Chapter 33 Published
After dinner, Ji Ruan returned to his room, took a shower and began to prepare the draft.
At nine o'clock in the evening, there was a knock on the door on time. I knew without thinking that it was Gu Xiuyi coming to deliver milk.
It was like this throughout the winter vacation. As long as Gu Xiuyi was at home, he would take over Aunt Zhao's job of delivering milk in the evening, and it would always be at nine o'clock, not a minute earlier or a second later.
This might just be a routine operation for someone like him who is obsessed with details. The perfect timing would make him feel particularly comfortable both physically and mentally.
But Ji Ruan unknowingly developed this habit. When it was close to nine o'clock, he would subconsciously start waiting for the sound of knocking on the door.
He walked over and opened the door, and as expected, he saw Gu Xiuyi and the glass of milk in his hand.
Gu Xiuyi didn't hand the milk to Ji Ruan, but went straight into the room.
Ji Ruan paused, closed the door and followed him: "You don't have work today?"
Gu Xiuyi is very busy. Most of the time, he is only responsible for delivering milk to Ji Ruan, reminding him to go to bed early, and then going to the study to work. He will only come in and talk to Ji Ruan very occasionally.
He turned around and said, "I'm on vacation starting this afternoon."
"Oh..." Ji Ruan didn't respond: "Then you sit down, I'll go to the toilet first."
Gu Xiuyi nodded and watched Ji Ruan trot into the bathroom. When closing the door, he pressed his hand on the frosted glass, leaving a fleeting palm print, which was small and very cute.
Gu Xiuyi couldn't help but smile, put the milk on the desk, and looked around Ji Ruan's little world.
Although there were a lot of things on the table, it was very tidy. The lucky cat with its claws removed went to college with Ji Ruan and went home together during the winter vacation. Now it was waving its disabled paw and grinning on the second shelf of the bookcase.
The candy jar he gave to Ji Ruan was also brought back and placed side by side with the lucky cat.
Ji Ruan's chairs went through a cold winter and returned home with a full load.
It was originally just a bare chair, but now it has a seat cushion, a headrest, a neck support, and a small milky white blanket that Ji Ruan likes very much for some reason. Even the armrests are covered with fluffy covers so they won't feel cold to the touch.
From a distance it doesn't look like a chair at all. It can be said to be a small nest. You can just throw a cute kitten or puppy on it and they can roll around in it all day long.
——Of course Ji Ruan is almost the same.
Gu Xiuyi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
The bathroom door opened, Ji Ruan came out, wiped his hands, sat back in his little nest, no, in the chair, skillfully spread the small blanket over his legs, looked up at Gu Xiuyi: "Do you have anything to say?"
Gu Xiuyi sat down on the chair next to Ji Ruan. It was a truly bare chair, or even a bench.
The gap in wealth between the two chairs was so great that Gu Xiuyi forgot what he was going to say for a moment.
Ji Ruan seemed to notice that the place where Gu Xiuyi was sitting was too shabby. He scratched his nose and stuffed his pillow into his hand.
Gu Xiuyi did not refuse. The pillow in his arms smelled delicious, the same as Ji Ruan's. He didn't understand why a boy like Ji Ruan smelled so good that even the things he used daily could be marinated with flavor.
Are all boys in the world like this?
Probably not. When Song Ling and Li Suian were young, their bodies were full of the smell of sweat from playing on the basketball court.
"Boss Gu?" Ji Ruanbai waved his palm in front of his eyes, "What are you thinking about?"
Gu Xiuyi came back to his senses and said calmly, "Nothing." He raised his chin towards the table and asked, "What are you drawing?"
Ji Ruan touched the half-painted pattern and said, "Are you talking about this? This is Senior Zi Zhang's birthday flower, the mountain primrose."
He laughed as he spoke: "The flower language is compassion. It feels like it but not quite."
"Birthday flowers..." Gu Xiuyi's voice was a little low, and nothing could be seen from his expression, but Ji Ruan inexplicably felt that he was in a bad mood.
Before Ji Ruan could ask, Gu Xiuyi casually found a piece of A4 paper and covered the drawing, then pulled up Ji Ruan's slightly cold wrist and said, "Let's not talk about others. Isn't your birthday coming soon? Have you thought about how to celebrate it?"
His palm was very hot, Ji Ruan was reluctant to pull his hand out, and said with a smile: "I've thought about it, isn't there an indoor playground at Times International? I plan to go there to play with my roommate."
Gu Xiuyi paused for a moment, "With my roommate..."
Ji Ruan's left hand was held by Gu Xiuyi, and his right hand was playing with his phone. He didn't notice Gu Xiuyi's expression, and asked casually, "What's your birthday on the Gregorian calendar?"
Gu Xiuyi was thinking about something, and he didn't know why he asked this. Before he could react, he heard Ji Ruan say, "Shall I make you another birthday flower?"
Gu Xiuyi raised his eyes suddenly: "...mine?"
"Yes," Ji Ruan said with a dimple on her cheek, and her expression was very natural: "The thread I gave you before was not very good, and the tree is also my favorite. I should give you a better one... Tell me, when is it?"
Gu Xiuyi suddenly heard his own heartbeat, which hit his ears again and again. His voice was a little hoarse when he spoke: "...October 11th."
Hearing this, Ji Ruan slid his finger across the screen, his eyes lit up, and he smiled: "It's a holly tree, the flower language is life... I like this one so much..."
He raised his head and looked at Gu Xiuyi, his eyebrows and eyes were particularly bright: "Don't worry, I will definitely embroider it very beautifully for you."
He looked so handsome when he smiled, just like a glowing little angel that had descended from the sky. No matter how many times Gu Xiuyi had seen him, he could not remain calm towards such a smile, and he even willingly fell deeper and deeper into it.
Gu Xiuyi felt like he was rolling into boiling water. Taking advantage of the scorching heat, he asked what was in his heart:
"Can I come with you on your birthday?"
Ji Ruan seemed a little surprised.
Gu Xiuyi was very familiar with that indoor playground. In fact, it was originally a project that Gu Xiuyi invested in.
Naturally, Gu Xiuyi was also very clear that the target group of their amusement park was young people between the ages of 18 and 24. Even 24 years old was a full six years younger than him, not to mention Ji Ruan's 18 years old.
Some people may say that he is making trouble for himself, and that it is normal to go to an amusement park at the age of 30, and no one will say anything.
But just as he would hesitate whether his age was appropriate, the most fundamental problem in this matter was that he was confused about how to bridge the twelve full years and integrate into Ji Ruan's life without disturbing him.
Once people think too much, they will become uneasy, but pure people will not have so many considerations.
Ji Ruan was only surprised for a moment, and then smiled brightly: "Of course, my roommates are actually quite curious about you, and I am the birthday girl, so I have the absolute right to decide."
See, he thought your nervousness was just about inconvenience to your roommate.
Gu Xiuyi's smile couldn't help but be tainted with bitterness.
Before leaving, he saw Ji Ruan leaning down to continue drawing, hesitated for two seconds and patted his back: "Go to bed early, you are not in good health and you always like to stay up late."
?
Ji Ruan looked up and saw only Gu Xiuyi's back as he closed the door.
How could he stay up late? It was only a little after nine o'clock. Even elementary school students don't go to bed so early!
·
On Cheng Zizhan's birthday, Ji Ruan went to the bell tower to find her with an embroidered primrose handkerchief.
Since the last school anniversary, the studio on the top floor of the school’s clock tower has almost become exclusive to him and Cheng Zizhang.
After school started, the schedule was tight, so Cheng Zizhang moved his needlework and thread rolling gear into the bell tower to save as much time as possible.
As soon as Ji Ruan entered the room, he found that her face did not look good. She was holding a needle in one hand and covering her stomach with the other.
"Senior sister..." Ji Ruan observed her condition, and her cheeks turned red when she thought of something. She asked embarrassedly, "Senior sister, are you...uncomfortable?"
Cheng Zizhang knew what he was talking about as soon as he heard it. He was not shy at all and said openly: "No, I must have eaten something unclean. I have a stomachache. It's not my period."
Seeing that she did not cover up at all, Ji Ruan felt even more embarrassed. He always felt that asking girls private questions was not a good idea.
Cheng Zizhang patted the stool beside him and said, "Sit down, don't stand."
Ji Ruan helped her get a cup of hot water, then walked over and sat down: "Senior sister, don't you need to go to the hospital?"
"I've already taken the medicine," Cheng Zizhang sighed, holding his stomach. "And I have to finish embroidering this first. Tomorrow is the deadline, and I have to hand it over to the organizer."
Ji Ruan frowned: "Where is Lin Qing? Let him do it."
Cheng Zizhang was worried when he talked about this: "I often can't find him, and I don't know what he is doing."
She rubbed her hair and said, "Three days ago, he said that a relative of his family had passed away and he had to go back to his hometown to attend the funeral. I also asked them at the college and they did ask for leave."
After hearing this, Ji Ruan thought about it carefully. It seems that he has not seen Lin Qing in Duan Zeping’s circle of friends recently. Maybe he has something urgent to do.
He thought for a moment and asked, "How much is left now?"
Cheng Zizhang glanced at the time: "Probably... until the evening."
She looked OK now, not in terrible condition, but she was not feeling well after all. Ji Ruan couldn't let a girl work while she was sick, so he said thoughtfully, "How about I help you embroider?"
Cheng Zizhang looked up suddenly.
Ji Ruan met her eyes and smiled: "Why, don't you believe in my skills?"
"How could that be possible!" As soon as Cheng Zizhan arrived, she looked at the primrose that Ji Ruan had made for her. It was quite exquisite, and her mother would probably be full of praise if she showed it to her.
Cheng Zizhang was not a person who would put on airs. After considering his own situation, he patted Ji Ruan on the shoulder without any hesitation and said, "Thank you for your hard work, brother. I'll treat you to dinner tonight!"
"Goodbye," Ji Ruan smiled and pushed her hand away: "I dare not eat with you, or I will get sick from eating again."
His eyes were curved, and the corners of his eyes were very beautiful when he lowered his head to thread the needle. Cheng Zizhang also laughed: "You are so wicked for saying that."
Ji Ruan glanced at the paper, became more serious, and asked, "What else do you want to embroider?"
The theme of this embroidery is a corner of a small courtyard. The path to the pond has been completed. Cheng Zizhang is embroidering the last bit of the low house and said to Ji Ruan: "Please help me embroider the remaining peach trees."
"OK."
In order to allow Cheng Zizhang to rest earlier and Ji Ruan to go home for dinner earlier, both of them embroidered very seriously. The fine needle moved through the thin cloth, spreading out a patch of gorgeous colors.
Time passed by minute by minute, and neither of them spoke again. The room was extremely quiet for a moment.
I don’t know how long it had been, Ji Ruan suddenly let out a “hiss” sound. The sound was not loud, but it was particularly obvious in the extremely silent environment.
Cheng Zizhang immediately raised his head, "What's wrong, Xiao Ruan?"
Ji Ruan's fingertips were pricked, and the fine and sharp touch spread out, which was indeed a bit painful. He frowned subconsciously: "It's okay."
Cheng Zizhang wanted to come over to ask, but Ji Ruan saw that her other hand was still covering her stomach, and hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's just a prick, senior sister, you can continue embroidering."
He took out a piece of paper and pressed it against his fingertips. A small bloodstain spread on the paper. Ji Ruan picked up the needle again and leaned over, but suddenly stopped.
——A spot of red was left on the snow-white thin cloth.
It should have been left at the moment of being stabbed.
Ji Ruan forgot about his physical condition.
When an ordinary person is pricked by a needle, at most a small spot of blood will appear, but Ji Ruan's blood coagulation ability is a little poor, so a drop of blood accidentally fell on it.
Han embroidery products require very fine workmanship, and sometimes very slight flaws can ruin the entire work.
Ji Ruan secretly clenched his fingers and said in a hoarse voice: "Senior sister..."
"Hmm?" Cheng Zizhang looked up and saw Ji Ruan's expression: "Does your hand hurt?"
"No..." Ji Ruan said helplessly: "Can we change the pear tree to a red plum tree?"
Cheng Zizhang glanced at Ji Ruan's cloth, saw the bloodstain, and immediately understood what had happened.
——For Ji Ruan’s tree, only the branches were embroidered, and for the sake of freehand embroidery, they were made to be tortuous and thin. It could indeed be changed to a red plum tree without being out of place.
She turned Ji Ruan's words over in her mind and couldn't help laughing: "You still say I'm letting you go, how good are you?"
Ji Ruan held his forehead with his hand: "This is an emergency."
Cheng Zizhang laughed: "Okay, change it. It's fine as long as it's a tree. Who cares what kind of tree it is? Just do it boldly."
Working together, the two finished all the work before it got completely dark.
Ji Ruan breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his head to pat his waist. Cheng Zizhang stood up to get some water to drink, but suddenly fell to the ground halfway through his walk. Ji Ruan was so scared that his heart almost jumped out.
He didn't care about the pain in his waist and ran over quickly. Cheng Zizhan was holding her stomach and crying in pain. Ji Ruan just took a look at her face and immediately called an ambulance without thinking.
"Xiao Ruan...Xiao Ruan..."
Cheng Zizhang weakly stretched out his hand to him, and Ji Ruan took it without saying a word, his heart beating wildly with fear: "Senior sister, what's wrong with you? You... weren't you fine just now?"
"I don't know either..." Cheng Zizhang almost swore in pain, holding Ji Ruan's hand and trembling: "Xiao Ruan... Sister is going to die..."
"Which damn restaurant is trying to...harm me!"
"When I get better, I will definitely file a complaint..."
Ji Ruan: “…”
Ji Ruan let her hold his hand, with a complicated expression: "Sister...you'd better not say anything when the ambulance comes. I'm afraid they will not take you away if they see that you still have the energy to curse..."
Cheng Zizhang glared at him with tears in his eyes and cried out in pain again.
The ambulance arrived quickly, took the two people to the hospital at lightning speed, and pushed Cheng Zizhang into the operating room at lightning speed.
The doctor told Ji Ruan the whole story of the patient's condition. Ji Ruan looked at the closed door of the operating room with great regret.
Cheng Zizhang probably won't have the chance to complain to any restaurant. The doctor said she had acute appendicitis and she couldn't blame anyone else.
After running up and down a lap, Ji Ruan finally had the chance to rest for a while. When he sat down at the door of the operating room, he was so tired that he had a headache and his vision was dizzy.
He took out his cell phone to check the time, but saw more than a dozen missed calls - all from Gu Xiuyi.
Ji Ruan shuddered again, and then he woke up. He called back, and the other party answered the phone faster than it rang. Ji Ruan instantly heard Gu Xiuyi's faintly anxious voice:
"Where have you been again?"
Ji Ruan licked his cracked lips: "I'm in the hospital..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com