Chapter 34 Published
“Where is it?!”
Ji Ruan heard a loud bang over there and didn't know what was knocked over.
"No, no, don't worry," he explained quickly while holding the phone, "It's Sister Zi Zhang. She has appendicitis and is in the operating room. I came to the hospital with her."
“…”
"What about you? Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, nothing happened."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds, and Gu Xiuyi seemed to sigh deeply: "Ji Ruan."
Ji Ruan was a little panicked: "What, what?"
"Can you finish your words in one breath next time?"
Ji Ruan touched the tip of his nose: "...Oh."
·
In the ambulance, the doctor asked about the family members, and Ji Ruan asked him to use Cheng Zizhan's cell phone to contact Cheng Yunxiu and Lin Qing.
Teacher Cheng was out of town and couldn't get here quickly, so Lin Qing was the first to arrive, followed by Duan Zeping.
Ji Ruan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw the two people appear at the same time.
Didn’t Lin Qing go back to his hometown to attend the funeral? Why is he still with Duan Zeping?
Is his relationship with Duan Zeping good enough to allow someone to accompany him home?
Obviously not.
Duan Zeping was also a little surprised when he saw Ji Ruan, and then smiled: "Isn't this Ji Ruan, you are here too?"
Ji Ruan nodded: "I called an ambulance for my senior."
"Really?" Duan Zeping rubbed his hands and looked towards the operating room: "How is the patient?"
"Acute appendicitis, still in surgery."
When Lin Qing heard this, his expression changed slightly. He turned his head and murmured, "How could this happen? What if the things can't be finished... She really is..."
Although he could barely be considered talking to himself, it was quite quiet outside the hospital's operating room. Even a pin drop could be heard clearly, let alone his words.
This complaining tone made Ji Ruan feel uncomfortable.
He sat up straight, holding the armrest. The cold metal armrest made his tired brain clear up a lot:
“What happens if it’s not finished?”
Lin Qing glanced at him and said, "It will be handed over to the organizer tomorrow. If it is not completed, it will affect the event and the consequences will be serious."
"Is that so..." Ji Ruan nodded thoughtfully, and asked in confusion: "But aren't you both responsible for the things? If Senior Sister is sick and can't finish it, why can't you do it?"
Lin Qing narrowed her eyes and looked at him, as if wondering why he had such doubts: "Yes, she is my senior sister. If she has something to do, I can indeed help her complete some of the content she is responsible for, but Ji Ruan——"
His tone became tough, "I really don't like the way you talk. Are you being too self-righteous? It's my kindness to help her, and it's my duty not to help her. Why should I take over her work as long as she is sick? Why should I be responsible for her mistakes? Just because she is my senior sister?"
These words were so righteous that it seemed as if Ji Ruan was forcing him, morally blackmailing him into doing something that was not his job just because of their relationship as senior sister and junior brother.
Ji Ruan became interested and smiled as if he had suddenly realized something: "So you also know this truth?"
"What else?"
Lin Qing sighed: "I know you have a good relationship with my senior sister, so you might subconsciously stand on her side. I understand, but you can't be too biased when you speak, right? Then can I just find an excuse to throw all the work to others?"
"—Aren't you always like this?"
Lin Qing paused: "What are you talking about?"
The hospital was well heated. Lin Qing and Duan Zeping took off their coats and held them in their hands. However, Ji Ruan felt a little cold. He put his hands back in his pockets, leaned back in his chair and said slowly:
"Teacher Cheng asked you to complete a work together, but you often lost contact with me under various excuses. In order to complete it on time, I had to do the part you were responsible for as well. Isn't that true?"
He waited for two seconds, and when Lin Qing didn't say anything, he continued, "It's true that she had acute appendicitis due to low immunity caused by excessive fatigue. To some extent, isn't it because of you? If the work couldn't be completed on time because of this, it would be appropriate for you to make up for the last bit. How can it be considered as someone forcing you?"
Lin Qing sneered as if she had heard something ridiculous: "I don't know why you said that. I feel bad that my senior sister is sick, but you can't frame me out of thin air or slander my character. I left only after I had completed the part I was responsible for."
Wow, it has even risen to the level of character.
Ji Ruan lowered his head and laughed softly.
Duan Zeping saw that the atmosphere was not good and quickly jumped out to mediate: "Yes, Ji Ruan, there must be some misunderstanding. Qingqing is not that kind of person."
Duan Zeping's image as a love-minded person has long been deeply rooted in people's minds. Ji Ruan had no time to pay attention to him and looked at Lin Qing quietly: "The part you are responsible for... does it mean that it is a collaboration between the two of us, you do one-tenth and the senior sister takes care of the remaining nine-tenths?"
"How is this possible?" Duan Zeping spoke before Lin Qing, his face full of helplessness. "How is this possible? Right Qingqing? We Qingqing will never take advantage of others, nor will we owe anyone a favor."
"Brother Zeping, you don't have to speak for me." Lin Qing interrupted, his back standing straight, still looking extremely noble.
When Duan Zeping saw it, he immediately winked at Ji Ruan, as if to say, "Look, our Qingqing doesn't even let me help."
Ji Ruan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Lin Qing said calmly, "I don't know what Senior Sister told you, but you can't just believe her one-sided words. I can guarantee that I definitely finished my half before leaving."
"Yes, I can testify to this!" Duan Zeping remembered something and immediately said, "Qingqing worked late into the night a few days ago. I took him out to travel and relax because he was too tired. Your senior sister is tired, and our Qingqing is tired too. We can't blame everything on Qingqing just because she got sick from exhaustion. Our Qingqing is lucky not to get sick, right? This is not appropriate, Ji Ruan."
Ji Ruan's heart skipped a beat: "Did you go traveling?"
"Yes, I went on a trip," Duan Zeping said, "What a coincidence, the doctor called me right after I got off the plane. The airport is quite close to me..."
"Stop talking, Brother Zeping..." Lin Qing's expression changed subtly and he pulled Duan Zeping's sleeve.
Duan Zeping seemed to have grasped some subtle points, and patted Lin Qing's hand: "Don't be afraid, Qingqing, this matter must be explained clearly, you can't let people wrongly accuse you for nothing, right?"
"No...I..."
Duan Zeping looked at Ji Ruan with a smug look on his face: "Is this what made your senior sister unhappy?"
He slapped his thigh and said, "Oh! It was me who insisted on taking Qingqing out to play. If you want to blame someone, don't blame him."
Lin Qing closed his eyes and turned his head away.
Ji Ruan almost laughed out loud.
How could Gu Xiuyi have such a stupid friend? Was his IQ like this originally, or did it plummet because he fell in love?
But on second thought, apart from the first meeting at the villa, Gu Xiuyi never showed up at any of Duan Zeping's activities, and he didn't seem to be very familiar with him. Even Li Suian and the others sighed when they mentioned Duan Zeping. With all these things, Ji Ruan could probably guess a little bit.
He licked his lips and looked at Lin Qing. He hadn't had water for so long that his throat was dry and his voice was weaker. "Didn't you go back to your hometown to attend the funeral of a relative who passed away? How come funerals are also popular with tourists now?"
But even with such a weak voice, Lin Qing's face suddenly darkened.
Duan Zeping didn't understand: "What, what funeral? Qingqing, what is he talking about?"
Lin Qing took a deep breath and sneered: "This is what Senior Sister told you, right?"
He said in a deep voice: "You don't know what happened between us. I can understand that you speak for the weaker party, but this is not a reason for me to tolerate your false accusations against me. Please don't talk nonsense in front of Brother Zeping based on other people's one-sided words. Don't meddle in other people's affairs and judge others at will."
Ji Ruan opened his eyes involuntarily after hearing this, surprised that he could still confuse right and wrong even in such a situation. He gained a new understanding of Lin Qing's psychological quality.
He rested his elbow on the armrest and gently pressed his temples: "But aren't you also telling only one side of the story now?"
"……What?"
Ji Ruan looked at Lin Qing with a half-smile: "Relying on the fact that Senior Sister can't fight back in the operating room, how can you say that you are the only one who has the final say?"
"It's boring to keep talking like this, Ji Ruan." Duan Zeping obviously believed Lin Qing completely, and there was some displeasure in his eyes when he looked at Ji Ruan.
Ji Ruan didn't bother to look at him: "Brother Duan, you don't understand anything, so just shut up."
He leaned lazily in the chair, his lips pale and his expression tired, looking a little too weak.
Duan Zeping never thought that this kid who was a dozen years younger than him would dare to challenge him like that. He was speechless for a moment: "You, this kid is quite interesting... I just don't want you to misunderstand Qingqing."
"Don't I know if it's a misunderstanding?" Ji Ruan covered his lips and coughed twice: "I don't know what grudge there is between you, but it has nothing to do with this matter in essence."
He looked at Lin Qing slowly, "You have been using the unknown conflict between you and Senior Sister to prove that Senior Sister was trying to deceive you in front of me so that I could misunderstand you. This doesn't make sense because I saw it with my own eyes."
Lin Qing remained calm: "What did you see?"
There was no trace of smile in Ji Ruan's eyes: "When I saw my senior sister embroidering stitch by stitch, you and Brother Duan were having a party. When I saw my senior sister working so hard to finish the work, you used the excuse of attending a funeral to go traveling with Brother Duan. When I saw you swearing that you were responsible for half of the work, in fact, you only embroidered a few bricks in the pond..."
"——Am I right? Are these not misunderstandings?"
Ji Ruan looked at Lin Qing's slightly rising and falling chest, and he finally understood that he had been wrong before. Lin Qing did not have a good mental quality at all. He really did not think that there was anything wrong with him, and he even felt extremely aggrieved from his own perspective.
Duan Zeping went to hold his hand: "Qingqing, is what he said true..."
Lin Qing did not shake it off for the first time, with anger and grievance in her eyes: "Ji Ruan, I know you may know a little about Han embroidery, but you have to know that you are just an amateur no matter what. My needlework is very similar to that of my senior sister. Sometimes even professionals can't distinguish them well. How can you tell?"
He looked at Ji Ruan with an expression that could tell what was going on: "Actually, that's what Senior Sister told you, right? She told you that I only embroidered a little bit of the pond? Is that so? She really is... always like this."
Duan Zeping looked distressed: "So that's how it is, Qingqing, you've suffered." He turned to Ji Ruan and said, "See, you really misunderstood Qingqing. I advise you not to get too close to that senior sister."
Ji Ruan finally rolled his eyes after enduring for a long time.
"Forget it," Lin Qing raised his hand and wiped his face: "I don't want to get entangled with you anymore. I have to go back and help her finish the rest."
"No need to go," Ji Ruan stood up with the help of the handrail. Because of dizziness, her vision was a little blurry. After a pause, she said, "Senior sister endured the pain and finished the embroidery before coming to the hospital."
He had a vague idea in his mind, so he deliberately didn't tell her that he helped embroider the last section. He just looked at Lin Qing and smiled: "She knew you were unreliable and didn't count on you from the beginning."
Lin Qing's jaw tightened for a moment, and his voice became a little stiff: "Then I have to check it again, just in case there is something wrong?"
"No need for that," Ji Ruan said with a smile, "Teacher Cheng has already contacted the organizer to take it away."
"—You'd better not go anywhere."
A familiar voice came, and Duan Zeping looked past Ji Ruan and fell behind him, surprised for a moment:
"Lao Gu? Why are you here too?"
"Of course I'll come."
The voice with a hint of laughter came closer and closer.
Ji Ruan had been waiting for this voice for a long time. When he knew that Gu Xiuyi had arrived, his strong spirit relaxed for a moment. He staggered back a step and was held steadily by someone.
Gu Xiuyi placed his hands on Ji Ruan's waist, pulled him into his arms, supported his weight, and lowered his head: "Why do you look so bad?"
Gu Xiuyi felt a little cold, and the metal decorative buttons on the sleeves of his coat froze Ji Ruan's wrist. It was the chill from the melting ice and snow on an early spring night. Ji Ruan shivered, but his heart calmed down instead.
His lips were so dry that they were cracked, and he could taste a hint of blood when he licked them with his tongue. He closed his eyes and shook his head tiredly.
Gu Xiuyi helped Ji Ruan sit down on the chair, squatted in front of him, took out the small thermos cup he carried with him, unscrewed it and handed it to Ji Ruan's lips: "Come on, have a sip."
Ji Ruan slowed down, shook his head gently, took the cup from him, and indicated that he didn't need to feed him and he could drink it by himself.
Gu Xiuyi didn't force it. He stood up and supported Ji Ruan's back. He could feel a layer of sweat on the back of his neck when he looked up a little.
Ji Ruan is not a person who sweats easily, so he would never sweat like this in the early spring when the weather is still cold. It just means that he is very uncomfortable now.
Gu Xiuyi frowned all of a sudden, and when he looked at the two people beside him, his tone was obviously impatient: "I have to take Ji Ruan back now, and I need Mr. Lin to stay and take care of the patient."
"I take care of it?" Lin Qing raised his hand and pointed at himself, as if he couldn't believe it.
"What else?" Gu Xiuyi's expression was very cold: "Mr. Lin often lost contact and ignored the work he was responsible for. After Miss Cheng finished her part, she also took the overall situation into consideration and helped you complete the content that did not belong to you at all. As a result, she fell ill and went into the operating room. Is that right?"
"No, Mr. Gu, you misunderstood--" Duan Zeping said.
Gu Xiuyi raised his hand to stop him. He didn't have the patience to care about what the truth was in other people's eyes. He said calmly, "This is the fact. Mr. Lin should at least hire a nurse to watch over him, even if he doesn't take off his clothes and take care of him day and night. Isn't this moral kidnapping of Mr. Lin?"
Lin Qing chuckled and sighed: "I didn't expect that Mr. Gu likes to meddle in other people's business like others... It's true that three people make a tiger."
"How can it be meddling in other people's business?" Gu Xiuyi took Ji Ruan's thermos cup, covered it with the lid and put it in his bag, gently patting his back: "Ji Ruan treats Miss Cheng as a friend, and it is a matter of friendship to speak up for a friend; when a friend cannot speak up in the operating room and is blamed, it is a matter of morality for him to come forward to explain."
He looked at Lin Qing with cold eyes: "You are full of lies and confuse right and wrong. He is teaching you a lesson for justice. If it is not for his friends, do you think he would be willing to say half a word to you? Mr. Lin, please respect yourself."
Gu Xiuyi's temper was far from being as good as Ji Ruan's. Every word he said stabbed Lin Qing in the heart, and his slow tone seemed to peel off Lin Qing's skin.
Lin Qing stood there speechless, his face turning red and white.
Duan Zeping couldn't bear to see Lin Qing like this, so he jumped out immediately and said, "Old Gu, you're thirty years old, it's not good to argue with Qingqing, a child, right?"
Gu Xiuyi sneered and said, "You're still a kid in your twenties? Then why didn't you feel bad when you were in your thirties and bullied my child together with him?"
Duan Zeping choked up: "I... when did I bully... ah!"
Duan Zeping wanted to cry but had no tears. The child that Gu Xiuyi mentioned was eloquent and good at speaking. What was wrong between him and Lin Qing?
Did you get any bargain after adding them all up? !
Gu Xiuyi glanced at him leisurely and found that Duan Zeping had found a pair of glasses and was wearing them at some point. His temperament was completely inconsistent with that of the other, and he looked like neither human nor ghost.
He raised an eyebrow: "Why do you wear glasses if you are not nearsighted?"
Duan Zeping adjusted the frame of his glasses and whispered, "Aren't you trying to look more elegant?"
Needless to say, it must be Lin Qing who likes it.
Gu Xiuyi raised his hand and took off his glasses.
"Hey, Old Gu, what are you doing!" Duan Zeping was distracted for a moment and subconsciously reached out to grab it, but was blocked by Gu Xiuyi. The other party's voice was cold and carried an unquestionable momentum.
"What's the use of wearing the best glasses if your heart is covered?"
Duan Zeping was stunned: "What do you mean..."
Gu Xiuyi didn't answer. He blew on his glasses and watched a thin mist appear on the lenses and then disappear quickly.
He stuffed the glasses back into Duan Zeping's shirt pocket: "It's dirty, wipe it off."
After saying that, he put his arm around Ji Ruan’s shoulders and left without looking back.
It was completely dark outside. The night was so dark that Ji Ruan could smell the cold wind.
The bare treetops were shaking, and the cold wind blew, making Ji Ruan cough twice. He felt dizzy again, and black mist appeared in front of his eyes, making it difficult for him to stand steadily.
He took a breath and had to hold onto Gu Xiuyi's sleeve for support. Cold sweat began to break out on his back as he endured the dizziness.
Gu Xiuyi held him steadily with one arm, and seemed to be holding something with the other hand. There was a rustling sound, and then he put his fingertips to Ji Ruan's lips, and his voice was swept by the night wind:
"Open your mouth."
Ji Ruan still couldn't see clearly, and he let out a confused "ah" as if he was seeing a dentist, and then a sweet candy was stuffed into his mouth.
He heard Gu Xiuyi laugh softly, rub his head, and then pick him up gently.
The vision gradually became clear, and Ji Ruan saw Gu Xiuyi's sharp jawline in the dim street lights of the hospital. This angle and lighting made him look many times more handsome than usual.
Ji Ruan was still a little dizzy, his brain was operating slowly as if covered, and he was a little dazed: "...Why did you suddenly hug me?"
Gu Xiuyi had a faint smile on his face. He gently lifted Ji Ruan up and let his arms wrap around his neck:
"You have low blood sugar. Didn't you notice it?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com