CH 15

The  bet finally ended with Jiang Heng’s victory.

Six years ago, Ji Yao had been assertive, but fortunately, he was young and true to his word. Although somewhat unwilling, he ultimately accepted some form of fate in the conducive atmosphere.

The coin confirmed their relationship but mysteriously disappeared the next day. However, Jiang Heng didn’t pay much attention at the time, thinking he had simply misplaced it somewhere.

It wasn’t until much later that the coin inexplicably fell out of his wardrobe, and he had since kept it almost unconsciously.

From Beijing to London, and then from London back to Shanghai.

“What am I doing?” Jiang Heng suddenly thought.

He rubbed the cold coin in his hand, sat quietly for a while, then smiled with an indistinct meaning. He leaned forward, opened a drawer, and put the coin inside.

Metal collided with wood, emitting an extremely light sound. Jiang Heng sat at the edge of the bed, hunched over, and suddenly felt quite uninterested.

Perhaps it was that feeling of vulnerability that comes with being sick that made Jiang Heng perceive the house as larger than he had ever felt before, to the point that it seemed somewhat empty.

Empty to the extent that whenever he settled down, the room seemed lifeless.

The house where Jiang Heng stayed was a second-hand property, and he had returned not too long ago. He hadn’t yet found the time to properly organize his personal space, so the decoration of the house remained as it was from ten years ago.

High-tech furniture systems had yet to take over the house; The only thing that could work without Jiang Heng having to operate it manually was a robotic vacuum cleaner.

Outside, the sky had already darkened completely. The sole source of light inside the room was the dim bedside lamp. Jiang Heng glanced outside through the wide-open bedroom door, only to see a pitch-black expanse of night and the faint outlines of furniture in the darkness.

Jiang Heng didn’t like this extremely quiet darkness. He wanted to get up and turn on the lights, but the wound tugged at him, causing a sharp pain. He sat by the edge of the bed, pondering for a while, and finally decided to let it go.

After sitting by the bed for a while, he slowly stood up, changed into his pajamas, and pulled the covers over himself.

As he lay down, he realized he had forgotten to turn off the bedside lamp. However, after assessing the distance and his physical condition, he abandoned the idea of getting up again.

Jiang Heng wasn’t used to unfamiliar and open sleeping environments. During his days in the hospital, his rest time was divided into different durations, and he would wake up three or four times a night. His spirit was already fatigued beyond his designated threshold.

Despite feeling extremely tired, he lay with his eyes closed for a while, yet sleep didn’t come.

The soft glow of the bedside lamp emitted a warm hue, creating an illusion of warmth due to its color.

Jiang Heng opened his eyes and vaguely recalled the paper lantern adorned with floral patterns at the hot spring inn in Hokkaido.

Two similar visual sensations intertwined into the same image in his memory. Jiang Heng extended his hand as if to shield himself from something, causing the shallow halo of light to gently fall through his fingers and into his eyes.

After a moment, this peaceful atmosphere was suddenly shattered by the abrupt ringing of his cellphone. Jiang Heng’s phone, placed on the nightstand, began to vibrate, pulling him back into the cacophony of everyday life.

“Hello?”

“You’re back in the country?” The voice on the other end was surprised: “You didn’t even tell me in advance!”

“Ge Xing?” Jiang Heng moved the screen away unexpectedly and looked at the caller ID: “How did you know?”

“Ji Yao told me.” Ge Xing leaned against the balcony, biting his cigarette, and mumbled indistinctly: “He told me a few days ago that you’re in Shanghai. That’s how I found out. Is your phone not working for the past couple of days? Dodging debt, huh?”

Jiang Heng’s attention was focused by the familiar name. Then, he heard Ge Xing laugh.

Jiang Heng joked, “Just got out of the hospital. Still smelling like disinfectant.”

Ge Xing on the other end of the line said, “You’re okay, right? Is it serious? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Heng’s tone was relaxed, “I’m okay all thanks to a skilled and kind-hearted doctor who saved my life in time.”

Ge Xing didn’t think much and casually said, “You better give that doctor a medal or something.”

Jiang Heng propped himself up on the bedside, responding appropriately.

A series of voices echoed from the other end of the phone. Faintly, one could hear Ge Xing’s name being called. Jiang Heng glanced at the time and realized it was the start of Ge Xing’s nightclub revelry time.

Over the past two years, they hadn’t been in contact much. Their busy lives created gaps in their conversations. Jiang Heng was about to smoothly wrap up this conversation when Ge Xing beat him to it.

“Why did you leave so hastily back then…” Ge Xing paused, seeming to take a drag from his cigarette before continuing, “Why did you run off like that?”

This question caught Jiang Heng off guard. It was as if a needle had punctured the blankness of the past few years. Jiang Heng relaxed a bit, feeling as if the atmosphere of this phone call had returned to how it used to be a few years ago.

He licked his lips, not quite sure how to respond.

“No real reason.” Jiang Heng said, “I had some free time and wanted to further my studies, so I considered it a chance to relax.”

Ge Xing chuckled, as if mocking his insincerity.

“Well, I don’t have much to say about it.” Ge Xing sat on the balcony railing, squinting as he flicked the cigarette butt away. He watched the spark trace an arc in midair before landing in the villa’s swimming pool, extinguishing itself.

“Just wanted to let you know, I also gave your number to Ji Yao.” Ge Xing said, “He asked me a few days ago, so I casually told him about your current situation.”

This gossip bureau chief, Jiang Heng thought.

From what Jiang Heng could tell, Ge Xing didn’t know that the “skilled and kind-hearted” doctor was actually Ji Yao himself. Ge Xing seemed to think that they hadn’t encountered each other.

However, Jiang Heng was surprised that Ji Yao asked about him. He had thought Ji Yao would avoid any contact with him, wishing to never cross paths again.

And also…

“After all these years, I still don’t understand.” Jiang Heng said, “You can play matchmaker all you want, but you even manage post-breakup matters. Does your matchmaking agency also offer after-sales service?”

“You wouldn’t understand.” Ge Xing’s voice sounded ethereal, “I just want to prove that people like us aren’t just living recklessly—why can’t we, as gay people, have happiness? Why can’t we have something long lasting?”

Jiang Heng was momentarily stunned.

“Anyway I won’t meddle anymore.” Ge Xing said, “You guys, sort things on your own.”

Rarely did Ge Xing open up like this. He didn’t use his usual universal love rhetoric to fool people. After he finished speaking, he seemed a little embarrassed and sighed softly. He used the excuse of having fun to end the call.

Ge Xing’s interruption had erased any trace of sleepiness that remained for Jiang Heng.

He rubbed his nose bridge, looked at the now-hung-up phone screen, and ultimately decided to give up on trying to sleep.

He selectively ignored Gao Jingyi’s “warning” and made a call to the law firm’s office.

When there’s a rotten apple at the top, the ones at the bottom will be spoiled as well. At this hour, an intern was still working late at the law firm. Jiang Heng’s phone rang only a couple of times before being answered.

“Did Director Gao transfer a case to you recently?” Jiang Heng asked, “Send me the information.”