Chapter 57

Chapter 57 - 57 056 Dont you see any reaction to this (First update)

Chapter 57: 056: Don’t you see any reaction to this? (First update) Chapter 57: 056: Don’t you see any reaction to this? (First update) The sky was already dark, not fit for visiting relatives and friends, but perfect for sneaking around.

Gu Yihuan looked around as he entered the pawnshop; it was his first visit since Xie Shang moved the store. To be honest, the location wasn’t great; his car scraped its undercarriage driving in.

He took a look around.

Qian Zhouzhou poked her head out from behind the counter, “Looking for something?”

“Where’s my fourth brother?”

Qian Zhouzhou had seen Gu Yihuan before and even had the opportunity to listen to his singing, leaving her with a deep impression: “The boss isn’t here at the moment.”

“I’ll wait for him inside.”

After several ins and outs of the old courtyard, Gu Yihuan wound his way to the back yard, touching this and that as he strolled, even watering some unfamiliar plants and flowers.

There happened to be a ladder in the courtyard.

Gu Yihuan instantly dropped the watering can and moved the ladder to the right wall. He climbed up and peeped over, spotting an old lady.

This one probably wasn’t it.

Gu Yihuan climbed down and shifted the ladder to the left wall, climbed up again, and surveyed quietly. There was a light on in the neighboring courtyard, but no one was in sight. The ivy on the wall partially obstructed his view, so he used his elbow to pin back the leaves.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by guilt, Gu Yihuan nearly slipped. He composed himself first without looking back, “Watching stars.” Then he turned deliberately, “Ah, Xingxing, you’re back.”

This awkward acting.

Xie Shang picked up the carelessly dropped watering can and placed it back neatly, unhurried, “The leaves you’re pressing down with your arm are poisonous.”

Gu Yihuan quickly retracted his hand.

“Did you eat any?”

He rubbed his sleeve against his arm vigorously, “Why would I eat that stuff for no reason?”

“You’ve eaten insecticide before.”

“...”

Gu Yihuan thought this neighbor in the left courtyard was very strange— who plants poisonous plants in their yard for no reason?

Could this person be the one who took his fourth brother’s first kiss?

Xie Shang could easily read through Gu Yihuan’s intrigues, looking up at him leisurely, “That curious?”

How could he not be?

Gu Yihuan still remembered his most rebellious year; not yet of age, he had made some disreputable “brothers” outside, who took him to find women, boasting of how delicious and marvelous they were, even imparting a lot of their experiences. He was foolish back then, believed them, and was itching to try.

His parents couldn’t control this rebellious son, so they turned to Xie Shang.

Xie Shang didn’t scold him but brought over a box of DVDs and even watched them with him. At first, he was thrilled, thinking his fourth brother really understood him and was such a man, a role model for his generation.

Until—

Xie Shang had him watch non-stop for three days until he was both visually and physically exhausted, his eyes barely staying open. Xie Shang asked him, “Still want to play with women?”

He struggled to say each word, “I, do, not.”

“Go wash up, take a nap, and then do some schoolwork.”

After a bath and a nap, he awoke and asked Xie Shang, “Fourth brother, don’t you have any reaction to that stuff?”

At that time, Xie Shang was reading an English hardcover book, not even lifting his eyes, showing no interest in male physiology, “Do your schoolwork.”

To be honest, the younger Gu Yihuan had once doubted— he suspected Xie Shang might like his brother.

So, how could he not be curious? It must be an unusual person to make Xie Shang break his norms.

“What does it look like, climbing walls in the middle of the night? Stop looking randomly and come down.”

“But I haven’t seen the person yet.”

Gu Yihuan refused to come down.

Xie Shang, not in the mood to dawdle, said, “You’ve seen her already.”

“I have? When? Where?”

“At your house.”

Gu Yihuan began to recall.

Unfortunately, his memory was no better than that of a fish.

Xie Shang, sitting below and sipping tea, said, “She’s a nurse at Dihong Hospital.”

Finally, Gu Yihuan remembered—there had been two nurses that came along, neither of whom left much of an impression on him.

“Which one?”

Xie Shang’s voice was slightly lower, slow and clear as he spoke the three words, “Wen Changling.”

The one with glasses and a hearing aid. That was Gu Yihuan’s only impression of Wen Changling.

A noise came from next door, and Gu Yihuan instantly turned his head, only to see a shadow darting towards him.

“Meow!”

How does that saying go again? ‘Curiosity killed the cat’? It should be amended: ‘Curiosity was ‘killed’ by the cat.’

A swipe from Huahua sent a wave of darkness washing over Gu Yihuan, followed by him toppling backwards.

“Damn!”

His leg—broken.

Wen Changling was originally on the day shift, but a colleague whose mother-in-law was suffering from dementia, causing havoc at home, asked Wen Changling if she could cover for a few hours. Wen Changling rarely spoke to this colleague. After agreeing to take over her colleague’s shift until nine o’clock, she left the hospital. Right outside, a taxi pulled up, and the driver lowered the window as he reached her.

“Where to?”

Wen Changling noted down the license plate and got into the car, “Lotus Pond Street.”

After getting in the car, the driver didn’t start the GPS, so Wen Changling turned it on her phone. She felt a bit sleepy, closed her eyes for a while, but didn’t fall asleep, and was awake when she heard the GPS announce a rerouted path. She opened her eyes.

“Driver, you’re going off course.”

The plump driver faced away from her, and his face was visible in the rearview mirror. He was driving fast, “I know this route, it’s quicker under the bridge.”

Wen Changling refused the driver’s forceful suggestion, “It’s okay to take a longer route, please follow the GPS directions.”

Unhappy, the driver argued vehemently, “Why can’t you be flexible? There’s a closer way and you’re refusing it.” After explaining further to persuade Wen Changling, he said, “If I take the route I suggest, it’ll save over ten minutes. I can drop you off faster and get home sooner myself.”

The GPS repeated the notification of a rerouted path.

Wen Changling zipped up her bag and gripped the overhead handle, “Please make a U-turn up ahead.”

The driver snapped at her, “Trust me, I’m right. Do you have paranoia or something? There’s a camera in this car, I can’t sell you or anything.”