Weren't We Supposed to Break Up?

[I've removed my romance-addled brain. Now I love him without thinking.]

[Next up: "Doctor, My Rotten Hand Is Back in Winter!" Blurb at the very bottom. Please add it to your collection~]

Ji Qingchen and Xu Zhiqiao broke up, and it was a very ugly breakup.

They say it happened in the middle of the night. They trashed the whole apartment. First Xu Zhiqiao left with a suitcase, then Ji Qingchen left with a suitcase.

Neither of them ever came back to the apartment.

But the landlord, collecting rent from both of them every month: Wait, what? They aren't ending their leases?

Whenever they met, they argued. Ji Qingchen heard that Xu Zhiqiao had said at a party a few days earlier that he was seeing someone. Furious, Ji Qingchen pretended to casually show off his men's ring in front of everyone. "My boyfriend is ten thousand times better than him."

In the middle of the night, Xu Zhiqiao nearly pounded the bedroom door off its hinges. He had only one reason for coming over: "No way! I'm the best boyfriend in the world to you!"

"Ex-boyfriend," Ji Qingchen corrected him. "I'm the best ex-boyfriend in the world to you!"

Their mutual friend, who could see things more clearly than either of them, invited them both out, hoping to smooth things over.

Seeing Ji Qingchen all by himself, Xu Zhiqiao sneered. "Where's your boyfriend? Too scared to face me?"

Ji Qingchen rolled his eyes without missing a beat. "Where's your boyfriend? Too scared to face me?"

They both snorted and turned to leave.

Their friend: "..."

Keep pretending, you hopeless fools.

The party was on an island. Ji Qingchen was in poor health, and when he fell ill in the middle of the night, he frantically searched for his medication. Flustered, he couldn't find it right away, so he stumbled to the door to call for help. Before he could even reach anyone, he ran straight into his ex-boyfriend's arms.

"Hah, throwing yourself into my arms."

Xu Zhiqiao held the medicine in his other hand. "When you're sick, don't you still need me?"

But a few days later, Xu Zhiqiao received terrible news out of the blue: Ji Qingchen had been hospitalized with a serious illness. He pushed open the door and saw Ji Qingchen covered with a white sheet.

Trembling, Xu Zhiqiao called their friend.

Ji Qingchen is ignoring me. He's covered in a white sheet and won't talk to me.

Their friend: "..."

When Ji Qingchen found out later: "..."

What's wrong with you? Who covered me with a white sheet?

[Each other's first love. Neither of them has a new boyfriend. They're both pretending.]

[The author knows nothing about medicine. Medical details are included only for the plot, so please don't take them seriously.]

Blurb for "Doctor, My Rotten Hand Is Back in Winter!":

Ye Jingqiu transmigrated into a book, but it wasn't by choice.

He was unhappy about it.

He didn't actually want to return to his own world. He was just stubborn by nature and hated being told what to do.

The book said his character was unpopular, a good-for-nothing with no brains.

He refused to accept that. He was good-looking, so why wouldn't people like him? He had brains, so how could he be a good-for-nothing?

Instead, he became the sect's top fighter, with admirers flocking around him. If someone disliked him, he rewarded them with an icy glare. If they dared insult him to his face, they got a slap. If they tried to use force, he kicked them flying.

The sect leader thought it over. This wouldn't do, so he went to have a chat with him.

The sect leader came out looking utterly grim. The senior disciple stepped forward. "How did it go? Is Jingqiu willing to change his ways?"

The sect leader hesitated. "Why don't you go talk to him too..."

-

For some reason, a rumor suddenly spread through the jianghu: Ye Jingqiu was a miraculous doctor who treated illnesses by talking them through.

A cripple talked with him and then ran off at full speed.

A blind man talked with him and then found a pillar with perfect accuracy and ran into it.

Even the dying Master of the Money House talked with him, then mustered up the strength to get to his feet and eat two more bowls of rice.

Ji Shiwu rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This doesn't seem quite right, does it?"

-

Ye Jingqiu had no idea why, but one day a whole lot of people suddenly started asking to see him. They called him doctor as soon as they opened their mouths, and some even spent a fortune just for a meeting.

Ridiculous. Just because they called him a doctor, did that mean he had to be one? He absolutely wasn't.

But after those people left, they recommended their sworn enemies to him. One brought ten, ten brought a hundred, and before long, even his consultation fee had gone up.

Ye Jingqiu: "..."

Are you messing with me?

His consultation fee kept climbing until ordinary people could no longer afford it. Even so, a rich man managed to get an appointment.

Ji Shiwu strolled up to Ye Jingqiu.

First glance: fell in love.

Second glance: sat down.

Third glance: "To be honest, I've come down with an illness that anyone could get."

Ye Jingqiu: "Turn left at the door. The castration room is there."

Ji Shiwu: "..."

Ji Shiwu: "I've fallen in love with someone I shouldn't love."

Ye Jingqiu: "After the castration room, there's a cliff next door."

Ji Shiwu: "..."

Ji Shiwu: "I want to tell you I like you."

Ye Jingqiu: "Tell me something I don't know."

Ji Shiwu: "..."

Before they could finish talking, the appointment was over. Ji Shiwu clutched his chest. "Doctor, my rotten hand is back in winter. I feel much worse."

Ye Jingqiu's lips curved slightly. "Then come back and try again tomorrow."

Theme: Life doesn't give you a second chance, so seize your opportunities.