Chapter 14 Where are your pants?
Ji Tong felt a shiver run through her body the moment she saw Gu Lin.
"You... how did you wake up?"
Gu Lin didn't speak.
"you……"
Ji Tong stammered "you" for a long time but couldn't come up with anything until the elevator beeped due to an abnormal situation.
"Don't put your hand there, it's not safe," Ji Tong said anxiously when she saw Gu Lin not moving. She stepped out of the elevator and reached out to press down on Gu Lin's wrist. But the moment she touched Gu Lin's skin, Ji Tong felt a chill. "Why are your hands so cold?"
"When did you wake up?" Ji Tong asked, warming Gu Lin's hand with her palm. "Why are you looking at me? Talk to me."
Gu Lin didn't reply to a single word from beginning to end; he just stared intently at the person in front of him.
His eyes were heavy, as if he were trapped in some kind of nightmare, and he had lost his ability to react to external stimuli.
Having no other choice, Ji Tong could only lead the person a step to the side.
The hallway motion-sensor light went out and then came back on. Ji Tong looked up and saw Gu Lin with his lips tightly closed, his brows furrowed, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and the contours of his jawline appearing particularly sharp in the dim light.
"Gu Lin, what's wrong?"
Even though my body temperature is so low, why is my forehead still covered in sweat?
Ji Tong wanted to raise her hand to wipe him, but she couldn't because Gu Lin was holding her hand tightly in his palm, so tightly that Ji Tong could feel the pain through her skin.
But Ji Tong couldn't break free.
"Where to?"
After Ji Tong asked a series of questions, Gu Lin finally spoke again.
The same two words, spoken softer than in the first sentence, still sounded like they were squeezed out from deep in the throat.
Without any hesitation, Ji Tong dictated the words left for Gu Lin on the note.
"The note was right on the coffee table, and I even put my backpack next to it. It's huge, didn't you see it?"
Even if they didn't see the note, their first reaction would probably be to call or send a WeChat message, right?
Ji Tong was afraid that she hadn't noticed because she was in too much of a hurry while waiting for the elevator, so she deliberately looked down at her phone screen.
There was no notification.
There's no phone call, and no WeChat message either.
So, after Gu Lin realized he wasn't in the room, he just ran out like that?
What if he's already gone out?
Is Gu Lin also going downstairs?
Ji Tong couldn't understand it, and with his left hand being tightly gripped, he had no choice but to raise his other hand and shake his phone.
Why didn't you call me first?
Fearing that Gu Lin wouldn't be able to contact him, he even removed him from the blacklist.
As if to prove something, Ji Tong unlocked her phone and brought up WeChat.
"Look, I haven't blocked you on WeChat."
"My phone is also on."
Even though Ji Tong had shoved the phone right in front of Gu Lin, Gu Lin didn't spare a single glance; he just stared at Ji Tong in silence.
Ji Tong was convinced.
"Your hands are so cold? Did you really catch it from me?" Ji Tong's heart tightened, and she quickly put her phone in her pocket, freeing one hand to check Gu Lin's temperature.
Okay, so it turns out it's not just cold palms.
My forehead was also cool.
Ji Tong gently wiped away the thin layer of sweat from Gu Lin's forehead.
Are you feeling unwell?
Gu Lin listened to Ji Tong's voice and felt the warmth of his palm.
It's hot, really.
The warmth seeped in little by little through his meridians, awakening his nerves, and Gu Lin's chest finally, finally, rose and fell in a long, drawn-out motion.
It's true.
He is here.
Gu Lin closed his eyes lightly, shutting back those wildly growing thoughts, like locking a lock.
Ji Tong felt Gu Lin's tense hand slowly relax.
"Have you called a car yet?"
Although you could hear him adjusting his voice, the syllables he produced were still hoarse.
Ji Tong: "What?"
Gu Lin: "The bus to No. 1 Middle School."
The topic shifted so quickly that Ji Tong replied blankly, "...Not yet."
Ji Tong originally planned to go downstairs and call a car.
Upon hearing this, Gu Lin didn't say anything, took out his phone, and opened the ride-hailing app.
Ji Tong pressed the phone down.
“Wait,” Ji Tong looked at him, “I’m going to find Gu Linlin… what about you?”
Gu Lin replied calmly, "Together."
"No." Ji Tong said almost without thinking.
Going to the No. 1 Middle School is farther than going to the hospital; it takes at least two hours round trip, and the car ride will inevitably put pressure on the wound.
Gu Lin will feel pain.
"I will go by myself..." Ji Tong looked into Gu Lin's eyes, and for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say "I will go by myself".
The elevator doors were closed, but the elevator was still stuck on the 21st floor.
Ji Tong turned her head to look at the flashing floor display.
……never mind.
Ji Tong grasped Gu Lin's cold wrist and led him toward room 2104.
"It's 3:30. Let's wait until it's light before we go. Let's go to sleep first."
Gu Lin let him hold his hand.
Ji Tong unlocked the door with her fingerprint and entered the house.
"Please sit down, I'll get you a cup of hot water."
Ji Tong turned and went into the kitchen. It was his first time here, and he wasn't familiar with the layout. He rummaged around in the kitchen for about half a minute before finding a transparent glass in the cupboard. Fortunately, the water didn't need to be boiled and was kept warm.
Ji Tong poured himself a glass of water, and when he turned around, he found Gu Lin still standing in the entryway looking at him.
Unlike before, when he would lean back casually and lazily, he now stood there straight and motionless.
Ji Tong frowned, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable in his heart.
He carried the hot water and ran over in small steps.
"Gu Lin, are you feeling unwell?"
Gu Lin did not answer.
"Why didn't you go?"
Strangely, Gu Lin kept giving irrelevant answers tonight.
Ji Tong handed over the hot water.
Ji Tong recalled that in the past, most of the time Gu Lin was in a state of "there's nothing he can do about you," but today it was Ji Tong who was in that state.
"How can I go if you're like this?"
…He acted as if he had abandoned everyone and run away.
Ji Tong couldn't explain why, but in the few minutes when he turned around in the elevator and saw Gu Lin, his body seemed to be sending out an "alarm," just like the elevator, with a dull ache all over his body.
Gu Lin took the water and looked at Ji Tong.
He checked the time twice while looking for the cup, and again while pouring water. He tapped the second joint of his index finger rapidly with his right thumb and licked his lips—small gestures typical of his anxiety.
He was still worried about Gu Linlin.
He made a choice between him and Gu Linlin.
You chose me, didn't you?
After finishing his water, Gu Lin took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hello."
Ji Tong: "?"
Who did Gu Lin call at around 3 a.m.?
"Yes, it's me."
"I'm back, I'm in Ankyoreh now."
"Uncle Chen, are you free now?"
"Could you please go to Ping'an Park for me?"
"Look for the cat."
"Yes, he had a nightmare. I'm worried about him."
"On that bench in Ping'an Park."
"Okay, thank you."
"Okay, I'll come next time."
Upon hearing the name "Uncle Chen," Ji Tong immediately realized who it was.
Uncle Chen is the owner of a barbecue restaurant near the entrance of No. 1 Middle School.
The barbecue restaurant is not open during the day; it's open until the early hours of the morning.
I'm awake now.
A dozen minutes later, Gu Lin's phone rang.
A WeChat message from "Uncle Chen" is displayed on the lock screen.
Ji Tong immediately sat up from the sofa bed, unlocked the phone, and opened it to take a look.
[Uncle Chen: Image.jpg]
Uncle Chen: It really is under this chair.
[Uncle Chen: But she's not injured, she's fine, she's snoring. Tell Tongtong not to worry.]
Ji Tong's heart, which had been hanging in suspense all night, finally settled down at this moment, and she immediately took Gu Lin's phone and sent a voice message.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen, the best barbecue master in the world. I'll come visit you in a couple of days."
Ji Tong looked up at Gu Lin, her eyes sparkling with tiny lights.
"Gu Linlin is fine, she's sleeping."
"I heard you."
“I went there several times last week but couldn’t find it. It’s really there today.”
"Um."
It felt like I had traveled a long way and finally reached the destination.
Once his mind was at peace, Ji Tong relaxed completely. He spread his palms and leaned back, then sat up a few seconds later, still sitting cross-legged with his hands on his calves, like a cat sitting very upright.
"Gu Lin," he suddenly called out.
Gu Lin: "Hmm?"
Ji Tong: "I'm hungry."
He sat at the end of the sofa bed, looking up at Gu Lin.
The conversation flowed without any beginning, development, or transition, but Gu Lin wasn't surprised. He replied gently and naturally, "What would you like to eat?"
Ji Tong considered for a moment: "The breakfast shops should be open by now."
"It's too late," Gu Lin said.
Ji Tong thought to herself, "Then forget it, let's..."
Gu Lin: "I'll do it."
Ji Tong: "?"
Oh right, last night he thought Gu Lin didn't have any extra toothbrushes or cups, since he had just moved in, so he directly ordered a supermarket delivery service. Seeing that the refrigerator was empty, he also bought a lot of food.
After the delivery arrived, Gu Lin said that he had prepared an extra set of toothbrush and towel.
Ji Tong: "How about spaghetti?"
He remembered buying a few bags of creamy bacon pasta.
"Does your back hurt?" Ji Tong suddenly remembered, "How about we order some outside..."
"It's not that precious, sit down."
When Gu Lin brought out the pasta, Ji Tong was already asleep on the sofa bed.
He looked very tired; he lay on his side, his face buried in the pillow, his right hand hanging down beside his face, his palm still holding a phone with its screen lit up.
Gu Lin walked over, picked up the phone, and saw the WeChat interface.
I'll close my eyes for a moment, then you'll be done.
The message stops here.
He obviously fell asleep halfway through sending it.
Gu Lin stood by the bed and watched him quietly for a long time.
The living room wall lamp cast his shadow long and thin, falling beside the sofa, as if kissing his hair.
Gu Lin didn't speak or call him. He covered him with the blanket, walked to the coffee table, ate the pasta bite by bite, washed up, sent a scheduled text message to Cui Mingying to book Ji Tong's Mao Zedong Thought class for the next morning, and then sat at the foot of the sofa bed for a long time before finally walking to the other side where the person was sleeping and lying down.
-
At 7:30 a.m., Cui Mingying's phone rang.
"Whose message is this? So early?" Li Yuan asked.
Cui Mingying paused for a while before speaking: "Brother Lin."
The two roommates immediately stopped what they were doing and surrounded them: "What did you say?"
Cui Mingying: "Let us ask Tongtong to take a leave of absence, saying that he went to bed very late last night."
The two: "?"
Li Yuan: "Did you send Tongtong's class schedule to Lin Ge?"
Cui Mingying: No.
The group exchanged glances.
This means...they've made up?
At 10:30 a.m., Li Yuan and his two companions, carrying food, nervously pressed the doorbell of room 2104, building 21 of Peninsula Apartments.
Li Yuan pressed his ear against the door to listen.
"They're here, they're here, I can hear footsteps."
"Stand still quickly."
Li Yuan stood at attention, grinning, and said, "Brother Lin, we're bringing the food—"
The moment the door opened, this was the scene the three of them saw.
Tongtong opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth, and Lin Ge was getting hot water a short distance behind him.
The two of them were wearing the same set of pajamas.
Ji Tong put it on.
Gu Lin wore the bottom.
Lin Ge's back was bare, revealing his taut waistline and a patch of bluish-purple marks on his back.
The three of them stood frozen in place.
Li Yuan posed a profound question.
"...Tong, where are your pants?"
Ji Tong held a toothbrush in his mouth, his right cheek bulging out in the shape of the toothbrush handle.
"The pajamas covered it up."
Ji Tong didn't know why Li Yuan was so shocked, and with a toothbrush in his mouth, he couldn't explain it. So, with practiced ease, he raised his hand and lowered it, just like last night, to prove with his actions that he was wearing pants.
However, just as his hand touched the hem of his clothes and was about to lift it up, a palm pressed down on him.
Gu Lin walked over without anyone noticing. He stopped Ji Tong's movements and handed her the hot water he was holding.
"Go rinse your mouth."
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