Telephone

Few people had ever hung up on Li Ping in all his life.

Listening to the busy signal on the phone, his brow twitched. He immediately raised his hand and dialed again, only to hear that familiar female voice the next second: "The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

A bad feeling rose in Li Ping's mind. He immediately hung up, his fingers moving as he opened WeChat and found Zhao Danshi's profile picture. He had just sent, "Did you block my number?" when the WeChat screen displayed: Zhao Danshi has enabled friend verification. You are not his friend yet. Please send a friend request first...

He had been deleted from WeChat too. Li Ping frowned slightly, set down his phone, and pressed the intercom to call his secretary. "Shao'an, may I borrow your phone?"

"Yes, President Li. Please wait a moment."

Very soon, Huang Shaoan, the secretary who worked in the small outer office beyond Li Ping's office, hurried in with his unlocked phone in hand.

Li Ping said, "Let me make a call."

Seeing that his boss's face had gone dark, Huang Shaoan hurriedly handed him the phone. "Please, use it as you wish. I'll head out first."

Li Ping waved him away and used his own phone to pull up Zhao Danshi's number, intending to call again. Huang Shaoan quickly returned to his office, thoughtfully closing Li Ping's door behind him.

After blocking Li Ping, Zhao Danshi paced around the room, scratching at his head in agitation.

Just then, his phone rang again. His whole body jolted. After hesitating for a moment, he cautiously walked over and picked it up. The unfamiliar number made him let out a huge sigh of relief, and he answered.

Zhao Danshi had barely said "Hello" when an imposing voice came through the line. "This is Li Ping."

Zhao Danshi instantly began to stammer. "Ah? S-Senior Brother, hello! What do you need from me?"

Li Ping asked flatly from the other end, "Why did you block me and delete me from WeChat?"

"B-Blocked you?" Zhao Danshi could barely even speak properly as the other side waited silently for his explanation.

Zhao Danshi paused guiltily, cold sweat already dampening his palms. "Ah, well... my hand slipped..."

If Li Ping had been there, he would have seen a flush spread across Zhao Danshi's face, sweat beading on his forehead as well.

Li Ping gave a soft snort. "Where are you now?"

Zhao Danshi refused to answer. Steadying himself, he asked, "Senior Brother, what did you call me for?"

Li Ping said with certainty, "That was you that night."

Blood rushed to Zhao Danshi's head. He hurriedly said, "Th-That night was just an accident. You don't need to mind it. Senior Brother, if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up. I have things to do here!"

After saying that, Zhao Danshi paid no attention to anything else and clumsily hung up the phone.

Listening to the noise from the line after being hung up on again, Li Ping rubbed his brow with a headache. His face cold, he persistently dialed the number again.

Zhao Danshi looked hesitantly at the endlessly ringing phone. This time, he did not dare block the number again. Blocking it would be useless anyway—if his senior brother wanted to find him, he certainly could.

The phone rang for a full minute. After disconnecting automatically, it began ringing again without yielding.

Zhao Danshi took a deep breath, answered the call, and softly called out, "Senior Brother."

Li Ping's voice remained even. "Where are you now? Why did you quit your job? Was it because of what happened between us?"

Hearing this, Zhao Danshi suddenly understood. His senior brother had seen that he had quit his job and left X City, and thought that night's incident had troubled him, which was why he had specifically called to ask.

Zhao Danshi let out a soft breath, warmth welling up in his heart. The heaviness that had been weighing on him suddenly eased somewhat. Lowering his voice so his grandfather would not hear, he said, "I'm back in my hometown, living with my grandfather. That job didn't suit me. I had a fundamental conflict of ideas with my supervisor, and there was no way to reconcile them, so I simply quit and came back to keep the old man company."

After a pause, Zhao Danshi quietly reassured Li Ping, "Senior Brother, me quitting had nothing to do with that night. Don't take it to heart."

His soft voice came through the phone slightly distorted. For some reason, Li Ping thought of that night again, and the chaos and passion instantly resurfaced in his mind.

Li Ping had always kept himself clean. He did not regret that rare indulgence, but a faint sense of regret had remained in his heart.

Listening to his quiet breathing, Zhao Danshi found that neither of them knew what to say for a moment.

After a while, Zhao Danshi recovered first. Somewhat reluctant, he softly said, "Senior Brother, I still have things to do here, so I'll hang up first. Goodbye."

With that, he lightly swiped the screen and ended the call. He sat blankly in his chair for a long time before picking up his phone, removing Li Ping's number from the blacklist, and sending a new friend request on WeChat.

Zhao Danshi devoted himself wholeheartedly to nurturing the pregnancy. He spent no more than six hours a day doing farm work. If he truly could not finish, he would ask Brother Spoon and other available people in the village to help. He did not expect this crop of vegetables to make money; at the very least, he could not afford to lose money.

There were no other major changes in his life, except that he had not taken on any design work online for quite some time. No matter how lacking in common sense he was, he knew pregnant people could not spend long periods in front of a computer.

His boss was concerned about his situation and even called specifically to ask what was wrong and why he had suddenly stopped taking jobs.

Carrying a shocking secret, Zhao Danshi could not tell them the truth. He could only say that he had caught a cold recently, and his grandfather would not let him use the computer.

His boss pressed him for a long time. Only after confirming that it was not serious did he relax slightly, adding over the phone that once work became less busy, he would save up some leave and come see him.

Zhao Danshi did not have the nerve to let him see his hugely pregnant appearance. His face nearly went pale from fright, and he repeatedly assured him that he was fine, stubbornly talking him out of the idea.

Seeing Zhao Danshi live regularly every day without any intention of going to the hospital, Watcher bluntly reminded him, "It's almost been two months. You need to find someone to help deliver the child by C-section."

Zhao Danshi said weakly, "What, you only care about killing and not the aftermath? Such a big child—what if I can't find anyone to deliver him?"

Watcher said awkwardly, "Actually, we do offer that service, but you'll need to spend a large amount of bio-energy to unlock my marketplace first, then seek medical help through the marketplace." He added without any tact, "Given your current financial situation, I don't think you can afford the medical services in my marketplace."

Zhao Danshi had no retort. After hesitating for several days, he finally dialed the phone number he remembered under Watcher's urging.

The phone rang for quite a while before someone answered. A gentle "Hello" came through the receiver.

Zhao Danshi's heart pounded like thunder. The little courage he had painstakingly gathered completely drained away, and he abruptly hung up.

To his surprise, the person immediately called back using his number. "Zhao Zhuoyun, was that you?!"

Zhao Danshi opened his mouth, but in the end, he was still too timid to answer.

The other side continued, "Don't go. I know it was you! Where have you been all these years? Why couldn't I find any news about you?"

"D-Do you know about what happened to me?"

The other side was very calm. "I know. You're gay, so what? Was that really worth hiding for so many years?"

Zhao Danshi wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. He muttered, "I went to look for you..."

"When?" Before Zhao Danshi could answer, Ran Yuanyao suddenly realized. "The winter of the year you got into university, wasn't it?"

Zhao Danshi did not dare nod. Back then, after coming out to his family, he had been driven out. That incident had nearly used up all his courage. After fleeing to another city, he had not dared tell anyone.

During the winter break that year, he returned to his hometown to change his name and transfer his household registration.

At the time, he had still been unwilling to give up. Before leaving, he had specifically gone to his best friend's home, wanting to see him once. Unexpectedly, his friend's mother had been home. The first thing she did upon seeing him was grab a broom and come out to drive him away, pointing at his nose as she cursed, "It's one thing for you to go bad yourself. Don't come corrupting my Yuanyao!"

Only later did Zhao Danshi learn that after he came out, his parents had assumed his childhood friend was his boyfriend and had even gone to the man's home to make a scene, infuriating his father so badly that his high blood pressure sent him to the hospital.

After learning about that, Zhao Danshi never again had the courage to contact his childhood friend. So many years had passed in a flash, and when he finally made the call, the courage he had barely worked up drained away completely again.

Zhao Danshi remained silent for a long time. The tone on the other end softened. "Where are you now? What are you doing? Are you doing well?"

Hearing the familiar voice shower him with concern, Zhao Danshi opened his mouth. He struggled to say that he was fine, but his throat had gone completely hoarse. His face itched, and when he wiped it with his hand, he realized that tears had been streaming down his face for who knew how long.

"I'm doing very well. I'm back in my hometown now," Zhao Danshi said hoarsely. "I'm with my grandfather."

Ran Yuanyao spoke from the other end. "Did something happen to you?"

Zhao Danshi paused, truly too embarrassed to say it aloud.

The other side grew anxious. "Then tell me already. Do you think I don't know your personality? You wouldn't have specifically called me if nothing had happened. Tell me what's wrong. Don't make me worry."

"My situation is a little complicated, but it's not a bad thing. Are you still studying medicine?"

"Yes. I've finished my residency training and am doing graduate studies now."

Zhao Danshi took a deep breath. "Which city are you in? I'll come find you and tell you face-to-face. This isn't something I can explain over the phone."

"W City. When are you coming? I'll pick you up then."

Zhao Danshi said, "I'll buy a ticket for the day after tomorrow. Just tell me the address, and I'll find my way there."

"Alright. Be careful on the road, and call me anytime if anything happens. We'll talk when we meet." Before hanging up, Ran Yuanyao added, "If you don't come find me, I'll take leave and come find you."

Warmth filled Zhao Danshi's heart. He said hoarsely, "Don't worry. I'll come. This time, I won't run away."

"That's good." Ran Yuanyao comforted him over the phone. "You've weathered so much over the years. Don't lose heart over anything. We'll solve it together when the time comes."

Zhao Danshi answered, "Okay."