Chapter 63 Do you like me? Ning Buyi held something in his hand...
Ning Buyi pushed open the door, a stack of papers in his hand. Zhu Yanhe was already awake, leaning against the headboard. He quickly took two steps forward: "Zhu Yanhe, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
The boy skillfully placed his palm on his forehead to take his temperature. His skin wasn't as hot as before, and his complexion had become a little rosier. Ning Buyi, who had been holding his breath, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ning Buyi felt guilty. He was the one who hadn't covered Zhu Yanhe with a blanket yesterday, which caused her to catch a cold. Today, Zhu Yanhe had taken him out to play and had been exposed to strong winds at sea, which was why she fell ill. He felt that it was all his fault.
"Well, it's alright." Zhu Yan and she hadn't expected that a minor cold would land them in the hospital.
"I knew I shouldn't have gone out. You ended up in the hospital." Ning Buyi handed him the forms, then collapsed weakly beside the hospital bed. He was exhausted from the day!
"It's not your fault." The boy in front of her looked annoyed. Zhu Yan picked up the data sheets with one hand and ran the other hand through his soft hair to rub his head: "You've worked hard."
Then, glancing over the text, Zhu Yanhe asked with some surprise, "Has your little brain suddenly become intelligent? How are you communicating with them?"
Who do you think you are? Ning Buyi didn't like hearing this, so she stretched her head forward and bumped it against his thigh: "A kind older sister took me there."
Zhu Yanhe rubbed his temples, wondering where this person had come from.
Ning Buyi recounted in detail what had happened before he woke up, and even got agitated towards the end, saying that he would be left alone if Zhu Yanhe continued to sleep and there was no Sister Ji Lu around!
The man chuckled, took his phone, and saved a number to his contacts. He said, "If you can't find me, just call him."
In the evening, Ji Lu came again. When she pushed the door open, Ning Buyi was feeding Zhu Yanhe fish soup.
Ning Buyi really thought he was being unreasonable. He had to use his other hand to eat when his own hand was injured, but now that one of his hands was unusable, he had to feed him. How could someone be so lenient with himself but strict with others?
So when Zhu Yanhe took a sip, he had to take a sip too, otherwise he would be at a loss.
"He's awake? How's he?" Ji Lu asked casually, as if they were having a casual chat.
Ning Buyi blew twice into the fish soup and brought it to Zhu Yanhe's lips: "Zhu Yanhe, are you feeling better?"
Zhu Yanhe thought for a moment, then deliberately raised her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, replying, "I'm still a little uncomfortable."
Ji Lu sat down naturally on the sofa to the side, watching the two of them with a faint pink bubble in their atmosphere, propping her chin up with her hand: "Hey, hey, hey, I'm not here to prescribe medicine, I just came to chat with you guys out of boredom. It's been a long time since I've seen a local."
Zhu Yan and Wen Yan didn't blink, just leaned against the headboard waiting for him to feed them.
The boy didn't stop what he was doing, and tilted his head to ask, "Sister Ji Lu, are you also from S City?"
Ji Lu smiled, nodded and then shook her head: "My branch of the family is in City A, while my grandfather's other children are all developing their careers in City S."
"I see." Ning Buyi nodded repeatedly and put the empty bowl aside.
In the warmly lit room, only the voices of the two people talking could be heard. Ji Lu hadn't been sitting for long before she started talking about her life in Norway, from the Hundred Herbs Garden to the Three Flavors Study.
Ning Buyi was dumbfounded. He wondered if Sister Ji Lu hadn't chatted with anyone in a long time, how could she be so talkative?
Zhu Yanhe's face was faintly cold. He was indifferent to Ji Lu, but Ji Lu was Ning Buyi's honored guest.
A moment later, the man glanced at the time and said coolly, "Miss Ji, aren't you going home yet, it's so late?"
Ji Lu understood his intention to leave, but not wanting to be disliked, she dusted off her sleeves, stood up, and said to Ning Buyi, "Want to come with me? I'll drive you."
Upon hearing this, the boy waved his hand and said, "Thank you, sister. I need to stay with Zhu Yanhe to sleep; he's scared at night."
Ji Lu paused for a moment, glanced at the two of them, understood, smiled, and left without saying anything.
"Zhu Yanhe, are you cold?" The two huddled together on a bed that was smaller than a hotel room, with Ning Buyi facing his chest and their legs intertwined.
Zhu Yanhe felt a surge of excitement, but he changed the subject and said, "Mm."
Two hands wrapped around his back from directly opposite, patting him gently. Ning Buyi pressed against the flesh and said in a muffled voice, "Let me hold you tighter, are you not cold anymore?"
"Um."
These past two days, Ji Lu has become a regular visitor to their ward. On the first day, the boy was taking care of the patient, but on the second day, it became the patient taking care of the boy.
Strangely enough, she initially guessed that the two were a couple, but after spending two days together, she found out that the boy had a girlfriend. Ji Lu squinted at the two people who were being intimate in front of her, lost in thought.
"Mr. Zhu, does he have a girlfriend?" Ji Lu asked, propping her chin up with her legs crossed and staring intently at the person peeling fruit.
Zhu Yanhe did not want to answer. From the first moment he saw Ji Lu, he inexplicably did not want to have any interaction with her, but he couldn't help but be excited to meet someone who could also speak Mandarin here.
"Miss Ji is being far too nosy."
Ji Lu had met all sorts of people, so she didn't think anything of it. Instead, she thought it was a manifestation of her psychology, which she suddenly found very interesting.
Just as she was about to ask something, the ward door opened, and Ning Buyi moved in carrying a lunchbox. He looked around in confusion and felt that the room had become a little cold.
"I got this for you too, Sister Ji Lu." Ning Buyi took small steps and handed her the lunchbox.
Ji Lu accepted it with delight, not forgetting to stir up some trouble: "Wow, our Yi is so thoughtful, no wonder so many people like you."
Zhu Yan and Lan Lan raised their eyes and glanced at her, their eyes meeting each other's smiling gaze.
"No, not at all." Ning Buyi chuckled, not understanding the hidden meaning in her words.
Ji Lu bluntly stated, "There are people here who like you right now."
Ning Buyi paused for a second, his expression undisguised, his thin eyebrows furrowing. Eh! Does Sister Ji Lu like him? This is so embarrassing, but he likes Xiao He. Will Sister Ji Lu confess next?
His mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts. If he said it out loud, wouldn't it be incredibly embarrassing if he ended up being seen as a narcissist?
The boy took a few steps back to stand in front of Zhu Yanhe, put his hands on Zhu Yanhe's shoulders, and asked, "Zhu Yanhe, do you like me?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze, and their breathing could be clearly heard. Ji Lu, standing to the side, was somewhat surprised; Ning Buyi was even more direct than she had expected. Zhu Yanhe looked up at him; the young man frowned and made faces, hoping he would understand her hint.
Ning Buyi wanted Zhu Yanhe to take the blame, which would perfectly resolve the situation. He's a genius!
Zhu Yanhe hummed in agreement, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "You like me, but I don't like you. There's no future for us. Let's leave it at that!"
After saying that, he naturally sat down next to him and picked up his lunchbox. Zhu Yanhe continued peeling fruit as if nothing had happened.
Ji Lu watched helplessly and shook her head. She thought Ning Buyi understood, but it turned out he thought she liked him. How could he be so adorably silly?
On the day Zhu Yanhe was discharged from the hospital, the sky was a clear blue, and the snow on the roof was still thick. Ji Lu stood at the hospital entrance, and the two walked forward side by side. She raised her hand, looked at her screen, and smiled.
The couple's original week-long trip was reduced by a third. On the remaining two days, Zhu Yanhe took him to catch king crabs and see the fjord. Ning Buyi was still a little reluctant to leave, but there were only a few days left before he had to attend the grand event.
Clouds drifted down outside the window, passing by. Ning Buyi lay listlessly on the windowsill, watching the bright yellow and pitch black intermingling on the snow-white background. Leaving this dreamlike place caused an inevitable withdrawal reaction.
Zhu Yanhe glanced at the person whose lipstick looked like it could hold an oil bottle, and asked, "Reluctant to part with it?"
Ning Buyi nodded. He liked it here. There were many fun things to do, such as the town that looked like a crystal ball, and watching the aurora, whales, and catching crabs were things he had never imagined.
People always yearn for beautiful things, and experiencing them only makes them appreciate them more.
Zhu Yanhe smiled but said nothing, planning to buy the hotel after getting off the plane.
"Zhu Yanhe, what are you doing?" Ning Buyi turned to stare at him. Zhu Yanhe was holding a camera, which he handed over.
The photos above are displayed sideways, showing Ning Buyi catching a hairy crab and laughing heartily, his eyes shining with a green backdrop, and his hair blowing in the wind as he stands with his arms outstretched on the edge of a fjord.
"What about ours?"
Zhu Yanhe continued flipping through the pages, and the photos of the two of them didn't have the same vibrancy as the solo photos at the beginning; they looked more like mere tourist snapshots.
"Our photos are so boring! None of them are good-looking!" Ning Buyi flipped through the photos, and in every single one of them, Zhu Yan was standing stiffly in the same spot, and none of them looked as good as his own photos!
"Quick, quick, we can take a picture on the plane!" Ning Buyi had a sudden inspiration. They could still see the town on the ground when they flew a short distance. Zhu Yanhe responded by raising his camera and taking a time-lapse photo in front of the mirror. Ning Buyi pinched his cheeks, rested his chin on his head, and snapped a picture.
Ning Buyi took the camera, eager to see the results. In the photo, the two people only occupied half the space, leaving the other half to the starry night city of Tromsø outside the window.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"Um."
Ji Lu: Isn't it beautiful?
Ji Lu replied to the message sent by her cousin.
She was also a little curious. She had just posted a message on her WeChat Moments to commemorate meeting someone in Norway who could talk a lot at once, and included a photo of herself with Ning Buyi. Her cousin, who had been lying dormant on her contact list, had actually contacted her.
Ning Buyi had mentioned the name Zhu Zhu before, and she did have some recollection of it. She had seen him at Pei Qing's birthday party before, but she forgot about him as soon as she heard it. As she scanned the message on her phone, she couldn't help but start piecing together the information.
Ji Lu: You like him too?
On the other end, Pei Qing lay on the sofa tapping on the screen. This was the second month that his father had kept him locked up at home. Ever since Zhu Yanhe tricked him last time, he decided to never call Zhu Yanhe "Brother Zhu" again.
Pei Qing wasn't very familiar with this cousin; he only knew that she existed and nothing else. He only rushed to the chat window after seeing Ning Buyi on his WeChat Moments. Pei Qing subconsciously assumed that Ning Buyi's girlfriend was Ji Lu.
Pei Qing: Sister Lu, are you his girlfriend?
He got up, knelt on the sofa with his knees bent, and prayed to his phone, silently hoping that Ji Lu was not his girlfriend, otherwise he would be lucky not to be beaten up, let alone get rid of her.
Ji Lu chuckled and tapped the screen with her fingertip: I'm not.
Pei Qing breathed a sigh of relief. His heart pounded violently in his chest as his emotions surged. He tried to suppress his excitement, but before he could even feel happy for a few seconds, another message popped up on the other end.
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The author's note: A new storm has arrived; how can we stand still?
It seems that after they got together, Zhu Yanhe was always jealous. One day, after get off work, he went to pick up Ning Buyi from school. He waited at the door and found that two people came out. After Ning Buyi got into the car, he didn't say anything and didn't even give him the usual kiss. Ning Buyi was not satisfied and kissed him while holding his chin, so Zhu Yanhe turned around and kissed him hard. However, he still had a stern face in the car, and the car stereo was playing "Do You Love Me or Him?"...
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