OSTAQT Chapter 3

His heart skipped a beat, staring into those deep eyes hesitantly, not knowing what to say.

The sound of the driver’s voice startled him out of his daze. He looked up quickly, only to watch as the driver sat up halfway, saw the man on his lap, and immediately fainted.

Lian Yu was flustered, looking at the man on his lap once more, seeing the blood flowing from his forehead. Dizziness hit him once more, and he desperately hoped for a car to come along.

“Phone,” the man said with a hoarse voice, understanding the boy’s dilemma.

Startled, Lian Yu calmed himself and used his muddy hands to feel around the man’s pockets, sure enough finding a phone in his left pocket.

However, Lian Yu has never used a phone in either of his lives. He could barely recall the emergency numbers from the original body’s memory. After pressing 120, he didn’t know what to do.

“Green key,” the man’s deep voice instructed.

Finally, someone answered, and Lian Yu wanted to cry. He reported their location to the operator, and saw that even the man on his lap had fainted.

“Sir?” he called out softly, but he got no response. Lian Yu’s eyes turned red, his head throbbing awfully. He could only tremble as he struggled to get his bag, taking out a clean cotton shirt to press against the wound.

He used such a clumsy method and fought against the loss of consciousness until a car finally arrived. The passerby ran to them to check and, exhausted, Lian Yu finally closed his eyes and fainted.

When he lost consciousness this time, it felt like his head was about to explode, and countless scenes flashed like lightning through his mind —

These were all of this Lian Yu’s memories, as well as Lian Yu’s previous life. When he got to the memory of seeing that child fall and hit his head, he screamed and finally woke up.

His sight darkened for a moment and he cried out, a feeling akin to being hit on the head with a rock tearing through his head. He reached up to hold his face.

Pain radiated from the back of his hand. When he calmed down enough to look, he saw a needle stuck under his skin.

Was this… was he receiving an infusion?

He slowly looked around at his surroundings, finding himself in a hospital room with a large IV bottle hanging by his head.

Lian Yu panicked. He endured the fever and dizziness, reaching down to touch his pocket —

No!

He lifted the blanket, only to see that the clothes he was originally wearing had been changed into a white patient gown. All his money and his ID were gone!

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he trembled as he climbed down the bed unsteadily. Ignoring the need for shoes, he pulled out the needle from his hand and ran to the door.

That was all he had now; what would he do if he lost it!

Exhausting what little strength he had, he ran out of the hospital room, finding no one in the hallway. He swayed down the bright corridor, hearing voices from downstairs. He walked towards the stairwell and struggled to go down.

As soon as he took one step down, his head throbbed, and his legs gave out from underneath him. He didn’t even have time to call for help; he immediately fell into a navy blue wall that appeared in front of him —

His body was caught in a warm, broad embrace, Lian Yu’s heart beating like a drum in his chest. He was so nervous that he trembled as he apologized, trying to lift his heavy head to look at the one who’d caught him —

The first thing he saw were familiar, deep eyes, and he stared blankly. The thousand words he’d wanted to say soon disappeared into the ether.

It was… him?

The one who caught him turned out to be the very man he’d pulled out from the backseat of the car.

He looked at the gauze on the man’s forehead, and he slowly realized that the man was still injured. Startled but dizzy, he wanted to stand on his own, but while he was struggling he heard the surprised voice of a nurse who was coming up the stairs —

“How did you get here? Have you finished your IV?”

The courage that got him here suddenly dissipated, and Lian Yu’s body softened against the other man’s arm, looking at the nurse with his feverish eyes. He murmured, “Money… bag…” before finally losing consciousness once more.

Vaguely, he could hear the nurse calling anxiously:

“Lian Yu? Lian Yu! Mr. Wei, could you please take him back to the room? This child has a heart disease and insufficient blood supply. I’ll call for the doctor!”

So this man was ‘Mr.  Wei’.

He didn’t sleep for too long this time. When he woke up again, the sun was setting.

His head was still throbbing faintly, and he struggled to open his heavy eyes. He was still in the hospital.

However, compared to the previous single-person room, he was now in a shared ward with three others in a room that looked a little more worn-down.

He listened to the soft conversations among the other families, turning his head to look at the man in formal attire by the bed. He had never seen this man before, but he still greeted him softly.

Cao Bin, who had rushed all the way here from the bordering city, raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted by an aunt looking after the patient on the nearby bed:

“Oh, young man, you’re awake?”

Lian Yu slowly turned his head to the other side, looking at the kind aunt with curly hair. He was surprised, but he smiled shyly and said, “Hello, auntie.”

“Okay, it’s good that you’re awake,” the aunt said, looking at the thin, frail child on the bed who was so weak but still so polite. She couldn’t help smiling as she handed over a freshly peeled slice of apple in her hand. “Good child, have something to eat!”

The aunt’s husband, who had been waiting to be fed the apple, withdrew his hand to lie back down on his bed.

“I’m okay, auntie, thank you,” Lian Yu said. He had a hard time understanding the woman’s accent, but he managed to comprehend based on the apple she was offering. Still, he declined.

“Can’t eat?” the aunt asked, throwing the apple to her husband as she continued to watch the boy’s pale face.

“I’m not in good health,” Lian Yu replied with a gentle smile.

“Ah, you’ve suffered a lot,” the aunt said, pouring him a glass of water which she handed to the man by the boy’s bedside. “Comrade, give your child some water.”

Do I look like someone so big’s father? Cao Bin thought, but he still took the glass, raising half the bed for a while to support Lian Yu’s back before handing the cup to the boy.

Lian Yu drank the water slowly, taking one sip at a time, until he finished the entire glance.

Looking at the obedient young boy on the bed, the aunt’s gaze flitted to the faint birthmarks on his small face, and she couldn’t help asking, “Has that been on your face since you were born?”

“En,” Lian Yu answered, nodding.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” she said, feeling embarrassed, but still remembering the makeup that the girls always talked about. She said: “If you want to cover it up, you don’t have to grow your hair so long. You can buy some makeup, don’t think it’s bad for boys. Male actors on TV wear makeup, too. We have been going through years of reform and innovation, we can no longer — what comes next?”

“Adhere to conventions and remain stagnant¹This is… not a set expression, but it’s basically the motto of reform and innovation, or I suppose a rephrasing of it.,” answered the aunt’s husband, nibbling on his apple.

“Right! We can no longer adhere to convention without flexibility. We should be brave enough to try new things!”

Looking at the harmonious older couple, Lian Yu, who was still having quite a hard time understanding some of their words, smiled and nodded obediently, “Okay, I will try.”

The aunt was happy to be listened to. She took the cup in the boy’s hand and poured water in once more, still smiling as she continued: “However, we have to take care of our bodies first. You should know that our bodies are the capital of the revolution. You can look for a good traditional doctor to see if they can help!”

Lian Yu, taken aback, felt his eyes water, gloom taking over his heart. He lowered his eyes to hide his worry.

Indeed, he wasn’t expecting his first life to have a body so fragile. Perhaps it was because of the heart complications, but even with the aid of meditation to restore some strength, the accompanying exhaustion made it an unsustainable option.

He must find a doctor to see if he could change things externally, so that his body could remain fit enough while he was here. He was already feeling better than before, when he used to always suffer from palpitations and frequent loss of consciousness, like a fragile glass doll. At least now he could do things, and he didn’t have problems walking.

Well, this was a rocky beginning to this life…

Cao Bin touched his nose as he listened to their conversation, feeling the sincere kindness and warmth from strangers. He saw the thin, pale, depressed figure on the bed, feeling a surge of admiration in his heart —

Who would ever believe that his frail, gentle young man had saved two adult men and almost walked into the gates of the underworld himself?

He was still unsure how this boy realized there was a car under all that mud.

But if it weren’t for this boy’s sharpness, braving all odds to save them on time, perhaps it would have been the death day of Mr. Wei and his team yesterday.

As soon as Cao Bin remembered the unsightly flattened car when they reached the scene, as well as the terrifyingly huge boulder on top of it, a chill ran down his back.

After he rushed over, their boss, having just woken up, told him that had he remained in the car even a second longer, both he and the boy who had rescued him would have died under that boulder together.

So he really didn’t know how this weak young man had the courage to risk his life to save another person.

His shoulders were so thin, looking like they could not resist any burden.

But in his mind, whether it was appearance or strength, it was just the skin nature had blessed one with. What mattered more was the never-ending courage and the flame of passion that burned in one’s heart.

Lian Yu and Cao Bin stayed in the ward as the sky darkened with the arrival of dusk. After once more confirming that the boy really didn’t have to eat, a tall figure finally appeared at the door.

Wei Chenming, who had been busy with their discharge procedures and payment, finally appeared.

Cao Bin had spent an awkward half day with Lian Yu, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his boss, immediately standing up to give up his place at the bedside.

Lian Yu looked at the man who seemed to inadvertently silence the entire ward, feeling a little nervous for no reason.

Wei Chenming walked to the bed, looking at the boy whose shoulders curved close to his ear, before asking Cao Bin, “Has he eaten?”

“…” Cao Bin straightened his back. “Answering the boss, he doesn’t want to eat.”

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  This is… not a set expression, but it’s basically the motto of reform and innovation, or I suppose a rephrasing of it.