Lack of Love

Extra Episode 05

Although Yan Hao’s injury was not serious, it still needed to be treated. The basement environment was dirty and messy, and coupled with the heavy humidity, the wound could easily get infected and inflamed. Zhong Qiran tore the sleeve of his shirt, turned it to the clean side, bandaged and secured the wound.

When Yan Hao pressed against him, he could feel that the other person had a good figure. If it weren’t for the current situation, he might have taken a few more glances.

The mastermind probably intended to teach them a lesson. Throughout the night, no one brought them food.

Yan Hao seemed more tired than usual after being injured. He didn’t say much and leaned against the wall, falling asleep. Even when he was asleep, he had an aura that made it difficult for others to approach him. Now, he seemed to have softened in his appearance.

Zhong Qiran looked at Yan Hao and recalled the dangerous process they went through in the afternoon. He remembered everything that had happened between them in that room since they first met, and he felt an inexplicable emotion slowly brewing within him.

He had doubted whether it was possible to develop feelings for someone just because of a kiss. But being isolated from the outside world and relying on each other also played a part.

Zhong Qiran didn’t dwell too much on this question. If it happened, it happened. There was no escape. Just like how, no matter how much he tried to convince himself that his sexual orientation was no different from others, he couldn’t deceive himself in the end. What kind of feelings did he truly have for Yan Hao? He thought time would eventually give him the answer.

The next day, Yan Hao woke up early, looking spirited and with a slightly rosy complexion. Seeing him like this, Zhong Qiran felt relieved that the wound hadn’t worsened.

The whole day was boring. The kidnappers seemed to have forgotten about their existence. They still hadn’t received any food, not even water.

Yan Hao seemed to be trying to pass the time and started chatting with him intermittently.

It was only at this time that Zhong Qiran began to have a preliminary understanding of him. The more Yan Hao spoke, the more he felt that they were actually people from different class, who had been brought together by this unexpected encounter. The good impressions he had developed for Yan Hao last night were silently suppressed.Emotions  were fleeting, and as long as he didn’t get more involved, they would naturally fade away with time.

That night, Yan Hao also fell asleep early, leaning against the corner of the wall and closing his eyes without moving.

It was then that Zhong Qiran noticed that Yan Hao had been sitting there all day without changing his position much. He had a vague sense that something was not right, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. They had been hungry for a whole day and night, without even drinking water. Their strength was nearly depleted. Zhong Qiran himself was dizzy from hunger and didn’t have the mental capacity to think about other things.

In the middle of the night, it seemed to start raining outside. The sound of raindrops tapping against the iron window echoed.

Zhong Qiran was awakened by the sound of rain. It was not easy for him to fall asleep on an empty stomach, and he woke up at the slightest movement. But besides the rain, he also heard faint and indiscernible sounds of pain and moaning.

Listening in a daze for a while, Zhong Qiran suddenly fully awakened. He realized that the sound was coming from Yan Hao, and quickly rushed over to his side.

Yan Hao must have been in a daze, burying his head between his arms. As soon as Zhong Qiran touched his body, he was startled by the heat emanating from him; it was a fever. Yan Hao lifted his head, and his face showed an abnormal flush. Zhong Qiran remembered that Yan Hao’s complexion seemed fine in the morning, but now he didn’t look good.

He wanted to check Yan Hao’s wound, but as soon as he touched his waist, Yan Hao groaned in pain.

Seeing the situation, it was indeed  the infected inflammation that caused the high fever.

Zhong Qiran panicked but forced himself to stay calm. If he lost his composure at a time like this, no one could save Yan Hao. They had been stripped of all their belongings by the kidnappers, and there were no first aid supplies at hand. If he couldn’t replace the bandage on Yan Hao’s wound with a clean one, rewrapping it would be futile.

He gave up touching Yan Hao’s wound and instead crawled to the door to knock and call for help. He knocked on the door for almost half an hour, his throat becoming dry and hoarse, but no one came.

He turned back to look at Yan Hao, who seemed to have collapsed on the ground.

Zhong Qiran crawled back to Yan Hao’s side and lifted him up. Yan Hao probably found Zhong Qiran’s body pleasantly cold, so he naturally leaned into his embrace.

Zhong Qiran couldn’t bear his weight for a moment and ended up being pressed down by him.

Their faces were very close, and Yan Hao’s breath was hot, itching and burning as it sprayed on Zhong Qiran’s neck. There was also an inexplicable emotion stirring within him. Zhong Qiran felt the steady and powerful heartbeat coming his chest, and suddenly he became calm. Instead of pushing Yan Hao away, he reached out and embraced him, using his own slightly cool skin to help lower his temperature.

Yan Hao’s lips touched Zhong Qiran’s neck, an unconscious action just to relieve the burning caused by the high fever.

Zhong Qiran allowed him to hold on for a while before removing his clothes and helping him turn over into a comfortable position. He also took off his own shirt and lay bare on top of Yan Hao, carefully avoiding the wound, with their skin touching.

It was an extremely difficult night. Zhong Qiran almost didn’t sleep at all. When dawn approached, he finally felt that Yan Hao’s body temperature had dropped slightly.

Yan Hao’s lips were already cracked and dry, as if he were incredibly thirsty. Probably hearing the sound of rain, he unconsciously opened his mouth.

Zhong Qiran noticed and, looking at Yan Hao’s condition, remembered that it was raining outside. Some rainwater had seeped in through the iron window, gradually dampening a corner of the wall. He stared at the window and suddenly had an idea. He knew the water wasn’t clean, but he had no other choice.

He walked to the bottom of the iron window, reaching out to touch the wall that had been dampened by rainwater. His hand felt some moisture. The rainwater wasn’t flowing from above but slowly seeping in from outside of the wall, so his hand couldn’t catch it all. He had no other choice but to press his lips directly against the wall, using his tongue to lick it and draw out some moisture, moistening his dry mouth.

The water had a taste of mud and an unpleasant smell of rust, but he couldn’t think about the consequences of drinking this water. All he knew was that they had to survive.

His throat was still very dry, but at least they had relieved the urgent need. After moistening his mouth, he fed Yan Hao mouth-to-mouth. When he used his tongue to lick Yan Hao’s dry and cracked lips, the other person unconsciously sucked on his tongue, deepening the kiss.

Zhong Qiran knew he should retreat, but inexplicably, he went along with it. His tongue entered the other person’s mouth, delivering the water and saliva.

Yan Hao was like a person dying of thirst in the desert. Once he found a water source, he eagerly and desperately absorbed it.

“Umm…” Zhong Qiran’s tongue was tingling from being sucked, and his lips were bitten red. He repeated the action of feeding water, exchanging countless kisses with Yan Hao.

He told himself that it was for the sake of survival.

Only that night, in that moment, could he kiss the person he liked so recklessly.