After speaking, Shen Yu picked up the clean hospital gown folded by the bed and placed it in the attached bathroom. He then walked back out and calmly surveyed Qi Fang for a moment, as if contemplating how to move him into the bathroom.
A fellow patient remarked, “With a fracture, you definitely need help bathing. It’s too difficult otherwise.”
Another patient asked Qi Fang, “Is this your younger brother? He’s so thoughtful. Not like us – we don’t have family looking after us and have to hire caretakers.”
He enthusiastically tried to engage Shen Yu in conversation, but Shen Yu didn’t respond.
“Not my brother,” Qi Fang smiled and said, “He’s my partner.”
These days, two men getting married wasn’t unusual. The other patients began chattering amongst themselves. Shen Yu, hearing Qi Fang’s words, remained silent for a moment before leaving the room.
Qi Fang watched Shen Yu’s retreating figure, the smile fading from his face as he pondered.
Is he angry?
Back when they got married, Qi Fang had been wholeheartedly supportive, while Shen Yu showed little reaction from start to finish. He continued his routine of attending classes, conducting experiments, writing papers and reports. Even on their wedding day, before going on stage to exchange rings, Shen Yu was grading student assignments on his tablet.
Qi Fang recalled Shen Yu’s reaction when he proposed.
At the time, Shen Yu seemed to be preparing for an academic conference. He contemplated the ten-carat diamond ring in Qi Fang’s hand for three seconds before answering, “Okay.”
“Take back the ring, or sell it and transfer the money to my account. I’ll use it to buy lab equipment,” Shen Yu added. “We can set the wedding for next Sunday. I have that day off.”
Qi Fang, still kneeling with the ring held out, asked confusedly, “But we haven’t gotten our marriage license yet.”
Shen Yu checked the time, got up to change clothes, and said decisively, “Book an appointment online for this afternoon. There’s still an hour before the Civil Affairs Bureau closes. If we take a taxi now, we’ll make it.”
Qi Fang: “…”
Twenty-two years of childhood friendship, a whirlwind marriage, and the next morning they woke up as a married couple.
Qi Fang enthusiastically embraced married life, but Shen Yu showed no difference from before. The university generally assumed Professor Shen was still single. Qi Fang guessed Shen Yu might not want to publicize their relationship, so apart from close friends, he rarely mentioned it to others.
Today was a slip of the tongue. As Qi Fang pondered how to apologize privately, the door suddenly opened, and Shen Yu entered, pushing a wheelchair.
“I borrowed it from the nurse’s station,” Shen Yu said, stopping. He looked at Qi Fang and added, “I can’t lift you.”
Qi Fang smiled. “So that’s where you went. I thought…”
Shen Yu: “Thought what?”
Qi Fang rubbed his nose and said, “I thought you didn’t like that term and went to get divorce papers stamped at the Civil Affairs Bureau.”
“Not quite,” Shen Yu replied flatly. “It’s 7 p.m. now. The bureau is closed.”
Qi Fang: “…”
Is that really the main point here?
Shen Yu estimated it would take at least an hour to help Qi Fang bathe. Calculating with maximum efficiency, by the time they finished, Xiao Lin would arrive with dinner.
Having sorted out the to-do list, Shen Yu wasted no more time. He pushed the wheelchair to the bedside and lifted Qi Fang’s blanket, appearing ready to bend down and move him into the chair.
“Wait, wait, wait…” Qi Fang blocked Shen Yu’s hand, glancing at those slender wrists with a mix of frustration and amusement. “I’ll do it myself.”
He then pressed his hands against the bed, lifting himself slightly, making a show of great effort as he maneuvered into the wheelchair.
“Wow, such arm strength in the young,” remarked Patient One, an elderly man.
“That leg break doesn’t seem so bad,” said Patient Two, an older woman.
Shen Yu: “…”
*
Shen Yu wheeled Qi Fang into the room’s attached bathroom.
City First Hospital had been renovated the year before last, and the facilities were well-appointed. The bathroom was spacious, but for hygiene reasons, there was no bathtub – only a large red plastic bucket and a shower head.
Shen Yu looked at the bucket, then back at Qi Fang.
Sensing something in his gaze, Qi Fang quickly said, “That bucket is for holding water, not people.”
Shen Yu frowned. “But you can’t stand.”
Qi Fang was at a loss for words. He now confirmed that Shen Yu’s understanding of certain matters was problematic, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the issue was. For now, he could only go along with Shen Yu’s words to avoid affecting his relatively stable condition.
“Isn’t there a small stool?” Qi Fang’s sharp eyes spotted a chair in the bathroom corner. He hurriedly said, “You can fill the plastic bucket with hot water, and I’ll sit on the stool to wash myself.”
Shen Yu considered for a few seconds, then agreed.
While running the hot water, Shen Yu remembered Li Congming’s visit at noon and voluntarily asked, “What did Chongming say about your injury?”
Qi Fang thought to himself that not only had Li Congming failed to explain anything, but he had nearly accused Qi Fang of having mental issues.
“Not much. He was in a hurry to get back to work,” Qi Fang said, watching Shen Yu’s profile. “But he did suggest I transfer to their hospital tomorrow. Said their orthopedic department is better and could speed up my recovery.”
Shen Yu nodded.
“Do I need to come and take care of anything tomorrow?” he asked.
Qi Fang coughed. In reality, there was nothing to handle. He wasn’t actually injured. Following normal procedures, the nurse’s station wouldn’t even register him as an inpatient. He’d have to rely on Li Congming’s personal connections to arrange an empty storage room for him to stay in, and he’d have to purchase the hospital bed himself.
As for the psychiatrist Li Congming was supposed to find, who knew when they’d show up…
“Nothing to handle. Li Congming can manage it all.”
After a couple of sentences, Qi Fang suddenly changed the subject, looking at Shen Yu and asking, “Have you been feeling unwell lately? You look tired.”
The hot water had filled the bucket. Shen Yu reached out to turn off the shower, paused for a moment at the question, and reflexively asked, “Do I?”
“Yes,” Qi Fang made his tone sound natural, as if just asking casually. “You’ve seemed low-spirited since returning from your business trip. Did you skip meals and wear yourself out? Next time, how about I go with you?”
Shen Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, remaining silent.
“Let’s bathe,” he said after a while.
Although Qi Fang did not extract any valuable information, he didn’t lose heart and persisted, “After you finish up these busy days, why don’t you take some time off to rest properly?”
Shen Yu thought briefly and, unusually, agreed to this suggestion.
He felt he needed rest too.
With a few minutes of idle chat finished and the hot water ready, Shen Yu rolled up his sleeves again and then, expressionless, began to pull at Qi Fang’s clothes.
This time, Qi Fang didn’t resist, but he did draw in a sharp breath as his clothes were removed, suppressing a laugh as he said, “Gently, Yuyu.”
Shen Yu struggled a bit to pull the shirt over Qi Fang’s head. Hearing this, he paused, then immediately accused, “Your head is too big.”
“Okay, okay,” Qi Fang, now shirtless in the cool air, smiled helplessly and said, “My head is big. It’s big.”
After removing the shirt, Shen Yu’s gaze lingered on Qi Fang’s body for a moment before he discreetly looked away.
But this subtle change didn’t escape Qi Fang, who was constantly observing Shen Yu. He immediately asked, “Shen Yu, are you secretly checking out my naked body?”
“…” Shen Yu: “It’s not secret.”
“So you are looking,” Qi Fang said shamelessly. He then lifted his arm, seizing the opportunity to show off his well-defined biceps, developed through consistent exercise:
“Come closer and take a good look. What do you think?”
Shen Yu: “.”
Qi Fang preened like a peacock for a while, but seeing Shen Yu’s unaffected demeanor, he felt deflated. “Comrade Shen Yu, how can you not even blush a little?”
Couldn’t he just… be distracted or flustered for even a second?!
Shen Yu paused, not answering his question.
In fact, Shen Yu noticed his heart rate was indeed slightly faster than usual, but he attributed it to the exertion of moving the wheelchair. This level of activity wasn’t enough to cause facial capillary dilation.
After placing Qi Fang’s shirt in a nearby basin, Shen Yu encountered another difficulty when it came to removing the pants.
It wasn’t due to embarrassment or shyness. At this moment, in Professor Shen’s eyes, the only difference between Qi Fang and a slab of pork on a cutting board was that the former moved around while the latter lay flatter.
Shen Yu was simply struggling with how to remove Qi Fang’s pants while he sat in the wheelchair without aggravating his fractured leg.
Oblivious to Shen Yu’s dilemma, Qi Fang thought he was already sufficiently undressed and wanted to move to the small stool.
“Shen Yuyu, can you help me?” Qi Fang politely asked Shen Yu.
With different actions in mind, Shen Yu silently bent down, allowing Qi Fang to support himself with one hand on his shoulder, then stood up—
Qi Fang had actually managed to stand up, but to avoid Shen Yu noticing, he quickly lowered himself onto the stool on the floor.
At that moment, Shen Yu lowered his lashes, stared at Qi Fang’s black sweatpants for a few seconds, then reached out and swiftly pulled—
Qi Fang: “Holy sh*t!!!”
Outside the room, the elderly patients were chatting when they suddenly heard a loud thud from the bathroom.
It sounded as if someone had plunged into water.
Before they could react, two seconds later, another cracking sound erupted, accompanied by a chaotic chorus of bouncing plastic.
The elderly patients looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a moment, the older woman remarked, “Ah, young people. Such energy! They can even make the plastic bucket explode while bathing!”
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