Chapter 34

On the way back home, Fan Xing remained silent, sitting in the passenger seat, staring out of the window. The child who used to smile a lot had a completely expressionless face at the moment.

This was the first time He Qingmo had seen Fan Xing like this.

In his memory, Fan Xing was a cheerful person who often smiled. His eyes were curved, and his lips formed a lovely and charming smile.

Even when he wasn’t smiling, he exuded a soft and warm aura.

Never had he seen Fan Xing emitting such a forbidding atmosphere, a signal to keep strangers at bay.

He Qingmo wanted to say something several times but, looking at Fan Xing’s demeanor, he didn’t know what to say. In the end, he said nothing.

When they arrived home, it was already morning. Fan Xing went straight to the kitchen.

He Qingmo followed him, slightly puzzled that Fan Xing was preparing breakfast.

He approached and gently held Fan Xing’s wrist, saying, “Don’t do this. I’ll have someone make breakfast.” He then led Fan Xing to the living room, made him sit on the couch, and returned to the kitchen to fetch some ice cubes, wrapping them in a towel.

When he returned, he found Fan Xing huddled in the corner of the couch, looking up at the ceiling with the same lifeless expression on his face.

He Qingmo walked over and sat down, pulling Fan Xing closer. He used the ice to soothe the swelling on Fan Xing’s face.

The cold sensation of the ice relieved the burning pain on his cheek, and Fan Xing finally reacted, softly saying, “Thank you, Brother.”

His eyes were lowered, hiding his expression, but He Qingmo could see the burn near his eye.

The pink blister stood out vividly against his fair skin.

He Qingmo’s fingertip gently brushed past the blister, and he asked, “What caused this burn?”

His voice was soft and calm, yet Fan Xing couldn’t help but look at him. He saw the anger in He Qingmo’s eyes.

He remembered the incident at the hospital and explained, “I fought back.”

He Qingmo was surprised. “You fought back?”

Fan Xing forced a faint smile and said, “Doesn’t it look like I did? In fact, I used to get into fights quite often.”

He Qingmo’s heart sank, and the ice-soothing motion hesitated for a moment. He asked, “You…”

However, Fan Xing gently pushed away He Qingmo’s hand, changing the topic. With a tired voice, he said, “I’m a bit tired. I want to take a shower and sleep. I won’t eat breakfast.” After saying this, he didn’t wait for He Qingmo’s response and went upstairs.

He Qingmo sat on the couch, watching Fan Xing’s figure disappear around the corner of the staircase. He let go of the ice and pinched his brow, feeling a sense of unease in his heart.

After a while, he decided to go upstairs. Just as he was about to check on Fan Xing, he received a call from Ji Jin.

“Qingmo, Fan Xing had an accident? How is he? Is he okay?” Ji Jin’s worried voice came through the phone.

“He’s not seriously injured,” He Qingmo replied. He decided to cook some porridge for Fan Xing and was now in the kitchen.

“Not serious? Oh, I was so worried when Fan Xing’s mother called me early in the morning, saying that Fan Xing had an accident. It even ruined my breakfast. Are you both at home? We’re coming over to check on Fan Xing,” Ji Jin said.

He Qingmo heard about Fan Meixi, and it explained how Ji Jin had known about the accident. He quickly replied, “Don’t come over. He’s asleep. If you’re concerned, come by in a couple of days.”

Ji Jin and the others, though initially wanting to visit, were convinced by He Qingmo and agreed to wait a few days.

Once they hung up, He Qingmo continued with cooking rice and decided to rest for a while. But he couldn’t shake off his concern for Fan Xing, who had been in the bathroom for quite a long time.

More than half an hour had passed since Fan Xing had gone upstairs, and it was unusual for him to spend such a long time in the bathroom.

He Qingmo was getting worried and decided to check on Fan Xing. He knocked on the bathroom door, and it was immediately opened. Fan Xing, who had finished his shower, was dressed in soft cotton pajamas and stepped out. He apologized with a slight tug of his lips and a soft tone, “I’m sorry, I took a little longer in the shower, and I made you worry. I’m fine. I’m going to sleep.” Then he walked past He Qingmo and climbed into bed. Suddenly, he remembered something and turned back to He Qingmo, saying, “Brother, you haven’t slept all night. Why don’t you take a shower and rest for a while?” After speaking, he pulled the covers over himself and lay down.

Fan Xing was indeed tired; he had been through a fight and a car accident, and he was feeling uncomfortable all over. He felt like he could fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

However, his sleep wasn’t restful. He started to have dreams.

In his dream, he was still a child, running desperately. A group of foreign children with blonde hair and blue eyes chased after him, hurling insults and chasing him with stones.

He ran until he couldn’t run anymore, cornered in an alley. They pulled his hair, saying that once they had pulled all his black hair, it would grow back blonde. Some of them held him down, wanting to use blue watercolors to paint his eyes.

He struggled desperately, but the watercolors filled his cheeks.

Those children continued to mock his distress, snatched his school bag, and vandalized his homework and textbooks.

He lunged to retrieve them, but there were too many of them, and he couldn’t fight back. He ended up with a swollen face, his homework torn, and those children locked him in a room that no one visited after school.

He pounded on the door and shouted as loudly as he could, hoping someone would discover he was trapped inside.

In the next moment, the scene changed. After school, he saw his mother at the school gate. She took him shopping for new clothes and toys, brought him to an amusement park, and treated him to ice cream. He was exceptionally happy, holding his mother’s hand and asking, “Mom, when will you come to see me again?”

Suddenly, the dream became chaotic. There were curses and fights, and his grandmother protected him, covering his ears, but he could still hear someone uttering the most venomous insults. They told him he should never have been born, and he’d only be clean in death.

In his slumber, he curled his body, unable to stop trembling. Tiny beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, but the dream persisted.

In the next scene, he was in a morgue. Before him, there was a body covered with a white sheet, and someone forcibly made him approach it.

“No, no,” he desperately shook his head. “Don’t make me look. I won’t look. Please…”

The white sheet was suddenly lifted.

“Ah…”

He jolted awake with a scream, his clothes drenched in sweat.

He Qingmo barely had time to hold onto him, but Fan Xing was already out of bed, running naked into the bathroom.

He Qingmo hurriedly followed, seeing Fan Xing hunched over the toilet, dry heaving.

There was nothing left in his stomach, but he retched violently, as if he needed to purge his insides to find relief.

 

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