It was cold and the snow outside didn’t melt yet. Zhishu He looked out of the French window and saw the snowflakes on the ground be picked up by the wind and whirl in the air. He held a hot-water bag in his arms and lay huddled up in the rattan chair. Then he exchanged short messages with Ziyu Ai.

“You left your medicines in my car. Shall I deliver them to your house after work?”

Zhishu He smiled and texted him, “No, you needn’t. Tomorrow I will go to the hospital and take them back.”

It wasn’t long before Ziyu Ai replied- “Yesterday I called you several times, but you didn’t answer. Is it convenient for you to answer the phone now? Can I call you?”

A wry smile spread over Zhishu He’s face and he thought for a while before replying. “We will meet tomorrow. If you have something to talk to me, leave it tomorrow.”

After sending the message to Ziyu Ai, Zhishu He waited for a while but didn’t receive a new one. So he decided to watch the news, but soon he felt tired and fell asleep in the chair.

Later, he was roused from sleep by the feeling of being smothered. He opened his eyes, still half asleep, and saw Jiang pinching his nose. Zhishu He shook Jiang’s hand off and showed a cute pouty expression on his face, as a kind of childlike innocence shone in his sleepy eyes.

Zhishu with a pettishly charming manner melted Wenxu Jiang’s heart. Jiang touched Zhishu’s soft hair and suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen Zhishu act like a spoiled child in front of him for three or four years. Zhishu was his first love, and maybe Jiang would get tired of Zhishu but he never wanted to split with Zhishu.

Zhishu He narrowed his eyes and smiled with a small dimple appearing in his left cheek. He muttered in a mild sweet voice, “Brother Jiang…”

After staying in Beijing for so many years, Wenxu Jiang had completely changed his local accent into the Beijing accent. But Zhishu He remained the accent of their hometown, Hangzhou, which was world-famous for its west lake and beautiful scenery. He was so stubborn that he wouldn’t give up things easily, whether it was his accent or his love for Jiang.

Wenxu Jiang was in a daze for a while. When he came back to earth, Zhishu He fell asleep again. He sighed and covered Zhishu with a blanket. Then he went back to the study and saw his cell phone vibrating. He picked it up and was annoyed to see a lot of missed calls that all came from Zui Shen.

Wenxu Jiang cuckolded Zhishu He for several years. At first, he had an affair with other people just for fun. In truth, he was a rich, unmarried, handsome man, so many men and women were charmed by him and even chased after him on their own initiative. As time went on, he gradually wallowed in the freewheeling sex with his lovers outside. Zhishu He was a good spouse but he was too shy to pander to Jiang’s liking in terms of sex. Wenxu Jiang always felt unsatisfied, but he was loath to treat Zhishu as a tool of venting his ravenous lust. So he always, in a violent way, vented his uncontrollable lust on his lovers, who were willing to bear that.

The first few times he felt guilty after having an affair with his lover. When he came home, he did everything he could to please Zhishu to get rid of the guilt and conceal his panic. But as time passed, his guilt and panic completely disappeared and he got into the habit of committing adultery with others. In the beginning, he made excuses to put a good face on his unfaithful acts. He even thought that Zhishu He would find his improper relationship with others and quarrel with him, and by then he would make a clean break with his lovers and be good. However, Zhishu He showed no interest in his infidelities and turned a blind eye to his mistakes, which let Wenxu Jiang down. So he went outside more often and gave Zhishu the cold shoulder.

Now Wenxu Jiang felt guilty again. His intuition told him that something was wrong. He sensed the strong determination in Zhishu He’s attitude, which bothered him. But Zhishu showed no intention of leaving. All that made Jiang confused.

Zhishu He didn’t like strangers entering his house, so he always did housework by himself. This morning he felt too sick to wash the sheet and clothes so that the sheet was still left in the laundry basket. Wenxu Jiang got into a panic when he saw the bloodstains on it.

Wenxu Jiang knew that Zhishu was afraid of pain not because he wasn’t mentally tough enough but because of his special constitution. He was highly sensitive to the pain and even a small wound would leave a scar on his body. Wenxu Jiang remembered clearly the first time he made love with Zhishu He. The boy with bright black eyes lay under Jiang, slightly trembling with pain. He looked afraid but didn’t refuse or resist. He just whimpered and groaned in a sweet voice, “Brother Jiang, be nice to me henceforward…”

Wenxu Jiang got a sharp pain in his heart when he recalled his promise to Zhishu.