Chapter 5: Keeping Distance

Qin Yan turned on the living room lights and then the air conditioner.

He suddenly noticed the tie forgotten on the sofa.

He picked it up and laid it flat on the small coffee table, slowly smoothing it out with his fingers… It was useless, it would need an iron. As he thought about this, he unintentionally wrapped the tie around his injured finger. Wrapped tightly, it became a “black finger.”

He tilted his head and looked at it, finding it quite interesting, muttering to himself, “It looks like you furrowed your brow and tied it for me.”

Zhou Langxing came back with the medicine but didn’t have a key, so he knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing a pale face.

Zhou Langxing checked the bleeding condition of his wound and saw the “black finger,” his heart instantly sinking.

Qin Yan smiled and raised his hand, “Make use of everything.”

Once wrapped, he was reluctant to take it off.

Zhou Langxing had already opened the medicine bottle, his eyes quietly looking at him, urging him with an obvious intention. Qin Yan gently covered the “black finger” and still smiled, offering an excuse.

“I’ll apply the medicine in a moment.”

His words were full of hesitation. Zhou Langxing asked coldly, “How long is ‘in a moment’?”

Qin Yan was slightly stunned, not expecting him to ask seriously. Their relationship wasn’t that close. He had seen many people, and when facing someone they weren’t familiar with, a casual excuse would often lead to an abrupt dismissal.

He then recalled that when his finger had been injured earlier, Zhou Langxing had seemed very worried.

He remembered the first day when he accepted Zhou Shurong’s pursuit. Zhou Shurong had invited him to dinner, but he didn’t know about Zhou Shurong’s identity at the time. To save money, he suggested they eat at his house, and he would cook.

He was preparing celery and pork dumplings, and Zhou Shurong squeezed in beside him, watching. While chopping celery, he accidentally cut his finger, and though the bleeding wasn’t much, it stung lightly.

Before he could react, Zhou Shurong had already grabbed his hand and used the old, cheesy method from TV—he sucked on his finger.

Qin Yan had been stunned at first, then smiled with his eyes narrowed. His hand had touched fresh meat, garlic, and celery!

For a moment, he forgot about any shyness and just wanted to tease this childish man.

“What does it taste like?” he asked mischievously.

Zhou Shurong furrowed his brow, his lips moved as if he wanted to spit it out but held back for the sake of face.

After a while, he finally exhaled, “Tsk!”

Later, when Zhou Shurong asked if he had any band-aids at home, Qin Yan shook his head. Zhou Shurong frowned, took out his handkerchief, and wrapped it up. Afterward, they ate dinner outside.

…If Zhou Langxing hadn’t let go just now, what would have happened next?

It wasn’t that Qin Yan was narcissistic, thinking both brothers had fallen for him. But being so close to Zhou Langxing, even if it wasn’t that kind of affection, he would still feel guilty, both toward Zhou Shurong and Zhou Langxing.

What would it mean to those who knew the truth?

Was it a way to reminisce about a deceased lover through that face?

He couldn’t guarantee that by facing this face every day, he wouldn’t end up seeing another person through it.

They needed to distance themselves!

Qin Yan’s gaze grew cold and distant. Zhou Langxing, how could he not notice? He suppressed the urge to pinch his brow, tightly gripping the cap of the medicine bottle. His eyes lowered, and the short, dense lashes cast a shadow, making his dark circles appear even more pronounced.

He explained calmly, “You’re my brother’s boyfriend.” The implication was that caring was only natural.

“Is that so?” Qin Yan feigned a look of sadness and said, “But he’s gone now, so our relationship is automatically dissolved.”

He gently informed him not to pay him extra attention just because he was Zhou Shurong’s boyfriend. He couldn’t bear it.

Zhou Langxing raised his eyes.

He didn’t understand Qin Yan’s words, or rather, he chose to interpret them in the way he wanted.

Suddenly, the wind picked up, and the curtains swayed gently.

Zhou Langxing looked at Qin Yan.

He thought, what did Qin Yan mean by that sentence?

Had he already accepted Zhou Shurong’s death, and was planning to start a new life?

Zhou Langxing’s throat moved, his emotions stirred, and he didn’t know what to say. He held the ointment for a moment before returning to the topic.

“Since you don’t want to take off the tie, let’s first treat those bruises. They’re fresh marks, how did this happen? If it’s inconvenient to answer, just refuse.”

But Qin Yan didn’t look at him. Instead, he gazed at the curtains swaying in the wind, his expression unreadable.

“Do you know? After you left, I turned on the air conditioning, and the window is closed now.”

Zhou Langxing pieced together the logic in his words, and suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He quickly looked at the curtains.

“You’re saying,” the faint voice continued, “is he here?”

Qin Yan fixed his gaze on the curtains, his eyes sparkling with a dreamy light. He softly said:

“He’s angry. I shouldn’t have said that, he’s angry at me.”

Zhou Langxing forced himself to stay calm. He didn’t believe in ghosts, but he couldn’t control the rapid beating of his heart. There was nothing he could do—he felt guilty.

However, Qin Yan’s words were definitely not wrong!

He tried to ignore the curtains moving by themselves, turning back to focus on Qin Yan. His expression was so serious, and for the first time, he hoped his voice would sound authoritative.

“You’re not wrong! Anyone who cares about you would want you to quickly forget the past and pick yourself up to start a new life!”

Qin Yan’s gaze shifted to his face. Zhou Langxing’s eyes were very bright.

“Of course,” he continued, covering up his emotions, “As his family, I naturally have selfish reasons, hoping someone will always remember him.”

After speaking, Zhou Langxing walked to the window and suddenly pulled open the curtains. The warm light filtered through the security window, creating a net of light that rushed toward him. He didn’t dodge or flinch, remaining calm and composed.

The light net cast various spots of light across his face. He turned his head and let out a short laugh.

“Ha! Qin Yan, look! You didn’t close the window properly, there’s a gap!”

Qin Yan stared at the half-open window in a daze.

Is that so?

So it was because he hadn’t closed the window properly?

Qin Yan lowered his eyes, hiding the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes in his disappointment.

Zhou Langxing closed the gap and didn’t want Qin Yan to continue worrying. He returned to the sofa and brought up the bruises again.

“Last night the power went out. I got up to find something, and I accidentally bumped into something and fell,” Qin Yan downplayed it, not mentioning the strange dream.

The air conditioning gradually began to work. The room grew chilly.

Under Zhou Langxing’s gaze, Qin Yan took care of his bruises on his own.

There was one spot that was hard for him to reach—the scrape on his right elbow. Since the glass had cut his left thumb, it was hard to use a cotton swab.

At that moment, Zhou Langxing said, “Let me do it.”

Qin Yan hesitated, deciding he should distance himself from Zhou Langxing, but now he was asking him to apply the medicine?

Qin Yan didn’t look at him and softly said, “That spot doesn’t need ointment.”

Zhou Langxing fell silent.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward. Qin Yan stole a glance at him. Even though Zhou Langxing had no expression, he felt like he was sad. Just as he was about to change his words, he heard him speak:

“The injury on your finger… is there any glass shard left in the flesh? Be careful of infection.”

“Just wait a bit, it doesn’t hurt as much now, there shouldn’t be any fragments,” Qin Yan lingered on the feeling of Zhou Shurong’s tie wrapped around his hand, not wanting to take it off.

“Alright. You’re an adult, you know best. Take care of yourself, and remember not to soak the wound in water.”

“Got it.” After saying thank you too many times, he didn’t say it this time.

Looking at Qin Yan, Zhou Langxing couldn’t be tough. He reluctantly swallowed a sigh. Before leaving, he gave a final reminder. He also helped clean up the broken glass on the floor and took a bag of trash with him.

Although Zhou Langxing had a stern face, cold eyes, and a harsh tone, with many jingling accessories on him, looking intimidating, unexpectedly, he did many good deeds.

He was a cold-hearted, warm-hearted university student—Qin Yan felt he had glimpsed the truth.

“Bye!” Qin Yan waved his hand. After seeing Zhou Langxing off, he let out a sigh of relief.

It was now ten o’clock, and everyone had left, either for work or school. Only Qin Yan had taken a leave.

He stood by the window, listening to the cicadas for a while. Then he pulled the curtains, thought for a moment, and turned off the lights. His gaze swept over the entire room inch by inch, slowly, not missing a single detail.

“Are you really not here?”

As if the previous night was repeating itself, Qin Yan’s words still went unanswered.