chapter 5

-Am I an adult?

I am an adult.

At that moment, Ning Qiuyan actually began to doubt his real age. Being looked at by Guan Heng like that, it felt as if any dishonest answer would bring a strong sense of guilt, so he had no choice but to tell the truth.

“Ding.”

Text message notification.

“Tick.”

Social media notification.

“Whoosh.”

Media trending topic notification.

Just a second ago, Ning Qiuyan was seriously pondering as if caught in a strange loop, and the next second, his attention was drawn to the sudden return of signal on his phone.

The part-time job he had asked his friend about a few days ago might have gotten a reply.

Someone might have liked his latest post on social media, or sent him a friend request.

There was new progress on the collaboration between two singers he had been following on a certain platform.

The room was so quiet that the string of notifications sounded abrupt.

Guan Heng was still watching him. “Turn it off.”

Ning Qiuyan was a little excited about reconnecting to the internet; it made him feel connected to the outside world again, even while on Du Island.

He didn’t understand, “Hm?”

Guan Heng’s tone was calm, but left no room for disobedience: “Turn off your phone, then answer the question.”

Ning Qiuyan looked up at Guan Heng.

The other’s handsome yet pale face seemed to possess a certain magic.

Involuntarily, at that moment, Ning Qiuyan could only see him, only hear him, and could only obey him.

Suddenly, Ning Qiuyan’s already tense heart began to beat even faster, and his face started to heat up.

Guan Heng’s gaze made him lose most of his ability to think for himself. He quickly did as told and turned off his phone, even though it pushed another important notification to him at the very moment it shut down.

“I’m an adult.”

Ning Qiuyan answered Guan Heng’s question, “I’m eighteen.”

Guan Heng seemed doubtful: “Eighteen.”

Ning Qiuyan immediately added, “To be precise, eighteen years and three months. Signing the agreement was legal.”

Recently, Ning Qiuyan had been asked about his age in many places.

When handling property inheritance, when looking for a job-people always asked him the same thing. He thought maybe Guan Heng’s concerns were just like theirs.

He did look very young, and although that was true, he really was an adult now.

All this personal information was clearly written in the agreement. Now Ning Qiuyan was certain of one thing: Guan Heng not only didn’t know his name, he probably hadn’t even looked at the agreement.

After getting a definite answer, Guan Heng withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and leaned back.

“Legal?” Guan Heng reminded him, “Do you know the agreement you signed isn’t protected by law?”

Six blood donations in half a year, unconditional compliance, vague information about Party A.

Ning Qiuyan had researched online; he knew many of the terms were in a gray area. If not for the generous compensation, it was actually quite unfair to him as Party B.

Now Guan Heng pointed it out again.

Ning Qiuyan pressed his lips together: “I know.”

Passing over the dark, turbulent sea, through furious winds.

He had come here from a greenhouse-there was no turning back.

Guan Heng spoke slowly: “You know and you still dare? I thought you were timid.”

Ning Qiuyan, who had run around in fright last night: “…”

Guan Heng’s questions became more and more casual: “Only eighteen, why aren’t you in school?”

It was now late December, not even close to winter break for most students.

A trip to Du Island would take up both Friday and Monday.

Ning Qiuyan was stunned for a moment. The question was so ordinary, it didn’t match Guan Heng’s identity; it sounded more like something an elder would ask.

He felt like a truant student being questioned by an adult: “I’m going. I took a year off from university, and I’ll report back next autumn.”

Guan Heng gave a quiet “Mm,” without asking why he took a leave of absence, nor why he chose to donate blood.

Aside from his age, perhaps none of it really mattered to him.

“Next autumn.”

Guan Heng repeated Ning Qiuyan’s answer, frowning, as if he had some thoughts about it.

But in the end, he said nothing, just tapped his finger lightly on his cup.

Then, Guan Heng took a sip of the liquid in his cup. His lips were stained with a vivid color, and his overly sickly complexion was slightly offset, though he still looked unhealthy.
“There’s still some time before autumn comes.” After a moment, Guan Heng looked at him again and said, “I need you to promise that, during this period, you will give yourself to me.”

The other man’s sharp brows and eyes showed little warmth, yet Ning Qiuyan felt a faint tremor in his heart.

What did it mean, to give himself entirely to him?

Did it mean that he couldn’t back out of donating blood during this time?

“No betrayal, no running away, and don’t be afraid. No one here will hurt you. Whatever you want, you can tell me, and I will fulfill it for you.” Guan Heng spoke each word clearly. “Next autumn, you can go to your university, and you’ll never have to come to Du Island to donate blood again.”

These words felt a bit too heavy.

Ning Qiuyan thought it must be related to his attempted escape last night-Guan Heng needed him, so he needed a serious promise.

But aside from the compensation he should receive for donating blood, Ning Qiuyan didn’t really want anything else.

So when Guan Heng asked again, “Can you do it?”

Ning Qiuyan replied, “I can.”

Guan Heng asked him to repeat it.

In this atmosphere, Ning Qiuyan unconsciously repeated from memory, “I won’t betray, won’t run away, and won’t be afraid.”

Guan Heng said nothing more, ending the questioning in a calm tone: “Get up.”

*

A few minutes later, Dr. Ling arrived, a little late.

Seeing Ning Qiuyan in the room, he paused, a bit surprised that Ning Qiuyan had arrived first.

“Sorry, I’m late.” Dr. Ling set down his medical kit and said to them, “The surgery was quite complicated-there were injuries to both the small intestine and the stomach. The island didn’t have enough anesthetic, so the pain kept coming back.”

Guan Heng asked, “What about morphine?”

Dr. Ling replied, “We used it, but not enough either. Still, it’s better than nothing.”

As he spoke, Dr. Ling opened the medical kit and took out the needles, blood bags, and other items needed for blood collection.

It seemed that today’s blood draw would take place right here in Guan Heng’s room.

Hearing their conversation, Ning Qiuyan asked, “Dr. Ling, are you talking about the laborer who was injured last night?”

Dr. Ling nodded. “You know about it?”

Ning Qiuyan told him, “I saw the blood in the snow outside.”

The bloodstain in the snow from last night was still shocking to recall. Now, hearing that the situation was so serious, he began to worry that someone might die.

Dr. Ling said, “It was probably early morning then, when the gun went off. Why did you go outside at such a dangerous time?”

Ning Qiuyan was embarrassed to say why he had gone outside.

Guan Heng, who had also been there and saved him, was now completely different from when he had been questioning him earlier. His long hair was tucked behind his ears, and he lounged lazily on the black velvet sofa, saying nothing.

The conversation the two of them had just had in private seemed to have established some secret agreement.

Guan Heng would not bring up that matter.

Ning Qiuyan forced himself to ignore the topic and asked Dr. Ling, “I heard Grandpa Kang say that his waist was pierced. Why wasn’t he sent to a hospital?”

Dr. Ling was slightly taken aback, and Guan Heng also looked over at Ning Qiuyan.

Suddenly becoming the focus of attention, Ning Qiuyan regretted speaking up as soon as the words left his mouth.

On one hand, it sounded like he was questioning Dr. Ling’s medical skills; on the other, he wasn’t from the island and didn’t know anything-he shouldn’t meddle in others’ affairs.

Dr. Ling smiled and reassured Ning Qiuyan, “We have arrangements. He’ll be fine.”

Ning Qiuyan felt a little foolish.

He still felt that way when he was called over to sit and prepare for the blood draw.

Dr. Ling’s arrival broke the original silence in the room, and the brief conversation that followed all revolved around the blood collection procedure.

In this intensely private setting, Guan Heng’s presence was overwhelming.

When the cold needle pierced his skin, Ning Qiuyan seemed to feel Guan Heng’s gaze on his arm.

He turned his head, and their eyes met.

The deep red in the other’s pupils seemed even more pronounced. Ning Qiuyan was no longer sure if it was just his imagination. Maybe Guan Heng was wearing colored contact lenses, he thought.

There was a distance between them.

Ning Qiuyan’s heart pounded heavier and heavier, a strange feeling rising as he thought about what was to come.

Two strangers, and one of them was about to have their blood fused together inside his body, like the transfer of vitality itself.

He turned his head back, watching the warm, bright red liquid flow into the thin tube, winding its way into the blood bag.

Bit by bit, the transparent, shriveled sterile bag gradually filled, brimming with life.
The blood draw took only about ten minutes. During the process, Guan Heng set his glass down on the table, propping his chin on his fingers as he watched him.

Throughout, Ning Qiuyan had to endure this gaze. His face grew hotter and hotter, so he could only focus all his attention on the empty glass.

A rusty red color clung to the inside of the glass, fading with time.

Maybe it was sweet, he thought.

Then, his consciousness gradually blurred.

When Ning Qiuyan opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling that looked like his own room’s, but it was the one in the house where he had lived since childhood.

Seawater filled the room.

Cold and dampness engulfed him. He felt a long-standing exhaustion, weakness, and fatigue.

His body had lost all sense of control. Nausea and dizziness hit him, a hundred times worse than when he had taken the boat to Du Island. He trembled uncontrollably, letting out pained moans.

He saw a white boat moored by the dock on the water’s surface.

Another version of himself stood on the deck, swept into the sea by the wind.

“All right,” someone said by his ear. “Press the cotton swab and don’t move. Hold it for five minutes.”

Ning Qiuyan came to his senses.

He was still sitting where he had been, with Guan Heng’s glass on the table before him.

Guan Heng’s seat was empty.

Everything just now had been a brief lapse in consciousness.

If not for that glass, he would have doubted whether he had ever met Guan Heng or had that conversation at all.

Dr. Ling packed the collected blood into a small refrigerator; it looked far less than two hundred milliliters.

Ning Qiuyan pressed the cotton swab in confusion.

Was it over so quickly?

“Where’s Mr. Guan?” he asked, then worried, “Was the amount enough?”

Wasn’t the blood supposed to be transfused to Guan Heng right away?

“Sir has his own matters to attend to,” Dr. Ling told him. “Don’t worry, the dosage is within the permitted range, not below the minimum. Your donation is worthwhile.”

Ning Qiuyan’s mind was still a bit hazy. “I think I just blacked out.”

“It was for a minute or two,” Dr. Ling lifted his eyelids to check, then continued, “You didn’t have breakfast, so you were already a bit hypoglycemic. Your body isn’t used to losing so much blood at once-you almost fainted just now.”

“That’s enough for this time. I’ll go back and write up a nutrition plan, and someone will prepare your meals for the next month.”

After resting for a while, Ning Qiuyan no longer felt any discomfort, except for a gnawing hunger and an even stronger craving for breakfast.

Compared to the large sum of money, the whole blood donation process seemed insignificant, almost too simple, leaving Ning Qiuyan with a sense of confusion and doubt about its value.

What he had painstakingly prepared for was so easily obtained here through an exchange.

Dr. Ling told him to observe for another half hour and gave him some sugar water.

Thus, his first blood donation on Du Island was completed easily.

Silent and unremarkable.

*

Lunch and breakfast were both light. In the evening, Uncle Kang had the chef prepare roast venison.

Ning Qiuyan slept all day in his room to catch up on rest, having many bizarre dreams, most of which were related to his blackout that morning.

At dinner, Guan Heng still did not come downstairs.

Ning Qiuyan thought it was probably because they had already met, so Guan Heng didn’t need to force himself to come to the dining room.

Ever since meeting Guan Heng, every time Ning Qiuyan thought of him, he always felt that although the man was tall, he looked as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

After dinner, the Servant brought up a serving of ice cream.

In winter, eating a refreshing and delicious dessert in a warm house is a wonderful thing.

Uncle Kang said, “Mr. Guan specifically asked the kitchen to make this for you. The machine hasn’t been used in ages, so they took the opportunity to show off their skills. If you want more, there will be some tomorrow.”

Ning Qiuyan was flattered. “Mr. Guan had this made for me?”

The ice cream was served in a delicate dish, topped with beautiful berries, looking delicious.

Lately, he had especially wanted to eat ice cream.

Wutong was too cold.

Other than work, he hadn’t gone out in a long time.

Uncle Kang looked at him kindly. “Yes. Sir said that kids your age all like ice cream. After you eat it, you’ll feel a bit better.”

Ning Qiuyan was stunned for a few seconds.

He didn’t understand why, when Guan Heng was so young, he would call him a ‘kid.’