Chapter 19 You’re Easy to Soothe Anyway

Chapter 19 You're Easy to Cheer Up Anyway

"Yes, in the end, he went and fell for someone else."

Chu Yan was very perceptive and clever. Chi Suiyong even thought that if they ever became friends, then the secrets buried deep in his heart might not be unspeakable.

His past with Xia Li wasn't that complicated, and it wasn't full of 'had-to's'—it was just that their choices differed.

What he wanted was rock-solid stability, but from Xia Li's side, what Chi Suiyong cared about most wasn't put first. That was the main reason for their breakup.

Chi Suiyong suddenly felt a little lighter. "Yes, he went and fell for someone else."

"It's okay. He wasn't good enough. Yong Yong can find someone better."

Chi Suiyong broke into a smile. "Of course, I'm pretty picky too."

The temperature was a bit low that day, especially during the time by the lake. Chi Suiyong's heart had been rising and falling, but in the end, the sick feeling in his chest slowly faded.

A person destined never to cross paths with him again shouldn't keep messing with his head.

He and Chu Yan spent most of the day exploring the wetland park. By the time they returned to the hospital, it was already evening. On the way to the cafeteria, Chu Yan suddenly said he wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat.

"Not feeling well?"

"Dizzy."

Seeing that Chu Yan's face was a bit flushed, Chi Suiyong pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. "Why are you running a fever?"

For a normal person, a low fever is no big deal, but Chu Yan's brain edema hadn't subsided yet, so he couldn't take any chances.

"Come on, let's get your blood drawn."

After a few trips back and forth, the blood test results came back, showing no abnormalities. Chi Suiyong then called Director Xing to come and take a look.

Unable to find the cause, Director Xing looked anxious. "Let's do a CT scan. Don't let it be an intracranial infection!"

Another round of hustle and bustle, and the CT results came back—still no abnormality.

Since he couldn't get anything out of Chu Yan, Director Xing had to pull up his old medical records.

Chu Yan had been seen at He'an Hospital since he was a child. Sure enough, there were multiple records of asymptomatic low-grade fevers with no identifiable cause. During observation in the hospital, without any treatment, the fever would subside the next day.

After reviewing the case, Director Xing made a summary. "Probably some unique physical condition. Fortunately, it's just a low-grade fever. Let him get a good night's sleep and see what happens tomorrow."

Chi Suiyong asked, "Should we let Mr. Chu know?"

Director Xing wasn't too keen on talking to Chu Chenzhi directly. "Well… maybe you can give him a call and let him know. I've got things to do later."

"Alright."

Chu Yan seemed listless. After returning to the ward, he washed up and lay down. Chi Suiyong stayed by his side for a long time, only leaving the ward after he was sure Chu Yan was asleep, then he called Chu Chenzhi.

After explaining the general situation, Chu Chenzhi's tone remained calm.

He only asked, "Did Chu Yan cry today?"

"…" Chi Suiyong was suddenly speechless.

Chu Yan had been with him all day today, and he had not only cried but cried quite hard. Chu Chenzhi cutting straight to the heart of it made it look like Chi Suiyong had picked on him.

"Yes."

"That's right. This has happened before. If he gets too worked up emotionally, he'll have a low-grade fever afterward. As long as it's under thirty-eight degrees Celsius, it's not a big problem. Dr. Chi, don't worry too much."

Chi Suiyong wondered why Chu Chenzhi didn't ask why his brother had cried.

"Um… Dr. Chi." There was hesitation on the other end of the line.

"Please go ahead, Mr. Chu."

"If this happens again, could you please try to soothe him, Dr. Chi? Chu Yan is now…"

Chi Suiyong picked up the thread. "I'll take note of that."

"Then thank you, Dr. Chi. Much appreciated."

Chi Suiyong naturally didn't sleep well that night. He got up several times to feel Chu Yan's forehead, and it wasn't until nearly dawn that his temperature returned to normal.

When Chu Yan opened his eyes in the morning, his habit was to look over at the visitor's bed. Oddly enough, it was already this late and Yong Yong still hadn't woken up. Chu Yan got dressed quietly, went to the bathroom to wash up, and when he came out, Yong Yong was still asleep.

He was starving, but he didn't want to wake Yong Yong.

Chu Yan walked around the room a few times and finally decided to go to the cafeteria by himself.

He found his meal card and remembered that every time they went out, Yong Yong would tell him to put on more clothes. So he draped a coat over his hospital gown. After eating breakfast in the cafeteria, he even brought a serving back for Yong Yong.

Yong Yong is totally gonna praise him when he sees he brought breakfast. With that thought, Chu Yan's steps were light and his spirits were high.

Twenty-six-year-old Chu Yan's mind had regressed to that of a four-year-old after a car accident. While he relied completely on someone, he also tried to reciprocate. Perhaps the most straightforward reason was to seek affirmation and praise, showing a childlike eagerness to please.

If his memory returned, he would quickly realize that this path of pleasing others had been his from a young age, and it had been narrowing, making his focus and thoughts revolve around the same person.

Even without his memory, the path he had walked was full of walls he'd hit and ingrained cautious habits, but that person was not Chi Suiyong, nor was he like Chi Suiyong, who would respond with warmth and tenderness. Chu Yan's subconscious tests were all smoothly caught by the other person, even to the point of giving in to every request.

It was also that person who had caused Chu Yan to close himself off from others, isolating all emotions and interactions born from human connection. If not for the car accident, he would probably still be trapped on that narrow path, fighting a losing battle, refusing to give up until he hit a dead end.

Losing his memory wiped everything clean, and only Chi Suiyong had left his mark on this blank slate. The current Chu Yan couldn't think about any of that, which was why he could experience pure happiness.

*

Since the beginning of winter, temperatures had plummeted, and the instinct for hibernation in certain creatures immediately surfaced.

"Chu Yan, if you don't get up now, I'm leaving on my own."

Chu Yan turned over, pulled the blanket over his head, leaving only his Siamese cat-colored long hair exposed. "Yong Yong, close the curtains. It's too bright."

Chi Suiyong checked the time. "I'm going to be late for my shift."

"Sleepy…"

"I'm not waiting for you. Get up and eat breakfast by yourself later." Chi Suiyong waited by the bed for a moment, but the person under the blanket remained motionless, apparently having fallen back asleep.

Oh well. Chu Yan had been at the hospital for nearly a month now, so he wouldn't get lost here, at least.

Having been together in and out for so long, today Chi Suiyong was attending his shift alone, and it felt a bit strange to him.

Around ten o'clock, Chu Yan appeared in the consultation room. Lately, without Chi Suiyong's care, he had still managed to keep himself neat and tidy.

A blue-and-white striped hospital gown that could be seen all over the hospital, when paired with his own clothes, gave off a high-end feel like something out of a fashion magazine. The most eye-catching was still his long hair. When loose, it was lazy and casual; when tied up, it broke through the dimensional wall, making him look like a flower boy who had stepped out of a manga.

Today, Chu Yan had tied his hair up himself, with a few stray strands at the front covering the ends of his eyebrows, fully revealing the contours of his face.

Chi Suiyong first noticed that his lower lip was slightly puckered.

There was a crease in the middle of his lip, full on both sides, looking pouty and soft when at rest, but pouting when angry.

As usual, the small patients and their families in the clinic unconsciously found their eyes drawn to Chu Yan for a few seconds the moment they saw him.

It wasn’t until Chu Yan sat down beside Chi Suiyong, opened the drawer and grabbed something to kill time that the atmosphere in the clinic returned to normal.

In the lull between patients, Chi Suiyong poked Chu Yan’s arm with his pen. "Tsk, what’s got you mad now?"

Chu Yan swiveled the office chair, leaving only his back to the other. "Because you ditched me again."

"Be reasonable, will you? You lie in bed longer every day. If I waited for you, my attendance would be trash all month."

"Then it's my bad, so I'm mad. Yong Yong can just ignore me."

"I have to care. Turn around and smile for me."

"No."

Chu Yan was actually mad about something else.

When he got up in the morning to wash up, his hair was a mess, one side completely flattened with a crease. No matter how he combed it, it wouldn’t fix. Chu Yan stared at the mirror fuming for half an hour, and in the end, had no choice but to tie it up.

That’s what he was mad about—not that Yong Yong didn’t wait.

But he couldn’t say it directly.

Because he remembered Yong Yong once said that he was a grown man and wouldn’t waste time on his looks.

He didn’t want Yong Yong to think he was some guy who cared about dumb little things, but the problem was that he could let a few strands of hair ruin his entire day—that was what pissed him off.

After thinking it over, he still couldn’t let Yong Yong know the real reason for his anger, but having Yong Yong come over to cheer him up felt pretty nice.

With his back to the other, Chu Yan grinned, then swiveled back with a smug look.

"Yong Yong, will you still wait for me tomorrow?"

Chi Suiyong glanced at him. "If you keep sleeping in, then no."

"And what if I get angry again?"

Chi Suiyong crossed his arms and leaned closer. "Then be mad. It's not like I can't make it better."

Chu Yan puffed out his cheeks. "Then I'll throw a massive fit tomorrow."

"Alright, bring it on." Chi Suiyong bit his lip to hold back a laugh, then reached out and ruffled his hair. "Someone's gonna walk in any second. Behave."

The truth was, Chi Suiyong had been in a great mood all day, because there was an event planned after work.

But the main character was Chu Yan.

He'd found out during Chu Yan’s last fever, when he went with Director Xing to look through his previous medical records. Today was the Beginning of Winter, which was also Chu Yan’s twenty-sixth birthday.

He probably shouldn’t have taken the initiative to plan things for Chu Yan, but yesterday Chu Chenzhi called, saying he had already ordered a cake and arranged with the cafeteria to have a private room set up.

Chu Chenzhi said that Chu Yan didn’t enjoy fuss and had never celebrated his birthday at home before, but since he had come to the hospital a few times to visit Chu Yan and noticed he got along well with the medical staff and the young patients, he asked Chi Suiyong to help find some people to keep Chu Yan company.

This wasn’t a big deal. Besides, Chi Suiyong had known all along that today was Chu Yan’s birthday. Even if Chu Chenzhi hadn’t said anything, he had planned to celebrate it, getting a few hospitalized young patients to join in.

Chi Suiyong was like a frog in slowly heating water—without realizing it, his entire life and work had shifted to center on Chu Yan.

And he was completely unaware.