Chapter 65 Is your hand still hurting? Excuse me.
The sounds of my grandparents chatting and laughing came from the courtyard downstairs.
In that instant, Ji Tong suddenly understood why horror movies often end like this: just when the audience thinks the protagonist can escape, there's an extreme twist, a shocking revelation.
Just like this very moment.
Ji Tong closed her eyes, turned over, and pulled the blanket next to her over herself peacefully.
"Speak." Song Zhenshu sat down beside the bed.
Ji Tong turned a deaf ear.
"You don't want to talk, huh? Fine." Song Zhenshu unlocked his phone with a half-smile, deliberately turning the ringer up to full volume. He opened his contacts and dialed one key at a time, reciting as he dialed: "1, 3, 9, 0, 5—"
A hand suddenly reached out from under the covers and snatched the phone away.
Ji Tong turned off Song Zhenshu's phone ringer with a blank face, then shoved it under the pillow to turn off the screen.
Sometimes Ji Tong really didn't know how old his uncle was.
How can you be so childish?
Even though they had Gu Lin's phone number, they insisted on dialing it one key at a time.
"Oh dear, I almost forgot, it should be 2 a.m. in Germany right now. They should still be asleep, right?"
"..."
Ji Tong said in a weak voice, "Uncle, let's find someone to date this year."
Then you won't be so free.
Song Zhenshu: "Dating is nothing compared to watching other people date."
"..."
Song Zhenshu patted the bulging blanket: "Tell me, when did that cat from out of town come back?"
Ji Tong: "..."
Ji Tong was impressed by her uncle's smooth talk and surrendered: "Last night, around 11 o'clock."
"Will the plane land around 11 o'clock, or will you arrive at the apartment?"
"To the apartment."
"Didn't I tell you beforehand?"
"No, I only found out from the surveillance footage."
"So the reason you had no signal yesterday was because you were on a plane?"
"Um."
"So I called you from the back mountain this afternoon...did you get a different flight?"
"Um."
“You must be exhausted,” Song Zhenshu said, playfully lifting a corner of the blanket. “Aren’t you afraid of getting stuffy? Come out.”
When is he leaving?
Gu Lin has finally evolved from a "cat from out of town" into a "he" with the single-person radical, which is gratifying.
Ji Tong said, "My flight is at around 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow. My grandfather has arranged a meal for me, so I have to rush back."
Song Zhenshu remained silent for a moment.
"He arrived at the apartment in the early morning, then contacted you and asked you to come over?"
“No,” Ji Tong finally peeked out from under the covers, “He asked if I could spare two hours tonight, but I wanted to see him, so I went.”
A trip from Berlin to Anjing, more than 7,000 kilometers, takes two days round trip, with a full day spent on the plane, just for two hours.
I sneaked out at 1:30 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year, met someone, slept for a little over two hours, and then sneaked back in the sub-zero weather.
She really is... young.
Someone would do something so silly just for a "Happy Birthday" greeting.
Ji Tong thought that after he said "It was my own choice to see him," a new storm would rage, but it didn't. Song Zhenshu didn't say anything, he just raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Uncle?" Ji Tong called out softly.
"Alright, take a nap. You won't look good if you're not in good spirits at lunchtime when there are a lot of people around," Song Zhenshu said, reaching over his shoulder to take out her phone. "Your grandma picked out a new outfit for you, a set with bamboo embroidery. Have someone get it for you when you wake up."
Song Zhenshu yawned. He had also gotten up early to get the wine, and he was sleepy too. He lazily tossed out a "Go to sleep" and left Ji Tong's bedroom.
Ji Tong felt a sense of emptiness, as if she had been lifted high and then gently put down.
Now that he was alone in the master bedroom, Ji Tong didn't bother to think about how his uncle had discovered his sneaking out. He lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and took a nap.
Twenty minutes later, Ji Tong opened his eyes, looking alert.
I couldn't fall asleep.
He was just about to go downstairs for a stroll when his phone vibrated.
Before closing her eyes, Ji Tong set all her frequently used WeChat groups to "Do Not Disturb".
It's not a group message, so it can only be sent privately.
Ji Tong thought it was her grandparents, and clicked to open it—
[The person under guardianship: When did you leave?]
Ji Tong was fully awake.
[JT: My alarm went off at 6:00, but I woke up at 6:14.]
[JT: Did I bother you?]
[The person under guardianship: No.]
Ji Tong rarely saw Gu Lin sleeping so soundly. In the past, when he slept with Gu Lin, Gu Lin would always wake up first. Occasionally, he would open his eyes first, and even the slightest movement would disturb Gu Lin.
Ji Tong remembered one time, it must have been a weekend before New Year's Day, because he had spilled a glass of water on the master bedroom sheets, he had to squeeze into the guest room with Gu Lin.
He had just had hot pot with Li Yuan and the others that day, and he was craving something sweet before going to bed. He finished off the remaining half box of crayfish and some cold braised dishes in the refrigerator. Because the food was too salty, he woke up at 3 a.m. to get some water.
Ji Tong knew that Gu Lin had poor sleep quality, so he moved very quietly, afraid of startling him. He didn't even wear slippers, but walked barefoot on the blanket out of the bedroom. Then he took a bottle of water from the coffee table in the living room, took a couple of sips, and then quietly went back.
It only took about two minutes. When I opened the door, I saw Gu Lin sitting on the bed, leaning back slightly, with one hand supporting him.
The lights inside were off, including the main living room light. Only two wall lamps below the security camera provided a dim light, barely illuminating the path beneath Ji Tong's feet.
The room was dark, and you couldn't really see anything, but for some reason, Ji Tong could clearly see Gu Lin's expression.
An expression that Ji Tong could not describe.
It made him feel that Gu Lin was empty at that time, like the kind of emptiness that comes from having completely digested oneself.
But it felt familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere before.
Ji Tong stood at the door for a long time, then remembered—
He had a nightmare in which Gu Linlin was beaten. He left a note for Gu Linlin saying he was going to Ping'an Park. On the day Gu Linlin chased after him from the apartment, he blocked the descending elevator with his hand and asked him, "Where are you going?" He had the same expression on that day.
Thinking of this, Ji Tong closed the door and quickly went back, sat on the bed, pulled Gu Lin's face close, made him look at her, and asked, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Gu Lin remained silent for what seemed like a minute or two before finally responding with a soft "Mm".
That same day, Ji Tong confirmed one thing: Gu Lin's sleep quality was truly appalling.
"When did you develop these problems?" Ji Tong asked him, and as she patted his back, she added, "Luckily, I wasn't like this in high school."
In high school, we lived in a four-person dormitory. During the busiest months of the first semester of senior year, when universities were recruiting students for independent admissions, Li was under a lot of pressure and had to go to the toilet several times a night. He went to see a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who said he had insufficient kidney qi.
If this were today, Gu Lin wouldn't be able to sleep all night.
The following day, after that night, Ji Tong ordered a small mushroom lamp via express delivery and installed it in Gu's bedside.
Ji Tong adjusted to a comfortable position and continued typing.
[JT: Why don't you ask me why I woke up at 6:00 but didn't get up until 6:14?]
[The person under guardianship: Ask now.]
[The child under guardianship: Why did I wake up at 6 a.m. but not until 2 p.m.?]
[JT: Guess.]
When Ji Tong set her alarm last night, she was prepared to wake Gu Lin.
He didn't want to, but he had no choice. He couldn't get up without setting an alarm, and if he slept until noon, he'd be in big trouble.
Ji Tong was somewhat surprised to find that Gu Lin was still asleep.
Breaking the rules always brings an indescribable sense of novelty. As the novelty wears off, hands start to itch, so they touch this and that, while Gu Lin remains sound asleep.
This realization put Ji Tong in a good mood.
JT: You slept very soundly today.
[JT: I touched you but you didn't wake up.]
[JT: I ordered food for you, it will be delivered around 11 o'clock. Just eat whatever you like for breakfast. There are some shumai in the refrigerator, steam them yourself to have something to eat.]
[The ward: Okay.]
Ji Tong's keyboard clicked away nonstop until he saw the "typing is in progress" message.
He waited patiently for a few seconds.
[Child under guardianship: Is your hand still sore?]
Ji Tong: "..."
Ji Tong pretended that the person who massaged her fingers in the early morning was not him.
[JT: I only felt unwell for a short while last night]
Ji Tong's right hand trembled.
[JT: Do I look like I'm in pain when I type this fast?]
[The person under guardianship: Mm.]
JT: Your hand is the one that's sore.
[Child under guardianship: Um, my hands are sore and I can't type, so can we video chat?]
Ji Tong rubbed her slightly flushed face and turned it away.
Gu Lin was in the bathroom, with water droplets still clinging to his chin and brow bone, making it seem as if he had already finished washing up.
Gu Lin propped his phone up on a stand in the bathroom, head down, seemingly doing nothing.
Ji Tong heard the sound of flowing water.
"Are you washing something?" Ji Tong asked.
"Yes, these are the clothes I changed out of yesterday," Gu Lin said.
Ji Tong: "Your sweater? Don't hand wash it, I'll call the dry cleaners to pick it up."
“It’s not mine,” Gu Lin said.
If it's not Gu Lin's, then it's his.
Ji Tong remembered that he had changed into his pajamas and sweatpants at the apartment.
"My pajamas and sweatpants can go in the washing machine. It's okay if they get ruined. You can go eat first. You can leave your clothes there. Anyway, we're going back on the seventh day of the new year, so they won't get dirty."
Gu Lin raised his hand and turned off the faucet.
The sound of flowing water stopped abruptly, making Gu Lin's voice even clearer.
"Not pajamas and sweatpants."
"It's dirty."
As he spoke, Gu Lin reached out and took the phone from the stand. As the camera rotated, Ji Tong saw that Gu Lin was holding a bundle of light gray underwear that had been washed and looked particularly thin against the backdrop of Gu Lin's large hands.
Ji Tong pursed her lips and remained silent.
Gu Lin looked down at the person on the screen, his ears were a little red, but his eyes were unwavering, as if he were gazing into space.
"What are you thinking about?" Gu Lin asked.
"I was thinking... if you weren't my boyfriend, would you wash my underwear for me?"
Gu Lin chuckled, raised his phone slightly, and looked at him through the screen: "What else could it be but my boyfriend?"
He said calmly, "You're the one who would entrust your wife and children to me before you die, and I can entrust my wife and children to you without worry before I die. A brother for life?"
Ji Tong: "…………"
How can you remember something that happened 500 years ago so clearly!
Ji Tong never told Gu Lin that most of the time, he didn't really feel like "Gu Lin is my boyfriend." They still held hands, hugged, and slept in the same bed as usual.
When he saw the clump of light gray in Gu Lin's hand, a thought flashed through his mind—
Oh, he and Gu Lin are indeed dating now. Gu Lin used to wash his underwear, but his boyfriend would.
But then, another thought flashed through my mind.
If Gu Lin weren't his boyfriend, wouldn't he help him wash?
It doesn't seem so.
Ji Tong thought for a moment and said, "If he's not my boyfriend, then he can't be my brother."
Gu Lin: "What is that?"
Ji Tong thought about it seriously for a long time, and then said three words: "It's Gu Lin."
That's Gu Lin.
No pronoun can adequately describe Gu Lin.
Ji Tong was very satisfied with this answer.
She was even more satisfied than with the pronoun "boyfriend".
Kissing his boyfriend was nowhere near as exciting as kissing Gu Lin.
Because it's Gu Lin, kissing is normal, him washing his underwear is normal, and doing anything intimate is normal.
Gu Lin was stunned for two seconds, as if he had been caught in a quiet storm.
Gu Lin inexplicably recalled Ji Tong's tone when he said, "Before I die, I will entrust my wife and children to your lifelong brother."
Perhaps at that time, this person had already thought about life and death.
He just didn't understand, so he called them brothers.
Now I understand, he said, "It's Gu Lin."
How concise, as concise as a will.
"Hmm," Gu Lin responded slowly.
Ji Tong sat up in bed: "'Hmm' what?"
After hanging up the clothes, Gu Lin walked towards the sofa in the living room and stood there for a while.
"I'll wash it even if it's not my boyfriend."
-
By the time Ji Tong hung up the video call, changed her clothes, and came downstairs, it was already ten o'clock.
His grandmother prepared a white designer suit with bamboo embroidery for him, transforming him from a "snowman" into a handsome young man standing tall and graceful. As soon as he came downstairs, Song Zhenshu whistled.
The first car to get out of the courtyard was driven by the Ji family's elderly couple. Grandpa and Grandma led the way, and the rest of the family arrived one after another.
It was a family dinner; there were no other people present.
The luncheon started at 11:38 a.m. and didn't end until after 2 p.m.
The luncheon was over, but the afternoon's events had just begun.
The two families only get together for these two days a year. After the dinner table is cleared, they play tea, chess, mahjong, and Ludo. From the old to the young, they don't talk about policy priorities, tariff revenue, or fluctuations in the target of profit. They just talk about Grandpa Ji's new short-legged horse, "Tongtong".
"I have to eat several meals a day."
"Yes, I love carrots."
"It's very noisy."
"It's very clever; it already knows its own name and will perk up when called."
Surrounded by elders on both sides, Ji Tong finally realized how optimistic he had been.
Ji Tong originally thought that it would be difficult to sneak away under the watchful eyes of so many elders.
Now it's not just difficult to handle, but there's no time to even sneak away or make a quick phone call to Gu Lin.
The sky gradually darkened.
Ji Tong went back to her room to change her clothes, went downstairs, and was wondering whether to just leave when she heard Song Xutang's voice.
"Tongtong, come on, play a couple of games of chess with your grandpa."
"..."
How can you play chess smoothly once you start?
Ji Tong was in a state of utter distress when he looked up and saw a figure in the distance on the second-floor corridor.
Ji Tong suddenly stopped.
"Grandpa!" Ji Tong suddenly called out.
Song Xutang: "What's wrong?"
Song Zhenshu hung up the phone, turned around in the second-floor corridor, and heard Ji Tong's voice.
"Grandpa, why don't you keep Grandpa company for a bit? I have something to do and I have to go out tonight."
Song Zhenshu paused for two seconds, then leaned on the second-floor handrail and looked down.
Tsk tsk.
The young man is quite brave.
Song Zhenshu thought his nephew would sneak away like he did in the early morning, but who knew he would come so openly.
But I'm afraid it will be difficult.
Sure enough, as soon as Ji Tong spoke, everyone in the front hall turned to look at him.
"It's the first day of the lunar month, where are we going?"
"Why do you suddenly want to go out? You've always been at home before."
"It's already arranged," Ji Tong said.
Song Zhenshu gave his nephew a thumbs-up from the second floor.
Song Xutang: "Who did you make plans with? It's so cold outside. If you have friends, invite them over to play."
Song Zhenshu was engrossed in watching the drama, guessing how Ji Tong would answer, when the next second—
"I made an appointment with my uncle."
He said he would take me to Uncle Yao's place to play.
"Come back tomorrow."
Song Zhenshu: "...???????"
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