Chapter 114: Seven Days in a Past Life
The sun was bright.
Gu Tang sat by the hospital railing, basking in the sunlight.
His eyes were round and large, and his face was very cute, but there was little color in it, carrying a trace of sickness.
He was much frailer than boys his age and did not look like a normal boy in his early teens at all. The blue striped hospital gown hanging on him looked especially oversized.
The skin on his wrists and ankles was so thin that the pale blue veins beneath could be seen clearly. His whole body looked so fragile that it seemed as if he might disappear at any moment.
Gu Tang let out a soft sigh.
He had not seen his family in a very long time…
Even his father’s assistant only came once a month on schedule to confirm whether he was still alive, settle his medical expenses, and leave him some pocket money.
For about three years, the amount of pocket money had never changed—never more, never less.
It was obvious that his father had already forgotten him.
He was nothing more than one task among the many his father assigned to his assistant.
In fact, that task had not even been updated for a very long time…
Rustle, rustle—
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from the bushes outside the railing.
Gu Tang looked over curiously.
Rustle—
A dark figure emerged from the bushes.
Gu Tang jumped in fright.
Instinctively clutching his chest, he looked closely and realized that the dark figure was a boy about the same age as him.
Gu Tang steadied himself, then waved at the boy first. “Hello.”
The boy’s face was dark and grimy, making it impossible to tell what he looked like clearly, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp and bright, and he lifted them to stare at Gu Tang warily.
At the same time, he hid the sack of bottles and cans he was holding behind his back.
Gu Qinian had been collecting empty bottles near the hospital.
He normally did not come here, because if the hospital guards saw him, they would chase him away. But the orphanage required them to collect a hundred bottles every day, and he had already searched everywhere nearby and still could not find enough, so he had no choice but to take the risk and come here.
He had not expected to be seen…
Seeing that the boy said nothing, Gu Tang fished a piece of candy out of his pocket and tried to pass it through the railing.
“Do you want one?” He gave him a friendly smile.
But the moment the words left his mouth, the boy turned and ran.
Dragging the sack behind him, he made a clattering noise all the way as he fled.
“…”
His attempt at making a friend had failed.
Gu Tang slumped his shoulders and drove his wheelchair back to his room by himself.
The next day.
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Gu Tang brought a small bread roll and went back to the place where he had met the boy yesterday.
The moment he stopped his wheelchair, the bushes trembled.
A head popped out from the greenery, as if he had already been waiting there for him.
Gu Tang lit up with surprise. “You’re here?”
The boy did not seem as resistant to him as he had been yesterday.
He stepped out of the bushes and looked at him through the railing.
Gu Tang waved at him again and pulled out the small bread from his hospital gown pocket. “I brought some bread. Do you want it?”
Yesterday he had passed the candy too slowly, and the boy had run away.
Today, Gu Tang had learned from experience.
While trying to be friendly, he stretched his hand through the railing and held out the bread.
At the same time, he asked, “What’s your name?”
“…Gu Qinian.”
Gu Qinian stared at that thin little wrist and softly gave his name.
Then, without taking the bread, he turned and ran away again.
Gu Tang: “Hey—”
Why did he run again?
It was almost like he had come early in the morning just to tell him his name.
Over the next third, fourth, and fifth days, Gu Tang went every morning to wait for the boy in the same place.
But for three days in a row, the other never appeared again.
On the sixth day, it rained.
Gu Tang could not go out conveniently, so he drove his wheelchair to the hospital window and looked down from there.
Although there was still a trace of hope in his heart, he knew very well—
that boy was probably not coming anymore…
“Hm?!”
Gu Tang had to thank the fact that while his body was weak, his eyesight was exceptional.
Even from that far away, he noticed the bushes outside the hospital railing move slightly.
Looking more carefully, there seemed to be a dark little figure crouched by the bushes.
Gu Tang ignored the fact that it was still pouring outside.
Holding an umbrella, he drove his wheelchair out.
But when he reached the bushes, the boy was nowhere to be seen.
“Gu Qinian?”
Gu Tang called out.
No one answered.
He started to wonder whether he had imagined it, simply because he wanted to see the boy too badly.
He waited a while, but still no one appeared.
Feeling disappointed, Gu Tang turned his wheelchair and prepared to go back to his room.
But the instant he turned around—
who else could it be standing behind him but Gu Qinian?
Gu Tang was instantly delighted. “Nian Nian!”
The doubled nickname coming from the sickly little boy’s mouth sounded sticky and soft.
Like he was acting spoiled.
Gu Qinian frowned, but he did not reject it, which counted as reluctantly accepting the nickname.
“I’ll hold the umbrella for you.”
Gu Tang lifted the umbrella high, trying to shield him from the rain.
But he was sitting while the other was standing, and it was difficult for him to raise it high enough.
Gu Qinian instinctively reached out, wanting to help the little boy hold the umbrella, but when he realized his hands were dirty, he pulled back and wiped them hard on his pants.
Only then did he take the umbrella from the sickly little boy and hold it over him.
Most of his own body remained in the rain.
Looking around, Gu Tang asked, “How did you get in?”
“There’s a gap in the hospital fence.”
Gu Qinian answered very briefly.
But Gu Tang was still extremely happy, and his round eyes curved into crescents. “No one has talked with me for a long time. Can you stay and talk with me a little more?”
“…”
Gu Qinian was not good with words.
After holding it in for a long time, he finally blurted out, “Where’s your room?”
Gu Tang froze for a moment, then his smile grew even brighter. “Shouldn’t you ask my name first?”
“…”
Gu Qinian felt his cheeks heating up. He was probably blushing.
It was just that his face was grimy and dark, so even if he blushed, it would not show.
Stumbling over his words, he asked, “Then… you… what…”
“My name is Gu Tang.”
Gu Tang smiled sweetly. “Can I call you Nian Nian?”
You’re already calling me that…
Gu Qinian nodded with a red face. “Mm.”
The rain grew heavier.
Gu Tang coughed a few times, and Gu Qinian quickly sent him back to his room.
This ward building was for long-term patients.
There were few ordinary patients and medical staff around.
To put it nicely, it was a ward. To put it bluntly, it was an end-of-life care center.
But there was one advantage: the single rooms were spacious and comfortable, and there was not much disturbance in daily life. Management was also quite loose, otherwise outsiders would never have been able to get in.
Gu Qinian did not know any of this.
He simply followed the directions Gu Tang gave him and sent him back.
“You’re soaked through!”
Only after they entered the room did Gu Tang notice that the boy’s back was completely wet. He grabbed him. “Wash up and change into dry clothes.”
The boy’s grimy clothes were caught by pale, clean fingers.
Gu Qinian suddenly did not know what to do, so he could only let Gu Tang lead him into the bathroom.
After he had washed the dirt from his face,
Gu Tang let out an awed little sigh. “You’re so handsome!”
After the grime was washed away, the boy revealed a delicate, refined face with beautiful features and sharp contours. His skin was so pale it looked like Snow White from a fairy tale!
Gu Tang had never seen such a pretty child before and could not help staring.
Gu Qinian was stared at until his face grew hot. Pressing his lips together, he said, “…You’re the one who’s pretty.”
The little boy in front of him was only sick.
But even though his face showed obvious signs of illness, it could not hide how cute he was. His eyes and brows were lively and lovable, the kind that could warm a person’s heart at a glance.
When he smiled, he was bright like a little sun.
Seeing each other’s true faces for the first time, both of them thought the other was beautiful.
Gu Tang took out a set of his own daily clothes and handed them to Gu Qinian. “After you finish washing, change into these too.”
The clothes Gu Qinian had been wearing before were so black they had no visible shape, and they were soaked through.
Gu Qinian hesitated.
“What is it, embarrassed?”
Gu Tang tilted his head. “We’re both boys. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
When Gu Qinian thought about it, that was true. After hesitating a moment, he took off his shirt.
“How did you—”
Gu Tang gasped in shock. “Why are there so many wounds on your body?!”
The boy’s thin little body was covered in injuries, both old and new, bruised in green and purple. There were even lash marks crisscrossing his back.
It could be said that there was not a single piece of healthy skin on him.
Gu Qinian instinctively covered himself with his shirt, frustration rising in his heart.
He should not have taken it off after all.
He had not wanted to frighten Gu Tang.
Sensing the boy’s discomfort, Gu Tang forced himself to calm down. “You wash first. When you come out, I’ll help you put medicine on it.”
Gu Qinian answered softly.
Gu Tang closed the bathroom door for him and drove his wheelchair out.
Very quickly, the sound of running water came from inside.
In all his memories, Gu Qinian had never touched hot water.
No matter how cold the weather was, the orphanage only had ice-cold water that chilled straight to the bone.
He actually had a thing about cleanliness and found it hard to bear being this filthy. He often insisted on washing himself with cold water, and sometimes ended up making himself sick from it.
But there was no help for it.
That was simply his life.
The warm water hurt a little when it touched his wounds, but this was the rare warmth he could draw into himself.
Gu Qinian stood beneath the shower.
Letting the hot water wash over him.
At last, his body slowly warmed and relaxed.
He was afraid of wasting hot water, so once he had washed himself clean, he came out right away without lingering for even a moment.
Gu Tang’s clothes looked so clean that he was too embarrassed to put them on. So he only stepped out with his wet body, bare and shivering.
“You’ll catch cold like this.”
Gu Tang took a towel and covered his head with it. “Hurry up and dry yourself.”
Gu Tang’s towel was soft and smelled nice.
Gu Qinian’s nose twitched, and he gave it a light sniff. If Gu Tang had not hurried him, he would not even have wanted to use the towel to dry his body.
Gu Tang carried over a little medicine case. “Sit here. I’ll help you put medicine on.”
After drying himself, Gu Qinian obediently sat down.
Turning his back to Gu Tang.
Gu Tang had stayed in the hospital for so long that even without having studied medicine, he had seen enough to understand a lot.
At one glance, it was obvious these wounds were caused by human abuse.
“The first three days you didn’t come… was it because you got beaten?”
Gu Tang asked softly.
Gu Qinian gave a low “mm.”
Being beaten in the orphanage was a common thing. It was not just him getting hit, and it did not really have anything to do with whether he had completed his tasks.
Those black-hearted caretakers would beat them when they were in a bad mood—or when they were in a good mood.
They could hit them with or without any reason.
After all, they were only a group of orphans with no parents.
Seeing those terrifying wounds, Gu Tang’s eyes reddened at once. He carefully applied medicine to the boy’s back. “It’ll hurt a little. Bear with it.”
Gu Qinian clenched his teeth and made no sound.
Even when Gu Tang touched the places that had festered and become inflamed, he only shuddered slightly. He did not make a sound.
“Who hit you?”
Gu Tang asked him.
Gu Qinian shook his head.
He could not let Gu Tang know about the things that happened in the orphanage.
He did not want to say it, so he only pressed his lips together in silence.
Gu Tang did not force him. He simply packed up the medicine, snacks, and some clean clothes and pushed them all toward him. “Take these.”
“I don’t want them.”
Gu Qinian took the things, then placed them back on the small table nearby.
So that the sickly little boy would not have to keep holding them.
Gu Tang said, “Then just think of it as owing me a favor!”
Gu Qinian pressed his lips together and still said nothing.
Gu Tang blinked. “My favors are very easy to repay.”
Of course. Everything had to be repaid.
How could there be any kindness or love in this world without a reason?
At its core, it was only an exchange.
But if the one asking was Gu Tang, then no matter what he wanted, Gu Qinian was willing.
That way, he would have more chances to see Gu Tang…
“What do you want me to do?”
Gu Qinian asked.
“It’s very simple.”
Gu Tang grinned. “Tomorrow, come to the amusement park with me!”
Gu Qinian froze. “…That’s it?”
“What else?”
A sly smile spread across Gu Tang’s face. “The hard part is that you have to sneak me out first.”
On the seventh day.
Gu Tang woke up very early.
Today was the day Nian Nian was supposed to “kidnap” him away.
The hospital did not allow him to go out, but he knew his own body well. If he did not go and have fun while he still had enough strength, then once his health got worse and worse, he probably would never have the chance to go to an amusement park in his whole life!
Gu Tang got dressed and hung a small bag on his wheelchair, filling it with his medicine and little water bottle.
He planned to go out early and wait for him.
Carefully, he pushed open his room door.
But there was already a figure standing outside.
“!” Gu Tang jumped.
“Shh, it’s me!”
It was only when he heard Gu Qinian’s voice that he relaxed, and he whispered, “You came so early…”
He had even gotten up ahead of time on purpose.
Gu Qinian walked into the room, took an extra blanket, draped it over Gu Tang, and only then pushed him out.
The two of them successfully slipped out of the hospital.
Without a guardian watching him, and with Gu Tang being sick, they could not go to a large amusement park.
“I know a place.”
Gu Qinian took Gu Tang to a children’s amusement park that was about to be abandoned.
The facilities there were simple, but it had the advantage of having very few people.
And since it was a weekday, even the residents of the nearby old district had not brought their children there.
The whole amusement park contained only the two of them.
As long as they exchanged a little money for a few play tokens from the old man guarding the gate, they could play on everything.
Gu Tang took out money, but Gu Qinian did not use his. Instead, he dug into his own pocket and pulled out a handful of coins of all different sizes, exchanging them for a few ride tokens.
Thinking of the boy’s situation, Gu Tang suspected the money had been earned from collecting bottles, and the more he thought about it, the more his heart hurt.
So when Gu Qinian bent to lift him out of his wheelchair,
Gu Tang secretly slipped some money into the boy’s pocket.
Unfortunately, he was caught.
“Take it back,” Gu Qinian said in a low voice.
Gu Tang refused.
Lowering his eyes to look at him, Gu Qinian’s gaze darkened. “Do you look down on me?”
Gu Tang immediately shook his head. “No.”
“You have it too hard when earning money.”
“That’s only for now. Later, I’ll get stronger. I’ll get very good at earning money. I’ll make lots and lots of it.”
The dark black eyes of the boy were full of resolve.
And as he spoke, a faint blush slowly spread over his face. “Once I make money, I want to spend it on you. Only on you…”
“Nian Nian, you’re so good.”
Gu Tang did not force him any longer to accept the money. Instead, he reached out and wrapped his arms around the boy’s neck.
Gu Qinian’s face turned even redder at once. Stammering, he said, “I-I’ll carry you onto the seesaw.”
“Okay.”
Gu Tang was very obedient. He held onto the boy’s neck without moving, making it easier for him to lift him.
A half-grown boy should normally have struggled to carry someone like this.
But Gu Qinian had done hard labor since childhood, and Gu Tang had been weak from long illness, so in the end—
he lifted him easily.
Gu Qinian had not expected the sickly little boy to be so light.
Like a feather.
So fragile that if he used even a little too much force, it felt as though his bones might shatter.
He held him with great care and placed him at one end of the seesaw. Only after Gu Tang was settled did he dare let go and walk to the other side.
Even when playing, he moved very slowly and cautiously.
The seesaw rose and fell in an almost lazy rhythm, not thrilling at all.
But Gu Tang was incredibly happy.
No one had ever sat on a seesaw with him before.
This was the first time he had ever played with something so fun.
When he rose into the air, he boldly let go of the handles and spread his arms wide.
“Careful!”
Gu Qinian was so startled his heart nearly stopped. Pressing down on one side of the seesaw, he did not dare move at all.
He was terrified the crystal-like little boy would fall.
But unlike his panic, Gu Tang laughed merrily with delight. “Nian Nian! Nian Nian, look!”
“I’m flying!!!”
Facing the sunlight, he spread his arms and waved them up and down.
From Gu Qinian’s perspective, it looked as though a little angel bathed in pale golden light was just about to spread his wings and soar.
Even the sunlight falling on Gu Tang seemed extra gentle.
So cute…
He had to be dreaming.
How could there really be such a cute little angel in this world?
“Nian Nian, I want to come down!”
The little angel waved at him.
Gu Qinian came back to himself and obediently stretched out his legs, letting himself rise and carefully bringing Gu Tang back down.
Gu Tang looked at him as though he had discovered a new continent. “Your legs are so long! And you’re really strong too!”
He had been praised by the little angel.
“I-it’s okay, I guess…”
Gu Qinian’s cheeks went red again, though with the sunlight behind him, it could not be seen clearly.
After they got off the seesaw,
Gu Tang tugged his sleeve and pointed into the distance. “Let’s go play on that!”
—the carousel.
Gu Tang had seen it many times on television, but had never once experienced it himself.
“Can we sit on the same horse?”
He blinked his big round eyes at the boy. “I want to be closer to you.”
The seesaw had been fun, but the two of them had been too far apart.
He still liked sticking close to Nian Nian more.
“Okay.”
Gu Qinian did whatever he said.
He specially chose a white horse, wiped the dust off it, and only then carefully lifted Gu Tang onto it.
In Gu Qinian’s eyes, only a white horse was worthy of a little angel.
Once the little angel was sitting steadily,
he swung himself up behind him in one smooth motion.
Gu Qinian let Gu Tang’s back rest against his chest and wrapped both arms around him, willingly serving as a human cushion for his little angel.
The carousel began to turn.
Gu Qinian kept his back straight, while Gu Tang twisted around to look at him, smiling brilliantly.
Golden sunlight wrapped around the two of them.
From afar, it looked like a knight guarding his little prince…
Cough, cough, cough…
By afternoon, as the sun sank westward and the temperature dropped sharply,
Gu Tang had been outside for too long and started coughing.
Gu Qinian wrapped him in the blanket and held him tightly, using his own body to block every gust of wind.
Nestled in the boy’s arms, Gu Tang eventually managed to stop coughing.
The lashes at the corners of his eyes were dampened by tears triggered by coughing, and the tip of his nose and cheeks had turned red.
Like a little apple glistening with moisture.
Gu Qinian felt both distressed and thought Gu Tang’s flushed face looked very beautiful. Carefully, he rubbed the little boy’s back. Though he did not want to separate, he knew in his heart that the little angel could not stay away from the hospital too long.
“Do you want to go back?”
Gu Qinian asked softly.
“Mm!”
Gu Tang nodded. “I was very happy today. Let’s go back.”
Going back meant they would have to part again.
Gu Qinian felt an ache in his chest and was extremely unwilling to part.
But he did not show it. He only lowered his eyes to the hand Gu Tang had exposed at the edge of the blanket.
It was slim and white, looking soft and warm.
He wanted to hold it.
But his own hands were too dirty. He would only soil Gu Tang…
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Qinian covered that hand with the blanket and, through the blanket, carried him back into the wheelchair.
—
Back in the room,
Gu Qinian lifted Gu Tang onto the bed once more.
After a whole day of playing, Gu Tang felt very tired, and even his voice sounded weak. “…Will Nian Nian come again tomorrow?”
Gu Qinian paused very slightly.
A sharp pain twitched in his back.
In truth, there were still many fresh wounds there from the beating he had received the previous night.
He had hidden the money he earned from collecting bottles, just so he could take Gu Tang to the amusement park today.
When the heartless orphanage manager found out he had not handed over enough money and discovered the medicine on the wounds on his back, they decided he must have used the money to buy medicine and beat him nearly to death.
He had protected his head desperately the whole time,
because he did not want his face injured.
He did not want Gu Tang to know.
If he went back today, he would most likely be beaten again. Whether he would even survive until tomorrow was hard to say…
Looking into Gu Tang’s clear, luminous amber eyes, Gu Qinian gritted his teeth. “I will. I’ll come every day.”
Gu Tang looked back at him.
As if he sensed something, he softly said, “If something happens and you can’t come, that’s okay too. Just visit me when you have time. You don’t have to come every day.”
“I’ll definitely come.”
Gu Qinian said solemnly, “I promise.”
If he said he would definitely come,
then he definitely had to protect himself, didn’t he?
No matter what he encountered, he had to keep living stubbornly.
Thinking that, Gu Tang held out a hand. “Let’s make a pinky promise, okay?”
Gu Qinian looked at that clean little finger and rubbed his own hand on his pants. “I… my hands are dirty…”
“What are you saying?”
Gu Tang reached out first, took his hand, and held it. “Nian Nian isn’t dirty at all. I like Nian Nian the most!”
Their hands were joined tightly together.
Just like Gu Qinian had imagined.
Gu Tang’s hand was soft and warm.
And small.
Very, very cute.
“Can we make a pinky promise now?”
Gu Tang tilted his head and asked.
Gu Qinian took a deep breath and hooked his little finger around Gu Tang’s delicate one.
Their fingers hooked together.
And the two of them spoke their promise at the same time—
“Pinky promise, one hundred years, never change!”
“Mm. Never change, ever.”
After the promise, Gu Tang crooked his finger at him again. “Come closer.”
Gu Qinian thought he wanted to say something, so he lowered his head and leaned in to listen.
Instead, he suddenly felt an incredibly soft touch land on his cheek.
Gu Tang gave Gu Qinian a loud kiss on the cheek, then burrowed beneath the covers and said in a muffled little voice, “Nian Nian, see you tomorrow.”
It was a pure and innocent kiss, only the way children expressed affection.
Standing by the bed, Gu Qinian lifted a hand and touched his cheek stupidly.
After a long moment, Gu Tang heard him say—
“Mm. See you tomorrow.”
His voice carried a smile.
People who have made a promise with each other will definitely meet again.
…
Gu Tang slowly woke up.
He had dreamed.
Although the details of the dream were already becoming blurry, there was still a strange feeling in his chest—sour and swollen, yet also sweet and tingling. Something very complicated.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself sleeping in Young Master Gu’s arms.
For a moment, Gu Tang was still dazed.
He stared blankly at the other man’s chest, as if he could not tell what year or even what world he was in.
Sensing that he was awake, Gu Qinian tightened the arm around the young man’s waist and hugged him close.
“Good morning.”
Young Master Gu’s voice was rough with the unique hoarseness of early morning.
At the sound of it, Gu Tang lifted his head and met the other man’s dark black eyes.
Only then did the reality of the present become completely real to him.
For some reason, his eyes suddenly grew hot.
Gu Tang reached up and cupped Young Master Gu’s head, planting a loud kiss on each cheek. “Good morning!”
This was how they should be—healthy, happy, and together forever.
No need to make appointments in advance.
Every morning when they woke, the first thing they saw would be each other.
Gu Qinian hugged his clingy, just-awake little lover into his arms. “What do you want to do today?”
Thinking of the dream, Gu Tang’s eyes darted playfully. “Guess.”
Gu Qinian held him tighter. “Do you want to go to an amusement park?”
“?!!”
Gu Tang froze, both eyes widening into perfect circles. “How did you know?!”
Under normal circumstances,
Young Master Gu would absolutely never want to go to an amusement park for no reason!
“I guessed that you wanted to.”
Gu Qinian smiled and kissed his forehead. “Maybe we had the same dream.”
[End of Extra]
After Becoming Cannon Fodder What Bad Intentions Could I Possibly Have?
