Chapter 23 Part 1

The finest turpentine oil smelled very fragrant, its unique scent enveloping Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian realized, almost belatedly, that Chen Gu’s body temperature seemed a little high.

Because a temperature that wasn’t his own, through the thin layer of clothing, burned against his skin.

Jiang Mian’s breathing nearly stopped.

For as long as he could remember, he didn’t seem to have had such physical contact with anyone.

The overly solid embrace left practically no space between them.

Jiang Mian’s arms and torso were locked together. Amid the drumming of his own heart, he instinctively wanted to struggle free when Chen Gu’s low, slightly hoarse voice sounded softly above his head.

“Don’t know if you’ve heard of it. I have Touch Starvation.”

Jiang Mian froze, forgetting his movements. “What condition?”

“You can understand it as a psychological condition requiring physical contact with others.”

“So… because you haven’t had physical contact with anyone for a long time, you had a relapse and scratched yourself like this?”

He didn’t know why, but at his question, Chen Gu let out a low laugh.

Jiang Mian was puzzled. He didn’t realize Chen Gu was thinking of a different kind of “relapse.”

He had indeed had a relapse, using this method to make Jiang Mian’s heart ache, to make him rest compliantly in his arms, to let him hold him like this while talking, to surpass that boundary of “just friends.”

Chen Gu: “Yes.”

His voice was very gentle. “Sorry, did I scare you?”

Jiang Mian was silent for a moment.

He thought Chen Gu was really a bit… but those wounds were real. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Jiang Mian held his breath with slight discomfort, trying not to let Chen Gu’s scent affect his thoughts. He said slowly, “Let go of me first.”

Chen Gu’s voice dropped low, tinged with grievance. “You said you would help me.”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He… when he said that, he hadn’t expected Chen Gu to want to hug him!

“Just for a little while, okay?”

Jiang Mian moved his lips but didn’t speak.

He closed his eyes, answering Chen Gu with his silence.

Perhaps the air conditioner in the room was set a bit high, so the cold air wasn’t strong enough. In just half a minute, Jiang Mian found the silence exceptionally sweltering.

He pursed his lips lightly, wanting to tell Chen Gu it had already been a while. But thinking of the wounds on Chen Gu’s arms, he couldn’t say it.

So he could only wait until his heart somewhat numbed and began to calm down. Only then did Chen Gu reluctantly loosen his grip.

Why reluctantly?

Because Chen Gu loosened his hold very slowly, as if given a final ultimatum and had to do so.

And even after releasing his whole body, his hand still gripped Jiang Mian’s wrist.

Though the trap was one he dug, and the snare was one he set, the condition was real.

Holding Jiang Mian indeed gave Chen Gu immense satisfaction. Like parched land meeting sweet rain, he felt the cells agitated for days and those restless factors all soothed, lying obediently within his body, no longer causing chaos.

But this brief embrace, for the long-dry and cracked earth, was merely a bit of dew that barely relieved the pain.

Just moments after releasing Jiang Mian, the “addiction” swept back almost instantly, making Chen Gu want to continue holding him, even demanding more physical contact.

If only he could turn into a snake, that would be better. That way, he could wrap tightly around Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian looked down at Chen Gu’s hand gripping him.

Actually, this time, Chen Gu wasn’t squeezing as hard as last time, because it didn’t hurt as much. But it wasn’t without force, just…

Jiang Mian could feel a slight tremor in his fingertips.

He saw the knuckles had whitened again, as if suppressing and enduring something.

Jiang Mian remained silent for a while, ultimately not telling Chen Gu to let go of his hand. He just asked, “Do you have a Medicine Kit at home?”

Chen Gu said quietly, “They’ve scabbed over. It’s fine.”

“A few are swollen.” Jiang Mian said slowly. “You definitely didn’t clean them. If they get infected, they’ll scar.”

He paused, unsure how to persuade Chen Gu. “And your neck too… You can’t just leave them like this.”

Chen Gu saw his frown and immediately said, “I’ll listen to you. But there’s no Medicine Kit at home.”

Jiang Mian didn’t bother to correct him about his wording. He just took out his phone. “Then I’ll order one for delivery.”

Chen Gu didn’t stop Jiang Mian. He just held Jiang Mian’s hand and gestured for him to sit. “Sit down while you order.”

So Jiang Mian sat down with Chen Gu, side by side, and used one hand to order a home medicine kit on his phone.

Chen Gu still said it wasn’t necessary. Jiang Mian said slowly, “Having a medicine kit at home is very necessary. It has cold medicine, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs, anti-inflammatory medicine, and such. In case something happens, you can do simple first aid yourself.”

Looking at the earnestly “lecturing” Jiang Mian, Chen Gu’s gaze softened. He nodded obediently. “It was my oversight.”

Jiang Mian felt he might have said too much. After moving his lips, he closed his mouth.

Chen Gu still held his hand and didn’t let go. “Thank you.”

Jiang Mian pursed his lips. “Just don’t think I’m being nosy.”

“How could I?”

Chen Gu couldn’t help it and squeezed Jiang Mian’s wrist bone, which seemed so fragile it would snap with a twist, encircled by his hand. “I’m very happy.”

His voice was low, inexplicably showing a trace of pitifulness. “No one has ever cared about me like this.”

Jiang Mian was silent. He genuinely couldn’t quite tell if Chen Gu’s words were truth or lies. Because Chen Gu holding his wrist had knocked most of the rationality in his brain offline.

So Jiang Mian said nothing.

But he felt his silence seemed impolite. So Jiang Mian looked at Chen Gu. “Can I see the wounds on your neck?”

Chen Gu slightly lowered his eyes, his lashes fluttering. “Don’t think it’s ugly.”

Jiang Mian shook his head, saying he wouldn’t. So Chen Gu, using one hand, flipped down his collar.

…He still wouldn’t let go of the hand?

Jiang Mian felt somewhat helpless.

Because the skin on the neck was more delicate than the arms, Chen Gu’s neck looked somewhat shocking—covered entirely in blood streaks of varying lengths and depths, none of which had scabbed over yet.

Jiang Mian frowned. “Change into a wide-necked shirt. You can’t keep it covered like this; it could get infected.”

Chen Gu didn’t speak, just tightened his grip on Jiang Mian’s hand slightly.

Through that physical gesture, Jiang Mian understood something. “.”

A feeling of speechlessness rose in his heart. “It’s just changing clothes. Fastest would be a minute…”

Jiang Mian’s words trailed off.

Because he truly didn’t know the specifics of this so-called condition. Maybe one minute truly couldn’t be tolerated? Otherwise, why would Chen Gu scratch himself like this? It looked very painful.

Jiang Mian sighed inwardly, hadn’t yet said he could follow him in to change, when Chen Gu spoke first. “I wanted to ask, after I come out, can I still hold onto you?”

His words were spoken carefully, his gaze at Jiang Mian full of testing. Matched with those puppy-dog eyes, even if Jiang Mian knew he was pretending, he couldn’t help but feel tremendous pity.

And so, Jiang Mian, under this attack, involuntarily nodded.

Thus, a minute later, wearing a tank top, Chen Gu emerged and immediately grabbed Jiang Mian’s wrist again.

This time, he even switched hands—because earlier, he’d been holding the right hand, making it difficult for Jiang Mian to operate his phone.

Chen Gu’s gaze swept over the red marks still lingering on Jiang Mian’s right wrist. He couldn’t suppress a light scrape of his molars and only just managed to veil the malicious sentiments threatening to surge from his eyes.

He was watching Jiang Mian, and Jiang Mian was also watching him.

Chen Gu’s food intake indeed had a destination, though not as fat, but rather as protein.

He usually seemed just average. The beautiful muscle lines on his forearms could be glimpsed, but that was about it.

Yet this tank top fully displayed Chen Gu’s excellent physique.

…The free-fighting athletes on TV were probably about this built, right?

Was Chen Gu really a painter? Not some kind of combat sports athlete?

Jiang Mian thought, no wonder he felt Chen Gu was different from Chen Yishen.

So it was because Chen Gu did weight training (?).

Before Jiang Mian could look more than twice, a ringing phone interrupted.

He thought it was the delivery driver, but it turned out to be Chen Yishen.

Jiang Mian answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jiang Mian.” Chen Yishen’s end was still somewhat noisy. “Did you go? How is it?”

Jiang Mian: “I’m here. He’s okay.”

He paused, unsure whether Chen Yishen knew about this matter. Estimating Chen Yishen mostly likely didn’t, Jiang Mian handed his own phone to Chen Gu. “You talk to him.”

Chen Gu reached out and put it on speakerphone.

“Hello? Bro?”

“Yeah.”

Hearing Chen Gu’s voice, Chen Yishen slightly sighed in relief. “You okay? Why didn’t you answer the phone? Feeling unwell?”

Chen Gu’s tone became lazy. “It’s nothing. A cold. Took some cold medicine and slept, so I didn’t hear.”

Jiang Mian glanced at him, didn’t expose the lie.

Chen Yishen didn’t doubt it. “Then bro, are you feeling better now?”

Chen Gu “mm”-ed again.

So Chen Yishen then asked what kind of specific knickknacks he wanted.

“Whatever’s fine. Ask locals what they recommend.”

“Okay, then if anything comes up… just call Jiang Mian. Jiang Mian is really easygoing, and you two are friends too, right? Don’t be so polite with each other.”

Jiang Mian: “?”

When would Chen Yishen’s habit of making decisions for others ever change?

After Chen Gu hung up, silence settled over the living room again for a moment.

Jiang Mian stared at the ashtray on the coffee table shaped like a mountain. It belatedly dawned on him that there were stubbed-out cigarette butts inside.

Chen Gu… smoked too?

Jiang Mian thought for a moment, then still asked, “What about your condition? What are you going to do after this?”

Chen Gu said lightly, “Nothing. Can just ignore it. It’s been like this for so many years anyway.”

“You still need to see a doctor.”

“Jiang Mian, I have seen doctors.”

Chen Gu said helplessly, “Do you think if I hadn’t, I’d know the name of this strange condition?”

Jiang Mian oh-ed. His slow pace made him seem like a little snail. “Then, didn’t the doctor prescribe any medicine or anything?”

“Medication can’t cure this. Or rather, there’s no medicine to treat it.”

“Then you can’t just keep scratching yourself like this.”

The neck was very fragile. While an artery wasn’t so easily scratched open with fingernails, tetanus was no small matter either.

Unconsciously, Jiang Mian frowned again. “Is there really no solution?”

Chen Gu moved his lips, hesitating as if wanting to speak. “It’s fine. After you leave later, just pretend you don’t know.”

Jiang Mian: “…”

He looked at Chen Gu, puzzled, his tone serious. “I don’t have amnesia. How can I pretend not to know?”

Jiang Mian sensed Chen Gu was guiding him somewhere, but at this point, he didn’t want to dwell on what schemes Chen Gu might be brewing. Because he could see that this so-called condition was real. And the wounds on Chen Gu’s arms and neck were also real.

So Jiang Mian took out his phone. “What’s it called again?”

It really was because he’d never heard of it, so he momentarily didn’t know how to type it.

“I’ll check online. Maybe there are netizens with experience who know a solution.”

As the saying goes, the power of the masses is great.

Chen Gu seemed to consider it for a second. “That’s true. Go ahead and search. It’s called Touch Starvation.”

In the past, he was unwilling to mention, even extremely disgusted and revolted by those five words. Now, he was using them with a clear conscience to fish for Jiang Mian’s sympathy and attention.