withered lover

Shen Guiwan was beaten, and the place where the stick was struck hurt for a long time.

The painkillers and medicinal wine he had bought before had been used up, and the tingling pain between the bones could not be relieved, and the pain made him sleepless all night.

It was only the back that was hurt. Although Shen Guiwan felt uncomfortable, she couldn't turn over at will, and she fell asleep only when her body couldn't bear it anymore.

When he woke up the next day, Shen Guiwan saw a dry reddish-brown mark on the bed sheet, took off his pajamas and found a tear on his back near the shoulder blade.

The pain from the tearing of the flesh was too weak, and blood scabs had formed overnight. If the pajamas and bed sheets were not stained red by the blood oozing from the wound, he would not have noticed the wound at all.

Shen Guiwan turned his back to the mirror, turned his head and observed the injured place with difficulty.

The place where he was beaten with a long stick was swollen, and his shoulder blade was bruised a lot, but there was only one wound, and a scab had formed.

The location of the wound was very delicate, Shen Guiwan could feel it when he was not injured, but it was difficult for the scapula to move after being hit hard, and it would be pulled to the bruised part on the back with a slight movement.

Shen Guiwan watched it for a while, and decided to let it go.

After his mother died, he had been injured many times, and bruises and small cuts were a regular occurrence.

But apart from fractures and deep wounds that required hospitalization and surgery, Shen Guiwan had never seriously treated other wounds. At most, he used iodine to disinfect them, and put waterproof band-aids on them when taking a bath to prevent wounds from infection and festering.

He didn't care much about whether the wound would leave a scar, as long as it healed.

Shen Guiwan tore off the soiled bed sheet and threw it into the washing machine in the bathroom together with the blood-stained pajamas.

He took a shower while the washing machine was washing his clothes. The hot water dispelled the cold and washed off the coagulated blood on his body. The blood-streaked water swirled on the tiles and flowed down the floor drain.

Water seeped into the wound, and weak pain pierced Shen Guiwan's back.

He didn't care about the new wound, but remembered Du Zhinian's advice, not to let the freshly removed wound touch a drop of water.

Shen Gui stayed in the house for three days before the pain on his back gradually subsided.

He slept on his side for several days, and the pressure on his right shoulder was unbearable. Now that he lay down on his back, his whole body was relaxed.

Lying on the soft bed, Shen Guiwan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then took out his phone from under the mattress.

When Shen Lu sent Shen Guiwan to the hospital, he didn't think about what he would do when he woke up. The phone was placed under the mattress for a long time, and it turned off automatically after the battery ran out.

Shen Guiwan hadn't used his mobile phone for more than ten days, and no one had contacted him except for advertising text messages when he turned it on again.

His social circle is very clean, so clean that there are only two service numbers in the message notification.

Shen Lu wouldn't look for him, and his college classmates cut off contact early on, and even the few friends who hadn't spoken to each other for a long time.

Shen Guiwan glanced at the time displayed on the phone, the three days Du Zhinian said had already passed.

He put the phone back in place, got up and was about to go to the bathroom to wash his hair, when the phone vibrated suddenly.

Looking at the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen, Shen Guiwan was stunned.

He didn't know how to describe his mood at that time, and he didn't remember how he answered the phone call, but when he heard Du Zhinian's voice coming from the phone, his heart that was pulled up suddenly fell back to its original position.

"It's me, Du Zhinian." There was a faint smile in Du Zhinian's voice.

Shen Guiwan uttered a single tone, but did not speak.

Du Zhinian laughed for some reason, and asked, "I want to ask you out for a drink tonight, are you free?"

Shen Guiwan walked to the window, raised one side of the curtain, and looked downstairs through the gap.

Shen Lu's car was still parked in the yard, Shen Guiwan let go of the curtains, and gave Du Zhinian an ambiguous answer: "Not necessarily."

Du Zhinian was not surprised to get this answer.

"I'll send you the address, come when I'm free." He paused, "Remember to pass the verification, it's not convenient to call during working hours."

Shen Guiwan shook the hand that was holding the phone, and then slowly released it.

He gently stroked the uneven wound on his head, "Okay."

Not long after hanging up the phone, Shen Guiwan received Du Zhinian's friend request.

Du Zhinian's profile picture is a black and white silhouette, and when placed together with his own blank profile picture, there is an inexplicable harmony.

Shen Guiwan's fingertips slid across Du Zhinian's head, and followed the prompts step by step.

After passing the verification, Du Zhinian sent a location, which was next to the bar of a five-star hotel, and a little distance from the place where Shen Gui stayed late.

Shen Guiwan looked at the location on the map and remained silent without replying.

Du Zhinian soon sent another message.

Du Zhinian: At eight o'clock in the evening, I will wait for you for two hours.

However, from the beginning to the end, Shen Guiwan failed to give Du Zhinian an accurate reply.

He had no intention of rejecting the other party, but Du Zhinian's invitation came at an unfortunate time.

It would be easy for Du Zhinian to make the appointment on a working day, but today is the weekend and Shen Lu is at home.

When Shen Lu was at home, Shen Guiwan would try to avoid meeting him as much as possible, and also try not to go out, so as not to give him a reason to get angry.

Shen Guiwan was prepared to not be able to attend the appointment, but just as it was getting dark, the sound of a car engine starting came from downstairs.

The red light from the car taillights shone on the curtains, Shen Guiwan stood one meter away from the window, listening carefully to every move downstairs.

It wasn't until the red light cast on the curtains disappeared and there was no sound outside the window that he opened the curtains and looked downstairs.

A light was turned on in the yard on the first floor, and the cars that had been parked in the yard had already left.

Shen Lu probably has a social event tonight, so he won't come back too early.

But Shen Guiwan was not in a hurry to keep the appointment, he opened the bedroom door, stood in the corridor and listened for a while.

The room was very quiet, so quiet that Shen Guiwan could hear his own breathing.

He stood at the door for a few minutes, and after confirming that Shen Lu was not at home, he turned around slowly and returned to his room.

After autumn, it became difficult for Shen Gui to go out late.

He seldom went out. He stayed in this cold villa after graduating from university, and he never bought new clothes. Over the past few years, his closet became more and more empty, until there were only two coats suitable for autumn and winter.

Shen Guiwan ignored the down jacket in the corner, changed into trousers and a shirt, and put the windbreaker on his body.

After changing his clothes, he took down a dictionary from the shelf, opened a page casually, and stuffed the banknotes in the book into his pocket.

Du Zhinian said to wait for Shen Gui late for two hours, but when Shen Gui came late, the whiskey in the glass hadn't melted yet, and the ice ball suspended in the amber liquid was round and smooth.

He looked at Shen Guiwan who was walking towards him, took a sip of his wine, and said with a smile, "You're here."

Shen Guiwan responded, pulled away the chair opposite Du Zhinian and sat down.

Du Zhinian rested his chin on one hand, and looked Shen Guiwan up and down carefully at night.

He was wearing a long dark gray trench coat today, with a belt around his waist. From a distance, he looked tall and straight, but when he got closer, he felt a subtle aura of restraint.

Du Zhinian put down his glass and asked, "How do you feel after being discharged from the hospital?"

"It's okay." Shen Guiwan remained silent for half a second, and then added: "There's nothing wrong."

Hearing the incoherent answer, Du Zhinian turned his head and smiled.

Under Shen Guiwan's silent gaze, he stood up, supported the table with one hand, and leaned most of his body in front of Shen Guiwan.

Shen Guiwan was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Du Zhinian's hand reaching out to him, he subconsciously turned his head. In a daze, he felt Du Zhinian's breath brushing against the ends of his hair, and then his warm palm fell on the top of his head.

Du Zhinian brushed back Shen Guiwan's hair, touched the wound for a while, and said, "Well, there's nothing wrong with it."

He smoothed Shen Guiwan's messy hair, sat back on the chair, and asked very casually, "Have a drink?"

The place on Shen Guiwan's head that was touched by Du Zhinian could still feel a little warmth, he glanced at the wine glass in Du Zhinian's hand, "I have never been to a bar."

"Sorry—" Du Zhinian lengthened the ending.

He waved to the bartender he met behind the bar, and ordered a glass of wine for Shen Gui in the air: "I want a glass between the beds."

"Between the bed", if Shen Guiwan often visits bars, he will know that this is a cocktail with a long history.

But he didn't understand these things.

However, when the ambiguous words came out of Du Zhinian's mouth, Shen Guiwan heard the subtext hidden in the wine's name from Du Zhinian's youthful expression and casual tone.

Du Zhinian ordered the wine, turned around and found Shen Guiwan staring at him, explaining to him with a smile: "This cocktail has a very low alcohol content, so it's not easy to get drunk."

"Unless you pour it in just one cup." There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he was in a very happy mood.

Shen Guiwan looked at Du Zhinian, and said in a low voice for a long time: "Doctor Du."

"Huh?" Du Zhinian asked him while holding the wine glass, "What's wrong?"

Shen Guiwan was silent for a moment, and then asked the first question since he and Du Zhinian met——

"Are you asking me out tonight just for a drink?"