Re-engraving the Spring - Chapter 46

Chi Qiu looked at the rose beside him, his eyes astringent. He rubbed his eyes and went to the living room to make a phone call to Xiao Yan, then he brought a cup of hot tea into the bedroom and sat quietly on the edge of the bed to wait.

A burst of water came from the bathroom, but this time, Lu Ming came out very quickly.

Chi Qiu heard the sound and stood up awkwardly.

He opened his mouth for a moment, wanting to speak to Lu Ming, then silently shut his mouth, but he never let go of the hands he held together. Chi Qiu was very nervous, and the whole person became cautious, not knowing how to say the first sentence to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming looked away and saw the cup of hot tea on the table.

Seeing that he was in a stable mood, Chi Qiu said: “You told me last time that when you are in a bad mood, it will be more comfortable to drink something hot. I also asked Xiao Yan to buy milk tea. You should drink something sweet, your mood will get better too.” He simply finished his sentence in one breath, “When the milk tea arrives later, I will bring it to you. You have a good rest. I, I will go to the living room.”

“…”

“You can call me if you need anything.” Chi Qiu who didn’t know either he should go or not, found an appropriate way of saying it: “I have nothing else to do, I’m free, and I’ll be there when I’m called.”

“…”

Chi Qiu comforted him with kind words, but didn’t get a single word from Lu Ming. He had to bite his lower lip, put away his smile wisely, and walked out while touching the wall.

Lu Ming stopped him abruptly: “Chi Qiu.”

Chi Qiu’s heart was scratched, like dust remolded by water. He immediately stopped to answer and asked with concern, “What’s the matter?”

Seeing that Lu Ming did not speak again, Chi Qiu reminded him at the right time: “I’m here.”

Lu Ming looked at the good-tempered Chi Qiu. The ice layer on his face seemed to have been melted by the sun, and it actually loosened a little. In his heart, guilt suddenly arose.

He shouldn’t have yelled at Chi Qiu.

But why did Chi Qiu still manage to be so gentle with him even when he yelled at Chi Qiu and lost his temper with Chi Qiu?

He remembered that when he was a child, he lost his temper with Lu You, and Lu You cried until she hit her head against the wall, accusing him of not wanting her too; he also remembered when he was a child, he lost his temper with Lu Rongtian, questioning why the other party did not care about Lu You. He was slapped hard by this so-called father.

The scars given by his family of origin kept bleeding and festering, and never healed for a moment.

At the age of seventeen, he was abroad, and because of his mother’s death, he became very moody and unpredictable at that time. The grandfather and grandmother spent the whole day in tears, holding Lu You’s photo and sighing with regret.

Lu Fengshen handed him Lu You’s belongings and said with a tired look on his face, “Lu Ming, your grandparents are old, don’t make them sad again, okay?”

The silent pressure made Lu Ming collapse, and no one would tolerate his emotions that he didn’t know how to put to rest, including his loved ones.

Silence and patience seemed to be something Lu Ming had learned from birth.

But Chi Qiu was different, he was not like any other person Lu Ming knew.

Lu Ming could not understand such things as love, and did not understand what it was like to fall in love with someone. He knew that Chi Qiu loved him and that he was a lovable person, so could he unconditionally tolerate everything about each other?

He tolerated Chi Qiu because they had a relationship of interest. From the very beginning, he positioned each other in the role of ‘mutual needs’.

In this marriage, Lu Ming was actually the most relaxed person.

But was Chi Qiu’s ‘tolerance’ only because of love?

Lu Ming looked at Chi Qiu blankly and unconsciously clenched his hand. In front of the gentle Chi Qiu, Lu Ming couldn’t say what he should say for the first time. He was as helpless as a child.

“…”

Chi Qiu’s heart was soft, and after feeling Lu Ming’s slight loss, he immediately made a decision. Chi Qiu didn’t want to leave the bedroom anymore, and even if Lu Ming didn’t like it, he still wanted to stay by Lu Ming’s side to keep him company.

Chi Qiu generously admitted that he was being stubborn. Only in this way could he approach Lu Ming step by step.

He pretended to hit the wall and squatted down on purpose: “Ah——”

Lu Ming, who really thought he had hit the wall, stepped forward a few steps and crouched down to check.

Chi Qiu wrinkled his brow and cried out in pain, and grabbed Lu Ming’s arm naturally with both hands. After a while, he was picked up by Lu Ming and placed on the bed to sit.

Lu Ming could not find the bruises on his feet and asked him, “Where does it hurt?”

Chi Qiu was instantly addicted to acting; sniffed and his eyes reddened with grievance: “My heart hurts.”

Lu Ming didn’t understand what he meant for a moment.

So, Chi Qiu leaned over and hugged Lu Ming, touching the back of his head with his hand: “So I want to give you a hug.”

Just gave him a hug.

Last time too, as long as he hugged Lu Ming, Lu Ming would calm down. Indeed, ‘hugging’ seemed to be a secret in Lu Ming’s heart, hitting Lu Ming’s lonely heart in a straightforward way. He had been lonely, longing for someone to hug him.

Could that person be Chi Qiu?

Lu Ming was not sure.

Within a minute of Lu Ming’s silence, Chi Qiu lowered his head and kissed Lu Ming’s forehead, “Don’t be angry, okay? I will worry about you.”

Faced with Chi Qiu’s show of weakness, Lu Ming had no reason to remain agitated. Chi Qiu was like someone who could smooth out Lu Ming’s thorns, smoothing Lu Ming’s emotions one by one.

Lu Ming smelled the aroma of lemon shower gel on the other side, and there was a crack in the solid walls.

For some reason, he wanted to confide in Chi Qiu and wanted to say a lot of things to Chi Qiu.

But sometimes, he was so stubborn that he couldn’t say a word. Lu Ming tilted his head and looked at Chi Qiu who was so sincere with himself that he couldn’t help but reach out and hug Chi Qiu back.

After a long time, he whispered, “Sorry.”

Lu Ming felt that his apology was not enough, he muffled: “You can scold me, hit me, whatever you want.”

Chi Qiu blinked for a moment, not expecting Lu Ming to say such things.

“Can I hit you?” Chi Qiu asked curiously, “Then if I hit you, won’t it hurt you?”

“I’m not afraid of pain.” Lu Ming had been used to pain since he was a child.

But what Lu Ming didn’t know was that in Chi Qiu’s eyes, right now he really looked like a child who needed comfort and care. Chi Qiu couldn’t help pursing his lips, not minding Lu Ming’s abnormality. He carefully touched Lu Ming’s hair, and his voice was extremely gentle: “No, I’m reluctant to scold you, and even more reluctant to hit you. Besides, people tend to lose their temper. It’s all good when you let it out, you didn’t do anything bad.”

“…”

“Lu Ming, it’s okay.” Chi Qiu said, “Have you forgotten? We are partners ah.”

They were partners and had a constant connection. He would accept all the side that Lu Ming could not reveal to the outside world, and lick the wound for Lu Ming until it healed.

Chi Qiu kissed him again.

The air was filled with ambiguous tenderness.

Lu Ming kissed Chi Qiu urgently after Chi Qiu kissed him, one after another, again and again, rubbing his ears and temples in the daylight.

Unlike his previous coldness, this time Lu Ming called Chi Qiu’s name. His voice fell on Chi Qiu’s ears. It was a beautiful note, a rapid raindrop, and a deep lingering.

Chi Qiu became a spring in his heart. As he quenched his thirst, he tasted the sweetness.

…………

That afternoon, Chi Qiu did not make a single dried flower.

The residual temperature after the intimacy was hot. He and Lu Ming embraced each other on the soft bed, Lu Ming’s voice was slightly hoarse as he told him some things about his childhood.

The scraps of memory were pieced together, and inevitably there would be inexplicable holes and inconsistencies. Lu Ming himself thought it was funny, so he only said a trivial part.

For example, Lu Rongtian lost his love for Lu You from very early on; for example, how unstable Lu You’s mental state was; for example, on the maternal grandfather’s side, everything had been unilaterally kept in the dark by Lu You, making them thought that his daughter’s marriage was stable.

He avoided the important part and didn’t mention the fact that he was abused by Lu You.

“My childhood seems to be very boring, there is nothing to say.” Lu Ming said a few words, but he did not want to continue. There seemed to be a sinking weight in his throat, “There are a lot of things, I don’t remember much.”

Chi Qiu did not mind the few words. He listened more seriously than anyone else. He did not make a sound to comfort or interrupt. As a listener, Chi Qiu was instinctive and attentive.

They spent a relatively peaceful lunch break.

The only difference was that Chi Qiu did not fall asleep; he looked at Lu Ming’s handsome brow in his sleep and raised his hand to gently stroke Lu Ming’s silhouette. He came closer and kissed Lu Ming.

Even if Lu Ming didn’t say it, Chi Qiu knew that Lu Ming’s childhood was not a pleasant one.

Chi Qiu knew about this when they first met.