Entanglement
Chu Yiran jolted awake, as if waking from a nightmare.
He looked down and saw that he was still holding the chef's knife in his hand, his fingertips icy cold and trembling uncontrollably. Dark red blood continued to seep from the wound on Su Jing's abdomen, quickly soaking his black robes and dripping onto the ground.
With a loud clatter, Chu Yiran abruptly released his grip, and the knife fell to the ground. Almost simultaneously, Su Jing frowned, as if he had finally given up, and swayed before collapsing to the ground.
"Are you...are you alright?" Chu Yiran's voice trembled as she frantically reached for her phone in her pocket. "You...you hold on! I...I'll call an ambulance!"
"You...you didn't want to kill me?" Su Jing gasped for breath, his voice low and hoarse. "You can continue."
Chu Yiran looked up abruptly, meeting Su Jing's unfathomable eyes. He had expected Su Jing to, as before, expressionlessly call him "sick" or coldly remind him that "murder is illegal," but instead, Su Jing directly told him to stab himself with a knife.
"Are you crazy!" Chu Yiran gritted her teeth. "You want to die, but I don't want to go to jail!"
As he spoke, he found his phone, but because his hands were shaking so badly, the phone fell to the ground with a "thud." He quickly knelt down to pick it up, but accidentally pushed the phone even further away.
Su Jing struggled to reach out and press down on his arm, his forehead streaked with cold sweat, clinging to his pale skin. He looked at the flustered and helpless Chu Yiran, his voice weak yet carrying a strange, undeniable penetrating power: "Aran... come here."
Chu Yiran seemed not to have heard clearly, or rather, could not understand, and still stubbornly tried to reach the phone.
Su Jing took a deep breath, as if gathering the last bit of strength, and repeated, his tone carrying a reassuring, almost gentle, seductive quality: "Aran, come here."
As if drawn by invisible threads, Chu Yiran frowned and looked at him.
Su Jing looked at him and chuckled very softly. The smile aggravated his wounds, causing him to frown slightly. "Don't be afraid..." he gasped, each word difficult to utter, yet crystal clear, "Even... even if you really kill me... I won't... let you go to jail..."
These words were so insane, so defying all reason, that they were like a bucket of ice water, instantly jolting Chu Yiran awake. His lips trembled violently as he looked at the man before him, who seemed utterly insane, and murmured two words: "Madman..."
Su Jing smiled nonchalantly, then pulled Chu Yiran closer to her with a forceful tug, aggravating her wound: "You can do whatever you want to me, I won't leave you, Yiran."
When he called out "Aran," the last syllable always carried a deep sigh, which inexplicably reminded Chu Yiran of Su Jing from her previous life.
Chu Yiran shook off her distracting thoughts and grabbed him with her hand: "Stop talking nonsense, I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"
“We can’t go to the hospital,” Su Jing shook his head. “This wound… the hospital will be suspicious, and if they call the police, it’ll be troublesome…” His breathing grew weaker and weaker. “If you don’t want to kill me now… go get my phone… in my contacts… there’s someone named Chen Jin… he’s a private doctor…”
As if his last bit of strength had been exhausted, Su Jing's body suddenly went limp, his head drooped weakly, and he fell heavily into Chu Yiran's blood-stained arms.
Su Jing rested her head on his shoulder and neck, her breathing becoming shallow and rapid, the warm breath brushing against his skin, bringing a shiver.
——
Su Jing's wound required seven stitches. After changing Su Jing's clothes and applying medicine, the private doctor left, but before leaving, Chu Yiran's expression seemed a bit strange.
Chu Yiran meticulously cleaned up every suspicious trace at the scene, including the bloodstained chef's knife, which he thoroughly cleaned, disinfected, and put back in its place. Having done all this, he stood in the center of the living room, feeling utterly exhausted.
He walked to the bedroom door and looked at Su Jing, who was sleeping on the bed due to anesthesia and blood loss. Su Jing's face was pale and her brows were slightly furrowed even in her sleep.
Chu Yiran took a deep breath, turned around resolutely, and grasped the doorknob.
However, as soon as the door was opened a crack, laughter and the sound of keys turning came from outside. Chu Yiran was caught off guard and bumped right into the large family who were about to enter.
Outside the door, Su Ting and Wu Jingyun, carrying large and small bags of groceries, paused for a moment, then broke into a delighted smile. Behind them, Xixi stood quietly, hugging her teddy bear, while Linlin beside her looked curiously at the obviously flustered Chu Yiran.
"Oh my! Xiao Chu? You're home? Perfect timing!" Wu Jingyun stepped forward enthusiastically, grabbed Chu Yiran's arm, and tried to lead him into the house. "Auntie bought a lot of groceries today. Come in quickly, we'll have dinner at home tonight! Look at you, haven't you been eating properly lately? You look quite thin."
Chu Yiran's body stiffened. He instinctively tried to break free, but he was afraid of hurting his elders with too much force, and even more afraid that they would notice the strangeness in the room and Su Jing's injury. His heart was pounding, his brain was racing to think of an excuse, and even his forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
Just when we were caught in this dilemma, a weak but steady voice came from the direction of the bedroom:
"Dad, Mom, what brings you here?"
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that Su Jing had woken up at some point. He was leaning against the door frame with one hand, his face was frighteningly pale, and his lips were almost bloodless. However, he was forcing himself to stand up straight and trying to force a nonchalant smile on his face.
Su Ting frowned and asked with concern, "Xiao Jing? Why do you look so pale? Are you sick?"
Su Jing coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, saying, "No, it's just that there have been a lot of projects at the company lately, and I'm a bit tired and haven't been sleeping well." He glanced at Chu Yiran, who was being held back by his mother, and a complex look flashed in his eyes. Then he said gently to his parents, "Don't stand at the door, come in quickly."
Wu Jingyun then released Chu Yiran and invited everyone inside. Xixi rushed over first, like a happy little bird fluttering towards Su Jing, opening her little arms: "Daddy, hug me!"
A flicker of helplessness and restraint flashed in Su Jing's eyes. His abdominal wound clearly couldn't withstand such a jolt, but he still bent down and carefully lifted Xixi into his arms, his movements somewhat stiff. Xixi wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his pale face. Su Jing, enduring the pain, muttered softly, almost plaintively, "Why haven't you started school yet..."
Xixi blinked her innocent big eyes, not having heard clearly: "What did you say, Xiaojing's dad?"
Su Jing immediately put on her usual flawless, gentle smile and nuzzled her nose: "It's nothing, Daddy said Xixi is really cute."
On the other side, Linlin didn't join in the fun like his younger sister. Instead, he walked over to Chu Yiran, who was standing to the side, still looking somewhat uneasy. He tilted his head back and quietly observed Chu Yiran's complex and unreadable expression for a while.
Suddenly, Linlin spoke softly, her tone calmer than her age: "Is this person very annoying?"
Chu Yiran paused for a moment, then looked down at the precocious child with some confusion: "Don't you like your Xiao Jing dad?" He thought the child was referring to Su Jing.
Linlin shook her head, her eyes serious and determined, and said something that Chu Yiran never expected:
"He is not Xiao Jing's father."
"My little Jing's dad has been abducted by aliens."
Chu Yiran was stunned, taking it as just a child's strange imagination and angry words. He forced a smile, reached out and gently touched Linlin's soft hair, not taking her words to heart.
After Linlin finished speaking, she ran off. Su Ting warmly pulled Chu Yiran to sit down on the sofa, a kind smile on his face: "Little Chu, don't be shy, sit down, sit down." He turned around to make tea, but seemed a little awkward as he circled between the open kitchen and living room, and it took him a while to find the tea canister. He was clearly not very familiar with the layout of the house.
"Look at me, I haven't been here often enough to not even know where I put my things," Su Ting said with an embarrassed smile as he made tea.
He placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Chu Yiran and explained gently, "Xixi and Linlin are about to start school, and these two kids have been talking about Xiao Jing for a long time. They insisted on coming to see us, so we brought them here to bother you. Please don't mind, Xiao Chu."
Chu Yiran quickly took the teacup and thanked him, but her mind was still preoccupied with the shock from earlier and Su Jing's injuries, so she could only barely maintain a calm facade.
Su Ting, oblivious to his absent-mindedness, sighed to herself, "Sigh, to be honest, we parents owe Xiao Jing a lot. When Jingyun and I were young, we were so busy with our careers that we had to leave him with his maternal grandmother. He's always been a quiet child, keeping everything bottled up inside and not liking to talk about it... This time, he suddenly had an accident, and although he says he's fine, we're still uneasy, so we've been wanting to come and check on him more often..."
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Xixi tiptoed to reach the chocolate box on the cabinet. Su Jing, enduring the dull pain in his abdomen, carefully took it down for her, tore open the packaging, and handed her a small piece. His gaze, however, kept drifting involuntarily to Chu Yiran, who was talking to Su Ting in the living room, filled with worry and a hint of barely perceptible tension.
Just then, Linlin slipped into the kitchen like a kitten. Instead of pestering his sister for chocolate like his sister did, he went straight to Su Jing's leg and tugged at his trouser leg.
Su Jing and Lin Lin looked at each other at eye level. Lin Lin's big, clear eyes stared straight at Su Jing as he whispered, "Don't keep taking over Xiao Jing's body. Nobody likes you, and that person hates you too." As he spoke, he pointed his little finger toward the living room.
Su Jing's face paled even more instantly. After speaking, Lin Lin didn't wait for Su Jing's response, as if she had just completed a task of informing him. She turned around and took the hand of Xi Xi, who was licking chocolate and looking bewildered, and simply said, "Xi Xi, let's go watch cartoons."
Then, Linlin took her younger sister's hand and left the kitchen.
Wu Jingyun, who was washing vegetables, took in her son's expression.
She wiped her hands, walked over to Su Jing, lowered her voice, and asked directly, in a volume only the two of them could hear, "Son, tell me the truth, do you like Xiao Chu?"
Su Jing's body stiffened abruptly, and he turned to look at Wu Jingyun in astonishment, his eyes filled with surprise.
He hadn't expected Wu Jingyun to be so direct, nor had he expected her to be so perceptive.
Looking at her son's surprised expression, Wu Jingyun smiled smugly: "Don't look at your mother like that. You're my son. Do you think I can't see through your little schemes? Just like back then, you quietly insisted on taking the entrance exam for the film academy. Do you think I didn't know how determined you were if you didn't say anything?"
These words were like a key, unexpectedly unlocking the dusty memory box in Su Jing's mind—fragments of memories belonging to this modern "Su Jing" emerged: how he had hesitantly confessed his sexuality to his parents, and how, after a brief moment of surprise, they gave him complete acceptance and support...
Seeing her son's silence, Wu Jingyun's eyes softened, and she continued softly, "Xiao Jing, I've done most of the things I wanted to do in my life, and I have no regrets. The only thing I have is one wish for you: that you always be healthy and happy. So, whatever you want to do, as long as it's the right path, I'll support you."
Su Jing's eyes were somewhat complicated. He had been used to the coldness and warmth of human relationships since he was a child. Apart from Chu Yiran, few people had shown him such straightforward care and love. Although he knew that this feeling was for the modern "Su Jing", he couldn't help but feel a bittersweet warmth in his heart.
Wu Jingyun's tone became serious: "But son, if you want to love someone, you must first understand what love is." She began to patiently explain to Su Jing, as if teaching a child, "In my opinion, Xiao Chu is very wary of you right now. I don't know what exactly happened between you two, but son, you must remember, true love is not about taking, but about giving; it's not about forcing, but about fulfilling; it's not a shackle, much less a burden..."
Wu Jingyun's gaze was gentle and wise: "Love is wanting to give the best to the other person, it's feeling sweeter than honey when you see them happy. You have to fill your own heart with love and feel love before you can love others properly and in the right way, do you understand?"
Her words, like a gentle stream, washed away Su Jing's stubbornness and hardness, and he subconsciously looked at Chu Yiran in the living room again.
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