Heartbeat of Innocence

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Chen Jingchuan ticked a coconut ice cream for Shen Dongyu on the fancy menu, and when that dessert arrived, Shen Dongyu wasn’t as sluggish as before, and finally smiled a little.

They ate curry crab. Shen Dongyu struggled to peel it, so Chen Jingchuan took his plate, and returned it to Shen Dongyu after he peeled it.

To express his gratitude, Shen Dongyu pushed the ice cream to Chen Jingchuan to eat, but Chen Jingchuan gently smiled at him instead, “You can have it.”

“Fine.” Shen Dongyu shrugged, then lowered his head and continued seriously eating the curry crab that Chen Jingchuan peeled for him.

After a pleasant lunch, they left the restaurant and followed the flow of people to an overpass under the highway, where they saw the building of the Bangkok Art and Culture Center.

They don’t understand anything about art, so even if they passed by it countless times in a day, they wouldn’t have any thoughts of entering the building. They took a stop on the lightrail, and under the blue skies and white clouds, in a city without smog, observed the Four-Faced Buddha that was strongly recommended in the travel guide.

“Wanna worship?” Chen Jingchuan asked the other two.

“Go worship if you have any wishes.” Li Muxu said something that Shen Dongyu didn’t understand. But looking at Chen Jingchuan’s reaction, it seemed like a delicate matter.

“Let’s go.” Chen Jingchuan finished speaking and was about to leave.

But Li Muxu didn’t give up, and continued to whisper. “If you go and pray, maybe it really will work.”

“It’s not necessary.” Chen Jingchuan said.

“No?” Li Muxu smiled, “Then what did you mention Yuan Yao yesterday for?”

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Shen Dongyu leaned on the railing, overlooking the lively and chaotic road. When he heard Li Muxu’s words, he looked back at Chen Jingchuan, saying, “If you still have ideas then just go, it just might work.”

He spoke seriously, which made Li Muxu’s smile deepen even more.

“Stupid.” Chen Jingchuan sighed helplessly, pursed his lips, and smiled, then walked over and took his hands off the railing, wrapped his arm around Shen Dongyu’s shoulders, and led him away from the overpass from which they could see the Four-Faced Buddha. “He’s just teasing me, how come you believe anything you hear?”

Shen Dongyu was soaked in the hot sun, his cheeks were a little pink, as he slowly blinked, not saying anything.

Bangkok was a busy city with many citizens, and even though it was winter, the temperature was still enough to feel like summer for the whole year. They wore T-shirts and shorts, walking on the streets filled with fruit vendors and various people from other countries.

 

They went to a nearby mall to eat some local specialties. Li Muxu bought the Thai milk tea that was crazy popular on Instagram.

Chen Jingchuan didn’t like milk tea, so he only took a sip before throwing it to Shen Dongyu.

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Shen Dongyu didn’t feel disgusted either, as he stood under the cold air from the mall’s air conditioning and drank two cups of milk tea.

“It’s good, right?” Li Muxu saw how quickly Shen Dongyu drank, and gleefully stood next to Shen Dongyu and raised his eyebrows, as he began complaining about Chen Jingchuan, “You have no taste.”

Chen Jingchuan ignored Li Muxu, took the list that was distributed at the mall’s entrance, and handed it to Shen Dongyu. “Take your pick, what else do you want to eat?”

Shen Dongyu held a cup of milk tea in each hand, so he leaned over to take a look, before shaking his head. “I want to go somewhere else.”

Chen Jingchuan glanced at his watch, then folded the list and placed it on the table in the resting area before standing up and speaking to the two people opposite him, “Then let’s go now.”

Shen Dongyu let Chen Jingchuan help him take a cup, and after he finished the one he held, he leaned over to drink from the cup in Chen Jingchuan’s hands. He sucked up a big piece of pulp, and gave Li Muxu a thumbs up before taking the milk tea back into his own hands.

“Drink a little less.” Chen Jingchuan said.

“Who told you not to drink it?” Shen Dongyu chewed the pulp pleasantly, while making faces at Chen Jingchuan and jokingly blaming him. “If I get a stomach ache then it’s also your fault.”

Chen Jingchuan couldn’t help laughing, then deliberately said, “Then you need to stop drinking.”

“No!” Shen Dongyu continued to lower his head to savor the coolness in this sweltering heat.

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They shopped until around eight to nine at night, before going back on the road they came from. After eating dinner downstairs at the hotel, they returned to rest.

It was only after Shen Dongyu finished taking a shower that he felt some pressing pain around his abdomen.

He immediately thought of the two cups of milk tea he had during the day.

The pain came suddenly. He grabbed his phone, wanting to find Chen Jingchuan, but when he pulled open the door to his room and saw that no one was there, he remembered that on the way back just now, Li Muxu mentioned he wanted to go out to play billiards.

He dialed Chen Jingchuan’s number, but no one picked up, and he had even fewer means to contact Li Muxu. Shen Dongyu sweated profusely from his forehead, and he could only bend over in pain. When he pressed the elevator button for the first floor, he suddenly found it funny that they had known each other for so long, but he had forgotten something as simple as adding contact information.

Shen Dongyu waved for a taxi when he reached downstairs, saying something about a hospital in English. Fortunately, the driver was of mixed blood and could understand his not-so-standard English.

Shen Dongyu lay on the backseat meant for two people, curled up and unconscious as he clutched his stomach. The lights from buildings occasionally shone in the car, and occasionally left.

His clothes were soaked with sweat. The driver didn’t turn on the air conditioning, and the hot air that poured into the car wasn’t very refreshing. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, and the phone that was pressed under his body kept vibrating, continually displaying the words Chen Jingchuan.

When he found Shen Dongyu, Bangkok was raining.

Chen Jingchuan shut the screen beside the window, then walked to the table to feel the temperature of the water in the glass jar. Seeing that the temperature was moderate, he poured a cup and gave it to Shen Dongyu.

“Thank…” Shen Dongyu uttered a single syllable, but realizing that his voice was hoarse, he lowered his voice. “Thank you.”

“I’m sorry.” Chen Jingchuan stood by Shen Dongyu’s side as he sincerely and assuredly said, “I won’t mute my phone next time.”

“It’s okay.” Shen Dongyu blinked, his eyelashes sweeping over his lower eyelid. From Chen Jingchuan’s perspective, every time Shen Dongyu blinked, it was very slow, revealing endless fatigue. His voice also sounded very fragile and pitiful.

It was drizzling outside, the raindrops hit the coconut trees and eventually fell into the grassfield, which was always moist in tropical areas. The dark blue hue of the sky in Bangkok permeated through the screen window and was cast into the room dully.

Shen Dongyu closed his eyes, wanting to continue to sleep, but he heard Chen Jingchuan say, “I’ll never leave you by yourself again, no matter where I go.”

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More ambiguous than a lover’s confession, more serious than a promise.

Chen Jingchuan was like the sunny weather. He could dry the clothes Jiang Yuan washed; he could give warm sunlight to the plants on the balcony, but he didn’t want to just leave Shen Dongyu in the coffee shop or in the taxi to the hospital whenever it started raining. Even if Shen Dongyu said it was fine, he wanted to treat Shen Dongyu better than that.

 

They later went to Khao Yai, the back garden of Bangkok and an Italian-style small town. Shen Dongyu fed some lambs, and with Chen Jingchuan and Li Muxu, they watched a group take wedding photography.

They enjoyed Bangkok’s sunset that day, and tasted some coffee and desserts.

After leaving Khao Yai, they walked along the road that would always be dusty after cars drove past. From far away, they saw the last tram of the day stopping in front, heading towards the downtown area of Bangkok.

Li Muxu ran ahead first, stopping the driver from driving away.

The tram stopped next to the street, and the hot steam boiled in the air. Shen Dongyu’s hand was held by Chen Jingchuan, soaking the warm and moist skin.

After wandering in Bangkok for a few more days, Shen Shuran called in on FaceTime. Shen Dongyu told his sister about the experiences they had playing there, except that he never mentioned getting sick.

He then talked with Shen Shuran about going to the concert in Vietnam with Chen Jingchuan.

Shen Shuran said yes without a second thought. In fact, Shen Dongyu, just like before he went to Bangkok, wasn’t so eager to go, but Chen Jingchuan hoped that he could go with him too.

He didn’t want to ruin everyone’s mood, and he knew about the thoughts that both Chen Jingchuan and his sister had.

The day they left to go to the airport, there were photos of two men everywhere they passed. Everywhere on the street seemed to have them, as if they were announcing to the whole world without an attempt to hide that they fell in love by acting together in a drama that Chen Jingchuan would never watch.

Shen Dongyu leaned on his chin and looked outside the taxi window. He thought that Bangkok, which seemed to have summer all twelve months of the year, hid a romantic relationship that was outside the boundaries of nations and cultures.

On the plane to Vietnam, Chen Jingchuan plugged headphones in for Shen Dongyu, with the song “Valder Fields (Live)”1



playing.

“It’s super good.” Shen Dongyu adjusted the headphones and commented.

“Do you have any songs you like?” Chen Jingchuan asked.

Shen Dongyu thought about it seriously, then smiled, “I guess not.”

“Alright.” Chen Jingchuan took away the phone screen, then added, “I can sing this song.”

“Really?” Shen Dongyu slightly widened his eyes, and leaned in for a close look. Chen Jingchuan felt that Shen Dongyu’s pupils were very clear, with eyelashes like the tails of magpies2, very pretty.

“Let me hear a line.” Shen Dongyu said.

Chen Jingchuan moved his sight away from his eyes, then reached out to straighten the blanket that Shen Dongyu covered over his knees before tucking it over his body some more. He whispered in Shen Dongyu’s ear with a smile: “The underground bar that we’re going to has a stage. When the time comes, I’ll sing for you.”

 

TL: oooh some progress

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