Chapter 96
Shi Jin couldn’t help but worry.
“If only it would take longer for things to develop in the underworld, Lian Jun would have more time for treatment,” he sighed, dispirited.
If the strife really did unfold in six months time, as Lian Jun had predicted, then Lian Jun would definitely choose to receive the quicker treatment so that he would have a healthy body to deal with the following major conflicts. However, both how long it would take to be completely cured, and the side effects of the detoxification, were unknown. If it dragged on for several months, wouldn’t it still overlap with the conflict?
Moreover, even after he was rid of the poison, Lian Jun’s body would have to be carefully nursed to regain strength; he might even need rehabilitation. If Lian Jun chose the quicker treatment, the recuperation period would almost certainly overlap with the conflict breaking out. Treating this poison would affect Lian Jun’s health for the rest of his life—if even a single part wasn’t done right, it was likely he would be left with hidden dangers in his body.
“Do you have any way to help me persuade Lian Jun to wait until everything is over before getting treatment? His body will definitely be much stronger by then, which would make the treatment safer,” he asked Xiao Si as he pondered, frowning so tight that his eyebrows were almost joined over the bridge of his nose.
Xiao Si said with hesitation, < But JinJin, Uncle Long said that the longer the toxin stays in the body, the more difficult it is to completely get rid of it, and the more serious the backlash will be once the treatment begins. This fight between Annihilation and the other organizations is very likely to become a long-term war of attrition. It’s already been a long time since Darling was poisoned… >
So the treatment couldn’t be delayed indefinitely—the later it happened, the worse it would be for the body.
Shi Jin thought of the current state of Lian Jun’s body, which was becoming stronger and stronger since he’d begun to exercise. He recalled when he first met Lian Jun, when the other man’s physical condition was so bad that he’d suffer a lot if he even ate a few more bites of food than usual. Scrubbing through his hair in agitation, he fell onto the sofa.
The quick treatment carried risks, but so did the slow treatment, so what was the best choice? Should they strike a balance between the two, going not too fast, but not too slow either?
< JinJin, go and ask Darling, > Xiao Si suggested in a low voice. < Even if just for your sake, Darling will certainly do his best to recover. Talk to him—he should be able to find a way to balance the treatment with the conflict. >
Shi Jin remembered Lian Jun’s promise to survive and stay with him. Heartened, he sat up and said, “You’re right, there’s no point in me going in circles by myself. I’ll go and talk to him.”
Lian Jun was in his study on a video call with Gua Two, who was remaining in the hospital pretending to be a patient. He hung up when he saw Shi Jin come in, then eyed the teenager’s bird’s nest of a head and smiled. “Why is your hair in such a mess?”
“I kept scratching my head,” Shi Jin replied honestly. He sat down opposite Lian Jun, put on a serious expression, and said, “I have a question for you. You have to answer it truthfully and without trying to deceive me.”
Lian Jun’s heart jolted; for a second, he thought that his date plan had been exposed. He turned the tablet he’d used to speak to Gua Two over so the screen was facing down, carefully observing Shi Jin’s expression. “Okay, go on.”
Seeing him so cooperative, Shi Jin felt a little more at ease. Looking into his eyes, he asked, “Uncle Long said there are two options for treatment: one conservative and the other quick. I thought about it for a while. You’ll probably decide on the fastest one, but…”
He quickly explained his entanglement, without noticing that as he spoke, Lian Jun’s hands slowly loosened their grip on the tablet, and his posture gradually relaxed.
“So which option are you going to choose?” Shi Jin ended his speech with a question, and looked straight at him with an expression that said, ‘If you lie or pick the wrong one, expect a fight’.
Lian Jun met his gaze. “I choose the conservative option,” he replied, voice gentle.
“I knew you were going to pick the quick… Huh? What did you say?” Halfway through the sentence, Shi Jin realized that the answer wasn’t quite what he’d expected, and blinked at Lian Jun a little foolishly.
Lian Jun smiled at his expression. He rolled the wheelchair out from behind the desk and took Shi Jin’s hand, squeezing it. “I said I choose the conservative treatment. Since I want to stay with you forever, how can I not keep my body in the best possible condition? When it comes to treatment, I’ll listen to Uncle Long. You can rest a.s.sured that I won’t treat my body like a joke—I’m not the only one it belongs to anymore, now there’s you as well. As for the overlap between the treatment times and the conflict, I will discuss it with Uncle Long again. You don’t need to worry.”
He’s, he’s being so sensible?
Stunned, Shi Jin rubbed his ears in disbelief.
He and Uncle Long knew better than anyone how much of an uncooperative patient Lian Jun was. And now, this person who’d basically had to have his arm twisted before he’d take his medicine and eat healthy, said he’d defer to Uncle Long about treatment?
All of a sudden, he felt like he could understand the grat.i.tude and relief of a parent whose troublesome child had finally grown up into a responsible adult.
So moving!
“Baby…” Shi Jin reached out to embrace Lian Jun, looking like he was going to hug his son.
“Come on a trip with me this weekend,” Lian Jun said, grabbing his hands in time to avoid the hug.
Huh? A trip?
Shi Jin stopped and asked, confused, “Did something happen?”
“Aunt Lu has helped me a lot this time. I’d like to invite her to dinner to thank her, and also formally introduce you to each other,” Lian Jun explained.
Oh, so it was to thank Aunt Lu. Shi Jin nodded in understanding, then recalled the current situation between the two organizations and frowned. “But is it really okay for us to meet up with her? Everyone’s eyes will be on Annihilation and Tarantula right now—won’t it be dangerous?”
“No, Aunt Lu will disguise herself as a man, and we’ll cover our tracks. Besides, B city isn’t like other cities—underworld organizations dare not act at will here. It’s not difficult to elude them.”
Shi Jin’s worries were laid to rest. “All right, I’ll go with you.”
If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.
The weekend came in the blink of an eye. Shi Jin woke up early and was pleasantly surprised to find that Lian Jun’s progress bar had dropped by another point, to 497!
“This time it only took three or four days for the bar to drop—much faster than before. Is this proof that Lian Jun’s physical condition has reached the average and is steadily improving?” Shi Jin asked with expectation, staring at the progress bar. He was so elated he almost started bouncing on the bed.
Xiao Si, who was also so happy it wanted to scream, replied, < Definitely! Darling’s body is getting better with every day! >
Neither of them noticed that Lian Jun didn’t get up early to work in the study as usual, but was still in the room.
“What are you happy about?” he asked as he came from the direction of the wardrobe, pushing their usual suitcases forward.
Shi Jin’s grin froze on his face. Shocked silly, he looked at his boyfriend. “How come you’re still here? And what’s up with the suitcases?”
“There was a change of plan—Aunt Lu asked us to meet her at a resort in the suburbs. It’s one of Tarantula’s businesses, and safer overall. We have to stagger our arrival times, so we’re going to stay there overnight and wait for Aunt Lu to arrive,” Lian Jun explained. He let go of the suitcases and rolled over to the bed to pinch Shi Jin’s cheek. “You haven’t answered me yet—why were you so happy just now? You found a bag of money in your dream?”
Shi Jin’s heart skipped a beat. Since sweet talk was always the best fallback, he replied solemnly, “A bag of money? As if that would make me so happy. I found a treasure in my dream, a certain Darling.” As he spoke, he glanced at Lian Jun in a very obvious hint.
Xiao Si let out a strange chuckle.
Shamed into anger, Shi Jin shut the system in the small black room for a few seconds. Ignoring the aggrieved howl that followed, he jumped out of bed, saying, “I’ll do it, I pack faster. You go eat breakfast—for your body to get better, eating regularly is the most important thing.”
Looking at his exuberance, Lian Jun smiled and reached out to touch his lover’s back, obediently surrendering the task of packing their luggage to him.
After their usual morning exercise, a short rest, and lunch, they set off for the resort.
Shi Jin was obsessive about Lian Jun’s rest schedule; he made Gua One, who accompanied them out, take a longer, more s.p.a.cious car so that Lian Jun could take a nap during the drive. After more than two hours, the car arrived at a suburban retreat halfway up a mountain and smoothly rolled to a stop.
“Jun-shao!” Gua Two, who hadn’t made an appearance for a long time, waited for them at the door.
Shi Jin was delighted to see him at first, and then asked in confusion, “Why is Gua Two here?”
“He complained that staying in the hospital was too boring, so I asked him to come over and check the security arrangements,” Lian Jun answered.
Shi Jin nodded in understanding, then poked his head out of the window and shouted, “Little Number Two, were the hospital meals delicious?”
Gua Two rolled his eyes and scolded with a smile, “I see you’ve forgotten who exactly I had to eat those hospital meals for, you ungrateful b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
Ungrateful to the end, Shi Jin pretended not to hear his words. He got out of the car and stretched, breathing in the fresh mountain air, then turned to Lian Jun who was still in the back seat. “It’s nice and cool here, much cooler than in the city. We won’t have to stay in an air-conditioned room all day,” he said happily.
Seeing that he liked it here, Lian Jun was very satisfied. “Then we’ll go for a stroll later. Let’s go in first.”
The group walked inside and headed deeper into the complex. The resort should’ve been cleared in advance, as the only people they’d seen along the road were staff members, with not a shadow of any other guests. The greenery was abundant and natural-looking, and the resort buildings were all built in a faux-ancient style; it looked elegant and tasteful.
It was the first time in either of his two lifetimes that Shi Jin had visited such a resort, and he found everything interesting. “What a nice place! It seems so comfortable here,” he couldn’t help but exclaim.
“With such a poor vocabulary, I’m really suspicious about how you got so many points in the college entrance exam,” Gua Two shook his head, pretending to be disgusted.
Shi Jin threw him a glare. “Yeah? Then by all means, give me an example of what I should have said.”
Gua Two frowned in contemplation, then enunciated clearly, “It’s really good here!”
—wasn’t that just as bad?
Shi Jin jeered at him without mercy.
They horsed around like that while they walked. About ten minutes later, they pa.s.sed through an
and arrived at the residence that was prepared for Lian Jun.
It was a small two-story building, right by the lake, with a garden out back; it was quiet and pleasing to the eye. Shi Jin pushed Lian Jun into the courtyard, glancing around with a feeling of novelty, then turned and ran back to the lake to look into the water.
Lian Jun followed him. “What are you looking at?” he asked, stopping his wheelchair next to him.
“The fish. The designer of this resort is really interesting—the lake isn’t stocked with nice-looking
koi but practical edible fish instead. It’s a pretty original idea,” the teenager replied.
“The concept of this resort is returning to nature, so there’s not too much fancy stuff,” Lian Jun said, apparently quite familiar with this place. “Do you want to fish? You can catch any of the fish here. Also,
wild ducks will occasionally come here to play.”
“There are wild ducks?” Shi Jin’s eyes brightened. He felt that Lu Shan had a really good eye for places. “The fish here are so fat—just wait, I’ll catch a big one and make you some fish soup,” he said, rubbing his hands eagerly.
Lian Jun smiled. “Then I will ask the staff to bring fishing gear.”
Gua One and Gua Two leaned against the wooden fence in front of the building, their faces relaxed as they watched the two by the lake.
“Jun-shao picked a good place after all—as expected, I guess. I thought Shi Jin wouldn’t like it very much, but it turns out I was wrong.” Gua Two shook his head. He turned to look at Gua One and asked, “When are Gua Three and the others coming?”
“They should be about to arrive. They’re staying on the other side of the mountain,” Gua One answered. Seeing Lian Jun looking back, he got up and said, “I’m going to guard Jun-shao and Shi Jin. You can take a break—you’ve been working quite hard to set up everything here.”
Gua Two waved his hand, dismissing Gua One’s words. “What kind of hard work was that? Things like this are fun. You need to unwind like this so that you’ll have enough energy to work hard later.”
Fishing, feeding wild ducks, pulling up lotus leaves, taking out a boat and pretending to be boating on a big lake—Shi Jin had a great time. He even taught Lian Jun how to
from shoots of
green foxtail and blades of gra.s.s.
“Then put this end in here again… and ta-da, a gra.s.shopper!” Shi Jin presented a cute green gra.s.shopper on his palm. He glanced at the mysterious shape in Lian Jun’s hand and, suppressing a smile, handed his own gra.s.shopper to him. “Let’s trade—here, I’ll give you mine, you give me yours.”
Lian Jun eyed him, then complied with the exchange. After admiring the gra.s.shopper properly, he asked, “How did you learn how to do this?”
“Of course, as a country kid… as every kid does, I learned it from other children.” Shi Jin almost had a slip of the tongue, but stopped in time and made up a random excuse to muddle through. Glancing at the fish in a bucket at his feet, he changed the subject: “Let’s go kill the fish—it’s getting late, it’s almost time for dinner.”
Lian Jun followed his gaze and nodded, not delving further into the previous topic.
The dinner was prepared per the list of forbidden foods Uncle Long had given them. Shi Jin personally made
crucian carp and tofu soup. It was a nutritious dish made with relatively mild ingredients, so it was put on the table next to Lian Jun.
“Try my craft.” Shi Jin ladled a few spoonfuls of milky white fish soup into the bowl, added the most tender collar fillet and several pieces of tofu, and handed it to Lian Jun, saying, “Eat while it’s hot, it will smell fishy when it cools.”
Under his expectant gaze, Lian Jun took a sip of the soup, then ate a piece of fish and tasted the tofu.
“How is it?” Shi Jin couldn’t resist leaning closer in antic.i.p.ation.
Lian Jun glanced at him, and deftly picked up a piece of fish and stuffed it in his mouth before replying, “It’s delicious.”
The fish was very tender and melted in the mouth, stimulating Shi Jin’s taste buds in an instant. He swallowed the fish and said with satisfaction, “It really is good, the fish here were raised well.”
“Do you like it here?” Lian Jun asked.
Shi Jin nodded. “Yes,” he said as he began to serve Lian Jun more food. “The environment here is good, it’s a great place for you to recuperate. Why don’t you ask Aunt Lu if we can come stay here whenever we’re free?”
When he heard this, Lian Jun’s heart both ached and felt warm. Helpless, he reached out and touched Shi Jin’s hair. In the end, all of his lover’s considerations were for him; he didn’t think about himself at all.
Shi Jin, thinking that he was acquiescing, happily rubbed his head into Lian Jun’s hand and urged him to drink more soup. He also drank a bowl himself.
After dinner, they took a walk around the resort. When the sky began to grow dark, they returned to their residence and went out to the open-air bath behind the building.
“The water in the pool is from the mountain spring. It’s warm in winter and cool in summer. There’s also a temperature control device under the bottom so we can stay in the pool as long as we want,” Lian Jun explained, then asked, “Would you like some wine? Fruit wine, the kind with low alcohol content.”
Although it was an invitation from a beauty, Shi Jin bravely resisted the temptation. “No, you can’t drink!”
Lian Jun smiled and said, “I won’t drink, but you can. But you shouldn’t drink too much or you’ll have a headache in the morning.”
Hearing this, Shi Jin was relieved and immediately changed his previous reply, asking Lian Jun to order a small bottle of wine.
The bath was open-air, and the lights around it were deliberately a little dim and ambiguous. Shi Jin leaned against the wall of the pool watching Lian Jun pour him the wine, and felt a little drunk before he’d even taken a sip.
How could there be such a beautiful person in the world… He supported his cheek on his hand, narrowing his eyes in appreciation.
“What are you dazing off about?” Lian Jun, who had approached without him realizing, asked as he poked Shi Jin’s cheek. He pa.s.sed him a cup of wine. “Here. I ordered plum wine, see if you like it.”
The cup was jade-green and made of porcelain, not very big; held in Lian Jun’s fingertips, it had a kind of fragile, pure beauty. Instead of taking the cup, Shi Jin bowed his head and took a sip from Lian Jun’s hand. After tasting it carefully, he said, “It tastes like juice.”
Sure enough, this person couldn’t be expected to say anything poetic.
Lian Jun smiled and leaned over to kiss him, murmuring, “Let me taste it too.”
The moonlight gently reflected off the rippling water. Surrounded by the scent of Lian Jun and the aroma of plum wine, Shi Jin, despite not being drunk, was in a drunken-like daze. Watching Lian Jun’s eyelids fall as his lover concentrated on the kiss, his heartbeat was suddenly out of control and his brain seemed to overheat. “Lian Jun, I love you,” he whispered.
Lian Jun’s eyes snapped open and his burning gaze drilled into Shi Jin. Dropping the cup, he grabbed the younger man and pressed him against the wall of the pool, deepening the kiss.
Plop.
The cup fell into the water, sinking to the bottom.
Shi Jin closed his eyes and shut Xiao Si, who was screaming inside his head, into the small black room, then reached out to hug Lian Jun.
The moon was really beautiful tonight.
That night, they almost went all the way. Shi Jin discovered for the first time that Lian Jun actually has a strong and fierce side in bed—he was a healthy person but even so, he was still unable to completely resist Lian Jun’s actions.
He’d been about to throw away his sense of shame and go up on his own, but at the last moment, Lian Jun actually stopped and pulled him into his arms. “No,” he said, kissing his cheek and gently stroking his back. “I haven’t prepared anything today, you’ll get hurt.”
Shi Jin’s mind was already confused by desire. Frowning, he protested, “If I wasn’t worried about your body, I’d have urged you to do it long ago. Do it, I’m fine.”
Lian Jun chuckled, bit his earlobe, and said into his ear, “Did you forget that you’re going to report to the police academy in a few days? During the physical, the doctor will check this place.” He patted the younger man’s b.u.t.t.
Shi Jin froze as he remembered the academy’s physical examination in his previous life, and finally recovered some of his reason. “You d.a.m.n pr*ck-tease!” he growled, biting him angrily.
Who was the real tease here?
Lian Jun let out a helpless sigh and stroked his lover’s thigh, soothing him with a kiss.
Although they went to sleep late that night, they got up at their usual time the next day.
Rational to the point of being obstinate, Shi Jin said, “You can’t skip even one day of exercise. I’m going to call Uncle Long and ask what you’re supposed to be doing today.”
Lian Jun hurriedly reached out to pull him back. “I’ve already asked—since we’re on a mountain, Uncle Long said that my morning exercise can be replaced by hiking.”
“Hiking?” Shi Jin was taken aback but didn’t doubt his words. He pondered the height of the mountain and said, “Okay, then let’s go after breakfast.”
After breakfast, Lian Jun changed into light sportswear, left his wheelchair behind for the first time, and left the villa with Shi Jin. They followed the garden path at the back of the building and walked out of the resort through the side door.
Filled with anxiety, Shi Jin hovered around Lian Jun like a mother hen, for fear that he’d stumble and fall down or that his legs would start hurting too much.
“It’s okay, I’m used to this much walking. I also took my medicine earlier and I’m wearing protective gear. I really will be fine,” Lian Jun appeased him. He did look relaxed, not at all like someone enduring pain. He took Shi Jin’s hand and led him towards the trail going up the mountain. “Let’s take it slow for now. We’ll treat it like a walk to help digestion.”
A little dazed, Shi Jin followed him pa.s.sively for a few steps before snapping out of it. He glanced at the hand holding his, and Lian Jun smoothly walking in front of him like an ordinary, healthy person, and felt a sudden quiver pa.s.s through his heartstrings.
It seemed like, for the first time, he and Lian Jun were walking outside holding hands like an ordinary couple. Not in the training room nor in their bedroom.
It was great.
He looked at Lian Jun’s legs stepping forward in a natural way and wanted to smile, but for some reason, his heart felt a little sore.
Walking like this, Lian Jun looked really good. The pictures of him struggling to take a few awkward steps while holding on to the railing, looking like he could fall down at any moment, abruptly faded away from Shi Jin’s mind. Lian Jun should always be as he appeared now, healthy and free…
“Why are you so quiet?” Lian Jun stopped without warning and looked back at him.
Shi Jin scrutinized his face. After confirming there was no trace of suppressed pain in his expression, he turned his head and let out a shallow breath, then turned back and met his lover’s gaze. “It’s nothing, I just suddenly felt that… you’ve become even more handsome,” he said with a smile, squeezing his hand.
Lian Jun noticed his emotional changes and his heart instantly filled with distress for him. He stepped forward to gently pull the younger man into his arms and kissed his forehead. He hugged him in silence for a while, then stepped back and tugged his hand again, indicating that they should start moving again.
No words were necessary.
Shi Jin smiled and stepped forward to walk side by side with him, fully content—it seemed he should eagerly await the end of all their problems, when he would always be able to walk with Lian Jun like this…
“From a bit further up, you can see most of B city. Actually, it would’ve been better to come here in the evening… That will have to wait till next time. Next time we come here, my body will already be healthy, and I’ll take you to watch the view of the city at night,” Lian Jun said out of nowhere.
Stunned, Shi Jin looked sideways at his handsome profile. His heart swelling with happiness, he nodded vigorously, replying, “Good, next time let’s see the night view. Even better, let’s camp here on the mountain and watch the sunrise as well!”
In the resort, Gua Two leaned on the bal.u.s.trade of the lake’s walkway and looked up at the top of the mountain. “How long do you think Jun-shao’s painkillers will last?” he asked Gua One.
Gua One, who was holding a few blades of gra.s.s in his hand and frowning as he tried to weave a gra.s.shopper, said, “I don’t know. Check the directions on the package or ask Uncle Long.”
Gua Two made a face, then his gaze fell on the green tangle in Gua One’s hands and he sneered, “You’re a man who had no childhood.”
“And you did?” Gua One asked back.
Gua Two choked, then let out a disdainful snort. He looked around, went to pull out a few blades of gra.s.s, and joined Gua One’s clumsy attempts to weave gra.s.shoppers.
’
“Fishing, feeding wild ducks, pulling up lotus leaves…” – no idea. From what I googled, lotus leaves are used as an edible food wrap and you can make tea from them that’s supposedly good for summer heat.
“The moon was really beautiful tonight” – Con says most people know this one but for those that don’t: “The moon is really beautiful tonight” -> implicit meaning, “The moon I see with you is the most beautiful” = indirect love confession. (
)
“Let’s camp here on the mountain and watch the sunrise as well!” – it’s a thing. Example:
.