Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 42:

Chapter 42: Realization

It wasn’t until Lu Jie stood downstairs at the apartment and saw the light filtering out from the windows that he calmed down.

The scene was so familiar. Lu Jie was a person with highly developed rational thinking. Even if he was slow to notice, he should have discovered the pattern by now. A month ago, he had flipped a table at a family dinner just because someone mentioned Fu Jia’an, driving to the hospital without a word, waiting downstairs for Fu Jia’an in agitated impatience, and downing a dozen bottles of beer.

Further back, three months ago, he had clearly planned a long vacation for himself with his broken leg, yet he rushed to be discharged the day after Fu Jia’an kissed him. What was he afraid of at the time? What was he trying to escape?

Going back even further, throughout these years, whether intentionally or by coincidence, Lu Jie hadn’t missed any news about Fu Jia’an. He had always pretended to be indifferent when people mentioned him, always making excuses to attend to other matters. Yet, in the end, he remembered everything about Fu Jia’an—what major he took, when he skipped a grade, how many papers he published, who his advisor was, which department he interned in, which year he rotated, and which year he was promoted to Chief Resident—more clearly than anyone else.

His impulsiveness, his verbal denial, his distractedness—every single time, it was because of Fu Jia’an.

This discovery terrified Lu Jie, shaking him to his core, yet it also brought an unprecedented clarity. It was like a string of lights, long forgotten on a high shelf, being rewired. The switch was flipped with a “snap,” and everything before his eyes suddenly became bright, like daytime amidst the night sky.

What stood between them, it turned out, was not their sexual orientation or gender, not their vastly different paths in life, and not even the twelve years they were apart, but Lu Jie’s internal order and logic.

Lu Jie was a rational man. He always hoped that everything in the world would be clear and logical, like a scientific report. He felt he had to clear away all other obstacles and solve all mysteries before he could examine his relationship with Fu Jia’an. That was his logic.

But love was illogical. There were still many unresolved issues between them, yet he loved Fu Jia’an. It wasn’t the perfect time, yet he loved Fu Jia’an.

After understanding everything, Lu Jie stood rooted, taking several deep breaths. He decided not to tell Fu Jia’an his thoughts just yet. After all, Fu Jia’an had a very important surgery tomorrow and the day after. A day or two wouldn’t make a difference.

He also needed time to process his own feelings. He would wait until after Sunday, when the dust settled, to give Fu Jia’an a serious response.

In a matter of minutes, Lu Jie had drawn a perfect plan in his mind. He regained his composure, confidently walked upstairs, prepared to treat Fu Jia’an with his usual demeanor, and then turned the key to open the apartment door.

“I’m b…”

After just two words, Lu Jie lowered his voice. He found that Fu Jia’an was asleep on the living room sofa.

Lu Jie turned, quietly closed the door, changed into his slippers, and walked to the rug, squatting down.

“Really asleep? Fell asleep waiting for me?” Lu Jie murmured softly.

Just looking down at Fu Jia’an’s sleeping face, Lu Jie felt the defensive line he had just established start to crumble. So this was what it felt like to like someone. When he couldn’t see him, it was just a slight yearning. When he actually saw him, all logic was thrown out the window. The feeling of affection instantly multiplied a hundred or a thousand times. Just looking at Fu Jia’an without moving, he felt his heart swell with emotion, almost overflowing.

All the lights in the living room were on. Worried that Fu Jia’an wasn’t sleeping soundly, Lu Jie planned to turn them off. Just as he was about to get up, Fu Jia’an rubbed his eyes, apparently awakened by the movement nearby.

“Sorry,” Lu Jie felt a little self-reproach, but mostly his heart ached for him. “I woke you up.”

“No,” Fu Jia’an sat up, groggily touching his stomach. “I was woken up by hunger.”

Then tell me! I would have ordered food for you, or brought food back! Lu Jie wanted to say this, but he suppressed the impulse and just said, half-coolly as usual, “Oh. Well, maybe grab a bite before going back to sleep.”

“Did you have dinner? Should we go out and eat something together?”

“I’m too lazy to go out. I’ll just make something simple at home,” Lu Jie said. “I’ll make you a portion too.” He mainly wanted Fu Jia’an to rest at home more, as going out was too much hassle.

Lu Jie casually made six dishes and one soup. Since he had already eaten before coming back, and Fu Jia’an, no matter how good his appetite was, couldn’t finish that much, there was naturally a lot of leftover food. Lu Jie packed it all into containers, knowing they could continue eating it over the weekend.

Fu Jia’an offered to do the dishes, but Lu Jie stopped him. “You should go rest quickly.”

Fu Jia’an sat back down at the dining table, suddenly staring at Lu Jie. “Lu Jie, you’ve been…”

The eyes, which seemed to have discovered something, made Lu Jie feel uneasy. But immediately after, Fu Jia’an smiled widely. “…a bit too accommodating toward me lately.”

Lu Jie breathed a sigh of relief, still maintaining his composure. “It’s called humanitarian care, understand?”

“I understand. Who asked you to be such a good person,” Fu Jia’an was likely too tired today, tired enough to shed those difficult-to-penetrate outer layers. Or perhaps, he had long stopped pretending in front of Lu Jie.

He looked at the person he liked almost obsessively, his eyes filled with naked possessiveness. “I almost don’t want time to move to Sunday. Is this VIP treatment going to disappear once I cure Zhan Qionglou?”

Lu Jie bore the scorching gaze, not meeting Fu Jia’an’s eyes. “We’ll talk about what happens later, later.”

Fu Jia’an didn’t press the issue. He stood up in a good mood. “Then I’m going upstairs to take a shower. See you later.”

Because of those words, “See you later,” Lu Jie purposely sat on the sofa after washing all the dishes to wait. He could have gone back to his room to change, but he was afraid of missing the time he could spend with Fu Jia’an after he came downstairs. This was truly absurd. Lu Jie even found it hard to believe the thought had sprung from his own mind.

Lu Jie was anxiously waiting but couldn’t show it. He adopted a seemingly relaxed posture on the sofa, but was actually checking his phone every minute. Any later, and Fu Jia’an would have too little time to rest…

When Fu Jia’an came downstairs in his pajamas, the unfortunate TV remote was being tortured in Lu Jie’s palm. The dusty TV had seen a significant increase in usage since Fu Jia’an arrived. Before Lu Jie even realized it, he had been staking out the living room many times.

“What’s up? Why aren’t you asleep yet? It’s already one in the morning.” Lu Jie’s tone was flat, his eyes fixed on the TV screen, looking a bit lazy.

Fu Jia’an sat down next to Lu Jie, the minty scent of his shower gel cool and refreshing.

Lu Jie glanced at Fu Jia’an. “What are you eating?”

“A lollipop,” Fu Jia’an’s lips shimmered. He took the lollipop out of his mouth. The transparent, glass-sphere-like candy was clearly lychee-flavored. “Do you want some? I have more.”

“No. That’s for kids.”

Fu Jia’an sucked on the lollipop for a moment, then suddenly said, “Lu Jie, let’s play Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

“Huh? What are you plotting now?”

“What else?” Fu Jia’an said frankly. “I want to take advantage of you.”

“……”

“But I’m still reasonable. If I win the game, you’re at my mercy for three minutes. How about that?”

“And if I win?” Lu Jie asked.

Fu Jia’an sat up straight, blinking his eyes to promise, “Then I won’t touch you or cling to you for the next week.”

That didn’t sound like a good deal either.

Lu Jie held out his fist. “You’re so childish… Fine.”

A glint of success flashed in Fu Jia’an’s eyes, and he also made a fist.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

Lu Jie threw Rock, and Fu Jia’an threw Paper.

Before Lu Jie could react, Fu Jia’an leaned in. He rested his head on Lu Jie’s shoulder, his still damp hair playfully brushing against his neck, and then took Lu Jie’s hand, stroking it freely. Fu Jia’an’s hand was smaller than Lu Jie’s, with thinner fingers. He examined it for a moment, realizing he couldn’t completely wrap his hand around Lu Jie’s.

Lu Jie’s body stiffened. He reminded him dryly, “It’s been a minute already.”

“Who says?” Fu Jia’an brazenly cheated. “Did you time it? If you didn’t time it, it doesn’t count as started.”

Lu Jie looked helpless against him, biting his lip as he reached for his phone and set a three-minute countdown timer. Fu Jia’an didn’t stay idle during this process. He occasionally sucked on his lollipop, playing with Lu Jie’s hand while pressing close to him.

It was too close. Lu Jie even felt that Fu Jia’an’s eyelashes might brush his cheek when he looked up at him. Fu Jia’an seemed to be observing Lu Jie’s expression. As he watched, a secret delight, similar to a weasel discovering the manor guard was lax today while stealing a chick, leaked from his eyes. His actions became bolder, yet he was afraid of spoiling the fun, so he didn’t dare make too much noise.

Lu Jie’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Fu Jia’an, who loved him, made him feel incredibly pure for the first time. Yet, being flirted with so chastely was already driving him crazy.

With one minute left, Fu Jia’an’s fingers traced the gaps between Lu Jie’s fingertips, then brazenly laced into them. Their fingers intertwined, locking together precisely like gears. In that instant, the machine started operating.

Lu Jie flipped his hand, gripping both of Fu Jia’an’s hands. He suddenly pushed Fu Jia’an’s body down, pinning him underneath. He leaned in infinitely close to those lips that smelled of sweet fruit,

“Didn’t you say I was at your mercy? Is your imagination really that limited?”