Heartbeat of Innocence

It was the end of summer as Shen Dongyu lay on the windowsill, watching leaves droop from the continuous assault of rain. Next to his ears rang out the sounds of water flowing down the downspout and the honking of traffic on the viaduct.

Then Shen Shuran called from Guangdong to tell him that Shen Jiaying was in a car accident, and was still under operation at Hangzhou Hospital.

That night, Jiang Yuan made Chen Jingchuan also go to Hangzhou, worried that some unforeseen situation would arise. Chen Jingchuan wanted to ask why. Seeing Shen Dongyu with a blank face, neither laughing nor crying, just sitting on the couch, he almost let out all his doubts and questions to him at once.

“Jingchuan, I’ll tell you when you get back.” Jiang Yuan knew what Chen Jingchuan wanted to ask, so she said this a step ahead of him.

“Mom.” Chen Jingchuan didn’t understand.

“Alright.” Jiang Yuan waved goodbye, “Get to the station first.”

Hangzhou’s summer was scorchingly hot, with very few people in the streets and alleys during the day. Shen Dongyu took Chen Jingchuan through a narrow passageway, going in through the back door.

Shen Dongyu’s aunt knew that he was coming back, so she went to look for Yu Nuan. She brought over the whole large family. Clustering over and acting like they were watching something significant happen, they squeezed into the room. Before they were able to let out their blame, they saw another youth at Shen Dongyu’s bedside, taking care of him.

“Hello auntie.” Chen Jingchuan got up and walked to the door, apologetically saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t come greet you1the polite version when I got here earlier.” He paused. “Dongyu has a fever, he just fell asleep after taking medicine.”

The lie was told skillfully. Chen Jingchuan’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s okay.” Yu Nuan’s anger dissipated a little. “It’s fine as long as he has taken the medicine. Let’s go to the hospital together once he wakes up.” She then gently asked Chen Jingchuan how she should address him, politely saying a few phrases.

Chen Jingchuan replied with a smile, then looked outside the door, towards all the eyes that held ulterior motives. He couldn’t help feeling depressed, but still peacefully went through the social etiquette. “Then I’ll keep tending to Dongyu. Please notify us immediately if anything happens on uncle’s side.”

Yu Nuan was comforted by Chen Jingchuan’s words. The flames stirred up by others were gradually extinguished, and she led the group of people downstairs.

Chen Jingchuan watched them leave before heavily closing the door. Looking at the handle, he decided to lock it.

The curtains were drawn completely closed, and the room was dim. Shen Dongyu’s cries with a whimpering voice, just as sorrowful as that night in Chen Jingchuan’s embrace.

“Rest for a bit, and then we head out.” Chen Jingchuan said.

Shen Dongyu lifted the quilt covering his head, apologizing to Chen Jingchuan.

“No need.” Chen Jingchuan didn’t care about those matters. He only came so Jiang Yuan could rest assured.

“It’ll be over soon, then we can return to Shanghai.” Everything that Shen Dongyu looked at was blurry, and he said to himself, “You must not like this place.”

“No.” Chen Jingchuan shook his head, finding that Shen Dongyu was hostile towards everything here, which prompted him to avoid socializing and fake a fever. He wanted to correct this way of thinking, and said heavily, “Don’t think like that, I don’t dislike this place.”

Shen Dongyu, unable to hide all of his disappointment, lowered his head. He didn’t find any comfort in the way Chen Jingchuan denied that he disliked this place.

Chen Jingchuan didn’t say anything more, hoping Shen Dongyu himself could figure it out.

But Chen Jingchuan underestimated Shen Dongyu’s sensitive nature. All the way from home to the hospital’s ER corridors, he remained expressionless, not speaking a single word. Every time Yu Nuan wanted him to sit beside her, he would just look at Chen Jingchuan, as if as soon as Chen Jingchuan opened his mouth, he would obediently sit over there.

“Accompany auntie, okay?” Chen Jingchuan was helpless, somewhat regretting that he didn’t answer that sentence while they were still in the room. Defeatedly, he said, “Let’s just wait for uncle to safely come out. Then we’ll go back to Shanghai tonight.”

Shen Dongyu felt like he had just woken up from a dream, falling back to the ground from the air. When he felt safer, he sat next to Yu Nuan, letting her hold his hand and lean her head on his shoulder.

The pale light and the cold air from the air conditioning made their palms sweat while they waited anxiously.

Three hours later, a nurse in the operating room pushed Shen Jiaying out, causing everyone to weep with joy. The doctor explained postoperative precautions, including that there might be emergencies at night, and told them to observe carefully.

While the conversation went on, Shen Shuran came back. She glanced over at Yu Nuan, asking the doctors about Shen Jiaying more closely. Until the nurse brought Shen Jiaying into the ward, she was finally able to take a look at his state of injury.

Shen Jiaying was still in a coma, lying in the ward with a serious atmosphere. The blanket covered his neck, and his face appeared pale yellow, looking much older all of a sudden.

“I hired a nurse for 24 hour care.” Shen Shuran said to Yu Nuan and the others, “The auntie is here to take care of him. Uncles and aunts must have had a tiring day, please go back and rest.”

“How can a nurse be as meticulous as our own family?” Her aunt worried, “I can take turns with your mom. This much is nothing.”

“Auntie, my dad is still in a coma. Someone needs to change his diaper at night. Those who don’t know how may not be able to do it.” Shen Shuran said, “Let’s just leave it to the nurse.”

“That also works.” Her aunt immediately agreed, having said her part and thinking everything seemed much more rational and well-deserved now. Shen Jiaying has a daughter who can fuss over him, so he doesn’t need them to blindly offer assistance.

After friends and family had left, the ward’s surroundings became silent. With the only sounds coming from medical equipment doing its job, its continuous ticking made one feel agitated. Yu Nuan sat by the side, lost in thought while watching the electrocardiogram. From within her mind surfaced the appearances of Shen Shuran and Shen Dongyu. Inexplicable feelings of remorse and self blame weighed on her, suffocating her heart, distracting her from the world.

When she regained her senses, there were only nurses left in the ward. The sky outside had also already darkened.

Shen Dongyu and Chen Jingchuan sat in the garden downstairs. The night’s wind had already blown away the heat, and the treetops slightly rustled. The families who lived in the hospital came by for a stroll after dinner, talking and laughing. Shen Dongyu looked at all of them quietly, until Shen Shuran went over, and then he started to feel some fluctuation in his emotions.

Shen Shuran smiled at him, then spoke to Chen Jingchuan first, “I hope we didn’t trouble you too much. A lot happened today, so let’s go to Xi Hu together tonight and relax.”

After Chen Jingchuan agreed, Shen Shuran let them first leave their luggage in the hotel she had booked. They won’t be staying at home tonight.

As the night fell, Shen Dongyu smoked on the hotel room’s balcony. The room directly faced Xi Hu2“West Lake”, it’s a huge lake near the area. Xi Hu sounds better so, and he remembered that he had always gone there during his childhood. Just a few months after his birth, a group photo had already been taken there. After he was a few years older, Xi Hu’s pathways were still slate bridges. The gap between each stone slab was 10 centimeters, and each time, he would be too afraid to cross. Each time, frightened to tears.

The blurry memory came to an abrupt stop. Looking back towards the empty room, it would be difficult for him to fall asleep.

Within those few seconds, a surge of fear filled his heart. Dropping the cigarette case in his hand, he ran out as if trying to escape. Even bumping into someone in the corridor, he staggeredly ran to Chen Jingchuan’s door and knocked.

Chen Jingchuan had just finished taking a shower. Still wrapped in a towel, there were drops of water on his chest and abdomen as the scent of shampoo directly assaulted the nose. He looked at Shen Dongyu with confused eyes.

Shen Dongyu, who hasn’t taken a breath yet, had tears in the corners of his eyes, lips slightly parted, and a faint look in his eyes that couldn’t be understood.

“I can’t sleep by myself.” Shen Dongyu looked up at Chen Jingchuan and spoke urgently, without a trace of hesitation.

As soon as the words came out of Shen Dongyu’s mouth, Chen Jingchuan widened the door’s opening and motioned for him to come in.

TL: Wtf are those “relatives”, treating Dongyu like a show. And for Yu Nuan, isn’t it too late to start regretting? Dongyu and Shuran are both in better hands now so the best she could do is just back off

I don’t have my laptop with me right now so this was literally all done on phone lmao. Hopefully nothing went wrong.

1the polite version2“West Lake”, it’s a huge lake near the area. Xi Hu sounds better so