51. Hostess, please visit my home
Yu Chuanbei waited anxiously for Ling Ling in the hospital room for a long time, but she didn't return. He used his phone to check the out-of-stock items on the convenience store app downstairs, then leaned on his crutches and went out to look for her. Yu Chuanbei found her in the stairwell of the hospital fire escape, crouched in a corner, a few greasy stains on the hem of her pants and the tops of her shoes. She clutched a tissue, her face dazed. "Ling Ling," he whispered, but unexpectedly startled her. She shuddered in fear, then, seeing it was him, gave a stiff smile, stood up, holding onto the wall, and said to him, "I-I was just a little scared by what I saw just now. I'll be fine after I calm down. Why did you run out? The barriers are so high here. What if you fall again?" "We're officially boyfriend and girlfriend now. We need to be honest with each other about our feelings. If you keep hiding things from me, it means you don't love me enough, or you don't trust me enough." Yu Chuanbei's serious characterization of her behavior forced her to surrender. "Seeing that scene just now reminded me of my parents. That year, they were also lying on the operating table, a bloody mess, even more tragic than just now. The so-called operating table was just a simple iron frame. I... I feel so scared. The nightmares I've been having for so long have come back to haunt me in reality. I'm really scared." Yu Chuanbei pulled the trembling Ling Ling into his arms with one hand and whispered in her ear, "From now on, you have me. No matter how terrible the situation, I'll be there to share it with you. Even if you're cowardly and afraid, I'll enjoy being brave for you. I'm not that good either, and I have my moments of fear and timidity. I believe you will have more courage than me." Ling Ling nodded in his arms and hugged him tighter. "I recommend a great way to ease your fear: eat some marshmallows, the kind we used to eat as kids. Chew them hard, and you'll find yourself feeling like the best in the world. Maybe it's just childish ignorance and fearlessness. Can you buy me two packs from the convenience store downstairs in the hospital? I'm really craving them now." Yu Chuanbei started to act coquettishly. Ling Ling couldn't do anything about him. She smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, I'll go now." "If the store downstairs doesn't have it, there's a bigger supermarket across the street. I just want to eat it anyway." "Okay, as you command, Master Yu. I'll go buy it right away." Ling Ling smiled and was about to leave. Yu Chuanbei grabbed her and kissed her twice before letting her go. The convenience store downstairs was indeed out of stock, so Ling Ling ran to the supermarket across the street and bought the Maltesers that Yu Chuanbei had requested. When she ran back to the hospital...
Yu Chuanbei waited anxiously for Ling Ling in the ward for a long time, but she didn't return. He used his phone to check the out-of-stock items on the convenience store app downstairs, then leaned on his crutches and went out to look for her.
Yu Chuanbei found her in the stairs of the hospital's fire escape. She was squatting in the corner, with some oil stains on the corners of her pants and the uppers of her shoes. She was holding a tissue in her hand but looked dazed.
"Lingling." He called her name softly, but didn't want to scare her.
She shuddered in fear, and when she saw it was him, she gave a stiff smile, stood up with the help of the wall and said to him, "I, I was just a little scared when I saw that scene just now. I'll be fine after calming down. Why did you run out? The threshold here is so high, what will happen if you fall again!"
"We are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend. We need to be honest with each other about our emotions. If you continue to hide things from me, it means you either don't love me enough or you don't trust me enough." Yu Chuanbei characterized her behavior so seriously that she had no choice but to surrender.
"Seeing that scene just now, I thought of my parents. That year, they were also lying on the operating table, bloody and mangled. It was even more tragic than just now. The so-called operating table was just a simple metal frame. I... I feel very scared. The nightmare I've been having for a long time is chasing me in reality. I'm really scared."
Yu Chuanbei pulled the slightly trembling Ling Ling into his arms with one hand and whispered in her ear, "From now on, you have me. No matter how terrible the situation is, I will be there to share it with you. Even if you are cowardly and afraid in the future, I will enjoy being brave for you. I am not that good either. I also have times when I am timid and fearful. I believe you will have more beautiful courage than me."
Ling Ling nodded in his arms and hugged him tighter.
"I recommend a good way to relieve your fear - eat marshmallows, the kind we ate when we were kids. Chew them hard, and you'll find yourself feeling like the best in the world. Maybe it's just childish ignorance and fearlessness. Can you buy me two packs from the convenience store downstairs in the hospital? I really want to eat them now." Yu Chuanbei started to act coquettishly.
Ling Ling couldn't do anything about him, so she smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, I'll go now."
"If the store downstairs doesn't have it, there's a bigger supermarket across the street. I just want to eat there anyway."
"Okay, as you command, Lord Yu, I'll go buy it right away." Ling Ling smiled and was about to leave, but Yu Chuanbei grabbed her and kissed her twice before letting her go.
The convenience store downstairs at the hospital was out of stock, so Ling Ling ran to the supermarket across the street and bought the Maltesers that Yu Chuanbei had requested. When she ran back to the hospital, she found him, neatly dressed, sitting in a wheelchair, waiting at the ward door.
"What's going on with you?" Ling Ling walked up to him in confusion, only to see a luggage bag at his feet.
Yu Chuanbei shrugged with a relaxed expression and said, "I just finished the discharge procedures."
"What are you doing? The test results haven't come out yet. What if there are any sequelae?"
Yu Chuanbei shook her hand and tried to comfort her, saying, "If there really was something wrong with my internal organs, I wouldn't be arguing with you right now. Don't worry, I've already talked to my attending physician, and he said I'll just need to come in for regular checkups in the next few days. Even if you don't trust me, you should trust the judgment of the professionals. Beds are so tight right now, so if I'm not seriously injured, I'll vacate one quickly. Consider it a good deed."
"But..." Ling Ling still felt something was wrong, but she couldn't find any reason to refute him. "Then, I'll go to the ward and see if I left anything behind."
Yu Chuanbei grabbed her and said, "No, I've packed everything. Your bag is in this bag. Don't go back in. I've already checked out. You'll be charged if you come in again."
Although he was joking in a frivolous manner, Ling Ling had already understood the intention of his series of actions, and she couldn't help but feel a little sad at the warmth in her heart.
He had already booked a disabled taxi for his trip home, and they went back home together.
He handed her the key, and she opened the door to his house and pushed him in. He rummaged through the small drawer in the entrance hall and then handed her a bunch of keys.
"This is the spare key to my house, take it."
"Why?" Ling Ling was a little confused.
"Because we are boyfriend and girlfriend, you can come to my house anytime in the future." He didn't understand what confused her.
"But, being in love doesn't mean living together, and living together doesn't mean getting married." Ling Ling's remarks were a culmination of decadence and scum.
Yu Chuanbei dropped his hands in disappointment and murmured, "I originally thought that since you dominated me, you would naturally become the mistress of my house. I didn't expect that you would still clearly define boundaries with me."
"No, not really." Ling Ling took the key from his hand apologetically and said, "I'm just not used to being too integrated with someone in life."
Seeing that she accepted it, Yu Chuanbei smiled brightly and said happily: "Be good."
Ling Ling knew that she had fallen into a trap again.
She took off her shoes and prepared to go in, but found that there were no extra slippers in the shoe cabinet. She looked at his floor, which was so clean that it looked a bit deserted. She hesitated and stood at the door and said, "I can't change into slippers to go in."
"Oh yes, usually no one comes to my house, so I don't have any extra slippers prepared, let alone women's slippers. Then you can go barefoot and sit on my lap. I will carry you on the tour on my two-wheeled wheelbarrow." Yu Chuanbei proudly controlled his electric wheelchair.
When she first left the hospital, Ling Ling just felt that the feel of this wheelchair was different from the one she borrowed in the hospital before, but she was busy taking care of him at the time and didn't study it carefully. Only now did she realize that it had so many mechanisms.
Ling Ling said angrily and amusedly, "Where did you get this? It's such a knockoff."
"The guy selling medical equipment at the hospital entrance targeted me as a target customer the moment I was discharged. The end of the third quarter is a critical period for annual revenue. I'm lucky enough to have survived this ordeal, so I'm helping him boost his sales. It's also a way of giving back to society."
Since he was already broke, Ling Ling wanted to tease him: "Your kneecap is broken. If I sit on it again, the little value you just gave back to society will be wiped out by me. Once you're disabled, you'll immediately become a burden to society."
"No!" He pressed the button next to him again, and a long pedal sprang out from under his feet, tilting his injured leg downward at an angle. He patted his remaining good leg and said, "Sit on my side."
"I don't want it." Ling Ling resisted.
But Yu Chuanbei was still playful. He started his electric wheelchair, slid to her side, put his arm around her waist, and pressed her onto his lap.
Ling Ling cried out in surprise, but her waist felt a little itchy from his cool hands, and she started giggling again.
"You are such a jerk!" She hit him on the shoulder.
He proudly held her with one arm, and with the other, controlled the electric wheelchair, spinning her around in the empty living room. "Look, this high-tech device of mine runs so smoothly! When I saw the demonstration of the device, I imagined holding you in my lap. Romantic, isn't it?"
"I don't think so." Ling Ling deliberately held back her laughter and retorted to him.
"You might not feel it now, but imagine us in a twilight romance. We're both in our seventies or eighties, riding this electric wheelchair to the park. We'll find a deserted spot and race around in circles. After each spin, we'll have our blood pressure measured on the spot. Whoever exceeds the limit will be punished to stay where they are and not move, and the other person can kiss them all they want. Just like that."
Yu Chuanbei unexpectedly kissed Ling Ling on the cheek. Ling Ling felt like she had been tricked again. She covered her face and tried to get up, but he held her tighter. He begged for mercy and said, "Alright, alright, mistress. That was just a warm-up for you in this new environment. Now let's get down to business and start the official tour!"
He held her in his arms, controlled the direction of the wheelchair, and carefully introduced his home to her one by one: "Look, this is the living room. It's quite empty. I don't like watching TV and don't need to meet guests, so I didn't think of putting anything here. There's only a sofa and a coffee table.
This is the kitchen. I don’t usually have time to cook, but I’m a good cook. I’ll cook for you later.
This is the guest room, it's almost become my storage room, it's a bit messy;
This is the study. I usually spend more time in this room than in the bedroom because I usually have to work late, especially when there are international conferences. I have zero time difference when working;
This is the bathroom. Isn't my bathtub beautiful? And now there's you."
Yu Chuanbei looked at her with an evil smile, and the hand that was around her waist became restless and slowly climbed up her back. Ling Ling opened his hand, took advantage of the moment when his grip loosened, broke free from his arms, and jumped off the wheelchair.
She stood at the door of his bedroom to continue her tour, and Yu Chuanbei followed. Her eyes stopped at the painting of tulips on the wall opposite the bed, which was her work.
"The first thing I see when I wake up every day is this painting, and then I think of you." He said softly behind her.
But the weight of these softly whispered words in her heart can never be erased.
"Do you like me that much?" she asked knowingly.
"Yeah. Anyway, I like you more than you think." He held her hand.
"I have another painting. I might like you more than you think, too."
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
04-09
I've written up to chapter five of Nan Luo's extra chapter: 1. Not just any person, 2. What's going on, 3. The shadow lurking in the cave, 4. Are you done? Well, I wrote it really well, keep it up!
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