Chapter 74 They are inseparable

Their breaths mingled, and Ji Tong's tears soaked her cheeks and Gu Lin's chin.

It's wet.

It looked as if Gu Lin was also crying.

In his daze, Ji Tong couldn't even tell which drop was his and which was Gu Lin's.

All that remained in his mind was the word "tongtong".

Is this the first time Gu Lin has called him that?

Ji Tong was actually more familiar with the name "Tong Tong" than with his full name.

Perhaps it's because the phrase "the sun shines brightly on thousands of households" is so catchy that family members call out to us, classmates call out to us, and even senior students and teachers call out to us.

But Gu Lin didn't.

He always called him "Ji Tong," using his full name.

…There was no “always” either. Gu Lin didn’t actually call him often, only calling him once or twice on certain very specific occasions, as if calling his name.

There wasn't any specific way for the two of them to address each other. Gu Lin didn't call out to him, but Ji Tong could always "hear" it.

Ji Tong could "hear" Gu Lin look up at him.

Just like now.

Ji Tong "heard" Gu Lin calling him again, more urgently than ever before.

"Buying an island and locking it up, is that what you call 'abnormal'?"

Ji Tong raised her hand and grabbed Gu Lin's clothes, gradually tightening her grip.

"Do you think I'm normal?"

Ji Tong's eyes were red.

“My homeroom teacher told me that the day you went abroad, I deleted all your contact information.”

"Ah Yuan and the others all thought I was angry."

"But no."

"I'm not angry, I'm scared."

"I'm afraid that if I just look at the chat history, I'll want to go find you."

"Once I start looking for you, I have to find you."

"No matter how much manpower and resources are used, no matter how much money is spent."

“I will talk to my grandparents, my maternal grandparents, my parents, and my uncle, and ask them to help me.”

Ji Tong has always been quick and accurate in remembering things. While he doesn't have a photographic memory, he does have a better memory than others. Even in the top-performing class of the competition, where all the students are guaranteed admission, Ji Tong's memory talent is second to none.

But Ji Tong couldn't quite remember what happened before graduation.

His body seemed to have switched to some kind of automated, mechanical mode, and he was disconnected from those months.

Those memories were fragmented into disjointed pieces, scattered here and there, desolate and chaotic.

There's Li Yuan, Cui Mingying, a class, a middle school, and Gu Linlin, but no Gu Lin.

He continued attending classes and doing exercises as always, even though the results of his guaranteed admission had long been announced and the class schedule had become meaningless.

When the news came that Anhui University would start the semester early, Li Yuan and his friends complained in the group chat for two weeks, saying that their planned trip was ruined, but Ji Tong was very happy.

Life is a series of journeys; some people come, and some people go.

It seems like there's not much difference between having Gu Lin and not having Gu Lin.

He rarely even thought about him, nor did he dream about him much. Sometimes, he would feel inexplicably unhappy and would go catch kittens and steal their eggs.

But that "unhappiness" was also fleeting; did the emotions fluctuate much? It seems not.

He even had the thought several times, "Look, life goes on just fine without Gu Lin."

He has moved on to the next stage, a completely new stage, a stage without Gu Lin.

I entered a new class, met new classmates, made new friends, and moved into a new dormitory.

The scenery at Anhui University is beautiful, and life there is incredibly lively.

He always thought that he was doing quite well even without Gu Lin.

Until that day, the day I saw Gu Lin under that sycamore tree at Anhui University.

All his memories returned in an instant, his world was restored to normal, and he realized, oh, so the human brain can deceive itself.

Because it was too cold outside, it created a fictitious wintering ground for memories.

He couldn't remember that period because his brain was saying, "It's so sad, let's hide away, let's hide away."

Then he hid inside.

“In July, Anjing experienced a heavy rain and thunderstorm,” Ji Tong’s fingers had somehow moved from Gu Lin’s clothes to Gu Lin’s wrist, where he gripped it tightly. “The weather forecast gave a warning two days in advance.”

"I'm going to find Gu Linlin."

"We couldn't find it anywhere that day."

"I called Uncle Chen and Ping An for help, and we finally found it behind a thicket in the early hours of the morning."

"I kept it at the vet hospital for half a month."

"After I got back, I had someone order chips."

"I chose the best and smallest one, for subcutaneous injection, so that even if Gu Linlin really gets lost in the future, as long as someone scans it, they can contact me."

"But that's just a radio frequency identification chip. It can only provide feedback, not send real-time location information. In some cases, the cat may even get infected and inflamed, or even move later on."

"I didn't take Gu Linlin to get the injection."

"The chip is still in Haiyuan, in my drawer."

Ji Tong tightened his grip, sitting on the sink and looking down at Gu Lin.

The spotlights above the two of them cast a shallow shadow from their hair.

“But do you know how many I bought?” Ji Tong looked at him intently. “Two.”

“Gu Lin, I bought two tablets,” Ji Tong repeated, then said, word by word, “because I was thinking of you.”

How could chips possibly be used on humans? Even if they were, they would be limited to medical and health applications.

He was reluctant to have the chip implanted in Gu Linlin's back, fearing a rejection reaction.

But he ordered two.

I just keep thinking, is there something that has a unique identifier, firmly rooted in the bones and attached to the skin, so that others can immediately recognize its owner?

Just like this chip, a simple scan with the device will bring up his contact information and address, allowing the lost Gu Linlin to return home.

"On that day, the day I couldn't find Gu Linlin."

I resent you so much.

"I resent you even more than the day I found out you signed the pledge to give up your guaranteed admission to study abroad."

"I even think that it's because of this name that Gu Linlin likes to run around and gets lost."

"At that time, I thought, if there really is such a chip, and if it is safe, I will definitely buy one and inject it into your body."

"It also needs to have real-time positioning and an automatic alarm. It will sound if you leave me for more than a certain distance, and you can't turn it off."

If it weren't for Gu Lin's words, "I'm not normal," those two chips would have remained safely in the bottom drawer of Ji Tong's desk, or perhaps on some ordinary day in the future, they would have been tossed into some corner at the bottom of a box.

Like throwing away an unsavory mark.

"Gu Lin, am I strange?" Ji Tong asked the last question, her voice trembling and her fingers shaking.

Gu Lin's jaw was clenched tightly. He didn't answer, only saying, "I love you."

Finally, on this long night at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, they revealed their most vulnerable and complete selves to each other.

It's like hollowing each other out, drawing out years of stagnant blood from within, along with all the unspeakable secrets, so that they can see the light of day.

A tear trickled down the corner of Ji Tong's lips and into the crevice of her lips; it felt very cold.

But it wasn't Ji Tongliu's.

Ji Tong's eyes welled up with tears again, and she finally released her grip on Gu Lin's wrist.

He cupped Gu Lin's face in his hands, lowered his head and kissed him passionately. Then, mimicking Gu Lin's manner when he said "It's none of your business," he whispered two words between their intertwined lips: "Shall we do it?"

-

The bathroom door, which was not properly closed, was kicked open. The scenery in Ji Tong's eyes spun and turned upside down, but he could not see anything. He could only see the look in Gu Lin's eyes as he looked at him.

He heard those eyes calling him, calling "Ji Tong," calling "Tong Tong," saying "I love you."

Gu Lin's breathing constantly brushed against Ji Tong's ear, hot yet moist like a tear melting into her lips and teeth.

Even though they had just come out of the bathroom and dried their hair, an endless dampness permeated the air.

The dampness, carrying desire, soaked the person from the inside out.

Gu Lin seemed to be trying his best to hold back something; the veins on the back of his hand were bulging due to blood stasis.

One button on Ji Tong's pajamas collar had popped open, and a hickey had appeared on her shoulder sometime earlier.

His hair was buried in the pillow, but his hand was gripping the back of Gu Lin's neck, urgently pulling him toward him, like a patient desperately needing security and physical contact: "Touch me."

Ji Tong received an even deeper kiss, so deep that even his breath was completely invaded and plundered.

Ji Tong felt a momentary sense of impending death. As he regained his breath from the dizziness, he heard the sounds of drawers being pulled open and plastic wrap being removed.

Gu Lin's eyes never left him.

Even when dismantling those two things, they never left.

One by one, the room lights went out, until only the mushroom-shaped nightlight by the bedside remained.

Gu Lin took off his pajamas with one hand, and the light shone on him. Ji Tong was momentarily stunned. He raised his hand and, even though he couldn't see Gu Lin's back, pressed it precisely on the scar.

Ji Tong had a thin layer of sweat on his fingertips. He didn't know if it was his or Gu Lin's. He only knew that the moment his fingertip touched the scar, Gu Lin's Adam's apple bobbed and his back muscles tensed up.

The blankets were swept to the foot of the bed and piled up haphazardly.

There was no blanket under Ji Tong, and her pajamas weren't placed securely on the sofa like last time; they were rolled up to the foot of the bed along with the blankets.

Gu Lin followed up by pressing down.

Ji Tong's hand was still pressed on the spot where Gu Lin had the scar. The heartache that had been building up for days and nights was now like a strong current flowing away from the shore, dragging him into the deep sea through the fragmented pieces of water that were like crevices in the rocks.

"I don't want this." Ji Tong was completely overwhelmed by that emotion. He slapped the diamonds out of Gu Lin's hand, as if he wanted to drag him into the deep sea, and grabbed the end of Gu Lin's hair to press him against himself.

Gu Lin's eyes were red, and his Adam's apple bobbed again as he asked, as if to confirm whether the person speaking was sober, "Do you know what you're saying?"

Ji Tong kept repeating, "I don't want this."

“Alright,” Gu Lin said in a hoarse voice, wiping the thin layer of sweat from Ji Tong’s forehead, “then don’t.”

It hurts.

Despite Gu Lin's constant attempts to comfort her, it still hurt.

But they are inseparable.

Longing is rooted in pain, and it takes root again in pain.

His, Gu Lin's.

They digested and dissolved each other, yet carried each other's imprints, reshaping themselves.

...

When it was over, Ji Tong's legs were so heavy that she couldn't lift them.

He was covered in sweat; his neck was wet, his eyes were wet, and his hair was wet, like a piece of paper that had been pulled out of the water and was wrinkled from the drenching.

His waist and thighs, which had been suspended in the air for a long time, were spasming. Gu Lin placed his hands on them, massaging them as he carried him towards the bathroom.

Ji Tong couldn't stand, so Gu Lin didn't let him stand. Even when he was placed on the sink, Gu Lin supported his waist with his hand so that he could lean against him.

The bed in the master bedroom was so damp that it was impossible to sleep on, and the room was filled with an ambiguous and unpleasant atmosphere, so strong that even the Orange Grove fragrance couldn't suppress it.

After cleaning the person, Gu Lin dried their hair, changed their clothes, and carried them to the guest room.

When she was placed on the bed, Ji Tong let out a very soft hum.

"Feeling unwell?" Gu Lin lowered his head and kissed the red mole on his eyelid.

"It's sour," Ji Tong said.

Gu Lin asked, "Where?"

Ji Tong: "Stomach."

Gu Lin lifted Ji Tong's pajamas and placed his warm palm on her thin abdomen.

Three kiss marks and a faint tooth mark on the side of the waist.

The teeth marks were left in the bathroom.

Gu Lin rubbed his fingers in circles for only two minutes before Ji Tong hooked his fingers around his.

Ji Tong was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. Not only her stomach, but also her groin, waist, and ankles were all sore, but she still forced herself to keep her eyes open.

The red mole that Gu Lin had kissed countless times tonight was hidden back under his eyelid.

Ji Tong patted the side of the bed: "Get on."

Gu Lin sat quietly by the bed for a while before lying down, holding the person in his arms, and massaging his lower back.

Ji Tong leaned forward, and the two hugged even tighter.

"What time is it?" Ji Tong asked.

Gu Lin lowered his head and kissed his forehead: "Four-thirty."

Ji Tong: "I don't want to go to class."

Gu Lin kissed him again: "Okay."

"I mean, I don't want you to attend class. I have two days left on my leave slip."

"good."

The two hugged for a while, and Ji Tong smelled the scent on Gu Lin's pajamas and called his name softly.

"Gu Lin."

"Um?"

I'm still angry, I haven't forgiven you yet.

Gu Lin paused for a moment while massaging him, then continued: "Okay."

Ji Tong closed his eyes, and after a long while, he whispered in his ear like a little animal, "But it will be soon."