After the car accident, my boyfriend got straight

After parting ways with Li Muzi at the school gate, Jiang Shiyu walked alone to the dormitory with his backpack and trophy in hand. Late April in France was just about to pass the rainy season, and the temperature was just right with warm sunlight.

Back in the dormitory, his roommates hadn’t returned yet. He sat in a chair, replying one by one to the congratulatory and well-wishing messages on his phone. It wasn’t until his fingertips began to throb with pain that he realized he hadn’t attended to his wounds since the competition ended.

At this moment, with his mood completely relaxed, the pain in his fingertips flared up again. He put down his phone and noticed that his fingertips were bleeding again.

He stared at the unsightly wounds on his fingertips and thought for a moment before pulling out a tube of ointment from his pocket. It was the one the doctor had left him.

He stared at the ointment for a long time before slowly opening it and applying it to his fingertips.

The cool sensation quickly spread, easing much of the pain in his fingertips. He twisted the ointment with his uninjured hand, his eyes lost in thought.

Then, he picked up his phone and opened a contact to send a text message.

After a day of turmoil, Jiang Shiyu, whose health was already poor, felt his worn-out spirit unravel. Adding to his lingering cold, his tense emotions suddenly relaxed, and he felt as if he had turned into a puddle of mud, collapsing onto the chair, too exhausted to move.

He sat dazed in the chair for a while before sluggishly heading to the bathroom for a quick rinse, then collapsing back onto his bed to sleep.

In his dreams, figures intertwined, and a vague but familiar figure appeared.

Jiang Shiyu, trembling, asked in a soft, disbelieving voice, “Shen Li, is that you?”

The figure moved in and out of focus, never speaking. He stumbled and chased after it.

“Shen Li, please don’t go. Stay with me.”

“Shen Li, I won the competition. First place. Did you see it?”

“I didn’t expect to win a prize either. I’m really happy. I’d be even happier if you were here with me.”

“Shen Li, my fingers hurt so much. They’re swollen. Can you blow on them for me?”

“The spot where I got the IV is bruised too. You’re not here, and no one is here to give me a hot compress.”

“Shen Li, where are you? I miss you so much.”

He followed the figure’s steps but could only watch as it moved further away. He felt like an abandoned kitten by the roadside, begging for a response that never came.

Suddenly, the phone on his pillow vibrated. He woke up with tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes. He opened his eyes in a daze, unable to distinguish between the dream and reality.

The vibration fully woke him up. He picked up the phone, answered the call, and put it to his ear.

“Hello, your delivery has arrived.”

Jiang Shiyu, still confused, answered instinctively, “Okay, please leave it at the door.”

Afterward, he lay back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for a long time. Suddenly, he bolted upright, threw off the covers, and shuffled to the door in his slippers.

There was a large bag of food on the floor outside the door. He stared at it for a long time.

He carried the food back to the dormitory, wondering who had ordered it for him.

He took a photo and asked Li Muzi, “Muzi, did you order this delivery for me?”

Li Muzi replied with a “no” emoji and sent a photo of himself at a bar.

Jiang Shiyu frowned, puzzled over who had ordered the delivery for him.

While he was still wondering, a video call popped up—it was Shen Li.

He answered the call, and the person who had seemed so elusive in his dreams now appeared clearly on the screen.

Shen Li’s background was unfamiliar to him, and he had some faint bruising under his eyes, as if he hadn’t been resting well.

“Little treasure, did you get the delivery?”

His eyes widened, “You’re the one who ordered the delivery for me.”

“Li Muzi said you went back to the dorm to rest after the competition. I thought you might not have eaten.”

The camera seemed to cast a soft glow over Shen Li, making his gaze appear especially gentle. The grievances from the dream suddenly spilled out.

Seeing the tears welling up in his clear, round eyes made Shen Li feel anxious.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Shiyu didn’t know. He could endure the pain from a needle prick, adapt to being in a foreign country, and suppress his excitement after winning the competition. But he couldn’t pretend when it came to Shen Li.

His tears always came silently, trickling down his pale face, making him look pitiful.

Shen Li was tormented but helpless. He wished he could appear in front of him immediately, hold his precious one, and comfort him, rather than being stuck behind a phone screen. This feeling of helplessness frustrated him.

“Shen Li, I…” Jiang Shiyu sniffled, about to say something, but then he saw the trophy on his desk. He picked it up and held it up to the camera, “I won an award.”

Shen Li’s eyes deepened as he looked at the image of the trophy and Jiang Shiyu’s face close together.

“My Little treasure is the best.”

He never hesitated to praise Jiang Shiyu.

Jiang Shiyu’s tone was a bit forlorn, “I wish you were here.”

He felt a bit powerless and unreasonable. He had sternly insisted that Shen Li not come to France to see him, and now he was the one regretting and feeling miserable.

The little cat’s eyes were dim, and there were some questions he didn’t know how to ask. In the end, he swallowed his tears and kept them to himself.

Time flew by quickly. As spring gave way to autumn, Jiang Shiyu’s first summer in France was coming to an end. The summer here was not as scorching and unbearable as it was back home, with temperatures generally not exceeding 24 degrees Celsius.

There was a piano competition on Tuesday, and he spent the entire weekend in the piano studio, missing a notice released by the school.

When he returned to the dormitory, Leo rolled off the bed and thrust his phone in front of him.

“Look quickly, Ritchie’s been expelled from school.”

Jiang Shiyu was stunned for a second but quickly regained his composure. Seeing that he didn’t seem surprised, Leo asked, “Jiang, did you already know about this?”

He didn’t hide it and nodded.

This incident dated back to when he had injured his finger on a broken needle in the piano studio. After the competition, he had asked someone to investigate who had been in the piano room that day. The next day, he informed the school teachers, explaining that he had seen a suspicious figure at the stairs when he left the piano studio. Although he hadn’t seen the person’s face, it was still quite suspicious.

His French teacher took this seriously and assured him that the school would give him a response. After reviewing the surveillance footage, it was found that, apart from Jiang Shiyu, only one other person had entered the piano room that day.

That person’s silhouette matched exactly with the one Jiang Shiyu had seen at the stairs.

That person was Ritchie. Jiang Shiyu couldn’t understand why it was him.

When they confronted each other in the office, Ritchie suddenly broke down in the face of the evidence. He pointed at him and shouted angrily, blaming him for being an outsider who had no right to participate in such a prestigious competition. Ritchie accused him of depriving him of the glory and ranking that should have been his, and lashed out with filthy language, saying that despite Jiang Shiyu’s “lowly” appearance, he pretended to be high and mighty at school, seducing men and flattering teachers.

Jiang Shiyu found the insults boring. He couldn’t understand why this blonde boy would blame him with baseless accusations and resort to such crazy actions.

Later, Leo told him that Ritchie had gone mad because his boyfriend had suddenly broken up with him the day before the competition. During their breakup, they had a big argument, and someone overheard the boyfriend saying, “Yes, you’re definitely not as good-looking as that Chinese boy.”

Ritchie had indeed shown an interest in Jiang Shiyu, albeit subtly.

Jiang Shiyu wasn’t interested in these details. When the school administration came to explain Ritchie’s punishment, he responded seriously and calmly.

“Teacher, I do not accept reconciliation or his apology. Please handle this according to school regulations.”

The news about Ritchie spread throughout the school and was discussed for a long time. As the sun continued to rise and set, the incident gradually faded. Jiang Shiyu was kept busy every day, with only a third of his exchange period remaining. Every day he was either in class or in the piano studio. One day, as he passed a café and saw his reflection in a mirror, Jiang Shiyu felt a moment of disorientation.

The person in the reflection wore a simple white T-shirt and black pants, holding a music score. It seemed like nothing had changed from before, but upon closer inspection, he noticed the differences.

It was in his gaze and demeanor.

In the past, he had been extremely insecure, his eyes constantly flickering with unease. When walking on the street, he would instinctively lower his head to avoid the gazes around him. He often sought out corners or quiet places in crowded areas, and he was uncomfortable walking alone in open spaces, which made him tense and stiff.

Now, abroad, he had long become accustomed to going to classes and piano studios alone, eating by himself. He walked confidently on the streets of a foreign country, accepting curious glances from passersby with ease. He could confidently introduce his country and passion for his dreams on the podium and speak seriously while looking others in the eye.

As he looked at the confident, relaxed reflection in the mirror, with a resolute gaze and upright posture, he felt as if he saw another person in himself.

That person was the youth he cherished, coming towards him countless times, dazzling and radiant.

He unconsciously reached out his hand to touch the reflection’s fingertips. His lips curved into a gentle smile, and the dazzling sunlight enveloped him from behind.

Translator’s note.

Hi lovelies, only a few chapters left. I’ll be adding them today and tomorrow. Thanks for reading:)