PAPER Chapter 1

 Chapter 1: The Amnesiac Boyfriend

Translator: Abo Dammen

“Is this Qu Yin? Can you come over now?”

When Qu Yin received this call, he thought it was some kind of prank.

After confirming that the number on the screen was from the local police station, he realized the police probably didn’t have the time to joke around with someone like him, an ordinary citizen.

So, it must be real.

Qu Yin mumbled something in response, not even sure what he said. After hanging up, he stood up and started heading out. Zhao Lang, who had been sitting next to him reviewing sheet music, noticed his odd expression and asked, “What’s wrong? Where are you going?”

“The hospital.”

“Huh? Why are you going there? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No,” Qu Yin replied. “They found Wen Jianzhi.”

“What?!”

Upon hearing this sudden good news, Zhao Lang immediately insisted on accompanying Qu Yin to the hospital.

During the ride, Zhao Lang chattered nonstop, while Qu Yin sat silently in the passenger seat.

“That guy’s been missing for over three months. I thought he was… well, you know. This is really scary.”

“Where did they find him? Why is he in the hospital? Was he injured? What else did the police tell you?”

The questions kept coming, and Qu Yin found them overwhelming. He rubbed his temples, trying to ease his discomfort, and said, “They just said they found him. They didn’t say anything else.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’ll know more when we see him,” Zhao Lang said, pressing harder on the accelerator.

Qu Yin turned to look out the window at the passing scenery, his eyes downcast.

His hands, resting on his knees, were unconsciously twisting together. He nervously picked at his fingers, almost tearing off his nails.

Zhao Lang drove like the wind, and they arrived at the hospital in about fifteen minutes.

Wen Jianzhi was in the inpatient ward on the seventh floor. When they arrived, a crowd had gathered outside the room.

A few people in uniforms were police officers, while the others Qu Yin didn’t recognize. However, judging from their facial features and their resemblance to Wen Jianzhi, they were likely his family.

Qu Yin’s arrival was like a stone dropped into a calm pond, instantly causing ripples.

The eyes of Wen Jianzhi’s family, the police, and the doctors and nurses all turned to him, their gazes so intense it felt like they were burning holes into him.

Zhao Lang, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, pulled Qu Yin forward and asked the police directly, “Where’s Xiao Wen? How is he?”

“Is he inside? We’re his colleagues. Can we go in and see him?”

Zhao Lang reached out to open the closed door but was blocked by a police officer.

Zhao Lang froze.

“Are you Qu Yin?”

The atmosphere was awkward and tense. Just then, a hoarse, elderly voice broke the silence.

It came from an old man in a wheelchair. His hair was gray, and his features bore a resemblance to Wen Jianzhi’s. However, unlike Wen Jianzhi, the old man’s eyes were sharp and cold, exuding an air of aloofness.

As soon as he spoke, all the noise stopped.

Qu Yin guessed this was probably the most authoritative figure in Wen Jianzhi’s family.

Most likely, Wen Jianzhi’s grandfather.

Under everyone’s gaze, Qu Yin nodded silently and said, “I am.”

Something about Qu Yin’s response seemed to anger the old man. He snorted through his nose, as if exasperated, then turned his wheelchair around to face the corridor’s window, refusing to look at Qu Yin again.

Seeing this, Zhao Lang glanced at Qu Yin in confusion and whispered, “What’s his problem?”

Qu Yin didn’t respond.

Another man in a suit stepped forward and scrutinized Qu Yin for a long moment before saying, “I’m Jianzhi’s father. He’s inside. You can go in.”

He opened the door and gestured for Qu Yin to enter. Qu Yin glanced at the police officer, who nodded, so he steeled himself and walked into the room.

As soon as he entered, the door closed behind him.

Zhao Lang, who had tried to follow, was stopped outside, along with his voice: “Why can’t I go in? What’s going on?”

Only Qu Yin was allowed inside.

With no way out, Qu Yin had no choice but to walk further into the room.

The private room was quiet, filled with the faint smell of disinfectant.

Qu Yin didn’t have to walk far before he saw a human-shaped lump under the blankets on the hospital bed. Wen Jianzhi was lying there.

Qu Yin had assumed Wen Jianzhi was asleep, but when he got closer and saw Wen Jianzhi’s current state, he was so startled that he stopped in his tracks, afraid to approach any further.

Wen Jianzhi wasn’t asleep. On the contrary, his eyes were wide open, his pupils trembling as he stared in the direction of the footsteps. He must have heard Qu Yin’s voice through the door.

The look in his eyes suggested he wanted to pounce.

But he couldn’t.

Because his limbs were tightly bound to the bed. Not only that, but his mouth was also fitted with a medical bite guard, preventing him from even screaming.

This wasn’t the Wen Jianzhi Qu Yin remembered.

He had never seen Wen Jianzhi in such a state.

He never expected to see him again under these circumstances.

His boyfriend, who had been missing for three months, was now tied to a hospital bed like a mental patient.

Three months ago, Wen Jianzhi had suddenly disappeared without warning.

He didn’t show up at school, didn’t answer his phone, as if he had vanished into thin air overnight.

The police were called, surveillance footage was reviewed, and everyone connected to him was questioned repeatedly. Despite the massive effort, finding him was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

For three months, there had been no news.

Just when everyone had started to prepare for the worst, the police called to say they had found Wen Jianzhi.

But something had happened—he had lost his memory.

What Qu Yin didn’t expect was that, despite his amnesia, Wen Jianzhi hadn’t forgotten everything.

He remembered one person.

He remembered Qu Yin.

Only Qu Yin.

On the bed, Wen Jianzhi couldn’t move or speak. The most noticeable feature was his eyes, uncovered and staring.

Wen Jianzhi’s hair was jet black, but due to his constant struggling, some strands hung messily over his forehead, making his pale skin even more pronounced. His beautiful, fox-like eyes, with their upward-tilted corners, were partially hidden behind his slightly curled bangs. Under the light, his pupils reflected a faint blue glow as they stared unblinkingly at Qu Yin.

Qu Yin didn’t approach. He stood about two meters away from the bed.

When Wen Jianzhi saw him, he struggled even more violently. The restraints around his wrists were so tight they looked like they might cut off his circulation. Qu Yin couldn’t help but worry that if Wen Jianzhi kept struggling like this, his wrists might snap.

This was highly unusual.

If it was just amnesia, why would they need to tie him up like this?

Qu Yin’s lips moved as he whispered, “What’s wrong with you…”

Hearing Qu Yin’s voice, Wen Jianzhi seemed to summon some hidden strength. With a few violent tugs, the restraints around his wrists and ankles made tearing sounds, and the entire metal bed frame shifted with a loud clang.

The commotion reached the outside, and the door suddenly opened. Doctors and nurses rushed in, pushing Qu Yin aside.

Qu Yin was still in shock when he caught a glimpse of the doctor injecting a sedative into Wen Jianzhi.

Wen Jianzhi ignored the needle in his arm, letting out muffled, terrifying screams. His eyes never left Qu Yin for a second.

Qu Yin used to love Wen Jianzhi’s eyes.

But now, in this environment, Wen Jianzhi’s gaze felt like a giant serpent slithering toward him, its fangs bared, coiling around his throat.

Qu Yin couldn’t make a sound.

The police pulled the frozen Qu Yin out of the room.

In the corridor, Wen Jianzhi’s father and grandfather remained silent. A woman who was likely Wen Jianzhi’s mother had red eyes, as if she had been crying.

Zhao Lang, too, was shaken by the scene and asked in a trembling voice, “What… what’s wrong with him?”

The police then explained the whole story.

Three months ago, they discovered that Wen Jianzhi had booked a flight to a small town thousands of kilometers away from C City. The town had limited surveillance, and the last footage showed him getting into a taxi and getting off at an intersection before disappearing.

The real trouble was that this small town was surrounded by mountains, with dense forests stretching for miles. Beneath the forests were countless small villages, most of which were located in the mountains. The muddy, narrow mountain roads made the search incredibly difficult.

Many of the mountain residents were locals who had lived there for generations, mostly elderly people who were stubborn and attached to their ancestral land. They refused to leave, living isolated lives in the mountains.

No one knew why Wen Jianzhi had gone there, whether he had stayed in the town or ventured into one of the mountain villages, or even if he was still alive.

For three months, there had been no news. Wen Jianzhi’s family was exhausted. Then, two days ago, the police received a call.

In a small town at the foot of the mountains, called Yunshui Town, which was remote and hidden, a road connecting it to the outside world had only been built five years ago.

Wen Jianzhi had been found on a mountain near the town.

A villager gathering herbs had discovered him. Wen Jianzhi was unconscious at the time, and the villagers took him to the town. The town contacted the police, who then brought him out.

After a hospital examination, it was determined that Wen Jianzhi’s body was fine, but he had lost all his memories.

When he woke up, he kept mumbling about wanting to see “Qu Yin.” He didn’t recognize his own family and refused to listen to anyone. He acted like a madman, trying to escape, and even a group of doctors and nurses couldn’t restrain him. To be safe, his family had him tied down.

The doctors said he might have suffered some kind of trauma, but the exact cause was unknown.

Given Wen Jianzhi’s constant agitation and his obsession with finding “Qu Yin,” it seemed that Qu Yin might hold the key to the mystery.

When the doctors asked Wen Jianzhi’s family about Qu Yin, they claimed they had never heard of him. Wen Jianzhi had never mentioned him. They had no idea where to find Qu Yin and had to seek the police’s help to contact him at work.

Wen Jianzhi’s family had assumed Qu Yin was a woman, so they were shocked when a man showed up. No wonder they had looked at Qu Yin so strangely.

After hearing the full story from the police, Qu Yin was stunned and speechless.

Wen Jianzhi’s grandfather asked, “What’s your relationship with Jianzhi?”

Qu Yin didn’t answer. Zhao Lang, though confused, stepped in to explain, “We’re colleagues. Xiao Wen used to work part-time with us. He and Qu Yin have always been close. Right, Qu Yin?”

Qu Yin bit his tongue discreetly, forcing himself to stay calm, and replied, “Yes, we’re friends.”

“Is that so?”

Wen Jianzhi’s father handed Qu Yin a phone and said, “Are you still not telling the truth?”

It was Wen Jianzhi’s phone.

The screen wasn’t locked, and the wallpaper was visible. It was a candid photo of a man sitting on a sofa, reading a book. His slender fingers held the corner of a yellowed page, and the sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling window bathed him in a soft glow.

The man in the photo was Qu Yin.

Qu Yin had no idea when Wen Jianzhi had taken this photo.

Seeing it, he felt a mix of emotions.

No one would set a colleague or friend’s photo as their wallpaper unless they had some hidden feelings.

Especially since this amnesiac Wen Jianzhi was now desperately searching for his “colleague.”

Realizing he couldn’t hide it anymore, Qu Yin admitted, “We… were dating.”

“What?!” Zhao Lang’s eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth to ask more but quickly shut it, realizing this wasn’t the time.

Wen Jianzhi’s family had already guessed, but hearing it confirmed was still a shock.

His grandfather spat out two words through gritted teeth: “Ridiculous.”

It was understandable that an elderly man couldn’t accept his grandchild being gay.

Qu Yin added, “But we only… dated for a week.”

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1v1, both the gong and shou have imperfect personalities. If that’s not your thing, please proceed with caution!!