Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The deck was scorching hot at noon. Most passengers headed to the dining hall for lunch or went back to the banquet hall to keep the party going, while a small number of people stayed in the recreational area on the deck.

Xu Zhixia hated the heat but refused to go back to his room to rest. Instead, he just dunked himself in the pool in the recreational area.

After swimming until he got tired, he relaxed his limbs, stretched out his arms, and floated on the water with only his face and a small part of his body exposed.

Qin Yan, who couldn't swim, sat nearby watching him. He couldn’t help laughing at Xu Zhixia’s laid-back pose.

He checked his watch. It was past eleven. He asked the person in the water, "Zhi Xia, are you hungry?"

At this, Xu Zhixia slowly shifted his position, swam a few strokes to the shore, and pushed his wet hair back. His delicate face, wet and dripping, boldly came into view in front of Qin Yan.

Qin Yan’s eyes darkened a little.

Xu Zhixia propped his pale arms on the pool’s edge and lazily replied, "A little."

Qin Yan stood up. "I’ll go get Chi Qiu so we can eat together. He hasn’t come out today."

"My brother is probably still asleep. It’s better not to wake him."

"Still sleeping?"

Xu Zhixia nodded. "He got wasted last night. It’s no surprise he’s sleeping in."

Qin Yan shook his head, exasperated.

He remembered Xu Chiqiu had only had a couple of sips of wine last night. How could he be so drunk?

"Chi Qiu’s health is getting..." He stopped himself in time, not letting the word "worse" slip out.

Xu Zhixia gave a bitter smile, his lashes lowering.

In his deep eyes, so much like Xu Chiqiu’s, a flicker of something complicated passed.

...Bro, you did this to yourself.

"Come on out and dry off."

Qin Yan picked up a towel and began drying Xu Zhixia’s hair as he emerged from the pool. The boy’s lowered brows were right there, and his skin, soaked in water, seemed to glow softly, making it even more delicate and fair.

Qin Yan’s throat suddenly went dry.

Holding the soft, plush towel, he gently wiped the wet hair from Xu Zhixia’s forehead, feeling relieved: Good thing Xu Chiqiu isn’t here.

He really wanted to be alone with the boy, just the two of them. Even though Xu Chiqiu had been his best childhood friend.

He’d only wiped a few times when Xu Zhixia suddenly leaned back, dodging his hand.

Qin Yan was a little stunned. "What’s wrong?"

Xu Zhixia smiled. "You’re taking forever, Yan Ge."

He took the towel from Qin Yan’s hands, draped it over his shoulders, and walked past Qin Yan toward the changing room.

His figure had a coolness that didn’t match his usual sweet demeanor.

Qin Yan was momentarily stunned, then shook his head.

Must be imagining things.

*

It was a long walk from the suite to the medical area, and Lu Ge was drenched in sweat—not from exhaustion, but from the heat.

Several times along the way, he felt like tossing the guy on his back, who was radiating heat, out the window to feed the fish.

As they neared the medical area, the young man on his back pressed his cheek against Lu Ge's chin and neck, the heat finally making Lu Ge snap, "Do you have no backbone? Get off me."

However, Ji Mian didn’t respond, and only the breath on Lu Ge’s skin proved that he was carrying a living person.

Ji Mian was burning up and had passed out without realizing it.

Lu Ge’s mouth twitched, and he cursed out of frustration, "Why didn’t you pass out ten minutes ago? I could’ve just called for a stretcher!"

Although Lu Ge was good at being a pain, he rarely swore, but this time he outright cursed, not caring if the person on his back could hear him.

They had already reached the medical area entrance, and Lu Ge stormed in, still lugging Ji Mian.

The medical facilities on the cruise ship were top-notch, given that most passengers were wealthy and influential. Lin Xu had gone above and beyond in preparing services and medical care.

Lu Ge carried Ji Mian into the emergency room, finding it quiet with no other patients around except the medical staff. The wealthy usually took good care of themselves.

A triage nurse sat at the reception desk by the emergency room entrance and stood up immediately when she saw someone come in. Seeing the unconscious person on Lu Ge’s back, she asked, "What happened?"

Lu Ge answered curtly, "Fever."

"Did he pass out?"

Lu Ge put Ji Mian down and shook him by the collar in front of the nurse. Ji Mian swayed like a limp doll, showing no reaction.

Lu Ge tilted his chin up and asked the nurse, "What do you think, huh?"

The triage nurse: "..." Can’t this guy talk normally?

"I’ll get a doctor," she said, hurrying off to the internal medicine clinic.

The person who came out with the triage nurse was an elderly man nearing sixty, with a name tag that read Huang Ronggui—a name that matched Lu Ge’s idea of the older generation.

After just one look at Ji Mian’s condition, the old man’s wrinkled brow furrowed. He stepped forward and touched Ji Mian’s forehead.

The high fever was severe but not initially life-threatening. However, Ji Mian’s physical condition was so bad that it was hard to predict how things would turn out.

The old doctor quickly wrote a prescription and sent the nurse to get the medication.

...

A few minutes later, Ji Mian lay on the hospital bed with an IV drip in his right arm.

It was exactly the same scene as when he was in the hospital a few days ago.

The nurse beside him finally had time to draw blood for tests and other examinations.

Lu Ge checked the time—it was past noon.

Although the ship’s restaurant served meals continuously, and it didn’t matter what time he went, he didn’t want to waste time on things that had nothing to do with him.

He tugged at the collar of his T-shirt, pulling the sweat-soaked fabric away from his back.

He still had to go back and shower. He cursed under his breath and got up to leave.

"Family members, stay here," the old doctor called out to him. "I need to know the patient's condition."

"Huh? How should I know his condition?" Lu Ge waved his hand impatiently. "I'm not a relative."

"Then you’re not going anywhere!" the old doctor shouted with a strong voice. "Even the police take statements. You bring him here and just walk away? If the patient dies, who’s to blame?"

"..." Lu Ge gave Huang Ronggui a silent two-second look.

"Are you a doctor?" Is it right to throw around the word 'death' like that?

"Whether he lives or dies isn’t my problem. Besides," Lu Ge raised his left wrist, showing the black watch face to the old doctor, "it’s noon. I’m hungry."

The old doctor snapped, "I haven’t eaten either!"

"..."

Not his problem.

Dealing with an old man who was throwing his weight around, Lu Ge couldn't even come up with a sarcastic remark. What if he ended up angering the old man to death?

He should’ve checked his luck before leaving. One after another...

"So when can I get out of here?"

"When the patient wakes up or a relative shows up."

"When will he wake up?"

The old doctor shot Lu Ge a look but stayed silent.

He never promised the guy would wake up.

The old doctor sighed to himself as he looked at the young man on the bed.

He trained in Western medicine when he was young and had been a private doctor for the Lin family. Later in life, he took up traditional Chinese medicine. When he was about to retire, Lin Xu dragged him back to help.

With his expertise, he didn’t need to check the pulse or run tests to see that the guy on the bed was already worn out.

He didn’t have long left.

*

When Ji Mian woke up from his coma, his half-opened eyes saw a blurry vision.

The familiar smell of disinfectant in the air and the white ceiling in his hazy vision made him realize he was in a hospital room.

Ji Mian suddenly lost track of time and began to struggle to distinguish between reality and dreams.

Was he Ji Mian now, or Xu Chiqiu?

Was this real, or was he dreaming of the last world again?

The mist before his eyes cleared a little, and he saw the IV drip by the bed and the figure of a man sitting beside him.

Oh, this is a dream.

Ji Mian instinctively smiled at the man, wanting to call out "brother," but his throat couldn't produce any sound.

Lu Ge looked at the smile on Ji Mian's lips and thought the man must really be delirious from the fever. The first thing he did upon waking up was smile at him?

He’d planned to bolt as soon as the guy woke up, but seeing this, he inexplicably stayed a little longer.

The young man on the hospital bed continued to smile, still looking at him with a slightly goofy but tender expression. There was an indescribable affection that Lu Ge couldn’t quite put into words.

But recalling the defiance in Ji Mian’s eyes when he saw him earlier, Lu Ge knew this smile definitely wasn’t for him.

Who was it for? Qin Yan?

Tch, what lousy taste. He sneered inwardly.

But at the same time—

"Affection Points increased by 60 (30x2), contributor: Lu Ge."

Lu Ge? The voice jolted Ji Mian awake.

He felt something was wrong and blinked hard twice.

The white haze before his eyes slowly dissipated. He could now see the companion’s face clearly—it wasn’t as classically handsome as Duan Zhuo’s, but the features were more striking, though the lips were just as attractive as Duan Zhuo’s.

"Mr. Lu," Ji Mian struggled to speak.

Lu Ge gave a dignified nod, "Hmm."

"Were you here the whole time?"

Lu Ge pointed to the watch on his wrist and said coldly, "Eight hours."

It was completely dark outside. For lunch, he had eaten the boxed meal Huang Ronggui had packed for him, which was bland and cold by the time it arrived.

For someone as picky as Lu Ge, the meal was downright unbearable.

Ji Mian grinned, this time purely out of spite. He likely figured Lu Ge deserved it.

But in any case, Lu Ge could tell: this grin was meant for him.

He stared for a moment, then turned to the nurse and said, "He’s awake, can I leave now?"

Without waiting for the nurse’s response, Lu Ge immediately stood up and dashed out of the room, clearly not wanting to stay a moment longer.