Qiming Chapter 35

Chapter 35

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The frail boy lay on the windowsill, wearing a white and blue striped hospital gown. His clear eyes stared intently at the girl sleeping peacefully inside the ward. She was truly beautiful, with fair skin, full bright red lips, and a hint of her collarbone showing. Even with her eyes closed, she seemed to be smiling gently, her mouth curved upward, radiant and warm.

The April sunlight shone through his smooth head, illuminating the room and highlighting his fragile existence with that one-in-a-million chance.

He saw several vases in the ward, filled with flowers of various colours: vermilion, ivory and white, so vivid that they almost dazzled him. To be in such a room, she must be a girl of good fortune. For someone like her to visit and stay with him, she must be the kindest person in the world, a fairy sent from heaven.

"What are you looking at?" A young nurse quietly walked up behind him and lightly patted his shoulder. The boy was standing on a worn wooden chair, tiptoeing and craning his neck to peek into the ward, watching for a full hour.

"I..." He blushed and pointed at the girl inside. "She is really beautiful."

"Hey, you little rascal, so young and already staring at a girl like that," the nurse shook her head helplessly, then tiptoed beside him to look at the same spot.

"Will she wake up?" the boy asked.

"Of course she will, she isn't sick, she came to the hospital to save you."

Hearing this, the boy's eyes seemed to light up like the sun. He smiled gently, looked up at the deep, endless sky, and felt his soul soar far away.

So she was the one who saved my life. He opened his mouth to call out her name, but he didn't know it. All he could do was lie on the windowsill and watch her, telling himself it was worth living on.

He could hear the frantic beating of his heart, like a sudden drumbeat in a sombre symphony, startling him to turn back from the brink of death.

"If you ever meet again in the future, make sure to remember her," the young nurse teased beside him. "You've grasped that one-in-a-million chance, maybe just to meet her. But this sister is six or seven years older than you, it's not possible to be a couple."

He didn't respond, only smiled faintly.

He hadn't smiled in years, thinking he would die a grim death at fourteen, never imagining he would meet her.

"I will definitely repay you," he said softly, his voice not yet mature.

A spring breeze blew, scattering the petals of a dozen late-blooming cherry trees around him. Thousands of petals floated up into the air, blocking the glaring sunlight and hearing his solemn vow.

"I am willing to give everything for you, time, money, dignity, even my life and soul."

His vow transcended time, crossing mountains and rivers, returning to the same cherry trees. The young man lay under the shadowless lamp, gripping the knife in his hand, listening as all sounds gradually faded away.

If you ever need me, I am willing to join forces with the devil and sell my soul.

—————

There was no one in the SUV on the road, with only a doll with a sinister smile sitting in the driver's seat.

Gu Yunfeng closed his eyes, his mind filled with the eerie smile of the ugly doll.

"The car that hit us had its autopilot on?" He took the alcohol swab Ying Xizi handed him and gently wiped the wound on his forehead. The traffic jam had finally eased, and he continued driving towards Ruihe Hospital. Glancing back at Xu Chengyue, he saw the pained expression on his face, his T-shirt soaked with sweat.

He suddenly realised that this attack wasn't aimed at him. Most of the thugs and hooligans who held grudges against him and had sought revenge before would only resort to direct violence, never thinking of using autopilot for murder.

"Last year, traffic regulations were issued, explicitly banning the use of autopilot when unattended." He pressed on his bleeding forehead and hand, letting out a cold laugh. "When we find this car, they'll surely claim it was a system malfunction again."

"Then, what do you think..." The girl beside him stammered, clutching her hands tightly, her nails nearly digging into her flesh.

"It was murder, deliberately causing a traffic accident." He took a sharp breath. "And they put a doll there, crashing straight into us under the intersection's surveillance."

"And what about this airbag, is it just a decoration?" he said, lightly kicking the car's body.

"You should get a better car."

Gu Yunfeng had been waiting outside the emergency room for two hours. It was now one in the morning, yet the hospital was still chaotic. He hadn't expected to encounter so many unreasonable patients even in such a strictly managed private hospital, he had thought that most of them would be directly thrown out by security.

This private hospital was famous for its strict protection of clients' privacy and had hired many renowned doctors at great expense, including Ying Xizi's father, Ying Han, who had been named one of Nanpu City's top ten neurosurgeons five times in a row.

Ying Xizi was in the corridor on the phone with her father. She had told Gu Yunfeng that she wouldn't leave until she saw Xu Chengyue wake up, so she could feel at ease.

Two hours earlier, a young nurse in the emergency department had disinfected and bandaged the wounds on his forehead and hand before continuing with her other tasks, leaving him to sit on a chair outside, scrolling through the news on his phone.

He occasionally looked at the people coming and going. After Xu Chengyue was taken inside, an emergency doctor called a neurosurgeon from home, who, according to Ying Xizi, was Wang Kun, an assistant doctor from last year's surgery on Chengyue.

Wang Kun was a relatively young doctor, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with very fair skin and a particularly shy demeanour. He was Ying Han's apprentice, not very experienced but quite skilled in surgery, a doctor whose technical skills surpassed his theoretical knowledge.

Gu Yunfeng was extremely nervous but couldn't do anything to help, so he tried to distract himself by reading the news. Suddenly, a breaking news story caught his attention.

[Ronghua Biotech is suspected of illegally manufacturing and selling drugs. Two senior executives have been taken away for investigation, and the case is still under investigation.]

Since seeing this news, his eyelid had been twitching non-stop. He remembered that Ronghua Biotech had been active in the public eye a few years ago, with several announcements about going public. Now, not only had they failed to go public, but they had also resorted to illegal drug manufacturing and sales?

He looked at the comments below the news, which were full of curses directed at Chairman Jiang Ronghua and his outdated family business. On several city forums, personal information about the Jiang family's children and relatives was dug up as entertainment gossip, but no one clarified what illegal drugs Ronghua Biotech had developed.

He stretched his joints, walked out of the emergency room, and ran a few laps in the hospital's outdoor area, working up a sweat. He was injured and should have been resting, but sitting outside the emergency room and doing nothing was unbearable.

He had indirect contact with Ronghua Biotech a couple of years ago. Back then, he was still an ordinary police officer. One day, while picking up materials from a police station in the Jinping District, he happened to see an elegant woman filing a report.

He remembered that the woman had a gentle and dignified demeanour, wearing a large black hat that covered most of her face. Her eyes were dark with circles, and she never took off the white mask on her face. Her arm was bandaged.

Her walking posture was a bit strange, seemingly due to a leg injury. Gu Yunfeng had noticed a deep wound on her calf, where the snow-white bone could almost be seen through the blood.

She had come alone. The police officers had simply bandaged her leg and called an ambulance for her. Throughout the report, she neither cried nor showed any emotions. Despite her bruises, she seemed to feel no pain, recounting the assault as if it were a story unrelated to herself.

Before he left, he heard some officers mention that this woman was the daughter-in-law of the Jiang family of Ronghua Biotech, and she was filing a report because she couldn't endure her husband's domestic violence any longer. This was her third report within a year. He didn't know what happened afterwards, it likely ended without any resolution, as the news never mentioned it.

But he clearly remembered the woman's eyes, filled with a sharp hatred, as if ready to kill anyone who harmed her.

Gu Yunfeng finished his run and returned to the emergency room, just in time to see Doctor Wang, wearing a white coat and sneakers, hurrying out. Xu Chengyue lay on a stretcher, his face pale and bloodless. He finally woke up, his eyes slightly open, and seeing Gu Yunfeng, a bit of sparkle appeared in his eyes. He asked in a faint voice, "Is there any water...?"

"Water?" Doctor Wang quickly fetched a cup of hot water from his office and brought it to Chengyue's mouth. He then turned to the two waiting at the door and said, "Professor Xu is no longer in danger and is mostly conscious now. However, he is very weak and needs rest. He should stay in the hospital for a few days for observation."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Wang," Ying Xizi bowed slightly towards him. "What's going on with Chengyue's situation?"

"It seems to be symptoms of Ménière's disease, likely triggered by an immune response," Wang Kun said, taking out a medical record book filled with diagnostic results and medication doses.

His handwriting was neat, matching his gentle demeanour.

"I spoke with Dr. Ying. During last year's surgery, we implanted an artificial neural prosthesis in his brain. His immune system had a temporary rejection reaction to this prosthesis."

"Temporary?"

"Yes," Wang Kun nodded, reassuring them not to worry too much. "It only occurs occasionally. Some anti-rejection medication will manage it." He handed the prescription to Ying Xizi. "For the next two weeks, take it twice daily, after meals." With that, he walked briskly forward, hanging a sign on the stretcher: Inpatient Ward, 8th Floor, Room 828.

Gu Yunfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He and the young doctor wheeled Xu Chengyue to a single-patient room in the inpatient ward.

Ruihe Hospital's single rooms were well-equipped, with central air conditioning maintaining a constant twenty-four degrees, a fifty-inch smart TV with WiFi connectivity, and a two-metre-eight, three-seater sofa with a sofa for accompanying family members. The private bathroom featured a fully automated toilet and an adjustable-temperature bathtub.

A nurse brought a large bottle of glucose and a small bottle of anti-rejection medication, instructing him not to set the drip too fast, it would take about three hours to finish.

At this rate, someone had to stay and keep watch. After all, Professor Xu needed rest and couldn't be expected to watch the IV drip all night to see when it finished.

Gu Yunfeng pulled up a chair next to his bed, thinking that the conditions in this hospital room were slightly better than his own home. Sleeping on this sofa for a few nights wouldn't be a loss at all. He reached out, took Xu Chengyue's cold wrist, and tucked it under the blanket.

It was already three in the morning. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and he didn't have to work the next day, so staying up all night wouldn't be too exhausting. He struggled to open a can of fruit, finally managing to pry the lid off.

The events of the night had been incredibly thrilling. He recalled the SUV that had recklessly tried to cause an accident. No regular vehicle had such a feature to target and crash intentionally... unless the owner had modified the autopilot system.

How many individuals could make such modifications? Probably very few. It was more likely the work of a team.

Xu Chengyue, lying in the hospital bed, coughed dryly a few times before slowly opening his eyes. He asked weakly, "Why are you both here?"

Gu Yunfeng: "You called me."

Ying Xizi: "Captain Gu asked me to come along."

Ying Xizi leaned against the wall with a dark blue shirt draped over her, which Gu Yunfeng had found in his car, saying it might be cold at night.

Xu Chengyue looked at them blankly for a while before closing his eyes again without saying anything. He felt exhausted. A few hours ago, he had been sitting on the sofa reading a book, doing nothing in particular, when he suddenly collapsed without warning.

What had he said when he called Gu Yunfeng? He couldn't remember. But he distinctly recalled a dream before he passed out, or perhaps it was a memory he had once had.

This experience was identical to the last time he fainted, not only the sudden loss of consciousness but also a strange, newly emerged memory.

He frowned slightly and sighed softly.

"Aren't you guys going back?" he asked.

"It's already three in the morning, we might as well stay with you until dawn," Gu Yunfeng stretched his arms and smiled. "Miss Ying, do you want to go back? I can take you."

"This... there's no need," She yawned in response and pointed to the side. "I can sleep in my dad's rest room. He's away on a business trip, so I can lie down there for a bit. Chengyue, you just rest well."

She signalled to Gu Yunfeng with her eyes and motioned towards the door, indicating she wanted to speak with him privately.

—————

Xu Chengyue lay in the empty hospital room. He could still catch a faint scent left by Gu Yunfeng, a smell of summer sweat. Oddly, he didn't find the scent unpleasant, instead, it brought a sense of reassurance and comfort.

In less than half a minute, the air conditioning dispersed all the scents. He closed his eyes, constantly recalling the last scene he saw before passing out.

A red velvet gift box sat in front of him, beautifully wrapped with a perfect bow.

"What's this?" he asked. He disliked such flashy boxes, finding them impractical and pretentious. A box should simply hold things securely and safely store important items, that's what they should aim for.

"This is the result of your research, I just dressed it up a bit. Isn't it nice?" A faint voice sounded in his ear. "Professor Xu is worthy of being the person I admire, living up to his reputation. Open this box and see what it looks like in its rawest form."

"We can use it and change the world together."

Accompanied by laughter from his memory, he abruptly opened his eyes, realising he had just fallen asleep.

Daylight was already breaking outside. He heard the sound of water dripping from the bathroom. After a while, Gu Yunfeng walked out with a towel, his hair still wet, dripping water onto his shirt and soaking a large patch.

He smelled of body wash, a fresh, sweet scent. Every scent on him was pleasant. The sky was getting light, and a beam of sunlight shone through the gap in the balcony curtain, hitting his left cheek. Gu Yunfeng glanced at the half-full IV drip, sat on the chair next to the bed, and began peeling an orange, his head slightly lowered.

He must have been too tired. Before he finished peeling the orange, he fell asleep on the edge of the bed. The orange rolled to the ground as his hand loosened. Only a few buttons of his shirt were done up at the bottom, and through the water-soaked fabric, his solid chest muscles were faintly visible.

Xu Chengyue sighed helplessly, realising he had to watch the drip himself. He widened his eyes, looking at the IV hanging above, the gradually rising sun outside, and the face of the peacefully sleeping figure beside him.

—————

The author has something to say:

The second volume begins!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 9, 2024 by Angel

Edited: August 27, 2024 by Angel