Wenxu Jiang regretted as soon as he slapped Zhishu He. These years he ran a big company and people around him all fawned on him. Gradually, he became egocentric and couldn't bear to be offended by other people. But he never wanted to hurt Zhishu He.
“You shouldn’t bicker with me over an outsider.” Though Wenxu Jiang felt somewhat guilty, he covered it with a self-righteous face and said, "You friend must not be a good guy. Keep away from him.”
Zhishu He pushed Jiang aside and sat upright. He raised his hand and touched his swollen cheek lightly with a mocking smile on his face.
“I don’t think you are a good man. Maybe I should keep away from you first. In the beginning, I felt we would be together for a lifetime no matter how difficult it might be. The seven-year itch didn't separate us and we have lived together for more than ten years. But now we both have changed. Someone changes for own decision while the other just has to,” Zhishu He closed his eyes, feeling a sense of helplessness, and made up his mind to quit their relationship as he was tired of Jiang’s suspicion and jealousy, and this hopeless relationship.
“Let's break up. I don’t want to wait for a spouse who seldom comes back home,” Zhishu said in a soft voice with a faint smile on his face. He was calm and relaxed as if he just had a casual chat with his lover.
Wenxu Jiang was stunned for a few moments before he said bitterly, “Right. You have a new lover. Now you want to break up with me and be together with him? No way! I won't let you go!”
“I have given you thirty percent of the company’s shares. Isn’t it enough to compensate for your time wasted on me?” Zhishu He said ironically.
“You reminded me. This house is under my name. When we bought the house, you thought it troublesome to register the house as our joint property. So you didn't sign your name. Legally, I’m the only owner,” Wenxu Jiang sneered. “If you really want to break up with me, you will be penniless. Oh, I forget that you have got a new lover. He will take care of you. And in this way, you don't need this house at all, right?”
Zhishu He frowned, his eyes full of sadness and exhaustion, his smile slowly disappearing, and then he sighed gently, “Jiang, why are you so cruel? After all, we’ve been together for fourteen years. It’s a long time.”
For some reason, a spasm of pain contorted Wenxu Jiang's face and shot up his heart. He came up to Zhishu, put his arm around Zhishu’s shoulders, and then said softly, “Zhishu, I don’t want to break up with you. I am just kidding. You know I’m bad-tempered and sometimes talk nonsense. Why did you anger me on purpose? Let’s forget what I said just now and…”
“Let's break up,” Zhishu He said again, as he picked his cell phone on the tea table up and sent a short message to Ziyu Ai—"I decide to accept the chemotherapy”.
Wenxu Jiang tried his best to choke back his rage so that his whole body was trembling and his temples were throbbing. “Don't play a trick on me, Zhishu He.”
“I’m serious. You know, when I make a decision, I never take it back,” said Zhishi He.
Wenxu Jiang clenched his teeth. Suddenly, he grabbed Zhishu’s wrist and pulled him out of the house. “Okay, you are a fucking courageous man. Get out of here! Now!”
At first, Wenxu Jiang thought it was just a normal quarrel but never expected that Zhishu would split up with him. He couldn’t tell the feeling he had suffered now was caused by the anger or fear. His heart was overwhelmed with the distress, and at this point, he only wanted to give vent to his anger.
Zhishu He was shut out of the house by Wenxu Jiang. He wore only thin shirt, unlined trousers and cotton slippers.
It was not cold in the high-end apartment. But Zhishu He was too weak to leave the apartment because of his illness. He squatted down, held his knees and buried his face between them, his body slightly shivering.
His nose began to bleed again. He wiped it with his shirt casually, and had a splitting headache; his eyesight grew dim. He felt cold and bitterly disappointed. In his eyes, the man he had loved for fourteen years became strange and distant.
Zhishu He got a fever. In the twilight state caused by pain and fever, he seemed to see a ray of light pouring into the dark corridor and a tall, handsome boy with a basketball in his hands walking toward him. The boy wore a bright smile, like a silly wolfhound, his eyes full of adoration.