When Jiang Chu answered the call from Qin Zui’s homeroom teacher, he was out eating lunch with Da Ben at a small restaurant near the company.
The food hadn’t arrived yet. They each had a bowl of mutton soup in front of them. Usually, they were too lazy to move and just ordered takeout, but today they’d made a special trip out just to properly enjoy a hot meal.
The incoming call was from an unfamiliar number. Jiang Chu assumed it was a business contact, so he answered with a very professional, “Hello.”
After only a couple of sentences from the other end, he froze, his brow furrowing slightly. “Is it serious?”
“Fuck, what kind of shady shit have you been getting into behind my back?” Da Ben mouthed at him.
“Alright, I understand. Thanks. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Jiang Chu hung up, stood, and grabbed his car keys.
“What’s up?” Da Ben asked seriously, seeing his demeanor shift.
“Qin Zui sprained and dislocated his ankle. He’s getting a cast on at the Third Hospital.” Jiang Chu didn’t go into detail, mainly because the homeroom teacher hadn’t given him any. “You eat. I’m going over there.”
“How do you dislocate your… did he get into a fight with a classmate?” Da Ben grabbed Jiang Chu’s jacket and tossed it to him. “Want me to pack some food for you?”
“No need.” Jiang Chu slipped on his jacket, pushed the door open, and walked out.
“Your brother is going to kill me.” Du Miaomiao was sitting next to Qin Zui, staring at the plaster cast and braces that covered his foot all the way up to his calf, mumbling softly.
He’d said it twice already.
Qin Zui glanced at him, a bit helpless. “He won’t.”
The situation was much better than he’d imagined. On the way to the hospital, the pain had been pretty bad for a while, and Qin Zui had worried it might be a fracture.
After the X-rays, it was confirmed to be a dislocation. Looking at it, it actually seemed a bit less severe than the time Liang Xiaojia’s dad had beaten him so hard his arm was dislocated.
“If it were me, I’d be afraid my little uncle would beat me to death.” Du Miaomiao pursed his lips and sighed, feeling pretty guilty.
Since his ankle was the one actually dislocated, Qin Zui didn’t really have the energy to comfort him in return. He just quirked the corner of his mouth and didn’t say anything else.
When Jiang Chu pushed the door open and saw Qin Zui’s propped-up leg, for a moment, he truly felt what it meant for his mind to go blank.
Knowing he was getting a cast was one thing. Seeing the leg all wrapped up was quite another.
He himself had never even had a Band-Aid on, let alone a cast, since he was a kid.
Watching martial arts movies on TV, someone would always dislocate something, an old man by the roadside would grab it and pop it back in place, and Jiang Chu had genuinely believed it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Seeing this setup, it looked just like a fracture.
“Did you two get in a fight?” Seeing Du Miaomiao crouching nervously nearby, Jiang Chu frowned.
Then he looked back at Qin Zui, pointing at his bandaged leg, and said incredulously, “And you lost?”
“Something about the way you said that doesn’t sit right…” Du Miaomiao rubbed his face, not sure if he should take credit for this glorious mess.
“No, it was an accident.” Qin Zui was kind of impressed with these two. Neither of them could stop their imaginations from running wild.
He’d thought it wasn’t necessary to bother Jiang Chu, but his homeroom teacher, Hai Dapang, disagreed. He’d gone out in the hallway to make phone calls for a long time. Jiang Chu had gotten there pretty fast.
He handed the X-rays to Jiang Chu, who then took them and the teacher back to see the doctor again to ask about the specifics.
Left ankle subluxation, mild ligament sprain.
“A ligament too?” Jiang Chu frowned.
“Normal, it’s an ankle. Count yourself lucky the bone isn’t hurt,” the doctor said, unfazed. “Yesterday, a student had a full dislocation with a torn ligament and a fracture. His whole foot was twisted around.”
Just hearing that made Jiang Chu’s teeth ache. He confirmed with the doctor again, “So my brother’s bones really are fine, right, Doc? Could you take another look? Will there be any long-term effects?”
“He’s fine. He was smart about it; he knew something was wrong and didn’t walk around on it.” The doctor looked at the X-ray again. “Long-term effects depend on the recovery. Whatever you do, don’t let him put any weight on that foot. Don’t let it bear any force. No bumps or hits. No water. Needless to say, no smokes or alcohol. Light diet. Apply ice packs for the first few days, then switch to heat packs. Keep warm. Come back for a follow-up X-ray in about three or four weeks.”
The doctor rattled off a list. Jiang Chu’s mind only managed to latch onto “ice packs, then heat packs.”
“Apply it over the cast?” he confirmed with the doctor.
“Yeah, you want me to take it off for you?” The doctor went on to recommend a special ice pack designed for use over a plaster cast. He could tell Jiang Chu had no experience with this kind of care and patiently explained the precautions for a long while.
Qin Zui’s homeroom teacher, Hai Dapang [Big Fat Hai], was a young, skinny, bald man who didn’t look much older than Jiang Chu. This was probably the first time a student in his class had gotten into an accident. In the cold weather, his forehead was drenched in sweat. He explained things very seriously to Jiang Chu for quite some time.
Jiang Chu knew that Qin Zui’s dislocation wasn’t a major issue, so he felt a lot more at ease. Seeing that Hai Dapang couldn’t even explain clearly what had happened and was just wiping his sweat, Jiang Chu ended up comforting him instead, telling him not to be so nervous.
When they got back to the door of the treatment room, just as Jiang Chu was about to push the door open, Hai Dapang said, “So, Qin Zui’s mother can’t make it, right? You can take him home for now to rest. I’ll ask for leave for his afternoon classes. Contact me if there’s anything else.”
Jiang Chu was stunned for a second upon hearing “Qin Zui’s mother.” He asked Hai Dapang, “You contacted his mother, then?”
“Yes, that’s right. She said she was busy and couldn’t get away, so she told me to contact his older brother. So I asked Qin Zui for your number.” Hai Dapang said.
Jiang Chu nodded and didn’t say anything else, pushing the door open to go in.
Before, only Du Miaomiao had been with Qin Zui. Now, Gao Xia and Lu Yao were there too. Lu Yao was sniffling as she looked at Qin Zui’s casted leg. Qin Zui was transferring money to Gao Xia. There were also a pair of crutches next to him now.
“Bro.” They all greeted him as he came in.
“How come I didn’t see you two earlier?” Jiang Chu asked.
“I went to pay the fees and pick up the meds for him. I also rented the crutches. She just got here.” Gao Xia smiled and tapped Qin Zui’s cast. “Bro, just make him a lot of bone broth for the next few days. When I broke my leg as a kid, my mom force-fed me that stuff. I felt like I was running around again after just a few days.”
Jiang Chu laughed and said, “Alright.” Then he asked Qin Zui, looking at his foot, “Does it hurt?”
“It’s okay,” Qin Zui said.
Jiang Chu nodded, then pointed at Du Miaomiao. “You. Out.”
Du Miaomiao had originally been planning to ask Jiang Chu to go to his parent-teacher conference. He ditched that idea. Hai Dapang was Qin Zui’s homeroom teacher, but he also taught their class for Chinese. He’d have to go up on stage and talk. He’d already met Jiang Chu. If Jiang Chu showed up, his cover would be blown.
He honestly told Jiang Chu the whole story of Qin Zui’s dislocation, apologized, and promised to take good care of him at school, running errands, buying him meals, helping him to the bathroom. Then he handed Jiang Chu the bag containing Qin Zui’s shoe.
“You just take it easy, alright?” Jiang Chu said, helplessly taking the bag. He reached out with his other hand and gave the back of Du Miaomiao’s head a light slap. Du Miaomiao rubbed his head and pouted.
The three kids were taken back to class by Hai Dapang. Jiang Chu took Qin Zui home.
He’d originally been wondering if he should get a wheelchair since Qin Zui’s leg was just wrapped up and he wouldn’t be used to it. But Qin Zui just grabbed the crutch and maneuvered himself into the car.
A real pro.
Jiang Chu raised an eyebrow and helped him fasten his seatbelt.
When he walked around to the driver’s side and got in, Qin Zui had a cigarette between his lips and was flicking his lighter, about to light it.
“Looking for a fight?” Jiang Chu reached over and pulled the cigarette out, putting it in his own mouth. “Why didn’t you just smoke at the hospital?”
“One won’t matter,” Qin Zui said, looking at Jiang Chu’s lips holding the cigarette.
“Not even half.” Jiang Chu freed a hand and tapped Qin Zui’s brace. “This is your ankle, you know? Your whole body’s strength is supported by this. If you don’t heal right, you’ll be crying for the rest of your life. And you’ll be limping while you cry.”
Qin Zui didn’t argue. He turned his head to look out the window.
Jiang Chu glanced at him again. “Still hurts a lot, doesn’t it?”
Qin Zui turned back and looked at him. He bounced his knee, which was resting on his right leg, and threw Jiang Chu’s words back at him. “It’s the ankle.”
“Fuck.” Jiang Chu swore with a laugh, but looking at Qin Zui’s foot, he still felt a little pang of sympathy.
He knew the kid could tough it out. He didn’t show it on his face, but the urge to have a smoke as soon as he got in the car meant it really fucking hurt.
He thought for a second, then said to Qin Zui, “One drag?”
Qin Zui looked at him. He was about to speak when Jiang Chu added, “Call me ‘Bro’.”
“You…” For a second, Qin Zui didn’t even know what to say.
“You gonna call me it or not?” Jiang Chu looked at the intersection ahead, about to turn red. He quirked his lips happily, pointing the cigarette end in Qin Zui’s direction.
Qin Zui felt like it wasn’t his ankle making his nerves ache, but this newfound brother.
“Bro.” He said it helplessly.
“Good boy.” Jiang Chu smiled, satisfied. As the car came to a stop at the red light, he turned his head, took the cigarette down, and blew a mouthful of smoke straight at Qin Zui.
Qin Zui froze, staring at him in disbelief.
“Here’s some immortal breath for you. Keep you going.” Jiang Chu was cracking himself up at Qin Zui’s expression. Still, he rolled down the window, letting the “immortal breath” dissipate into the air.
“…You’re insane.” Qin Zui was totally done with him. He narrowed his eyes and turned to stare out the window, but he couldn’t help the smile lifting the corners of his own mouth.
Having started this, Jiang Chu’s “Say ‘Bro'” bartering was relentless.
Qin Zui needed his crutch to get out of the car? Say ‘Bro.’
He needed to change his shoes at the door? Say ‘Bro.’
Jiang Chu voluntarily fetched him a glass of water and still made him say ‘Bro.’
“Do you have to force this shit down my throat?” Qin Zui hadn’t expected Jiang Chu to be this childish. He leaned back on the sofa, looking boredly at him.
“I like hearing it. Just say it. I could beat you up right now and still give you one leg.” Jiang Chu shoved the cup into Qin Zui’s hand and turned to go to the bedroom.
He was genuinely happy. There was a certain joy in having Qin Zui in his grasp, able to mess with him without any resistance.
“Just you wait until this cast comes off.” Qin Zui took a sip of water, his voice low.
“Right now, just figure out how to take off your pants.” Jiang Chu heard him and came back out with a pair of loose board shorts in one hand and a big pair of scissors in the other.
“What are you doing?” Qin Zui frowned.
“Cutting your pants.” Jiang Chu crouched in front of the sofa, studying them. Before the cast had been put on, the pant leg had already been cut open, but it wasn’t loose enough. With the cast and brace, he’d need to cut it at least up to the knee to get the pants off.
“I’ll do it myself.” Qin Zui reached for the scissors.
Jiang Chu slapped his hand away.
“Bro.” Qin Zui tried again.
“So now you’re being cooperative, huh?” Jiang Chu was laughing so hard. Crouching was awkward, so he just plopped down cross-legged on the floor and pressed Qin Zui’s hip to push him back. “Doesn’t matter. Lean back and don’t move.”
He propped Qin Zui’s injured leg on a small ottoman and traced his hand up from the calf, trying to figure out the best way. Maybe he should just tear the whole pant leg off.
Qin Zui was leaning back. From his angle, Jiang Chu was sitting right between his legs, his expression very serious, and his hands… also very serious.
He let out a long breath from his chest and turned his head to look at the balcony, pulling the board shorts that were ready for him over his own waist.
