24 Heartbeat
◎A mortal's hundred years, love is but a fleeting moment◎
Xue Lu's head was throbbing so badly it felt like it was going to explode, and his eyelids were heavy.
He knew that this embrace was likely an illusion conjured by his resurfacing inner demons, much like the long, lingering dream he had had a few days ago.
But the body he was nestled against was so warm and soft that he couldn't bear to let go. He held her tightly, wanting their bones and blood to merge together.
Xue Lu remained silent, only occasionally letting out short, sharp breaths from his throat and nasal cavity.
Song Qinggui tensed up. Was he...crying?
Why?
After hugging for a while, Song Qinggui felt that Xue Lu's body temperature was unusually hot, and he smelled of alcohol.
He's been drinking?
She tried to push him away and touch his forehead to see if he had a fever.
But as soon as she placed her hand on his chest, with just a little force, Xue Lu's body stiffened, and he hugged her even tighter.
"Lawyer Xue... what's wrong with you..."
Xue Lu held her waist tightly, and after a long while, he murmured, "Why do you still push me away even in my dreams..."
"Huh?" Song Qinggui didn't hear clearly: "What did you say..."
Before Song Qinggui could finish speaking, Xue Lu suddenly released her.
The force applied to his body suddenly left, and Song Qinggui staggered as he sat down on the sofa.
Xue Lu was also a little unsteady on his feet. He didn't turn around and went straight back to his room.
As Song Qinggui watched his retreating figure, he felt a pang of sadness for some reason.
Xue Lu had always been arrogant and upright. Even in his student days, he had a disdainful air that surpassed his peers. Now, at the prime of his life, in his thirties, he was even more spirited. But just now, his back view revealed fatigue and loneliness.
They had known each other for ten years, filled with mutual suspicion and scheming, but Song Qinggui preferred to see him act arrogantly.
That night, Song Qinggui tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
She was extremely tired from work these past few days, but she just couldn't fall asleep tonight; every time she closed her eyes, she saw Lawyer Xue.
At 1:30 a.m., she got up and took two melatonin pills, but it was still to no avail; she could only lie there with her eyes open, like a sheep.
The clock struck three in the morning, and Song Qinggui could no longer bear it.
She abruptly stood up, used the hair clip on the bedside table to tie up her long hair, walked to Xue Lu's room door, hesitated for a moment, and then knocked.
"Knock knock knock".
There was no response from inside the room.
Song Qinggui frowned and knocked three more times, but there was still no response.
Song Qinggui steeled his resolve, pushed open the door, and went inside.
In the light of her phone screen, she gently turned on the bedside lamp by Xue Lu's bed.
She squinted, adjusting to the light for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, her heart clenched instantly.
Xue Lu was still asleep. He had his brows furrowed and was curled up in the blanket. His lips were a little pale, but his cheeks were unusually red.
Song Qinggui quickly reached out and touched his neck and forehead; they were frighteningly hot.
She quickly pulled the blanket off Xue Lu; people with high fevers shouldn't be covered with blankets, they need to cool down.
Song Qinggui went back to the room and brought back ibuprofen and cold medicine granules, and she prepared the medicine for him.
"Wake up, Xue Lu!" she tried to wake him. "Get up and take your medicine."
Upon hearing the sound, Xue Lu's brows furrowed more and more, but he could not open his eyes.
Song Qinggui took her temperature, which was a shocking 39.8℃. He then pried open her mouth with a cotton swab, looked at it with his phone, and saw that her tonsils were already festering with pus.
Unable to wake Xue Lu, Song Qinggui had no choice but to call the emergency room and driver's team at Jingtian Hospital, asking the driver to pick up the medicine and IV set from the emergency room and bring them to her.
"Director Song, this..."
Song Qinggui knew the emergency room doctor was worried about this being non-compliant: "You log into my account to prescribe the medication. I'm registered in the cardiac surgery department and have prescription rights. I'll get the necessary signatures for you when I go to work the day after tomorrow."
The person on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay."
While waiting for the medicine, Song Qinggui fetched warm water and used a towel to wipe Xue Lu's body to lower his fever.
She unbuttoned Xue Lu's pajamas, revealing the lines of his collarbone, pectoral muscles, and abdominal muscles in turn.
Song Qinggui's heartbeat became slightly erratic. As she removed his pajamas, she scolded herself, "Xue Lu is burning to death, and you still have the mind to look at his body? Have you never seen a man before or what..."
After scolding himself, Song Qinggui felt better, and his movements became much more relaxed and natural.
After wiping him for twenty minutes, Song Qinggui felt that Xue Lu's body was not so hot anymore. She took his temperature again and found that it had dropped to 38.2℃. She then used a spoon to feed him cold medicine little by little.
After administering the medication, the driver also brought over the IV fluids and the IV set.
Song Qinggui prepared the medicine, found a few hooks, and pasted them on the wall above Xue Lu's bedside, hanging the medicine up with practiced ease.
Song Qinggui took his hand, gently patted the back of his hand, breathed a sigh of relief, looked at him in his sleep, and said with a hint of resentment, "Luckily I learned intravenous puncture, and luckily your veins are easy to find."
The IV fluid dripped smoothly into Xue Lu's body, but Song Qinggui dared not sleep. He kept a close eye on him, afraid that if he moved, he would puncture the needle.
Fortunately, Xue Lu was a good sleeper. Song Qinggui stared at him for a while and murmured, "If only he were this obedient when he was awake."
After receiving an injection of antibiotics, Xue Lu quickly started sweating, his brows relaxed, and his complexion improved. His temperature was now 37.4℃.
After Song Qinggui changed the medicine to clear heat and detoxify, he finally relaxed a bit.
She looked around Xue Lu's room and found his shirt and pants lying carelessly on the floor. When she picked them up, she saw yellowish wine stains on his white shirt. She guessed that this was the source of the smell of alcohol on him, since Xue Lu was not an alcoholic.
She wanted to tidy up the two pieces of clothing and send them to the dry cleaners later. But when she picked up the shirt, she noticed that one of the cufflinks was missing, and the fabric at the cufflink was also torn, revealing a tiny loose thread.
Song Qinggui's heart tightened again.
Xue Lu doesn't exhibit the typical habits of the wealthy when it comes to food, clothing, and daily necessities. He dislikes sports cars, watches, and luxury clothing. His only tasteful hobby is cufflinks, which he uses and collects. He personally selects each pair of cufflinks, and he even has a dedicated display case for them in his home.
My cufflinks are gone... Something must have happened last night.
It was five in the morning. Song Qinggui knew that this was inhumane, and she also knew that she could have waited until work hours to inquire.
But Xue Lu was behaving very strangely tonight, and she couldn't wait any longer, so she called Chen An.
People who can become president's assistants must have something special about them.
The phone rang twice before Chen An answered, his voice showing no sign of fatigue or displeasure: "Miss Song, what's the matter so late?"
"I'm so sorry, Assistant Chen, for calling you at this hour." Song Qinggui said apologetically, "I'd like to ask President Xue for leave. He's sick with a high fever and can't come to work tomorrow. Could you please let the other senior executives know? If there are any meetings, please adjust the schedule accordingly."
"President Xue is sick?" Chen An was clearly surprised, but didn't press for details: "Okay."
"Also..." Song Qinggui held the phone in his left hand, his right hand clenched, his fingertips digging into his palm, "Yesterday's itinerary for President Xue..."
At this point in Song Qinggui's speech, Chen An immediately understood: "Yesterday, after finishing his work, President Xue went to the Lancheng Hotel to attend the Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Leaders Banquet, but I was handling other work at the time and did not go with President Xue."
“Hmm,” Song Qinggui replied, but it was a little strange, as Xue Lu had never liked attending such occasions.
“Um…” Chen An obviously guessed what Song Qinggui was thinking. After thinking it over, he decided to say it: “Miss Song, Mr. Xue is probably going to the banquet to see someone.”
"who?"
"Representatives of the partners of Dadao Law Firm, including Luo et al."
Upon hearing the names Luo and others, Song Qinggui roughly guessed what was going on: "I understand. Thank you, Assistant Chen. This call today counts as overtime. I'll talk to General Manager Xue, and it will be reflected in your performance evaluation this month."
"You're too kind," Chen An said. "I've been with Mr. Xue since he started his business, it's nothing."
After hanging up Chen An's call, Song Qinggui found Luo Deng's name on WeChat.
She could compensate Chen An with her salary for bothering him, but she couldn't call Luo Deng in the same way. She didn't want to owe Luo Deng any favors, especially since Lawyer Xue was so bothered by Luo Deng.
Song Qinggui cursed himself inwardly, "Isn't this just bullying the weak and fearing the strong? Song Qinggui, you're such a hypocrite."
Although she couldn't make a phone call, she still left a message for Luo and others on WeChat: "Did something happen to Lawyer Xue at yesterday's banquet?"
But to her surprise, her phone rang as soon as she sent the message; it was Luo Deng.
Song Qinggui hesitated for a moment before answering: "Are you still awake at this hour, or are you already awake?"
"I have an urgent case to prepare, so I'm working overtime," Luo said with a self-deprecating laugh.
"Hmm." Song Qinggui got to the point: "Yesterday..."
“I ran into Lawyer Xue yesterday and chatted with him for a bit,” Luo said before Song Qinggui could finish asking. “But he left very early, and in a hurry. He was even bumped into by a waiter, who spilled champagne all over him.”
Remembering the wine stains on his shirt, Song Qinggui knew Luo Deng wasn't lying: "What did you say to him yesterday?"
Luo fell silent. Instead of answering Song Qinggui's question, he asked, "Qinggui, I've always had a question I'd like to ask you."
"you say."
"Are you merely using Xue Lu, or have you truly fallen for him?"
Song Qinggui's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed down: "Does it matter?"
Why isn't it important?
Song Qinggui took a deep breath, leaned against the windowsill, and looked at the sleeping Xue Lu: "Because there is no future. He and I are from two different worlds."
"The rules of conduct." Luo and the others already knew the answer: "So you've fallen for it, haven't you?"
Song Qinggui remained silent; she did not deny it.
She didn't feel she needed to hide anything from Luo Deng. If there were any friends in the world she could completely trust, Luo Deng was definitely one of them, even though they hadn't been in contact for many years.
Why him?
One problem after another arose from Luo and others, and Song Qinggui was completely unaware that Luo and others' resentment was also a factor in this.
At this moment, Song Qinggui's eyes were focused solely on Xue Lu.
"Do I need a reason?" Song Qinggui smiled wryly. "He's Lawyer Xue... He's very worthy of love, isn't he?"
After a long silence, Luo finally said, "Yesterday he asked me some questions about your childhood."
Song Qinggui nodded, but a lump formed in his throat. So, he still knew about those unbearable past events...
But she didn't blame Luo and the others; she had actually been aware of all of this for a long time.
Song Qinggui didn't remember when she hung up the phone. She just stared intently at Xue Lu.
Xue Lu, tell me, at what moment did I fall in love with you...?
Was it your dashing basket in the college basketball game, or that song we listened to together in the library corridor, or... the first time we met in college, my roommate whispered in my ear, "You know what? You and this senior are really destined for each other. His name is Xue Lu, Lu as in 'rules and regulations'!"
Song Qinggui smiled, very gently, but as he smiled, his eyes reddened.
These moments will all become beautiful memories in the future...
Song Qinggui watched him quietly as the sky outside the window gradually turned a pale white.
[Author's Note]
The chapter title is a quote I saw online a long time ago: "For mortals, a hundred years is but a fleeting moment outside of order; love is a moment that transcends it all." I find this quote as moving as "Love arises without warning, and deepens with time." I hope everyone can experience that moment. [Heart]
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