Zhuang Li was so dazed that he had no idea how he had gotten to the infirmary. When he came to his senses, the school doctor had already hurried out and asked nervously, "Si Ming, what's wrong with you? Come in and lie down. I'll help you."
Zhuang Li's fluctuating heart sank again.
The school doctor's performance extinguished the last shred of hope he had. 7480 was telling the truth; Si Ming had ALS, otherwise the school doctor wouldn't have been so nervous. He must have been a nurse employed by the Si family, just like Zhong Xingyun.
Zhuang Li had imagined all kinds of unexpected situations and knew that his lover's life would not be easy, but he did not expect that the worst situation had already happened.
In this world, ALS is a disease with no definitive cause and no cure. Once contracted, the body gradually loses sensation, becoming paralyzed and eventually dying from respiratory failure, as if frozen in time.
Most patients develop the disease between the ages of 30 and 60, but Si Ming just turned 18 this year, and his life is facing an end before it has really begun.
In the long life that followed, he could not die, but he also had no way to live well. He could not walk, swallow, speak, or even defecate.
He will lose all dignity and hope and live like a puddle of mud.
No wonder he slept on his desk every day, not communicating with anyone. He had long since accepted his fate, given up struggling and resisting, and helplessly and powerlessly awaited death, not a death that would sink into darkness, but a death that would be clear-headed.
Every day he would open his eyes and face the world clearly, but he could only watch in despair as his body rotted away inch by inch. There was nothing more painful than this...
The more Zhuang Li thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. He completely ignored what Si Ming and the school doctor said. He walked into the infirmary, pulled open the curtain, locked himself in, and then covered his red eyes.
He, just a bystander, couldn't accept such a future. How would Si Ming feel?
Zhuang Li couldn't imagine how Si Ming had managed to get through this period. Was he in pain? Was he desperate? Would he be unable to sleep all night?
"Are you very sad?" At this moment, Si Ming lifted the curtain, poked his head in, and looked over here cautiously.
He himself was so desperate, yet he still had the mood to consider Curly's feelings.
"I won't let those scumbags bully you anymore. I will protect you until you get into a good university and have a good future." He raised his fist as if swearing an oath.
Zhuang Li lowered his hand, his eyes reddening as he stared at the man who had vowed to protect him. He clearly wanted to smile, but tears streamed down his cheeks as he grinned. He finally understood how the term "empathy" was coined.
The first person to use it must have had a loved one who was suffering, just like him.
Zhuang Li reached out, pulled Si Ming behind the curtain, and hugged him tightly.
"I will protect you too. Believe me, everything will be fine!" He patted Si Ming's back gently, comforting him tenderly.
Si Ming hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him helplessly, then said viciously: "If anyone dares to bully you again, I will beat him to death!"
When he said "beat to death", he meant it, and he was not joking. For a man without a future, doing anything crazy for Curly seemed so insignificant.
There were still tears on Zhuang Li's face, but the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.
The sadness and fragility lasted only a moment. After calming down, he immediately began to think about how to save the loved ones in this world.
"Where is the bathroom? I want to take a shower." He needed a quiet corner to think carefully.
"I'll take you there. There are my shampoo and shower gel in the bathroom. You can use them." Si Ming reluctantly let go of the little curly-haired girl and led the way in front with familiarity.
Zhuang Li tried to pull his left hand, but his ears turned red and he didn't struggle.
Zhuang Li walked around to the other side of the corridor and tried to pull his right hand, but he immediately dodged, and his crimson ears turned pale in an instant.
Zhuang Li realized that Si Ming had already left the early symptoms and entered a state of gradual paralysis. Now it was only his right hand, and next might be his left. Then, his voice would become hoarse, until he could no longer swallow. After that, his legs might also become paralyzed, and he would lose the ability to walk. Finally, he would lie in bed until his ability to breathe was gradually taken away...
The disease process seems slow, but it is irreversible.
Now Si Ming's right hand is only paralyzed, so there is still a way to save him. But when he can't even speak or swallow food, it will be too late!
Although ALS is a chronic disease, Zhuang Li's time is running out. He stood under the faucet, eyes closed, for over ten minutes under the cold water. When he left the bathroom, his eyes were resolute.
Si Ming was sitting on a bed in the infirmary, holding a hair dryer and in a daze. When he heard footsteps, he immediately looked over. His eyes, which were filled with thick darkness, immediately radiated with joy.
"Blow-dry your hair?" He raised the hair dryer with his left hand.
"I'll do it myself." Zhuang Li took the hair dryer and plugged it in.
The wind whistled, blocking out all the noise, but it couldn't block out Si Ming's burning gaze. He stood by the bed, staring at the little curly-haired boy intently, like a moth in the dark catching sight of a tiny flame.
However, when Zhuang Li turned to look at him, he quickly looked away.
Zhuang Li smiled, looking away, and continued to blow dry his hair. Si Ming then stared at him again, breathlessly, like a thief. He longed to be close to this person, yet was also afraid that if he got too close, he wouldn't be able to pull away.
He knew that he was a man without a future and did not deserve any good thing.
He can protect Curly, but he will not leave any mark in the other's heart, because he will eventually turn into a rotten zombie, revealing his ugliest appearance.
Si Ming stared blankly at this person, his eyes turning red unconsciously. He suddenly felt very sad, sadder than ever before...
Noticing his lover's sudden downturn, Zhuang Li teased, "Why are you always looking at me? Do you have a crush on me?"
"How could I not! Don't talk nonsense!" Si Ming's sadness turned into nervousness. He was clearly denying it, but he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
Body language often reveals a person's inner thoughts better than words. He really had no way to deal with the little curly-haired boy.
"I saw it all, and you still want to deny it." Zhuang Li pointed to a row of medicine cabinets placed in front of the bed.
The glass door of the cabinet can reflect light, so Zhuang Li can see Si Ming staring at him blankly without turning his head.
Only then did Si Ming realize that the cabinet door had betrayed him. His eyes widened, his ears turned red, and he ran away without thinking.
Zhuang Li put down the hair dryer, shook his head and sighed, then laughed helplessly.
No matter how many worlds he traveled through, this person was still so lovable, so how could he bear to abandon him...
While I was thinking, my cell phone rang and the word "Principal" popped up on the screen.
Zhuang Li picked up the phone immediately and learned that three senior professors from Q University had arrived and wanted to talk to him in person.
This result was within Zhuang Li's expectations, so he changed into a new school uniform that Si Ming had already prepared for him and walked towards the principal's office. Halfway there, he seemed to think of something and returned to the infirmary, hiding behind the door.
The school doctor looked at him with a frown on his face. "What are you doing?"
"Shh." Zhuang Li raised his index finger and smiled mysteriously.
Not long after, Si Ming came back sweating profusely, wandering around the infirmary, lifting the bed curtains one by one, looking for the person he had left behind.
"Where's Curly?" he asked anxiously.
"I don't know, don't ask me." The school doctor looked at Mr. Si in surprise.
It's rare that this living dead man would get so anxious that he would jump up and down.
"Was he angry when he left?" Si Ming lifted the last curtain, but couldn't find the figure of Little Curly Hair, so he returned to his previous lifeless state.
He sat hunched over on the hospital bed, his head bowed, his left hand clutching his slightly trembling right, like an abandoned child. Deep confusion and a profound sense of helplessness enveloped him.
The tiny lamp in the darkness was eventually blown out by him himself.
The school doctor shook his head, stood up and left.
Zhuang Li then pushed the door open and said softly, "Hi, are you looking for me?"
Si Ming suddenly looked up, and his eyes, which were filled with frustration, immediately radiated with surprise.
He opened his mouth, as if to explain, but then lowered his head dejectedly. How could a man without a future ask for love? It was meaningless to sacrifice for him.
"Stop being so stubborn, okay?" Zhuang Li walked over, rubbed Si Ming's head, and ordered, "Come on, take me to the principal's office. I'm afraid Fang Yibo will get someone to put me in a sack on the way."
"He dares! I'll beat him to death!" Si Ming's eyebrows raised, and he immediately cheered up. He jumped off the bed, gathered the little curly hair to his side, and waved his hand heroically: "Let's go, I'll escort you!"
He didn't notice at all that all his emotions were controlled by Curly.
If Curly wants to make him happy, he will laugh immediately; if Curly wants to cheer him up, he will be in high spirits; if Curly wants to make him forget his worries and despair, he will not care about anything.
---
"I'll go in first. I'll call you after we're done and you can come and pick me up. Don't sleep. If you miss my call, I might get beaten if I walk alone on the street." Zhuang Li said solemnly when saying goodbye to Si Ming.
"I definitely won't sleep." Si Ming promised energetically.
"Then it's settled." Zhuang Li waved his hand and walked into the office building. As he walked up the stairs, he took out his mobile phone, ready to block the live video.
No matter what the reason, hitting someone during a live broadcast always has a bad impact, and he can't let others use this to attack Si Ming.
However, when he logged onto the livestreaming platform, he discovered that the group's livestream account had been permanently destroyed, all videos completely deleted, and the negative comments vanished without a trace. Someone had taken action before Zhuang Li to suppress the group.
Are you from the Si family?
Thinking of this, Zhuang Li quickly hacked into the Internet and followed this clue to find out Si Ming's family background. Then he was surprised to find that Si Ming and Xiu Yue were actually half-brothers, but one had his father's surname and the other had his mother's surname.
Although the Xiu family is a top wealthy family and seems to be very powerful, in fact, all the family property is the dowry brought by Si Ming's mother.
Mrs. Si also suffered from ALS and died before she was 30 years old. Before her death, she left a will, giving everything in the Xiu family to her son. Si Ming's father, Xiu Zhaotian, only had management rights and had to return all power to his son when Si Ming was 18 years old.
If Si Ming died in an accident, this property worth hundreds of billions would be donated to the country free of charge, and Xiu Zhaotian, his mistress, and his illegitimate son Xiu Yue would not get a penny.
Since Mrs. Si was so wary of Xiu Zhaotian, the Si family naturally would not leave her child to be raised by the Xiu family. They brought the child back to the Si residence a long time ago and were personally cared for by Mr. Si.
But man proposes, God disposes. Si Ming was diagnosed with ALS at such a young age.
Mr. Si is old and can't take care of his grandson for long, so he had to make a will, leaving the Si family's hundreds of billions of assets to Si Ming, and pointed out the key point - if Si Ming does not live beyond the age of sixty and dies accidentally, this huge amount of property will be donated to charity free of charge.
Therefore, no matter how much Xiu Zhaotian hated his son, he would do his best to take care of Si Ming for the rest of his life for the sake of the two huge fortunes. No matter how much the medical expenses were, he had to find a way to make Si Ming live past the age of 60.
The two huge fortunes did ensure Si Ming's life safety, but no one asked him whether he wanted to live without dignity like this.
After reviewing this information, Zhuang Li closed his eyes and sneered inwardly, "If Si Ming died unexpectedly, the Xiu family wouldn't get a penny, so Si Ming contracted this disease. While he could live forever, he'd lost the ability to control his own destiny. This disease came at a perfect time, as if it were designed specifically for the Xiu family to obtain the Si family's wealth. System, don't you find this strange?"
7480: “…”
"Your Lord God really writes a good script." Zhuang Li praised.
7480: “!!!”
"Si Ming will be fine. We'll just have to wait and see." Zhuang Li said this lightly, opened the door and walked into the office.
Seeing the three old professors and the special enrollment contract on the table, he shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, teachers, I don't plan to go to university."
The teachers who were originally very happy: "!!!"
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