Vol 2 Chapter 1.1 (1/2)
Chapter 1: The Busy Patient Part 1—The Missing Cla.s.smate—translated by Raylight (proofread by EvlNabiki & Trespa.s.serby; C/E edited by lucathia)
Huff…Puff…
He kept running, panting until he was out of breath. However, he was ultimately unable to shake off the thing that was hot on his heels.
He was completely in the dark over how he had managed to attract the attention of such a thing, since all that he’d done was to head home from school like usual. The only difference would be that today, he was not with his cla.s.smate.
His cla.s.smate had said that he was visiting someone in the hospital, so his father had picked him up earlier.
On such a rare occasion in which he was left behind on his own, he could only head home by himself. However, it was too boring, so he had simply decided to take a shortcut.
This shortcut merely cut through an alley, saving him the trouble of walking around a huge bend. Moreover, the alley couldn’t be considered isolated, for when he walked through, he could still hear the sounds of chatter coming from other people’s homes. In the past, he’d walked along this path with his cla.s.smate several times, but his cla.s.smate disliked walking through this area a lot. Therefore, they rarely took the shortcut.
The moment he stepped into the alley this time, a strange feeling arose inside of him. However, a quick glance to the right and left proved that there was nothing unusual. The sky was still bright, and the alleyway was not dark. There simply didn’t seem like there was anything wrong…
After a moment’s hesitation, he walked further in.
In the beginning, he could still idly think about whether he should ask his mom if he could go over to his cla.s.smate’s home tomorrow. However, upon walking for several minutes blankly, he finally realized that something was wrong.
… Why haven’t I reached the end yet?
He raised his head uneasily. In doing so, he could see that the exit of the alley wasn’t too far off, so he quickened his footsteps.
The brightly-lit exit was obviously only a mere ten meters away, yet no matter how much he walked, he could not reach it. Panicking, he couldn’t help but start to run. Usually, it would take at most ten seconds or so to cover this stretch of road that was about ten meters long. However, he ran for at least three minutes, yet the distance between him and the exit remained unchanged, still ten meters away. It was practically like he had been running in place.
He became frantic, unsure why things had become like this. His eyes were fixed on the exit of the alley, as his legs moved non-stop. The more he ran, the more he quickened his pace, the more he panicked. Finally, he couldn’t help but choke down his sobs as he broke into tears.
After running and sobbing like this for a while, he was so out of breath that he could run no longer, no matter how afraid he was. He had no choice but to stop in his tracks. He looked around in confusion, hoping that he would be able to see what was wrong, but at the same time, he was scared he would actually see something…
However, he did not see anything, nor did he hear a single sound… Wait! Why isn’t there any sound?!
What happened to the usual sounds of chatter?
At this point, he finally understood the reason for the strange feeling he had when he stepped in.
It was too quiet.
His tears flowed continuously, as he stood rooted to the spot, lost as to what to do next. He was scared out of his wits. It took a long time before he wiped away his tears and then glanced before and behind him. Though the exit ahead was much closer, he was unable to reach it no matter
how much he ran, so he decided to take the way back.
It was then that he saw that thing.
That thing was standing at the entrance and broke into a grin the moment it noticed him. Then, it started chasing him ferociously, with the vigor of a hunter that had spotted its prey.
The only thing he could do was to run on without stopping, and to continue running and running. Yet, in front of him was still the exit that forever lay out of his reach. Fear filled his heart, and though he was panting until he was out of breath, he didn’t dare to stop. He could only continue to run and run…
“Xiao Jun, save me—”
Ow…
Fu Jun frowned as he looked at the wound on his hand.
“Why is it that I can get injured even just peeling an apple?”
Fu Taiyi quickly dished a tissue over and asked, “Do you want to wrap it up? We’re already at the hospital anyway!”
Fu Jun took the tissue from him, but shook his head as he replied, “There’s no need for that. It’s just a small cut, so it should stop bleeding after I put some pressure on it for a bit.”
“Here, let’s put a Band-Aid on that.”
Jiang Ziya held out a Band-Aid. Despite that he was only able to use one hand, his movements were still very nimble, and he had managed to whip out the Band-Aid swiftly from his bedside backpack. He felt very satisfied. It seemed like in a short while, he would be able to return to his cla.s.ses, as well as do part-time work at the bookstore.
Fu Jun looked at the Band-Aid that was covered in small flower patterns, his face expressionless. He didn’t take it even after a long time. Instead, Fu Taiyi joyfully took it and put it on his son’s finger, even praising as he did so, “Sigh, this Band-Aid is so cute that I almost don’t want to use it.”
“Eh, Lu Yang gave me that. He said that since I have sc.r.a.pes and injuries everywhere, I’d be able to put it to good use.” Jiang Ziya explained, feeling that he needed to do so, for accusation seemed to be written on Fu Jun’s face.
However, this explanation didn’t seem to have helped things much, for now Fu Jun’s expression became more “earnest” in pouting, looking as though he was inwardly complaining about a certain someone.
“I heard that his female junior gave it to him.” Jiang Ziya added on, to prevent Fu Jun from looking at Lu Yang with this exact same accusing expression in the future.
“So it was a female junior!” Fu Taiyi immediately started grinning profoundly, and even started angling for gossip, “Have you seen that female junior? Is she a nice girl?”
Jiang Ziya could merely continue to explain, “Lu Yang has over twenty female juniors. I don’t know which one of them gave it to him.”
“What? Twenty of them?” Fu Taiyi was so agitated that he stood up from his chair. He said, “He’s being way too much of a flirt! How can Xiao Yang do this? No way, I have to go give him a good talk, and tell him not to let down so many nice girls.”
Urgh… This explanation doesn’t seem to have helped at all.
Jiang Ziya went mute for a few moments, and then decided to give up on salvaging Lu Yang’s reputation.
Besides, it wasn’t like he had much of one to begin with.
“How could he possibly have over twenty…” Fu Jun unhappily told his rampaging father, “They are just his female juniors. Lu Yang-gē doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
Hearing that, Fu Taiyi finally ceased his rampage. However, he still seemed to mind it a great deal as he said, “I’ve still got to nag at him, otherwise he will sooner or later become a playboy.”
Jiang Ziya agreed to that wholeheartedly. Ever since they were in high school, Lu Yang had indeed always been well-connected with many girls, though he was never seen with a girlfriend. At first, he had thought it strange, but now he could kind of see the reason why. Most likely, Lu Yang was too busy running around fighting demons with “Slay” and didn’t have any time for a girlfriend.
After he finished peeling a plateful of apples, Fu Jun conscientiously put it on a table surface that Jiang Ziya could reach easily just by extending his hand. Then, he turned his head and said, “Ziya-gē, eat some apples.”
“Thanks.” Jiang Ziya picked up a slice of apple. Although Fu Jun truly was a good kid that was hard to come by, he still felt a little awkward.
Is this father and son pair really here just to visit me?
Don’t they have any other intentions? Such as explaining what exactly was the matter with that call that saved me? From the moment they arrived, Jiang Ziya had become nervous. No matter how hard he thought about it, he felt that Fu Taiyi and Fu Jun were definitely not ordinary. The two of them were even stranger than Lu Yang!
At least Lu Yang still wielded a sword, even though he had still wound up losing the fight and had been cuffed to the railings on the rooftop, with both of his wrists ending up in a terrible state. Even now, they were still wrapped up like he had two donuts around his wrists. However, these two people had saved them through a simple phone call.
This gap was simply too illogical, so much that Jiang Ziya even felt bad for Lu Yang.
“Boss, don’t you think there’s something that you need to explain to me?” Jiang Ziya couldn’t keep it to himself any longer and decided that asking it himself would be faster!
Fu Taiyi let out an “Ah,” and then said, “Indeed so.”
Jiang Ziya became nervous again. So, what exactly is the true ident.i.ty of the boss and Fu Jun?
When he and Lu Yang had run into danger on the rooftop, the call had saved them. Although he had heard the voice of the one speaking, it had an inexplicable sound like an echo in the mountains. It wasn’t a normal voice. Of course, he also couldn’t tell whether it was the voice of Fu Jun or Fu Taiyi. But anyways, it was definitely related to the Fu family duo.
At that time, Fu Jun was the one who said that he would give a call, so theoretically speaking, that person should have been Fu Jun. However, he was still an elementary school student! Being saved by an elementary school student would be simply too much of a shock to bear, so Jiang Ziya was more inclined to believe that it was Fu Taiyi—though looking at the boss now, Fu Jun would have been a better option!
While Jiang Ziya was waiting nervously for his “life savior” to reveal himself, Fu Taiyi instead took out an envelope and pa.s.sed it to him. This thoroughly confused him. Could this be some kind of talisman?
He took it doubtfully and opened it. What was inside, instead, was a stack of cash.
“…” Now isn’t the time to be giving out wages, right?
Jiang Ziya turned to his boss, perplexed. He felt that he wouldn’t feel as bewildered even if the contents had turned out to be an amulet.
Fu Taiyi gave a cough and explained, “You suddenly had to stay in the hospital, and that definitely would cost a little. Even though medical insurance does cover most of it, you would still have to pay for the rest of it and buy some supplements for your health.”
Jiang Ziya was at a loss for words. Indeed, Jiang Yu had recently been brewing nutritional medicine for him every day. The Chinese medicinal soup had never stopped coming, be it for building up his body or spirit or something else. He also had no clue on how the financial situation was at home. This money was something that he had to accept.
“Thank you.” He insisted, “Just treat it as an advance. Remember to deduct it out of my pay.”
Once Fu Taiyi heard that, he scratched his head and commented, “Don’t fret about small things like that! I have been good friends with your father for many years, and he has helped me out before. Now, I am merely returning the favor.”
“… May I humbly ask for your esteemed age?”
Fu Taiyi laughed. “Aha, hiding one’s age is a man’s romance!”
“Boss, you really know my dad?” Jiang Ziya asked, a little disbelieving, “Why haven’t you told me that before?”
He recalled his first meeting with his boss. It was a rainy day, and Jiang Ziya was in the middle of hunting for a part-time job. Since he still had to take the entrance exams that year, he was unable to work for long periods of time, and furthermore, he could only work after school. A job like that was obviously difficult to find, and his efforts in job-hunting showed no results even after a long time.
However, he had no choice but to persevere on. At that time, the financial situation at home was not looking good, not even factoring in his university fees that they would have to pay afterwards. His brother-in-law had insisted that he go to university and had promised to take care of all his study expenses. He had claimed that even if he wanted to go for a Master’s or Ph.D afterwards, it would be fine.
Jiang Ziya, however, could not watch on as his brother-in-law worked himself to the point of barely having time to sleep. Even his sister had household ch.o.r.es to take care of. He could not stand being the only one who was so idle, only needing to merrily go to cla.s.s and study when he got home.
“Do you want to come and work at my bookstore?”
His boss had appeared at that moment.
At first, he had thought the other to be a salesperson. He was on the verge of replying back, “I don’t need anything but cash,” when the boss pointed at the job recruitment newspaper in Jiang Ziya’s hand, and the boss asked him full of confidence, “You seem to be looking for a job, right? I have a job for you. Do you want it?”
Although it had sounded like the prelude of an abduction scene, Jiang Ziya found himself unable to refuse it. Anyways, he was a healthy and strong high-school student and also not a girl. As long as he stayed cautious and avoided eating anything random, he should be fine.
Afterwards, he had followed the boss to the bookstore. The moment he arrived, he saw Fu Jun, who was manning the store by himself. Jiang Ziya immediately dropped his guard upon seeing a child and completely forgot about not eating anything random. He even drank the cola that the boss gave him.