Chapter 81 Main Story Finale: The Last Surgery

Chapter 81 End of Main Story: The Final Surgery

Zhou Yu gently placed Lin Yunshu back in bed.

"Sleep," he murmured.

He sat by the bedside, tenderly brushing the stray hairs from Lin Yunshu’s forehead.

Lin Yunshu turned on his side, curling into himself, his fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of Zhou Yu’s shirt.

Zhou Yu took his hand, slowly warming his cold palm.

"Why aren’t you sleeping?"

He softly massaged Lin Yunshu’s temples, easing his taut nerves.

Lin Yunshu mumbled a vague "Mmm," but his eyes remained open, dark lashes fluttering slowly as he fought to stay awake, gazing at Zhou Yu.

Suddenly, he whispered, "Earlier, I was being too dramatic."

"Nonsense," Zhou Yu said, lifting the blanket and lying down beside him, pulling him close. "I feel like I’m going mad if I don’t see you for even a second. You’re handling this far better than I ever could."

Lin Yunshu sighed softly. "I’ve been… feeling a bit off all day…"

This was the first time he had so directly admitted to Zhou Yu that he wasn’t feeling well. His voice was weary, tinged with bewilderment and helplessness.

"I can’t quite say what’s wrong, but I just don’t feel right…" Lin Yunshu dropped his head in resignation.

Zhou Yu’s hand paused, then he leaned down to kiss the space between Lin Yunshu’s brows, his palm resting on his back, gently patting.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m right here," he whispered. "Come on, relax a little, breathe slowly with me… It’s okay, baby."

Lin Yunshu inhaled as instructed. His chest still felt tight and heavy, but his heart rate had slowed considerably.

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against Zhou Yu’s neck, his breath a little shaky.

Zhou Yu patiently comforted him until, after a long while, Lin Yunshu’s trembling finally ceased.

"You’re doing great," he encouraged, kissing the top of Lin Yunshu’s head. "I won’t go anywhere these next few days. I’ll stay with you, and we can watch all the movies we never had time for. How does that sound?"

"Don’t you have to work?" Lin Yunshu slightly opened his eyes.

Zhou Yu smiled. "I’m the boss."

Lin Yunshu said, "I meant me."

Zhou Yu’s smile deepened. "You’re the boss’s wife."

"...No wonder other companies ban workplace romances."

Lin Yunshu sighed, his words a little muddled from his discomfort.

Zhou Yu buried his face in his neck, laughing, his chest vibrating with mirth.

He kept his word, postponing all his engagements and spending three full days at home with Lin Yunshu, only catching up on essential work after Lin Yunshu had fallen asleep each night.

The day of admission happened to be the start of spring, with the New Year just two weeks away.

That evening, Zhou Yu paced anxiously back and forth in the hospital room.

Lin Yunshu had been comfortably eating fruit, but after watching Zhou Yu for a while, he started to feel dizzy.

"Can you please stop for a moment?" He pointed to the fruit plate in front of him. "I want to finish this."

"Eat, eat," Zhou Yu urged, gesturing with his hand. "Eat up, have more. You’re too thin, baby."

"But watching you makes me feel sick."

"?!"

Zhou Yu finally stopped, striding over in a flash. "What do you mean? Why does looking at me make you nauseous? Am I not handsome today? Don’t you love me anymore?"

Lin Yunshu: "..."

"Since you asked."

He put down his fork and carefully scrutinized Zhou Yu’s appearance today. Indeed, he looked less dashing than usual, somewhat haggard and weary.

"Did you not sleep last night?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Zhou Yu clenched his fists, a little jittery. "You’re about to have surgery—how could I possibly sleep?"

"It’s not my first surgery…"

"I didn’t sleep the first time either," Zhou Yu said excitedly. "Besides, what does it matter which time it is? Surgery is surgery—it’s always terrifying!"

Lin Yunshu couldn’t help but laugh, cupping Zhou Yu’s face. "Are you really that timid?"

"I wasn’t before," Zhou Yu retorted, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Don’t you know how brave I am? But the crucial thing is, it’s about you."

"Me?" Lin Yunshu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, you," Zhou Yu took Lin Yunshu’s hand, enclosing it in his own, and gave it a light, playful squeeze. "What, does it make you happy to see me so worried about you that my courage has shrunk to the size of a pinprick?"

"Are you thinking, ‘Why is this big oaf so madly in love with me? I must be utterly charming,’ huh? Aren’t you?"

Such a plaintive tone.

Lin Yunshu laughed uncontrollably at Zhou Yu’s antics until Zhou Yu rolled over, pinning him to the bed and pinching his nose.

"Still laughing? I’m practically dying of anxiety."

Lin Yunshu then used all his strength to suppress his smile.

"What are you so nervous about?" he said softly. "It’s just a surgery. Can you please not act like I’m going into labor?"

Zhou Yu’s expression suddenly turned serious, and he covered Lin Yunshu’s mouth. "Don’t say that. Childbirth is no joke—it caused so much trouble before. Let’s not bring up such dark, unrecoverable pasts."

The phrase sounded familiar. Lin Yunshu frowned, feeling like he’d read it somewhere but unable to recall where.

"Alright, we won’t talk about it," he soothed Zhou Yu. "Don’t worry, everything will be fine."

Zhou Yu stared at him for a moment, his playful expression gradually fading, replaced by seriousness and solemnity.

He let out a long sigh, then pulled Lin Yunshu into a tight embrace.

"I’m genuinely scared."

Lin Yunshu felt a slight pang in his heart.

"Such a major surgery," Zhou Yu murmured, "It's completely different from before, entirely different. I'm really scared..."

"It's okay," Lin Yunshu comforted him, patting his back and allowing him to hold him tighter. "You have to trust me; it'll be fine."

They were admitted to the hospital that evening, and the next day was filled with long examinations and preoperative preparations.

By evening, Lin Yunshu lay weakly on the hospital bed. He no longer had the energy to eat fruit as he had the day before, nor the strength to joke around with Zhou Yu.

Due to the tests, he had just vomited, but with an empty stomach from fasting before the surgery, nothing came up. He suffered through five painful minutes of dry heaving.

Half an hour had passed, and he still hadn't recovered. His stomach continued to cramp with pain.

Zhou Yu held him in his arms, his palm pressed to Lin Yunshu's upper abdomen to warm it.

"Still hurting badly?" he asked anxiously.

Lin Yunshu shook his head, then nodded, as if dazed by the pain. "It's much better..."

"I asked the doctor; we can't use painkillers right now," Zhou Yu said, slowly massaging his stomach in circles with the heel of his hand. "Can you hold on a little longer? I'll rub it for you."

"It's fine," Lin Yunshu said faintly. "It's not bad enough for painkillers yet. I can bear it."

He had endured much worse pain in the past.

"My poor Yun Shu," Zhou Yu said softly, holding him carefully. "Why do you have to suffer like this?"

"Enough, don't be so sappy."

"It's not sappy," Zhou Yu whispered. "I just feel like it shouldn't be this way..."

"It's alright."

Lin Yunshu's eyes curved into a smile, but he suddenly winced and let out a soft hiss.

"What's wrong?!"

Zhou Yu instantly panicked, on edge about every little thing at this point.

Lin Yunshu breathed shallowly and pressed his wrist. "I'm a bit cold..."

Zhou Yu paused, his heart aching again.

The room temperature wasn't actually cold at all. The heating was turned up so high that Zhou Yu, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, was sweating.

Yet Lin Yunshu's body temperature stayed consistently low.

In preparation for the surgery the next day, he had started an IV drip of a special medication that day.

A thick needle was connected to his arm, and the faint blue veins on the inner side of his elbow were clearly visible. Lin Yunshu's entire arm felt icy cold.

Zhou Yu's heart broke, but there was nothing he could do to share even a fraction of the pain.

All he could do was get several hot water bottles ready and place them around Lin Yunshu's arm, offering some small, albeit insufficient, comfort.

"Sleep, baby," Zhou Yu said softly, patting Lin Yunshu's back. "It won't hurt when you're asleep."

He rambled on, "Once you fall asleep, when you wake up, it'll be a new day. By then, your surgery will be over, and soon we can go out and have fun. You can go anywhere you want..."

Lin Yunshu closed his eyes without speaking.

He seemed too tired even to breathe, but in Zhou Yu's arms, he gave a tiny nod, filled with hope.

Zhou Yu's voice gradually faded as he watched Lin Yunshu slowly drift off to sleep in his embrace.

The next morning at ten o'clock, Lin Yunshu was wheeled into the operating room right on time.

Although everyone maintained a relaxed and positive attitude, Zhou Yu knew in his heart that this was a major surgery—the most serious kind of surgery.

Gene repair surgery had only recently passed the research phase. The technology wasn't entirely mature and couldn't achieve a complete cure. It could only extend the lifespan of patients with rare genetic diseases to the greatest extent possible and help improve their future quality of life.

Very few people had actually undergone this treatment clinically, and Zhou Yu couldn't convince himself not to worry.

In fact, he felt like his heart was about to leap out of his throat.

He had no mood or energy to do anything. Every minute, every second, Zhou Yu was in a daze.

He could only pace anxiously outside the operating room at times, and at other times, stare blankly at the leaves outside the window as if his soul had been drained.

The surgery lasted a full thirteen hours, from the break of dawn to the deep hues of dusk.

When the "In Surgery" light above turned off, Zhou Yu was shaking so hard he could barely walk.

The exhausted doctor came out and told him the surgery had been successful, but Zhou Yu didn't get to see Lin Yunshu.

Lin Yunshu was taken directly to the intensive care unit for 24-hour close monitoring.

The only thing Zhou Yu was allowed to do was spend half an hour each day, dressed in strict protective gear, looking at Lin Yunshu from afar through a glass window.

Three days later, Lin Yunshu's condition stabilized, and he was moved from the ICU to a special care ward.

The day the doctor called to tell Zhou Yu that Lin Yunshu had woken up was exactly three days before the New Year.

·

The world was a blur of white.

When Lin Yunshu managed to open his heavy eyelids, he caught a faint, pleasant scent of flowers.

The fragrance was subtle, delicately intertwined with Zhou Yu's warm pheromones.

His vision was hazy. Before he could even see Zhou Yu, Lin Yunshu found himself smiling involuntarily.

Someone gently cupped his face, their thumb brushing past his earlobe and the corner of his lips.

"Yun Shu?"

Zhou Yu was calling him.

Lin Yunshu began to feel a little anxious.

He blinked hard, and the floating white mist before his eyes began to dissipate. His vision gradually cleared.

The curtains were bright white, the sunlight warm and golden, with a soft glow around everything.

Zhou Yu was too.

He gazed down at Lin Yunshu with deep affection, his face illuminated by the warm sunlight.

Lin Yunshu realized that Zhou Yu looked particularly handsome today.

He had styled his hair nicely, dressed impeccably, his eyes bright and spirited, and even the curve of his smile was just perfect.

"Did you see me?" Zhou Yu asked softly.

Lin Yunshu nodded with a smile.

Zhou Yu adjusted his tie, not treating Lin Yunshu like a patient who had just woken up with a flurry of concerned questions.

He simply looked at Lin Yunshu with a beaming smile, as if this were just an ordinary morning they experienced every day.

"So, how do I look?" He lightly touched Lin Yunshu's temple. "Haven't disappointed you, have I?"

Lin Yunshu smiled, his eyes crinkling.

"Is your husband handsome today?" Zhou Yu asked him expectantly.

Of course he is, Lin Yunshu thought.

Just like the image he had repeatedly dreamed of all these days, only even more tender and intimate, making his eyes well up involuntarily.

If it were just answering this one question, Lin Yunshu could give a hundred affirmative answers.

But was this all Zhou Yu wanted?

Lin Yunshu watched him quietly, his eyes filled with gentle warmth.

After a long moment, he softly murmured, "Mm-hmm."

"I love you," he answered.

"Zhou Yu, I love you."

- End of Main Text -

Contents Previous Page