Extra long chapter bc I can’t find myself to cut it in two~
Also: I misnumbered this chapter before… If you read this at this moment (10 March 2024) and wondering why there’s no 62… that’s bc I’m a big dumbass and skipped that QAQ I’ll fix this quickly!!
CW: underage drinking.
Before Cheng Qingsong received the news that Zhu Tong was admitted to the hospital, he was still discussing Zhu Tong’s condition with Dr. Johnson.
He has been out of the country for the past two days, and only came back today, so he has time to learn more about his grandson’s condition.
It’s said to be an illness, but no specific illness was found after examination.
All the indicators of his body were normal – even his heart was normal, despite him having a cardiac arrest before.
It’s a very good thing that he’s healthy. However, it was quite odd that he went from being seriously ill to not having any abnormalities.
“Are you sure this check-up is correct?”
Cheng Qingsong found it a little unbelievable.
Johnson nodded and said, “Yes, Elder Cheng. In order to ensure the accuracy of the examinations, we sent Young Master Tong back to the hospital for a second test the next day. The equipment has also been repeatedly tested, and it was confirmed that there was no error.”
Cheng Qingsong: “…”
He held a stack of inspection results in his hand, not knowing whether he was happy or worried.
Johnson continued, “Although it’s indeed very unbelievable, Young Master Tong’s body has indeed recovered to normal. Scientific test results don’t make mistakes.”
Cheng Qingsong said, “Then can you scientifically explain how his heart disease recovered in less than two months?”
Johnson wasn’t incompetent. He earnestly said, “I’ll figure it out as soon as possible.”
“…”
Cheng Qingsong waved his hand and was about to dismiss him, but he was halted by a series of knocks on his door.
A person pushed the door in and said, “Elder Cheng, Liu-xiansheng just called, and Young Master Tong passed out at the Zhu family’s villa and was sent to the hospital.”
“…”
Dr. Johnson seemed to feel a slap on his face.
When they rushed to the hospital, several people were already guarding the operating room.
Cheng Qingsong was nearly seventy years old, but his walking momentum was not inferior to that of a young person. He strode to the door of the operating room, and before he got close, an invisible sense of oppression enveloped the hospital corridor.
Zhu Shoushan knew he was over the moment he found Liu Jianbai, who was waiting for Zhu Tong outside the villa.
How could he forget that there is someone following Zhu Tong now?
When did Liu Jianbai follow Zhu Tong? Did he go to Professor Lian’s birthday party too?
He was waiting outside the operating room, sweating on his palms and back.
However, Cheng Qingsong ignored him at all and asked Uncle Liu directly, “How is the situation?”
Uncle Liu said, “He suddenly fainted, the cause is unknown.”
“…”
Soon Auntie Cheng and Cheng Chen, who was also in A City, rushed over.
Auntie Cheng glanced at Zhu Shoushan with suspicion, but didn’t ask any further questions. She just stared nervously at the light sign in the operating room.
They were all worried about Zhu Tong.
Zhu Shoushan also did not dare to relax for a moment. However, he wasn’t worried for Zhu Tong, but for himself.
He wondered if Zhu Tong would tell the truth to these people in the corridor if he woke up this time.
Soon the door of the operating room opened quickly, and someone walked briskly down the corridor. The doctor took off his mask and looked at Cheng Qingsong, saying, “Elder Cheng, rest assured, Young Master Tong is not in critical condition.”
Because Uncle Liu was with him, Zhu Shoushan did not dare to send his son to a hospital owned by the Zhu family, but to the nearest hospital of the Cheng family.
This hospital was specially built by Cheng Qingsong for Zhu Tong, and everyone in the hospital knew people from both families.
The first words from the doctor upon coming out were like a soothing balm, causing everyone in the corridor to breathe a collective sigh of relief.
“However, Young Master Tong just fainted and suffered a cardiac arrest for a few seconds. We will do further examinations for the specific cause. Do any of you know under what circumstances did Young Master Tong faint this time?”
After the doctor finished speaking, the people in the corridor looked at Zhu Shoushan at the same time.
Zhu Shoushan was slightly startled, but said calmly, “He suddenly fainted while talking.”
The doctor nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.
It’s not the first time anyway.
Zhu Shoushan also thought so.
It wasn’t unusual for Zhu Tong to faint, and he wasn’t the type to confide in others about his feelings. As long as Zhu Tong didn’t speak up, his grandfather and the others wouldn’t know.
Unfortunately for him, Elder Cheng did not believe him. How could he? Especially since he just discussed Zhu Tong’s health check-up results with Dr. Johnson.
Zhu Shoushan was glanced at by the elderly man, and his expression was a little stiff.
Soon Zhu Tong was pushed out of the operating room. Cheng Qingsong did not care about how Zhu Tong fainted, and followed the medical staff to his ward.
Zhu Tong has woken up, but not fully awake.
He was dizzy, remembering how he fainted.
The favorability level plummeted, directly falling below 50%. And even if it quickly rose back up, the punishment was still meted out.
Zhu Tong was very dissatisfied with the system’s conduct of only punishing but not rewarding him. But he was even more dissatisfied with Shao Ming’s uncertainty.
What did he do to suddenly lose 15% of favorability?
Shouldn’t there be a basic level of trust between the two of them?
Before, it was okay to deceive him, but now that they share the same bed, does he still have to deceive him even when they are separated by two cities?
The person guarding the hospital bed didn’t know what he was thinking. They only saw his lips mumbling something, as if he was trying to speak.
Auntie Cheng was closest to the head of the bed. She leaned over and put her ear to it and tried to decipher what Zhu Tong was trying to say.
“Shao … Ming? Who is Shao Ming?”
After hearing what Zhu Tong said, the people in the ward all have strange expressions.
A trace of complexity flashed across Cheng Qingsong’s energetic face.
Cheng Chen was surprised. ‘Shao Ming… Isn’t that the boy from the milk tea shop?’
Zhu Shoushan’s face became a little ugly.
Only Auntie Cheng looked blank and turned to look at Cheng Chen.
Cheng Chen said, “I think he’s one of Tongtong’s classmates.”
“A classmate?” Auntie Cheng pondered, “Why did Tongtong call his classmate’s name while he’s in a coma?”
“…”
‘It couldn’t be… is Zhu Tong dying and he’s thinking about seeing that boy for the last time?’
Cheng Chen’s face was also contorted for a moment. After speaking to the people in the ward, he turned and walked out of the room.
‘Shao Ming…’ Cheng Chen rummaged through his mind, and remembered a recent math competition held in A City. There was a “Shao Ming” from the list of E City’s participants. There’s also another person in that list.
After hesitating for a moment, he dug out a number from his address book.
Half an hour ago, in a bar somewhere in A City.
It was a bar that does not allow minors to enter, at this moment, two minors managed to get in by virtue of their tall stature and mature-looking faces.
The bar was always a mix of people from various walks of life1og: 鱼龙混杂; mix of fish and dragons. As night fell, the hall was filled with lively music, and colorful lights danced to the rhythm. Even if someone slipped into the restroom, peace remained elusive.
But Lu Zheyu has worked in a bar, so he can adapt to such an environment.
He just didn’t understand one thing: after the math competition, Shao Ming suddenly pulled him to the bar to drink. What does he want?
He hadn’t reported it to their accompanying teacher… of course he couldn’t report it.
Lu Zheyu took the phone and talked to the teacher in a serious manner, saying that the two of them were just going out alone to relax. Given their grades and personalities, the teacher was quickly persuaded.
“Understood, we will go back as soon as possible.”
After hanging up the phone, Lu Zheyu opened the bathroom door and walked back to the place where a certain youth was drinking.
In front of Shao Ming’s table, there were three or four empty bottles, but his gaze remained clear as he watched the men and women dancing closely on the bar’s dance floor.
But if he looked closely, he could see that Shao Ming’s eyes weren’t focused on the dance floor.
Sensing that someone was seated next to him, Shao Ming didn’t move his gaze and handed over a glass of wine that had been poured a long time ago.
Lu Zheyu took it.
Shao Ming did not speak, he clinked glasses with Lu Zheyu, and drank the alcohol in one big gulp.
As the liquor entered his throat, then his stomach, it burned.
But no matter how strong the wine was, his mind was still very clear and sober.
He clearly remembered the medical records he had seen before. Written clearly in the “name” column, was Zhu Tong’s name.
A few days ago outside the homestay, Xia Yang suddenly shouted at him. At first, he didn’t believe it, and even got angry.
He felt that Xia Yang was cursing Zhu Tong.
After all, he had lived with Zhu Tong day and night for so long, they went to school together and went back together. Zhu Tong was lively and energetic in front of him, so lively and spirited.
How could he be dying?
He wanted Xia Yang to shut up, but Xia Yang hysterically shouted at him, “He’s dying, he should have died long ago! Do you know he just came out of the ICU before transferring schools? Do you think his body is so weak for no reason? Do you think he suddenly transferred to this kind of ghostly place? It’s because he’s dying, he won’t live long, he just casually found himself a grave, but he’s not willing to die quietly. Before he dies, he still wants to entangle and trap you, and then go back to marry someone else. You’re just a plaything he doesn’t want to give up before he dies. He doesn’t care about you at all, you’re just like his intended marriage partner, both just tools for him to realize his self-worth in his misery…”
Shao Ming couldn’t remember what happened next. He didn’t remember what happened next. He didn’t even know how he walked back to his suite.
Instead of his bedroom, he went to Zhu Tong’s room.
The two days before Zhu Tong returned to A City, he was still lying on that bed with Zhu Tong.
He didn’t want to care about what Xia Yang said, but he had to care, because Xia Yang’s words made sense and were provable.
Zhu Tong has been a “sick beauty” in the eyes of others since he transferred to this school.
His face was sickly pale. He went to the school doctor’s office on the second day of school because of a cold and allergies.
Not long after, he was beaten to the point of spitting blood.
He went to kick others, but he got his foot sprained instead.
He ate a little bit of spicy food at the new cafeteria, and his stomach bled.
After that, Shao Ming became cautious even in taking care of him.
He was attentive and thoughtful, but he didn’t pay much attention.
–Why didn’t he pay attention to the details?
Maybe, it’s because Zhu Tong’s illness was something he obviously doesn’t want to mention to others. Making him think that his “illness” was just normal physical weakness.
It never occurred to him that those ailments were actually life-threatening.
When he heard that Zhu Tong was going back to marry, he didn’t waver.
Because he knew what kind of person Zhu Tong is. Even if he was forced by his family, he wouldn’t compromise – and he could also choose not to compromise.
If the marriage is false and is just Xia Yang’s deliberate exaggeration, is Zhu Tong’s illness also his malicious speculation?
He harbored a glimmer of hope.
Because that night, the body he secretly held in his arms was warm.
He couldn’t imagine that body becoming cold. He could not accept it.
Shao Ming wanted to ask Zhu Tong directly, but was worried about getting an equally perfunctory answer, so he chose another way.
He contacted that person in A City. In order to get rid of a certain nuisance, he took a lot of effort to gain their trust, and they had cooperated several times.
He can get what he wants, as long as he pays enough “payment”.
The speed at which the other party helped him investigate was not as fast as he had imagined. The waiting time was agonizing. It was bearable when there was noise from people at school, but staying alone in the homestay, especially late at night, his mind was always haunted by various details.
When he first met, he helped Zhu Tong, and Zhu Tong always thanked him, putting clear boundaries between himself and the world.
Later, after becoming more familiar with each other, he spoke less but did more.
He even hesitated over whether he needed to “pay” for eating a bowl of noodles at home. For the snacks he bought for him, he would subtly repay in other ways, even when it came to tutoring. When he was nodding off, he would still be calculating the tutoring fee he owed himself.
He also said… “only one year.”
Only one year.
Shao Ming didn’t believe what Xia Yang said. He didn’t believe that Zhu Tong approached him to realize his self-worth.
But he also believed in Xia Yang – he believed that Zhu Tong did not truly have him in his heart.
After all, if Zhu Tong truly cares about him, why hide this important fact from him?
He always dampened the mood with his half-hearted probing, whether it was genuine ignorance or a pretense, he couldn’t tell.
After he returned to A City, he couldn’t help but wonder whether his jokes had crossed the line more than once. Did he genuinely consider them just jokes, or was he deliberately avoiding something?
Zhu Tong never gave him a response.
From the beginning, there was no response to him.
Was the special treatment he thought he got was all his delusions?
Perhaps, the kindness that Zhù Tóng showed him was merely reciprocation for his care and support, a gesture of courtesy and obligation.
Was his willingness to shield himself from the knife stabbed by Qiu Shaoping purely based on the calculation that exchanging his life for his own was “a good deal”?
A good deal…
When this idea came up, Shao Ming felt amused.
He knew that his thoughts weren’t right.
Maybe Zhu Tong has him in his heart. Or maybe, Zhu Tong was so detached because of his own illness, so he drew a clear boundary line with other people, so he always remembers to repay other’s good deeds, so he will owe nothing.
‘But what is ‘owing nothing’? Can we really owe nothing to other people?’
After arriving in A City and participating in the math competition, when he came out of the competition venue, he saw the message that Zhu Tong had sent him. He hadn’t had time to reply yet when he received medical records sent by someone else.
Zhu Tong’s medical records.
What was he hospitalized for, what examinations he had done, what kind of torture he endured, every time he fell ill, how long he stayed in the ICU, what kind of pain he had to endure…
His latest hospitalization record was due to a cardiac arrest. Before he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor even guessed that he would not live for three months.
Not even a year.
When he saw the medical records, Shao Ming didn’t know how he was feeling.
Perhaps due to the mental preparation he had done in the previous days, he didn’t feel the heart-wrenching pain he had imagined.
He just felt… a bit dazed.
He originally thought that when Zhu Tong returned from A City, he would seriously confess his romantic feelings for him.
He has a corresponding plan for each outcome, be it rejection or acceptance.
He knew the gap between him and Zhu Tong. The words he casually said at that time were not just to appease him.
He will rely on his own efforts to make himself worthy of Zhu Tong.
He never felt inferior because of his identity. He knew he could grow until he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the boy he likes.
He just needs time.
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a hurdle he needs to overcome in order to have the opportunity to stand on his own.
But now facts told him that he had no time.
Absolutely no time.
He could still strive to grow, he could break free from his biological father, he could make those who abandoned him pay the price as he once imagined, and then, with the woman who raised him, leave the place where they once existed, never going back.
But then, a certain youth broke into his life. He intertwined himself in Shao Ming’s life, deeply immersing himself, until Shao Ming planned a future together with him.
And that certain youth actually… would no longer be there, by his side in the future.
Shao Ming once thought that there couldn’t be a more selfish person than himself in the world.
But now he has met him.
Zhu Tong was more selfish and heartless than him.
He suddenly transferred to Gongshui County and requested to be his deskmate for his study. He barged in without saying hello, and then wanted to sneak away without saying hello again, running to a place where no one could find him.
He thought he had everything figured out clearly. He believed that some things left unsaid didn’t exist. So he came to a remote county he had never been to before, lived a life he had never experienced, and then walked away contentedly.
The people he has provoked, the traces he has left, what kind of imprint he has left on other people’s hearts, what kind of impact he has had on other people’s lives… these are not within his scope of his consideration.
This time when he returned to A City for a reexamination, when asked about the test results, Zhu Tong was still evasive.
He said that he took care of himself, his body recovered well, and there was no problem with the health check-up.
It was very different from what his medical records said.
Even if his body improves, how much can it recover in just two months?
How can there be no problems with his health check-up?
‘Just what is me to him?’
Shao Ming poured himself another glass of wine, swallowed it and let it burn his throat.
He slowly retracted his gaze, glanced at Lu Zheyu, who was sitting patiently beside him, and said clearly, “Lao Er.”
Lu Zheyu looked at him.
Shao Ming asked, “If you like someone you are destined to never be with, what would you do?”
Lu Zheyu paused and said expressionlessly, “Give up.”
“…”
Very decisive.
Shao Ming stared at him.
He has always felt that he and Lu Zheyu are actually quite similar. They are both people who are afraid of trouble, and yet, trouble always comes knocking at them.
He used to have the same attitude as Lu Zheyu – if he was doomed, he knew it’s better to give up as soon as possible.
When he decided to indulge himself and no longer restrain himself, Shao Ming thought about the possibility that he might regret it later.
But he didn’t expect that “regret” would come so soon.
He had thought about encountering many obstacles on the road ahead, but he hadn’t considered that the obstacles could come from within themselves.
No matter how confident Shao Ming is in himself, he will never be able to create medical miracles.
If Zhu Tong really couldn’t stay by his side, what should he do?
Give up?
Giving up is the best and the easiest option.
It’s better if he had never met Zhu Tong.
It’s better if he had never liked Zhu Tong.
If all that happened before was a dream…
Shao Ming gradually lost to his train of thoughts.
‘Treating it as a dream.’
Thinking like this, his heart felt like it was squeezed, heavy and suffocating.
That person’s name kept popping up in his mind.
Zhu Tong.
That little boy with a problem.
He is frailer than a glass bottle yet harder than a stone.
The way he looked troubled when encountering something dirty, the way he carefully pondered over problems when doing mock exam questions, his eager and curious demeanor when encountering new things, his imposing presence when confronting someone with a serious expression, and also… the way he blushed in front of Shao Ming.
How could he forget Zhu Tong?
What kind of dream can feel so hurtful yet real?
Shao Ming felt a strong sense of unwillingness in his heart.
Why should he choose to give up? It was Zhu Tong who first came into his life.
Why does he have to retreat in such a sorry manner? The lessons he learned from childhood didn’t teach him to retreat, but rather to fight back tooth and nail. Even if it’s until the bitter end.
He wouldn’t let Zhu Tong leave so easily. Even if he had to leave, he would ensure that Zhu Tong wouldn’t leave in peace.
Even if there is not much time, he will firmly hold the remaining time in his hands.
That’s what Zhu Tong owes him!
He suddenly put down the wine glass, took out his mobile phone and directly dialed Zhu Tong’s number.
This was the first time he called Zhu Tong after Zhu Tong returned to A City.
He dared not speak with Zhu Tong. He was afraid he couldn’t restrain himself from questioning him, feared his straightforwardness would frighten the youth , and worried that he would continue to brush him off with unwavering words.
He could only use WeChat to contact Zhu Tong, because text didn’t carry such emotions.
However, he made up his mind to call him. After it rang, no one answered until it automatically hung up.
At the same time, Lu Zheyu received a text message on his mobile phone.
He was stunned when he saw the string of familiar mobile phone numbers. After several moments of hesitation, he clicked on it.
With a frown, he looked at Shao Ming and said, “Zhu Tong fainted and was sent to the hospital.”
“…”
The author has something to say:
I also want the young couple to meet as soon as possible T^T!!
