Qiming Chapter 57

Chapter 57

---

Gu Yunfeng had already gone to work by the time Xu Chengyue woke up in the morning. He picked up the watch on the bedside table and glanced at it. It was twenty past nine, the eight o'clock alarm hadn't gone off for some reason.

When he turned on his phone, he saw that Ying Xizi had called him about ten times. They had arranged a medical check-up for today last week, and not only had he forgotten about it, but he had also overslept.

After washing up and getting dressed, he hurried out the door. On his way to the hospital, he felt a bit dazed, nodding off in the back seat of the taxi. He had fallen asleep very late last night, tossing and turning in bed, and ended up staring blankly at the neon lights outside his window.

It had been a long time since he had insomnia, and his mind was filled with Gu Yunfeng's face and voice.

Xu Chengyue sat quietly on the bed, reminiscing about the intimate moment they just had. It was an indescribable feeling, something he had never experienced or imagined before. It was as if an invisible hand gently grasped his heart. There was no pain or pressure, only blood rushing frantically, stimulating every pore in his body.

He had gradually realised that his life had been split into two periods because of that accident last year. His memories from before the accident were all jumbled. It seemed like he remembered everything, but everything was unclear.

The memories after the accident were incredibly vivid, yet they always felt like something was missing.

Looking at the moon with a missing chunk in the sky, without any stars, only streetlights, he sat for a while before lying back down on the bed. What was missing?

He thought about these random things all the way to Ruihe Hospital. If the driver hadn't knocked on the partition window, he would have remained dazed, probably ending up in another province without noticing.

When he reached the front desk of the medical examination centre, he glanced at his watch and saw that he was already late. Ying Xizi had been waiting for a long time, staring at the reflection on the marble floor.

The receptionist smiled sweetly and asked for his documents. Only then did Xu Chengyue realise he had made a big mistake. He had rushed out too quickly and brought nothing but his phone. He had forgotten his ID, health insurance card, and even his wallet.

"No appointment?" he asked Ying Xizi. She patted the front desk with an embarrassed expression, mumbling that she had been too busy these past few days to make an appointment. But even with an appointment, they needed identification. An appointment confirmation alone wouldn't suffice.

"Well, that's easy to fix..." Xu Chengyue walked to the lounge in the lobby and found an empty seat.

"What do you want to do?"

"Use someone else's," he said, pulling his phone out of his coat pocket. He found Gu Yunfeng's number in his contacts. Just as he was about to call, he hesitated, recalling the various events of the previous day.

Even though he wanted to see him, he put his phone away and looked at the confused Ying Xizi with a pleading expression. "Xizi, could you call Captain Gu? He's in the inpatient department next door."

"Can the police handle this?" She looked at him incredulously. "Can they issue an ID on the spot? That's against procedure!"

"I'll use his ID," Xu Chengyue said. "After all, we're both men, and the tests are similar. As long as I get the report, who cares about the name on it?"

Ying Xizi sat on the fabric sofa, clutching her newly bought mini motorcycle bag, her fingers fiddling with the expensive rivets. She quickly ran through the entire process in her mind and realised there wasn't much of an issue.

"Shall I call him, then?"

"Go ahead, I'll have breakfast afterwards." He was already feeling a bit dizzy from hunger. It was just ten o'clock. If he waited any longer, the examination centre would probably stop serving breakfast, and he'd have to wait until noon.

"Why don't you call him yourself?"

"......" He rolled up his sleeve, exposing his lean arm, ready for a blood test.

"You're a doctor, he'll listen to you."

That made some sense...

In the past, this would have been easy. She could have just called her father. But her father, Ying Han, had disappeared today, probably performing some complex joint surgery that would take over ten hours. For now, she had to go with this plan.

—————

Ying Xizi stood between the two men, holding a stack of Gu Yunfeng's documents.

She glanced at the photo on the ID card and marvelled at how well it turned out, the foundation must be pretty good. Then she looked at Xu Chengyue, who remained silent, and sensed a strange atmosphere.

Turning to Gu Yunfeng standing nearby, she noticed his expression was equally stiff.

As Ying Xizi wondered if the two had quarrelled, Gu Yunfeng finally spoke awkwardly, "Do you want to use my ID for Professor Xu's medical check-up?"

"Ah, yes, you figured it out so quickly, clever," she said, a bit surprised. She pointed to the receptionist and the window next to her, saying, "Captain Gu, you need to register at the front desk first, then go to the next window to pay the fee and get the medical check-up form. After that, you're done."

He followed her instructions and watched as Ying Xizi handed the ID and the medical check-up form to Xu Chengyue. She patted Professor Xu's shoulder triumphantly. "Take it, for now, you are Gu Yunfeng."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes, watching the slightly flustered Xu Chengyue follow the nurse to the blood collection room. He wanted to say something to Xu Chengyue, but with others around, he felt too restrained and couldn't get any words out.

"There... is nothing else for me to do, right?" he asked.

"There is," Ying Xizi replied. She pulled a lipstick from her small bag, stood in front of a reflective pillar, and applied it, her red high heels clicking on the floor.

"You gave your number to the receptionist just now, right?"

Gu Yunfeng nodded. When asked for a phone number, he had instinctively given his own. Noticing that Xu Chengyue looked unwell, probably due to low blood sugar, he didn't want to delay the check-up any further.

"Then the notification for the medical report will also go to you. Make sure to give it to him," she said.

"Oh, okay," he nodded several times, preparing to gather his belongings and head to the inpatient department to check on Wang Kun. Before he could leave, Ying Xizi called out to him with a slightly plaintive tone.

"Captain Gu, is Chengyue really living with you now?"

"Ah... yes," he replied, breaking into a cold sweat. He turned slowly, avoiding her gaze, unsure why he felt guilty.

"He's not safe right now. Staying with me, at least, is less dangerous," he said, finding himself in an awkward situation. Whenever he discussed Xu Chengyue with Ying Xizi, an inexplicable sense of guilt arose.

After all, this girl liked Xu Chengyue. At least she used to. She had written love letters and faced rejection, witnessing more of his life as a friend.

He and Xu Chengyue had only known each other for a few months, and they were worlds apart in upbringing and work.

He pinched his arm, wondering why he felt guilty, as if he were the third wheel.

From the incident the previous day until now, he and Xu Chengyue hadn't exchanged a word. Their faces were full of unspoken words, and their eyes were turbulent. Last night, he had thought, just bend, you love me, and dare to do it, what is there to worry about?

But the next day, when he was sober enough to face the matter, he suddenly felt a bit timid.

– What did Xu Chengyue think?

– Were they both mentally prepared for this?

Ying Xizi twisted the lipstick in her hand, sighed, capped it, and put it back in her bag.

"It is quite dangerous... We don't even know who's targeting him," she said, not leaving but instead finding a place to sit.

"Actually, in the past, I used to book an appointment for the medical check-up in advance and remind Chengyue to bring his ID. But not this time."

"You did it on purpose?" Gu Yunfeng was a bit surprised and sat next to her with a smile.

"I was going to randomly find someone to get a medical check-up form, but Chengyue said you were here, so I called you over," she said, crossing her arms and looking toward a distant room.

She looked around and noticed that no one was paying attention to them. After several seconds, she spoke slowly, "I think there's something wrong with Ruihe Hospital."

"My dad, there's also something wrong with him."

"Huh?" Gu Yunfeng instinctively squeezed a balloon given by the medical centre, which popped with a bang, covering his exclamation.

"Your dad?"

When Xu Chengyue fell from the building years ago, he was first sent to the ICU of Ruihe Hospital. If there were any hidden details about Xu Chengyue's accident, it would likely involve the private hospital that first received him.

"Have you discovered anything?"

"I went through Chengyue's medical reports from the past year the other day," she said, frowning as she pulled out photos of the reports from her phone.

"Chengyue's check-ups are always comprehensive, including a full-body MRI every six months."

"A full-body MRI for a check-up?"

"My dad insisted on it, I don't know why," she said, shrugging helplessly. "That's not the point, though. The key is that when I compared the brain CT scans from each check-up, guess what I found?"

"The brain CT results were altered?" Gu Yunfeng ventured, immediately suspecting this possibility.

Ying Xizi nodded. "There were twelve films in all, all identical, the same test results were used each time."

Identical. When placed together in software, they matched perfectly, without even a slight change in angle.

"The real scans were replaced by someone, is there a secret hidden in those results?"

Xu Chengyue had undergone a craniotomy and was once diagnosed as brain-dead, receiving critical condition notices daily, almost ending up covered in a white cloth and turning into smoke. His brain should have been closely monitored, yet the medical centre and Ruihe Hospital used twelve identical virtual brain CT images to deceive him.

"I tested Chengyue about it, he hadn't noticed," Ying Xizi said, holding her face in her hands and looking troubled. "My dad performed his surgery and was the attending physician. This definitely has something to do with him."

"Why not ask Dr. Ying?"

"I did, but he's a very smart old man, he always changes the topic."

"Then don't ask him," Gu Yunfeng said, leaning back on the sofa. He understood Ying Xizi's intention, by having Xu Chengyue undergo a check-up in Gu Yunfeng's name, they would get a genuine report. What would the real report look like?

He smiled bitterly, realising that as time went on, his and Xu Chengyue's stories would become more entangled, possibly uncovering even more unbelievable things.

Gu Yunfeng had never met Ying Han, not even once. This highly praised neurosurgeon was too busy, leaving no chance for an encounter.

Changing his posture, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. He couldn't help but link Jiang Hai's case and the Jiang family's case together. Jiang Hai's situation was somewhat similar to Xu Chengyue's, Lin Xiangrong had transferred him to Ruihe Hospital, with Ying Han as the attending physician.

Moreover, Wang Kun, the prime suspect in the family massacre case, was Ying Han's assistant, personally trained by him.

Everything seemed to be branching out, intertwining into a single point, becoming a deep, endless black hole. The medical centre was getting quieter, with only a few nurses gossiping about a new doctor at the hospital.

Standing up, Gu Yunfeng took out his phone and pulled up a photo of Wang Kun he had taken. "Xizi, do you know this person?"

"Who is this?"

"Wang Kun, Ying Han's assistant, quite a handsome guy."

"I don't know him." She stared at the photo for a while, then shook her head.

"Then... could you do me a favour and ask your dad about Wang Kun?" He looked at her expectantly. "Just say you saw him at the hospital today, thought he was handsome, and are interested in him."

"Who's interested in whom???" She was stunned for a good ten seconds before slapping Gu Yunfeng on the back. The slap was loud, and although he remained unmoved, her hand hurt, and she yelped in pain.

"I haven't even seen this person!"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

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: August 5, 2024 by Angel

Edited: October 21, 2024 by Angel