi was unusually enthusiastic. Jiang Zhi must have promised them something, something related to their food, clothing, and shelter.

Seeing that he didn't answer, Jiang Zhi turned her head and kissed his cheek. "It's a bit cold, let's go downstairs."

It's autumn, and the wind is indeed cold.

Winter will be here soon, and it will be even more secretive than autumn.

After lunch break, the two really went to pick apples. Jiang Zhi held Fang Chengyin's hand because he was holding an ugly doll. "Fang Chengyin, if you work like this tomorrow, don't blame me for firing you."

Not content with just a joke, Jiang Zhi added, "I'm a wicked capitalist; I won't stop until I've squeezed every last drop of your surplus value."

Fang Chengyin lagged behind Jiang Zhi by a step, seemingly listening, yet not really listening. He felt a sense of familiarity in being led like this, as if he had seen him somewhere before. "Jiang Zhi."

Jiang Zhi stopped and turned around, reaching out to remove the withered leaf that had fallen on Fang Chengyin's head. His attention was no longer on Fang Chengyin's words. "Hmm?"

"I don't want you to spy on me too."

Jiang Zhi's hand froze for a moment. Facing Fang Chengyin's firm yet unfamiliar gaze, he felt somewhat intimidated.

"At least starting today."

Jiang Zhi did not answer, but he tightened his grip on her hand.

Fang Chengyin stepped forward and kissed the person. The doll was too big and in the way, so he threw it on the ground, wrapped his arms around Jiang Zhi's neck, and ran his fingers through his hair in a very sensual way.

Jiang Zhi reacted quickly, pulling him close and kissing him passionately.

After kissing for an unknown amount of time, Fang Chengyin withdrew, but Jiang Zhi felt it wasn't enough and continued to kiss him, not noticing Fang Chengyin's furrowed brows. After pressing his waist and kissing him a couple more times, Fang Chengyin turned his head, and Jiang Zhi finally understood why he had suddenly taken the initiative, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

As expected, Fang Chengyin asked calmly, "Is this enough?"

Jiang Zhi let go of him and helped him pick up the doll. "Okay."

Fang Chengyin carefully held the doll in one hand again, extending his other hand with a clear meaning. Jiang Zhi took his hand and continued walking forward, each step heavier than the last, Fang Bokang's words still echoing in his ears.

"I have a son, the same age as you. He loves eating fruit, just because I told him it's good for his health. He's so obedient! How could being born be a mistake?"

That evening, a tipsy Fang Bokang sat under an apple tree and said these words to him.

He looked at the ugly yet somewhat cute doll next to him and asked, "Can I have that?"

"Want it? There's no such thing as a free lunch. There are only two of these dolls in the world, and one has already been sent to my son."

"You're no longer needed. And there's no way there will be another mistake."

"Let's make a deal. I'll give you this ugly doll and even help you write a book promoting and citing Apple, but you have to keep an eye on the people here and not let them go out and spread rumors."

When he said these words, he was a seasoned veteran who had been in the film and television industry and the writing circle for many years, and his words were even somewhat threatening.

Jiang Zhi laughed: "It's killing two birds with one stone, I'd be happy to."

"Here's a draft paper for you to see." Fang Bokang took out a draft of his ideas, which had many hand-drawn illustrations, all about apple cultivation.

Jiang Zhi didn't take it. He was too drunk to care, and simply put it aside before swaying and getting up to leave.

Halfway there, a man in a hurry came up to help him, glanced at Jiang Zhi, and then helped him away.

Jiang Zhi stood up, looked at the two men, stepped on the manuscripts and crushed them with one foot, then left.

The manuscript paper danced in the autumn wind, blocking out the twilight and ushering in the night.