Chapter 13 – Unable to Swallow

Chapter 13: Unable to Swallow

On the second day of the sports meet, a morning rain did little to dampen the students’ spirits; their cheers shook the sky. Li Tang traded a bag of snacks for an hour of coverage from a fellow announcer. As he called out over the broadcast, “Students participating in the men’s long jump, please gather at the southeast corner of the field,” he carried a sealed bottle of water and headed that way.

The broadcast station was located right in the middle of the field, requiring him to cross the track to reach the sandpit on the side.

At that moment, the men’s 3000-meter race was nearing its end. The athletes, shoulders slumped, ran with breathless exertion. Li Tang ducked through the barriers and crossed the field, just as he encountered Li Zichu running in the middle lane.

In comparison, Li Zichu seemed to be holding up well, even having the energy to greet Li Tang while running, “Why are you here? What are we having for lunch?”

Afraid of blocking others, Li Tang tossed out a casual “whatever” and quickly ran off.

Watching Li Tang leave, Li Zichu realized that he wasn’t there for him after all. He muttered about declining morals and the fickleness of human nature, then suddenly stumbled, his body pitching forward as he fell face-first onto the track.

Li Tang had no idea what happened behind him.

He briskly walked to the sandpit on the edge of the field, where the preliminaries were underway. The participants took their turns jumping swiftly, the referee blowing his whistle and recording the results.

Due to his height, Li Tang easily found Jiang Lou’s location.

Classes were suspended today, so Jiang Lou wore casual clothes—a simple T-shirt and athletic pants that accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs. He had already completed his first round of jumps and was surrounded by classmates, his usual calm smile gracing his face.

Spotting Li Tang, Jiang Lou waved at him. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

Approaching slowly, Li Tang offered an explanation, trying to sound nonchalant. “Just happened to have nothing going on at the broadcast station.”

This excuse didn’t hold up to scrutiny, as Su Qinhan, also a member of the broadcast team, was too busy to leave her post and hadn’t come to watch Jiang Lou compete, a rare occurrence.

Jiang Lou, however, accepted the explanation easily, handing his jacket to Li Tang and entrusting him with a task. “Listen out for the referee calling names. It’s noisy here, and I can’t hear clearly.”

This was the first time Li Tang heard Jiang Lou himself mention his hearing impairment, which came as a surprise.

After all, Jiang Lou usually behaved so normally that people often forgot about his deafness in his left ear.

Li Tang solemnly agreed, and for the next while, he strained his ears, afraid of missing any sound.

Twenty minutes later, the finals began.

When he heard Jiang Lou’s name, Li Tang snapped to attention, turning to signal. “It’s your turn!”

Standing at the starting point, Jiang Lou nodded at him and assumed a ready-to-run stance.

As the referee’s whistle sounded, Jiang Lou sprinted out. His strides were enormous as he approached the sandpit, leading to an exceptionally high leap.

A long leg arched through the air, both feet stretched forward, the moment of suspension seemingly slowed down, as his entire body followed a perfect arc and landed in the sandpit.

“5.92 meters,” announced the teacher-referee.

Another wave of thunderous applause followed.

As the results of the long jump competition were announced over the broadcast, Li Tang stood at the edge of the bustling crowd, beneath a tall gingko tree with sparse branches.

Su Qinhan’s sweet voice carried over the airwaves, her tone jubilant, as if she herself had won first place.

The autumn in Xucheng arrived later than in the capital and lasted longer. The wind and rain carried a moist chill.

Having been caught in the morning rain without an umbrella, Li Tang felt dizzy as the cold wind blew against him now.

He measured the distance with his steps, using his toes as a pen to draw a line approximately six meters long on the ground covered in fallen leaves. Looking back, Li Tang felt a sense of despair—5.92 meters was longer than three times his own height.

Jiang Lou, having finished dealing with his classmates, pushed through the crowd toward the tree. Before reaching Li Tang, the corners of his mouth already lifted in a smile.

Li Tang assumed he had seen through his thoughts and hastily rubbed his shoes on the ground, erasing the line.

To his surprise, Jiang Lou wasn’t laughing at his childish behavior.

Stopping in front of Li Tang, he raised his hand.

The sudden action made Li Tang instinctively shrink his neck and turn away his face—only to inadvertently make it easier for Jiang Lou’s raised hand to lightly brush against his left cheek.

Suddenly holding his breath, Li Tang watched as Jiang Lou lowered his hand, a fan-shaped dry leaf between his fingers.

Apparently, a gingko leaf had unknowingly landed on his head.

That resonant baritone, now unusually clear due to their proximity, asked, “Do you have a fever?”

Brought to the school clinic’s door, Li Tang still tried to evade responsibility. “I sneaked out temporarily; they’re still waiting for me at the broadcast station…”

“It wouldn’t matter if you were one less,” Jiang Lou interrupted him somewhat forcefully, pushing open the door and casting a glance his way. “Go inside.”

Li Tang shut his mouth and obediently went in.

During the sports meet, the school clinic was unusually bustling. Both single beds were occupied by injured athletes—one who tripped during a run, another who hit their head during the high jump, and most absurdly, a student in the stands who was struck by a relay baton, now wailing in pain while clutching his arm. No one knew how the baton had flown onto him.

Among them was Li Zichu, sitting on a chair beside the doctor with his back to Li Tang. Just as Li Tang was about to approach and greet him, Jiang Lou squeezed through the crowd and handed him a mercury thermometer.

Li Tang had never used such an old-fashioned thermometer before and asked in confusion, “Where do I put this?”

Jiang Lou pointed to his arm, and Li Tang nodded, rolling up his sleeve and placing the thermometer under his armpit.

Suddenly, a sigh escaped Jiang Lou’s lips, and he helplessly lifted his arm, pointing under the armpit. “Here.”

Li Tang exclaimed in realization, unzipped his jacket, and carefully tucked the thermometer under his armpit.

Five minutes later, the reading was 38.5 degrees Celsius.

The rain and wind from that morning had just begun to raise his temperature. The doctor was swamped, and there was no time for a fever-reducing injection. Jiang Lou told Li Tang to wait where he was while he went to get some medicine.

Li Tang stood there obediently, drawing unwanted attention. Li Zichu soon spotted him and hobbled over on one leg. “I guess you’re not here to see me again.”

Seeing Li Zichu with one pant leg rolled up, revealing a fist-sized scrape bleeding on his knee, Li Tang asked, “How did that happen?”

A male voice nearby answered for him, “He was so mesmerized watching you that he tripped.”

Only then did Li Tang notice that Huo Xichen was also present.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense.” Despite the gash on his leg, Li Zichu seemed in good spirits. “Why are you here? Did something happen to Jiang Lou?”

Upon hearing that Jiang Lou was injured, Huo Xichen immediately craned his neck. “Brother Jiang is hurt? Where is he?”

Li Zichu wore a look of disdain, as if to say—look at how servile you are.

Li Tang explained, “He’s not hurt. I have a slight fever, and he’s getting medicine for me.”

Huo Xichen retreated, eyeing Li Tang askance. “When did you two get so close?”

“Not particularly close.”

They had only been to each other’s house twice—Li Tang added silently.

From across the shelves, Jiang Lou revealed half his body. “Any symptoms of a cold?”

“No.”

Li Tang replied immediately, then remembered the noise and chaos around them, raising both arms in an exaggerated X gesture towards Jiang Lou.

Turning back, he saw Li Zichu looking at him with the same disdainful expression he had worn when looking at Huo Xichen, silently conveying—look at how eager you are.

Later, Li Zichu sent Li Tang a WeChat message: Are you still only superficially attracted?

Attached was a sassy cat emoji with a sidelong glance.

In Li Tang’s definition, affection should not be a shallow emotion based solely on appearance. Undoubtedly, Jiang Lou’s appearance was outstanding, but if asked whether Li Tang appreciated only his face, Li Tang would answer, of course not.

Thus, this WeChat message caused Li Tang, who was already running a fever, to feel even hotter.

The medicine couldn’t be taken on an empty stomach, so they decided to have lunch first.

Originally, Li Zichu and Huo Xichen were also going to join them, but Li Zichu’s leg injury made it difficult for him to move around. Although Huo Xichen looked extremely unwilling, he stayed behind to accompany Li Zichu.

Walking to the school gate, Li Tang suddenly remembered his duties and planned to return to the broadcast station to inform them. Jiang Lou grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. “Are you tired? Take care of yourself first.”

They headed to a homely restaurant in a narrow alley north of the school gate. Pushing aside the thick plastic curtain, Jiang Lou stepped aside at the entrance, but didn’t let go of Li Tang, who stood there in confusion for a while before realizing that Jiang Lou was holding the curtain for him. He hurriedly ducked under Jiang Lou’s arm and entered the room.

The menu of the small restaurant was directly pasted on the wall. After asking Li Tang if he had any dietary restrictions, Jiang Lou ordered two dishes.

While waiting for the food, Li Tang belatedly realized that the phrase “Are you tired?” was meant to imply that he was meddling too much. Last time at Jiang Lou’s house, he had spent a long time on the phone arranging things for classmates attending a party, during which Jiang Lou even went out to buy a cake.

Li Tang thought, he seems to have always been patient with me.

“Lunch do you usually eat it here?” Playing with disposable chopsticks, Li Tang asked, “In the cafeteria I never see you.”

His jumbled sentence order amused Jiang Lou. “Stop talking, save your strength.”

Throughout his life, Li Tang’s symptoms of a fever had always been different from others. While others complained of headaches and sneezing, he appeared normal until he opened his mouth, revealing his speech abilities regressing to kindergarten level.

Only now did Li Tang realize that something was wrong with his body, especially his brain, which felt like a mess. He nearly stuffed potato shreds into his nostrils while eating.

After the meal, Jiang Lou opened the medicine box and placed a pill on the table.

Li Tang stared at the pill for several moments, then looked at Jiang Lou, hesitating.

Jiang Lou sighed. “Now you can talk.”

Li Tang pursed his lips, a mixture of difficulty and slight resentment. “It’s too big…I can’t swallow it.”

A few minutes later, Li Tang belatedly realized that what he had just said might have been inappropriate.

He wasn’t a naive baby, having visited raucous gay forums online. He knew that in a different context, those words could be quite suggestive.

Fortunately, Jiang Lou didn’t seem to think along those lines. He wiped his hands clean with a wet wipe, picked up the oval-shaped pill, and decisively broke it in half. “Is this better?”

Actually, it was still a bit large, but Li Tang didn’t want Jiang Lou to think he was being troublesome, so he nodded. “Yes, it’s fine.”

Picking up half of the pill, he feigned composure, placed it in his mouth, and lifted his tongue to roll it back. He reached for the water bottle on the table, already uncapped.

Based on past experience, more water was better, preferably enough to fill his cheeks before swallowing in one go.

However, multiple failed attempts made Li Tang overly nervous. He took a deep breath, pressed his lips to the bottle opening, and gulped water fiercely, his head tilted back. Suddenly, his wrist was gripped.

“We need to leave,” Jiang Lou whispered.

With a mouthful of water, Li Tang was dragged by Jiang Lou out of the restaurant and down the alley toward the road. Only when they turned the corner did he manage to glance back, seeing a group of thugs from a month ago chasing after them, shouting for them to stop.

The memory of being cornered and robbed against a wall that night was fresh in his mind. Terrified, Li Tang choked, swallowing the water and the pill together.

Two hundred meters east of the school gate was the bus stop. Just as a bus was pulling in to dock, Jiang Lou pulled Li Tang along in a mad dash, boarding from the rear door. As the bus started moving, the doors closed, leaving the few young hoodlums a step too late. They were infuriated, waving their arms in the air in frustration, a comical sight.

Experiencing this kind of “life-or-death escape,” which he had only seen on TV, for the first time, Li Tang was both frightened and inexplicably excited.

Returning from swiping his card at the front of the bus, Jiang Lou saw Li Tang’s flushed cheeks and bright, wide eyes staring straight at him, as if admiration was written all over his face.

Until Jiang Lou spread out his palm, revealing the remaining half of the pill.

Li Tang deflated instantly, bargaining. “I think half a pill is enough.”

Jiang Lou looked at him, his lips straight, showing no expression.

“The instructions say children take half,” Jiang Lou asked. “Are you a child?”

Determined not to admit he was a child, Li Tang struggled to swallow the remaining half of the pill while thinking, my previous notion that Jiang Lou has a lot of patience with me might have been a misperception.