Wang Ran looked at Qin Cang and had this sudden strength to urge in frustration, “Everything will be fine.”
“Do not worry, miss. I am fine now.”
Qin Cang was finally willing to put down the hand warmer. The blanket slipped and half rested on his lap.
Feeling that this room was too stuffy, especially when the smell of disinfectant in the air was not dissipating.
“Have you and Mr. Yang been together since then?”
Qin Cang nodded slightly. “Yes, he stayed with me in Xiaoxian City for two years. Afterward, when my grandmother passed away, we returned here once we handled everything.
“He was very smart and had the brain for business. Even if he did not rely on his family, he could do business like a robot. While I worked in an internet company. After two years of saving, we bought a house and settled down together.”
Wang Ran looked at Qin Cang. Her lips were slightly open and she mumbled a few incoherent words. It took a long time to organise language as she asked a seemingly presumptuous question, “Then why were you infected…with this virus?”
Qin Cang tilted his head and gazed out of the window. The brown in his pupils were washed away with the sunshine as he said, “There is a crack in all things, so do our feelings.”
As soon as he said that, the door was gently pushed open. Yang Yiqian came in with a lunch box in his hand. He went straight to Qin Cang, squatted down and inquired about the other’s state in a low voice.
Qin Cang answered with a smile, “I am fine.”
Yang Yiqian moved the table to the front of Qin Cang, then he turned to Wang Ran and said, “Xiao Cang will need a short rest. Please come back at two o’clock.”
Wang Ran nodded hurriedly, pulled the cameraman along and rushed out.
Yang Yiqian cooked braised ribs like he promised, he also stewed chicken soup and stir-fried some green vegetables. He arranged everything on the table before Qin Cang, and got up to pour a glass of water.
Qin Cang first took a piece of spare rib with his chopstick and tasted it. It was good.
In the past, Yang Yiqian could not cook at all, because Qin Cang was in charge of that. Later, he was splashed by the oil splatter on the face one time, and Yang Yiqian was so distressed that he banned Qin Cang from entering the kitchen again.
Yang Yiqian went out of his way to find a cook to learn under. Whatever Qin Cang likes to eat, he learned how to cook it. At the beginning, he burned a lot of dishes and destroyed two pots.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It is delicious.” Qin Cang praised Yang Yiqian, who smiled and sat cross legged on the ground next to Qin Cang. “As long as you like it.”
“P ilxf la.”
Hlc Jjcu tjv j rwjii jqqfalaf yfobgf atf mbcvlalbc. Rbk atja tf kjr lii, tf delmxis yfmjwf oeii joafg j ofk ylafr. Tjcu Tldljc ofv tlw j ofk wbgf wbeatoeir bo mtlmxfc rbeq, yfobgf mifjclcu eq atf ybkir jcv eafcrlir.
“Ofa wf mbwf tbwf abcluta.”
Tjcu Tldljc rjlv, “P klii jrx atf vbmabg.”
Qin Cang took Yang Yiqian’s hand and reassured warmly, “My viral load has been reduced by a lot. If it is okay, I want to go home. This place is too stuffy.”
Yang Yiqian kissed him on the forehead and said fondly, “Okay.”
At noon, the sunlight gradually shifted before lazily retreated.
Yang Yiqian drew the window curtain and took Qin Cang back to the bed. Using the other man’s arm as a pillow, Qin Cang curled his body into Yang Yiqian’s arms, and buried his head into the warm chest.
Yang Yiqian held him and coaxed him to sleep. Qin Cang sniffed and uttered in a muffle voice, “Yiqian, go take a shower.”
Yang Yiqian’s body suddenly stiffened, not replying a single word. Qin Cang was feeling nausea, the food he had just eaten was turning in his stomach and rushing up through his throat. Not able to hold it back anymore, he pushed Yang Yiqian away and retched.
“Xiao Cang,” Yang Yiqian gently patted him on the back. Qin Cang avoided the touch, lowered his head and said without looking at Yang Yiqian, “You went to see him again, didn’t you.”
Although it was a question, it was a rhetorical one with Qin Cang’s tone. Yang Yiqian rushed over and firmly embraced him. “I did not go see him. He came to me himself.”
“So that means you let him into the house.”
Yang Yiqian could not retort. “Xiao Cang, I am sorry. I have already made it very clear to him.”
Qin Cang smiled bitterly. “Yiqian, are you feeling sorry for me?”
“No, not at all. Xiao Cang, you have to believe me. I love you. I will always love you. I have loved you for more than ten years.”
When Yang Yiqian was advancing for a kiss, Qin Cang leaned away. He lowered his trembling eyelashes and said in a slightly fragmented manner, “I want to…sleep alone…”
Yang Yiqian stubbornly kissed him and also the tear in the corner of Qin Cang’s eyes. “No need to overthink it, Xiao Cang.”
“Xiao Cang, go take a well rested nap. I will stay here with you, and let’s go home together in the evening, okay?”
Qin Cang lay down with his back to the other man, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Qin Cang’s nose was not sensitive to smell, but he was someone who was very familiar with Yang Yiqian’s scent, as well as the perfume used by that boy. Because it made a deep impression during their first meeting, how the boy scorched Qin Cang’s heart with a burning iron, his living breathing heart. A piece was gouged out, leaving an unerasable scar.
Qin Cang and Yang Yiqian had sucessfually passed the seven-year itch without a mishap. However, in their ninth year, this itch appeared without warning. The more it was scratched, the prickling feeling intensified. Scratching it until the skin broke and the wound bleeding was not enough, slicing open the flesh and exposing the thick bone dripping with blood was the only way to bring relief.
Yang Yiqian met the boy at a drinking gathering. He was young and beautiful with curly hair that reached his shoulder. When he smiled, he was like a bewitching demon. Actually, he is a bewitching demon.
His waist was thin and soft, when he swung it, he was like a beautiful white python. His voice was gentle and charming, a beautiful painting that came to life. The moment Qin Cang opened the door, he was lost in a trance like he entered a shooting scene.
Yang Yiqian was the other protagonist. If this film was released in theatres, it would definitely become a box office hit and be sold at an outrageous price.
“How did you find out?”
At 2:30, Yang Yiqian had already left. Wang Ran and Qin Cang resumed the conversation from earlier in the afternoon. Qin Cang’s eyes were slightly red. He probably did not have a well-rested nap as he sighed softly and began, “We’ve been together for too long, living together day and night. I know what he was up to just by looking into his eyes and his movement.
“We had dinner that day. He went to wash the dishes. All his movements were wrong, he even checked his watch twice in secret. I asked him if he had something come up. He told me there is a social gathering that he needs to attend.
“I nodded. From the colour and shade of his eyes, I knew that he was lying.
“I did not expose him right away. Remembering that some time ago, when we were chatting on the sofa, he mentioned a person to me. He said that today’s kids are too clever, sophisticated, that is.
“I asked him, ‘Do you like it?’
“He smiled, grabbed my waist, I could feel his fingers massaging with the right force. He said, ‘Too noisy, too annoying. How could they be compared to Xiao Cang.’
“To be honest, I did not believe him. I know how boring, dull, rigid, uneducated in romance I am…I have nothing superior in my bones.
“In recent years, it was not like he did not have admirers. Although we wore matching rings to show our relationship status publicly, there were still an endless stream of people pursuing him.
“I also developed a sense of anxiety, but Yang Yiqian gave me a great sense of security. His Moments consisted of only me. He would take me to some important occasions and treated me well as always.
“However, the other man was different. Yang Yiqian casually mentioned him, and I remembered it vividly and deeply.
“So I unlocked his phone when he went to wash the dishes. I know all of his passwords, but I rarely check his phone. I did not expect to hit the jackpot so quickly.
“A contract with a cute animated character as a profile picture. Yang Yiqian didn’t edit the contact or add tags, but the person sent many messages to Yang Yiqian. I slowly scrolled up and my heart slowly sank into the ice-cold pool.
“Their chat history was very ambiguous. Not only was there good morning and good night, but also many words with hidden meanings.
“[Ge, you are the best. But why are you letting him be so strict with you?]
“[Ge, are you coming out today?]
“[Gege, you are amazing!]
“[Gege, I miss you. Can we meet again?]
“While Yang Yiqian’s reply was indifference initially, then it became vague responses.
“I fell into an ice pit and was engulfed by this extreme cold that pierced my very bone. The last message was an address. Those black texts entered my eyes and like a sword, tore me into pieces. I pretended to be calm, put his phone back, asked him with my still expression, ‘Are you still going out?’
“Yang Yiqian paused, wiped his wet hands and said, ‘Yes, this client had asked me out for a long time. I’d better meet him. But I will try to return as soon as possible, all right?’
“I really do not know what expression I should show. He came to hug me, kissed my head and reminded me to blow my hair after washing my head. And I should go to sleep if I am tired, no need to wait for him.
“His voice was very magnetic, very pleasant to the ears. He always carried this spell that led me astray unconsciously, I sunk into the voice and nodded. Letting him walk out of the door.”
The author has something to say:
‘There is a crack in all things’ was inspired from Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem”.
Fuvk..I’m planning to read it but knowing that this is a novel with BE.. I jumped chapter. Buty fragile heart can’t take it only reading this one chap so far.. I feel like being crashed by anxiety and suspicion… His cheating isn’t he?
Oh no…
Why???? Their relationship was sooo good 😭
Thank you for the translation Teo
:'(( even a seemingly strong relationship can break. Temptations are everywhere 😞
Sorry ml, it’s hard to trust you right now. You kniw mc’s background, yet why 😭
mc’s narrative sometimes feel calm and poetic OwO ~~