Love Gene Defect - Extra 5

“I opened to you my house, my home, my heart.” — Oscar Wilde

01

This was their tenth year together.
Already the tenth year.

02

Kansas was windy and dry, with little rain. In winter, snow could be a headache. Weather much like northern China. Because of Ji Zhaoyuan, Chu Jiuge moved to Kansas for work after graduating from college.

Before starting his new job, he planned to visit his hometown, K City. Ji Zhaoyuan took two weeks off to accompany him.

Their flight landed in the afternoon. Chu Jiuge had only told one person about the trip: Ji Ming. He felt it was time to be honest with his childhood friend.

Ji Ming arrived early and thoughtfully brought one of those trendy milk teas. When he spotted Chu Jiuge, he excitedly craned his neck, until his eyes landed on the two men holding hands. He choked.

Passion fruit seeds and brown sugar pearls got stuck in his throat, leaving him speechless. He pointed at the pair approaching him. “You, you two…”

“Why so shocked?” Chu Jiuge calmly took the other cup from his hand. “What, don’t recognize me or your cousin?”

Ji Ming watched them share the milk tea through the same straw. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Ji Zhaoyuan reached out a hand. “Long time no see.”

“Y-yeah. Long time.” Ji Ming looked like he was about to short-circuit. He suddenly remembered that winter, years ago, when Chu Jiuge had said he wanted to introduce someone to him. He’d been too busy with finals back then and didn’t expect it to be postponed by four whole years.

Chu Jiuge and Ji Zhaoyuan sat in the backseat. Ji Ming drove while constantly sneaking glances at them through the rearview mirror.

Chu Jiuge kicked the driver’s seat. “What are you doing?”

“This is unreal,” Ji Ming scratched his head. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Alright, enough with the dramatics.” Chu Jiuge was in a great mood. “We might be family now, but don’t forget, you still owe us a wedding gift. Not a penny less.”

Ji Ming wanted to pull over and beat him up. But when he glanced at Ji Zhaoyuan and remembered all those years of verbal beatdowns and intellectual domination, he reluctantly let it go.

They had a casual meal together, and Ji Ming gradually accepted the fact that his cousin was dating the boy he’d grown up with.

Later, Ji Ming had an event to attend, so he dropped them off and drove away.

Chu Jiuge stood in front of his childhood home, hand hovering over the doorbell, hesitating.

Even though Ji Zhaoyuan had come with him during holidays, and Chu Xin and Xu Yun had slowly grown accustomed to his presence, he still felt inexplicably nervous now.

Ji Zhaoyuan set down his suitcase and covered Chu Jiuge’s hand. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m suddenly scared,” Chu Jiuge sighed. “What do I do?”

“Easy.” Ji Zhaoyuan pressed his hand down over the button.

With no escape, Chu Jiuge braced himself as the door opened. “Mom,” he called out.

“Oh my!” Xu Yun was surprised to see them. She quickly opened the door wider and stepped aside. “When did you get back? You didn’t even tell me!”

Chu Jiuge didn’t move. He rocked Ji Zhaoyuan’s hand back and forth and, like a child acting out, hummed: “Mom, mom, mom…”

“You’re being ridiculous! Little Ji must be tired!” Xu Yun was bewildered and growing flustered. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Mom, do you remember I said there was something I wanted to tell you?” Chu Jiuge walked up and hugged her. “Now I’m going to introduce him to you.”

His embrace was warm and steady. Xu Yun had to admit it – her son had grown up. He could take responsibility for his choices, and love with all his heart, for a lifetime.

Tearing up, Xu Yun gave him a hard whack. “Is this how you introduce someone? Leaving him standing there like that?”

“You’re right!” Chu Jiuge pulled Ji Zhaoyuan over. They stood side by side in front of her. “Mom, I’m married. This is my husband.”

Ji Zhaoyuan gently embraced her. “Hello, Auntie. I’m Ji Zhaoyuan.”

Xu Yun sniffled and said nothing, lifting her chin to eye him. Just as Ji Zhaoyuan started to get nervous, she suddenly smiled and gave him a slap just as firm as the one she gave her son.

“Well?” she said. “Still planning to keep calling me Auntie?”

03

In his third year of work, Chu Jiuge got a travel visa for his grandmother to visit the U.S.

Her health had declined, and even by late summer, she needed a blanket over her legs. She loved their little garden, and their clingy cat Love was much better behaved than Dou Dou back home. On workdays, while Chu Jiuge and Ji Zhaoyuan were away, Grandma stayed home tending to the plants with Love curled up nearby.

Traces of two men living together were everywhere in the garden. A few magenta morning glories climbed the fence, two orange trees grew along the edge, and untended wildflowers bloomed among the overgrown grass. Grandma couldn’t stand the mess, so she used the visit as a chance to plant hardy hibiscus around the front and back of the house.

She really had aged. Holding the cat in her lap, basking in the sun and gazing at the hibiscus branches, she suddenly felt dazed.

When Chu Jiuge was little, he used to love the hibiscus flower buns she made. Back then, he was soft and plump like one of the buns himself, and she didn’t need a wheelchair. She could carry him across mountains and seas.

Love listened to her murmuring, stretched, and jumped onto her lap to lie down.

When Chu Jiuge and Ji Zhaoyuan returned, they found her asleep in the garden. The yard had completely transformed, freshly planted hibiscus blooming everywhere.

Ji Zhaoyuan picked up Love, and Chu Jiuge gently pushed Grandma’s wheelchair. He moved quietly, but she still woke.

“My little darling,” Grandma stroked his hand. “When the hibiscus blooms, I’ll steam buns for you and Xiao Ji.”

Ji Zhaoyuan smiled and bent down to help with the wheelchair. Chu Jiuge wrapped her rough fingers in his palm, resting his cheek against her hand and rubbing gently. “It’s a promise then. I’ll be waiting, my precious old darling.”

On the weekend, they took Grandma on a road trip. Chu Jiuge had gotten his license soon after starting work, so they could take turns driving when the distance was long.

Since long trips weren’t ideal, they skipped Broadway, Hollywood, and Yellowstone, opting instead for nearby sights around Kansas.

On the road, Grandma kept urging Chu Jiuge to drive so she could sit in the back with Ji Zhaoyuan.

“Grandma,” Ji Zhaoyuan asked softly, “is there something you want to tell me?”

She really had aged. 

Sometimes she called him Xiao Ji, sometimes Xiao Jiu, fingers wrapped around his as she rambled on – memories of Chu Jiuge’s childhood, and how she liked Ji Zhaoyuan from the first time they met.

He listened patiently, until she asked him for a promise.

Without hesitation, like he’d rehearsed it for a long time, Ji Zhaoyuan placed a hand over his chest and looked ahead toward Chu Jiuge.

“Grandma, I’ll take good care of him.”

04

Grandma stayed in Kansas for just under three weeks before returning home. Before leaving, she promised Chu Jiuge she’d come back to make hibiscus buns for them when the flowers bloomed.

But she broke that promise.

By the time they rushed back for the funeral, the buds had just begun to sprout.

On the day she was buried, the sky was clear and bright, like her gentle smile, telling them not to be sad. A soft breeze brushed Chu Jiuge’s cheek, as light as the way she used to pat his hand when putting him to sleep.

In his childhood, her hands had been magic like Doraemon’s pocket. They made slingshots and soft steamed buns, held umbrellas and buttoned coats, guided him through season after season.

But now winter had passed, and spring had come. 

And she was gone forever.

05

That year was cursed. Not long after the funeral, Ji Zhaoyuan fell ill.

It started with a low-grade fever. Chu Jiuge teased him, saying it was just a middle-aged man being too frisky. But when the diagnosis came – neuroblastoma – Chu Jiuge stared at the report and collapsed to the floor.

He couldn’t understand. This was a disease that barely appeared in adults. Why Ji Zhaoyuan?

Ji Zhaoyuan immediately stopped all lab work and was hospitalized for further exams. Chu Jiuge wanted to quit his job to stay with him, but Ji Zhaoyuan refused.

Even in a hospital gown, he was neat and composed, sleeves and collar perfectly arranged, reclining like he was on vacation.

At night, no visitors were allowed. Chu Jiuge looked back again and again as he left. Ji Zhaoyuan sat up reading, urging him, “I don’t want to be your weakness. I want to be your armor.”

“Baby,” Chu Jiuge stared at the ceiling to stop the tears, forcing a light tone. “Be good. I’ll wait for you at home.”

Then came the real thunderbolt: the tumor had already invaded the spinal canal. Left untreated, it would cause permanent nerve damage.

Surgery was ruled out. Ji Zhaoyuan had once undergone a minimally invasive spinal procedure, which made new surgery extremely risky, possibly leading to paralysis.

Chu Jiuge steadied himself. He placed his hand on Ji Zhaoyuan’s leg and stared at the doctor. “Is there anything else we can do?”

The doctor sighed. “The other option is chemotherapy.”

Chemo was brutal. Ji Zhaoyuan visibly thinned. Chu Jiuge spent all his time outside work at the hospital, even racing over during his 90-minute lunch breaks just to see him.

Ji Zhaoyuan slept more and more. When he woke, he’d often find Chu Jiuge sitting there dazed, hair dull, chin shadowed with stubble. But the moment their eyes met, all that exhaustion vanished.

Chu Jiuge never cried in front of him. No matter how much it hurt, he held his head high so the tears would fall back inside. He would never show weakness.

But Ji Zhaoyuan could tell – he was wasting away too.

He could endure pain, shrug off illness, but he couldn’t bear to see Chu Jiuge suffer.

So one afternoon, he asked the nurse to shave his head.

When Chu Jiuge arrived, he noticed the change right away. He climbed onto the bed, kissed his bald head, and laughed, “Who’s this little monk that looks exactly like my baby?”

After one month, the tumor had grown from 3cm to 4cm. Chu Jiuge kept lying to himself.

After the second month, it had grown another centimeter.

He broke.

Ji Zhaoyuan’s eyes lost their brightness. He couldn’t finish a single book. He no longer cared about tidy clothes. He collapsed into Chu Jiuge’s arms.

“I want to go home,” he said.

“Okay,” Chu Jiuge held him tighter. That frail body in his arms made his eyes sting. “Let’s go home, baby.”

On the way, Chu Jiuge bought a bright red scarf from a roadside stall to wrap around him.

“It’s hideous,” Ji Zhaoyuan laughed, pulling away. “I don’t want it.”

But Chu Jiuge insisted. He wrapped him up so tight until only his eyes showed.

“Now that you’re wearing my scarf,” he said, “you’re mine. Without my permission, you’re not allowed to leave.”

He didn’t cry. He just kissed Ji Zhaoyuan hard, holding him like the world was crumbling.

Why was life so cruel? He had prayed to gods and bowed to Buddhas. Why wouldn’t anyone help Ji Zhaoyuan?

Where was the way out?

06

After that day, they never spoke of the tumor again.

The garden had fallen into disarray while Ji Zhaoyuan was in the hospital, so once he returned home, Chu Jiuge assigned him a new mission – tending to the hibiscus.

Ji Zhaoyuan treated the fragile flower branches like a lab experiment, diligently recording each day’s changes with precision and care.

At the same time, Chu Jiuge shouldered the entire household. He worked, cooked, cleaned, and cared for Ji Zhaoyuan. At first it was chaos, but over time, he found his rhythm.

They say no child remains filial at a sickbed for long, but Chu Jiuge proved that wrong. He had more patience and tenderness than ever before. 

He made a decision; No matter what came next, he would use every moment to love Ji Zhaoyuan to the fullest.

He truly treated him like a precious treasure, shaving his stubble, trimming his nails, catching butterflies to cheer him up, even letting Love’s demands go ignored.

Maybe someone up there finally noticed.

In the spring, when the hibiscus flowers filled the courtyard, they went to the hospital for a scan.

The doctor pointed at the image in surprise. “Look! The tumor’s shrinking. It’s only 2.5 centimeters now.”

Chu Jiuge practically snatched the scan from the doctor’s hands. He stared at the diagnosis, tears pouring down his face.

07

From then on, they went for checkups every two weeks, and every time, the tumor had shrunk a little more.

By Children’s Day, it had completely disappeared.

The doctor told Chu Jiuge, “It’s not a miracle. Neuroblastoma in stage 4S can regress spontaneously. We’ve seen cases like this in medicine.”

But Chu Jiuge didn’t care what medicine said. To him, his baby had given him a miracle.

That night, they went out for lobster. Chu Jiuge didn’t touch his food. He just stared at Ji Zhaoyuan and grinned.

Ji Zhaoyuan fed him a bite. “Doesn’t taste good?”

Chu Jiuge shook his head and dragged his chair over to sit beside him. “It’s Children’s Day today. I want a present.”

“Alright,” Ji Zhaoyuan held his hand. “What do you want?”

Chu Jiuge’s eyes were still puffy from crying. The moment he even thought about tears again, his eye sockets ached.

“I’m so tired,” he buried his face in Ji Zhaoyuan’s palm, suddenly vulnerable. “I want to be your five-year-old orange baby again.”

08

They say surviving great hardship brings blessings, and Chu Jiuge would answer for Ji Zhaoyuan: it’s true.

After a full year of rest, Ji Zhaoyuan returned to work.

Everything went smoothly. Every research project was a success. He was even invited to Boston for a one-month academic exchange hosted by MIT.

During that time, Chu Jiuge felt incredibly lonely. Even with Love around, he missed Ji Zhaoyuan like crazy.

Finally, the day of his return came, and it happened to be their wedding anniversary.

That morning, Chu Jiuge locked Love in a separate room, picked up the vacuum, and deep-cleaned the house. If the weather had been better, he would’ve taken all the bedding outside to sun.

When Ji Zhaoyuan arrived, he found Chu Jiuge standing at the door with the cat in his arms. The moment he saw him, Chu Jiuge’s eyes curved in a brilliant smile.

They had been married ten years. Love was now an old cat, slow and stiff.

But for some reason, love only grew stronger with each passing day. Every time they saw each other, it felt like something bloomed deep in Chu Jiuge’s soul.

“I love you, baby,” Chu Jiuge said.

Ji Zhaoyuan closed the garden gate and walked up to hug them both. In a soft voice, he replied:

“I love you more.”

09

This was their tenth year together.
And only the tenth.