The black Maybach came to an abrupt halt in front of the hospital’s emergency lane.
The door opened, and several doctors rushed forward, lifting Gong Yue onto a stretcher and quickly pushing him to the operating room. Ye Shanshan followed and arrived at the door of the operating room, catching only a fleeting glance at Gong Yue before the operating room’s door closed shut.
The air still carried the lingering scent of blood, rushing straight into his nostrils, causing Ye Shanshan to shiver uncontrollably, just like on a winter night in late December, bone-chillingly cold.
“Mr. Ye,” Chris wasn’t injured, but his clothes were stained with quite a bit of blood, all from Gong Yue.
Noticing Ye Shanshan staring unblinkingly at the bloodstains on his clothes, Chris explained, “The Young Master’s forearm wound isn’t a severe through-and-through injury, but the bullet caused a sizable wound and damaged major arteries and veins, resulting in significant bleeding. We applied emergency pressure to stop the bleeding on the way back, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“Thank you, and well done,” Ye Shanshan said, glancing once again in the direction of the operating room. “Can you tell me the specific situation? After receiving the message, I went to Gong Yue’s office. Based on the surveillance footage and the content of the recordings, Gong Yue suspected that East had issues, which is why he had you secretly follow them, right?”
Chris and the butler Hawk were both people left behind by Gong Yue’s parents. If anyone besides Ye Shanshan could earn Gong Yue’s partial trust, it would be these two.
“Yes,” Chris took the water handed to him by Ye Shanshan and drank half a cup in one gulp. “At that time, the Young Master wasn’t certain, so he had me follow.”
He then detailed the situation where Gong Yue held East at gunpoint. “After that, we followed East all the way to that abandoned resort.”
Ye Shanshan nodded, indicating he was listening attentively.
“About half an hour after the Young Master entered, we received the signal to act. Along the way, we encountered a dozen or so accomplices, dealt with them, and continued to the Young Master’s location. When we arrived, we found East collapsed on the ground, and the Young Master had shot East’s father in the shoulder joint with pinpoint accuracy. It was this swift and accurate shot that caused the bullet aimed at the Young Master to deviate slightly, hitting the upper outer side of his arm. Without this slight deviation, his right hand would surely have been lost.”
***
The surgery lasted for more than four hours, and by the time it ended, the sky had already begun to lighten. Ye Shanshan had waited outside all night, feeling no hint of drowsiness, just staring blankly at the operating room door.
After Gong Yue was wheeled out, the lead surgeon removed his mask. “Although we employed effective hemostatic measures, the wound was too large, leading to symptoms of excessive bleeding. Additionally, due to damage to the nerves and blood vessels in the upper arm, repair was necessary. It’s important not to exert force before the stitches are removed to prevent wound dehiscence. Furthermore, we detected residual abnormal gases in the patient’s nasal cavity, suggesting the presence of muscle relaxants and anesthetic gases. Therefore, the patient’s awakening time may be delayed, but there’s no need to panic.”
Ye Shanshan’s eyes were glued to Gong Yue as he listened carefully before following him back to the hospital room.
He carefully covered Gong Yue with the blanket and looked at his pale face, feeling a pang in his heart, as if he had been pricked by a needle, dense and continuous.
His gaze fixed on Gong Yue’s colorless lips, which were slightly chapped. Ye Shanshan thought for a moment, dipped his finger in some water, and began to gently rub the chapped skin on Gong Yue’s lips, babbling as he did so.
“Wake up soon, Great Demon King. If you don’t wake up, I won’t study properly, and I’ll eat a lot of sweets.”
After a pause, he added, “Then, when you wake up, you’ll find that I have a mouthful of cavities, especially ugly, so hideous that you can’t bear to look at me. It’ll scare you to death.”
As he spoke, he laughed first.
The door to the hospital room was left ajar, and the butler Hawk stepped into the room, seeing Ye Shanshan’s fingers gently stroking Gong Yue’s lips, a look of affection in his eyes.
Watching this scene, he subconsciously stopped in his tracks, and after a while, he whispered softly, “Mr. Ye, Assistant Qin Xuan delivered the pending documents to the house an hour ago. I’ve brought them here.”
With a worried look at the unconscious Gong Yue on the hospital bed, he continued, “About these documents—”
“I’ll handle it.” Ye Shanshan scratched his head, not entirely sure. “I should be able to, right?”
Uncle Hawk smiled, “Mr. Ye, of course you can. As long as you persist until the Young Master wakes up, everything will be fine.”
The Gong family was far from being as harmonious as it seemed. With Gong Yue unconscious, if this matter were leaked, who knew what those uncles of Gong Yue’s might stir up, so secrecy was necessary.
Thus, for the entire day, Ye Shanshan spent his time reviewing documents, reports, and proposals. He also conducted two video conferences—of course, Ye Shanshan didn’t turn on his camera but used voice-changing software to disguise himself as Gong Yue, sounding like he had a “severe cold and hoarse voice.” Throughout the meetings, no one suspected that it wasn’t actually Gong Yue.
After achieving the “Gong Yue cosplay” accomplishment, Ye Shanshan felt like he had hidden his talents and abilities well.
Finally, when his dinner arrived, Ye Shanshan scooped up a piece of ribs with a spoon and held it up to Gong Yue’s nose, boasting, “Take a whiff, it smells amazing! Too bad you’re asleep and can’t eat it.” Saying this, he stuffed it into his own mouth, closing his eyes in satisfaction.
Having dinner alone this time, Ye Shanshan also felt very happy.
***
When Gong Yue woke up, it was already seven o’clock the next evening, a full thirty-six hours since he came out of the operating room.
As he opened his eyes, he saw Ye Shanshan had set up a table by the bedside, cluttered with various documents and a computer. At that moment, Ye Shanshan was propping up his chin, a red pen tucked behind his ear, and a black pen gripped between his teeth, looking like a student doing homework.
Perhaps too engrossed, Ye Shanshan didn’t notice that Gong Yue had awakened.
Gong Yue didn’t speak either, just earnestly watching the side profile of Ye Shanshan, feeling the complex emotions in his heart gradually calm down.
Ye Shanshan had the habit of glancing at Gong Yue’s condition every two to three minutes before returning to his “homework.” This time was no exception; he glanced at Gong Yue, then withdrew his gaze.
Wait a minute! Did I just see that?
He dared not believe it as he turned his head again, meeting Gong Yue’s gaze looking at him. Stunned for a few seconds, Ye Shanshan rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Five seconds later, he widened his eyes and stood up with a “whoosh,” knocking over the chair he was sitting on.
Then Gong Yue saw Ye Shanshan quickly running to the door, shouting, “Doctor, doctor, he’s awake! Really awake!”
Gong Yue had always enjoyed quietness, but listening to Ye Shanshan’s voice, he felt relaxed.
After a few doctors came in to check and discussed issuing instructions, they were the only two left in the ward.
Ye Shanshan stood a step away from the bedside, even lowering his breathing, afraid that if he breathed too hard, he might scare Gong Yue away.
Seeing him with bloodshot eyes staring at himself, Gong Yue wanted to wave at him, but the effects of the muscle relaxant were still present, and his arm couldn’t be raised. So, he spoke instead, “Shanshan, come over here a bit.”
Hearing the familiar “Shanshan,” Ye Shanshan’s nose tingled. He took a half step forward. “You’ve been asleep for thirty-six hours.” He gently touched Gong Yue’s wound. “Does it hurt?”
Gong Yue shook his head, “No.”
Blinking, disdainfully looking at Gong Yue, Ye Shanshan spoke, “The anesthetic effect has worn off. It’s strange if it doesn’t hurt.” He reached out to touch Gong Yue’s temples, where cold sweat had formed.
Gong Yue still kept his voice low but changed his response immediately, “It hurts a lot. My entire arm, including the shoulder, hurts.”
Hearing Gong Yue’s words, Ye Shanshan felt sorry again. He squatted by the bed, pouted, and blew several breaths toward the bandaged area where Gong Yue was injured.
“Let me blow you some fairy air. Maybe you’ll recover today.”
“Okay.” Seeing Ye Shanshan’s dark circles under his eyes, Gong Yue asked, “How long have you not slept?”
Ye Shanshan blinked, serious and sincere. “Just slept a little.” Then he quickly changed the subject. “Are you hungry? Uncle Hawk has prepared porridge for you, you can have some. There’s also ribs, but you can’t eat them now. Um, I won’t eat them, I’ll save them for you.”
Without exposing the truth, Gong Yue continued along with his words, “Then I’ll have some porridge, I’m hungry.”
Hearing that Gong Yue wanted to eat, Ye Shanshan hurriedly stood up and ran out. In no time, he brought a bowl of porridge to the table. Then he rolled up his sleeves, took a spoon, and eagerly said, “Your hand is still weak, let me feed you!”
Seeing Gong Yue nod, he assumed the position and nervously scooped up a spoonful of porridge, then blew on it lightly and carefully placed it into Gong Yue’s mouth, repeatedly asking if it was too hot.
After swallowing the food with the right temperature, Gong Yue said, “It’s delicious.”
Although he was just a food carrier, Ye Shanshan felt a sense of accomplishment. After feeding Gong Yue a few spoonfuls, he felt a bit hungry himself, so he fed himself a mouthful too. In no time, the bowl was empty.
Gong Yue let him wipe the corners of his mouth, then said, “I feel a little cold sleeping.”
“Ah?” Ye Shanshan was stunned. “Because of excessive blood loss?” He thought for a moment. “Should I raise the air conditioning temperature?”
Gong Yue shook his head, “Come up here, let’s sleep together, it’ll be warmer.”
Ye Shanshan thought it was a good idea, so he took off his coat, shoes, and socks, then climbed into the bed.
Originally, he wanted to talk to Gong Yue about what happened when he was injured, but whether it was because Gong Yue woke up or because he was too tired, within half a minute, Ye Shanshan’s eyelids closed.
Feeling Ye Shanshan’s body temperature, Gong Yue said, “Goodnight, Shanshan.”
***
When Butler Hawk came in to clean up the utensils, he saw Ye Shanshan sleeping soundly next to Gong Yue. Following Gong Yue’s instructions, he brought a pair of noise-canceling earphones for Ye Shanshan. Then Uncle Hawk spoke, “You’re finally awake.”
“Yeah, sorry for worrying you.” Gong Yue looked at Uncle Hawk and asked, “How long has Shanshan not slept?”
“Since you had the accident and lost contact, Young Master Ye hasn’t closed his eyes. It’s been more than forty hours without rest. I tried to persuade him to take a break, but he was worried about you and insisted on staying by your side.”
Gong Yue looked at Ye Shanshan sleeping peacefully. “What about Chris?”
“Chris took Mr. East and another person back to the small manor.” After explaining what had happened in the past few days, Uncle Hawk continued, “Is all the work being handled by Shanshan?”
“Yes, because your injury can’t be made public, Young Master Ye has been focusing on it for the past two days.”
Even though Ye Shanshan often dealt with Gong’s affairs, taking over suddenly would be overwhelming. Gong Yue nodded slightly with some effort and said, “Let’s go home when Shanshan wakes up.”
Butler Hawk was surprised, “But, Young Master, your injury—”
“It’s nothing serious.” Gong Yue glanced at Ye Shanshan next to him, his voice noticeably softer. “He doesn’t like the smell of hospital disinfectant.”
Author’s note: In Chapter 9, on the way back home, Shanshan said he didn’t like the smell of disinfectant, it’s too pungent. Gong ge responded saying okay, we won’t go there in the future. [From your cotton coat]
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ❤️”
