Qiming Chapter 36

Chapter 36

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"Ah – Damn it, when did I fall asleep?" When he woke up, he saw the watch on Xu Chengyue's wrist. The hands pointed to half-past nine in the morning, and the sun was so bright that the curtains couldn't block it out.

"Has the needle been removed? No allergies? Is he okay? Is he still alive?" Gu Yunfeng jumped up before fully waking, his left hand pressing his sore neck and shoulders due to his poor sleeping posture. He raised his eyes and saw two empty bags still hanging there. Looking down, he saw Xu Chengyue lying motionless with half-closed eyes, a pale face, and purple lips, completely bloodless.

In that instant, his whole body's blood seemed to freeze and drop. Trembling, he reached out, his fingertips gently touching Xu Chengyue's nose but feeling no breath.

This is impossible. It's impossible. Even if he accidentally fell asleep, the nurse on duty would come in to check. Even if the IV bottle was empty, it's impossible for it to have injected air into his veins without him noticing.

He took a sharp breath, stepped back a few steps, rushed forward in a panic, and lifted a corner of the quilt covering Xu Chengyue's arm. He found that Professor Xu still had tape on the back of his hand, but the needle had been removed.

Then he saw Xu Chengyue's dark eyes turn, his taped hand lifting to tightly grab his arm, laughing.

Xu Chengyue laughed so hard that he half sat up, almost out of breath, patting the bed and coughing dryly a few times.

It was the first time Gu Yunfeng had seen Professor Xu laugh like this. Previously, he was mostly cold, expressionless, and rarely smiled, let alone laughed so hard after pulling a prank.

"Fuck, you almost scared me to death." Gu Yunfeng frowned, rolled his eyes in annoyance, and poked the tip of Xu Chengyue's nose.

"I saw that you fell asleep, so I had the needle removed myself." After a long while, he finally calmed down, took a wet tissue from the tissue box by the bed, and wiped the colour off his face. His face returned to normal, and his lips were no longer purple.

"You really... went to great lengths." Gu Yunfeng stared in amazement at his smooth movements, never expecting him to go to such trouble to prank him.

He really did a good job pretending to be dead.

"I borrowed makeup from the nurse who removed the needle," Xu Chengyue explained. "If you're going to act, you should go all out. Seeing you so scared made me very happy." He then blinked, leaned against the headboard, and picked up a book, pretending to read, covering his delicate, sickly face.

Gu Yunfeng: ????

He thought to himself, so this is how you treat your lifesaver? You actually know how to be shy and cover your face?

He grumbled a bit, walked to the balcony, and pulled the curtains open, instantly brightening the room. It was stuffy inside, so he opened the window. The window was designed to only open a crack to prevent people from jumping out. Downstairs, there was a shallow artificial lake with patients and their families strolling around it. Further ahead was the outpatient department opposite the inpatient building, with long queues and lines of cars outside, crowded on weekends.

Gu Yunfeng fetched a pot of hot water, handed him the medicine, and then washed his face, brushed his teeth, and shaved his freshly sprouted stubble. While he was wiping his face with a towel, a nurse came in to check the room and handed him the blood test results from the previous day. She also drew three or four more tubes of blood from Xu Chengyue.

"This test result... what does it mean?" He looked bewilderedly at the young nurse holding several test tubes of blood. Her face, initially cold, softened inexplicably when their eyes met: "Arrhythmia, low blood pressure, the blood test showed no major problems, but we're still doing cell slices."

"What about the brain CT?" he asked. "Didn't you do an MRI?"

The nurse's face suddenly darkened. "Are you a family member?"

"This..." After a long pause, he finally said, "I'm his captain."

"I'm sorry, the results aren't out yet. When they are, they must be given to the patient's family. This is the patient's personal privacy, you have no right to inquire."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Chengyue glanced sideways at him, put down the book in his hand, and said softly to the nurse, "I have no immediate family. For anything requiring a family member, let Officer Gu handle it."

—————

These days, Gu Yunfeng spent most of his time at Ruihe Hospital, doing things like serving tea, chatting, and keeping company. He enjoyed this slow-paced life, with no cases and no visible crises. It also provided a perfect excuse to skip the safety lectures Director Zhao forced upon him.

After Ying Xizi called him out that early morning, he eventually reached out his hand to her as if sealing a pact: "I'll do my best to investigate what you've asked."

"I trust you. Chengyue's fall wasn't an accident."

The inpatient department was quite peaceful at that moment, without the hustle and bustle of the emergency room. Only faint sobbing and sighs could be heard. The streetlights were on outside, with no moon, only twinkling stars.

At a department gathering, amidst the clinking of glasses and drunken disciples, Xu Chengyue, who was rumoured to be a non-drinker and socially awkward, would likely quietly slip away, returning to his lab, going home, preparing lessons, writing papers, or conducting experiments. 

Certainly not getting drunk, climbing to the rooftop for a romantic pretence, and then accidentally falling off.

After the previous car accident, he was particularly nervous. He and Ying Xizi agreed to take turns staying at the hospital, ensuring that Chengyue was never left alone. Shu Pan had the traffic police check the surveillance from the day of the accident. The Lexus SUV that deliberately rear-ended them had cloned licence plates, and after hitting them two or three times, it drove along Yishan Road and finally disappeared into some unknown suburban lane.

It seemed unlikely that they would find this car anytime soon.

Gu Yunfeng recounted in detail the car accident he encountered on the day he fainted, the eerie smiling doll, the desperate collision under surveillance, and the sudden withdrawal. The opponent's mid-attack retreat allowed him to speed to the hospital. At that time, Xu Chengyue was in a coma, unconscious and completely unaware of what had happened. When he woke up, he felt sore all over, with some abrasions and bruises on his joints, and thought he had been beaten up by someone.

"Think carefully, did you make any enemies?" Gu Yunfeng sat on the sofa, ordering charcoal-grilled bullfrog takeout. Per doctor's orders, Professor Xu could only eat light food these days. After a few days of porridge and greens, he finally broke down, ordering takeout and refusing to cook. Whatever Xu Chengyue needed to eat, he left to his personal doctor to worry about.

"No." He shook his head. How could he make enemies? He spent his days between three places: school, the criminal investigation team, and home. In the criminal investigation team, he was a specially cared-for newcomer, having only participated in one case. Any grudges the suspects had were with Gu Yunfeng, not him. He barely knew his neighbours, kept to himself, and had almost no interaction with those around him.

This left only the school. But at school, he was just a diligent teacher and researcher, not someone who would incite murderous jealousy over a promotion to associate professor, right?

Especially not in such a peculiar manner.

"There are only a few companies that have successfully developed autonomous vehicles in recent years." He counted on his fingers. "But they wouldn't hold a grudge against me."

"Who knows, maybe whatever research you've done threatened their interests." Gu Yunfeng finished his grilled bullfrogs, the air filled with a spicy aroma. Xu Chengyue, who hadn't eaten yet, swallowed a few times, watching Gu Yunfeng bring a box of millet congee and greens over. "Miss Ying is really considerate, she cooks the same dishes every day."

"Oh, by the way, I got someone to fix your window." He pulled the curtain halfway, turned on the TV, and sat by the bed, eyes fixed on the dwindling IV drip. He pulled a key from his pocket. "I took one of your keys from the hallway when I climbed through your window that day."

A key? Xu Chengyue was startled. Taking a key wasn't very useful, his door lock required his iris and fingerprint to open. He frowned as he scooped a big spoonful of plain congee with bland greens into his mouth, tasting nothing.

Gu Yunfeng proudly placed the key back in his hand. "Fortunately, I had a stroke of genius and pulled the main switch before I left. When they installed the window, they used this key to open the door. All those identification devices of yours have become mere ornaments~"

After finishing, he smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, I restored it after it was fixed."

What the hell? Xu Chengyue sputtered his congee all over himself, holding his food container in a daze and almost spilling it all over the ground with a loose hand.

What kind of bug was this? His brain momentarily crashed as he stared at Gu Yunfeng's cheerful face, the corners of his mouth twitching. He thought he should install a temporary power supply to ensure his door was never without power.

Lowering his head, he started browsing an e-commerce site on his phone. Suddenly, his phone vibrated with a news notification. He looked up to see Gu Yunfeng also checking his phone, probably seeing the same notification.

Ronghua Biotech was under formal investigation for illegal drug manufacturing and sales, and related companies had ceased operations. Jiang Ronghua himself had not yet been apprehended.

"Jiang Ronghua," he repeated the name.

"But it's just the investigation stage... it might be a setup," Gu Yunfeng leaned back against a pile of pillows, glanced at the almost empty IV bag, and pressed the call button on the bedside cabinet.

A young nurse jogged in, her ponytail bouncing. She seemed to be in a good mood, smiling even more upon seeing the two men in the ward, and swiftly replaced the IV bag.

As she was tidying up the medical waste, Doctor Wang knocked and entered. Tall and fair-skinned, he had a shy demeanour. He took out a medical record and pen from his white coat pocket and glanced at the label on the bed.

"Dr. Wang, why are you here?" The young nurse blushed and nodded, asking if Director Ying had returned from his trip.

"He'll be back the day after tomorrow. I'm here for rounds." He smiled warmly, then turned to Professor Xu, who was reading the news on his phone. "Xu Chengyue, right? Have you been uncomfortable anywhere these past few days?"

"Not really."

"Any dizziness or nausea?"

He put down his phone, glancing at Gu Yunfeng, who was by the window on a call, then shook his head at the doctor. He had been well taken care of these days, though the bland diet was tiresome. Occasionally, Captain Gu would bring him some homemade chicken soup for a change.

"That's good." Wang Kun adjusted the IV bottle's position and speed, then instructed the nurse to clean up and close the door as she left. Xu Chengyue observed the doctor, noting his thinning hair, likely hereditary, and his pale lips and complexion, suggesting poor health, perhaps due to overwork.

Doctor Wang instructed him to take some precautions, saying that recent tests showed no major issues, and he could be discharged after another week of observation. He was a year younger than Xu Chengyue and said that his health was not very good when he was a child, so he chose to study medicine when he grew up, aspiring to heal others.

Gu Yunfeng, listening to their conversation by the window, suddenly felt his phone vibrate. He casually answered the call, but tensed upon seeing the caller ID.

"Director Zhao? I'm at the hospital, with Professor Xu." Recently, with no major cases, Gu Yunfeng had grown accustomed to a more relaxed routine. Receiving Director Zhao's call felt uncomfortable. Using the excuse of caring for Professor Xu for the past half a month, he had avoided almost half the criticism sessions, handling only a few minor assault and attempted suicide cases, and he was occupied with appeasing the families and victims for a few days.

To his surprise, Director Zhao inquired about Jiang Ronghua. He sipped his tea, mentioning the news he'd just seen about the old man. The next second, Zhao Chuan's high-pitched and urgent voice instructed, "Go to Qianyuan Road immediately, there's a villa area where Jiang Ronghua lives."

"Have they caught him?" He tugged at his collar, resting one arm on the window ledge and gazing at the distant mountains.

"They found him." Zhao Chuan's voice suddenly grew heavy. After a few seconds, he solemnly added, "Last night, his entire family was murdered in their villa."

"Not a single soul was left behind."

"An extermination?" He blurted out instinctively.

Despite lowering his voice, he drew the attention of both Xu Chengyue and Doctor Wang. Clearing his throat, he quickly agreed, "Got it, I'll go right away."

‿︵‿︵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 10, 2024 by Angel

Edited: August 27, 2024 by Angel