Chapter 74: Hurdle After Hurdle
Chapter 74: Hurdle After Hurdle
Within the room, time seemed to pass even slower. The door to the living room wasn’t closed, and the voices of the people talking outside could be intermittently heard. Cheng Xi was very worried that this might upset or rile Lu Chenzhou up.
Luckily, her hint was successful, and Lu Chenzhou said, "Let’s go."
It was said in a cool tone, but one that made Cheng Xi feel as though she had been relieved of a great burden. She stood up, and reached out with a hand to support him. He glanced at her and then leaned on her arm.
Cheng Xi couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He naturally noticed and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Mmm. Indeed, when looking at him, he seemed like he had returned to normal, as long as he didn’t flare up again. Cheng Xi said, "I feel like, if my waist were any lower, then I’d essentially be a eunuch from ancient times helping his emperor up." After she said this, she even asked, "Should I ask if you’d like to rise?"
Lu Chenzhou glanced at her haughtily, and imperially responded, "Rise."
He stood up, his spine completely straight. Originally, he wanted to do it in a domineering manner, but his forehead uncontrollably scrunched up as he got up. Cheng Xi guessed that his clothes must have touched his infected skin, making him uncomfortable.
When Cheng Xi thought back to that wound-riddled back that was unbearable to even look at, she started feeling guilty and also somewhat sympathetic. She really wanted to call and ask her mom when she had last washed or dried the quilt and Cheng Yang’s clothes that he had used. Had it been the reason why Lu Chenzhou’s allergic reaction was this bad?
That’s right. Her intuition told her that only those two things could have triggered Lu Chenzhou’s allergic reaction. As such, this was naturally one of the reasons why she felt particularly guilty and apologetic towards Lu Chenzhou.
If something truly happened to him, then she felt like she would carry that weight for the rest of her life.
But even in this state, Lu Chenzhou insisted on changing his clothes. Cheng Xi asked, confounded, "Why not just put on an outer jacket?"
He shook his head, and stubbornly insisted on changing his clothes. Cheng Xi couldn’t dissuade him and could only help him up the stairs to change. By the time he was finished, his grandfather was already starting to contact people to have the various medical instruments sent over; when he was halfway into his call, his wife suddenly pulled on his arm. He turned around and saw his grandson standing straight and imposing by the door.
"That…" Lu Chenzhou’s grandfather was at an advanced age, but this was the first time he had stammered in a long while. "Zhou… are you alright?"
Dr. Xie couldn’t keep watching, and started ridiculing from the side. "Look at how he’s barely standing up straight. Does it look like he’s alright?"
Oh, that’s right. Only now did Lu Chenzhou’s grandfather see that Cheng Xi was standing by his grandson’s side and trying her hardest to hold him steady, so much so that her petite body was about to fall over.
A couple of the young doctors walked up to help, but Lu Chenzhou didn’t let them. So, Cheng Xi could only grit her teeth and say, "It’s fine, I can handle it."
Lu Chenzhou’s grandfather almost sighed at this sight, his only thought being that it was so fortunate that a person who his grandson didn’t despise had
Cheng Xi smiled, but she was sighing in her heart. If you have the time to say this, then get in the car!
At least Dr. Xie was reliable. He truly understood that Lu Chenzhou’s situation was very precarious, so he immediately readied the cars, decided who would go where, and assigned tasks to everyone.
As Lu Chenzhou’s grandmother watched on anxiously, Cheng Xi and Lu Chenzhou got into the first car.
Once he had assigned everyone their respective roles, Dr. Xie commanded from outside, "Go to the central hospital. Quickly."
Lu Chenzhou immediately scratched Cheng Xi’s palm. They were the only two people in the backseat. He was leaning on her shoulder, so when he scratched her, she turned around.
His black eyes were gleaming enigmatically at her.
"What’s the matter?" she asked.
"Go to Renyi Hospital."
"Dr. Xie’s a famed specialist in treating your illnesses. If he takes care of you, you’ll also recover quicker. You don’t want to stay in the hospital for too long, do you?"
Lu Chenzhou stopped talking, but some coldness nonetheless seeped through his mask; clearly, he wasn’t in favor of this decision.
For lack of a better option, Cheng Xi could only say, "Dr. Xie personally came here to treat you, so it would be rude to dismiss him at this point." Of course this was just an excuse; in truth, she could see that Lu Chenzhou’s reliance on her was unhealthy, so she wanted to maintain as professional a doctor-patient relationship with him as possible.
But even though she wanted to put some distance between them, other people always got in the way. Lu Chenzhou’s grandmother, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, peeked her head back and smiled at them as she said, "Don’t worry. We can go to Renyi Hospital. I’ll just let your grandfather know." As if to alleviate Cheng Xi’s earlier concerns, she added, "It’ll be fine. Dr. Xie and my husband are on good terms with each other. Even if we go to Renyi Hospital, we can still invite him to perform the medical examination."
Cheng Xi looked silently at Lu Chenzhou’s grandmother, who had spoiled her plans.
His grandmother then quickly called her husband to inform him of the change in plans. "Tell Dr. Xie that we’re going to Renyi Hospital."
Her phone was set to speaker mode, so Lu Chenzhou’s grandfather’s voice rang out through the car. He first asked, "Why are we going to Renyi?" But then he seemed to have thought of something, and his voice quickly changed. "Alright, alright, we’ll go to Renyi. I’ll tell all of them. Leave quickly and let me handle the rest."
Once Lu Chenzhou’s grandmother finished the call, she turned and smiled at them again. This time, her gaze was directed particularly strongly toward Cheng Xi, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
She knew what these two old folks were thinking. Undoubtedly, it was something along the lines of how compatible their grandson and she looked.
With regards to this, Cheng Xi felt both speechless and helpless.
The Lu family was in complete control of Donglai’s medical branch, so they had connections in the medical field that Cheng Xi could only dream of. In fact, they had managed to arrange everything in the hospital mid-ride. Once the car arrived, Lu Chenzhou was immediately sent to a VIP-level intensive care unit.
Because of his high fever, he had fallen into another stupor during the ride over. Cheng Xi sat outside the ward for a very long time, waiting all the way until Lu Chenzhou finished his general inspection, took a few doses of medicine, and fell into a deep sleep. Only then did she tiredly head home.
When she finally got home, it was past midnight. The lamp in the living room was still lit, but Lin Fan had already left. On the dining table was the food that she had bought after getting off work earlier.
When she lifted the plastic covering the food, it only revealed cold steak and spaghetti that had already congealed into tasteless lumps.
Then she noticed that the scones she had asked to be delivered back had been left to the side. She had sent six back for him, but there were still six left; Lin Fan hadn’t eaten a single one.
Cheng Xi sighed and took out her phone to call him. He didn’t pick up.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he was angry again. Cheng Xi caressed her forehead, thinking about what she could do now to make it up to him.
Right now, Lin Fan was drinking at a bar with some colleagues. With music being blasted at ear-splitting levels, nothing could be heard from the other end.
Meng Qingyang was sitting by his side, watching Lin Fan drain glass after glass of beer with the pretense of being punished for being late. All of his colleagues were cheering him on, so he poured himself another glass. But just as he was about to down it, Meng Qingyang stopped him.
"What happened to you?" she asked as she squeezed closer.
Lin Fan turned to look at her, causing the girl by his side to quickly flush red, her eyes seemingly flashing underneath the bar’s strobe lights.
He shook his head and said nothing as he pushed her hand away and drank another glass. As the beer slowly fell down his throat, he felt the coldness seep all the way from his mouth down to his heart.
His colleagues were partying crazily. The effect of the alcohol even caused two colleagues who were mutually interested in each other to finally break through their barrier and kiss, causing everyone to clap for them. But even then, Lin Fan only felt the cold sensation of desolation in the laughter of the crowd.
He also wanted to love someone like that, without a care for anything else. However, he didn’t know if his timing was off, but he kept feeling like he was running into hurdle after hurdle, even after they had successfully made their feelings clear.
The owner of the hand came closer, immediately filling his nostrils with an enticing scent. "Lin Fan, this isn’t fun. Let’s go."