If You Don’t Fall In Love, You’ll Die - Chapter 95

 

T/N: Implied slight NSFW at a part, please proceed carefully, you’ve been warned~

Editor: Amaris

 

Who is she?

Oh…right. The person in question was Gu Xi’s cousin.

Gu Xi hesitated for a while.

This was a good chance for Gu Xi since he didn’t intend to mess around with Shen Jiaze anymore. He could take advantage of the current situation by using his cousin as an excuse. It would be best if he could just directly cut off their relationship with this.

However… Gu Xi couldn’t bring himself to harden his heart upon seeing the Shen Jiaze who had lost a leg and had his arm broken (not really).

It would be too unreasonable of Gu Xi—if by any chance Shen Jiaze had truly liked him—to ‘break up’ with him at this time.

As expected, it would be better to do things step by step.

Gu Xi was only pondering for a short while, yet his ‘teammate’ had sold him out.

Gu Xi’s terrified cousin promptly said, “I’m Gu Xi’s cousin! His blood-related cousin! My father is his biological uncle!”

Gu Xi, “…” Sister, there’s no need to go into so much detail.

At first, Shen Jiaze had worn a fiendish look on his face as if he had been cuckolded—but his expression turned from overcast, to cloudy, and finally, clear, upon hearing the cousin’s words. He said, “…Hello, Elder Sister.”

Gu Xi’s cousin sat upright and still, still feeling terrified of Shen Jiaze.

Shen Jiaze felt somewhat remorseful for having jumped into conclusion, thus even though he was embarrassed, he sincerely said, “I’m sorry, that was really impolite of me…” He stole a glance at Gu Xi upon saying so.

Shen Jiaze’s expression had instantly melted nearly all of Gu Xi’s heart.

Gu Xi’s cousin immediately waved her hand. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing at all!”

Later, Gu Xi’s cousin retreated, leaving Gu Xi and Shen Jiaze to sit and talk face to face.

Gu Xi asked again, “You broke your arm?”

Shen Jiaze, “Yeah.”

“What did you do to get hurt like that?”

Shen Jiaze didn’t say anything.

Gu Xi made a guess, “You got into a fight with someone?”

Something flickered in Shen Jiaze’s sight for a moment before he nodded.

Hearing his response, Gu Xi became angry. “You’re already an adult, yet you’re still picking a fight with others? Do you think you’re still an eighth grader!?”

Shen Jiaze lowered his head and stirred his coffee. After a while, he finally said, “They were the ones who picked a fight first.”

Gu Xi, “…‘They’? Just how many people did you fight with!?”

Shen Jiaze replied, “About four or five people.”

Gu Xi asked again, “You fought all of them by yourself?”

Shen Jiaze responded, “Mn.”

Gu Xi became even angrier than before. “How impressive, one on five. Why are you not dead yet?”

Shen Jiaze, “…”

Gu Xi felt angry yet distressed for Shen Jiaze. Noticing that Shen Jiaze had been fiddling his hands around yet not drinking the coffee, Gu Xi took the initiative to take the cup and added some more milk and two packets of sugar into the coffee…

Shen Jiaze said, “I’ll do it myself.”

Gu Xi shot a glance at him.

Shen Jiaze immediately behaved himself again.

After stirring the coffee, Gu Xi put it in front of Shen Jiaze. He asked again, “Why did you fight with them?” His way of speaking was like an elementary school teacher who was questioning an elementary school student.

 

 

Shen Jiaze paused.

Gu Xi exclaimed, “Speak!” He wanted to know just what kind of trifling matter made Shen Jiaze not take care of himself like that.

Shen Jiaze hesitated for a moment before he spoke in a low voice, “They were trying to kidnap me.”

Gu Xi felt as if there was water poured over his head that his whole body almost turned cold all over. He couldn’t help but raise his voice when he exclaimed, “Kidnap!?”

Shen Jiaze consoled him, “No worries, they were just some bandits, and I’ve knocked them all out then. All of them have been arrested now.”

Gu Xi’s hands and feet were frozen. It took quite a while before he returned to his senses and asked, “They didn’t carry any weapons, did they? You actually got into a fight with four or five kidnappers? D-Did…did you only hurt your arm? Or did you also get hurt somewhere else…”

The more Gu Xi thought about it, the more frightened he became. At first, he thought that it was Shen Jiaze’s bad temper as usual that led him into a conflict, got into a fight, and accidentally broke his arm. Who would have expected that Shen Jiaze would have actually bumped into kidnappers? This…this was simply too dangerous!

Shen Jiaze chuckled. “If I got hurt somewhere else, how would I be able to sneak out?”

Gu Xi knitted his brows. “What are you doing out here instead of recuperating properly at home?”

Shen Jiaze replied, “It’s too boring to stay at home.”

Gu Xi immediately felt guilty.

But soon, Shen Jiaze asked him, “Have you been worried about me in the past few days? I thought of telling you, but I couldn’t get my cellphone. Having another person to deliver the message isn’t convenient, either.”

He added, “I don’t have my cellphone with me right now, but luckily, I ran into you.”

Shen Jiaze looked at Gu Xi, his gaze carrying the longing he couldn’t conceal anymore.

Noticing that, Gu Xi’s heart thumped. He felt that he…was going to be done for.

In these three days, Gu Xi had wanted to alienate Shen Jiaze and made a clean break with him so that they wouldn’t keep playing the ‘lovers game’ anymore. However, Shen Jiaze was still concerned about him even though he was injured. He had finally managed to run out of the house, yet all that he got to witness in the end was Gu Xi drinking coffee with a woman. It was no wonder that Shen Jiaze got so angry at first.

What Gu Xi didn’t know was that the reason Shen Jiaze had stealthily slipped out was to look for him.

Shen Jiaze couldn’t get his cellphone nor pass on a message, it made him miss Gu Xi so much he couldn’t get a blink of sleep.

Humans were like this. They didn’t notice it when they were together, but when they were suddenly separated even only for a day, Shen Jiaze missed Gu Xi so terribly that he became restless all over.

His arm hurt, his mother kept nagging him, and worst of all, he couldn’t meet Gu Xi. Because of that, everything just practically felt boring as hell for him!

Shen Jiaze finally managed to secretly slip out of the house when his mother was out, yet in the end he got caught by his bodyguard just when he was about to leave.

He wouldn’t just go home like that, of course. He eventually got the chance to go out and have a cup of coffee after he threw a tantrum for a bit.

Coincidentally, Shen Jiaze saw Gu Xi with an unfamiliar beautiful woman the moment he sat down…

Back then, he was so angry that he flared up right where he was. He had missed Gu Xi so much that he desperately ran out of his house, yet in the end, Gu Xi was…

But obviously, Shen Jiaze had turned incredibly, extremely delighted the moment he learnt that the woman was Gu Xi’s cousin.

 

 

Gu Xi felt quite uneasy upon being constantly glared by Shen Jiaze. He asked in a low voice, “Why did you not take your cellphone?”

Shen Jiaze replied, “My mom feared that I won’t recuperate properly if I have my cellphone with me.” There were much more things Shen Jiaze could do with his cellphone in possession that he might accidentally break another arm.

Gu Xi, “…”

Shen Jiaze, “It was really boring being restricted like that.”

Gu Xi paid no heed to Shen Jiaze’s grumbling. Instead, he asked, “Does your arm still hurt?”

Shen Jiaze responded, “Not anymore.”

Gu Xi advised, “Immediately go home and properly recuperate your arm.”

Shen Jiaze’s expression was filled with disappointment when he said, “I don’t wanna go home.”

Gu Xi’s heart skipped a beat. Then he said softly, “You’ll be able to attend school only if you get well soon.”

Shen Jiaze said, “It’ll take a long time.”

Gu Xi had been holding back, but in the end, he was unable to keep his restraint and said, “Take this. Don’t do anything else with it. I’ll send a message to you once in a while.” He took out his spare cellphone and gave it to Shen Jiaze.

Shen Jiaze was stunned.

Gu Xi couldn’t look at him. He felt quite embarrassed as he asked, “Do you want it or not? If you don’t want it then forg—”

Before Gu Xi could finish his words, Shen Jiaze had grabbed the cellphone, then carefully kept it in the pocket closest to his chest.

After he put the cellphone in the pocket, Shen Jiaze said joyfully, “Rest assured, I won’t do anything other than reading your messages.”

What Shen Jiaze said were ordinary words, yet Gu Xi could feel his face turning extremely hot. He said, “I’m really busy, so I could only send a few messages.”

Shen Jiaze responded, “Just a message a day is fine.” He had never experienced how it felt to miss someone, but now that he had, he finally knew just how painful it was.

Shen Jiaze reluctantly finished his cup of coffee. Not long after, his bodyguard reminded him that he should go back already.

Shen Jiaze was agitated. “What’s the hurry?”

Gu Xi was worried about Shen Jiaze’s body, thus he said, “Quickly go back now. It’s getting late, I should be going, too.”

Shen Jiaze immediately looked at Gu Xi. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes revealed that he didn’t want to leave at all.

Gu Xi’s mind was filled with: Oh no, oh no, I’m really done for! He truly couldn’t resist this kind of Shen Jiaze!

Fortunately, Shen Jiaze’s bodyguard was very responsible and diligent. He simply whispered a sentence, “Madam will be home soon.”

Shen Jiaze didn’t want to be scolded for three hours straight by his mother at all, so he had no choice but to return home.

Before leaving, Shen Jiaze looked at Gu Xi again. He didn’t say anything, he simply hung his arm as he looked at Gu Xi with his pitch-black eyes.

He looked like a little dog which was being abandoned by its owner.

Gu Xi’s heart softened into complete shambles. He said under his breath, “I’ll message you later.”

Shen Jiaze finally felt reassured. He said, “Then, I’m leaving?”

Gu Xi shouted, “Just leave already!”

Shen Jiaze had been enduring for quite a while, but he couldn’t help it in the end. He approached Gu Xi, then said with a low voice that only Gu Xi could hear, “You’re not allowed to go on morning jogs with others. Don’t eat with others. You’re also not allowed to walk too close to girls…and boys!”

Gu Xi couldn’t help but laugh. “I won’t be able to fulfill the second one.”

Shen Jiaze’s eyes brightened up. “Does that mean you could fulfill the first and third ones?”

This boy actually has the audacity to try to trick me! Not only did Gu Xi not get angry, he felt delighted to oblige instead. He responded with a tender voice, “Yeah.”

Shen Jiaze tried his best to keep the corner of his lips down as he did his best to say seriously, “If you lied, I’ll have to punish you.”

Gu Xi’s eyes were filled with a glimmer of smile as he replied, “How are you going to punish me?”

Looking at Gu Xi’s curved eyes, Shen Jiaze felt an itch on the tip of his heart. He tried his best to shift his gaze, then said with a husky voice, “I’ll bite you.”

Gu Xi nearly burst out laughing. “Go away, would you!?”

After Shen Jiaze left, Gu Xi had no choice but to eventually press the corner of his lips down after some time had passed.

He took out his cellphone and typed a message, thinking of sending it. But he shook his head and deleted the message in the end.

It has been less than five minutes since he left, why would I need to send a message?

So it has only been five minutes… Gu Xi felt rather melancholy now.

After barely holding on for half an hour, Gu Xi sent a message to Shen Jiaze: [Are you home?]

Shen Jiaze instantly replied: [I am. What about you?]

Gu Xi replied: [Didn’t I say that you’re not allowed to reply?]

Shen Jiaze: [No worries, I could type pretty fast even with one hand.]

Gu Xi: [If only I’d known sooner, I wouldn’t give you that cellphone.]

[If you hadn’t, I would have stolen it.]

Gu Xi laughed: [Whose cellphone are you going to steal?]

The reply was [You–] without any punctuation. It seemed that Shen Jiaze hadn’t finished typing.

Perhaps Mother Shen appeared, resulting in Shen Jiaze hiding the cellphone in a rush. As a result, he sent the message even though he hadn’t yet to finish typing.

Gu Xi stared at the word for quite a while before coming into a realization that he was really done for.

Maybe he had liked Shen Jiaze since long ago, but he just didn’t realize it.

Just like what Ye Chen had said, why would he go jogging everyday with Shen Jiaze if he only wanted to compete? Why would they always have a meal together? Why would he feel so constantly delighted?

Even though Shen Jiaze’s family background didn’t qualify for Gu Xi’s ‘standard in choosing a spouse’, something like feeling couldn’t be restricted by that kind of thing.

Two people being able to meet and fall in love with each other was the best standard fulfillment.

What about the ‘I’m busy’ and ‘Just a message a day’ Gu Xi had said before? All of them had gone with the wind. Subsequently, ‘one message’ became a hundred more messages.

Gu Xi had never thought that someday he would become someone who would keep holding his cellphone and never let go of it.

Shen Jiaze sent a message right at six o’clock in the morning: [Morning.]

Gu Xi shunned him: [Sleep some more when you’re still recuperating. Why the hell do you need to get up so early for?]

Shen Jiaze: [I’m inspecting your morning jog.]

Gu Xi replied: [Why would I need to be inspected by you?] Come rain or shine, he would always go on a jog.

Shen Jiaze: [I’m inspecting so that you won’t jog with others.]

Gu Xi found Shen Jiaze amusing. He replied: [Who would even get up this early in the morning and jog with me?]

Shen Jiaze: [I would.]

Gu Xi: [That is exactly why you’re a fool.]

Big Fool Shen: […]

Gu Xi was in a good mood after being humored by Shen Jiaze. He jogged for two more laps before joyfully having his breakfast.

Noticing Gu Xi’s expression, Ye Chen mocked him, “The sour smell of ‘love’ is making me not feel like eating my meal anymore!”

Gu Xi shot a glance at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen continued to mock him, “Didn’t you say that you were only teasing him? Didn’t you say that you’ve broken up? Didn’t you say—mmph!”

Gu Xi stuffed a roasted ham to Ye Chen’s mouth. “Eat your meal!”

Being able to eat one more slice of roasted ham made Ye Chen especially happy. He gladly ate the ham.

Three days later, Shen Jiaze began to ‘miss Gu Xi so much it turned into an illness’, just sending messages didn’t feel enough anymore. He sent Gu Xi a message: [Take a picture of yourself and send it to me.]

[…] Gu Xi asked: [For what?]

Shen Jiaze replied earnestly: [I want to see if you’re really jogging alone or not.]

Gu Xi mocked him: [Take it or leave it.]

It took quite a while before Shen Jiaze replied: [I want to take a look.]

It was only six words, yet they were brimming with intimacy and ambiguity. Things had turned…really weird.

Gu Xi’s face heated up. He replied: [What are you going to look at?]

Shen Jiaze: [You.]

Gu Xi: [What’s there to look at?]

Shen Jiaze summoned his courage and eventually sent the five words: [I want to see you.]

Reading the message, Gu Xi’s heart thumped wildly in response. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

But not long after, Shen Jiaze shamelessly sent another message: [Brother Xi, I miss you.]

Gu Xi felt a buzz in his head. His whole body had turned utterly frozen because of these five words.

Th-this is outright illegal!

There were countless people who have called him ‘Brother Xi’, but when it was Shen Jiaze who said it… Shen…Jiaze…

Gu Xi took a picture and sent it to Shen Jiaze.

It would have been better if Shen Jiaze didn’t see it, because the moment he did, he could feel his blood boiling.

Gu Xi was jogging. The bright morning sun subtly shone on his fair skin, reflecting the lustrous, thin layer of sweat which was truly captivating.

This is really…really…

Shen Jiaze stared at Gu Xi’s eyes (in the picture). In the end, he became hard after staring for quite a while.

Gu Xi immediately regretted his choice after he sent the image, but it had been sent… It was no use regretting now.

Shen Jiaze didn’t reply for so long that Gu Xi had returned to his dormitory.

The moment he entered the door and intended to take a bath, his cellphone rang.

Shen Jiaze: [Have you taken a bath?]

Gu Xi: [I’m about to.]

Shen Jiaze: [Send one more picture.]

Gu Xi: […] This isn’t going to stop!

Shen Jiaze even went as far as to give Gu Xi a call. Gu Xi was taken aback by the sudden call.

Right after Gu Xi answered, Shen Jiaze said with a very low voice, “Take another picture when you’re taking a bath and send it.”

Gu Xi blushed. “Shen Jiaze!”

Shen Jiaze became harder after hearing Gu Xi’s voice. He said in whispers, “Just a picture is fine. It’s alright to only take a picture of your face…”

Gu Xi, “…”

Shen Jiaze can’t help but added another sentence, “…And your shoulder…”

Gu Xi flew into a rage from shame, “Get lost!”

Shen Jiaze called him pitifully, “Brother Xi…”

With a slam, Gu Xi hung up the call.

Who knew if Gu Xi sent the picture or not? Hehehe.

More than ten days later, Shen Jiaze finally attended school again. He didn’t remove the splints on his arm, but he didn’t need to get injected with antiphlogistics anymore. He just needed to recuperate slowly.

Mother Shen actually didn’t allow Shen Jiaze to come to school yet, but Shen Jiaze persistently insisted that he couldn’t just neglect his lessons. It was only his arm that got injured, his brain was fine.

Seeing her son being so devoted to study, Mother Shen willingly let Shen Jiaze attend school again.

Shen Jiaze immediately went to Gu Xi’s dormitory the moment he stepped foot at school.

Gu Xi was stumped for words as soon as he opened the door and saw the man before his eyes.

Shen Jiaze smiled as brightly as the sun. “I’m back!”

Gu Xi was completely blinded by his bright smile. He said after quite a while, “Aren’t you coming back two days later?”

Shen Jiaze replied, “I want to give you a surprise.”

Gu Xi chuckled. His eyes being thoroughly in a curve was showing that he was very happy, yet his words weren’t honest as always, “Surprise my shit.”

Seeing Gu Xi being like this, Shen Jiaze felt his head heated up. He leaned forward and kissed Gu Xi’s lips.

Gu Xi suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Shen Jiaze used his uninjured hand to hold Gu Xi’s nape, then deepened the kiss which was filled with longing, making it a lot more intense.

Gu Xi didn’t dare to move a muscle, since he was afraid that he would hit Shen Jiaze’s arm and hurt him.

As a result… He got kissed so passionately he became confused.

After the two parted, Gu Xi asked while gasping for breath, “Did I hit your arm?”

Shen Jiaze gazed into Gu Xi’s eyes. “Gu Xi.”

Gu Xi unexpectedly felt somewhat nervous.

Shen Jiaze earnestly confessed to him, “I like you.”

At this moment, Gu Xi felt quite embarrassed. “Mhm.”

However, Shen Jiaze continued to confess profusely, “I like you, I like you, Gu Xi, I like you, I—”

Gu Xi couldn’t keep listening to his never-ending confession anymore. He imprinted a kiss on Shen Jiaze’s lips, giving a response to his feelings with a sweet kiss.

Shen Jiaze really wished he could hug Gu Xi so, very tightly, tight enough to keep him close in his arms.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t move one of his arms.

A long while later, Ye Chen finally caught on to what had happened and immediately felt envious.

Envious of Shen Jiaze.

Gu Xi’s character…was actually quite simple.

On the surface, he looked gentle and cultivated towards strangers, but he was actually indifferent and estranged.

On the other side, however, he would put someone he cared about in his heart and doted on them.

Gu Xi used to always take care of Ye Chen’s everything, but now the latter had been replaced by Shen Jiaze.

How could he not be envious after looking at the roasted ham that was supposed to be his being fed to Shen Jiaze? He felt extremely envious! QAQ

Shen Jiaze was definitely the ‘patient’. What exactly did it mean now that Ye Chen was aware of this? Of course, the fact that Father Gu would have one more kid to dote on!

Just look at Shen Jiaze! So cocky that he’s going to fly to the sky soon, see!?

Ye Chen: I’m so aggrieved, but not only must I smile, I have to even give them best wishes!

There was nothing he could do… Ye Chen was a friend while Shen Jiaze was a lover. They weren’t at the same level.

Although Shen Jiaze broke his arm, he was living the best of his life at this moment.

When meal time came…

Gu Xi said, “Don’t move recklessly. I’ll cut it for you so you could eat it with a fork.”

Shen Jiaze responded happily, “Alright!”

When Shen Jiaze wanted to drink…

Gu Xi, “Don’t drink cold water. Sit down and wait like a good boy, I’ll add some warm water in.”

Shen Jiaze was bursting with joy as he replied, “Mn!”

When Shen Jiaze was about to attend a class…

Gu Xi, “This is my notes of my previous classes. Take it and review it before class. In addition to that, you’ll do well if you pay attention in class.”

Shen Jiaze particularly treasured the notes. Looking at Gu Xi’s elegant writing made him giggle like a fool for the whole class.

When Shen Jiaze wanted to take a bath…

Shen Jiaze stripped himself naked before saying, “Brother Xi, give me a hand. I can’t get my arm wet.”

Gu Xi, “…” Nevertheless, he helped Shen Jiaze.

When it was time to sleep…

Gu Xi, “Go back to your dormitory and sleep! My bed is really narrow, what would you do if I accidentally squeezed your arm?”

Shen Jiaze, “Zzzzzzz~~”

When Shen Jiaze’s arm had completely recovered, the two had already been ‘semi-cohabitating’.

Ye Chen clicked his tongue. “Shen Jiaze is truly an expert, huh.”

Gu Xi, “…”

Ye Chen patted Gu Xi’s shoulder and said, “One is a pot and one is a lid, you two make a good match.”

Gu Xi’s words were full of hidden meaning when he said, “We have some contradictions, actually.”

Ye Chen asked innocently, “What contradictions?”

Gu Xi, “He threw his clothes messily when he returned to his room. His books are all over the place. He doesn’t wash his cup after drinking coffee. He always forgets to charge his phone, toothbrush, and (shaving) razor. He doesn’t blow his hair dry after washing it…”

Ye Chen…was caught off guard and forced to eat a mouthful of dog food.

Gu Xi could tolerate all of those shortcomings with how much of a clean freak he was? Just how fucking in love with Shen Jiaze is he?

Ye Chen felt so suffocated that the delicious food before his eyes couldn’t even whet his appetite anymore!

Since then, Gu Xi and Shen Jiaze had always been together. From the time they met as sophomores until the time they graduated in the last year of college, they were inseparable.

In the course of two years, the two hardly ever quarreled. They were deeply attached to each other every single day.

The reasons were: Firstly, Gu Xi’s character. He always tolerated those he cherished, he basically couldn’t get angry with them at all.

Secondly, Shen Jiaze treated Gu Xi as his darling. The moment he noticed Gu Xi knitting his brows, he immediately knew that something was wrong and promptly corrected himself.

Still—just like Gu Xi said—there were some tiny contradictions between them, of course.

For example…

“Shen Jiaze, can’t you put your shoes properly!?”

“Shen Jiaze, do you want to throw away your clothes!?”

“Shen Jiaze, wash the cup right at this moment!”

In the evening, Gu Xi said angrily as he was holding a hair dryer, “Shen Jiaze! Stretch your dog’s head out!”

And certainly, there was…

Gu Xi, “Shen Jiaze, put…put that thing on.”

Shen Jiaze pushed Gu Xi down as he kissed him messily, “It’s used up.”

Gu Xi didn’t even know whether he was angry. In any case, his cheeks reddened as he said, “Go out and buy it!”

Shen Jiaze said as he sucked Gu Xi, “Let’s go for one round first.”

Gu Xi tried to push him away, but his strength was nothing compared to Shen Jiaze’s.

Eventually… Gu Xi didn’t feel like moving at all. Shen Jiaze joyfully carried him to the bathroom, washed him clean, then seized the opportunity to do as he liked with Gu Xi.

As a result, Gu Xi ignored Shen Jiaze the next day.

In these two years, what Gu Xi had said the most was probably… Shen Jiaze, can’t you grow up a little!?

But actually, Gu Xi never really cared about that. This was the kind of life he would be willing to live for a lifetime; he would be willing to accompany this kind of Shen Jiaze ‘till the end of time.

Shen Jiaze used to dislike his mother’s nagging, thinking that she was too long-winded. But after he met Gu Xi, he loved the way Gu Xi scolded him. He especially loved Gu Xi’s voice when he shouted his name.

Shen Jiaze liked it when Gu Xi got angry at him. He also liked it when Gu Xi felt passionate… And he especially loved it when they were in bed that he wished he could keep Gu Xi in the bed forever.

The feelings they had on their school days were always bound to have a turning point after they graduated.

Gu Xi had thought that he and Shen Jiaze didn’t need to care about anything else. However…a series of mistakes that happened due to an unexpected turn of events…

had nearly hounded him to death.