Playing the old card
"Half and half, I guess." Yu Zou opened his eyes. The patterns on the ceiling were spinning, and the medical instruments were on the verge of alarms. Li Kuo saw the red and green lights switching, swallowed his words, and pulled Zhao Junjie away from the ward.
On the morning of the third day, the door, which was supposed to be empty except for medical staff, was pushed open by an arm, and Ji Huisheng, carrying a fruit basket in one hand and a lunchbox in the other, crawled in from under her arm.
Yu Zou quickly sat up and greeted them. Ji Huisheng placed the things heavily on the bedside table and said, "You still recognize people, so it seems there's nothing seriously wrong."
Lili looked a bit better than before. She opened the lunchbox and held it out to Yu Zou, saying, "This is a nourishing soup I made. It's not bitter. Huisheng, open the table for him."
Ji Huisheng silently complied, his eyes fixed on Yu Zou.
"I can do it myself, I can do it myself." Yu Zou quickly opened it himself and placed the lunchbox in front of him.
"Drink it with gratitude." Ji Huisheng stood to the side with his arms crossed, quite dissatisfied with Lili's efforts in making soup for him. Whether she made it herself or bought some from outside, Lili politely refused.
"I saw the news, it's really serious. Why didn't you say anything?" Lili sat down, and Ji Huisheng sat on the hospital bed, playing with Lili's curly hair by twirling it around his fingers.
"It's nothing serious, and I don't have any major problems, it's just..." Yu Zou lowered his voice and moved closer to him, and Ji Huisheng also perked up his ears, "I don't want to go to work! I'll just stay here and rest for a few more days."
Li Li opened her eyes wide and immediately believed the story. Looking at him again, she couldn't help but feel a little reproachful for such a childish behavior. Ji Huisheng, on the other hand, looked speechless and embarrassed.
Yu Zou took a couple of sips and praised Li Li's cooking skills, saying they had improved again. He said the hospital food was just pretty vases, good to look at but not good to eat, focusing only on nutrition and neglecting taste. Li Li's soup was a lifesaver for his mouth. Li Li immediately wanted to make it every day and have Ji Huisheng deliver it.
Yu Zou choked, coughing and tears streaming down his face, but he still waved his hand immediately, saying in a hoarse voice through his last breath, "No need." He didn't even need to look up to know that Ji Huisheng's murderous gaze was forcing him to refuse.
Lili got up to pat him on the back, but Ji Huisheng stopped her, walked to Yu Zou's side, and patted his back heavily a few times.
Yu Zou calmed down and said, "No need, Madam. My teacher is so busy, how could I possibly accept that?"
Li Li hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll do it myself."
How could things have turned out this way?! Yu Zou's usually quick-witted mind seemed to have just coughed up something, and for a moment he was stuck, unable to think of a way to refuse without hurting Li Li's feelings.
“I really want to drink too. But!” As soon as Yu Zou said this, Ji Huisheng’s hand patted his back harder. “The doctor said my biggest problem is malnutrition caused by overwork. I need to strictly follow the doctor’s orders for the hospital’s nutritional meals and can’t drink too much.”
Li Li's gaze lingered on the two faces for a moment, he almost laughed but held it back, and called out in a deep voice, "Ji Huisheng!"
Yu Zou quickly grabbed Li Li's leg, grimacing as if in great pain, and complained, "Teacher's wife! Help me! Teacher hit me again."
As the three chatted and laughed, the door opened again, and a person in a black overcoat, holding a bunch of blue hyacinths, breathed out into the room, his face still covered in cold air.
Lili looked astonished. Ji Huisheng immediately noticed her unusual reaction, stood beside her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and called out softly. However, Lili did not respond. Her gaze was entirely on Du Pianjian as she watched him walk in, stand on the other side of Yu Zou's bed, put down the bouquet, and greet Yu Zou, but she could not hear what they were saying.
Du Pianjian asked with concern, "How are you?"
"Still alive." Sorry to disappoint you. Yu Zou replied.
"I'll come see you another day." Ji Huisheng pulled Lili to leave, but Lili didn't get up. Instead, she grabbed Ji Huisheng's hand tightly. Her long curly hair covered most of her face. She asked weakly, "What's your relationship?"
Yu Zou didn't want to lie to his teacher and was organizing his thoughts when Du Pianjian casually showed off the ring on his left hand: "We're engaged."
Li Li mechanically turned her head to look at Yu Zou, her eyes filled with undisguised fear and a desire for confirmation. She also reached out with her other hand, drawing strength from Ji Huisheng.
"Yes." Yu Zou also noticed that something was wrong with Lili, and spoke even more carefully, afraid of disturbing her. "I sent you and the teacher an invitation, but there was no response. I think it will turn into a business reception anyway, with all sorts of people. It's probably better if you two don't come."
Upon receiving the answer, Lili immediately lost all strength and collapsed into Ji Huisheng's arms, her eyes filled with terror and her face pale. Ji Huisheng, disregarding his composure, hurriedly took Lili and left. Yu Zou, worried, went to the window to check; Lili hadn't even made it out of the building.
Yu Zou was full of suspicion. How could it have been so perfectly fine just now, only to be ruined as soon as Du Pianjian arrived? He asked, "Are you familiar with Teacher Ji?"
"Not close." Du Pianjian took out a few bottles of mineral water from the bedside table, untied the bouquet, and put the water into the bottles. "You and her are very close?"
"Yes, she was my mentor in college." Yu Zou returned to his hospital bed, thinking that after Du Pianjian left, asking He Honghan for a diagnosis would be more truthful than any other words.
After being out of contact for over a month, I initially thought he was just making a polite visit, but who would have thought he would actually sit down?!
Yu Zou slowly typed on the keyboard on the hospital bed, occasionally glancing at Du Pianjian sitting by the bedside out of the corner of his eye. Du Pianjian wore a beige turtleneck sweater with a row of round wooden buttons down the right side of the collar to his chest. His coat was hanging on a hanger, showing no intention of wearing it again.
"Aren't you going to class?"
"Classes are over, only the final exams are left. Don't you want me here?"
"How could this be?"
“My dad arranged for reporters to come and take care of me.”
Despite being called a caregiver, Du Pianjian only ate snacks and watched TV. When he ran out of supplements, he would order takeout. Raw food with a bloody smell and heavily spicy ingredients filled the ward, showing no regard for his feelings as a patient.
The work was delivered as usual, with the secretary bringing it at 10 a.m. sharp and picking it up at 6 p.m. sharp. Half an hour later, the nurse brought dinner, without fail. Today, he had drunk Lili's soup, so he wasn't hungry at all when it was time to eat. Therefore, he put the food aside when the nurse brought it, wanting to push forward the progress of the Garden Glacier venue.
Du Pianjian still showed no sign of leaving. Yu Zou began to feel dizzy and his heart was pounding like he was fleeing a disaster. Was this what they meant by "you can fool others, but you can't fool your own heart"?
While catching his breath, he realized the IV drip was moving at the speed of his escape. Du Pianjian silently turned the drip rate control to its maximum. Yu Zou, utterly exhausted, gently reminded him, "You're pressing on my IV line."
Du Pianjian turned her head, revealing an apologetic smile that suggested she had done something wrong: "Since you're in such a hurry to finish your work, I think the IV drip should be started as soon as possible."
There's no need to go to such lengths to end the caregiving as soon as possible. Yu Zou smiled casually and adjusted the speed to normal. With the infusion of the drug that had a sedative effect about to begin, he couldn't afford to sleep with one eye on the ground while keeping watch with the other. He said, "There's only one bag left. We'll rest after this."
Du Pianjian glanced up at the medicine bottle and pressed the bell to change the medication. The nurse came in and carefully checked the data on each instrument. Du Pianjian stared at the nurse's every move, seemingly very concerned. He was especially attentive when the nurse pressed on Yu's arm veins and adjusted the infusion rate.
Soon, Yu Zou's eyelids began to droop, and as he drifted off to sleep, Du Pianjian remained sitting by the bedside. Looking at him in a daze, Du Pianjian's expression was surprisingly gentle, and his eyes held expectation.
Yu Zou closed his eyes in a daze, thinking to himself: Okay, I'm going to sleep now, you can finish your task.
The light was already a bit too bright for Yu Zou's eyes, and he didn't want to open them. He vaguely thought that today would not come, so he stretched out his arm to shield his eyes. His heart wanted to sleep, but his mind disagreed.
The moment Yu Zou opened his sleepy eyes, his gaze snapped to focus, and he even held his breath. Du Pianjian was sitting in the same spot as he had been in yesterday, just as he had been when he closed his eyes. The same smile played on his lips, and his gaze was fixed intently on him. The morning light slanted across his back, casting a hazy, luminous outline around his silhouette.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" Du Pianjian said softly, her voice light and soft like a feather, but it exploded in Yu Zou's ears and made him feel like his soul was leaving his body.
Yu Zou glanced at his watch; it was already 9 a.m.
"Why are you here?" Yu Zou sat up.
"Accompanying caregivers".
"No, it can't be." Yu Zou licked his dry lips. "Until I'm discharged from the hospital."
Du Pianjian nodded and handed him the bottled water from under the bed: "Would you like some breakfast?"
Yu Zou had a vague premonition of something bad. The next second, Du Pianjian took out a lunchbox and placed it in front of him, gesturing for him to open it. The lunchbox was a common three-tiered type, and it was still in good condition, with the label still on the lid. Perhaps he was mistaken at all. Yu Zou asked with a sliver of hope, "Did you buy it?"
“I made it myself.” Du Pianjian cut out his fantasy word by word.
Yu Zou's greatest strength is his ability to find something that can barely bring him joy even in difficult situations. For example, right now, amidst the fear of suspecting Du Pianjian of plotting murder, he suddenly feels reassured about the food—who would poison food they've prepared themselves?
The lunchbox was opened. The first two compartments contained fried eggs and braised pork, while the second compartment contained rice and porridge. Everything looked normal. The food tasted fine except for the main ingredient, and then it was just another day, the same as yesterday.
The documents on the bedside table were already laid out, the fruit basket had been replaced, and the television was on, continuing yesterday's story. Du Pianjian took out an apple, and a gleaming silver knife slid slowly in his hand.
The mouse was blinking, but the code hadn't moved for ten seconds. Yu Zou wondered if a knife would be aimed at his neck any second. The platinum ring on Du Pianjian's left hand was brighter than a knife. Had the car accident given him the idea that the engagement would end immediately if he died?
"Ugh." Du Pianjian let out a muffled groan, a bloody cut appearing on his fingertip. Yu Zou immediately grabbed a tissue and pressed it against his finger, reaching out to press the nurse call button, but Du Pianjian pressed it on first: "It's nothing, no need to trouble the nurse."
"It's best to deal with it."
"I'll go by myself." Du pressed a tissue against her wound and left the ward.
Yu Zou immediately grabbed his phone, quickly edited a message and sent it. He waited anxiously for a positive reply and breathed a sigh of relief. He then switched to the food delivery interface and clicked on a bunch of options.
When the door was pushed open, Yu Zou had just finished tidying up and put down his phone. Du Pianjian, whose fingers were covered with band-aids, paused for a moment when she saw Yu Zou's obviously cheerful aura before sitting back down and asking, "Who were you chatting with?"
"No, that's not it." Yu Zou lied without any hesitation, his fingers tracing the glacier model with excitement. "Just replying to work messages."
"Really?" Du Pianjian's eyes flickered as she cut the peeled portion into pieces, inserted a toothpick into one piece, and handed it to Yu Zou. Yu Zou took it without even looking at it and ate it, completely unaware of the red stains gradually spreading across the apple.
That night, Yu escaped from the Fifth Hospital and climbed over to the Sixth Hospital.
Entering the doctor's on-call room, there were two people. He Honghan was typing away on the keyboard with a cold expression, making a loud clattering sound. The other person was holding up a large newspaper, blocking his upper body, and neither of them paid any attention to Yu Zou.
Yu Zou had no choice but to raise his hand to show off the high-end ingredients he had brought.
He Honghan rested her ten fingers on the table, looking like a villainous boss in an old movie, and said in a low voice, "I actually found out about your engagement from the news."
Another person put down his newspaper, pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, and said, "He's become a CEO, he's got money, he's playing the old card now, we can't reach his level."
He Honghan continued, "Don't even mention attending, they're not even qualified to know the news."
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