This Sunday is Jiang Xu’s eighteenth birthday.
A few months ago, Jiang's parents planned to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for Jiang Xu, but a few days ago, Jiang Xu told them that they wanted to postpone the ceremony.
Jiang's mother looked puzzled and asked Jiang Xu why he suddenly decided not to do it.
Jiang Xu was silent for a long time, and finally told them about Xie Huai.
Jiang's mother didn't say a word for a long time. She just silently crossed out the words "Jiang Xu's Coming of Age Ceremony" on the itinerary, then hung up the phone with red eyes.
A preview message popped up on Jiang Xu’s WeChat. It was sent to him by his mother.
Mom: Xuxu, I know you won’t fall behind in your studies. I’m not worried about you. Just try to spend more time with him and make him happier. If you have any problems, you can tell mom. Don’t keep it in your heart, okay
Jiang Xu smiled faintly and typed a reply—
Jiang Xu: Okay, thank you, Mom.
Xie Huai has been thinking about what birthday gift to give Jiang Xu these past two days. He feels that Jiang Xu has everything.
Moreover, he had been with him in the hospital all morning on Saturday, so Xie Huai couldn't prepare even if he wanted to.
Besides, I can’t prepare a birthday present in front of Jiang Xu. It won’t be such a surprise.
He had to find a way to get Jiang Xu away.
"Jiang Xu." Xie Huai called him.
Jiang Xu continued peeling the apple: "What's wrong?"
Xie Huai smiled and said, "Can you buy me another pack of lemon candies? I've finished the previous ones."
Jiang Xu paused, and then, under Xie Huai's gaze, he took out another pack from the cabinet beside him, tore open the outer packaging, took out a few pills and handed them to Xie Huai, saying lightly, "I bought them yesterday."
Xie Huai gritted his teeth: "..."
But he wasn't going to give up.
"I've finished eating the dolphin gummy candies too." Xie Huai said again.
Jiang Xu felt a little helpless, and took out the bag of blue dolphin gummy candies from the cabinet again, but this time he did not hand it to Xie Huai. He held Xie Huai's hand and said, "Baby, do you know that excessive intake of sugar can easily cause harm to the body?"
Of course Xie Huai knew that he was sick, but he was not stupid. He hadn’t finished eating the previous candy, but wasn’t this just to let you leave for a while
Xie Huai glanced at Jiang Xu fiercely.
Jiang Xu chuckled, he cut the apple in his hand into pieces, and then fed them to Xie Huai.
Xie Huai wanted to eat it himself, because the action of feeding him really looked like the way his mother fed him when he was a child.
Seeing that Xie Huai didn't move, Jiang Xu thought that Xie Huai didn't want to eat anymore. Just as he was about to put it on the plate, he saw Xie Huai lower his head and take a bite of the apple slice in his hand.
Xie Huai hasn't eaten apples for a long time, mainly because he doesn't like them very much. In fact, they are quite sweet.
Jiang Xu looked at Xie Huai's lips opening and closing, and couldn't help but want to tease Xie Huai.
He came closer, leaned over to Xie Huai's ear, and said teasingly: "Baby, do you want to taste me? I'm also sweet, and there's no harm to your body."
Xie Huai's neck turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He pushed Jiang Xu away, looking around unnaturally, not daring to look at Jiang Xu: "Jiang Xu, what dirty talk are you saying in broad daylight?"
Xie Huai also found that he really could not stand being teased. Just this one sentence would make him feel at a loss.
And when Jiang Xu said this just now, he actually thought about it.
He really wanted to say to Lu Yi and the others, look, this is what you call a good squad leader, he says one thing in front of you and another behind your back.
She looked so aloof, with a look of "don't touch me" written all over her face when she wasn't talking. But once in front of him, she turned into such a...sour person, and her aloof personality was gone forever.
Jiang Xu is a repressed and reserved person, fuck.
"So can you please go out for a while?" Xie Huai simply said it directly without beating around the bush.
Jiang Xu raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking about how Xie Huai had just said that they had run out of candy and asked him to go buy some. In fact, the candy was not the point. What Xie Huai wanted was to let him leave for a while.
He wanted to see what Xie Huai was going to do by sending him away.
"Okay, then I'll go home and get some clothes." Jiang Xu stood up calmly, and before leaving, he did not forget to kiss Xie Huai.
His thumb rubbed the corner of Xie Huai's mouth: "Remember to call me if you have anything."
Xie Huai nodded: "Well, go quickly."
As soon as Jiang Xu left, Xie Huai took out a long box from under the cabinet nearby, which contained a pen.
Xie Huai took out the pen. It was a custom-made pen that cost more than three thousand yuan. It could be engraved, so it was not too expensive. However, Xie Huai did not have anyone engrave on it.
Xie Huai had someone give him the tools, and he wanted to carve it himself.
He took the pen knife and carefully carved Jiang Xu's name on the pen cap. It is said that it is best to carve your own name on this kind of gift for your boyfriend, so that the two of you can be together forever.
However, Xie Huai did not carve his own name on it. He didn't live long anyway, and leaving a dead person's name on it would have a bad meaning.
After finally carving, the two words "Jiang Xu" on it looked a little crooked. Xie Huai frowned slightly. He felt that his handwriting on books and notebooks was quite beautiful, and the teacher often praised him. But why did it become so ugly after carving? So ugly.
I don’t know if Jiang Xu will dislike it.
The ward where Xie Huai stayed was a suite. In addition to being very soundproof, this type of ward also had a wardrobe, sofa, coffee table, and computer desk. Another advantage was that the bed was very large. If it weren't for some of the equipment inside that showed that this was a hospital, it would really make people feel that this was just an ordinary bedroom that was just a little bigger.
But this did not prevent Xie Huai from being unable to sleep because of the slight noise made by someone walking outside.
As long as Jiang Xu was not around, he would be extremely sensitive to these sounds, regardless of the effectiveness of the sound insulation.
Jiang Xu wasn't out for long, but the time left was just right for Xie Huai.
Xie Huai put the engraved pen back into the cabinet, planning to wait until midnight and then take it out and give it to Jiang Xu.
Xie Huai didn't plan to go to bed early tonight. He was afraid that if he fell asleep, he would not be able to wake up at twelve o'clock and would not be able to deliver the gift in time.
After the two finished their meal, Jiang Xu went to take a shower first. Xie Huai became excited when he thought that Jiang Xu's birthday would be in a few hours.
and…
When Jiang Xu came out of the bathroom drying his hair, he saw Xie Huai standing in front of him. His hand moved slightly, and then under Jiang Xu's gaze, Xie Huai walked past Jiang Xu and entered the bathroom.
I don’t know if it was because he went in too hastily, but Xie Huai forgot to take his clothes.
Jiang Xu looked at the pajamas on the bed, feeling helpless.
They say these are pajamas, but they are actually hospital gowns.
Jiang Xu walked to the bathroom door with his clothes and knocked on it: "Baby, you forgot to take your clothes."
The people inside didn't say anything, only the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.
Jiang Xu knocked a few more times, but still no one answered.
Jiang Xu frowned and panicked: "Xie Huai?"
He didn't care about anything else and just pushed the bathroom door open and walked in.
But he saw Xie Huai standing under the shower, looking at him blankly, and then his pupils gradually dilated.
His eyes seemed to be asking, "Why did you come in directly?!"
“Jiang Xu you…you…” Xie Huai opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. Suddenly he realized that he was not wearing anything and quickly turned around.
Seeing that Xie Huai was fine, Jiang Xu's heart finally settled down. Then he walked over to turn off the shower, took Xie Huai's hand and asked him to turn around.
"Xie Huai, you almost scared me to death, you know that?" Jiang Xu hugged him and buried his head in the crook of Xie Huai's neck, his voice trembling, "Baby, don't scare me like this next time, okay?"
Seeing Jiang Xu's body trembling, Xie Huai realized that he had done something wrong this time. He pretended not to hear it on purpose.
But he regretted doing so.
"I'm sorry, Jiang Xu." Xie Huai hugged him back, not caring whether he was wearing clothes or not, "There won't be a next time."
"I did it on purpose," Xie Huai leaned close to Jiang Xu's ear. The heat in the bathroom spread, making both of them feel a little hot. "I let you in on purpose."
"I've given myself to you, Jiang Xu, I want you." Xie Huai said this with a red face, his fingertips curled up. He could clearly feel Jiang Xu's heartbeat and breathing changing.
"Xie Huai, do you know what you are saying?" Jiang Xu's voice was low and hoarse, as if he was suppressing something.
Xie Huai grabbed Jiang Xu's clothes with both hands and said with certainty: "I know."
-
Xie Huai was gently placed on the bed by Jiang Xu. Jiang Xu and Xie Huai interlocked their fingers. He lowered his head to kiss Xie Huai's cheek, from his forehead to his lips.
Xie Huai's back felt numb from Jiang Xu's kiss. He slightly arched his waist and put his arms around Jiang Xu's neck, eagerly wanting more.
Jiang Xu gently put Xie Huai's hands behind his head.
A tingling sensation suddenly swept through Xie Huai's whole body.
Jiang Xu continued to lower his head to kiss Xie Huai, the kiss deeper and heavier.
Xie Huai was right, the sound insulation here was indeed very good.
The two of them tossed and turned until twelve o'clock, and Jiang Xu held Xie Huai tightly in his arms.
After a while, Xie Huai moved, but gasped in pain.
He reached out with some difficulty to take out the box and placed it in front of Jiang Xu.
"This is a birthday present for you." Xie Huai's eyes were red from crying just now, and his voice sounded a little hoarse. "Happy birthday, boyfriend."
Jiang Xu took it, opened it and saw that it was a light gray fountain pen with two words engraved on the pen cap.
— Jiang Xu.
"This is my first time carving characters, so I'm not very skilled," Xie Huai said, "You are not allowed to despise me."
Jiang Xu's mouth corners slightly raised, he put the pen back, reached out and hugged Xie Huai tighter.
"No, I like it very much," Jiang Xu closed his eyes, his heart trembling, "I have never received such a good birthday gift, thank you baby."
When Xie Huai woke up the next day, it was almost noon and Jiang Xu had already returned to school.
This was the first time Xie Huai slept for so long.
After giving the birthday presents last night, the two of them quarreled for a few hours, and finally Jiang Xu carried Xie Huai to the bathroom to clean up. Thinking of this, Xie Huai felt more and more embarrassed.
Without caring whether it hurt or not, under the gaze of Ms. Zhao Li, Xie Huai stuffed his head into the quilt, leaving Ms. Zhao Li with a confused look on his face.
Jiang Xu made him say so many weird things last night. Xie Huai clenched his teeth. It was too embarrassing.
Xie Huai turned on his phone, which showed a WeChat message from Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xuxu: I have already applied medicine for you. Don’t move, otherwise it will be very painful. Have a good rest.
Xie Huai wanted to die even more at this moment.
-
Xie Huai didn't go to school for the second half of the semester. He received a lot of messages from his classmates and calls from those he was close to.
Especially Lu Yi, he started crying on the phone.
They questioned Xie Huai why he disappeared without a word and why he didn't reply to their messages.
Xie Huai didn't want them to know that he was sick, so he lied and said that he was studying abroad and wouldn't be able to come back for a long time.
Xie Huai knew that Lu Yi was the easiest to deceive.
So Lu Yi really believed it, but he cried even harder on the phone.
Maybe it was because Jiang Xu told them something, Lu Yi and the others no longer sent him messages as frequently, but Xie Huai still received one or two text messages from them occasionally.
They were all reminders for him to remember to put on more clothes when the weather was cold, to eat well when abroad, and to talk to his brothers and friends about any troubles he had.
On the Spring Festival, Xie Huai received a message from Lu Yi.
Lu Yi: Happy Chinese New Year. And, Xie Huai, don’t forget us, we are all waiting for you to come back.
After hearing these words, Xie Huai couldn't help but lean on Jiang Xu's shoulder and sobbed softly.
Jiang Xu felt a pain in his heart when he saw Xie Huai crying. He took out a photo from a file bag beside him and placed it in Xie Huai's palm.
It was a class photo, with the words "Family portrait of Class 1, Grade 2" written on it. It was signed on New Year's Day. Every face in the photo was familiar to Xie Huai. In the middle, Xie Huai saw Jiang Xu, and next to Jiang Xu was Xie Huai himself.
Xie Huai knew that the photo was photoshopped, but there was no trace of it. It was as if he was really standing there, without leaving the class, or leaving these classmates and friends.
Xie Huai's tears fell drop by drop on the photo, and his vision was obscured by a mist.
Jiang Xu felt extremely distressed. He reached out and wiped away Xie Huai's tears, saying, "This is a gift from them to you."
-
The hot and humid summer was followed by the end of spring, and Xie Huai also lost a lot of weight after chemotherapy.
It looked as if a gust of wind would easily blow him down.
The pain in his body became more and more severe. Later, even the painkillers were no longer effective and he couldn't sleep well all day or night.
Later on, even Jiang Xu didn't dare to touch him, because if he touched him, Xie Huai would only feel more pain.
Jiang Xu would rather suffer this pain himself than see his baby in such pain.
And he just stood there and could do nothing.
Even when Xie Huai wanted a hug, Jiang Xu couldn't give it to him.
Xie Huai asked Jiang Xu to tell him stories, and Jiang Xu told him stories every night.
He really wanted Jiang Xu to hug him, at least for a moment, but he couldn't, so he could only hide in the quilt and cry secretly.
These past few days, Xie Huai was in unbearable pain, his face became paler and paler, he couldn't eat anything, and he had a low fever. After falling asleep, he woke up even shorter.
Until the end of summer.
Xie Huai's complexion was much better than before, and he could eat.
However, Zhao Li sat on a chair in the corridor, hugged Xie's father and started crying.
Jiang Xu also seemed to be trying hard to hide something, but he didn't say anything and just kept telling stories to Xie Huai.
"Jiang Xu, I've always wanted to go outside," Xie Huai stared at the snow-white ceiling, looking dazed, "My parents didn't have time before, but I may not be able to go in the future."
Xie Huai turned his head with difficulty, looked at Jiang Xu who had been silent, and asked: "Can you go and check for me?"
Jiang Xu lowered his eyes for a long time, then nodded and squeezed out a few words from his throat with difficulty: "Well, okay, I promise you."
Xie Huai smiled.
"I promise you, Jiang Xu, I will come to see you in my next life." Xie Huai's nose felt sore and he was a little breathless. "By then, I will be healthy."
Jiang Xu lowered his head, his eyes red.
On the last day of the summer, Jiang Xu's parents also came to the hospital, and they all stayed with Xie Huai for a long time.
Most of the time, they were talking to Xie Huai, and Xie Huai just listened quietly.
I would be amused from time to time.
This was actually a very ordinary day, but it seemed that everyone accepted the fact tacitly.
The lights come on and night falls soon after.
Xie Huai opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse: "Jiang Xu, can you hold me for a while? It will be fine in a while. I am not in pain."
Jiang Xu did not reject Xie Huai this time. He sat down on the edge of the bed and held Xie Huai in his arms.
"Jiang Xu, you haven't finished telling me the story today. Can you continue telling me tomorrow when I wake up?"
Jiang Xu kissed Xie Huai on the forehead: "...Okay."
Xie Huai looked out the window. He wished a miracle would happen to him.
However, there are no stars in the night sky tonight.
No miracle happened to Xie Huai either.
He slowly closed his eyes in Jiang Xu's arms and never woke up again.
—
(End of this chapter)