Nuptial Chamber Next Door

A romantic, adult, single guy and a lonely and single girl; both were in a foreign country, studying medicine, living under the same roof with only a thin wall between them.

From time to time, they would eat at the same table, chat about the strange hobbies of their respective professors and share insights about the difference in culture between Chinese and Japanese.

Occasionally, I would ask him questions related to my study, and he would patiently explain esoteric concepts in pathology and guide me on how to prepare the paper satisfactorily.

Sometimes, he would ask me for help, specifically borrowing something from Professor Fuji's research on bacteria.

Often, we would stand by the window to watch people fishing in the lake while he would speak about the weather.

Sometimes, after dusk, we would lean against the rails in our respective balconies and quietly watch the cherry trees, waiting them to bloom with blossoms overnight.

And sometimes, I would put on the music loudly enough so both of us could listen to love songs

Once in a while, he would bring an unexpected surprise for me.

One day, when I opened the door to the sound of the doorbell, I saw no one outside the door except a pot of cactus and a birthday cake.

Surprised, I picked up the cake, turned around and saw a note attached to the door, " Girl, I will come back to have dinner with you tonight."

Inadvertently, my mouth curled up in a smile, although I still whispered to myself, " I hate him."

Then I decided not to go to the laboratory, but stay at home and prepare a meal to celebrate my birthday.

When I asked him how he knew it was my birthday, he refused to answer.

…… …

If such an ambiguous situation did not lead to the development of feelings, it would be strange

But there wasn't the slightest spark between Ye Zhengchen and me in the last few months

No way! I don't like a person who can make love to anyone at the drop of a hat and then forget all the tenderness as soon as he walks out of bed.

And he didn't like pure girls like me, who had self proclaimed high ideals and would want to get married and be responsible for each other till death.

But the fact that there was no love did not mean that the friendship was pure. There were still some deep feelings under the veneer of that friendship

I cherished these pure feelings and nurtured it carefully, hoping that the friendship would offer me the gentle human touch I so lacked in the dry foreign land.

I often thought, that if one day, when I am old and reminiscing about these times while sitting in a rocking chair in the balcony, I would have a smile in my faceI

I thanked god for letting me meet such a wonderful man at such a lonely time.

********************************************************************

************************************************** ******************

One afternoon, while I was in class, Ye Zengchen suddenly called me and said that he was injured and in the emergency room.

My mind became numb. I ran out from the class room and went straight to the emergency room in front of the medical department

There was a large abrasion on his right arm, flesh and blood mixed in a blur.

Once I made sure that he didn't have a fracture and that there were no scars in any other place, I flopped down on the chair next to him and asked him with great concern, " How are you doing?"

" Don't worry", he replied easily.

This was no ordinary accident. I looked at him obliquely, " Did you get caught with someone else's girlfriend and get beatn up?"

He shook his head helplessly, "You really know me well!"

"Its not really true, is it?"

He looked at me silently.

I had guessed correctly. "Whose girlfriend were you dallying with? How is it that they were so vicious?"

He sighed, then very mysteriously whispered to me, " It was the triad. Maybe the boss. When he saw me with his woman in bed, he was furious. A dozen people tried to beat me up. Fortunately I ran fast and tem jumped from the second floor. Otherwise, my life would be over.

"Oh my god!" I could feel myself breaking out in a cold sweat, "I heard that the triad in Japan is particularly horrifying , you must be very careful with them. If you piss them off, they will never letyou go.."

"Yes…they said the next time they see me, they will cut me up in small pieces and feed me to the sharks."

"Lets call the police."

"The police cannot protect me for twenty four hours."

"Then what should we do?"

I was feeling scared and used the skirt to wipe the sweat forming on my forehead.

"You don't have to worry about me. Osaka is such a big place, it will not b easy for us to meet again."

He saw that I was really scared, and tried to comfort me

I was frightened, and couldn't help but try to show him the error of his ways, "Brother, there as so many beautiful nurses here in the hospital. You can always be with them, why do you want to get mixed with dubious women? This kind of thing, what would your family think .." I suddenly realised I was speaking like my own mother.

But he didn't seem to be annoyed. Rather, he was happily listening to my nagging

" I am sorry", a soft voice interrupted me in Japanese. When I looked back curiously, I saw a young Japanese woman bowing to use and saying in Japanese, " Thank you, thank you so much ! My husband and family thank you sincerely."

Then she pulled out a four year old little boy from behind her and pushed him towards us.

The little boy bowed politely, "Thank you for saving me. I am sorry that you got injured."

Then, specifically in Chinese he said, "Thank you"

Ye Zhengchen said," Dont thank me. In future, please be careful when you are crossing the road. Hold on to your mother's hand. Will you remember?"

The little boy nodded

I froze in place for a long time. Only when Ye Zhengchen and the mother continued speaking did I wake up from my trance.

After mother and son thanked Ye Zhengchen two thousand times, they left to pay for Ye Zhengchen's medical expenses.

I looked angrily at Ye Zhengchen grinning at me. "You fooled me!"

" If you think I am a sex maniac, I have no way to disabuse you of that notion."

" Are you mad at me?" he asked

I did not know what to say

"Is your brain fried? Are you a fool to be playing a hero in Japan? In order to save a child, you don't even value your own life? When these Japanese devils were massacring Nanjing, they did not even blink! And you are saving their child? Since when have you become their national hero? Arent you worried that thousands of Chinese will spit on your grave?"

( T/L - Apologies. This is the original text. Translator has no opinion)

Ye Zhengchen was shocked!

" I also regretted after I rescued the child, but at that time, it was an instinctive reaction. I didn't have time to think."

"Instinct?" I held back the urge to swear at him, "Instinct is to escape, you use your instinct to save people? You deserve to get killed!"

He looked at my angry face, then touched the top of my head with his left hand, gently stroked my hair.

"Girl, are you so distressed because of me?"

"Who is distressed? Who is distressed because of you? I am just feeling bad for you," I laughed, "ha ha, you're funny!"

The doctor came. He disinfected the wound with alcohol. I stood up an turned towards the door.

" Girl, where are you going?", he asked.

" To buy some trotters and ribs. I will go home and make you a soup."

" Remember to boil them properly."

" Got it!"

Once I was out of the emergency room, I stood with my back against the wall as tears dripped down my face.

I really felt bad for him. When the doctor was disinfecting the wound, I could see him fight back the pain. His eyebrows had been drawn together tightly as he silently bore the pain. I felt like I was suffocating when I saw him like that

This damn man! He was certainly distressing me!

A hand quietly wiped the tears on my face. His touch was soft and gentle.

"Silly girl…" he sighed softly, " Why are you crying? I'm not dead!"

I burst out in tears and buried my face in his shoulder. I had never felt so fragile, so in need of support from this man's wide shoulders.

He drew me in his arms with his other hand and hugged me tightly.

There was a strong smell of disinfectant and blood, but there was also a little bit.. of his unique scent

I breathed in deeply. I loved his scent.

"Ye Zhengchen, you can no longer get hurt like tis. If you get injured, I will finish you off!"

" Okay, I promise you", he said softly in my ear.

His hot breath blew in my ears and my body momentarily went numb, my mind blanked out.

"Dont cry. You look very ugly"

"When you laugh, you look beautiful."

I laughed out and hammered his chest, "You flirt!"

****************************************************************

************************************************** **************

The next afternoon, I had two classes. I was worried about how Ye Zhengchen was faring with his injured hand as I came back from school and went to the supermarket to but groceries.

Once I came home, I put down the things and went next door with a bunch of fruits.

When I pressed the doorbell, he called out, " The door is not locked."

I pushed the door and came inside to see him washing his hair. His right hand was wrapped in a bandage. With his left hand, he clumsily lifted the mug to his head. The water streamed in small rivulets down his bronzed back

The muscles in his back were strong and rippled with effort, very unlike the back of a gentle doctor.

My eyes were fixed on his back. On his upper body, he was wearing a white doctors gown, but his pants were military green. Even the shirt had a green collar visible over the coat.

His back was slender and tall, his bearing was straight, his posture looked so familiar..

I shook my head to get rid of my stupid fantasies.

I put down the fruits in my hand and walked over. I took the towel from his hand and wiped his back. " I will help you."

"You came back so early, aren't you afraid the professor will skin you alive?"

" He has already stripped off two layers. I am not worried if he strips off another layer."

" Are you so reluctant to leave me at home alone?", he winked at me.

" Dont talk nonsense all the time", I laughed at him. I moved a chair towards him, "Come and sit down here."

He sat down obediently and I repeated the steps I had learnt at the salon - I wet his hair, applied a little shampoo and slowly massaged his scalp. His hair was silky, massaging it made me feel like I was running my fingers through soft, silky chocolate.

As I massaged his scalp, my eyes involuntarily moved to hi half naked upper body

Truthfully, his body was worth gazing at. He wasn't thin, but he wanst overly muscular either. The taut skin gave one a sense of strength. In short, a perfect man!

" Brother, there is something I have wanted to ask you for a long time. Have you really graduated from Peking University Medical School?"

" yes"

" Have you ever been a soldier?"

" No."

Miumiu : sorry for the late update. I have been really busy these last few weeks.