28 – I Also Met Ten Million

Chapter 28: I Met Chen Man Too

Turning his head, Xie Qingcheng marveled at the incredible coincidence. Was there some kind of party being held at the cemetery today? Why on earth had everyone decided to visit this place today of all days?

The people standing before him were former colleagues he had worked with at Huzhou First People’s Hospital.

They were called colleagues, but in reality, they weren’t. Being students of Qin Ciyan, most of them belonged to the neurosurgery department, unlike Xie Qingcheng.

Xie Qingcheng spoke first.

“…It’s been a long time, everyone.”

Among those colleagues was Nurse Zhou, who had changed Xie Qingcheng’s IV drip in the emergency room last night.

Nurse Zhou and Xie Qingcheng were certainly like oil and water. Impatient and brutally honest, she glared at him for a moment before unable to contain herself.

“Xie Qingcheng, what do you think you’re doing? Who… who do you think you are, coming to visit Teacher Qin’s grave?”

“….”

“Leave. Now. Someone like you has no right to pay respects at Teacher Qin’s grave.”

“I didn’t intend to pay stolen contentrespects. I just happened to Read on Read BL Novelsstop by Read on Read BL Novelswhile passing through.”

“What do you—!”

The other doctors standing by flared up at Xie Qingcheng’s words.

One doctor interjected with a scoff.

“I see Professor Xie is doing quite well at Huzhou Medical University.”

“He must be living a very comfortable life to have the leisure to come play at a cemetery. As expected, being a professor is more relaxed than being a doctor.”

Xie Qingcheng cast a disinterested gaze.

“I don’t know why you’re acting like this. What crime have I committed? If you want to be like Qin Ciyan, be like him yourselves; there’s no need to insist that others follow in his footsteps.”

“Xie Qingcheng!”

Nurse Zhou was left speechless by his words. Her already horse-like face grew even longer.

“There’s a limit to how shameless one can be!”

“I’ve always been a bit numb.”

“…Go, just go right now!”

“Exactly! Don’t you dare show your face here again!”

The emotional young doctors looked as if they were ready to strangle Xie Qingcheng to death right there in the cemetery. Their voices were so loud that the commotion eventually reached the ears of the cemetery caretaker.

A caretaker dressed in gray rushed over to break up the fight.

“What is going on here! Maintain a solemn atmosphere! Keep your voices down!”

He pointed to a sign posted some distance away.

Then, he gently admonished the young people.

“If you act like this, you’ll startle the deceased resting here! If you have a grudge, settle it outside the park; don’t cause a scene here!”

Nurse Zhou looked as if her eyes were about to roll back into her head.

“We won’t even run into him once we leave the cemetery. Just looking at his face makes my blood boil….”

Xie Qingcheng replied coldly.

“Running into such stupid faces makes me feel like I’ve stepped in dog shit, too.”

“Xie Qingcheng, you really—!”

“Hyung!”

Chen Man, having finished his memorial, rushed over after hearing the commotion.

“Is something wrong?”

As a man in a police uniform appeared, the people instinctively shut their mouths.

In the midst of this, Nurse Zhou suddenly narrowed her eyes. He looked familiar.

That young policeman who had stayed by Xie Qingcheng’s side that night….

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

Xie Qingcheng looked up with his peach blossom eyes, scanning the doctors’ faces one by one, before speaking to Chen Man.

“Let’s go.”

“Oh, okay….”

Chen Man seemed to realize why they had been fighting, but Xie Qingcheng looked exhausted by the visit our sitepointless argument. [stolen content]Considering this, Chen Man changed the subject.

“Qingcheng-hyung, be careful. The ground is slippery because it rained earlier.”

Watching the two of them leave, Nurse Zhou felt nauseous. The events that had occurred at Huzhou First People’s Hospital and the image of the poised Xie Qingcheng’s back overlapped, sparking a strong sense of loathing in her chest. Not knowing what possessed her, she shouted an outburst at the back of Xie Qingcheng, who seemed quite close to Chen Man.

“Xie Qingcheng, when the rumor that you were gay spread at the hospital, I took your side. But looking at it now, Professor Xie is quite the talent, isn’t he? Even dragging a policeman into his bed. With a young cop sleeping with him at night and serving him devotedly by day, you must feel very secure now? You can just wander around with peace of mind—”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

This time, Chen Man flared up. Before the woman could even finish her sentence, he lunged forward as if to strike Nurse Zhou.

Xie Qingcheng quickly grabbed hold of Chen Man.

“Let her talk.”

“No, she’s insulting you like that—”

“Let’s go, Chen Man. You’re still in your police uniform. Watch your attitude.”

At Xie Qingcheng’s cold warning, Chen Man barely managed to regain his composure. Panting heavily and gritting his teeth as he glared at the people, he eventually followed Xie Qingcheng out of the cemetery.

Inside the car on the way back, a furious Chen Man muttered indignantly.

“How can someone insult another person like that… It’s not like Hyung’s [stolen content]choice was wrong…. Who do they [unauthorized copy]think they are to slander him and call him such things….”

Surprisingly, Xie Qingcheng, the party involved, remained indifferent. It was as if he had let the words go in one ear and out the other, acting as if he didn’t even know what had happened or whom he had met.

“Hyung, how can you not be angry at all?”

“Why bother being angry?”

“Those people, to you, to you—”

“They’re all Qin Ciyan’s students. Nurse Zhou was even someone Qin Ciyan personally brought to the hospital. It’s only natural that I’d be an eyesore.”

“No, even the part about you and me, I….”

“About being gay?”

“….”

“I’m not gay anyway. Hearing those words doesn’t really hurt.”

Xie Qingcheng took out his phone, which he had left alone all morning, and unlocked the screen.

Because he had muted it while visiting the cemetery, he was only now able to check the message He Yu had sent.

[He Yu: I came to school today. When do we start the thing we promised?]

Xie Qingcheng’s brow twitched.

Suddenly, the memory of the confusing kiss at the hotel flashed through his mind.

He instinctively felt displeased. Come to think of it, the rumor that he was gay back at the hospital had also been because of that bastard He Yu.

That day, He Yu had come to the hospital to see Xie Qingcheng. Despite being a middle school student, he boasted a height of nearly 180cm. While visiting the hospital in civilian clothes, he was ambushed by Nurse Zhou, who was single at the time. Mistaking He Yu for a man in his twenties, she had rushed over to get his phone number. This unscrupulous male student, intending to be considerate of Nurse Zhou’s feelings while avoiding an awkward situation, had said the following to her:

-Ah, I’m Teacher Xie’s partner. I’m waiting for him to get off work.

Recalling this, Xie Qingcheng sighed with a throbbing headache and pressed the lock button on the side of his phone. He wasn’t in the mood to reply to He Yu.

“I’m going to sleep for a bit,” he told Chen Man. “I have a lecture this afternoon.”

Chen Man, who had been chatting away, fell silent at Xie Qingcheng’s sudden interruption.

“Ah… then please sleep. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

Xie Qingcheng didn’t decline and closed his eyes.

Broken light filtered through the branches and danced across the car window, tracing Xie Qingcheng’s distinct features, his slender neckline, and his fair skin before hiding beneath his well-pressed shirt.

A man who exuded a cold and rigid atmosphere with his entire being.

But for some reason, recalling Nurse Zhou’s verbal abuse at the cemetery—claiming Xie Qingcheng had seduced a policeman into bed—Chen Man’s heart sank. A subtle emotion was bubbling up amidst the anger.

His gaze, which had traced Xie Qingcheng’s features and the bridge of his nose, finally rested on lips that looked as if the blood had frozen. Lips that uttered only a few words in a stiff tone when awake looked incredibly soft while he was asleep with his eyes closed.

His gaze grew more intense. The heat leaking through his breath seemed a bit heavier than usual.

* * *

Huzhou University.

The loud sound of cicadas had finally vanished from the early autumn campus. Instead, fallen leaves, as if the silence of the world was an eyesore, jumped one by one from the branches and were crunched under the students’ feet. In this way, the noise of the season descended from the trees to the ground according to the laws of nature.

Returning to school with his suitcase, He Yu happened to encounter Xie Xue, who was leaning back against the entrance of the convenience store in front of the school gate.

“…What’s wrong?”

He considered turning away and pretending not to see her, but then realized there was no need. He had never confessed to Xie Xue, and there was no guarantee that Wei Dongheng would accept her feelings. For now, it was enough to remain friends as they had been.

Xie Xue, with a tissue plugging her nose, replied with a nasal voice.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because it’s dry in autumn, I keep getting nosebleeds, seriously…. Are you just arriving? Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”

“…It’s not such a big deal that [stolen content]I needed to stolen contenttell you. By the way, if you keep stolen contentgetting nosebleeds, just apply for leave. I’ll go to the hospital with you.”

“Forget it, forget it. It’s not serious enough to overreact.”

“Overreact? You said you’d go to the hospital with me when I was sick before. Just think of it as paying back the favor conscientiously.”

Perhaps because she had bled so much she had become a fool, Xie Xue said blankly, “Huh? That was so long ago I don’t remember….”

He Yu sighed and pulled out a tissue, handing it to Xie Xue.

“How impressive. I wonder how you graduated from university and became a professor with a memory like that.”

Watching Xie Xue plug her nose with the clean tissue, he asked, “…Did you tell your brother about the nosebleed?”

“Why bother disturbing a busy man?”

At that moment, a person approaching from a distance caught the corner of Xie Xue’s vision. As the person waved at her from afar, Xie Xue’s face turned strangely red.

Before He Yu could notice who it was, Xie Xue quickly pushed him away with her remaining hand.

“What was it, you just got back to school, right? Hurry and go unpack. Don’t worry! If I get another nosebleed, I’ll stop by the infirmary. If it keeps happening, I’ll go to the hospital. I have a faculty meeting, so I’m leaving first.”

“…Go on.”

Xie Xue left the spot immediately.

Feeling that something was a bit strange, He Yu nonetheless headed to the dormitory, pulling his suitcase without much thought.

He now intended not to confess his feelings to Xie Xue. He had realized something after the events that had unfolded, especially the incident at the hotel where he lost control and forcibly kissed Xie Qingcheng. While he might not have completely lost his reason, he was certainly a dangerous patient.

It was unclear whether he could maintain his current state in the future.

What if he became even more crazed?

Perhaps Xie Qingcheng was right.

He had to do his best to walk out of this darkness and become stable enough to be recognized by Xie Qingcheng. It wouldn’t be too late to confess his feelings to Xie Xue then.

Anyway, since he had already waited this long, a bit more waiting was but a blink of an eye. There was no way a thug like Wei Dongheng would actually date Xie Xue.

When He Yu returned to the dormitory, his roommates were all absent. While resting after organizing his luggage, he noticed an unread message notification on his phone.

The sender was Xie Qingcheng.

It seemed the man, who had ignored him for ages, had finally sent a precious reply.

[6 PM, wait in front of Experimental Building 3 of the Medical College.]

As promised with Xie Qingcheng, [Read on Read BL Novels]he [visit our site]took his first step into [Read on Read BL Novels]Xie Qingcheng’s ‘training.’

6 PM.

He Yu arrived at the medical college’s experimental building on time.

Only after waiting for about thirty minutes did Xie Qingcheng finally appear.

Professor Xie, having finished his major lecture, was wearing a pristine white lab coat. A humid lingering remained in the early autumn air of Huzhou, which was still warm. As soon as the lecture ended, he unbuttoned the white coat to reveal a light gray blazer and crisp dress pants underneath.

Xie Qingcheng tapped his faculty ID card on the sensor and exited through the automatic doors. The wind flowing through the gap lifted the hem of his coat high. Habitually using his tablet PC to block the wind, he descended the distant stairs of the experimental building with leisurely ease.

He Yu held the strap of his crossbody bag with one hand and thrust the other into his pocket, watching him with cold eyes.

“You really have no sense of time.”

“The lecture ran long,” Xie Qingcheng said. “Did you wait long? Let’s go eat first.”

Professor Xie and He Yu headed to the medical college cafeteria, which was rumored to have better food than the general Huzhou University cafeterias.

Since the main meal time had passed, only the quick-service counter was open. A few students who had come for a late meal were scattered throughout the spacious cafeteria.

After tapping his faculty ID at one of the counters, Xie Qingcheng returned to the table holding a piece of paper on which the cafeteria lady had scribbled the names of the dishes.

While waiting for the food, two men approached the seat next to them. Surprisingly, the two were holding hands. At first, Xie Qingcheng didn’t notice. However, after the [unauthorized copy]two men sat facing each other and chatted for a visit our sitemoment, Read on Read BL Novelsthe taller one leaned over and kissed the fairer-skinned one on the cheek.

“….”

“….”

Homophobes encountering gays in real life exhibited surprising cooperation. Without even asking each other, both stood up simultaneously and moved to the farthest table.

He Yu asked with a surprised look, “Why did you….”

“I can’t stand it.”

“…You’re a doctor, sir.”

“Medical ideology and personal life are separate.”

Xie Qingcheng set down two cans of beer bought from the convenience store fridge and pushed one toward He Yu. As Xie Qingcheng popped the can open, white beer foam spilled over his fingers. After taking a sip, he asked,

“Why do those kinds of people insist on being with another man… isn’t it repulsive?”

He Yu also opened his beer and clinked it against Xie Qingcheng’s as if making a toast.

“Honestly, I agree with you on this one. I once had a male classmate confess to me…. He gave me a huge bouquet of roses.”

“So what happened?”

“I broke his shinbone.”

“….”

Just then, the cafeteria lady poked her head out and shouted loudly, “Number 19, Mala Xiang Guo is ready, come pick it up!”

Xie Qingcheng stood up to get the menu.

One of the two Mala Xiang Guos had a vivid red color. It was a stir-fried chicken dish with plenty of dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns; crispy pieces of chicken were hidden under a pile of fried chilies, with oil-coated green onions sprinkled on top. Pieces of garlic, stir-fried over high heat until crispy, emitted a savory aroma that stimulated the taste buds atop the mountain of chicken.

This was Xie Qingcheng’s portion.

The other one was Mala Xiang Guo in name only and wasn’t spicy at all. The main accompaniment to the rib-based Mala Xiang Guo was tofu fried with onion powder, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Plump king oyster mushrooms were scored and rolled into circular shapes. The green onions, sliced vertically and stir-fried together, played a key role in making the juices of the mushrooms and meat even richer. Even though the cafeteria lighting wasn’t very bright, the appearance of this fresh and crispy fried dish captured the eye. The wonderful garlic scent of the fried tofu also stimulated the sense of smell.

Xie Qingcheng pushed the crispy fried tofu Mala Xiang Guo toward He Yu.

“….”

At He Yu’s silence, Xie Qingcheng glanced at him.

“Don’t you like it?”

“I don’t really like fried food, and I have a tofu allergy.”

He added with a smirk, “You’re not taking revenge because I ate mango, are you?”

“…I have an acquaintance a few years older than you who eats this every time he comes here. I thought young guys like you liked this kind of thing. If you have an allergy, don’t eat it and order something else.”

He Yu asked nonchalantly in passing, “What acquaintance? Someone I know?”

“Someone you don’t know. The person I was waiting for at the hospital last time. You didn’t even see his face.”

As Xie Qingcheng finished answering and was about to hand over his faculty ID card to He Yu, his phone suddenly rang. He checked the screen and put down his chopsticks.

“…Speak of the devil. I’ll take this call.”

-Hello, Qingcheng-hyung. I’m near your lecture building right now; are you finished with your class?

Chen Man’s voice came through the phone. Though not perfectly clear, He Yu could roughly understand the content.

Xie Qingcheng glanced at He Yu.

“I have a patient with me right now. And we have things to discuss tonight. Why did you come here?”

At those words, Chen Man hesitated briefly.

-I, I just stopped by on my way home. I saw this morning that you left [Read on Read BL Novels]your laptop in the car, so I came to give it to you. If you’re [unauthorized copy]busy, take care of your business first.

However, He Yu was somewhat interested in this ‘devil.’ He felt a certain level of curiosity about anyone who had established a stable relationship with Xie Qingcheng.

“It’s fine. Since you’re already here, let’s eat together. Didn’t you say that person likes this Mala Xiang Guo? I can’t eat this anyway.”

“Will that be okay?”

“It’s fine.”

And so, Xie Qingcheng gave Chen Man the location.

He Yu went back to the counter, ordered some plain seafood porridge, and bought a few cans of beer.

By the time the food was ordered, Chen Man arrived at the restaurant with perfect timing. In his hand, he carried a paper bag containing Xie Qingcheng’s laptop.

Meanwhile, He Yu returned, hands shoved in his pockets and holding three cans of beer in one hand, wearing a calm expression and a crossbody bag.

The two men met in front of the table and looked at each other.

Both were strikingly handsome young men. Chen Man was like the summer sun, and He Yu was refined and elegant. To anyone with functioning eyes, they were faces it was impossible to look away from.

As their gazes met, there was a subtle flicker of recognition.

He Yu felt that Chen Man looked vaguely familiar. Chen Man seemed to feel the same.

However, their memories of where they had seen each other were hazy.

Naturally kind-hearted, Chen Man snapped back to his senses first and gave a bright smile. He Yu, too, was a master of maintaining etiquette and poise in front of others. It might be an inappropriate metaphor, but Young Master He was like a daughter of a noble house from the old days; he rarely committed a breach of etiquette. He also gave a polite smile toward Chen Man.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Officer.”

At He Yu’s words, Chen Man looked bewildered.

“Do you know me?”

“I heard about you from Professor Xie.”

He had also seen Chen Man in his police uniform at the hospital.

Xie Qingcheng frowned at the sight of the two, which reminded him of the first meeting between a noble consort and a court lady in a palace intrigue drama.

“Why are you standing there? Sit down already.”

Officer “Court Lady” Chen, exercising the public servant spirit of putting citizens first, said with a smile, “Student, please sit.”

He Consort, who had spent his childhood accompanying unauthorized copyhis [visit our site]parents to countless business Read on Read BL Novelsgatherings, was well-versed in the pleasantries of capitalism.

“Please, sir, sit first.”

The policeman, suddenly called ‘sir,’ scratched his head awkwardly and sat down stiffly.

The bourgeois, whose rank had been demoted to ‘student,’ sat down after him with a composed smile.

They skipped formal introductions.

That is how modern social life works. When meeting a friend of a friend, one doesn’t always state their name properly. It is a kind of socially agreed-upon barrier. Knowing that the relationship might end with a single meal, there is no need to report one’s name.

Of course, this didn’t hinder the two young men from having a friendly conversation.

Since they were around the same age, they had many common topics. Furthermore, He Yu exercised a spirit of inquiry, thinking, ‘Since he’s an acquaintance of Xie Qingcheng, I should see what kind of talent he is.’ Thanks to this, the two men, who didn’t even know each other’s names, chatted excitedly, starting with games and moving on to soccer stars and matches.

As time passed, the two handsome young men burst into genuine, joyful laughter. The capitalist youth and the socialist youth exchanged friendly interactions. It was almost as if the Kuomintang and the Communists had joined forces to form a united front.

Consequently, a line as wide as the East African Rift Valley was drawn between Elder Xie and the two of them. Due to the immense generation gap, he couldn’t wedge a single word into the conversation.

“…Ahaha, right. That match was seriously insane.”

“It’s rare to finish a game without conceding a single goal in that situation.”

“Did you see the English match?”

“I was on duty that day, so I watched the replay…”

The middle-aged man’s mood soured at the conversation between the two youths.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

At that question, Chen Man snapped out of it. He had been so preoccupied with chatting with someone his own age. Sensing the atmosphere, he quickly handed a can of beer to Xie Qingcheng.

“Hyung, drink this.”

He Yu quietly lowered his head, resting his forehead on his curled fingers, and wore a faint, barely visible smirk.

He’s following my lead exactly as I intended.

The fact that they had been at the hospital together meant they were on quite good terms. He Yu was curious about this policeman’s personality. He wanted to see what kind of person could tolerate a stubborn old man like Xie Qingcheng.

Looking at him now, he was definitely a dim-witted ‘sunshine’ character.

From then on, Chen Man couldn’t hold a proper conversation with He Yu and instead scrambled for various topics to keep Xie Qingcheng from feeling left out.

Once the meal was mostly finished and the atmosphere suggested there was nothing more to say, He Yu spoke with a smile.

“Professor Xie, would you mind visit our sitegetting to the point now? [Read on Read BL Novels]I’ll leave as Read on Read BL Novelssoon as I hear it.”

Xie Qingcheng didn’t hesitate and handed He Yu a list.

“This is a list of students who frequently skip lectures. I’ll give you a week. Try to communicate with these students and see if there’s any change after a week.”

He Yu took the list, glanced at it, and said, “Why are they all girls?”

“I have the list of boys.”

This time, He Yu’s gaze scanned the list in detail.

Xie Qingcheng continued, “The number of people on both lists is the same. I will also be communicating with my students this week. During next week’s lecture, if the attendance rate on your list is lower than mine when I call the roll, you lose. In that case, you’ll have to work as I tell you.”

“Isn’t the success rate too slim? You’re the professor. If you threaten them, they’ll obviously show up.”

“If it were easy to succeed, how would that be training? Why don’t you just ask me to spoon-feed you everything?”

He didn’t want to bicker over such a matter. Top students, by nature, do not fear a challenge. Thus, He Yu stuffed the list carelessly into his crossbody bag.

“I’m leaving. Let’s see the results in a week.”

Then, with a smile, he gave a polite nod to Chen Man.

“Enjoy your meal. I’ll see you again if there’s a chance.”

After He Yu left, Chen Man asked Xie Qingcheng, “Hyung, is that guy really a patient? He seems very bright.”

“…He has some issues. He got dumped. His father was worried and asked me to guide him well.”

Chen Man was momentarily shocked.

“What? With that face, he got dumped? The girl must have incredibly high standards…”

“What’s the point of being handsome?”

Discussing heartbreak reminded him of Hang Shi, and discussing Hang Shi reminded him of He Yu’s absurd kiss, and thinking of that kiss made his stomach churn. Xie Qingcheng said to Chen Man with a cold face, “He’s a guy who can’t earn money or support his family.”

Chen Man fell silent for a moment, then grinned and said, “Hyung, I can earn money and support a family.”

Regardless, Xie Qingcheng had no interest in those words. He simply wondered if some strange competitive instinct had kicked in because they were both young and good-looking men.

“That’s good. Find a partner while you’re still young.”

“….”

Xie Qingcheng said indifferently, “Eat up.”

“Yes…”