Uncomfortable
"Go back. I've called a driver for you." Lu Ziyi turned off the tablet, went back to the room to get the new medicine, handed it to Cheng Xiaorui, and instructed: "Remember to apply the medicine on the wound regularly and try to avoid getting it wet." His tone sounded like an order.
Cheng Xiaorui took it silently, walked to the entrance and changed his shoes clumsily. He turned around to look at Lu Ziyi standing at the intersection of light and shadow, and said softly, "Thank you.
When they reached the curb, a black sedan was already waiting. Cheng Xiaorui opened the door and was greeted by a strong aroma of leather cleaner and fragrance, which immediately made his stomach churn.
"Master, can you open the window?" He subconsciously covered his mouth and nose, his face turning pale.
The window rolled down, and fresh air rushed in, allowing him to loosen his grip and take a deep breath. This peculiar smell in the closed compartment had been a nightmare for him since he was a child, almost always causing severe motion sickness and vomiting, and only rarely could he escape it.
The car drove to a familiar convenience store. When he got out, he really enjoyed the natural air and took a deep breath. He slowly walked into the convenience store, looked around, and didn't see Cheng Zhixu. He had no choice but to greet the store owner and ask him if he had seen him.
"I don't know. Your mother didn't come. I thought you knew. I didn't see her all day today." Zhou Yuan patted Cheng Xiaorui's shoulder. "Hold on until the end of the month to get your salary. I heard you're in your third year of high school. Study hard and share more of the burden with your mother."
Cheng Xiaorui smiled and said, "Thank you, boss. I will." Zhou Yuan nodded and went on to do other things.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, he should have gone straight back to school, but his mother's loss of contact left him restless. The messages he sent fell on deaf ears, and the calls he made went unanswered. A sense of foreboding gripped him like a vine, and he finally bolted for home.
He opened the door to find the house empty. "Mom?" His voice sounded hollow in the silence. There was no response. Cheng Xiaorui panicked, a wave of nervousness washing over him, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Cheng Xiaorui squatted on the ground out of fear. He didn't know what to do now. Where should he go to find Cheng Zhixu? How to go? He didn't know who to find. Breathing gradually became more difficult. He subconsciously wanted to call Chen Zihan, but then he remembered that Lu Ziyi said he was traveling.
Who to contact... What to do...
He tried to stay calm, but the shaking of his hands proved his nervousness. He searched the rooms like a headless fly, and after making sure that his mother was not in any corner, he fell to the ground weakly.
His stomach began to cramp, accompanied by a strong sense of dizziness. Cheng Xiaorui endured the discomfort and crawled into Cheng Zhixu's room. He frantically searched all the cabinets and finally found a cardboard box under the bed - it was full of empty boxes of various painkillers.
This discovery made his heart stop. He suddenly thought of something, go to the hospital, but... there are so many hospitals here, which one should he go to...
Cheng Xiaorui could only stumble out of the room. When he reached the entrance, he opened the door and walked out. Two of his three steps were unsteady. Until in the distance, he saw a figure rushing towards him. His vision was blurred and he could not see clearly.
He could no longer hold on and slid down to the ground, leaning against the wall, desperately trying to catch his breath. The figure that had been in the distance was now squatting before him, panting heavily.
"Open your mouth." It was Lu Ziyi's voice.
He stuffed the medicine into Cheng Xiaorui's mouth, but the pill fell out because he was having difficulty breathing and could only inhale sharply with his mouth open.
Lu Ziyi looked at the pill in his hand that had just fallen out of Cheng Xiaorui's mouth, with some saliva attached. After hesitating for a moment, he put the pill into his mouth, took a sip of water, straightened Cheng Xiaorui's face, leaned over and put his lips on his.
"Hmm..." Cheng Xiaorui groaned, feeling the warm liquid entering his mouth, mixed with the bitter taste of the pills. Until liquid overflowed from the corners of his mouth, he didn't know whether it was saliva or water, and Lu Ziyi slowly retreated.
After two or three minutes, the drug took effect, and Cheng Xiaorui's breathing gradually calmed down. He raised his head and took in the person in front of him. "Why are you... here?" Cheng Xiaorui was a little surprised, but also a little excited, like a drowning man who had finally grabbed a lifeline.
Lu Ziyi didn't say anything, but helped the man up. After a while, he said calmly, "Micro portable ECG patch, your heart rate has exceeded the limit in the past 10 minutes."
"When was it, what was that..." Cheng Xiaorui was completely confused.
Lu Ziyi patiently replied, "It's a disposable, ultra-thin patch, slightly larger than a coin. It can be applied directly to the skin on your chest and connected to a mobile app via Bluetooth to continuously monitor and display your real-time heart rate." He pointed at Cheng Xiaorui's chest and continued,
"The ECG patch is attached to the corresponding chest area on the inside of the clothes you're wearing. Once you put on the clothes, the patch will automatically contact your skin and start working, and the data will be sent to my phone in real time."
"You are monitoring me?" Cheng Xiaorui was stunned.
"You're overthinking it. The T-shirt you're wearing is my T-shirt. I use it to monitor myself."
"..." There's nothing wrong with it. This piece of clothing is indeed Lu Ziyi's. When they were still in the villa, Cheng Xiaorui's clothes were not dry yet, so Lu Ziyi lent him one and said that he would return the clothes to Cheng Xiaorui when he arrived at school. After all, who could refuse such a "thoughtful" gesture?
Just about 20 minutes ago, Lu Ziyi was sitting in his study, his phone screen lit up, showing a steadily fluctuating heart rate curve, the value stable at 68. This made him feel strangely at ease, as if Cheng Xiaorui was within reach.
However, something strange happened.
On the screen, the number representing the heart rate suddenly jumped, climbing from 72 to 89, 105... and finally fluctuating violently at a high of 129. The curve was no longer a gentle wave, but a steep, crazy sawtooth.
Lu Ziyi sat up abruptly, his pupils shrinking slightly. What had Cheng Xiaorui encountered? Danger? Fear? Or...
He called Cheng Xiaorui, but no one answered. The sense of control he'd felt instantly vanished, replaced by a panic gripped by the unknown. He grabbed his car keys and rushed out the door, his heart rate ticking past 140 on his phone.
"That's such a coincidence, why don't you take it down?" Cheng Xiaorui asked in a low voice.
"This dress is too tacky, I didn't wear it much afterwards." Lu Ziyi said lightly.
“…”
"So what happened? How did you become like this?" Lu Ziyi took off the patch and put it in his pocket when he saw there was no trash can nearby.
"I..." Cheng Xiaorui's eyes turned red after he said one word, "My mother is missing..." After he finished speaking, tears streamed down his face until he began to sob.
"What does that mean?" Lu Ziyi was obviously at a loss.
"I don't know..." Cheng Xiaorui cried, "I can't get through to her on the phone, and she doesn't reply to my messages... I don't know where she went. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find her..."
After a moment, without hearing Lu Ziyi's answer, Cheng Xiaorui looked up and looked at Lu Ziyi with tearful eyes: "Can you help me? I know you can find her, please..."
Lu Ziyi didn't notice the meaning in his eyes, but Cheng Xiaorui could sense a hint of pity in them. He rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, Lu Ziyi had already turned around, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Wait half an hour." Lu Ziyi wiped the tears from Cheng Xiaorui's face and said.
This action was so gentle that it was unlike him, but it finally gave Cheng Xiaorui's heart, which was on the verge of collapse, a glimmer of support.
"Indoor Third People's Hospital." Lu Ziyi hung up the phone and gave the location in a low but clear voice. "Surveillance footage shows a similar figure at the Huayuan intersection around 3 a.m. this morning, but the image is blurry, so I can't be 100% sure it's your mother."
He paused, glanced at Cheng Xiaorui's instantly pale face, and continued, "At 4 a.m., the hospital's front desk surveillance confirmed that someone matching your mother's description had paid the fee and was subsequently... sent to the ICU emergency room."
Every word was like a needle tempered with ice, piercing Cheng Xiaorui's heart. His breathing, which had just recovered, became rapid again, his stomach churned, and his vision went black, as if he would collapse at any moment.
"Calm down," Lu Ziyi's hand firmly supported his almost exhausted shoulder, and an unquestionable strength came from his palm, "I'll take you there now."
Cheng Xiaorui's mind was buzzing with anger, and only endless self-blame and regret were left, entwining and gnawing at him like a poisonous snake. If only... I had gone back last night.
The black sedan sped down the road, ignoring several red lights as it rushed toward the Third People's Hospital at top speed. As soon as the car came to a stop, Cheng Xiaorui rushed out like an arrow from a bow. However, facing the huge and unfamiliar hospital building before him, he was instantly at a loss. Standing in the bustling entrance hall, he had no idea which direction to go, and a huge panic almost overwhelmed him.
Lu Ziyi locked the car and hurried after him. Seeing Cheng Xiaorui's distraught look, his brows furrowed. Before Cheng Xiaorui could speak, he firmly grasped his hand, holding it firmly, leading him through the crowd without a chance of rejection, and heading straight towards the emergency center.
"This way."
Cheng Xiaorui's hands were cold and shaking violently and uncontrollably, causing his entire body to tremble slightly.
Lu Ziyi felt the uncontrollable trembling in his palm. He tilted his head to look at him, and subconsciously held the cold and trembling hand tighter, almost embedding his slender finger bones into his palm.
"Why are you shaking?" His voice was still low, but it was no longer a command. Instead, it sounded like a clumsy comfort. "Hold on tight, don't lose me."
He held his hand, walking through a corridor thick with the scent of disinfectant, toward the ICU waiting area, a place filled with uncertainty and fear. Between their clasped hands, a strange blend of icy trembling and resolute warmth formed.
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