After the car accident, my boyfriend got straight

After Jiang Shiyu was discharged from the hospital, Bai Yun insisted he rest at home for half a month. It was summer break, so he had no classes.

Every day, he would sleep until he naturally woke up, go downstairs to eat, practice the piano, then return to his room to sleep. After dinner, he would watch movies in the home theater. 

Because he was still recovering, he felt groggy every day and needed a lot of sleep.

During this half month, he only saw Shen Li once. Usually, by the time he woke up in the morning, he had already left the villa. He didn’t come home for lunch or dinner either. 

Bai Yun and Shen Qinglin were busy with their own affairs, leaving only him and the housekeeper in the villa.

One night, he was in his room washing up, preparing for bed, when suddenly the power went out. He groped around to put on a towel and went out to find candles. The housekeeper only stayed during the day and left in the evenings, so he felt like a blind man as he fumbled his way down to the kitchen.

Midway, he tripped over something, nearly falling, then heard a chuckle behind him. Startled, he turned around with wide eyes. A cat could move freely in the dark, but not him. He had severe night blindness, and the surrounding silence made his heart pound.

“Who? Shen Li, is that you?” He called out, peering into the darkness with overly wide eyes, trying to see.

But there was no answer in the quiet air, as if the chuckle had been his imagination.

He grew a bit scared. The villa’s security was good, and strangers couldn’t get in, so it shouldn’t be a thief. Despite this reassurance, he still felt uneasy. The foot he’d tentatively stretched out quickly retracted.

“Who’s there? Speak up,” he mustered his courage, trying to remain calm.

After the surroundings quieted down, he confirmed there was another person in the room because he heard their breathing. 

He hurriedly backed up to the countertop, looking for a handy weapon, but in his panic, he tripped over the same thing again, falling down.

“Ah!” he screamed.

Just as he thought he was going to fall, a pair of hands firmly caught him from behind. The familiar scent filled his nose, and he instantly realized who it was.

“Shen Li!” He cried out in frustration. Was scaring him so much fun?

Shen Li hadn’t meant to scare him. He’d been avoiding him recently by going out early and coming home late, hanging out with his friends and trying to recover his lost memories. 

Usually, at this hour, Jiang Shiyu would already be asleep. But tonight, when he came home to a dark villa and heard sounds in the kitchen, he thought there might be a thief and grabbed a vase as a weapon.

When he saw Jiang Shiyu fumbling around like a blind man, feeling the cabinets and walls, raising his hands like a robot low on battery, only to rest and continue, he couldn’t help but laugh. 

That startled Jiang Shiyu, who looked like a scared kitten with wide eyes, fumbling clumsily and nearly falling.

Afraid the frail Jiang Shiyu might injure himself and blame him later, he had stepped in to help. But instead of gratitude, Jiang Shiyu got angry.

Jiang Shiyu stomped out of the kitchen in his slippers, making heavy thudding noises on the hardwood floor, like an angry little lion. He paused at the kitchen door, hesitantly reached out, found the stair railing, and slowly began to climb up.

Shen Li leaned against the kitchen door, finding the cautious back amusing.

He remembered what his friends had told him about his relationship with him over the past few days. The gist was that he had initially had impure thoughts about Jiang Shiyu, and after finally winning him over, he was utterly devoted, serving him hand and foot.

At that, his face had darkened. He’d stormed out before finishing his drink. Back home, the current scene unfolded.

He pondered, would he ever be devoted to this frail guy? No way. He’d have to be brain-dead to do such foolish things for another guy. He’d rather die than do anything so dumb.

“Bang!” A loud noise came from upstairs.

In the darkness, he moved like a leopard, quickly taking the stairs three at a time.

Jiang Shiyu stood dazed in the hallway, in front of a broken vase with shards all over the floor. He was just about to move when a stern voice stopped him.

“Don’t move!”

He froze like a wooden figure. Shen Li navigated around the shards, grabbing his arm to pull him close. “Are you hurt?”

Jiang Shiyu shook his head. “I, I can’t see. I accidentally knocked it over.” His voice carried an apologetic tone, his head lowered.

“If it’s broken, it’s broken. There are so many vases in this villa, it’s better to have fewer.”

He gradually regained his composure and looked up slightly. “Why did you suddenly come up?”

The vase had only fallen a few seconds ago, and Shen Li had already arrived.

Shen Li paused. How could he explain that he’d rushed up instinctively upon hearing the noise, only realizing it after he was already in front of him?

“This is my house. With such a big commotion, of course I came to see what happened.” He intentionally lowered his voice to cover the subtle embarrassment in his chest.

Jiang Shiyu nodded, his face serious in the dark, as if he believed Shen Li’s explanation.

Shen Li, feeling a bit irritated, rubbed the back of his neck and told him to stay put while he fetched a broom. Without looking back, he hurried downstairs.

Jiang Shiyu obediently stood still, not moving an inch. After hearing Shen Li’s footsteps fade away, he couldn’t help but smile.

Shen Li didn’t know that when he lied, he would deliberately lower his voice and speak faster. Jiang Shiyu had secretly noticed this during their time together, so he knew he wasn’t telling the truth.

Shen Li originally planned to use the vacuum cleaner, but the power outage rendered it useless. He found a broom and dustpan and returned upstairs. 

Jiang Shiyu remained exactly where he’d left him, not having moved an inch. Shen Li raised an eyebrow, thinking he was obedient.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Shiyu called out into the darkness, “Shen Li.”

“Mm.”

The sound of the dustpan and shards clinking echoed in the dark. Jiang Shiyu, with his night blindness and poor sense of direction, relied solely on his hearing to determine the direction. He asked, “Do you need my help?”

A hand reached out and turned his head. “Dummy, this way.”

He gave an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, I have night blindness and can’t see.”

“If you can’t see, don’t cause trouble. Standing there is already helping.”

“Okay, I won’t move.”

Shen Li couldn’t help but look up at him. Despite the night blindness, Jiang Shiyu’s eyes were still bright in the dark. His small face wore a faint smile, quietly facing the direction Shen Li had turned him.

Shen Li gritted his teeth, silently cursing, Damn, he’s really obedient.

He quickly cleaned up, though the power outage meant he could only do a rough job. The shards were everywhere, and the housekeeper would need to thoroughly clean in the morning.

“There are still small shards in the hallway. Don’t come out tonight.”

“Okay, thank you for tonight.”

Shen Li turned his gaze away, not responding, and took the tools downstairs. Just as he turned, the villa’s lights suddenly came back on, blinding them both. They raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Shen Li quickly adjusted and looked at Jiang Shiyu. Still shielding his eyes, his light-colored silk pajamas outlined his slender frame, the collar askew revealing delicate collarbones, his neck long and seemingly graspable with one hand.

His gaze was drawn to a red mark on Jiang Shiyu’s ankle. A shard had evidently nicked him, leaving a fine cut. Normally, such a small cut wouldn’t bother him, who got worse injuries boxing.

But on Jiang Shiyu’s frail leg, the cut seemed glaring. His thin ankle, with skin as white as snow, showed veins faintly beneath. Such a small cut, still bleeding after so long.

Staring at the wound, he was lost in thought. As Jiang Shiyu adjusted to the light, lowering his hand, blinking to clear his vision, Shen Li saw him look down and notice the cut.

“I think I got nicked by a shard.”

His expression darkened. Without a word, he turned and left. He didn’t return for a long time.

Jiang Shiyu’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. In the past, Shen Li would’ve immediately fetched the first-aid kit to bandage him. He even tied beautiful bows.

But his disappointment only lasted a minute before he hopped back to his room on one foot. After another shower and some medicine, he lay in bed, drifting off.

In another room, Shen Li lay on his dark bed, eyes closed, trying to rest. After a few minutes, he suddenly sat up, punching the blanket, leaving a deep mark.

“Damn it.”

He cursed under his breath, then pulled the blanket over his head, trying to block out the image of the small sickly boy’s injured ankle.

“Stupid sickly boy,” he muttered fiercely, flipping over and completely covering himself with the blanket, refusing to think about it any longer.