Morbid Attachment

Chapter 31

Sure enough, Qi Boyan's words “gege’s love” caused the camera men around them to look at each other1. Ji Wang quickly said, "Okay, hurry up and eat, third brother, nephew Duan is waiting for you downstairs."

He tried hard to twist Qi Boyan's “gege” past, attempting to create the feeling that Qi Boyan's crazy words were just role-playing.

Although the show crew signed a non-disclosure agreement, and someone would suppress it even if there was a scandal, Ji Wang still cared.

He wondered why he was this way. He didn’t want to have any association with Qi Boyan in front of others, so why did Qi Boyan insist on breaking this equilibrium again and again.

Ji Wang’s tone was stiff. Qi Boyan sat on the bed and looked at him for a while, then stood up and politely said to the camera men, “I’m sorry, I want to change clothes. Can you wait outside for a while? Turn off the cameras inside the room too.”

The camera men asked the program team for instructions and quickly received an answer of yes. They turned off the cameras in the room and exited one after another.

Ji Wang also wanted to leave, but found that Qi Boyan stepped on his shoes. Ji Wang wanted to move his feet, but was stepped on even harder.

Qi Boyan stepped barefoot on the toes of his shoes, and Ji Wang actually wondered whether his shoes would dirty Qi Boyan's feet after running so many places today.

Soon he was clear-headed again and annoyed by his habitual thinking. When could he put Qi Boyan aside, instead of like now, where he said he was annoyed but subconsciously always put this person first.

Qi Boyan liked to provoke him by pretending like nothing had happened. The last time they met in the hospital, they’d had a serious fight. Yet now on the variety show he pretended to be normal, like everything was fine.

In fact, they all knew there was a problem. It was like a mirror had been shattered to pieces and Qi Boyan's behavior was to futilely pick up the fragments and piece them into the frame, turning a blind eye to the damage.

He would even tell others that this mirror could still be used, it was just like before.

Could it really be the same as before, or was it that if you lied for long enough, everyone could fake it?

Ji Wang was not as capable as Qi Boyan. He couldn’t do it.

The camera men left and closed the door. Qi Boyan glanced around and made sure the red lights on all of the cameras were off.

Only then did he relax and lean back, his arms bent and elbows supported on his upper body, his feet taken off of Ji Wang's shoes. He walked forward and slipped into his trouser leg, his cool toes playfully hooking back and forth on Ji Wang's calf.

"Ge, you hurt me too much in the bathroom this afternoon, do you want to cripple me?" Qi Boyan’s voice turned soft and he whispered in a complaining tone.

Ji Wang looked at him cooly, "So you're crippled?"

Qi Boyan pressed his hand on his lower abdomen. "No, but it still hurts a little bit now."

That afternoon in the bathroom, they both had some reaction raised because of Qi Boyan’s indulgence. Qi Boyan shamelessly wanted Ji Wang to use his mouth. While begging, he affectionately and unceasingly placed small pecks on Ji Wang’s lips.

In the face of Qi Boyan's explicit request, Ji Wang smiled. Qi Boyan stared at Ji Wang and felt the other party's hand cooperatively hold him.

Qi Boyan said in a trance, "Is today my lucky day?"

The severe pain that followed made Qi Boyan understand that it was not a lucky day, but a day of suffering.

He instinctively gripped the things around him before he could endure the pain of the "fatal blow" Ji Wang gave him.

Qi Boyan knocked down the shampoo and other objects, which is what Duan Yinyu heard.

As for Ji Wang himself, after hiding upstairs, he found the fire would not be extinguished for a while and had to go to the bathroom to rinse again in cold water.

He wanted Qi Boyan to know that the result of his reckless actions would be a dead loss2.

Ji Wang felt that Qi Boyan's dishonest toes had an inclination to go up, and he emphasized, "Do you want to go again?"

As soon as the words fell, Qi Boyan's foot honestly returned to its position and he slowly said, "No way."

Ji Wang glanced at the food next to him. "After eating, go downstairs."

He planned to go out after speaking but he couldn't help but stop and add, "Also, don't provoke me again."

After saying this, even Ji Wang felt it was impossible. He understood Qi Boyan’s behaviors; he wouldn’t go away even if he beat him, he wouldn’t retreat even if he scolded him.

Originally, in the lotus field at noon, he thought Qi Boyan’s avoidance of him was anger and he didn’t want to pay attention to him, too lazy to waste time on him.

Qi Boyan had a big temper in the past. While dating, it was common for him to ignore Ji Wang. Ji Wang practically learned all the ways on earth to coax and cool down someone’s temper during that time.

Lowly begging for forgiveness, using honeyed words to sweetly coax, romantically spending time together.

He never spoiled anyone so much in his life, only Qi Boyan alone.

Ji Wang left the room. Qi Boyan didn't call to stop him, but he walked even faster. He went to other rooms to tidy up everyone's bedding and only afterwards went back downstairs.

Qi Boyan waited for a while before coming down holding a guitar in his hand.

This was an arrangement of the program group to let Qi Boyan promote his new song in the variety show.

In the yard, there was a large terrace for enjoying the cool air. Zhang Muxian first covered it with a mat, then placed a fruit place with ice cold watermelon. Looking up, there was a sea of stars rarely seen in the city. The surroundings were quiet and without the city’s hustle and bustle.

Duan Yinyu waved to Ji Wang and waited until he came over before stuffing him with a piece of watermelon.

Ji Wang held the watermelon, worried that accepting the kindness of the villagers again would mean being harassed by Director Jiang. “Where did the watermelon come from?”

Zhang Muxian said, "I bought it with money." After he saw Qi Boyan, he quickly said in a loud voice, "Come come come, everyone give up the C position, let our most handsome younger brother sit down and perform a song. "

Duan Yinyu quickly patted the position beside him, "Come over, I have the C position here."

Qi Boyan picked up the guitar and looked at Ji Wang. Ji Wang immediately got up and sat next to Zheng Qihong.

Zheng Qihong treated Ji Wang like a junior and cared for him, “Are you hungry? Do you want to go to the kitchen to eat some more? There’s still soup left.”

Ji Wang shook his head, "No need, I'm full."

Qi Boyan sat next to Ji Wang with the guitar, not going to the so-called C position.

He casually plucked the strings. Instead of performing his own new song, he boldly3 played a lot of songs that suited the moment.

The night wind was gently blowing, accompanied by frogs croaking not far away, the smell of the grapevines, the sweetness of the watermelon, and the clear and rich singing. Everyone stopped talking for a while, listening in silence and experiencing this rare peace.

Qi Boyan played and sang by himself and later played an old song. Zheng Qihong was a little surprised, "You young people still like this song?"

Duan Yinyu had never heard it before. "What song is this?"

Zheng Qihong reminisced, "It's been almost 20 years. This song is the last song a friend of mine sang before he retired."

Zhang Muxian vaguely remembered, "It's Lin Wanyan's song, my mother liked her very much back then."

Zheng Qihong sadly said, “Yeah, Wanyan was so popular at the time, she even received an invitation from Director Chen and almost acted in the movie “Forgetting the River”. Unfortunately she suddenly decided to retire and no one could stop her.”

"Forgetting the River" was the movie that Zheng Qihong acted in that year. Because of it she also won that year’s best actress award.

Zheng Qihong continued: "Wanyan recommended me to Director Chen for ‘Forgetting the River’. It can be said that without Wanyan, there would be no me today.”

Not knowing when, the sound of playing and singing stopped and Qi Boyan’s words sounded, “Qihong-jie, you’re so grateful to Lin Wanyan, so did you later find her?”

Zheng Qihong stared blankly, “After Wanyan left the circle, she cut off contact with almost everyone. I looked for her, but unfortunately couldn’t find her.”

Qi Boyan lowered his eyes. His fingers hooked on the string of the guitar, but instead of playing, he squeezed it into the flesh of his fingers, using self-oppressive force.

Before he could torture the strings, Qi Boyan felt his arm bumped. Ji Wang was changing his position and Qi Boyan didn’t know if the bump was intentional.

Zheng Qihong asked again, "Does Xiao Qi like Lin Wanyan? It's rare to see someone your age who likes her."

Qi Boyan loosened the strings and said in a relaxed and indifferent tone, "I like her, she’s so good-looking."

Zhang Muxian also agreed with this. He was ten years older than Qi Boyan, "Yes, I was still young when I first saw her on TV, and even at the time I thought she was too beautiful."

“She was many people’s dream lover in that era,” Zhang Muxian said with sadness.

Qi Boyan didn’t continue this topic and finally played the songs from his new album. Ji Wang secretly set his eyes on Qi Boyan.

As time grew late, Qi Boyan had long abandoned the guitar and laid down on the mat to watch the stars.

Everyone else was chatting but he didn’t participate.

It was Duan Yinyu who first found that he'd fallen asleep. Duan Yinyu lowered his voice and said, "Qi-ge is asleep. I'll go get a coat to cover him."

Zhang Muxian, "Why don't you wake him up, let's go to bed."

Ji Wang asked, "How should the rooms be divided?"

Zhang Muxian said, "Qihong-jie of course has her own room, Xiao Duan is in a room, me and you are in a room, and Xiao Qi can also have his own room."

Ji Wang hesitated, and Zhang Muxian said again, "But I think it's more suitable for you two alphas to sleep together. I often wake up at night, which may disturb you."

Duan Yinyu laughed: "Zhang Muxian, do you have bad kidneys4?"

Zhang Muxian really couldn’t do anything about Duan Yinyu, the little bastard, “Pay attention to appropriateness, we’re a variety show that’s suitable for all ages.”

Ji Wang accepted this arrangement and said, “You can go back to the room to sleep first, I’ll sit here for a while.”

Zhang Muxian nodded. Zheng Qihong was too old and couldn’t stand it anymore. She’d already washed up and entered the room.

Duan Yinyu brought over a coat and helped cover Qi Boyan.

After a day of shooting, the amount of footage was enough. Director Jiang had already asked the other staff to disperse and go rest elsewhere.

This house was too small for the staff to live here.

Director Jiang was too stingy. He’d booked the only hotel on the island and the conditions of the accommodations were much better than those of the variety show guests.

The crowd scattered and the yard was quiet again. The show crew didn’t return his cell phone, so Ji Wang could only sit bored and watch the stars, waiting for Qi Boyan to wake up.

Then he heard a faint sob come from beside him.

Ji Wang anxiously looked over, but found that Qi Boyan hadn’t woken up. Tears poured from his closed eyes and within a short time trickled down his entire face.

Ji Wang stretched out his hand and pushed his shoulder, his voice tight and trembling, “Qi Boyan, Qi Boyan, wake up!”

Qi Boyan was shaken awake by him and suddenly opened his eyes.

His eyes were wet, his vision hazy, and he looked like he wasn’t fully woken up from his dream.

Ji wang lowered his voice, “Qi Boyan, did you have a nightmare?”

Qi Boyan slowly closed his eyes, as if about to return to his dream again, “It’s a nightmare…but if you dream of Ji Wang, it’s not a nightmare anymore.” His final words were almost inaudible. Ji Wang was forced to come closer before he could with some difficulty tell the difference.

The moment he heard what Qi Boyan said, Ji Wang exerted a lot of effort to force himself to sit up straight and stay away from Qi Boyan.

After a while, he reached out and pulled the jacket on Qi Boyan's body, covering the other’s exposed arm.

Eventually he heard the sound of Qi Boyan’s deep breathing. Only then did he slowly, gently put his hand on Qi Boyan's hand and touch his fingertips.

It was like a secret indulgence that no one knew about.

Seems like this is a continuity error from the author, since in the last chapter it was mentioned that there were no camera men in the room, only stationary cameras ↑The idiom used here is “鸡飞蛋打”, or “the chicken has flown the coop and the eggs are broken” ↑The idiom here is “天马行空”, or “like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies”, which means to do something unconstrained in style. ↑Kidneys in Chinese medicine are often used to refer to s*xual function, so Duan Yinyu is implying Zhang Muxian is impotent ↑