Chapter 53 Published

Ji Ruan turned over and curled up, cold sweat pouring out and wetting the pillow.

He always thought that as long as he didn't like Gu Xiuyi and as long as he was determined enough, he could avoid the bad plots in the book.

But how did it come to this?

Is it that the plot would have happened no matter what, or is it because... he fell in love with Gu Xiuyi?

Ji Ruan's heart began beating again, and every detail of these days appeared before his eyes like a comic strip.

——He snuggled in Gu Xiuyi's arms and acted like a spoiled child; he wanted Gu Xiuyi to hold him wherever he went; in order to be able to hear clearly what was said, he took the initiative to ask Gu Xiuyi to get close to him; he also liked to be held by Gu Xiuyi when he slept because he was afraid of the cold.

Everything was initiated by him. He was the one who pestered Gu Xiuyi. It seemed like he... was really, really dependent on Gu Xiuyi.

The more Ji Ruan thought about it, the more frightened he became. How come he hadn't noticed anything in all these days and was even immersed in it, feeling extremely happy.

Who else but lovers would sleep in each other’s arms?

Even the best of friends would never hug each other with hands touching and legs touching like they did.

No matter how you explain it, this kind of thing is too exaggerated for their current relationship.

But does Gu Xiuyi like me?

Many times Ji Ruan felt that he probably liked her a little.

If he didn't like me, why would he be willing to sleep with me in his arms? If he didn't like me, why would he be so nice to him?

But Ji Ruan didn't dare to use this to block the enemy. He knew very well that the protagonist in the original book was extremely miserable because he could not guess Gu Xiuyi's thoughts and was always worried about gains and losses.

According to the plot, no matter how good Gu Xiuyi is to the protagonist at the beginning, he will become cold after Bai Yueguang comes back. He will even remain indifferent when watching Bai Yueguang bullying the protagonist, and just stand aside and watch silently without expressing his opinion or intervening.

It is not until the end, when they are really about to lose each other, that they come to their senses and realize how much love they have for the protagonist, and then they give him some useless pampering and comfort.

But Ji Ruan really didn’t understand. He couldn’t imagine that Gu Xiuyi, who was so nice to him now, would suddenly become cold, heartless and indecisive.

He always felt that Gu Xiuyi would not be like this, and would not lose his judgment because of a few words from others. Even if he was affected by the plot, his character had become too exaggerated.

But Ji Ruan still didn't dare to gamble. After all, the only few plot points he knew now matched without any deviation. How could he guarantee that the subsequent plot would not happen as usual, but would change because of him?

Ji Ruan's heart was still beating fast. He tried to take several deep breaths, then propped himself up on the bed and sat up, leaning against the headboard waiting for the dizziness to pass.

The pink gauze curtains by the window were drawn, and the sunlight shone through them, dyeing the air in the whole room a light pink, peaceful and dreamy.

Just like the life during this period, it seems too good to be true.

Ji Ruan's gaze fell back on his legs. He stood up and slowly rolled up his trouser legs until the injured skin was completely exposed. He looked at it quietly for a while, then gently tore off the dressing on the wound.

The hideous wound suddenly appeared before his eyes.

When he was first injured, he was buried in the rocks in dim light, so Ji Ruan couldn't see clearly. Later in the hospital, every time Gu Xiuyi changed the bandages, he would cover his eyes to prevent him from seeing. It was the first time that Ji Ruan looked at the scar seriously.

It's really ugly.

It was about ten centimeters long, and the stitches had not been removed yet. It was growing crookedly on his calf and was bleeding slightly.

No wonder Gu Xiuyi didn't show it to him. Anyone with a little obsessive-compulsive disorder would feel uncomfortable seeing this thing. They would want to flatten it with a shovel immediately, apply snow-white paint on it, and force the leg to return to its original appearance.

Ji Ruan became discouraged after watching for a while.

His wound healed too slowly. If it were someone else, the stitches would have been removed by now, but he would have to wait at least another three or four days.

After the stitches were removed, he couldn't walk too much until his wound was completely healed. All in all, he would be unable to move for two or three months.

But can he really wait that long?

At the beginning, I decided to run away before Bai Yueguang came back, but now it’s impossible to do it.

Even if he stayed in the hospital every day, he would have to be extremely careful to prevent his injury from getting infected. If he ran away to avoid the plot, he might die on the street before Bai Yueguang came back.

Ji Ruan originally thought that everything would happen when the contract was about to end in three years. At that time, he would be a senior in college and could apply for an internship to hide away for a while and come back with a diploma.

But why recently?

He has just adapted to life in this world. He has good friends, a good sister, and a teacher who is very much like his mother. He wants to continue doing Han embroidery here and do what he likes.

Why should he leave the place he is familiar with, give up everything and run away and hide just because of a legendary white moonlight?

There is no such thing in the world.

Ji Ruan didn't want this to happen, but he definitely didn't want to just wait there, knowing that he was going to be abused but unable to do anything about it.

But if it is determined that the facts cannot be changed, how will he be abused?

In ancient literature, digging out eyes, hearts and kidneys seemed to be standard features... Would there be bone marrow matching... Yes, yes, yes, car accidents and kidnappings can't be cured!

Reason told Ji Ruan that he was getting more and more ridiculous, but this was an old story of abuse, and the plot was illogical! Who knew if it would really happen? If it did, would he be able to escape? !

Ji Ruan successfully scared himself into a cold sweat by imagining it, and sat on the bed in a daze, not knowing what to do.

He hugged his knees and curled up into a small ball, burying his face deeply in his arms. His brain seemed unable to think at all and was extremely confused.

Ugh... I'm so sad...

Gu Xiuyi only left the ward for a short while. Ji Ruan couldn't be left alone recently, so he almost moved his office to the ward and stayed with Ji Ruan all the time.

But in this short moment, the person who was supposed to be taking a nap in the bed sat up by himself, with messy hair, hugging his knees and curled up into a small ball.

He was shivering in his floral hospital gown without even a coat on, his trouser legs even rolled up, the dressing was half torn, his wound was exposed, and one could feel his panic even without seeing his face.

Gu Xiuyi was so frightened that he almost couldn't breathe. He quickly walked forward, put the paper bag in his hand on the small table, and sat down next to Ji Ruan. For a moment, he didn't even know what to do first.

He calmed down, put his arm around Ji Ruan's shoulders to prevent him from moving and rubbing the wound, then carefully put the dressing back in place to cover the horrific wound that almost took Ji Ruan's life, and then gently lowered his trouser leg.

All of this would have taken only a few seconds, but Gu Xiuyi was extremely careful and focused in every move, and the temperature in Ji Ruan's room was a little higher than outside, so much so that Gu Xiuyi even had some sweat on his forehead after doing all this.

During this time, Ji Ruan also raised his head, resting his chin on his forearm and was extremely silent.

Gu Xiuyi wrapped Ji Ruan in a small blanket, brought him closer to his arms, and carefully observed his complexion - it was very bad, his eyes were red, his lips were pale, and the back of his neck was covered in cold sweat.

"What's wrong, Ji Ruan?" Gu Xiuyi brushed his hair so that he could observe his expression without any hindrance: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Ji Ruan didn't say anything, but slowly raised his eyes to look at him, his thin eyebrows furrowed. His eyebrows were one in a million, delicate and beautiful among boys, and when his eyebrows were sad, it was easy to make people feel distressed.

Gu Xiuyi's heart tightened when he saw this, and he gently rubbed his forehead with his fingertips: "What's wrong, baby?"

Ji Ruan seemed to sigh lightly, opened his mouth to speak but paused, and turned his head to look for something.

Gu Xiuyi understood immediately, held Ji Ruan's shoulders to prevent him from moving, leaned over to take the external machine from the small table at the end of the bed, and put it behind Ji Ruan's ear.

He held Ji Ruan in his arms, and his hand slowly stroked Ji Ruan's back, which was a very safe and soothing gesture.

"Tell me slowly, baby, where does it hurt?"

Ji Ruan did feel uncomfortable, but he knew very well that it was not physical discomfort at all, but the frustration of having a mess of thoughts and wanting to explain but not knowing how to start.

You can't tell Gu Xiuyi that your white moonlight will be back soon, and then he will launch a series of revenge against me including digging out my eyes, heart and kidneys, and you will just stand there and watch without trying to dissuade him, right?

Ji Ruan was sure that once he said this, Gu Xiuyi would immediately take him to see a psychiatrist.

He lowered his head, not knowing how to evade the question, and could only utter four words stiffly: "I'm a little scared..."

Afraid?

Gu Xiuyi was stunned and his eyes fell on Ji Ruan's calf.

He recalled the scene he saw when he first entered the ward, and some ideas came to his mind.

Ji Ruan must have been frightened when he saw the wound. After all, the scar was really big and there was almost no possibility of completely recovering to normal.

From now on, her smooth and white calf will have such a horrible scar. Ji Ruan has always been a child who loves beauty, so you can imagine how difficult it is for her to accept it.

Gu Xiuyi was even more worried, and hugged Ji Ruan and tried to comfort her:

"Alright, alright, it's okay, baby. The wound is like this because it hasn't healed yet."

"Once the stitches are removed and the scabs grow back, it will be much better."

"If you don't like it, we can also do plastic surgery to remove the scars. It's minimally invasive and won't affect your body."

…

"Don't think about it, baby. Eat something. Aunt Zhao just baked a little cake..."

He took the paper bag on the table. Inside was a beautiful cupcake with a juicy cherry hanging on the light pink cream.

Ever since Ji Ruan was hospitalized, Gu Xiuyi wanted to feed him eight meals a day, and afternoon tea was an indispensable part of it.

Seeing that Gu Xiuyi thought he was just concerned about the scar, Ji Ruan felt relieved but also a little sad.

But he had no idea why he felt sad, it was the strangest emotion he had felt in days.

Gu Xiuyi had already brought the little cherry to Ji Ruan's mouth. Ji Ruan opened his mouth and put it in out of habit. The sour and sweet taste filled his mouth all at once, and even soothed Ji Ruan's depressed heart to a certain extent.

He narrowed his eyes slightly in happiness, carefully enjoying the deliciousness of the cherries, and only slowly opened his eyes when the last bit of sweetness disappeared.

Then he found that he had curled up in Gu Xiuyi's arms again without knowing when, and as always, he adopted a very dependent posture seeking comfort.

Ji Ruan was startled and sat up almost subconsciously, moving back a short distance from Gu Xiuyi.

His arms suddenly felt loosened, Gu Xiuyi paused for a moment, then slowly let go, watching Ji Ruan tilting his head to avoid looking at him.

Very strange.

Gu Xiuyi knew Ji Ruan very well. He was a child who loved hugs and sometimes he would nestle in his arms and watch a movie for the entire afternoon.

He had never escaped from his arms so suddenly as he did now.

That's right, escape.

Gu Xiuyi thought for two seconds, but did not ask immediately. Instead, he scooped a spoonful of cake and fed it to Ji Ruan's mouth, pretending to be unaware: "Come on, have another bite."

Sure enough, Ji Ruan did not open his mouth to wait for feeding as usual. Instead, he reached out and caught the whole cupcake, whispering, "I'll do it myself..."

Gu Xiuyi's expression darkened, but he did not continue to intervene. He waited patiently for Ji Ruan to finish eating in small bites, took the empty paper cup from him, and naturally took out a napkin to wipe his mouth.

Ji Ruan turned his head slightly and interrupted Gu Xiuyi's actions again. He took the tissue and wiped his mouth, folded it and threw it into the trash can.

It's so weird.

No matter how slow-witted Gu Xiuyi was, he knew by now that something was very wrong with the situation. It couldn't be explained by a simple reason like "I feel sad when I see the wound."

Ji Ruan's resistance to physical contact was the most obvious signal.

"What exactly happened Ji Ruan?" Gu Xiuyi said solemnly.

Afraid of scaring Ji Ruan, she forced herself to slow down her tone, slowly took Ji Ruan's hand and sat closer, and said softly, "Tell me, okay?"

Once he started to care, Ji Ruan could clearly feel that Gu Xiuyi was truly gentle to him. He could even imagine that in this man's thirty years of life, there would never be a more gentle moment than now.

But the more he did this, the more confused Ji Ruan became.

How could someone who was so good to him change so suddenly?

Gu Xiuyi was even careful when touching his wound. When he put the dressing back on, he didn't dare to press hard on the edges for fear of hurting him.

How could such a person stand aside and do nothing while watching someone bully him?

Ji Ruan couldn't imagine what that would be like.

Gu Xiuyi's gaze was too easy to get addicted to. Ji Ruan looked at him and felt as if his blood was burning. He lowered his head hastily.

But even if he still had some reason left, he couldn't resist such tenderness, and the fear and cowardice suppressed in his heart were trying to burst out of his throat.

Finally, he mustered up the courage to look up and met Gu Xiuyi's burning gaze: "...I had a nightmare."

If it was a dream, no matter how outrageous it was, it wouldn't be considered a mental illness, right? It could also be used to see Gu Xiuyi's attitude.

"Well, what did you dream about?" Gu Xiuyi was still very gentle.

He put his arm around Ji Ruan's shoulders and calmly pulled Ji Ruan into his arms again: "Don't be afraid, tell me slowly."

Ji Ruan bit his lower lip, his five fingers tightened unconsciously, and he spoke as if he had made a huge decision:

"I dreamed about you...you wanted to rip out my heart, my kidneys, and even my corneas."

After saying this, Ji Ruan's trachea, which had been blocked for a long time, suddenly became smooth. He closed his eyes, clenched his fists tightly, and said with all his strength: "You will meet someone who is very important to you later. He bullied me!"

"He wanted my heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, but not only did you not help me, you also condoned his behavior. How bad!"

"...In short, it's extremely abominable!"

The grievances that had been suppressed for a long time were poured out at this moment. Ji Ruan's long speech was so moving that it echoed in the empty ward.

“…”

Ji Ruan lowered his head and waited for a long time without getting a response, so he had to muster up the courage to look up again.

As a result, I saw Mr. Gu's calm and composed face gradually crumble.

"Ji, baby darling..." Gu Xiuyi's tongue was rarely tied.

He seemed very shocked, his Adam's apple rolling up and down as he tried to adjust his state, trying to shift his thoughts to the same dimension as Ji Ruan, but the adjustment was fruitless and failed miserably.

"How could you have such a dream?" Gu Xiuyi tried his best to make his expression look more relaxed, pretending to understand Ji Ruan very well: "I won't."

Ji Ruan's energy came up, and he boldly looked at Gu Xiuyi:

"How do you know that won't happen? Who can predict the future?"

"There is no such possibility."

"How can you guarantee that?"

Gu Xiuyi paused and suddenly stopped talking. He asked Ji Ruan to leave his arms and sit face to face with him. He leaned over slightly and held Ji Ruan's shoulders with both hands.

Ji Ruan clearly noticed that Gu Xiuyi's expression became extremely serious at this moment.

His eyebrows jumped, and he inexplicably felt that the other party was about to say something very, very important.

Plop, plop——

Ji Ruan's heart began to beat faster, and the blood seemed to be heated and rushed through his body, even the tips of his ears felt hot.

What will he say?

What words deserve such a serious expression?

Would he say he likes me?

Impossible, impossible. In the novel, Gu Xiuyi confessed his love only when he was almost dying. How could it be so soon?

If so, how should I respond?

Even if he confesses his love, it doesn't mean that he won't help Bai Yueguang suffer later. The most unreliable thing in the world is a man's mouth!

But my heart is still beating so fast.

For a very brief moment, Ji Ruan could only hear his own beating heartbeat. He was afraid that he couldn't hear what Gu Xiuyi said, so he covered his chest and suppressed his emotions for a long time before he calmed down a little.

The extremely long entanglement actually only takes a short moment to break through the barrier.

Gu Xiuyi's Adam's apple moved and his lips opened slightly. Ji Ruan's heartbeat reached its peak at this moment.

“—it’s illegal.”

Gu Xiuyi said in a very solemn and rigorous tone: "Any organ trade is challenging the bottom line of the law. I am a law-abiding citizen and have never had any bad record. I also pay taxes on time every year in accordance with the law."

“If you’re concerned, you can always check the company’s tax records.”

“I will not break the law, nor will I tacitly allow others to break the law.”

"What you just dreamed about has no chance of happening at all."

After Gu Xiuyi finished his defense, he looked at Ji Ruan, who was a little dazed.

Her eyes were big, her eyelashes were wet, and her mouth was slightly open as she looked at him, but her gaze was not quite focused.

Ji Ruan has been well taken care of these days. Her lips, which were usually prone to cracking, are now moisturized and have a natural pink hue. They are even a little crystal clear because she had just eaten a piece of cake.

Gu Xiuyi's mind was slightly moved, his fingertips felt numb, and he said the words buried deep in his heart:

"Of course, there won't be anyone more important than you."

After saying that, he looked at Ji Ruan with a little trepidation.

Ji Ruan: “…………”

With the long speech on basic civic exercises above, Ji Ruan’s attention was no longer able to focus on anything else.

Even though Gu Xiuyi finally said "You are the most important", in Ji Ruan's opinion, it was just Mr. Gu's pale excuse for his own falling emotional intelligence.

It's like a skydiver realizing in mid-air that he forgot to bring his parachute, and at the critical moment he finds that he has a spare one. After opening it, he discovered that there was a big hole in it!

It was helpful, but not much, and it didn't save much.

Ji Ruan was completely stunned and couldn't recover at all.

The opening of the unexpected road was so sudden that Ji Ruan's brain crashed.

It turns out that there are laws in the world of ancient sadomasochistic novels!

But why is it getting worse?

Ji Ruan didn't understand what was wrong with him, but he knew that he didn't want to look at Gu Xiuyi Company's tax records at all!

·

That day, Gu Xiuyi never got a reply from Ji Ruan until the very end.

He watched Ji Ruan's eyes regain their luster, as if he had come back to his senses.

But his slightly open lips gradually closed and slowly pursed into a straight line, covering up even the beautiful beads of his lips.

Two seconds later, the corners of Ji Ruan's lips began to drop at a steady speed, slowly forming a half bracket that looked very aggrieved, and then his eye sockets began to turn red, and his whole face became wrinkled in an instant.

“Wow—!”

In less than a second, teardrops as big as beans rushed out from the corners of Ji Ruan's eyes, which were closed into a slit, and hit the back of Gu Xiuyi's hand one after another.

???!!!!!!

Gu Xiuyi almost jumped up from the bed, and moved faster than he realized, pulling out the napkin with a clanging sound.

"No...why are you crying?!"

"I was wrong!"

"Don't cry, baby..."