Unspeakable

Unresigned, Gu Yansheng kept trying to hold onto him as he flailed around like a mudfish. In the end, Shen Kanyu found that he really wasn’t like the him back in those years and couldn’t avoid Gu Yansheng at all, hence he simply covered his head with both hands and kneeled on the ground, saying in a hoarse voice, “Okay, hit me ba…don’t hit my head, okay? I still need my brain to play games.”

Gu Yansheng dumbfoundedly pursed his lips and silently looked at him for a moment. Then he said, “You think I’ll hit you just because you slept on the sofa? How’d you get that wound on your forehead?”

Shen Kanyu raised his head to look at him hesitantly. It was only after a long time did he stammer, “I…I fell over.”

Crouching down, Gu Yansheng took the chance to grab onto his arm and brush away his hair before Shen Kanyu came to his senses.

The wound was very deep; even the skin and flesh were exposed. This person had carelessly smeared on some random medicine that obviously didn’t help. The area was still bloodstained. 

Gu Yansheng’s brows were deeply furrowed. “What shitty medicine did you smear on?”

To speak the truth, he didn’t want to know what medicine he had smeared on at all. He directly dragged the person toward the door. “Come with me to get a tetanus shot.”

Shen Kanyu tried to struggle, “Ai, what’s the point of getting a tetanus shot? People don’t get tetanus that easily.”

Gu Yansheng laughed grimly, “Even the bone’s nearly exposed. You think you won’t get tetanus from this deep of a wound?”

Shen Kanyu blinked, his face full of innocence, “But tetanus isn’t infectious ah, what are you afraid of.”

Gu Yansheng wasn’t in the mood to keep speaking nonsense with him. He picked up Gu Yutian who was playing with toys on the ground with one hand and directly dragged Shen Kanyu with the other hand before rushing out the door. 

***

Shen Kanyu’s wound did end up getting infected because he had already started running a fever. Fortunately, it wasn’t as serious as a tetanus infection.

Shen Kanyu wore a mask, held onto the medicine prescription note, and smiled at Gu Yansheng. He said, “A-Sheng, go home with Tiantian first. Once I’ve finished getting my IV drip, I’ll go back and make dinner for you two. What do you want to eat?”

Gu Yansheng ignored him and sent a WeChat message. 

Shen Kanyu touched his nose, and awkwardly coughed twice, then coaxed Tiantian, “What does Tiantian want to eat?”

Tiantian immediately counted with her fingers, her face serious as she announced to him the many things she wanted to eat. “Eat egg yoww puffs~ mashed potatoes~ codfish cakes~ egg shoup~ cream puffs~”

Midway through, Shen Kanyu started chuckling, “Can you eat this much?”

Tiantian wrinkled her little nose, snorted, and said, “I wanna eat thish much!”

“Okay~ Papa remembers. I’ll make it for you once we go back.” Shen Kanyu reached out to touch the little girl’s soft hair, but retracted his hand once he remembered he was currently running a fever.

At this moment, Gu Yansheng put away his phone and said to Shen Kanyu, “My mom’s coming over to pick up Tiantian.”

Shen Kanyu let out an “oh”. “Are you going to work again?”

Gu Yansheng glanced at him before he said with indifference, “I’m staying at the hospital, there are matters I need to discuss with you.”

While Shen Kanyu stood there for a long time without responding, Gu Yansheng had already carried the baby and walked towards the exit. 

Shen Kanyu paced back and forth in circles, mulling over what Gu Yansheng meant. He probably needs his help with something.

So now, aside from giving him money, was there something else he could help him out with? 

It has been a long time since he last came to him for help.

Shen Kanyu felt a burst of happiness in his heart. He ran to line up and grab a number in high spirits, ready to get his IV drip.

***

By the time Gu Yansheng returned, Shen Kanyu had already been hooked up to an IV drip in the infusion area. There was a big bag of food and drinks on the seat beside him.

Once he caught sight of Gu Yansheng, Shen Kanyu waved hard in his direction.

Gu Yansheng walked over. He looked at the big bag of things on the seat before turning his gaze to Shen Kanyu.

Shen Kanyu somewhat strained himself as he lifted that bag of things with one hand and placed it on top of his legs. He coughed twice, his voice muffled and hoarse because he was wearing a mask. “Sit down ya, and eat if you’re hungry. I’ve bought many tasty things.”

Gu Yansheng sat down, saying, “It hasn’t been long since my last meal.”

Curling his lips, Shen Kanyu nimbly rummaged through the bag for a small milk carton with one hand, and said in a hoarse voice, “It’s not like I don’t know your appetite. Even cats eat more than you. Your stomach will be ruined sooner or later if you keep this up.”

He put the milk drink beside Gu Yansheng’s hand. “It’s fine if you don’t eat, but you must drink milk.”

Gu Yansheng happened to be a little thirsty so he poked a straw into the milk drink and took a sip. “When did you go out to buy things? I was with Tiantian at the entrance and didn’t see you.”

“I went out through the back door.” Perhaps finding his fever unbearable, Shen Kanyu subconsciously reached out to wipe the abnormal amount of sweat on his neck. He explained in a hoarse voice, “You don’t have to worry. I know Auntie doesn’t like me. I won’t run into her and make her unhappy. Don’t be nervous.”

Though Gu Yansheng’s parents adored their granddaughter, they didn’t like Shen Kanyu at all. Originally, Su Tong was the son-in-law they had set their minds on. If he hadn’t intervened and put everyone on the spot1, they wouldn’t have let Gu Yansheng marry him.
[T/N: 1Unable to find a way out of an embarrassing situation; unable to back down with good grace]

Gu Yansheng was silent. He recalled that when his mom came to pick up Tiantian just now, she beamed and held her granddaughter tightly in her arms, kissing and coaxing her, but once Shen Kanyu was mentioned, the smile and gentleness across her face vanished, and her tone became biting, “This Shen Kanyu, can’t he go to the doctor himself when he’s sick? Does he need you to bring him? If he depends on you, then so be it, but what is he thinking to even bring the child along. Isn’t he afraid such a young child could get infected? Does he really think of Tiantian as his own daughter?”

Shen Kanyu saw that Gu Yansheng’s face was somewhat dark, and like a telepath, he actually accurately guessed what he was thinking about. “Is Auntie upset that both of you followed me to the hospital? Why don’t you quickly talk to me about the matter, and then head off to work once we’re done, okay? Otherwise, if it’s not urgent, you can talk to me about it later.”

Gu Yansheng came back to his senses and put the milk down. “It’s nothing urgent. It’s just that the framework of《Laughter in the Vast Seas》is basically finished and we need some experienced gamers to find errors so we can fix them up.”

Right after he finished, he heard Shen Kanyu’s low laughter. He was rather puzzled as he asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Shen Kanyu thought Gu Yansheng wouldn’t discover that he was secretly laughing behind his mask. Unexpectedly, he was suddenly caught in the act, so he could only awkwardly rub his nose and say, “Nothing. It’s just that I guessed you might need my help with something and it turns out I’m right.”

Gu Yansheng looked at him expressionlessly. 

Shen Kanyu dry coughed once. “Then, can’t you directly do a demo run?”

Gu Yansheng shook his head. “It’s still not at the closed beta-testing stage yet.”

“Got it. I’ll find people for you, I know the most about gamers.” Shen Kanyu waved his hand. This forthright movement along with his broken gong-like hoarse voice made him appear like a chivalric and generous bandit chief.

Gu Yansheng raised his brows, “Those henchmen of yours from before?” 

“Yes…” Feeling that his voice was so hoarse it felt unbearable, Shen Kanyu burst into coughs for a while before he continued, “Although they used to be delinquents, they’re now serious adults and know how to act. But they still listen to me. When I tell them to watch their mouths, they definitely won’t dare to divulge the slightest thing about this game.”

“En, I know,” Gu Yansheng responded. He was silent for a while before speaking again, “I’ll think of a way to return this favor in the future.”

Shen Kanyu looked at Gu Yansheng with curved eyes. Due to his fever, his watery eyes were unusually bright. “Around how far off is ‘in the future’?”

“As long as the studio makes a profit, I will definitely pay you back first.”

Shen Kanyu blinked hopefully, “Can I choose how you pay me back myself?”

“No.”

“Oh, I only want a hug. Is that not okay?” Shen Kanyu still persisted, smilingly poking out a finger at Gu Yansheng. “Just a hug. Just a light hug is fine. You can stand still. Just one hug, just for a second, can I?” 

“No.” Gu Yansheng’s face clouded, and he brushed aside the finger that was moving about in front of his face.

“Kay kay kay, no hugs, no hugs. A-Sheng, don’t be angry,” Shen Kanyu coaxed him right away, “You mustn’t get angry ah, I was just talking nonsense. Don’t take it seriously.” 

No hugs are fine ah. He was truly stupid. He rarely has a chance to properly talk with A-Sheng, yet he just had to infuriate him. 

He actually really, really wanted A-Sheng to quietly let him hug him for a moment, to stop pushing him away as if he had come across a viper every time he neared him. 

But once he thought about it, he probably doesn’t have the ‘future’ A-Sheng spoke of…he probably doesn’t have a long future, so there was actually no need to be that adamant with forcing him to be hugged.

Ai, he was truly too stupid. 

Shen Kanyu wiped the tears forced out by his fever in frustration and croaked, “Then, A-Sheng ah, you better go to work. This is wasting so much of your time.”

Gu Yansheng let out an “en”, then stood up from his seat. “I’m leaving first.”

“Okay.” Shen Kanyu’s vision was somewhat blurred. He squinted his eyes, wanting to see Gu Yansheng’s back.

If he wanted to look at Gu Yansheng unbridledly, without having to hide the greed and longing in his eyes, he could only look at his back, or sneak a peek at his face for a while when he was sleeping. 

If he stared at him at any other time, he would always get angry, and would avoid him.

How stingy you are, A-Sheng. Just a look won’t cost you an arm or a leg.

You mustn’t turn back ah. If you find me looking at you like this, you’ll be so angry you’ll kill me on the spot, right?

Shen Kanyu kept on looking at Gu Yansheng’s back. When it disappeared, he coughed, pulled his mask down a little, pressed against his chest and breathed laboriously. His chest cavity produced hissing sounds and back lightly trembled. 

His heart…started hurting again.