Extra Spirit Armor: 4. How about we just get along?
Long Jia had hoped to seize Ling Ling's moment at her lowest point. His approach to love was pragmatic, never dwelling on how to begin, only on the ultimate destination. Unfortunately, his father had just been arrested, and his family was under investigation. He was overwhelmed with matters at home and abroad, and had to care for his mother and sister, leaving him with no time to spare for Ling Ling. He even rushed to Hao Shengnan's funeral. At Hao Shengnan's funeral, Long Jia felt heartbroken. He hadn't even reached middle age, yet he had already begun a cycle of constant loss. Looking at Yu Chuanbei and Zhong Mingtong, who lingered around Ling Ling, he knew his chances were over. He really didn't have the right position to pursue her now. Could he use his family's decline as a reason to turn over a new leaf? He didn't want her to look down on him. He guessed Zhong Mingtong would win this round. He observed the man carefully—okay, a bit better than him, but only slightly. He reluctantly agreed. Sadly, Zhong Mingtong wasn't up to the task, having abandoned Ling Ling midway. With no one around to properly care for her, she eventually collapsed from exhaustion at work. When the company called to let him know who the emergency contact was, he was completely panicked. He followed the stretcher closely, clutching the unconscious Lingling's hand tightly, fearing she would disappear if he wasn't careful. The emergency room doctor pushed him aside and stopped him outside the office door. He tried to tell the doctor he would be waiting at the door and to call him if anything happened. No one paid him any attention, and he paced helplessly in circles in the hospital corridors, feeling like a weak animal trapped in a zoo cage, mentally ill and unable to move in circles. He suddenly realized that he needed to ask his former uncles and uncles for help in connecting him with medical resources. Although his father was incarcerated, the family still had some influence, so these small favors weren't difficult to accomplish. It was just a matter of asking for favors. For Lingling, face was nothing. After the emergency treatment, Lingling was finally diagnosed as being fine. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked someone to give her a full-body examination. When she was unconscious, he carried her into the CT machine, onto the ultrasound bed, helped her undress, and changed into a hospital gown. Everyone thought he was her husband, and he admitted it with a smile, saying that they had been married for more than ten years. Lingling was in a coma anyway, so why was there anything to be afraid of? After the test results came out, it was said that she had a hemangioma on her liver, and Long Jia was shocked again. "Is it benign or malignant?" He chased after Zhong Mingtong and followed him into the office and asked. Long Jia had no idea that the expert he had asked someone to invite would be this guy. When he saw him squeeze Lingling's hand while examining her, he...
Long Jia originally wanted to take advantage of Ling Ling's lowest point in life and swoop in. His love philosophy is very pragmatic, he never dwells on how to start, only cares about the final destination.
Unfortunately, his father had just been arrested and his house was thoroughly investigated. He was overwhelmed with matters at home and outside, and had to take care of his mother and sister. He had no time to take care of Ling Ling, and even rushed to Hao Shengnan's funeral.
At Hao Shengnan's funeral, Long Jia was very sad. He was not even middle-aged yet, so how could he have already started the curse of continuous loss?
Looking at Yu Chuanbei and Zhong Mingtong lingering around Ling Ling, he knew his chances were over. He really didn't have the right position to pursue her now. Could he use his family's decline as a reason to turn over a new leaf? He didn't want her to look down on him.
He guessed that Zhong Mingtong would win this round. He observed the man carefully—okay, a little better than him, but not much. He reluctantly agreed in his heart.
Unfortunately, Zhong Mingtong was not up to the task and gave up on Ling Ling midway. No one was around to take good care of her, and she eventually collapsed from exhaustion at the company.
When their company called to inform him of the emergency contact, he was completely panicked. He followed the stretcher closely, holding the unconscious Ling Ling's hand tightly, fearing that she would disappear if he was careless.
He was pushed aside by the emergency room doctor and stopped outside the clinic door. He tried to tell the doctor that he would be waiting at the door and to call him if anything happened. No one paid any attention to him. He paced helplessly in circles in the hospital corridor, feeling like a weak animal trapped in a cage at the zoo, trapped with mental illness and unable to do anything but walk in circles.
He suddenly realized he needed to ask his former uncles and grandfathers to help him connect with some medical resources. Although his father was in prison, his family still had some influence. These small favors weren't that difficult to get. It was just a matter of putting on some shame and asking for favors. For Ling Ling, shame was nothing.
After emergency treatment, Ling Ling was finally deemed alright. He breathed a sigh of relief and sent for a full-body examination. While she was unconscious, he carried her into the CT scanner and onto the ultrasound bed, helping her undress and change into her hospital gown. Everyone assumed he was her husband, and he grinned, admitting they had been married for over a decade.
Ling Ling is in a coma anyway, so there is nothing to be afraid of saying!
After the test results came out, it said that she had a hemangioma on her liver, and Longjia was shocked again.
"Is it benign or malignant?" He chased after Zhong Mingtong and followed him into the office and asked.
Long Jia had never expected that the expert he had asked someone to invite would be this guy. He was furious when he saw him constantly holding Ling Ling's hand while examining her. He felt that such an action must not be in the doctor's operating procedure manual!
Zhong Mingtong was originally on his way to get Ling Lingxin's test results, but was stopped by Long Jia. He had no choice but to respond to him: "At present, the results of various indicators should be benign, but we have to wait for the pathological results after the operation to determine."
"She will be fine, right?" Long Jia naively wanted to ask him for a promise at this time.
Zhong Mingtong looked into his anxious eyes and said, "It will be okay. I'm here."
Long Jia nodded gratefully, but before he could even say thank you, the nurse came calling him, "Family members of Ling Ling in Ward 302, please sign the consent form for the surgery."
Long Jia agreed and left. Zhong Mingtong watched him leave, the nurse's words circling in her mind: What kind of family member is he? Her husband?
The young doctor who was following the patient passed by Zhong Mingtong and saw Long Jia walking away. He immediately asked, "Was that man the patient's husband?"
The young doctor was a little stunned by the question, and after a moment's reaction, he said, "I heard him say he was my husband, and that they had been married for more than ten years."
——If you say more than ten years... that would be a lie.
Zhong Mingtong sighed in his heart.
When it was time to get off work that evening, he planned to visit Ling Ling before leaving. Through the glass window on the door, he saw Long Jia sleeping beside Ling Ling's bed, holding her hand tightly, not letting go at all, fearing that this short-lived "wife" would be snatched away by someone else.
Ling Ling was also fast asleep. I don’t know how exhausted she was before, but now her body is in such a state, even worse than when she was with him.
If this man is really her husband, then it would be fine.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, Zhong Mingtong left the students after checking the rooms and came to see Ling Ling. Long Jia stopped him and asked him again and again.
"Is she really just comatose? Unable to wake up for a whole day and night? Have you examined her carefully? Are all the indicators confirmed to be normal? Is there a possibility of misdiagnosis? Do you need me to transfer her to another hospital?"
Zhong Mingtong didn't answer his anxious questions, but instead called her name softly and patted her cheek. She seemed a little impatient, her soft face lingering in his palm.
Seeing the smile in Zhong Mingtong's eyes, Long Jia really wanted to poke him blind on the spot. No wonder Yu Chuanbei had been so relentless in his pursuit of Ling Ling whenever he encountered something related to this guy. If it were him, he would definitely be even more restless than Yu Chuanbei.
"She was just too tired and slept soundly." Zhong Mingtong said with a smile. When her eyes moved away from Ling Ling's face and met his fierce eyes, she stopped smiling.
Long Jia deliberately said, "I think our Ling'er is also fast asleep. She kept talking in her sleep last night, calling someone's name."
Zhong Mingtong instinctively wanted to ask a question, but suddenly felt that he was being led astray by him, so he stopped talking.
Long Jia didn't want to let him go so easily. Just because Dr. Zhong didn't ask didn't mean Young Master Long wouldn't answer: "It's not your name anyway." He challenged childishly.
Zhong Mingtong ignored him, nodded as a farewell, and turned to leave.
When Ling Ling awoke, Long Jia's pent-up anger at seeing Zhong Mingtong hadn't dissipated yet. Especially since she had been comatose that morning and Mr. Fang had come to visit, looking suspiciously at her, he felt even more frustrated.
So Long Jia didn't want to be reserved anymore and simply said, "I've been so scared with you these past two days. Honestly, I really think we should just get along."
At that moment, he saw the fleeting thoughts in Ling Ling's deep eyes. Surprise obscured her emotion, and resistance melted into reluctance. She frowned and turned away silently. He knew this was her usual reaction when she was at a loss as to what to do.
After a while, she forced herself to speak. Maybe it was only a few seconds, but it felt extremely long to him.
"Do you think making do doesn't require effort? Making do is the most draining thing. If we really want to support each other for a long time, this is the best situation right now, don't you think?"
Well, the verdict couldn't be clearer. He, Long Jia, wasn't a fool; one sentence was enough.
But Long Jia was never a deserter. Even if he failed in love, he could make up for it in business. The idea of opening a studio with her was indeed something he had planned for a long time. Seeing that she agreed so readily, he was also happy.
His mother had a sudden heart attack, so Long Jia had to leave temporarily. He ran out of Ling Ling's ward and headed for the elevator, but there was a long line at the elevator entrance. He quickly turned into the nearby fire escape, strode up two floors, and quickly found Zhong Mingtong's office. Fortunately, he was there.
"Zhong Mingtong, my mother is suddenly ill, and I have to rush over. You must take good care of Ling'er! If the operation doesn't work, I'll dig out your liver and hang it on her waist!"
Zhong Mingtong, who was absorbed in her medical records, was reprimanded for no apparent reason, and a small ripple of emotion stirred in her otherwise calm eyes. Two other colleagues in the office were so frightened, thinking they were the cause of a medical disturbance, that one clutched their kettle, the other their medical records folder, acting as if to defend themselves.
Zhong Mingtong looked at the sweaty and breathless Long Jia still standing at the door, as if he was determined to get an answer before giving up. So he said, "If the operation really doesn't work well, my liver won't wait for you to cut it."
Longjia smiled crookedly and ran away quickly with satisfaction.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
At Ling Ling and Yu Chuanbei's wedding, Luo Hao was to be best man, but Long Jia voluntarily gave up the role, as he had no desire to be best man for Ling Ling's legal husband. Without Hao Shengnan, Long Zhenzhen became Ling Ling's maid of honor. Watching the four of them gather together, excitedly discussing the wedding details, he finally understood his role.
As Ling Ling walked into the ceremony hall holding Long Jia's arm, Long Jia felt even more nervous walking that short distance than his own wedding. He gazed into Yu Chuanbei's sparkling eyes, took Ling Ling's hand in his, and then told Yu Chuanbei, "Take good care of Ling'er."
Seeing Yu Chuanbei nod in agreement seriously, his focused gaze fell on her. The loyal and passionate feelings of the two melted in their eyes, turning into clear spring water, and the breeze slowly pushed it to every corner of the auditorium. Long Jia felt that his whole body was warm and painful.
Long Jia knew Ling Ling, and no one could replace Yu Chuanbei's position in her heart; just as no one could replace Ling Ling's position in his heart.
Of course, the same and different.
Life went on as usual. Even though things had changed, he no longer had a prestigious family, a girlfriend who changed more frequently than the seasons, or a legion of online fans, he remained the same. Ling Ling was still by his side, the soft, bouncy, wet girl from that summer, standing right before him.
That’s enough.
Author's Note
Liu Qiu
author
08-06
Long Jia's story ends. Farewell can be another form of companionship, and for Long Jia, it's the ultimate romance. Thank you all for liking Young Master Long! Starting tomorrow, it's Yu Jinnan and Luo Hao's story. Let me put it this way—I don't believe you won't like it.
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