Reluctantly Willing

After pressing the answer button, he heard an intermittent voice saying, “Yan Zi… Yan Zi…”

“Liu Cheng! Is that you?” An Xiaoyan was very excited to hear from Liu Cheng as he had no news of Liu Cheng since he was last seen in Night Charm Luxurious Clubhouse.

“Yan Zi, please come, I’m feeling so miserable… Really very miserable…”

“Where are you?”

“I am… am in a small room.”

An Xiaoyan heard a voice that sounded weak and was fading out, it made him very anxious and worried. Liu Cheng will be fine. “You tell me the address. I will go and find you.”

An Xiaoyan couldn’t care less about anything else as he needed to find Liu Cheng. He felt that he was the one who caused Liu Cheng to be in his current state. If he did not make the trip, his conscience would haunt him .

After a while, Liu Cheng gave An Xiaoyan an address. An Xiaoyan put on his clothes, placed all his money in his pocket and looked at the red packet. He hesitated and finally stuffed the red packet into his pocket.

An Xiaoyan patted the doorkeeper’s room door and shouted, “Uncle, I need to go out. Please open the door.”

The doorkeeper looked out of the window and shook his head. “You can’t go out. Mr. Gu gave his orders before he left.”

“I have to go.” He was really afraid that if he delayed another minute, something would happen to Liu Cheng.

“Well, I really can’t do that. Unless Mr. Gu agrees, otherwise I will be blamed for letting you out.”

Since things had developed to this stage, An Xiaoyan hadn’t much of a choice. He turned on his mobile phone, searched for Gu Jun’s number and dialed out.

This was the second time An Xiaoyan called him. Gu Jun was surprised when he saw the phone number. He specifically found a quiet place to answer the phone call.

“Mr. Gu, I need to go out.”

“Where to?” Gu Jun knew that An Xiaoyan must be feeling very bored in his house during the festive period, but he could not walk away without any reason.

A reason must be given to Gu Jun. An Xiaoyan calmed down and said slowly, “I heard that the amusement park will set off fireworks, and I want to see it.”

The Oriental Eye will set off fireworks every year at the countdown time, which is also a highlight of the annual New Year in A City. It was not impossible for An Xiaoyan to go there.

“Come back after you see it.”

“I will.”

Gu Jun waited for a long time and did not hear any “Happy New Year”, and took the initiative to say, “An Xiaoyan.”

“Huh?”

“Happy New Year.”

“Thank you.” Just after saying this, An Xiaoyan gestured to the gatekeeper to show that Gu Jun had agreed to let him go out, and left with his mobile phone.

Gu Jun put down his mobile phone gloomily. He thought An Xiaoyan would also say Happy New Year to him, just like ordinary relatives and friends would. It was just a few words that he was asking for, but he was left a little disappointed. Did An Xiaoyan really have nothing to say at all? On second thought, since An Xiaoyan was going to The Oriental Eye to see the fireworks, he would probably recall the scene where they sat in the Ferris Wheel together.

On New Year’s Eve, many people were out on the road to play and set off fireworks. After a long walk, An Xiaoyan finally managed to hail a taxi. As soon as he got in the taxi, An Xiaoyan wrapped his coat tightly and told the taxi driver the address.

An Xiaoyan thought it would be a high rising residential area, but when he got to the place, he was somewhat at a loss.

This was a particularly deserted residential area and the houses seemed to be built ages ago. As many people had returned home during the New Year, there were not many people around, but a few children were playing with fireworks in the open space, which added a little joy to the quiet community.

He went to the address that Liu Cheng had given him. As soon as he got to the door, he smelled a scent of decay and he felt somewhat confused. It was the scent a decaying corpse.

He forced himself to stay calm, telling himself that he had seen corpses in school before. And since Liu Cheng was still able to make a call to him just now, everything should be alright.

Knock, knock, knock… The knocking sounds echoed in the corridor and could be heard very clearly. But after waiting for a long time, no one answered the door, and this made An Xiaoyan very worried.

Trembling, he pulled out his mobile phone and dialed Liu Cheng’s number. However, no one answered.

An Xiaoyan rushed downstairs in a frenzy, found a security guard and told him to go upstairs to open the door.

“That household on the third floor, I only saw him once shortly after he moved in. He’s tall and thin. How are you related to him?”

“I’m his friend. I’m here to celebrate the New Year with him today.”

An Xiaoyan took money out of his pocket, pulled out some red colored notes and stuffed it into the hands of the security guard. “Sorry to trouble you.”

Now that he had accepted the money, the security guard took a bunch of keys and went upstairs. When they reached the third floor, the overwhelming smell of decay made the security guard cover his nose.

“What’s this smell? Could it be that somebody has died?!”

“No, it can’t be. You open the door. I’ll go in and have a look.”

The security guard did not wish to stay for a moment longer. It would be considered bad luck if something bad happened during the New Year.

As soon as the door was opened, there was an overwhelming foulness. The security guard covered his nose and hurried downstairs. An Xiaoyan hurriedly turned on the light and saw the tragic scene inside.

The room was full of used paper towels and smelly clothes. The unfinished instant noodle boxes on the table had grown moldy. An Xiaoyan controlled the nauseating feeling and walked around the living room, then walked deeper into the house. Opening a door, he saw someone on the bed.

“Liu Cheng!”

The man on the bed did not answer.

An Xiaoyan rushed over and saw the familiar face. As soon as his fingers touched Liu Cheng’s body, the man’s heat made him withdraw his hand. Liu Cheng was running a high fever.

An Xiaoyan was about to turn around and dial 120 when someone grabbed the corner of his shirt. “Don’t go, there’s medicine in the cabinet over there. You can bring it over for me. I’ll be fine after I take it.”

Now that it was New Year’s Day, help from 120 might not arrive promptly. An Xiaoyan took out the medicine from the cabinet and poured out a few pills. He found a bottle of mineral water that had not been opened on the table next to him, and gave Liu Cheng the medicine.

After taking the medicine, Liu Cheng’s body did not feel as hot as before. He felt better and said, “Yan Zi, you are here. That is good.”

“I’m here. Have you eaten yet?”

Liu Cheng did not look very well. An Xiaoyan went downstairs to buy some noodles, then came back to sit at the bedside to feed Liu Cheng.

“Eat slowly. If it’s not enough, I will go and buy more.”

Liu Cheng nodded and began to chew and swallow slowly. It took nearly an hour to finish eating the bowl of noodles.

An Xiaoyan was clearing up the bowl and chopsticks when he heard a voice behind him saying, “Yan Zi, don’t go, will you? Stay here with me.”

He promised Gu Jun that he would go back, but seeing Liu Cheng in this state, he knew that Liu Cheng needed someone to care for him, he was left in a dilemma.

“Yan Zi…”

The weak voice was attacking An Xiaoyan’s conscience. After all, Liu Cheng was his benefactor. When he was in prison, only Liu Cheng had visited him. After his release, Liu Cheng went against Gu Jun to help him. He felt that it was he who had caused Liu Cheng to suffer and become who he was today. He had the responsibility to take care of Liu Cheng.

“Alright, I won’t go. I will clean the house and take you to the shower later.”

“Yan Zi, I hope you mean what you said.”

“Yes, I mean it. You lie down and rest for a while. I will come over to call you when it’s time to shower.” Hearing the promise from An Xiaoyan, Liu Cheng felt at ease. He dared not tell An Xiaoyan the truth. He just wanted to enjoy the last bit of warmth. At least in this world, there was someone who cared about him.

To pacify Liu Cheng, An Xiaoyan began to clean the room and clear out all the garbage. He also threw the dirty clothes into the washing machine. The smell of decay came from the pile of garbage in the house.

He did not know what happened after Liu Cheng left the Night Charm Luxurious Clubhouse, but no matter what had happened, he would take good care of Liu Cheng, at least until he recovered.

He briefly cleaned up the bathroom. Fortunately, after he found a bottle of air freshener and sprayed it around, the smell of decay in the room dissipated.

Returning to the bedroom again, Liu Cheng had just woken up from a nap and stared at him.

Loud banging sounds from the fireworks came from outside. It had passed midnight. The fireworks were a way by which people celebrate the New Year.

“Happy New Year.” An Xiaoyan sat by the bed and looked at the weak man in the bed.

“Happy New Year.” Liu Cheng barely showed a smile with a sickly face.

“Let me take you to a bath. The water is ready.”

Liu Cheng struggled to get up from bed. “No, I can bathe on my own.”

“You still have a fever, can you manage?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m weak, but I’m still a man. If I need to, I’ll call you.”

An Xiaoyan thought it sounded reasonable and agreed. He was mopping the floor in the living room and listening attentively to the movements in the bathroom.

Liu Cheng took off his smelly clothes and soaked himself in the water. When he made the phone call, he did not expect that Yan Zi would really come.

He was banished from the Liu family after he came out of the Night Charm Luxurious Clubhouse. Well, who could accept such a son, so shameless and so lascivious?

He helped An Xiaoyan rent a house previously but was terminated early. Now that he was ill and time was running out, to have his best friend by his side was considered a great joy in life.

After bathing, Liu Cheng wore the clothes that An Xiaoyan put on the cabinet and stepped out. An Xiaoyan looked at him and said, “Good, you look no different from before.”

“Really?” Liu Cheng knew that it would not be the same anymore. He could not go back to where he was before. He felt that he deserved all this and that all this suffering was his karma for what he had done. It should be sufficient to make up for all his mistakes.

After Liu Cheng came out from the bathroom, he sat down on the sofa with An Xiaoyan. An Xiaoyan had taken out a can of Coke, which had not expired, from the refrigerator and they drank it together.

The Spring Festival Gala on TV had not started broadcasting yet. The host’s voice echoed in the empty room.

Liu Cheng was feeling sleepy. An Xiaoyan called out to him but did not hear any reply. An Xiaoyan took him back to the bedroom and placed him on the bed, then he awakened somewhat.

“I’m afraid of the cold. Let’s sleep together.”

An Xiaoyan hesitated for a moment, took off some clothes and went into bed. As soon as he was on the bed, Liu Cheng’s hand lightly covered his hand, and he did not resist.

Liu Cheng liked playing basketball very much when he was studying at university. After every basketball match, Liu Cheng would be sweaty and he leaned an An Xiaoyan’s body. Then he would gulp down iced soda. Sometimes he would run around the field crazily. Those places and events were their best memories growing up.

Somehow, this slumber felt very comfortable.