Vol 1 Chapter 12 (1/2)
Chapter Twelve
That very night, I had casually napped and then rushed to catch the last flight back to T City I stayed up until daybreak, bracingYi Chen up
Drowsy-eyed and in his disheveled night clothes, he opened the door for me and told me that, because Shu Nian fell ill, Ke Luo had left first thing in the ht to S City
I was at a loss for words I bitterly laughed I should have known I run after him, and he circles around Shu Nian
Sometimes I couldn’t help but think that
I would always survive My skin was thick I suffer severely once, and I instantly make a comeback after a moment’s rest
I never thought that abad, so I followed Lu Feng’s example But now I had to admit that men can rely on weakness to win
As soon as Shu Nian fell ill, the first thing Ke Luo did was drop everything and rush to his side If I had fallen critically ill that day, who knehether Ke Luo would abandon old grudges and turn around to take care of me
Yet I’d worked hard alland fit Apart fro cold, I’d never even experienced a toothache
Having co up over Ke Luo It was inevitable that I’d be ridiculed by others
But it’s rare in one’s lifeti upon it, who can let go?
I was too old to break free from it
Even if I forced myself into his hands, Ke Luo was to me precisely how Shu Nian was to Ke Luo No matter how clearly aware I was of it, I could never free myself from it
As a result, my words turned out to be a prophecy that very day I had abdo bad I sat on the toilet and “couldn’t relieveand released so much that I almost had a rectal prolapse
I was tor the strength to relieveto release—with a breath still left in led to climb into bed and collapsed from exhaustion
Yet, in the end, soon after, I woke up in pain once more I felt my stomach pain intensify My heart cried out that this was far froood If this continues, don’t tell me it’s impossible to ever be relieved of it
I was in so ht I knew I should call so at once and dialed Ke Luo’s number
This ti the rustle fro was a?”
Soled to speak, “I don’t feel well Will you come see me?”
Ke Luo paused He see “I’ him company”
Although I was gritting otiate with hi him?”
“I’m sorry,” he sincerely dismissed me, “Uncle Lee, you should hurry to the hospital”
“…” I had asked for rejection E others andfro chip
“Okay, then I’ll do so now”
“Sorry”
After hanging up, the sharp pain I had suppressed rendered me speechless Cold sweat dripped from my forehead At my wit’s end, like all sick people without assistance, I shi+vered with cold as I desperately struggled to call the eency number
To call an ambulance because of a bad sto a fuss about nothing, it couldn’t be helped I led a solitary life If by any chance I died, no one would know ofcorpse I had to particularly cherish life
It wasn’t until I was sent to the e for an a to do I had an acute appendicitis along with food poisoning I would very likely have ascended to heaven in the apart had I not severed that troublesome appendix
The thought of having vigorously lived my life and to have kicked the bucket from an appendix would have been a little too ridiculous
After the operation, I lay on the hospital bed in a trance, see to be awake yet not awake The anesthetic effect passed I lightly coughed, and the area where I had been operated on ached dully
The dusk light streah theLike an old hed
Soe, perhaps I would have automatically settled doith a family Even without a wife, there would always be one or two illegiti all alone like this
I passed the ti, bored to death I didn’t eat anything until I heard rowled One scoop after another I ate the bland, tasteless congee, and fell asleep soon after
If it was Shu Nian, Ke Luo would probably have kept watch all day and night with his considerate words and gentle smiles I tried every possible way to sleep I had tried to setI was loved by Ke Luo, yet I couldn’t entirely iine so
Even fantasizing was a failure, so I was only able to listlessly sleep away
When I woke up fro face
To my surprise, so stunned for quite a while, I had sos “Hey!”
Startled, Lin Jing abruptly opened his eyes “You scareddead”
“You even brought such a tacky fruit basket!”
“It’s good enough to have so to eat You’re so picky!”
I lashed out, “I just had my appendix cut How can I eat a peach now?!”
“Alright, there’s the soup Uncle Chen cooked for you You can always have that”
Cheng Yi Chen’s hoood I held the bowl and sipped the soup “How did you knoas hospitalized?”
“Ke Luo told me”
“Huh?” I almost spilled the bowl of soup on my face “He came?”
“Yeah, it was hiht the bouquet of flowers It’s tackier than , and he couldn’t wait for you to wake up any longer, so he asked me to help look after you”
As if struck by lightning, I hastily asked, “Where’s he now?”
“He hurried to S City again” Lin Jing openly ate the apple he had brought for hed and said, “That frequent flyer But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you Ke Luo gaveas I’ve been entrusted by someone, I have to let Uncle Chen raise you nice and plump…”
“Hey, what’s with that expression of yours?” Lin Jing stared at e your nerves when they cut your appendix, did you?”
For a short while, I couldn’t clearly say what I was feeling When I didn’t carry any hope, I’d suddenly see a tiny faint ray of light
“You stinking brat, you actually accepted a bribe to take care of ?”
“Eh? I’ve wanted theive them, if I didn’t accept them, it would have been a waste Don’t be like this, Lee Getting angry will burst open your wound…”
Eventually I couldn’t stand it any longer I called Ke Luo
“hello, Uncle Lee?” His tone was no longer harsh Just hearing his voice made my back weak “Is your health better?”
“It’s fine Thanks a lot for the flowers”
“It’s a round faded He seeone to a quieter area “You have to rest well Don’t randos”
“Ke Luo”
I was just about to sayto attend to I’ll give you a call another time”
For the next couple of days, I would be so tense whenever the phone rang I’d have a strong hunch that it would be Ke Luo, yet the callers would just end up as Lin Jing, a few ofbuddies, and automated telemarketers
Over time, I realized that there was no need to hold out hope The bouquet Ke Luo had sent and the words he’d said, even though he was courteous and considerate, they were full of gentleness that was particularly for the sick But now I finally realized it was only perfunctory I’d often act the same way to others
There was no news of Shu Nian as well
Of course, I wasn’t waiting for news of him I kneouldn’t have any memories of me
It’s just that the only reotten about me
I went back to working at the coain
Now that Ke Luo was absent- ound up in faardless of whether Lu Feng was actually infor a traitor or not, since he didn’t pursue theI always adapted to the circumstance
I struggled to earn a paycheck even though I felta retirement place yet wasn’t entirely bad for now It’s better than eating oneself out of house and home
Maybe I’ll spend the rest offor the pair of father and son
Since there were too ain
His affairs and love wounds were none of my business But, no matter how unrelated the brat’s life or death was, I couldn’t allow the coo bankrupt Otherould I look to for my paycheck? And ould I eat for my next meal?
Upon seeing his appearance, I was truly startled In ten days tiard: his eyes weary and his skin lacked luster I couldn’t help but rub my chin and think that if I had first met him like this, I probably wouldn’t have fallen for him
“What’s the matter?” Unable to hold back, I still shot my mouth off and asked him
Ke Luo had his head lowered as he scribbled his signature on large piles of paperwork “Shu Nian’s ill”
Once he started to speak, his voice came out hoarse It had lost its sweet sound I didn’t knohether I should rejoice If the pretty boy’s fra its appeal, wouldn’t I be liberated from him soon?
I sighed “I know his health is bad, but don’t worry toois incurable”
Ke Luo quickly flipped over documents, a bit of a hurry
Fros nearly covered his eyes I had a slight urge to reach out and help him brush them aside
“Of course it’s curable It’s not as if it’s a fatal illness It’s only leukemia”
He had said it so fast that I almost didn’t catch what he’d said
When I reacted, an explosion went off inwith an inexplicable fear engulfed me
For several seconds, I couldn’t utter a word I could only hear the rustling of papers amidst the silence
“Such a huge htly dry
“Why do I have to tell you? If I had told you, would you have cared? Even if I tell the whole world, what good would it do? I won’t have others look at hi around this topic when you see hier he has left to live When he’ll die, how he’ll die…”
The tip of the pen suddenly tore a large hole in the document Ke Luo’s tolerance seeh I don’t want anybody to look at him as if he’s on death’s bed…”
“Ke Luo…”
“We’re transferring him here into T City tomorrow If it doesn’t work out, we’ll contact an overseas specialist,” he quickly finished, apparently unwilling to say any more on the topic