Chapter 30
Are you confessing your feelings?
The VIP ward in the hospital was comfortable and quiet, with every nook and cranny spot spotless. The windows were bright and clear, and the brilliant sunlight streamed in unobstructed through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft glow on the floor tiles.
Liu Weifeng sat on a leather sofa not far from the hospital bed, arms crossed, eyes closed, sighing.
One sound after another.
One sentence after another.
"Please, take a break. These sounds are too creepy. I'm worried you'll faint from lack of oxygen."
Chen Zhiyu leaned against the hospital bed, looking quite well. However, because his left wrist and elbow were bandaged and he couldn't move, he could only use his relatively nimble right hand to pick up the green apple that Liu Weifeng had placed on the cabinet, take a bite, and say, "I've known you for so many years, and I've never seen you like this before."
"You brat, I'm only doing this because I care about you." Upon hearing this, Liu Weifeng's eyes widened immediately, and he gave him a disapproving sidelong glance.
“There’s no need for that. People who don’t know better will think I’ve suffered a lot.” After a pause, he continued, “If you’re worried that Josh will find out, don’t worry, I’m keeping it a secret.”
Besides, he didn't want Josh to know he was injured.
"You think I'm afraid of her?" Liu Weifeng was immediately indignant, then added, "Besides, do you think you can keep it a secret? Your sister-in-law is in cahoots with her."
Chen Zhiyu paused in his apple-eating motion, lowered his head, and remained silent.
Liu Weifeng: "With such a serious injury, your sister-in-law couldn't possibly not inform her. Since Qiao Xi knew, she couldn't possibly not come."
But seeing Chen Zhiyu's expression, which didn't seem happy, he decided to ask more, "I'm just wondering, do you want her to come or not?"
Chen Zhiyu kept his head down and spoke in a low voice: "I hope she came for me, not for Josh's brother."
"Isn't this different?" Liu Weifeng couldn't understand his pretentious and convoluted explanation. "Aren't they all Chen Zhiyu? Aren't the results the same?"
“It’s different,” Chen Zhiyu stubbornly argued. “The identities are different, so the meaning is different.”
Just as Liu Weifeng leaned forward, adopting a listening posture, Chen Zhiyu had no intention of explaining to him. Instead, he opened his mouth and complained, "We're the boss of such a big company, can't you at least pick carefully when choosing fruit baskets?"
Chen Zhiyu glanced at the green apple in his hand. "It's not just an apple, it's sour and astringent."
"Boring," Liu Weifeng pouted and leaned back on the sofa. "What do you know? An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Not only that, Liu Weifeng, always eager for drama, completely disregarded the fact that the other person was still injured, and deliberately stabbed him in the back, saying, "Doesn't that perfectly reflect your current state of mind? This is a true reflection of your emotions." And that wasn't all; he added in a meaningful tone, "The bittersweetness of unrequited love, the heart of a young man."
Chen Zhiyu ignored the sarcastic remarks, looked down at the wound on his wrist, and said, "Given my current condition, I don't need to stay away."
"You should be grateful. Have you ever seen a boss personally bring a fruit basket to visit an intern?" Liu Weifeng glanced at the bruises on his forehead and turned his head away as he spoke.
"That's going too far. That's not right of you. I took the knife for you." Chen Zhiyu threw the half-eaten green apple on the table. "No matter what, I saved your life. Look at my miserable state now. If you really feel bad about it, could you please pay off the debt I owe you?"
"I'm warning you, be realistic, don't have such unrealistic dreams."
"Tsk, Huang Shiren." Chen Zhiyu took out two wet wipes, wiped the fruit stains off his hands, and said lazily.
Liu Weifeng pointed at him angrily, "You're just like Josh now."
Their behavior and mannerisms are practically identical.
Chen Zhiyu figured it out; otherwise, how could that person become a big boss?
He leaned back, sighed, and began to shoo people away, "Alright, get back to work. Wasn't that person arrested? The police need your statement, don't they?"
"What? Are you kicking me out already?" Liu Weifeng asked, craning his neck.
Chen Zhiyu closed his eyes, his nimble right hand fingers resting on the quilt, and slowly and deliberately spoke, "Josh is here."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door slammed open from the outside.
Liu Weifeng turned his head in the direction of the sound and saw Qiao Xi standing outside the door.
"Hiss." He stood up decisively and took the initiative to explain to Josh who was walking towards him, "Your sister-in-law should have explained this to you. Chen Zhiyu was indeed injured because of me."
Josh's gaze remained fixed on Chen Zhiyu, who was lying on the hospital bed, but the words he spoke were to Liu Weifeng: "Well, then let's settle the debt."
"Dream on." Liu Weifeng cursed, and at the same time, Chen Zhiyu's laughter rang out behind him.
Both of them were obsessed with money, and Liu Weifeng was already having a series of heart attacks because of them. He didn't want to stay a minute longer. After all, this whole thing started because of him, and he still needed to go to the police station to find out more about the case. He briefly spoke with Josh and then said goodbye and left.
With Liu Weifeng gone, only the two of them remained in the room, and the ward quickly fell silent.
The hospital address was given to Qiao Xi by Yang Ling.
Upon entering, she didn't have time for anything else; she first examined Chen Zhiyu's wounds, and now she's searching him over again.
Sunlight filled the VIP ward.
Josh walked to the bedside, his back to the sunlight, facing him.
Chen Zhiyu leaned against the hospital bed and looked up at her.
Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke first.
After a while, Josh turned to look out the window. It was midday in August, and the sun was blazing. The leaves outside the window were curled up and looked listless.
Finally, Chen Zhiyu couldn't help but speak up first, "Qiao Xi, I'm fine."
Hearing this, Josh slowly withdrew her gaze, her eyes lifeless and devoid of their usual brilliance. She reached out and touched his shoulder blade, asking softly, "Is this injured?"
Chen Zhiyu shook his head, "No."
Josh responded softly, and at the same time quickly raised his hand and slapped Chen Zhiyu hard on the back.
The action was decisive and without hesitation.
With a crisp sound, her hand went numb from the impact. Josh grabbed the other person's collar and pulled her closer, blurting out a complaint laced with anger, her voice slightly choked, "Didn't you practice? Why didn't you dodge back then?"
As she spoke, Josh's tears streamed down her face, large teardrops falling uncontrollably. Chen Zhiyu felt a pang of heartache at the sight. He took her hand with his right hand and softly comforted her, "Josh, I'm alright."
Chen Zhiyu held her hand tightly; it felt icy cold.
It was August, the hottest time of day at noon, and the heat outside was scorching, while Josh's hands felt like they had just been taken out of an icebox.
Thinking of this, Chen Zhiyu's nose suddenly stung, and tears welled up in his eyes. He gently rubbed Qiao Xi's breasts with his only usable right hand, and then pulled her into his arms.
Before he could tighten his grip, Josh pushed him away again, took two steps back, and turned his head to wipe his eyes.
The soft sobs quickly filled the ward.
Chen Zhiyu felt like his heart was being pricked by needles, but he still didn't give up and took Qiao Xi's hand, half-coaxing her to pull her closer.
The veins on the back of his right hand, with its distinct knuckles, bulged and climbed upwards, eventually covering Josh's eyes. Chen Zhiyu looked out the window and sighed deeply, "Josh, you know I can't bear to see you cry."
The hand covering Josh's eyes was trembling slightly, and a layer of warm, moist air immediately enveloped its palm.
The tears that rolled into his mouth were bitter and astringent. Chen Zhiyu swallowed hard and choked back a sob. After a long while, he said softly, "Qiao Xi, I can't do it right now."
He didn't say what he couldn't do, and they both knew it.
Just as the knife was about to stab her, Chen Zhiyu's first thought was, "I should have known better than to pressure her. I should have talked to Qiao Xi more." He opened his mouth and tried to confess again, "Qiao Xi, I'm doomed for you. I admit it."
Josh is his guiding principle.
She didn't want him, so he took a step back and silently stayed by her side.
At worst, if she wanted to date, he would help her choose, and he would force himself to get used to it.
He accepted whatever the outcome.
He just wanted Josh to stop ignoring him.
It's so painful.
"Are you confessing your feelings?" Josh, who was standing next to him, suddenly stopped sobbing, grabbed his hand, looked up at him with teary eyes, the corners of her eyes still red, and said, "Say it again."
"What?" Chen Zhiyu was taken aback by the sudden question.
“Are you deaf? I’m telling you to say it again.” Josh raised his voice this time, demanding in an almost commanding tone, “Speak properly, speak slowly.”
With his mind still foggy and limited, before he could even process the deeper meaning in Josh's words, Chen Zhiyu had already obeyed her and opened his mouth to speak slowly.
It doesn't even require thinking; it's something ingrained in my bones.
This has created a habitual way of thinking.
"Josh, I like you. I've liked you for a very long time. I'm sure of it. It's not dependence, it's liking, it's love, the kind of liking that makes me want to protect you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Josh, who hadn't moved an inch, suddenly straightened up and, like an arrow released from a bow, quickly knelt on one knee on the hospital bed and leaned closer.
Chen Zhiyu only had time to catch a faint scent of perfume before her lips pressed against his.
The unfamiliar touch caught him off guard, and the smell of disinfectant in the ward was diluted by the sudden intrusion of perfume. Chen Zhiyu was surrounded by Josh's scent, her fragrance.
Josh's lips were soft and warm. Their lips were pressed tightly together.
Josh's anger, resentment, irritability, and relief all melted away in this kiss, and she fiercely pressed Chen Zhiyu's lips together.
In just a few seconds, Chen Zhiyu was able to respond. He hooked his arm around Qiao Xi's waist and gently pulled her towards him.
Faced with the sudden movement, Josh abruptly lost his balance and fell onto the soft hospital bed with him.
The sunlight outside was just right, streaming into the room through the window. The air conditioning in the ward was on, and the temperature was just right. Chen Zhiyu took the opportunity to roll half a circle, turning the tables and taking the initiative, pressing the other person down beneath him and deepening the kiss.
Chen Zhiyu must have just changed his dressing. Qiao Xi could still smell the medicine. Her mind was in a mess as she kept worrying about how bad his hand injury was and whether this would aggravate it.
The room was extremely quiet, almost so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Just a wall away, people were constantly moving around in the hallway. Even the slightest noise was enough to completely distract Josh. She stopped what she was doing and turned to look at the ward door with lingering fear.
A shadowy figure could be seen moving about in the glass of the door from time to time.
"Josh, don't get distracted," the person above warned her in a low, breathy voice.
Then, with a whoosh, the silence was broken. Chen Zhiyu hooked the curtain by the bed with his foot, reluctantly swaying his body to block her view.
Chen Zhiyu used his good arm to support himself beside Qiao Xi. Sunlight shone down and fell on the edge of the bed, gently caressing Qiao Xi's profile. She closed her eyes and turned her head away.
Seeing this, Chen Zhiyu was not satisfied with the previous brief kiss and kissed her again, gently biting her lips and probing inside with his tongue.
Josh was forced to lie on the bed and endure it. Because of her limited strength, she hooked her arm around his neck and pressed him down with all her might. Their lips were sucking on each other, and she could even feel that Chen Zhiyu's breathing had become a little heavier.
On the way here, Josh thought too much, and her concern and care for Chen Zhiyu also changed over time.
They've seen each other at their worst, yet they've always stayed by each other's side.
They are the most suitable.
Since that's the case, there's nothing left to run away from.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com