Ex-boyfriend

Xu Yue braved the rain and took Chu Yi to the hospital.

　　Soon after, Chu Yu called to ask about his brother’s whereabouts. Xu Yue knew that he couldn’t hide it. So, he gave him the hospital’s address.

　　Chu Yu came right away. When he arrived, Chu Yi was getting treated in the emergency room. His coat was half soaked in rain. He could neither take it off nor change and kept pacing back and forth outside the emergency room.

　　Xu Yue was much calmer than him. He sat on a chair in the corridor and asked, “How did he get away?”

　“Ran away,” Chu Yu said with a pale face. “We couldn’t stop him even with two people guarding him at all times.”

  “How did you plan to deal with him?”

　“What could we possibly do? Beat him up? Kill him? Even if I bring myself to do something, my parents wouldn’t be able to bear it. No matter what, both of us are their children. So, we could only lock him up.”

　“What’s the matter with his hair?”

　　Chu Yu paused, then continued, “I wanted to get a doctor to examine his body. Long story short, he ran away before the doctor arrived.”

　　As he said that he walked over to Xu Yue and sat down beside him, and said, “I guessed he must be out looking for you.”

　“Did he tell you… what happened?”

　　Chu Yu nodded, and squeezed out two words from his throat, “Unbelievable.”

　　But what could be done?

　　As he had said, one Chu Yi has already been lost. Should they kill the one in front of them? Maybe, in the end, the only thing that they could do was to follow the conclusion that Chu Yi had planned: he would replace his own identity and live in this world.

　　Those of them who knew the truth would only be able to hide the secret for him, pretending that nothing had happened.

　　Chu Yu had several phone calls to make. Meanwhile, Chu Yi was transferred from emergency room to the intensive care unit. The doctor whom Chu Yu had tried to get hold of arrived overnight and gave Chu Yi a physical examination.

　　By the time a set of tests were done, the sky had already given away to a dull brightness.

　　Chu Yi remained unconscious, not showing any sign of waking up. He was clad in a large hospital gown, with his slender wrists exposed. He was alarmingly thin.

　　Xu Yue touched his hair and asked, “You dyed this deliberately, didn’t you?”

　　“That’s right,” he answered himself.

　　Xu Yue didn’t sleep all night. Now, he could only lean against the hospital bed and take a nap. But before long, he was shaken awake. With a graver than ever expression Chu Yu, with test reports in one hand, pointed out the door silently.

　　Xu Yue’s heart sank. He glanced at Chu Yi, who was still asleep and followed Chu Yu out of the ward.

　　Chu Yi’s doctor was waiting outside the door.

　　Chu Yu cleared his throat. and Xu Yue realized that his throat was hoarse. He said, “Doctor Zhao, please explain again.”

　　“As the report says, all of Mr. Chu’s organs have either failed or are in a state of rapid aging. In other words, his current state is similar to that of a person in his twilight years. Without effective treatment, it will only worsen,” the doctor informed.

　　What was that supposed to… mean?

　　Xu Yue couldn’t digest what he heard. But Chu Yu had calmed down. He asked, “What caused it?”

　“If Mr. Chu’s claim is to be believed, then this is most likely a side effect of that experiment.”

　　If you want to change the past, you must pay a price.

　　Xu Yue’s heart throbbed. He couldn’t help looking into the ward.

　　The door was tightly shut, and Chu Yi, who was lying inside, could not be seen.

　　And Chu Yu’s actions were no different. He stared at the door and asked abruptly, “You said Chu Yi is unaware of the side effect, right?”

　　Xu Yue did not answer.

　　He opened the door and walked in.

　　Don’t know when, but Chu Yi had already woken up. Now he was lying by the windowsill, looking at the scenery outside. Xu Yue took a coat and draped it on him, and asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

　　Chu Yi shook his head and replied, “The temperature has dropped again in these few days. I wonder if it will snow.”

　“It’s spring already. It is far past snowing season.”[1]

　“It also snows in spring.” Chu Yi looked out the window and continued, “I want to see the snow.”

　　He kept his head turned the other way when he spoke.

　　The white hair swayed gently like snow.

　　Suddenly, Xu Yue’s heart brimmed with sorrow.

　　He collected his emotions and said, “First, let’s talk about what’s going on.”

　　Chu Yi finally turned his head. His face remained wan, clashing with the smile he directed at Xu Yue. He was about to speak when he heard the ward door bang open. Chu Yu strode in, came to stand in front of Chu Yi. Without sparing a word, he raised his hand and slapped him.

　　Chu Yi couldn’t dodge it and was hit across the face. His complexion was already very pale and delicate. Now, a ghastly red mark appeared on his cheek.

　　Chu Yi didn’t let out a sound, and raised his hand to cover his face.

         “Brother, this is the second time you hit me,” he said.

　　Chu Yu fixed him a stern glare and asked “When was the last time?”

　“That was … when I declared my intention to return to find A’Yue.”

　“You knew it a long time ago, didn’t you? That there will be side effects…”

　“Side effects?” Chu Yi was stunned for a moment. Then he touched his hair and said, “You mean this? Brother, this is not a side effect.”

　“Then, how did you become like this?”

　“Brother, you should understand the situation at the institute. With the state of current technology, the experiment cannot be completed at all. But that’s no big deal! In another fifty or hundred years, they would be able to successfully complete the experiment.”

　　 “How can anyone live for so long?” Chu Yu asked.

　“Exactly! I couldn’t wait for so long.” Chu Yi turned to look at Xu Yue, and said, “A’Yue, you really wanted to see me with grey hair, right?”

　　Xu Yue looked at him directly and asked “So what?”

　“How to preserve a gorgeous rugosa rose[2]? One can only store it in ice and snow. Freeze the body when one is young and vibrant, unfreeze it a hundred years later, and then cross the boundless time and space…”

　　The corners of Chu Yi’s mouth curved into a smile. A charming yet gentle light sparkled in his eyes. He asked, “So when I appeared in front of you, A’Yue, didn’t I look the best?”

Spoiler!
It will snow this spring.

[1] Kun Yi Wei Luo wrote ‘立春都过了，还下什么雪？’ ‘Lìchūn dōuguòle, hái xià shénme xuě?’ which means ’Lichun has already passed. What snow would still fall?’.
立春 (Lìchūn) The “Beginning of Spring”, the first of the twenty-four solar terms, around February 3rd, 4th, or 5th, marking the first day of spring according to the Chinese calendar.

[2] 玫瑰 (méiguī)