Chapter 21 Published
Ji Ruan still caught a cold.
Something was wrong as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning. The top of the mosquito net was spinning more violently than when he had low blood sugar. Ji Ruan closed his eyes to slow down, then opened them again, but it was of no use. He felt dizzy and his solar plexus was swollen and painful.
He put a candy in his mouth, got up and sat with his back against the wall for a while. When his dizziness eased a little, he slowly got out of bed.
Because he was dizzy, Ji Ruan took each step very carefully, but he still missed a step and was so scared that he clung to the stairs tightly. His heart was pounding, but his brain was a little clearer.
When Han Xiaolin got up, he heard Ji Ruan coughing intermittently. Sometimes he coughed so hard that he had to bend over and hold on to the table.
"Ji Ruan, are you okay?" Han Xiaolin came out of the bathroom with toothpaste foam in his mouth.
Ji Ruan waved his hands. He had just eaten a throat lozenge and drank a lot of hot water. His throat finally felt better. He said slowly, "Brush your teeth. The foam is all over your clothes..."
Han Xiaolin looked down and saw a pool of white foam on his black T-shirt. He screamed and rushed back to the bathroom.
Ji Ruan looked at his noisy back, smiled and shook his head, then picked up his phone and looked through it casually.
Mr. Gu got up at 5:30 again, and sent a message at 5:35: [How are you feeling?]
Ji Ruan glanced at the time. It was seven o'clock. Gu Xiuyi might have just finished exercising and was still taking a shower. He replied calmly:
[I have a cold, are you okay?]
The other party replied immediately: [I didn’t get caught in the rain yesterday.]
In fact, even if he got wet, it was impossible for Gu Xiuyi to catch a cold with his physique. I said this just to avoid disappointing the child.
He wiped his hair and typed with one hand. His face looked even more fierce after being wetted by water. A drop of water fell from the end of his hair onto the screen and was instantly wiped away by his thumb:
[I'll ask Xiaoya to bring the medicine over later. Which door is more convenient for you?]
Ji Ruan had to go to the library to select classes later, so he thought for a moment and replied, "The main entrance, I'll be at the library around eight o'clock."
[good. ]
Ji Ruan turned off his cell phone. He had already finished washing up and was resting his head with his hand, waiting for Han Xiaolin to finish breakfast.
Han Xiaolin hurriedly finished his work in the bathroom, then hurried out to change his clothes, and came to Ji Ruan with his bag: "Are you okay? Do you want to ask for leave?"
Ji Ruan covered his lips and coughed twice, then smiled: "It's just a cold. Course selection is more important, and it affects the entire semester."
"Speaking of which..." Han Xiaolin looked at Ji Ruan's face and felt that it was a bit dangerous: "Do you know how bad you look now?"
After hearing this, Ji Ruan opened the front camera of his phone and took a look. It was indeed a bit scary. His lips were bloodless and his eyes were dull, as if he was going to faint in the next second.
He himself laughed at this look and found a mask to put on: "I just have an illness on my face. It looks scary but it's nothing. Let's go. I'm hungry."
Han Xiaolin was skeptical but didn't know how to refute, so he went to the cafeteria with Ji Ruan.
They both ordered a basket of dumplings, but Ji Ruan, who was complaining about being hungry, only ate one and then drank soy milk with his hand on his forehead without interest.
Ji Ruan has experienced that a cold can make people lose their appetite. The steamed dumplings in the second cafeteria have always been famous far and wide, and many students from neighboring schools will ask their friends at Peking University to buy them for them.
When he was in good condition, Ji Ruan could eat four breakfasts, but today he couldn't swallow just one. He felt a little acid reflux in his stomach, but he felt better after drinking some hot soy milk.
Han Xiaolin had a class in the first period of the morning, so he had to go his separate ways from Ji Ruan after coming out of the cafeteria. It was drizzling outside, and he held an umbrella and looked back at Ji Ruan every three steps: "Are you really okay?"
"If you feel unwell, go to the infirmary!"
"Walk slower... No, walk a little faster. Choosing classes is also important..."
Ji Ruan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He knew that if he continued to dawdle, Han Xiaolin would be late, so he simply waved goodbye and left.
The recent weather has entered a strange period between summer and autumn, where it is cold when it rains and hot when it doesn't. There was drizzle in the sky, and Ji Ruan still felt chilly even though he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.
It rained last night, and the tree-lined avenue was covered with sycamore leaves, which stuck wetly to the ground. The humid air was mixed with the smell of rotting leaves, which was not very pleasant.
Ji Ruan felt a little headache and stomach discomfort due to the wind, so he pressed down his mask and quickened his pace.
When they arrived at the main entrance, Xiaoya was already waiting outside. When she saw Ji Ruan, she waved brightly.
Ji Ruan approached and put away the umbrella, then smiled at Xiaoya through the card reader at the door: "Sister Xiaoya."
"Hey, Xiao Ruan, are you okay?" Xiao Ya, wearing an exquisite dress, handed the medicine bag to Ji Ruan: "The boss wanted to deliver the medicine to you personally, but the company is busy today, so he asked me to come over."
Ji Ruan took it with a smile, coughed twice, and frowned because of the pain in his throat: "Thank you, Sister Xiaoya, if the company is busy, you should go back soon and don't delay your work."
"What's the big deal? It won't delay anything." Xiaoya wanted to look at Ji Ruan's expression, but he was wearing a mask that covered most of his face, and she could only vaguely observe that he looked a little tired through his eyebrows.
"By the way," she followed Gu Xiuyi's instructions, "The boss said to take these medicines three times a day after meals. If you don't feel better all day, call him and he will take you home."
"Go home?" Ji Ruan was looking at the medicine in the bag and looked up when he heard that.
"Yes," Xiaoya smiled, "Today is Thursday, and the weekend starts with the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. The boss said that if you don't feel well, you can ask for leave tomorrow, so that you can rest for four consecutive days."
Ji Ruan felt that it was a bit exaggerated to take a four-day break just for a minor cold, but he really had to go back for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Aunt Zhao had already said several times on the phone that she missed him.
He only had classes in the morning tomorrow, and his original plan was to go back to the villa directly after class to catch Aunt Zhao's lunch.
Thinking of this, Ji Ruan did not refute, but smiled and said, "I understand. Sister Xiaoya, please thank Mr. Gu for me."
"I understand," Xiaoya glanced at her watch and said, "Oh, I really have to go back. Xiaoruan, take care of yourself."
"Well," Ji Ruan waved, "Bye Sister Xiaoya."
The school library is built not far from the main entrance and opens at 8 o'clock. Now, just after 8 o'clock, the line in front of the door began to move forward at a steady pace.
When Ji Ruan arrived, it was the most crowded time. He swiped his campus card to enter, and when he wanted to put the card back into his bag, someone bumped him and it fell to the ground.
Ji Ruan bent down to pick it up, and suddenly a sharp tinnitus sounded in his right ear. He subconsciously raised his hand to hold the fence, and his eyes went black for two seconds.
Fortunately, the black fog and tinnitus only occurred for a moment, which might be due to a cold.
After his vision regained clarity, the campus card that fell on the ground was picked up by another pair of hands. Ji Ruan looked up and stood up straight following the man's movements.
"Classmate, here's your card." Opposite me was a tall boy with handsome features.
"Thank you." Ji Ruan reached out to take it but couldn't pull it away, and the other party didn't let go.
"?" Ji Ruan frowned in confusion.
After the wave of people who came in when the library first opened, the crowd at the entrance gradually thinned out, with only a few students passing by.
The boy who helped pick up the card stood there and looked at Ji Ruan for a few times before letting go: "Are you Ji Ruan?"
Ji Ruan was stunned and put the card into his bag: "Do you know me?"
The boy smiled and said, "Of course, you are famous."
Ji Ruan, who didn't really want to be a celebrity, looked away: "Really..."
The boy seemed not to notice Ji Ruan's avoidance and extended his hand with a smile: "Hello, my name is Bai Angge."
The name sounded so familiar that Ji Ruan's eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly remembered the conversation with her roommate at the hot pot restaurant that day. It seemed that the current campus idol in their school was called this name.
Ji Ruan raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him. He was tall and straight, and his facial features were indeed handsome. He should be the legendary school hunk.
Bai Ange noticed Ji Ruan's hesitation and curled his lips: "It seems that you have heard of me too?"
The cold air in the library gave Ji Ruan a headache. His smile faded a little and he said politely, "You are also very famous."
Bai Ang raised his eyebrows when he heard this and shook his phone: "Can famous people be friends with famous people? I think we will get along very well."
Ji Ruan didn't want to.
Bai Angge has deep eye sockets and dark pupils. Unlike Gu Xiuyi who looks indifferent to everyone, Bai Angge is particularly serious when looking at people. His strong and straightforward gaze stays on the other person, unconsciously oppressing him and not giving him a chance to breathe.
Although he looks like a very friendly senior, his eyes always give people a sense of disconnection. Ji Ruan really doesn't like the feeling of being stared at in this way and has an instinctive rejection of it.
"Sorry," Ji Ruan took a step back and used her ringed hand to fix her hair, "My husband doesn't really like me getting along with other people."
Bai Angge seemed to be silent for a moment because of the ring, and looked at Ji Ruan without saying a word.
The man in front of me had light and long eyebrows, not as sharp as other boys' brow peaks, but more like a shallow crescent moon. His expression was listless, perhaps he was not feeling well, and there was some redness around his eyes.
Bai Ang laughed: "You are more beautiful than the rumors say, and your personality is more interesting."
Ji Ruan curled the corners of his mouth and didn't want to discuss how the other party found out through the mask that he was more handsome than the rumors.
Ever since the two of them started talking, Bai Angge no longer paid any attention to the people around him. Ji Ruan didn't know whether this was his habit when communicating with others or if he only did this to himself.
The nerve behind his ear twitched, causing a headache, and Ji Ruan frowned slightly.
"Ange," a female voice came from not far away: "Why are you still here?"
Ji Ruan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl with shoulder-long hair and wearing a modified lavender cheongsam. She had a very good temperament. It was Cheng Zizhang.
Ji Ruan breathed a sigh of relief and narrowed his eyes: "Senior Sister Zi Zhang."
Cheng Zizhang was his direct senior. The two had met when they reported, and later they often ran into each other in the same building for classes. As a result, they became friends so they could say hello when they met.
Cheng Zizhang was also a little surprised to see him, and he tucked his hair behind his ears and smiled: "Xiao Ruan, you are here too."
She poked Bai Ange's elbow: "Do you know each other?"
Before Bai Ange could answer, Ji Ruan said, "My school card fell just now, and this senior helped me pick it up."
Cheng Zizhang seemed to be asking casually and didn't seem to care much. He suddenly remembered something and said to Ji Ruan, "By the way, Xiao Ruan, is it your turn to choose classes today?"
Ji Ruan nodded.
"Why don't you go quickly?" Cheng Zizhang pointed upstairs. "I just came from there, and the computers are almost fully occupied."
"Really?" Ji Ruan lifted the strap of her shoulder bag and waved to Cheng Zizhang: "Then I'll leave first, senior sister."
After getting rid of Bai Angge, Ji Ruan walked up the stairs to the second floor. Just as Cheng Zizhan said, there were a lot of people there and there were almost no empty computers around.
Ji Ruan waited in line for a while before he managed to grab a relatively easy elective course from the ones left by others.
Because of the delay with Bai Angge, Ji Ruan was almost late for class and had to run a few steps to get to the classroom.
Fortunately, this was a cross-disciplinary public course. A crowd of people were crowded in the large lecture hall, and the teacher at the podium didn't pay much attention to what was happening behind.
Han Xiaolin saved a seat for him in the last row. Ji Ruan bent down and sat down carefully, letting out a long sigh.
"What's wrong with you? Why does it take you so long to choose a course?" Han Xiaolin put his cell phone on the table and played with it openly.
"Don't mention it," Ji Ruan wiped his sweat, "Did you name the roll?"
Although the temperature was not high, Ji Ruan still broke into a sweat while running, and the air conditioner behind him gave him goose bumps.
Han Xiaolin handed him a piece of paper: "I've ordered it. I've called it over for you."
"Thank you." Ji Ruan took off his mask, took the paper and wiped the sweat off his face weakly.
"Are you really okay?" Han Xiaolin came over and whispered, "You look worse than this morning."
"fine."
Ji Ruan took out a thermos from his bag, bent down slightly to avoid the teacher's sight, and took a pill. The cold medicines that Gu Xiuyi brought him were all very common, and he didn't know if they would work.
"I just met Bai Angge in the library." Ji Ruan said and started coughing.
"Bai Ange?!" Han Xiaolin patted him on the back and opened his eyes wide: "He knows you? What did you talk about?"
Ji Ruan drank another sip of hot water and leaned on the table: "He said he wanted to be friends with me."
"Fuck," Han Xiaolin patted his chest in shock, "Isn't that just a flirtation? So he is really gay?"
Ji Ruan twitched his lips: "Who knows."
The three words "make friends" are very clever. When boys make friends with other boys, how can we say that they must be gay?
Ji Ruan doesn't care about other people's sexual orientation. It's just the first impression that matters. He doesn't like Bai Ang and doesn't want to have any other contact with him.
Han Xiaolin also leaned on the table with him: "Have you added each other as friends?"
Ji Ruan shook his head: "I said Gu Xiuyi doesn't like me making friends with others."
Han Xiaolin laughed immediately: "You are amazing."
Ji Ruan also smiled, half closed his eyes and said nothing.
The air conditioner behind him dried up Ji Ruan's sweat, but also gave him a worse headache. Ji Ruan lay down for a while, coughing intermittently.
Later on, I started to feel cold all over, but my ears were hot, I felt very dizzy and had tinnitus.
Ji Ruan secretly felt that something was wrong. He touched his forehead, but he felt numb and couldn't feel anything.
He touched Han Xiaolin's arm.
Han Xiaolin turned around: "What's wrong?"
Ji Ruan's voice was very weak, as if he couldn't muster up the energy: "Do you think I have a fever?"
Han Xiaolin immediately reached out his hand, his expression becoming more serious: "It's quite a burn."
Ji Ruan closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
"I told you that you were not in good condition, but you didn't believe me," Han Xiaolin said anxiously, "What do you mean, shall we go to the infirmary now?"
Ji Ruan glanced at his phone. There was still half an hour before the get out of class ended: "Now?"
"Yes," Han Xiaolin was already packing his bag, "It's just a simple class, it's not as important as your health. Anyway, you've already signed in, so I can sneak out without being noticed."
Ji Ruan thought about it and realized that he still had some strength left. If he sat in front of the air conditioner for another half an hour, he might not be able to walk after class.
"Okay," he gently propped up the desk, "Let's go."
But Ji Ruan's legs were still weak, and he was finally supported by Han Xiaolin and taken to the school clinic to get an IV.
Lying on the hospital bed, Ji Ruan had used up all his strength. His body was as soft as a pool of water and he couldn't move.
Han Xiaolin sat with him for a while, then went to the cafeteria to buy him a bowl of porridge to fill his stomach.
Ji Ruan actually couldn't eat, his stomach was burning with pain, but he knew that if he didn't eat, he would feel even worse later.
He slowed down, looked at the rotating ceiling above him, gritted his teeth, sat up, and drank a few spoonfuls of porridge under Han Xiaolin's supervision.
This is his limit.
Then Ji Ruan leaned against the bed and held his stomach, trying not to vomit. His Adam's apple rolled, a thin layer of sweat floated on his neck. He closed his eyes and said to Han Xiaolin: "You have a full class this afternoon, go first."
"How can that be possible?" Han Xiaolin said worriedly, "How can I leave you here alone?"
Ji Ruan slowly opened his eyes, with a smile on his lips: "There is a doctor."
His eyes were misty from the fever, and the corners of his eyes were a little red, as if he had been crying. Han Xiao looked at him for a while and couldn't help cursing in his heart.
How the hell can someone look so damn sick?
Who is the fucked up one, that guy or his brother.
What's even more fucked up is that his brother's good looks can't be shared.
"Okay," Han Xiaolin stood up and lowered his voice: "Then you take a nap, and I'll bring food over in the evening."
Ji Ruan closed his eyes. This was the biggest response he could make.
After Han Xiaolin left, the school doctor came to feed Ji Ruan some water. Ji Ruan also had a full schedule of classes in the afternoon, so he took a break and took out his cell phone to send messages to his teachers to ask for leave.
A friend request popped up on the top of the page. It was from Bai Angge. Ji Ruan frowned and pressed the reject button.
Within two seconds, another one popped up.
Ji Ruan's eyes were aching from the burning sensation, and staring at his phone made him feel like vomiting. He pressed the solar plexus button and simply ignored the request.
·
“Buzz——”
Han Xiaolin had been in classes for the whole afternoon when he suddenly received a text message from Gu Xiuyi. His confused mind instantly cleared up. Without even trying to guess how Gu Xiuyi got his cell phone number, he clicked on it nervously.
[Hello, classmate Han Xiaolin, I am Gu Xiuyi, I can’t contact Ji Ruan, is he with you?]
No matter how friendly Mr. Gu behaved, he still had a murderous aura. Han Xiaolin's hands trembled through the screen and he quickly replied:
[He has a slight fever. I accompanied him to the school clinic this morning. He may have fallen asleep while on IV drip. I will go see him after class later.]
There was a pause of two minutes. Han Xiaolin stared at the screen and had no time to pay attention to the teacher.
[I understand. I will pick him up so as not to delay your class.]
When Han Xiaolin saw this line of words, he immediately imagined a Mary Sue scene in which his best friend was carried by a handsome man and carried into a luxury car in front of the whole school. He couldn't help but smile.
[Okay, Mr. Gu, then I won’t go to the school clinic later.]
The reply came quickly: [Thank you.]
·
Ji Ruan didn't know when he fell asleep. He slept very uncomfortably. It felt like his ears were blocked by something and his chest was so stuffy that he couldn't breathe, but he couldn't wake up no matter what.
Someone was patting his arm and shaking his shoulder. Ji Ruan took a deep breath and finally opened his eyes. He felt like he was pulled out of a dark swamp. His mind was confused and his vision was unfocused.
The school doctor stood beside the bed, moving her lips as if talking to him. The incandescent light above her head made it difficult for Ji Ruan to see her face clearly.
Ji Ruan closed his eyes, trying to hear the school doctor's words clearly, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain behind his ear, accompanied by a strong tinnitus, as if a volcano had exploded deep in his ear canal, burning Ji Ruan so much that he cried out in pain, and white light flashed in front of his eyes.
The school doctor held his arm to comfort him, but Ji Ruan could not hear anything she said. The nerves behind his ears were jumping around randomly, giving him a splitting headache.
“How can I…”
Ji Ruan was stunned as soon as he opened his mouth.
He couldn't hear himself either.
There was a sound in my ears, but it was like the crackling sound of snow on an old black and white TV, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, accompanied by bursts of roars.
The school doctor patted him on the back, took out his phone and quickly typed: [Can I ask your family to pick you up now?]
Ji Ruan's eyes were hot, and he sniffed hard and blinked.
The school doctor patted his head encouragingly again.
He stretched out his hand to call Gu Xiuyi, but the caller ID suddenly popped up on the interface, and it was Gu Xiuyi.
The school doctor looked at him inquiringly. Ji Ruan nodded, and the school doctor answered the phone directly.
Ji Ruan could only see her lips opening and closing, but could not hear anything, so he raised the back of his hand to cover his eyes.
This was the first time he felt overwhelming panic since he came into this world.
It turns out that not being able to hear any sound is really scary. It’s like being isolated in a vacuum enclosure, cut off from the whole world forever.
Ji Ruan could imagine what a strange tone of voice would sound when he opened his mouth. The words he said probably could not be called words, but just a series of unpleasant notes.
I don’t know how long it had been, but Gu Xiuyi seemed to have come. When he opened the door, the humid air outside floated onto his face, and then a warm big hand covered his ear.
"After an afternoon of infusion, his temperature has dropped a little, but the fever has not subsided," the school doctor came to Gu Xiuyi and said, "I see he has a cochlear implant, and I'm afraid that if the fever continues it will affect his hearing. We don't have the facilities here, so the family should take him to the hospital for a checkup."
The man in front of the bed was wearing a plain black windbreaker and looked unapproachable, but he stroked the boy's ear very gently and said thank you in a low voice.
Ji Ruan no longer had to receive an IV drip. He had just lost blood when he was struggling with the ear pain. The school doctor removed the needle and cleaned the wound. He put a piece of medical tape on the back of his hand, but some blood was seeping out of it.
Gu Xiuyi gently held Ji Ruan's wrist and pulled down his hand that was covering his eyes, only to find that Ji Ruan was crying.
He seemed very scared, his face was covered with tear marks, his thin eyelids were swollen, and his eyelashes were wet.
The school doctor saw that the man in front of the bed had a stiff back and his lips were tightly pursed, but he used his fingertips to lightly touch the corners of the boy's red eyes.
Then he picked the person up.
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