Chapter 43 Published
The lights and shadows intertwined, and the room was silent except for the shaking sound of the ice cubes in Li Suian's wine glass.
Ji Ruan sat side by side with him, holding his chin and looking at Duan Zeping who was sleeping soundly opposite him.
Old Duan's drinking behavior was not too bad. He would fall asleep immediately after getting drunk and crying. He would call Lin Qing's name from time to time and sob and pretend crying for a while, but no tears would come out.
"He is..." Ji Ruan hesitated: "Did he break up?"
Li Suian sipped his wine leisurely: "Isn't it? There were ghosts howling all night. I wanted you to come and join in the fun, but it's a little late. Now it's all quiet."
"Lively?" Ji Ruan raised his eyebrows and caught one of the words: "Also?"
"Why do you think Lao Gu came here?" Li Suian said with a smile, "He didn't come to all the parties Lao Duan had arranged before, but he came today. I think he just wanted to see what it's like for a man in his thirties to be heartbroken. Don't follow in his footsteps, hahahaha——"
Ji Ruan frowned, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, looking like he wanted to laugh but was trying not to. He paused and said, "Then why don't you just tell me directly?"
"I must have said you wanted to see the excitement," Li Suian said, "I just said that Lao Gu was drunk, and you came here quickly."
He glanced at Ji Ruan's face and asked, "What's the matter? Do you want to hide some dark history?"
"..." Ji Ruan didn't expect Li Suian to see through it at a glance, and scratched his nose a little embarrassedly.
He coughed and stammered, "Well, don't tell him..."
He spoke softly and had big eyes, which were light and clear under the swaying light of the bar, which could easily make people feel soft-hearted.
It's like this poor little guy who has been oppressed by Gu Xiuyi for a long time and wants to resist but doesn't know how, so he can only relieve the pressure by using the not-so-clever method of secretly filming his dark history.
Li Suian had also seen this kind of look in Song Ling's eyes.
"Alas," Li Suian sighed, revealing a bit of sympathy: "Am I that kind of person? Don't worry..."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted, as if he was realizing something: "Besides, Lao Gu is extremely happy right now, he is probably so happy that he..."
"Hmm?" Ji Ruan didn't understand what he said: "What's so cool——"
"Qingqing!" Duan Zeping on the table suddenly trembled and shouted Lin Qing's name, which scared Ji Ruan.
"Oh my god!" Li Suian was also startled, not because of the sudden sound, but because he saw Duan Zeping almost knocked over the wine bottle next to him when he moved, so he quickly reached out to steady it.
Although the floor was covered with carpet, these bottles and jars might break if they hit the chair or the corner of the table. If Ji Ruan was hit anywhere, Gu Xiuyi would kill him when he came back.
Li Suian felt terrified when he thought about the possible expression on Gu Xiuyi's face, and immediately took away all the fragile items that Duan Ze could touch within a half-meter radius.
He then took a clean cup and poured a glass of water for Ji Ruan. Knowing that this baby of the Gu family was in precious health, he didn't add any ice, just plain water.
"You must be thirsty. Have a drink."
Ji Ruan thanked him and took it. He was still a little cold and didn't want to drink cold water, so he touched the rim of the cup with his fingers, thinking about what Li Suian had just said.
Li Suian seemed to have just mentioned it casually and forgot about it the moment he turned around. He glanced at the drunk in front of him and sighed, "See, this is what happens when you fall in love for the first time in your thirties."
"First love?" This was a direction that Ji Ruan had not guessed.
"It's outrageous that someone this rich can be single for more than 30 years, isn't it?" Li Suian shook his head and said, "So it reminds us that we should start dating as early as possible, otherwise it would be too risky to suddenly pour all the emotions we have suppressed for so many years into one person."
"It's a one in ten thousand chance to meet the right person," he tapped the table, "most people are like this, they get deceived and their money is taken away."
"——But in this regard, Old Gu is much luckier than him." Li Suian took a sip of wine and said softly.
Ji Ruan smiled with her eyes curved. Is this Gu Xiuyi’s first love?
Gu Xiuyi is already thirty years old. If he falls in love for the first time, will it be better than Duan Zeping?
Ji Ruan's thoughts were scattered, and he thought about it with some curiosity, but suddenly an idea popped into his mind.
His expression suddenly changed.
This thought was like a bolt of lightning, suddenly shattering Ji Ruan's slightly intoxicated illusion.
He suddenly realized that when he imagined Gu Xiuyi falling in love for the first time, he was actually imagining himself.
The thought is horrible.
The temperature of Ji Ruan's fingertips dropped.
He should have always kept in mind that this was an old, sadistic novel. No matter how Gu Xiuyi treated him now, everything in the future was full of variables that could not be measured by common sense.
But this book was just a rough description of the story told orally by his cousin when he was in the hospital. He had never even read it with his own eyes, and was completely unaware of all the details of the plot in the book, nor could he predict when the crisis would come.
Therefore, the only way for him to protect himself is to be as firm as a rock.
But for a moment, he brought himself and Gu Xiuyi into the fantasy of being a real couple, or even first love.
This clear thought made Ji Ruan's scalp tingle.
Moreover, according to the setting of Bai Yueguang in the book, Gu Xiuyi's first love must have been given away long ago. At that time, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and his heart must have been much more immature and passionate.
That’s why Mr. Gu can now handle all kinds of emotions with ease.
Ji Ruan suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
He couldn't tell where it was, but his heart felt heavy, and the sudden strong ups and downs of emotions made him feel a little nauseous.
He pressed his stomach, but his fingers had become cold because they had been touching the cold cup of water, so pressing on his stomach had no effect.
However, the physical discomfort made his brain clearer, and Ji Ruan suddenly felt a sense of luck that he had survived a disaster.
I'm glad that I reacted suddenly and didn't continue to indulge in the current plain and warm illusion.
He doesn't want to be abused.
If things really don't work out later, the worst that can happen is that he can run away. Even if he really has some feelings for Gu Xiuyi, what does a little feeling mean compared to his own life?
If Gu Xiuyi is willing to be nice to him, he will endure it. If he is not willing, he will run away. Anyway, he will leave when the contract expires, so it makes no difference if it is sooner or later.
So what if it's a sad story? Only idiots stay to be sad.
Ji Ruan secretly encouraged himself and tried his best to ignore the little bit of discomfort that remained in his heart.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Suian asked when he saw Ji Ruan didn't speak for a long time.
Ji Ruan came back to his senses, sorted out his emotions, gently massaged his stomach, paused, and then said: "I also heard that Lin Qing directly dropped out of school."
He didn't want to mention Gu Xiuyi anymore, so he turned the conversation to Lin Qing and Duan Zeping.
Li Suian understood the meaning of his words and knew that he thought Lin Qing had dropped out of school and ran away. He shook his head and said, "No, it was Lao Duan who broke up with Lin Qing first. One or two days after they broke up, Lin Qing disappeared."
Ji Ruan was a little surprised. Duan Zeping seemed to like Lin Qing so much and was still getting drunk in the bar. How did he have the courage to break up with Lin Qing at that time?
His expression was too obvious, exactly the same as when Li Suian and the others first learned of the situation. Li Suian smiled and said, "This sounds strange at first, but it makes sense if you think about it carefully."
The temperature in the bar was low. Although Ji Ruan was wearing a fleece jacket, he still felt a little cold. His chest and abdomen were chilly, which made his already uncomfortable stomach even more uncomfortable, and he would twitch from time to time.
He zipped up his jacket as high as possible to cover his chin, put his hands in his pockets to carefully protect his stomach, and listened to Li Suian continue talking.
"Old Duan has never been in a relationship. A big reason for this is that he is too fixed in his sexual orientation. He likes those who are pure, noble, and fairy-like. He fell in love with Lin Qing at first sight, and the image of Lin Qing in his eyes has always been that kind of image."
Li Suian took a sip of his wine and said, "But Old Duan isn't completely stupid. Lin Qing has been half-pushing and half-dangling him. How could he not feel it? Sometimes it's just self-deception. It's a matter of one willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten."
"After that incident with you guys, I don't know what they quarreled about, but the image of Lin Qing in his heart was completely shattered. So sometimes I feel that Lao Duan doesn't really like Lin Qing as a person. Maybe he likes the fantasy in his heart, but he just imposed it on Lin Qing."
"...Now that the time has come, I have come to my senses, but I can't get over it completely for a while."
He pulled his lips and smiled: "People are saddest when they are awake."
Ji Ruan suddenly shook, and Li Suian's casual words seemed to touch his heart again.
So was the inexplicable discomfort in his heart also due to the discomfort of just being pulled out of the illusion? Like some weird withdrawal reaction?
Ji Ruan's hand pressed deeper into his stomach.
Hmm...it seemed to be true. His stomachache became even worse.
A heavy door not far away was pushed open, and Song Ling's noisy voice came in, and the quiet room regained some lively atmosphere.
Ji Ruan clenched his fists, pressed hard on his stomach, and managed to stand up.
“Pah.”
A glass of milk appeared at hand, and the glass made a clear crisp sound when it hit the marble table.
Ji Ruan looked at the steaming milk in the cup, his mind drifting away aimlessly.
"Ji Ruan." A big hand covered the back of his neck, and the hot temperature made Ji Ruan tremble.
Gu Xiuyi bent down and looked at him, his brows slightly knitted together, his facial features looked very deep under the light:
"Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Ji Ruan stared at his eyes in a daze, and saw the undisguised concern in them. He seemed to be burned by this emotion and subconsciously pushed Gu Xiuyi's hand away.
"No, nothing..." He avoided Gu Xiuyi's gaze, picked up the milk cup and put it to his mouth as if to cover up. Before he could take a sip, his stomachache suddenly intensified: "Ugh!"
At that moment, Ji Ruan's stomach felt as if it had been hit hard by an ice hammer. All of his internal organs were frozen, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
He put the cup back on the table with a "pa" sound. He didn't even feel the milk splashing on the back of his hand. He just pulled it back and pressed it against his upper abdomen.
"Ji Ruan?"
Gu Xiuyi only saw Ji Ruan tremble violently, then he bent down deeply as if he couldn't bear the pain, and his back trembled from time to time.
He held Ji Ruan steady, and placed his palm on his tightly clenched fist against his stomach. He felt his hand was as cold as ice:
"Does your stomach hurt? Are you feeling sick?"
The sudden change also scared Song Ling and Li Suian.
Song Ling leaned over to Gu Xiuyi and looked at Ji Ruan's face, which was frighteningly pale. He asked awkwardly, "What, what's going on? Did you have a stomachache?"
"Bullshit!" Li Suian interrupted, "I swear he hasn't eaten anything since he got here!"
Li Suian was terrified. Ji Ruan was given to him to look after by Gu Xiuyi, and the child was very fragile. If anything happened to him, Old Gu would definitely kill him.
He met Gu Xiuyi's eyes and shuddered instantly.
Well, there’s no need to wait for the worst, Lao Gu wants to kill him now.
Gu Xiuyi held Ji Ruan in his arms and coaxed him patiently for a long time. Ji Ruan's back gradually relaxed, and he rested his chin on his shoulder and said weakly, "Hmm."
He wiped the sweat off Ji Ruan's face, scanned the table, and locked his eyes on an ordinary glass filled with water. He touched the wall of the glass with the back of his hand, and it felt icy cold.
As soon as Li Suian saw Gu Xiuyi's actions, he knew what he was thinking and immediately waved his hand: "He didn't drink!"
He didn't know when he had retreated behind Song Ling. As if he was afraid that Gu Xiuyi would punch him, he spoke quickly:
"It's true that I poured the water, but there wasn't even a piece of ice in it. It was just ordinary mineral water. And he really didn't drink a single sip. It definitely wasn't because of this!"
Gu Xiuyi calmly withdrew his hand, and after calming down, he realized that it had nothing to do with the water. Although Ji Ruan's stomach was not good, he was not so bad that he could not drink a sip of cold water. There must be other problems.
He lowered his head and carefully observed Ji Ruan's condition. He seemed to have recovered a little, but he still looked weak and his lips were pale.
He didn't waste any more time, pulled Ji Ruan into his arms and picked him up by the waist:
"I'm leaving now."
"Yeah," Li Suian wiped his sweat, "Go to the hospital quickly, he must be fine!"
At this time, Song Ling's professionalism was fully demonstrated. He followed Gu Xiuyi and said calmly: "I just called the driver, he should be here soon."
Gu Xiuyi gave him an appreciative look.
Song Ling remained calm and was delighted. He seemed to hear the sound of gold coins falling, and knew that this month's bonus would probably be a little more.
Gu Xiuyi rushed Ji Ruan to the hospital, wishing he could give him a full body check from head to toe.
Ji Ruan huddled in a chair in the examination room waiting for the results. He knew that there was nothing serious wrong with him and that his stomachache was probably caused by his emotional excitement. Didn’t people on the Internet say that the stomach is the organ most easily affected by emotions?
He was even somewhat resistant before the examination because he guessed that nothing would be found wrong and the doctor would conclude that he was suffering from excessive psychological stress.
Maybe Gu Xiuyi would even ask him what he was worried about.
Is this something that can be said?
You can't say that he got a stomachache when he thought about being bullied by Bai Yueguang later.
It can’t be said that he almost thought he fell in love with Gu Xiuyi, so he was scared to the point of having a stomachache, right?
Whichever one sounds weird.
"Oh..." Ji Ruan sighed softly and held his forehead.
The next second, someone held her hand and she felt Gu Xiuyi's warm body temperature.
He squatted down in front of Ji Ruan and put his palm on Ji Ruan's stomach: "Does it still hurt? Do you want to vomit? I'll call a doctor over?"
Just now in the car, Ji Ruan was cold all over, especially his palms and chest and abdomen, and he was curled up and shivering. Gu Xiuyi warmed him up for a long time before he felt better a little.
To the point that he was a little paranoid now, and Ji Ruan sighed and felt that he was in pain.
There's nothing we can do. This child is just too scary when he's sick.
“Ah, not really…”
Ji Ruan scratched the tip of his nose. He didn't even realize that he had just spoken. Gu Xiuyi asked him questions in a rather fussy manner, making him feel a little embarrassed.
Now that my body has warmed up, my stomach feels much better, leaving only a little bit of dull pain.
Ji Ruan felt that he could be discharged from the hospital now and no longer needed to take up medical resources.
"Oh," the doctor came in and saw the scene with the door of the consulting room open. He was a little surprised: "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
Gu Xiuyi frowned and said before Ji Ruan: "Well, he even cried out in pain just now."
Ji Ruan lowered his voice: "I didn't!"
"Really?" The doctor immediately lowered his head to read the report, with a puzzled look on his face: "It shouldn't be..."
Ji Ruan's opinion was ignored by both of them.
Ji Ruan: “…”
It was so embarrassing that everyone blushed.
"It's okay." Gu Xiuyi put his arm around his shoulders and patted him gently: "If you are sick, we will treat it well. It's okay."
Ji Ruan's face is very red now, even the area around her eyes is red, her eyelashes are long and straight as if they were soaked in water, each one is clearly visible, and her pupils are moist. She looks pitiful, and it's easy to make people feel soft-hearted.
He pulled Gu Xiuyi's sleeve, bit his lip and whispered, "I really don't feel bad anymore, let's go back..."
Gu Xiuyi seemed to think he was showing off, and lightly swept his eyes with his fingertips: "Be good."
The doctor walked over with his hands behind his back to see Ji Ruan's condition: "Normally, he should be well now. It's just a common cold. The stomach is uncomfortable because of the cold. He just drank hot water and took medicine. If it were any other young people of his age, they would have run away happily long ago."
Ji Ruan was shocked: "Cold stomach? ... Is that all?"
Gu Xiuyi's big paws would touch his belly from time to time. Ji Ruan would slap them away, but they would touch him again after a while.
The doctor caught a glimpse of the two people's little movements from the corner of his eye, shook his head, turned his body and took a sip of coffee.
"That's right. The weather is so hot and cold right now. You should go to the pediatric department next door." He made a big circle with his arm. "They all have these symptoms. It's just that the weather is cold and we didn't pay attention. Children have fragile stomachs and intestines, so they got frozen. It's not a big deal."
…
That’s it?
How is that possible?
Ji Ruan couldn't believe it.
Isn't he just too sentimental and worried? He was really depressed in the bar just now!
Although I am no longer depressed now...
But how could he have such a problem as that of the pediatric department next door?
Ji Ruan couldn't accept it and even thought it was a psychological factor.
Gu Xiuyi didn't think it was strange that Ji Ruan was sick like a child. Instead, his expression relaxed a lot, but still a little serious.
He squeezed Ji Ruan's palm and said, "Then let's get him hospitalized."
? !
What is he talking about?
Ji Ruan quickly pulled Gu Xiuyi's clothes, looking embarrassed: "I'm fine!"
The doctor's thermos cup stopped in mid-air, his lips opened, and Ji Ruan could feel his speechlessness through the air.
"This family member..." The doctor hesitated, "There's no need to be hospitalized. If the patient is weak, go home and have a good sleep, keep warm, and take medicine again in the morning. There will be absolutely no problem."
He took two steps forward and pointed his hand toward the door, anxiously saying, "Look at how tight the beds are in our hospital. The row of patients in the pediatric department next door, who are suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, have to sleep in the corridor. How can we spare any more beds?"
Ji Ruan closed his eyes. He never wanted to hear the words "pediatrics next door" again.
The doctor looked at the two people in front of him as if they were lunatics, with a very strange look in his eyes.
Both this family member and his patient are a little strange. One is unwilling to believe that he has the disease, while the other feels that he is very ill and needs to be hospitalized.
Who wouldn't make a detour when seeing a ward these days? He had never seen such a family member who was so eager to be hospitalized.
Ji Ruan couldn't stand it any longer and grabbed Gu Xiuyi's sleeve: "Let's go back, the hospital is not owned by your family..."
Then he saw Gu Xiuyi turn around, his calm face revealing an indescribable emotion.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"?"
"I forgot."
He forgot that this was a public hospital.
It's definitely not his business.
“……?!”
Ji Ruan held his forehead deeply.
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