Chapter 4
Li Suian has been practicing medicine for more than ten years. Including the cases he has seen from undergraduate to doctoral studies, there are only a handful of cases with Ji Ruan's tuning that he can identify with.
He almost jumped up from his chair, calling out, "Lily, Lily! Quick! Vomit bag!"
Lily had never seen such a scene before. She hurriedly took out the vomit bag from the drawer and ran over to give it to Ji Ruan.
Unexpectedly, although Ji Ruan looked weak, she was actually very strong mentally. She held the vomit bag in her hand and tried hard not to vomit in front of outsiders.
His face turned pale and his shoulders were trembling. He seemed to think that any discomfort would be gone after a while.
But it was impossible to hold back. Later, even Li Suian couldn't stand it anymore and whispered, "Spit it out, kid..."
Lily also carefully reached out her hand and patted Ji Ruan lightly on the back.
The force of this blow was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Ji Ruan's back instantly tensed up, and then he pinched the vomit bag and vomited with a "wow".
Almost at the same time, Lily and Li Suian both breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, Ji Ruan had never eaten much, and he almost didn't have breakfast because he didn't sleep well, so naturally he couldn't vomit anything. Most of the time he was just dry heaving because he felt uncomfortable. Later, when he couldn't vomit anymore, he curled up in a chair and gasped for breath.
His stomach felt uncomfortable and his mind was not very clear. In his drowsy trance, he seemed to have returned to the days when he was seriously ill and vomited after eating because of the severe drug reaction.
The treatment of terminal illness in the late stage is extremely painful. Rather than struggling to live in the world, it is more like being sent to hell and suffering in advance.
Whenever Ji Ruan thought about it, he couldn't help but shudder with fear.
I don’t know how long it took, but a large palm covered Ji Ruan’s back, and traces of body temperature were transmitted along the clothes soaked with cold sweat, and Ji Ruan was pulled back to reality from the nightmare.
He turned his head slightly, and Gu Xiuyi squatted beside him, still keeping a polite distance of more than ten centimeters. He took the napkin from Lily and handed it to Ji Ruan:
"It's alright, wipe it?"
Ji Ruan's fingers were stiff and his reaction was slow. He felt that he should have heard what Gu Xiuyi said, but he didn't know why he couldn't respond.
Gu Xiuyi pursed his lips slightly, and his dark pupils only reflected Ji Ruan's image, without any emotion.
He waited quietly for a while, then lowered his eyes and paused, and when he looked at Ji Ruan again, the corners of his lips raised a hint of something that he wasn't sure if could be considered comforting.
But at least it did make him look a little more approachable.
"It's okay," he said.
Ji Ruan blinked blankly, and the skin around her eyes was covered by soft tissue. She could vaguely feel the warmth of Gu Xiuyi's fingertips.
Only then did he realize that he had vomited so much that tears came out.
Gu Xiuyi wiped his tears as neatly as he usually did, without any tenderness or lingering words of comfort, which naturally did not make Ji Ruan feel that they were too close and uncomfortable.
After confirming that there were no traces of tears on Ji Ruan's face, he stood up, folded the tissue stained with Ji Ruan's tears in half, threw it into the trash can, and said to Lily, "Take him to the bathroom to clean up."
Lily was stunned for a long time. She was stunned for two seconds before she stepped forward, helped Ji Ruan up and took him out.
After the door closed, the clinic was quiet for a moment. Unlike the stiff expressions of Song Ling and others, Gu Xiuyi remained calm and composed. He pulled out a chair and sat down.
Li Suian also sat back in front of the examination table, took out some paper and started wiping his sweat again.
Gu Xiuyi took the water handed to him by Song Ling, held the handle of the white porcelain cup with one hand, took two sips vaguely, and asked: "Is this a normal reaction for him?"
Li Suian took two gulps of water and finally regained his composure. He leaned back in his chair and said, "It's normal. It's normal to feel dizzy during the tuning process. If the reaction is stronger, you might vomit. But -"
Gu Xiuyi raised his eyes.
"How should I put it? I've seen people vomiting, and they were all very young children. It was the first time in their lives that they heard a sound, and they were frightened. As for Ji Ruan... I can only say that he is indeed more sensitive."
Gu Xiuyi put down his hand and gently placed the bottom of the porcelain cup on his crossed knees: "Is it a serious problem? Do I need to be hospitalized?"
"Ahem," Li Suian smiled and covered his lips. "That's not necessary. No one would need to be hospitalized just to turn on the machine and adjust the sound. Just go home and have a good sleep and you'll be fine."
"But your child's physique is really poor," Li Suian sighed while shaking his water cup, "I don't know how you raised him."
"He was raised by our boss." Song Ling's calm tone echoed in the empty clinic.
Clang——
Li Suian's water was spilled again.
"Ah?" He didn't bother to clean up, and leaned on the table to ask a soul-searching question: "Didn't you sign a contract to get married?!"
Li Suian's expression changed drastically. Combined with Ji Ruan's 18-year-old age, thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he uncontrollably tested the edge of the criminal law.
Gu Xiuyi glanced at Song Ling, raised his hand to stroke his sleeves that were splashed with water, and silently moved his chair back: "I sponsored it."
"Grass."
Li Suian leaned back in his chair and pointed at Song Ling with gritted teeth: "You have such a big mouth!"
Song Ling coughed and avoided his gaze: "I'm not saying anything bad about Doctor Li, it's just that your imagination is too rich."
Li Suian rolled his eyes, loosened his tie, hesitated for a moment, and raised his chin towards Gu Xiuyi: "What do you mean, you really like that kid?"
Gu Xiuyi looked back, his eyes devoid of any emotion: "Why me?"
It was as if he really had no thoughts about Ji Ruan, and therefore could not feel any emotional fluctuations about such absurd speculation.
"You just comforted him so gently!"
Gu Xiuyi tapped on the back of Song Ling's chair: "Gentle?"
Song Ling frowned and thought for a while: "It's okay..."
Gu Xiuyi looked at Li Suian and said seriously, "He will be my partner for the next three years. According to the contract, I will not do anything to mistreat him."
“It’s not a question of whether to treat me harshly or not.” Li Suian felt that he had seen something but couldn’t figure it out. After thinking for a long time, he could only temporarily attribute it to a man’s sixth sense.
He slammed the table and said, "I just splashed some water on your sleeve, and you hid like a plague. He vomited and you still wiped his face!"
"Is it his fault that he's sick?"
Gu Xiuyi really didn’t seem to understand: “And he’s eighteen, how old are you?”
"You--" Li Suian was caught off guard and was targeted. He almost choked and couldn't breathe.
He leaned over the table and stared at Gu Xiuyi's face, and found that he really had no emotions. He couldn't help but doubt himself.
"Well," he hesitated, "are you really not interested in that kid? He's so handsome!"
“…”
Gu Xiuyi sat upright, the pressure in his body making him look like he no longer wanted to speak.
Li Suian fell into a chair, staring at the ceiling and sighing: "That's even worse——"
"Old Gu, let's not talk about whether you are a scumbag or not. Just looking at your wealth, there are not many rich bachelors in the whole city of Beijing who can match you. And how many people usually squeeze around you? You actually know it very well, right?"
Gu Xiuyi raised his eyes: "What do you want to say?"
"You funded the child's education and food, married him, accompanied him to see a doctor, and treated him tenderly. He was eighteen years old, an age when love was beginning to stir—"
Li Suian sat up and propped his elbows on the table: "How do you know he won't have a crush on you?"
Gu Xiuyi raised his eyebrows slightly, then tilted his head, as if thinking about something:
"…So, no matter what he thinks, the contract has to be terminated. I didn't force him to marry me."
Li Suian supported himself on the table and stood up: "What if he really likes you, is infatuated with you and devotes his heart to you? What if he fights back in the end? Wouldn't that be another mess?"
“…”
Gu Xiuyi stopped talking, but at this moment his expression seemed to have really changed.
He tapped gently on the wall of the white porcelain cup, seeming to find Li Suian's words very interesting.
The consulting room suddenly became very quiet. Song Ling looked at his nose and kept silent. Li Suian couldn't understand Gu Xiuyi's expression for a while.
Time passed quietly for a while. Gu Xiuyi seemed to have savored all the previous words from the beginning, and then he spoke neither lightly nor heavily:
"I'm not that attractive, and—"
He looked at Li Suian, with a slight smile on his lips: "Do you think he has room to fight back?"
Li Suian looked at him, and suddenly his heart moved, like a drop of ice falling into a deep pool, causing ripples of coldness. When the ripples completely spread out, the chill also spread all over his limbs.
He suddenly understood what Gu Xiuyi meant when he said that Ji Ruan was the most suitable marriage partner.
He knew that Gu Xiuyi needed a marriage partner because of a lot of problems at home. When he first saw Ji Ruan, he just thought that this Gu Xiuyi chose someone who was well-behaved and wouldn't cause trouble based on her personality.
Thinking about it now, Ji Ruan’s weakness seemed to suit his needs just fine.
Ji Ruan has no parents or relatives and few social connections. Everything he has can be controlled by Gu Xiuyi. Even if he tries his best, he cannot make any waves.
There is neither room for resistance nor the ability.
Gu Xiuyi very despicably chose an extremely fragile little animal, a little animal that he didn't need to spend any effort to fully control.
If Ji Ruan really develops thoughts that Gu Xiuyi doesn't want him to have in the future, then if he disappears one day, will no one notice?
Li Suian felt a chill down his spine at his own thoughts, "...How cruel, that guy named Gu."
Gu Xiuyi shook his head gently: "Don't always think of the worst. In fact, it will only happen that he takes the money and leaves in three years, and I get what I want. It's very simple."
Li Suian knew very well that although Gu Xiuyi was a cold-hearted person, his aura was always gentle and refined, thanks to his perfect way of treating people.
If you keep your relationship with him as private as possible, you will feel comfortable, or at least you will never feel embarrassed. But if you hope to get a little warmth from him, that is the beginning of tragedy.
"I think that child is quite innocent," Li Suian said to Gu Xiuyi with a doctor's conscience, "I'm not trying to flatter you, but with your face and your money, if you treat others a little better, how many 18 or 19-year-olds can bear it?"
"I do one good deed a day, and today I'll give this one to you. Don't provoke others if you don't have any intentions. Put away those pats on the back and touches on the face. It can barely keep you safe."
…
It was almost noon, the sun was high in the sky, and sunlight filtered in through the row of floor-to-ceiling windows in the corridor outside the door, making the back of Ji Ruan's neck look white.
Lily accompanied Ji Ruan and stood outside the door. Separated by a wall, they could hear the second half of Gu Xiuyi's words.
She looked at Ji Ruan with a little pity.
The young man stood with his hands hanging down and his head slightly lowered. He had a thin back and graceful shoulders and neck. After washing his face, his forehead was slightly wet and his cheeks were as pale as paper. Even the arc of his trembling eyelashes seemed extremely fragile.
This kind of look made Lily, a girl, couldn't help but feel protective, which made her even more angry at the person speaking inside.
When I first came, I saw that Mr. Gu was polite and gentlemanly to everyone, and I thought he was a modest gentleman. I didn't expect that he was really a heartless person as the rumors said.
Even if the marriage with Ji Ruan was agreed upon, she shouldn't have used such a light tone, describing Ji Ruan as an object that could be moved around at will!
Lily supported Ji Ruan and didn't even have the heart to take him in.
Ji Ruan didn't understand why the nurse suddenly pulled him and stopped moving.
Although the hospital was fully air-conditioned, the temperature was still high due to the large glass window behind it and the sunlight penetrated through. Ji Ruan felt dizzy from the heat and couldn't help asking Lily, "Aren't you going in?"
Lily stared at him with her watery almond eyes. She bit her lip and said hesitantly, "Are you... okay?"
Ji Ruan felt hot and dizzy, his ears were buzzing and he could not hear anything at all. He could barely make out Lily's lips moving and she seemed to be concerned about him.
He is fine now, but if he stays in the sun for a while longer, something might happen to him.
Ji Ruan pursed his lips and forced a smile, then shook his head at Lily in relief.
To Lily, this smile looked like someone who was hurt but was trying hard not to make others worry.
She instantly felt even more distressed, and even more dissatisfied with the person who was speaking in the clinic.
It turns out that all men are bad!
·
Until the tuning was finished and they got in the car to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau, Ji Ruan still didn't understand why Lily looked at him with such sympathetic and distressed eyes.
But he was too tired. A night of sleeplessness and the aftereffects of tuning made him drowsy and unable to think.
There were four people in the car, including the driver, and no one spoke.
Gu Xiuyi and Ji Ruan sat in the back seat, flipping through the documents that needed to be processed. As they looked, they couldn't help but think of Ji Ruan.
To be fair, he didn't dislike Ji Ruan, and even found him interesting. That was why he didn't want anything unpleasant to happen in the future.
Although Ji Ruan was not the kind of child who would easily fall in love with him as Li Suian said, some things should indeed be explained to him in person.
Gu Xiuyi tapped the paper with his pen tip, not looking at Ji Ruan's expression, and said calmly: "We will get the marriage certificate soon, let me emphasize the contents of the contract again."
"First, we are getting married publicly. Soon, everyone will know that you are my legal partner, and you will be required to accompany me on certain occasions."
"Secondly, during the contract period, you are not allowed to have any ambiguous contact with other people of the same or opposite sex. This also applies to me."
“Besides that, don’t cause trouble, don’t make a scene, and don’t have any thoughts that you shouldn’t have.”
…
When Song Ling heard the noise in the back seat, he couldn't help but look back. His boss was calmly emphasizing the contents of the contract to Ji Ruan one by one.
Ji Ruan sat on the side with his head down, his eyes covered by long eyelashes, no emotion visible, and he looked thin and lonely.
Just now, Lily sent him a text message, telling him that Ji Ruan heard everything that Gu Xiuyi and Li Suian were talking about outside the door! He was so sad that he almost cried!
Now his boss is explaining the rules so coldly, isn't this just hurting people's feelings!
Song Ling couldn't bear it, but he didn't dare to speak rashly. He could only sit in the passenger seat and carefully observe the situation behind him, feeling anxious.
"Finally, the best outcome is for the contract to expire after three years and for me to take the money and leave quietly."
After Gu Xiuyi finished explaining the last thing, he looked at Ji Ruan slowly. The young boy just leaned against the car window and did not respond immediately.
Gu Xiuyi did not force him and patiently gave him some time to react.
It was when all four eyes were focused on him that Ji Ruan realized that Gu Xiuyi seemed to be talking to him.
Before leaving the hospital, Li Suian specifically told the students not to turn off the new external machine and to wear it for a while to get used to it.
But this new little thing was much more expensive than the previous one and was also clearer and more sensitive. Ji Ruan couldn't adapt to it for a while and was very tired, so he quietly turned it off after getting in the car.
He didn't hear anything Gu Xiuyi said.
Ji Ruan secretly felt the current atmosphere. It should be that something very serious was being discussed. However, his condition was really bad. After thinking for a while, his solar plexus started throbbing. He didn't want to think anymore.
Ji Ruan sighed, rubbed his brows, quietly opened the cochlear implant, and smiled at Gu Xiuyi:
"Sorry, I didn't quite hear you."
His face was pale, his brows were tired, his eyes were red from sleepiness, and he looked shaky even leaning against the car window.
Song Ling was watching from the front and felt an explosion of guilt for Gu Xiuyi.
The pitiful corners of his lips, the lonely look, the red eyes, it looks like he is so sad but he is still forcing a smile!
Song Ling looked at Gu Xiuyi anxiously. As expected, in this situation, his usually emotionless boss seemed to be shocked by Ji Ruan's expression.
His jaw clenched for a moment, and then he tilted his head to look out the window.
The atmosphere remained stagnant for a while.
Gu Xiuyi sighed softly from the back seat: "Turn around and go home."
Ji Ruan didn't understand what was going on. He supported himself and sat up straighter: "What do you mean?"
Gu Xiuyi's eyes were fixed on the document in his hand, not paying any attention to Ji Ruan: "Go back and rest first."
Ji Ruan was a little confused by the sudden change of heart. He was so exhausted that he could not think anymore. He said blankly: "...What about getting the certificate?"
"tomorrow."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
