The Decade Of Deep Love

Not until two days later did Wenxu Jiang knew what happened to Zui Shen. The moment he heard the news, he felt like everything paused, even his heartbeat. He wasn"t in too deep of a relationship with Zui Shen; the man was just like a pet for entertainment purpose. But the news was still a shock to Wenxu.

Wenxu Jiang had earned so much money, it would be a lie to say that he never got blood on his hand. He didn"t feel guilty or sad about Zui Shen"s death. He certainly didn"t feel good about it though; it was like a twitch in his heart. He would never expect that the man he spared would eventually die anyway. He suddenly realized that human life couldn"t be manipulated by any man.

Later, Wenxu Jiang figured out what he was feeling bad about; it was the loneliness derived from his extreme grief. Zui Shen"s death reminded him of Zhishu He.

Even though Wenxu knew that Zhishu He had leukemia, it never occurred to him that someday, he would actually die. He just wanted to get him back and treat him good and never do him wrong again. He wanted to be together with him forever and ever.

But the reality was that not everything in this world would go at his will. Wenxu Jiang closed his eyes despondently. He now understood what the unpredictable death was.

Jingwen"s wedding was held as planned. He wanted to postpone it until Wenxu Jiang calmed down and got Zhishu He back. It was just that the bride"s grandfather wasn"t feeling well recently, whose greatest wish was to see his baby granddaughter marry a good man.

Wenxu Jiang attended the wedding anyway. He prepared a rather thick red packet himself. It was their big day; Wenxu wanted to put on a happy face but it was hard. You could tell that he was in a poor condition from his emaciated cheeks and bloodshot eyes.

Jingwen ushered Wenxu in person and warmly put his arm around Wenxu"s neck. It was considerate of Jingwen not to ask anything; Wenxu, however, couldn"t stand another pair of compa.s.sionate eyes. "Come and get inside. The bride and bridesmaids will make toasts to you in turn."

Wenxu shook his head and smiled. "I"ll pa.s.s. Let your grandfather-in-law get the toasts. I"m just here to congratulate you," He took the red packet out and said, "A token of my best wishes."

Wenxu Jiang was generous to his friends as always. The eight thousand in the packet was just a symbol of good luck; what really counts was the card inside the stack of money.

Jingwen wasn"t aware of Jiang"s pattern. He quite cheerfully took it over and felt it with a happy face. "Alright, quite a thick one." He grinned.

Wenxu"s eyes milder, he smiled, "It"s from me and Zhishu."

Jingwen paused and stared at Wenxu for a moment, feeling sorry for him. "Wenxu..." He then said softly.

His tone was filled with bitterness and sadness, "You"ve got white hair on the sides of your face."

*

Ziqian Ai left on the same night he came. He knew his brother so he didn"t waste time on extra persuasion. He knew it was best if he stayed out of it. How long could the life of a cancer patient that refused chemotherapy last? He would be dead less than one year. And how long could a dead man be remembered? Less than one year. Ziqian Ai could wait. He reckoned it could serve as a life lesson for his brother.

Zhishu He"s condition got worse. He was covered with bruises, even edema at the worst part. You could see a tiny pit when a swelling got pressed; what you couldn"t see was the stinging pain.

Zhishu He was lethargic every day and had a bad appet.i.te and was too weak to walk around. But he wouldn"t like to trouble others. Instead, he kept the severest pain to himself. Recently, Zhishu was fascinated by the balcony outside the French windows on the second floor. Looking down, there were Doctor Ai"s plants growing wildly in the garden. They seemed to grow buds. Looking into the distance, there was Lingyin Temple and a small lake in the tea plantation, which was a pleasant view.

Ziyu Ai was so worried about Zhishu He that he was on pins and needles every day. Zhishu was more stubborn than he thought—not only did he stay away from the medicine for his cancer, but he also cut off the painkillers and sleeping pills.

This day, Zhishu had a fever again, which burnt him out so this night; unlike usual, he slept early.

Ziyu Ai carefully stroked Zhishu"s face with a warm towel. He couldn"t help kissing him from between his eyebrows to the edge of his lips, then he lay next to Zhishu and cuddled him.

Ziyu Ai cuddled Zhishu a lot these days when Zhishu couldn"t sleep at night. Zhishu didn"t like the cold. No matter how high temperature the air-con was set at night, it would still be too cold for him. Ziyu had a warm body. He would hold the entirety of Zhishu"s body in his arms and pat Zhishu on his back like he was a kid. As day went by, Zhishu could sleep better but Ziyu became a light sleeper.

So tonight, a smallest sound Zhishu made woke Ziyu up. He heard Zhishu whimpering very quietly. He turned on the table lamp but found that Zhishu hadn"t awake. There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, which indicated that he was suffering in his dream.

Ziyu washed the towel and wiped Zhishu"s face again. His hand was shaking as he stared at the translucent tracks of tears on his cheeks. He kissed on his eyelashes, prayed that he could sleep tight tonight.

Suddenly, Zhishu He opened his eyes, looked at Ziyu Ai blankly. In a daze, he asked a question that totally came out of nowhere, "Where is my ring?"

"Have you seen my ring?"

Ziyu Ai was confused but soon found that Zhishu"s eyes were cloudy as if a nightmare had got the better of him.

Ziyu talked him into lying down. He took a look at Zhishu"s fingers in his hand and saw a light mark, due to too many years of wearing a ring, was left on his third finger.