Chapter 14 Jiang Taigong Fishing
On New Year's Eve, Jiang Ranxu considered opening a bottle of good wine to celebrate the significant progress made today. But then he thought, Meng Weishen had only rejected one of his blind dates, and the relationship between them was still vague and vague, so it couldn't be considered any progress.
I don’t know if he drank too much the day before New Year’s Eve, or if his illness from the previous year had not fully healed. He clearly resisted the urge to drink before going to bed, but he woke up with upper abdominal cramps.
Jiang Ranxu groped his way to the sink in a daze, turned on the water, and vomited with his stomach turned upside down.
The sour, bitter smell lit a fire in my stomach, burning from my internal organs to my throat. I vomited out the corrosive gastric juice, leaving behind a sharp burning pain.
There was still undigested food mixed in the gastric juice, and although the running water quickly washed away the filth, it still brought up many disgusting thoughts.
Once the obsessive thought came into being, Jiang Ranxu would become its slave. He began to clean the entire room uncontrollably, making sure that no tiny particles of vomit were left in every corner, and then took a shower until the water heater was completely depleted.
As the sky gradually brightened, Jiang Ranxu finally stopped from his extreme sleepiness. As soon as he leaned on the edge of the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Ranxu didn't wake up until the afternoon, but the nausea still lingered, becoming even more unbearable. His upper abdomen felt like it was still raging with a raging fire, burning a hole in his stomach wall, and the pain was throbbing wildly.
He vomited again, this time leaving only a pitiful amount of gastric juice in his stomach, which wasn't considered dirty. But his head felt heavy as if it were filled with lead, and he had a headache like a hammer hitting the wall. He hunched over the washbasin, pressed hard on his temples, and waited for the tinnitus to pass before he could straighten up.
Jiang Ranxu realized he had a fever, so he dug out the leftover fever-reducing pills and prepared to swallow two. Then, remembering the side effects of taking medicine on an empty stomach, he quickly tossed the noodles and lettuce he'd packed from the hot pot restaurant yesterday into a pot and cooked them, adding two spoonfuls of salt and one spoonful of soy sauce. This was his New Year's Day lunch.
Just as the bowl of vegetarian noodles was served on the table, the surveillance screen at the entrance suddenly lit up and a formal call ring rang out.
Meng Weishen's face appeared on the surveillance camera at the corridor entrance.
Jiang Ranxu was startled. The other party rang the bell a second time, and he was sure he wasn't hallucinating. Just as he was hesitating whether to unlock the door, the other party had already followed the other residents into the corridor.
Due to a strange habit, Jiang Ranxu developed an extreme sense of territory and could not accept any outsiders appearing in his home.
"Home" should be a spotless pure land, a completely private space where he can relax completely. Any outsider's arrival may leave behind germs, dust and dander, and he cannot tolerate these pollutants spreading in the house.
His ex, with whom he had a brief relationship, had also done the same thing, but her purpose was to check on him.
After banging on the door, he opened it a little, took out the alcohol spray, and sprayed it on the other person's hands several times.
Jiang Ranxu asked, "Besides the door panel, where else did you touch? Spray yourself."
The ex rubbed the alcohol off the back of his hand and cursed outside the door: "Jiang Ranxu, are you crazy? You are so particular. I am really worried that you will wear three layers of condoms before doing it, and then soak your dick in alcohol to disinfect it after doing it!"
"Your suggestion is good." Jiang Ranxu said calmly, "Have you finished disinfecting? If you have anything to say, just talk in the hallway. Don't step on the threshold. Your shoes are dirty too."
In fact, his ex didn't have to worry about the distant issue of sex. He felt creepy even at the simplest physical contact. In his eyes, everyone was a carrier of horrible germs, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, beautiful or ugly. No one was exempt.
...But of course the other party could not understand his strange habit and would rather believe that he was secretly hiding a mistress at home.
After this ordeal, Jiang Ranxu decided that he was not suited to an intimate relationship. He simply returned to being single and was ready to remain so for the rest of his life.
As for Meng Weishen, it was actually an accident.
——
There was a knock on the door. The visitor was very polite, knocking three times regularly, pausing for a moment, and then knocking again three more times when there was no response.
Jiang Ranxu decided to do an experiment.
He put the alcohol spray at the entrance into his pocket and unlocked the door.
"Happy New Year, Dr. Jiang."
Meng Weishen was dressed casually today, wearing a loose-fitting ether-blue windbreaker. His legs, clad in jeans, looked exceptionally straight. His hair was unhaired, having been battered by the cold wind, leaving a few strands curled into ringlets.
Jiang Ranxu thought to himself: Are your shoes clean?
What he said was: "Happy New Year, come in first."
Jiang Ranxu was prepared to deal with mental problems, and stared closely at the other person's soles as he stepped on the threshold and then on the floor of the entrance.
Strangely, he didn't feel disgusted by this. Meng Weishen was always a surprise.
"Your house is so clean, there's not a single clutter to be found." Meng Weishen paused awkwardly at the entrance. "Do you have shoe covers?"
Jiang Ran's new slippers finally came in handy. He then fumbled for the alcohol spray in his pocket, but didn't use it for the time being.
"Are you here to return the car?"
Meng Weishen placed the card key on the coffee table and nodded, "Besides, you were drunk yesterday, so I had to come over to see how you were doing."
Jiang Ranxu still had a stomachache, but he wanted to laugh. He controlled his expression a little: "Thank you. You're so kind to me. No one has ever been so kind to me."
This was probably the first time Meng Weishen had received such artificial praise, and he felt a little embarrassed. His eyes wandered away, his attention returning to his untouched lunch.
"Are you going to have vegetarian noodles for lunch?"
"It's not easy to cook complicated dishes by myself, so just make do with it. I'm used to it." Jiang Ranxu continued to maintain his persona, "Actually, I'm a pretty good cook. Next time you're free, I can..."
However, Meng Weishen did not understand his good intentions at all, and handed the New Year gift box in his hand to him.
Inside the gift box was a row of wild dried sea cucumbers, as thick as an index finger, with a delicate matte skin, and they looked very expensive.
"Thank you for helping me out yesterday and lending me your car. You must accept this gift." Meng Weishen presented him with a treasure. "Sea cucumber is a specialty of my hometown. It is good for the body, especially for men. You can eat it with noodles in the future."
...Jiang Ranxu fell into a brief silence.
As far as he knew, this stuff was primarily for its aphrodisiac properties. He had no idea why he was eating it, and since he couldn't possibly capture Meng Weishen to test its effects, was he wasting it on himself? It would be just like the instant noodles the other party had suggested—a wasteful waste of natural resources.
Jiang Ranxu acted dignified and said, "This is too expensive. I can't accept it. Besides, my physical condition is pretty good. I don't need to take any supplements."
"You can also give it to your director." Meng Weishen wanted to force it on him.
Director Tan's daughters are all married, and after retirement he is only interested in making money and has no interest in regaining his glory.
Jiang Ranxu took a few deep breaths, rewrapped the gift box, and stuffed it back into Meng Weishen's arms. He had a severe headache again, and some lingering tinnitus. His temperature was definitely not low, so he should see the guests off.
"You said yesterday that you weren't afraid of owing me anything. So don't give me anything casually. Take it back yourself."
Meng Weishen threw the gift box aside and grabbed his sleeve, pulling it up. The watch on his wrist vibrated at the same time, and Jiang Ranxu immediately had a bad feeling.
A cluster of purple light was reflected in Meng Weishen's pupils, and his brows furrowed. "You are sick, Doctor Jiang."
The dial flashed a terrifying deep purple image, indicating that the wearer's vital signs were abnormal, with heart rate, respiratory rate, and wrist temperature all higher than usual.
Jiang Ranxu thought to himself, digital watches are really not a good thing. They can only be used as fashion waste in normal times, and they only embarrass people at critical moments.
——
Meng Weishen ordered another takeout of black chicken and ginseng soup.
Jiang Ranxu didn't understand or believe in Chinese medicine's dietary therapy. His understanding of fever reduction was to take medicine and then go to sleep. Despite Meng Weishen's insistence, he swallowed half a bowl of soup.
His stomach couldn't stand the smell of meat, and a faint sour and bitter taste rose in his throat. Meng Weishen wanted to supervise him to finish drinking, but Jiang Ranxu felt a little reluctant and put down the spoon first: "I might have the flu, you'd better stay away from me."
"I had the flu in the second half of the year and have antibodies." Meng Weishen said seriously, "You also had the flu before the New Year. Why are you always sick? So you should eat more sea cucumbers."
"I haven't fully recovered yet. That's why my virus is very serious. You should go back early. I'm serious. It will be troublesome if you need to take sick leave after the New Year."
After all his persuasion, Meng Weishen finally lost his temper and lowered his head. "Okay. Take your medicine. I'll leave when you fall asleep."
Meng Weishen supervised him to swallow the antipyretic medicine, settled him into the bedroom, and finally drew the curtains tightly.
Jiang Ranxu found it difficult to fall asleep during the day. He relied on the sedative effect of the drugs and covered his head with a blanket to imitate the night before he gradually lost his will.
In a daze, he thought he heard the sound of a door opening and closing, suggesting Meng Weishen had left. But then he heard a cacophony of sounds that didn't belong to Meng Weishen: the deep and shallow footsteps of the cripple; the heavy breathing mixed with coughs of the old smoker; and the Beijing accent calling his name, swallowing the second character, belonging to his father.
Jiang Ranxu stood up uncontrollably and groped his way through the dark room. His body became extremely light, as if it had been stripped of flesh and blood, leaving only a ghost.
His father was standing at the door.
The man was smoking, holding a blurry mass of flesh in his hand, blood dripping down. He glanced at him, smiled, and first put out the cigarette butt, then threw the mass of flesh at his feet. The blood spread along the ground, and he could almost feel the warm, sticky substance.
He finally saw clearly that it was a dead cat with its neck cut.
Jiang Ranxu woke up with a start. He stumbled to pull the curtains, and the grayish-white light in the winter became especially precious, dispelling the darkness of his nightmare.
The side effects of the medication were severe: nightmares first, then nausea. Jiang Ranxu had to go to the bathroom to vomit again. He tried his best to move his back, but it was just dry heaves; nothing came out. His stomach felt like it was tied in a knot, twisting and aching. The bloody smell from the nightmare had formed a stubborn lump in his stomach.
Jiang Ranxu vaguely felt someone caressing his back, the movements extremely gentle. He looked at the person, a bit dazed, and the first thing he saw was the cup of water the other person had handed him, a few wisps of hot steam rising from the surface.
Meng Weishen was still there.
Jiang Ranxu rinsed his mouth and said blankly, "You haven't left yet?"
Meng Weishen was also stunned and said: "You have only slept for less than an hour. I was just waiting for takeout from the convenience store."
There were two more boxes of cold medicine powder, a row of canned yellow peaches, and a hot water bottle plugged in in the living room.
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