Chapter 170. To Hell in Your World 3 Ridiculously, she was even thinking...
The morning sun broke through the darkness of the night, and the whole world was bathed in clean sunlight, a brand new world.
A few sparrows chirped and flitted among the dense leaves, as if exchanging information about where to find the most delicious and plentiful insects.
Having passed the prelude of awakening all things, the vibrant spring has arrived.
I haven't had such a satisfying sleep in a long time; it's not just about physical comfort, but also about mental relaxation.
With a slight tremor of her eyelashes, Lu Shizhen slowly opened her eyes. Perhaps out of habit, her ears automatically ignored the sounds of the nearby monitoring equipment, leaving only the clear chirping of birds outside the window.
The pain churned silently around the wound after the anesthesia wore off, and Lu Shizhen breathed shallowly, her movements practiced and familiar.
The fresh morning sunlight fell on her pillow as she adjusted her position. Suddenly, she noticed a figure by the window near her bed.
The bright glass was filled with the radiant sunlight, which shone down and fell on the person beside the bed.
Xu Shiyue was still wearing her white lab coat, her shoulders, neck and waist parallel to the back of the chair, sitting upright by the window, flipping through a narrow book.
Her long, straight hair was like a jet-black waterfall, flowing smoothly and silkily down her back, drawing a clear line between her earlobes and jawline, neatly revealing half of her profile.
Lu Shizhen couldn't see clearly what book Xu Shiyue was reading, but her lowered eyes were full of seriousness.
Her thin lips were slightly pursed, her breathing was shallow, and the whole scene was unusually quiet, with only the sound of her turning the pages slowly.
Unable to hold her breath any longer, Lu Shizhen also held her breath.
The smell of disinfectant sneaked into her nostrils and lingered on the scene. Under the sunlight, Xu Shiyue looked like she was pure and clean, untouched by the world.
Did she really stay by her bedside all night?
Lu Shizhen's eyes flickered slightly, and a question involuntarily flashed through her mind.
Although Xu Shiyue's clothes and hairstyle proved that she hadn't left all night.
Lu Shizhen still couldn't quite believe it.
In that moment of distraction, Xu Shiyue's eyes unexpectedly met Lu Shizhen's: "Awake?"
Lu Shizhen was completely unprepared. When she saw Xu Shiyue turn her head to look at her, she immediately felt like she had been caught red-handed.
She pursed her lips slightly, her expression strong and calm: "Mm."
"How are you feeling now?" Xu Shiyue seemed not to care about Lu Shizhen peeking at her, nor did she intend to. She calmly observed her condition.
This also helped Lu Shizhen calm down, and she accurately described, "I'm more awake than when I woke up last night."
Xu Shiyue nodded, then asked, "Is there anywhere on your body that hurts?"
There was pain, but Lu Shizhen was calmer than many of the patients Xu Shiyue had encountered: "Of course there was, but it was all pain from the surgical wound, and I could tell the difference."
As Lu Shizhen spoke, her slightly raised face carried a kind of bittersweet pride.
Seeing this, Xu Shiyue smiled slightly and said, "You've become quite the doctor yourself after being sick for so long."
“I’m hardly a great doctor,” Lu Shizhen said, not daring to accept Xu Shiyue’s praise. “I’m just an ordinary comic artist.”
However, this humility did not dismiss the topic. Xu Shiyue looked at Lu Shizhen, who was slowly sitting up, and said to her, "If an author who has won the Best Newcomer Award is considered ordinary, then the threshold for your comic book industry is too high."
Xu Shiyue spoke calmly, as if she were simply narrating a story.
But the story she recounted was quite unexpected. Lu Shizhen didn't recall revealing these things to Xu Shiyue, nor did she think someone like Xu Shiyue would be interested in them: "How could you..."
Before she could finish uttering her confused words, Lu Shizhen suddenly stopped.
The sunlight couldn't reach her upward-looking gaze, and she then realized that the book Xu Shiyue had placed on her lap wasn't a pharmacy textbook, but rather her recently published comic book.
Just now, Xu Shiyue was intently reading her own book by the window.
So is she interested in her own comics?
Do you think your comics are good?
...
Many questions, along with anticipation, crowded into Lu Shizhen's mind.
Whether it was because she was being too obvious or because Xu Shiyue could read her mind, Xu Shiyue gently stroked the comic on her lap and said to Lu Shizhen, "It's very good, the plot is very engaging. If you didn't need to rest right now, I would be eager to have you draw the next one."
Unusually, Lu Shizhen seemed a little embarrassed by the praise.
She was very reserved, and nodded to Xu Shiyue with her eyes half-lowered: "Thank you."
“However, I think your human anatomy could be improved a bit more.” Perhaps it was a matter of politeness first, but as Xu Shiyue flipped through Lu Shizhen’s comics, she offered some suggestions in a gentle tone, “Although these details don’t significantly affect the artwork, I’m a medical student and am quite sensitive to these human movements.”
Lu Shizhen wasn't the type of person who could only accept praise and couldn't accept criticism or correction. She nodded frankly: "That's true. Influenced by the comics I've read before, my body proportions are rather slender, which makes it difficult to capture the essence of a human body."
After a pause, Lu Shizhen asked humbly, "If Dr. Xu doesn't mind the trouble, could you explain it to me in more detail?"
“Then I might need you to turn around and face the mirror on the wall. It will be easier to explain if you can see the image,” Xu Shiyue said.
“Okay.” Lu Shizhen nodded, carefully moved towards the mirror on the side wall, and asked, “Then…”
Before the question could even be asked, Xu Shiyue answered Lu Shizhen's "And then?" with her actions.
A few wisps of wind slipped through the loose hospital gown, and as Lu Shizhen bent down to straighten it, she felt a warm breeze coming from behind her.
When she looked up again, she saw Xu Shiyue approaching her in the mirror. Her fair knees were pressed against the soft bedding, and her slender legs, clad in black stilettos, stood straight behind her.
The movements were upright and straight, yet an indescribable sense of decadence was hidden in the mirror.
Lu Shizhen was still lost in thought about this movement when Xu Shiyue's voice came over: "Look, if two people are doing this, their elbows should be raised to this height."
The voice was careful and focused, just like a lecture.
But the mirror showed Lu Shizhen that the teacher was standing behind her student, the two of them overlapping in the mirror, as if they were embracing without any distance between them.
Next, Xu Shiyue needed to demonstrate the character's movements to Lu Shizhen, and the originally safe distance was thus reduced to the extreme.
The more earnest her voice was, the closer it would be to Lu Shizhen's ear, gentle and warm, yet like a ball of fire.
Unlike the main perspective where only Xu Shiyue is visible, Lu Shizhen's viewpoint becomes a third-person perspective thanks to the mirror.
The person was explaining things to her very carefully, but she was still distracted, and all she could see was the image of the person interacting with her.
Lu Shizhen looked at Xu Shiyue in the mirror, her face almost touching Xu Shiyue's.
Like a puppet, like a figure printed on paper, Lu Shizhen could predict every movement, and every movement was clearly manipulated by Xu Shiyue.
"Look here, this bone should follow the curve of the muscle like this..."
"Thump, thump."
Lu Shizhen felt as if her heart had been deliberately placed in a quiet, square room, with each beat echoing loudly.
She wanted to concentrate on Xu Shiyue's explanation, but whether Xu Shiyue did it on purpose or not, every time she snapped back to reality, he would immediately slip into another ambiguous gesture.
The bright sunlight shone in the mirror, and Xu Shiyue's lips were pressed against Lu Shizhen's cheek.
A faint fragrance wafted past the smell of disinfectant, clinging to Lu Shizhen's neck like a vine, cool yet invigorating.
Lu Shizhen's heart was beating faster and faster, a feeling she had never experienced before.
Ironically, she was even wondering why that lip wasn't touching her cheek.
.
When it happened in front of the mirror, it seemed like a tiny, insignificant episode. Lu Shizhen didn't dare to think too much about her crazy ideas, and life went on peacefully for a long time until a week after the surgery.
As Xu Shiyue had said, some results from the surgery would be visible a week after the operation. Whether she could regain feeling and stand up would all be determined today.
Having experienced too many disappointments, Lu Shizhen felt a lot of fear about this outcome and even chose to escape, deliberately ignoring her leg from the very beginning.
After breakfast, the tightly closed door was pushed open as it had been for the past few days.
Xu Shiyue walked over with her notebook and asked as usual, "How are you feeling today?"
"It's better than yesterday. The pain from the bottom cut isn't as noticeable anymore," Lu Shizhen replied, still not mentioning her leg at all.
But Xu Shiyue didn't give her that chance. She came to the bedside and looked at her legs hidden under the blanket: "Have you tried moving your legs?"
Lu Shizhen glanced down at her legs, then looked at Xu Shiyue with a pitiful look that seemed to want to delay: "Isn't it too early?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Shiyue walked over unhurriedly and, surprisingly, took Lu Shizhen's hand: "Didn't you believe in me?"
Lu Shizhen has seen many kinds of gentleness—doctors, nurses, mothers, and brothers—but Xu Shiyue's gentleness is unique.
Her hands were slightly cool yet warm, and as they enveloped Lu Shizhen's hands, the tension in Lu Shizhen's heart suddenly dissipated.
Lu Shizhen suddenly felt a sense of familiarity yet confusion about the feeling Xu Shiyue gave her, and she wanted to trust her unconditionally.
Xu Shiyue's eyes seemed to be bewitched; Lu Shizhen merely met her gaze for a moment before nodding, "Okay."
So, just like last time, Xu Shiyue held Lu Shizhen's feet.
It was this one action that made Lu Shizhen feel as if she was being lifted up and pulled.
The blocked blood vessels and nerves seemed to be activated in that instant. Lu Shizhen felt that the warmth of the palm was no longer flowing from her outstretched palm, but gathering in her ankle, which she had not felt before.
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