Chapter 56 "You are just his toy"
"Well, I guess so." Zhao Junran nodded and replied.
But somehow, Ren Yizi heard a hint of trembling and unnaturalness in Zhao Junran's tone, so he doubted what Zhao Junran said. After all, Wen Siru never told him that this was his friend.
Zhao Junran immediately asked Ren Yizi, "Do you know where Wen Siru has been these days? Why is he always absent because of something?"
Ren Yizi was confused by the question. He thought Zhao Junran wanted to find Wen Siru just like him, so he answered directly, "I don't know."
Zhao Junran glanced at the people eating around him, lowered his voice and asked Ren Yizi, looking extremely surprised: "You don't even know you're his boyfriend?"
"Do you know that he and I are...?" Ren Yizi's spirit suddenly tensed up. He clenched the chopsticks tightly, and his fingertips turned white.
There was no air circulation in the small noodle shop, and the whole store was stuffy and hot. Fine beads of sweat oozed out of Ren Yizi's forehead.
"Of course I know," Zhao Junran said with a smug look on his face, his eyes flashing with complex emotions, "I'll tell you in secret, I also know what Wen Siru has been doing recently."
When Ren Yizi heard this, his reason told him in a flash that Wen Siru was an independent person and had the right not to tell him what he was doing.
But there was a sentimental little person in my heart, who asked in a very weak voice: Why did Wen Siru hide what he was doing recently from him? Aren't they the closest people to each other?
And why did this person, who he didn't even know if she was Wen Si Ru's friend, know what his boyfriend was doing?
Ren Yizi thought a lot in this second, but he didn't want to be led by the nose by others. He said calmly and methodically, "You don't need to tell me what he is doing. If he wants to tell me one day, he will tell me."
The hygiene conditions in this noodle shop are not very good. Flies often fly around the bowls, and I have to wave my chopsticks to drive away the buzzing flies.
Seeing that Ren Yizi looked normal and hadn't fallen for it, Zhao Junran couldn't help but said, "Wen Siru didn't tell you, so I'll tell you. He's currently in a mental hospital being treated for his mental illness."
Ren Yizi's eyes widened in disbelief: "What did you say?!"
This sentence was like a bomb, which made Ren Yizi's mind confused. He put his chopsticks on the greasy table with a "bang".
A few students who were eating nearby looked over. They all had colorful hair and were looking at Ren Yizi, mumbling something to themselves.
Ren Yizi was annoyed by being stared at, and glared at them sharply. When those people saw that it was Ren Yizi, the "famous" figure, they immediately lowered their heads to eat with guilt. No one wanted to cause trouble, as if they were beaten, no one would help them.
Seeing that Ren Yizi had finally taken the bait, Zhao Junran repeated his previous words with a subtle expression: "Wen Siru is currently in a mental hospital receiving treatment for his mental illness."
Ren Yizi's face turned pale, his jawline tensed, and he said in a cold tone, "Impossible."
How could he, as his boyfriend, not know what kind of person Wen Siru was? Wen Siru had always been a well-mannered, gentle, polite, considerate student who never caused trouble.
How could it be related to mental illness? At most... at most he is a little paranoid sometimes, and that is also caused by the trauma of his childhood, Ren Yizi excused Wen Siru in his heart.
When he thought of this, an almost negligible moment of Wen Si Ru suddenly flashed through his mind, with a cold face and a violent look on his face.
Ren Yizhi felt a little uncertain and his body gradually became stiff.
Is Wen Siru receiving treatment for mental illness? Why didn't he tell him? Even if he told him, he wouldn't discriminate against him. If there really was something wrong, he could still stay by Wen Siru's side to help him through it.
"If you don't believe me, I can't help it." Zhao Junran saw that Ren Yizi was finally starting to panic. He raised the corner of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Oh, by the way, I have something else to tell you. Do you want to hear it? It's about you and him."
Outside the noodle shop, the laughter of classmates after school continued to come out, so loud that it almost covered Zhao Junran's voice, making people irritated and having to prick up their ears and listen carefully to hear it.
Ren Yizi looked straight at him, his voice tinged with coldness: "Just tell me what you mean, don't keep me in suspense."
The dim light shone on Ren Yizhi's gloomy face, and his shadow was imprinted on the mottled wall next to him, appearing extremely oppressive, as if he were a sharp-clawed beast about to be released from its cage.
The fierce look in Zhao Junran's eyes made him feel uneasy for a moment, but it was quickly covered by his twisted mentality. Zhao Junran slowly said, "Actually, you being with Wen Siru is just a bet between him and me. The bet is whether a straight man like you who hates gays will fall in love with him..."
"What do you mean?" Ren Yizi interrupted Zhao Junran. He seemed not to understand what he was saying. He immediately clenched his fists under the table, his nails digging deeply into his palms. He asked in a trembling voice, but tried hard to control himself.
Zhao Junran chuckled softly. He looked at Ren Yizi's gradually collapsing expression with a satisfied look of contempt. His expression gradually relaxed and he said slowly, "Don't you understand what I'm saying? Okay, then I'll make it short.
Wen Siru was receiving treatment for a mental illness at the time and asked me to entertain him. Coincidentally, I saw you post on a friend of a friend's phone saying you hated gays and told them to stay away from you. Wen Siru made a bet with me that even if you were a homophobic straight man, he would still win you over.
Ren Yizi felt as if all the air around him had been sucked out, making it difficult to breathe. His entire body was wrapped in the sticky, irritating heat of the past few days of summer, making it almost hard to breathe.
He remembered that he had posted this circle of friends in anger during the summer vacation, and after he found out that he was gay and liked Wen Si Ru, he specially hid this circle of friends.
Ren Yizi's forehead was bulging with veins. He looked at Zhao Junran with bloodshot eyes, gritting his teeth until they hurt. He said word by word, "Why should I believe what you say?"
"You don't have to believe me. It's your freedom," Zhao Junran spread his hands and shrugged. He then suddenly leaned closer to Ren Yizi, narrowed his green bean-like eyes, and said in a low voice, "I came here today just to let you know that Wen Siru and I were just playing games and making bets. I just wanted him to be happy, and he was with you just to kill time and have fun.
You are just his toy. Do you think he really loves you?"
"You!" Ren Yizi felt his blood boiling, his chest heaving violently. He pointed his chopsticks at Zhao Junran and shouted, "It's not your place to judge what kind of relationship he and I have."
His voice was filled with anger, so loud that everyone in the noodle shop looked at them, as if they were watching the fun.
"Don't get excited. If you hit someone, you'll be arrested." Zhao Junran pinched the end of the chopsticks that Ren Yizi pointed at him, his face full of pity and regret. "I'm just telling you the truth out of kindness. Ren Yizi, it's time for you to wake up. How can a scoundrel like you be worthy of Wen Siru?"
Let him curse freely and bring out the essence of the country: "Fuck you, I am not worthy, are you worthy?"
"At least I won't be as ignorant and incompetent as you, causing trouble and giving people headaches," Zhao Junran smiled at Ren Yizi with a triumphant look on his face. "Don't be sad. Everything between you and him was fake anyway. There's nothing to be sad about. Just take care of yourself."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and looked like he was about to leave, leaving a bowl of uneaten beef noodles on the table.
Suddenly, he turned his head sideways again, and the shadow from the backlight fell on his face. He curled his lips and said to Ren Yizi, "Take a good look at what he gave you. You might find something unexpected."
After saying this, Zhao Junran left the hotel, opened the door of the black car that was waiting for him outside, and got in.
The car's engine hummed and it roared away.
Ren Yizi felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body. He watched the tail of the car gradually drive away, staring intently at the bowl of beef noodles across the table that he hadn't touched.
His stomach began to ache, but he still mechanically picked up the cold noodles like a self-torturer and stuffed them into his mouth with a gray and cold face, but he could not taste the delicious taste in them.
His mind was now extremely confused, and a feeling of powerlessness and sadness arose spontaneously.
Zhao Junran's words, like a curse, circulated madly in his mind:
"You're just his toy."
"Do you think he really loves you?"
"How can a scoundrel like you be worthy of Wen Si Ru?"
The more Ren Yizi thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. His brain nerves were throbbing as if they were about to jump out. His stomach was churning and he covered his stomach in pain, his fingertips turning white.
Whenever his stomach felt uncomfortable, Wen Siru would always gently rub his belly, comfort him in a soft voice, and remind him to take stomach medicine every day.
So, are those sincere actions and expressions fake?
Why, treat him as a bet?
What was he then? A joke? A clown? Their companionship over the past few months, the joy of love, the tenderness of affection, was it all, everything, all fake?
Ren Yizi recalled countless moments of his time with Wen Siru, Wen Siru's unique and pleasant fragrance, Wen Siru's gentle and unfading smile, Wen Siru's soft and warm lips...
Ren Yizi's face was pale, his mind was in a mess, and he was in great pain. He felt like a rusty, blunt knife was grinding against his heart, unable to cut it open, but the pain would continue to come in waves.
He was in a trance, with a confused look in his eyes, he took out his cell phone and wanted to ask Wen Si Ru what was going on.
But after typing a few words weakly, he deleted everything.
The last bit of his rationality suddenly surfaced. This Zhao Junran who appeared inexplicably might be here to talk nonsense and mess with his mentality?
He cannot be led by the nose, nor can he let a rift between him and Wen Si Ru be created because of a few words from an outsider. He should stand on Wen Si Ru's side at this moment.
When communicating on the phone, many important things cannot be explained clearly, and the meaning of the text may be misunderstood because one cannot see the other person's expression or hear the other person's tone. Therefore, he must ask Wen Si Ru face to face about this matter!
--------------------
Zhao's one-sided account isn't entirely true. Wen will explain it himself later. Don't worry, I know you're anxious, and I'm anxious too. The story is wrapping up, and it's been so well written. (Finally getting to this part, now you know why I started the first chapter with Brother Zi cursing in the WeChat Moments!)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
