Chapter 48: Pious

. When cooped up indoors, the seasons aren't as noticeable. One day, Feng Ran, cooking in long sleeves, broke into a sweat.

Summer had arrived.

At the dinner table, he suggested, "It's so hot, should we turn on the air conditioning?"

"Okay," Chen Zhi said, "I'll try."

The air conditioner hadn't been used in years, and the breeze sent dust everywhere. They spent hours cleaning, but to no avail. Layers of dust drifted like scattered flowers, choking them and making them cough.

Chen Zhi flipped through his phone for a long time: "I'll call the property management."

Feng Ran agreed.

The property management team was efficient, and a team of technicians arrived shortly after.

Feng Ran hadn't spoken to a single living person since moving into this house. As usual, he went to make tea, but Chen Zhi saw him and snatched the work from him.

Fearing that Shen Zhi might be wary of him, he went upstairs the moment the technicians entered and opened the game.

With only a few friends online, he went offline and played a few matches.

As he stood up to stretch his legs, his joints cracked. He took a sip of water, opened the bedroom door, and peeked in

. Chen Zhi, wearing a mask, was handing a rag to a worker. He returned to his computer, idling. He stood by the window, then sat back down in his chair. He leaned against

the wall for a moment, then tried a handstand. He opened the online store and ordered

several new, promising games. He filled in Chen Zhi's credit card when he paid. As the screen filled with new games, his heart finally filled up. He scrolled through them several times, feeling refreshed. Finally, he opened an old game he'd played for over 5,000 hours.

It was a classic shooter, once a huge hit. At his peak, he could stay up all night in the internet cafe for days on end, relying solely on instant noodles.

Not long into a game, a new message popped up on the chat screen.

"This round's over, let's duel!"

It was... 007, that person. Feng Ran paused, tilting his gun, allowing the enemy to escape.

007's real name wasn't as casual as his in-game nickname. His name was Song Xiling, said to be from a snowy mountain.

They had first met through this game.

He'd just been released from prison, using his own year of freedom to buy a sum of money to pay off his debts. No one thought it was a bad deal, but everyone viewed his family as unlucky. He was constantly facing obstacles in his search for a job.

Because his imprisonment was a financial scapegoat, he'd been made a scapegoat. His former employer wanted him back, but he declined, preferring to work as a bricklayer rather than take that job.

Fortunately, his cousin, before immigrating, took pity on him and offered him his internet cafe.

What a coincidence! He suspected fate had brought them together. One late winter afternoon, Song Xiling had traveled thousands of miles to his city and walked into this internet cafe.

Before then, they'd been just online friends, never meeting in person or exchanging messages, only hearing each other's voices.

He'd made a group of online friends, and Song Xiling was the most clueless one, a fool with a lot of money. Feng Ran initially teased him, but he realized his genuine innocence. Even when he saw through his malicious intentions, he didn't complain. This kept him feeling guilty.

After feeling guilty for a long time, he started to think about it and ran away abroad, wasting several years.

Those days seemed to have passed by a long time ago, just a flash before his eyes. In the faded picture, he set up his sniper rifle again and typed.

"Okay"

Feng Ran won six consecutive solo games.

In the seventh game, he deliberately let his opponent win, but was found out. The moment his opponent's head fell to the ground, he said: I don't want to fight anymore, it seems like I can't afford to lose. [Tears]

Feng Ran didn't fall for it, and replied: You deserve it.

Song Xiling asked: How did I offend you? You killed me six times in a row, are you relieved?

Feng Ran: It seems that you want to challenge him.

He thought, there is no point in playing dumb and guessing games with each other, so he just said: You and Shen Zhi chatted for so long, and I haven't settled the score with you yet.

Song Xiling: I didn't know it was him at first.

Feng Ran: Bullshit.

Song Xiling: I also wanted to ask about your recent situation.

Feng Ran: Why did you ask?

Song Xiling was silent for a long time: "I don't know, maybe I have too few friends, so... you know." [Sighs]

Feng Ran: "I can't really be considered your friend."

A moment later, Song Xiling sent a long message: "I had a good chat with Shen Zhi, he's very easy to talk to. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, because I knew you wouldn't agree. But I just want to know a little bit about your situation." Ren He said nothing.

Feng Ran: "I told him not to tell you, you don't need to know me, isn't it better for us not to bother each other?"

Song Xiling was silent for a long time. Feng Ran was itching to tease him, and he felt uncomfortable if he didn't tease him: "Look, with all this going on, what if someone crosses the line?" "Will your husband faint if he finds out?"

Song Xiling said seriously: "He knows you're a special and important person, and I'm very grateful to you."

Feng Ran understood that due to some special circumstances, that period must have been very difficult for Song Xiling. Besides his family, the only one who was with him at the time was Feng Ran.

He glanced nervously at the door, afraid that Shen Zhi would suddenly burst in, and typed quickly: I beg you, don't say this. Someone will kill me if they see.

Song Xiling: Ah, what's going on? Are you in trouble?

Feng Ran: No.

Song Xiling: About Shen Zhi?

This is an absolutely taboo topic, and Feng Ran didn't want to reveal a single word.

He replied: If you really care about me, then don't ask. It has nothing to do with you. Still playing or not?

Song Xiling didn't ask any more questions, and the two started the game.

As soon as he entered the game, Feng Ran's mind was full of winning, and his quality dropped a lot. When Shen Zhi pushed the door open and came in, he was swearing and threatening his teammates, and he almost threw away his mouse.

"Why didn't you knock?!"

Shen Zhi said calmly: "You continue, I'll get the screwdriver and flashlight. Who are you playing with?"

"...online."

Feng Ran couldn't continue no matter what. Apart from secretly playing games with friends that Shen Zhi cared about, he also had muscle memory - he knew what kind of game he was playing, so he never acted rashly in front of Shen Zhi.

Once the burden is on his shoulders, it is hard to get rid of it. Even though the relationship is so complicated now, he still doesn't want Shen Zhi to see this side of him.

When his quality is restrained, his skills decline. Coupled with his restlessness, after a few fatal mistakes, he was unable to recover from this game.

He hurriedly said goodbye to Song Xiling and started playing a single-player game alone.

The cleaning lasted for the whole afternoon and evening. When Shen Zhi came up, Feng Ran had fallen asleep on the table.

After being busy for most of the day, Shen Zhi was a little tired. He approached quietly and stretched out his hand, but stopped a few centimeters away.

——Feng Ran frowned, not knowing whether he felt something in his dream.

Shen Zhi put down his hand, fearing that the breeze he brought would wake him up. He used his eyes to outline the person he loved deeply and who he wanted to possess.

How stubborn those eyebrows were, never yielding to anyone. Only when he was asleep, his eyebrows were relaxed, and he showed a bit of tenderness.

He stayed close to Feng Ran like a statue, listening to his breathing, watching his face, as if he wanted to burn him into his memory.

Even as the last rays of sunset faded from Feng Ran's back, plunging the room into darkness, he remained frozen, as if oblivious to the passage of time. Such silence was rare; Feng Ran rarely relaxed completely around him these days.

He had inflicted misfortune and scars on Feng Ran, and to have him willingly reveal his true feelings to him was a luxury in itself.

But he wanted nothing more, just this person.

He had received his love and his hatred, and in the end, all he wanted was to be remembered.

He wanted Feng Ran to remember him forever.

His phone buzzed, a message from the private hospital—a birthday congratulations and a reminder for a quick checkup.

His discharge hadn't met the ideal standard. A single sentence of "a healthy and happy new year" seemed so pale and ridiculous against the glaring statistics and arrows.

He could feel his condition inevitably worsening. This was exactly what he expected; someone like him, without parents, destined for a short life, was destined to die young. He should have followed his mother at the age of ten. The days since then had been nothing but a thief. It was time to pay it back.

Before his father's illness was diagnosed, he hadn't considered death. His sole focus was revenge, his hatred so deep that he only wanted to die with him.

After his father's diagnosis, his faith crumbled. His enemies surrendered without a fight, and he was at a loss. In internet cafes, he searched the three-word illness over and over again, weeping and laughing as he accepted everything.

Until the truth came to light: his life, everything he had, was a gigantic joke played by fate.

His biological mother became a sinner, his enemy became his benefactor.

"Served him right."

Those two words came to his mind first. He deserved his mother's early death, he deserved the years of humiliation he endured at the hands of his father, he deserved it... His life had been a mistake.

Without him, his mother wouldn't have developed mental illness, nor would she have died so tragically. Perhaps none of this would have happened.

There was nothing worthwhile left in this world... only a painting.

Once that painting was completed, he would be gone.

Feng Ran would one day no longer belong to him, and that day was approaching with visible speed. He had no choice but to extend the deadline of his selfishness, and extend it again and again, until the end of his life.

In the dim light of dusk, he clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

- So, Feng Ran, give me a little more time. Please hate me as much as you can for the rest of my life, just as I love you.

"Summer vacation? Summer vacation again? Oh, I didn't even notice. Aren't you graduating now?"

"Yeah, this year has passed so quickly." Feng Qing pushed open the door of the dormitory, walked to the lush tree, and laughed twice, "Brother Renhe, will you be home soon?"

Summer is here, and there are several figures making phone calls downstairs of the dormitory. Feng Qing is always one of them.

"I'm not sure. I might be a little busy recently," Ren He could hear the rhythmic beating of a drum set in the background. "What about you? What are your plans?"

Feng Qing said, "I plan to clear out the dormitory first, and then maybe go visit classmates for a few days."

"Graduation trip would be great," Ren He said, "Do you still have pocket money?"

"Yes, don't worry about me, I've saved a lot," Feng Qing said, "Maybe I have more money than you now."

"Really? Let me hear how much you have?"

"Fifteen thousand," Feng Qing said with a smile after hearing the exclamation from the other side. "Didn't expect that?"

"Where did it come from?"

"I'm working part-time this semester to help the teacher with work."

"I've discovered that you're quite capable, but you haven't told me about it yet, right?" Ren He said, "Don't do these messy jobs anymore. It's such a waste of time. Your time is precious, don't you know? Read more books and go out more. Travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. Don't think about making money so young. You'll earn it in the future."

Although there weren't many nice words, Feng Qing felt warm inside. From childhood to adulthood, Ren He always treated her like his own sister and cared about her sincerely. Especially now that her brother was in trouble, the only person she could rely on, besides her nominal mother, was Ren He.

Thinking of Feng Ran, her heart ached, and the smile on her lips disappeared.

Ren He seemed to have a

telepathic connection with her. He sighed and said, "Just tell me if you need money. Your unlucky brother is really... He hasn't contacted you yet, right?" Feng Qing shook her head absentmindedly, then remembered that they were on the phone and said, "No."

Ren He could tell that she was in a bad mood and comforted her, "I think it's almost done, don't worry. I'm always sure of what I say."

Feng Qing smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know. I used to think that as long as the money was paid back, our family would be better off, but now..." She couldn't go on and remembered something else, "Today is that guy's birthday. I sent a message, but he didn't reply."

"Nothing serious will happen, don't worry." Ren He thought for a while and said, "Actually, it's okay now. He's reaping what he

sows. It's good that you didn't follow his control. Besides, how do you know he's not spending time with someone else?" Hearing Feng Qing's helpless chuckle opposite him, he also laughed, "No one can predict feelings." In the silent and dark room, Feng Ran opened his eyes silently.

The man beside him stood quietly, fingertips hovering in front of the tip of his nose, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, the smile was as soft as moonlight, but it showed a kind of almost obsessive piety - as if he was in a beautiful dream.

He was dazed. Today... is Shen Zhi's birthday. He hadn't thought about it recently. He didn't even leave the house, let alone prepare a gift.

What wish was he making?

As soon as Shen Zhi moved, Feng Ran quickly closed his eyes.

He waited for what would happen next with a little trepidation. Would Shen Zhi wake him up, or leave, or...

A soft touch covered the corner of his eye, and his heart skipped a beat.

A kiss.

The kiss was like a dragonfly skimming the water, leaving after a slight touch.

Feng Ran breathed a sigh of relief. If it lasted any longer, he couldn't pretend anymore.

The door locked, the footsteps became increasingly blurred, and Feng Ran straightened up.

Is it too late to make up for it now?

... Forget it, why bother. He wasn't that mean.

Unless Shen Zhi asked for it, if he said a few nice words, then he could reluctantly agree. He imagined that the conditions could not be too harsh, and at most he could accept him making a cake, blowing out candles, etc.

Feng Ran thought about it this way and felt a little satisfied.

But Chen Zhi said nothing in the end.

So this birthday passed by pretending to be deaf and dumb