Did My Wife Break Up With Me Today? - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Interlocked Fingers

The silent space held no extra sound. It felt as if not just Xu Jingmo, but everything in the room—including the ornaments—was waiting for his answer.

The once-cold door handle in his grip had long since been warmed by his palm, no longer offering even a hint of cooling relief. The abnormal temperature of his body had burned away his ability to think; his reason was being singed away bit by bit.

“I… I’ll take my medicine.” He gripped the handle tighter, as if clinging to the final shred of his sanity.

“I fed you your dose this morning. You can’t take any more right now.” Xu Jingmo remained outside the door. He didn’t take a step forward, but his words effectively blocked the youth’s path of retreat.

Chen Kongqing didn’t reply. He just lowered his head, staring at his hand gripping the handle; his knuckles were white, and his body was trembling uncontrollably from the strain.

Suddenly, a large, well-defined hand entered his downward gaze.

Chen Kongqing bit his lower lip hard. They hadn’t even touched yet, but he felt as if he could already sense it: the heat from that hand, the texture, and the rhythmic pulse of the artery at the wrist. And then, there was that Earl Grey scent, mixed with notes of lemon and bitter orange.

He desperately wanted to grab that hand. To just abandon all restraint, hold it, and feel its temperature, its veins, and its lines without any barrier. But his brain hadn’t completely shut down yet, and he suppressed the impulsive surge of emotion.

“It’s just to help alleviate the symptoms,” Xu Jingmo emphasized, justifying the legitimacy of his proposal.

It was merely a form of treatment—no personal feelings involved, purely for the sake of his condition. He had no ulterior motives.

Chen Kongqing admitted to himself that he was wavering. His willpower was already at its weakest. Besides, last night… they seemed to have alleviated the symptoms this way already.

“Dr. Xu… is it really okay?” The youth looked up with misty, willow-leaf eyes. As he asked, he didn’t even notice that the honorific he used had changed, and the hand on the door handle had quietly loosened its grip.

The door between them swung wide open.

Xu Jingmo saw it. And he heard it. The man stepped forward, crossing the threshold once more.

Chen Kongqing leaned against the white wall. As the Earl Grey scent filled his nose, his breathing skipped a beat again. Xu Jingmo silently extended his hand again, though he didn’t touch the youth directly.

After ten seconds, the thin, timid “rabbit” finally reached out a pale hand. “Is… is it okay?”

The man gave a light, relaxed chuckle. “Why should you mind? Treatment aside, it’s just a handshake, Mr. Chen.”

Xu Jingmo’s poise gave Chen Kongqing a surge of borrowed courage. Indeed, it was just a handshake. Even strangers shook hands to say hello. Thinking this, he cautiously moved closer, his fingertips touching the large hand right in front of him.

Because his body was still in a sensitive state, his fingertips trembled slightly as they transmitted the body heat. Chen Kongqing tried his best to regulate his thoughts and breathing as he slowly pressed his hand against the other.

Their palms met, but the contact wasn’t tight. Throughout the process, Dr. Xu’s hand remained as still as a prop for comfort. All the initiative was in Chen Kongqing’s hands. He didn’t dare use too much force; just this much contact was already wonderful enough for him.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

Chen Kongqing tentatively raised his gaze. In a small corner of his vision, he saw the man’s serious face, his lips pressed thin. Dr. Xu’s features were deep and sharp; when he wasn’t smiling, his brow bone looked stern, carrying an unintentional air of authority.

Was I holding on for too long?

The man spoke then: “Any better?”

Hearing this, Chen Kongqing thought Dr. Xu was trying to hurry him along. Despite his flushed face and lingering daze, he obediently let go of the warm hand. “It’s… it’s enough.”

The man suddenly let out a soft laugh. “Are you sure? You promised me before that you wouldn’t lie.”

Chen Kongqing pursed his lips. After an internal struggle, he chose to be honest. “Okay, it’s not enough.”

“Studies have shown that generally, interlocking fingers is more effective.” Xu Jingmo’s language carried a professional, rigorous tone.

Interlocking fingers… He hadn’t even done that with Ling Xiao.

“If you don’t want to do that, how about a hug?” Still that perfectly serious tone.

A hug… Would that mean being completely submerged in warmth that didn’t belong to him? Every inch of skin wrapped and intertwined? Just the thought of it made Chen Kongqing’s breathing turn chaotic again.

No… if he did that, he was afraid he would lose control completely.

“Then… then let’s try the fingers…” He felt the words were burning his tongue.

Xu Jingmo: “Alright.”

The man held out his other hand, fingers spread. Chen Kongqing looked at the large hand; the fingers were long, the knuckles slightly prominent. Dr. Xu was more than half a head taller than him, so his frame was naturally larger, and his hand bones were no exception.

He slowly reached out. Perhaps because of the comparison, he felt for the first time that his own hands were small. He had secretly compared them with Ling Xiao’s before; there was a difference, but it wasn’t huge. But compared to Dr. Xu’s hand, it was obvious.

His fingers slid slowly up from the man’s palm, threading into the gaps between the slightly parted fingers. They fitted together slowly. His entire hand was enveloped. Besides the warmth of the palm, Chen Kongqing could feel the man’s hard knuckles pressing against his own.

He felt as if his ears were being cooked through by the heat. But his body was finally liberated from that scorched, burning state. He lost track of time, simply clutching this hand as if it were his last lifeline.

Just like before, Xu Jingmo made no extra movements and said nothing. He remained quiet, acting as a dose of painkiller. However, no matter how intimate the posture of their hands was, the distance between them remained at a social length—whether by intention or accident. There was more space between their bodies than a typical social distance.

Chen Kongqing’s mind went blank. He felt as if his body had suddenly fallen into a long-craved pile of cotton, sinking so deep into the core that he couldn’t think.

He finally reached a point where if he didn’t let go, he might have the dangerous urge to pull this hand into his chest or press his face against it.

“It’s… it’s enough.” The youth spoke, slowly loosening his grip.

Their palms had become covered in a layer of damp heat from the close contact. When he let go, the air brushed against his palm, but it couldn’t smooth away that sticky sensation; if anything, it made it feel more intense.

“I really do feel much better this time,” Chen Kongqing added, finally daring to look up at the man.

The man met his gaze. Seeing a trace of clarity returning to those eyes, his heart finally settled. “Good.”

His own palm was filled with Chen Kongqing’s scent and warmth. Although his agitated body had been soothed, his heartbeat was still a mess.

Xu Jingmo asked, “Do you want to hold on a bit longer? You can’t take your medicine until bedtime.”

The youth looked up with eyes that seemed rinsed in ice. He hesitated, but then heard the sound of a key turning in the lock behind him.

Chen Kongqing’s breath hitched instantly, and his already irregular heartbeat went completely out of rhythm.