Li Qing x Xie Jialiang ①
Li Qing recently came to the city from the countryside and set up a small stall selling boxed lunches near the construction site, earning only hard-earned money. To save on rent, he shared an old, small house with someone. His roommate, Xie Jialiang, was five years older than him and worked as a welder. He was usually quiet but took extra care of Li Qing.
That afternoon, Li Qing packed up his stall and rode his tricycle back with empty lunchboxes. When he opened the door, he saw Xie Jialiang sitting shirtless in a chair.
The man's shoulders and arms were muscular and defined, still covered in some welding slag. Li Qing glanced at him briefly before quickly looking away, his ears burning. Although they were both men, he always felt inexplicably uncomfortable whenever he saw Xie Jialiang shirtless.
He put down his things and was about to go into the room when he saw Xie Jialiang rubbing his eyes with a frown.
"Brother Xie, what's wrong?" he asked quickly.
"It's nothing. The sparks from welding just now blew into my eyes, and it hurts a little," Xie Jialiang said in a muffled voice, rubbing his eyes again.
Li Qing immediately became anxious: "Then why don't you go to the hospital to get it checked out? Eyes are not a trivial matter."
Xie Jialiang waved his hand dismissively, "No need, it's just a minor ailment, I'll be fine after a rest." For manual laborers like them, how could they go to the hospital so easily? It would cost money and interfere with their work.
Knowing his temper, Li Qing didn't try to persuade him any further. She simply replied, "Then you should rest more," and turned back to her small room.
He sat on the edge of the bed, pouring out the change he had earned from selling boxed lunches that day and counting it one bill at a time. But he got distracted halfway through. Brother Xie had helped him so much in the past, and now that the other man's eyes were bothering him, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
He stared at his chest and suddenly remembered the strange thing that happened a few days ago. He woke up that morning feeling bloated, and then he found that he was actually producing milk there.
He had been keeping this a secret for the past few days, feeling both panicked and scared, but now… he suddenly slapped his forehead, his eyes lighting up.
A moment later, Li Qing's door opened again. Xie Jialiang was leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed when he heard footsteps stop in front of him, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
Li Qing held a small cup in her hand and handed it to him: "Brother Xie, put these in your eyes, it will help."
Xie Jialiang stared at the half-glass of milky white, unidentified liquid, frowning: "What is this?"
“It’s human milk,” Li Qing said in a low but serious voice. “There’s a folk remedy for this in my hometown. They say human milk can cure eye pain.”
Xie Jialiang was taken aback. He had heard the older generation mention this folk remedy before, but...
"Where did this milk come from?"
Li Qing gripped the glass tightly, not saying where it came from, only vaguely saying, "Don't worry, it's from a legitimate source."
Xie Jialiang didn't take it, but just looked at him with a hint of doubt in his eyes. Li Qing felt uncomfortable under his gaze, hesitated for a long time, and finally lowered his head, his voice so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz: "It's...it's on me."
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