KM: Chapter 31

You Chen was adjusting the parameters with his head down when suddenly his heart skipped a beat and cold sweat broke out all over his forehead. He frowned and looked up, scanning the crowd but did not see Ji An's figure. So he walked towards the locker room, but halfway there, he suddenly turned his head towards another door. Something felt off. He rushed over, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

Ji An was curled up in the corner, holding his head, trembling uncontrollably. Upon hearing the noise, he timidly looked up, and upon realizing it was You Chen, he broke down crying and shouted, "You Chen! You Chen…"

You Chen's heart ached to the point of suffocation. He took a big stride forward, pulling Ji An into his arms, and softly said, "I'm here, I'm here."

"You Chen, You Chen… kiss me…"

"You Chen kiss me…"

Ji An tilted his face up, tears streaming down, making him look disheveled and shaking violently. He clung to You Chen tightly, repeatedly saying, "You Chen kiss me."

You Chen lowered his eyes, looking at Ji An's face, the one that had appeared countless times in his dreams, tears flowing fiercely just like in his dreams. He sighed silently. How could so many years have passed, and yet Ji An, when facing him, would only avoid and remain silent, revealing his true emotions only under great stress, and still only able to say, "You Chen kiss me."

Clearly, his little stutterer was no longer a stutterer, yet he still couldn't speak properly to him. Clearly, his little mute was no longer mute, yet he still wouldn't talk to him. In the end, all he could say was the phrase he had learned, "You Chen kiss me."

"I'll kiss you, please don't cry, alright? You're shaking so much, what's wrong? Will holding you tighter make it better?"

You Chen held Ji An tightly, kissing his tear-streaked cheeks and soft lips. Ji An clutched at his shirt, opening his mouth as if to say something. You Chen leaned closer, but Ji An suddenly went limp, falling back and fainting in his arms.

"Ji An! Ji An!"

You Chen's pupils dilated, his hand supporting the back of Ji An's head, calling out his name loudly in panic. The lack of response made him tremble all over, as if suffocating at the bottom of a lake.

Chu Longyu shouted from the crowd, "You Chen, go to the hospital!"

Only then did he react, bending down to carry Ji An horizontally, yelling at the crowd, "Make way!"

Chu Longyu rushed to the driver's seat at lightning speed, and as soon as You Chen got in the car, he slammed the gas pedal, heading towards the hospital.

You Chen was drenched in cold sweat, continuously pressing his face against Ji An's forehead, softly coaxing, "Baby, baby, you'll be fine. Just sleep for a while, okay? We… we still have a lot to talk about."

"…I still have so much to say to you."

The hospital was filled with white, a heavy white. It was different from the white Ji An liked.

You Chen sat by the bed, looking at Ji An, who was pitifully thin. His unconscious state seemed like he was asleep, sleeping deeply, trapped in a nightmare he couldn't wake from, his brows furrowed tightly. He reached out to smooth them, wanting Ji An to sleep more comfortably. The doctor hadn't told him the reason for Ji An's fainting, saying it was malnutrition, but he felt it wasn't that simple.

After thinking it over, only Ji An's parents would know the reason. You Chen wanted to use Ji An's phone to call Ji An's mom, and just then, Ji An's mom called.

He answered and spoke directly, "Auntie, hello, this is You Chen."

"…How's An An?"

"We're at the hospital now, he fainted. Can you come to the hospital?"

"Alright, I'll come over now."

You Chen gave her the hospital's location, put away Ji An's phone, and sent a message to Chu Longyu to go to Jiaxing to check the surveillance and send it to him.

Around midnight, Ji An's mom finally arrived at the hospital. However, she didn't pay much attention to Ji An. After looking at him a few times by the bed, she called You Chen out to talk.

"Do you still like An An?"

You Chen didn't expect her to be so direct. He was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily, not speaking.

Ji An's mom glanced back at the ward, then turned back to ask him, "Do you dislike An An's stuttering?"

"…Yes."

"Actually, An An wasn't born a stutterer. When he was very young, I took him out to play, and we ran into an acquaintance. We chatted for a long time, forgetting he was still following behind."

She paused, her eyes seemingly brimming with tears.

"When I turned back, An An was gone. He had been taken by traffickers, hit his head, and after that, he couldn't…"

"Couldn't speak properly."

You Chen's breathing slowed down bit by bit. This was a truth he couldn't bear.

Ji An's mom looked at him and softly asked, "Do you feel upset? But you dislike An An's stuttering."

You Chen clenched his fists, "I…"

"But An An told me he likes you because you dislike his stuttering."

Ji An's mom looked at him, tears streaming down her face.

"On the first day we moved, I told him he should like a girl, but he said he just likes you. We couldn't bear to scold or hit him, so his dad had to lock him in his room, hoping he'd reflect."

The empty corridor was eerily quiet, and every word Ji An's mom said was too clear. You Chen didn't want to listen anymore; he just wanted to rush back and hold Ji An tightly. But the stronger this desire grew, the heavier Ji An's mom's words became.

Every truth that followed brought him immense pain, as if a thousand bones were growing within his own, every inch of his flesh bleeding beneath the seemingly intact skin, which was actually beginning to rot, collapsing bit by bit, then reorganizing, reshaping.

What was Ji An thinking when he couldn't eat? What was Ji An thinking when he couldn't sleep? What was Ji An thinking when he repeatedly fainted? When Ji An said nothing, what were his tears for?

He had wanted to ask if Ji An had him in his heart, but now he only wanted to ask Ji An, if it was so painful, why not choose to give up?

Ji An's mom cried a lot, finally choking up as she spoke to him, if you still like An An, I'm very grateful to you, grateful for your five years, and I never thought of giving up on An An.

"An An's childhood was already unhappy because of my negligence. If liking you can make him a little happier, I won't stop you anymore."

She smiled and softly said, "You must love An An well. An An's health isn't good, so I hope you can help me take good care of him, whether it's day or night, don't let him catch a cold."

The familiar words almost overlapped with those from that phone call years ago. You Chen suddenly remembered that day when he taught Ji An to speak, repeating a few sentences over and over, yet Ji An could only say 'kiss me' the best.

Time intertwined, and it turned out that in these five years, they were both in such pain.

Why is love so painful?

After Ji An's mom left, You Chen didn't return to the ward.

He sat against the wall in the corridor. As the sky gradually brightened, more people passed by, their footsteps approaching and receding.

The process of reorganizing was painful; his bones were shattered and pieced back together. It turned out that only in this way could he love Ji An.

So what about Ji An? Where was he shattered? Does Ji An also have to reorganize?

You Chen tasted his own tears for the first time.

His dear, most precious Ji An.

A timid little stutterer, yet stronger than him.

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