Is This Reporter Also Paying Off Debts Today? Chapter 6

Wen Di Confesses

It was my own choice to come out for a walk. Lying in bed all the time made my bones ache, Wen Di said with a smile. Only he knew that the walk from the ward to the payment counter and then to Lu Huaichu’s office had already caused cold sweat to soak through the back of his shirt.

Please sit, let me take another look at you. As he spoke, Lu Huaichu pulled a rolling stool out from under the desk and signaled for Wen Di to sit. He then put on his stethoscope and pressed it against Wen Di’s chest.

Your body is still very weak. I suggest you stay in the hospital for a few days of observation and have a gastroscopy for a detailed checkup. My preliminary judgment is that you have extensive gastric ulcers and frequent gastric spasms. Your cardiopulmonary function isn’t great either; you experienced a brief state of shock and loss of consciousness at noon today. Your heart rate was restored through artificial respiration and CPR. That medication you’re taking—it’s the kind that was popular abroad a few years ago, right? Lu Huaichu stared at the screen, pulling up Wen Di’s blank medical record in the system, his slender fingers dancing across the keyboard with a rhythmic clatter.

Wen Di had a problem: he hated seeing doctors and tended to avoid treatment. It was quite a rebellious streak, which was why his initially minor stomach trouble had dragged on until it reached the point where he could faint from pain at any moment. Consequently, as soon as Lu Huaichu began analyzing his physical condition, Wen Di’s mind started to wander.

Until he heard the words artificial respiration.

Those two words exploded in Wen Di’s ears like a clap of thunder. Who? Who did artificial respiration? Me? Who gave it to me? Lu Huaichu?!

Mm. Despite the storm raging in his heart, Wen Di maintained the professional composure of a veteran reporter. His expression remained unchanged, but his gaze drifted toward Lu Huaichu’s thin lips.

Those thin lips opened and closed. Was it here that he had given him artificial respiration and saved his life?

He’s so handsome. It would be great if he were my boyfriend.

He’s mumbling away… what is he saying? I don’t understand, I just want to kiss him.

But then a thought occurred to him—that was his first kiss!! It was taken away just like that while he was unconscious?

Lu Huaichu looked at Wen Di, who was maintaining a stiff smile while his face shifted between pale and flushed. His doctor’s compassion rose, and he leaned in closer to Wen Di with concern: …Mr. Wen? Mr. Wen, are you alright?

Huh? Oh! I’m fine! I’m so good I could go back to my workstation and start working tomorrow! Wen Di blurted out, startled.

…As I was saying, that medication has been banned from circulation domestically. It’s best if you don’t take it anymore. You can try some Chinese patent medicines; the side effects are much smaller, and they can slowly regulate your entire body’s functions.

Ah? Why? Wen Di had been completely spacing out just now and hadn’t heard a single word Lu Huaichu said.

Lu Huaichu was unexpectedly patient as he began to explain again: That drug was originally developed and circulated in Country A. Its properties and ingredients were adjusted according to the physical constitution of Westerners, making it very unsuitable for the physical quality and tolerance levels of Asians. For an Asian person taking this medicine, its characteristic is that it works quickly, but the side effects are significant and it’s highly addictive. How is your heart usually? Do you feel uncomfortable when lying flat? Do you suffer from insomnia or wake up startled from dreams?

Wen Di pursed his lips tightly. Of course he knew everything Lu Huaichu was saying. He had asked a colleague working abroad to secretly bring the medicine back for him every time they returned to the country.

Dr. Lu is amazing. My heart really hasn’t felt great these past few years; sometimes it has a stabbing pain. My sleep is terrible too. Before, one pill would keep my stomach quiet for several days, but now… Wen Di gave a bitter smile, I have to take two or three at a time for the pain to subside.

He had avoided treatment for so long; was the doctor going to scold him now, just like the doctors he had seen before?

Instead, Lu Huaichu only sighed.

He stared at Wen Di with a complex expression. After a long silence, he spoke, his voice still gentle: You must have confidence in yourself first. Don’t avoid medical treatment. Use Chinese patent medicine to adjust things bit by bit, but the most important thing is to maintain good lifestyle habits.

So gentle, so handsome, I really want to kiss him.

Wen Di nodded obediently, his face shifting into a pitiful, aggrieved expression.

I’ve noticed you’ve been lining up at our department’s entrance quite often lately. Where exactly are you feeling unwell? Lu Huaichu knew his outpatient appointments were hard to get, so he tried to hold as many clinics as possible each week to diagnose more patients.

He had noticed this young man for a long time. He was good-looking, but his luck seemed poor, as he failed to snag an appointment slot every day.

How pitiful…

No, I’m not here to see a doctor!

What? For a moment, Lu Huaichu thought he had misheard. If he wasn’t here to see a doctor, what was he doing at the hospital every day? Was he interested in a nurse or a doctor?

Dr. Lu. Wen Di sat up straight and cleared his throat. He pulled a gold-embossed business card from his pocket. If it weren’t for the IV drip in one hand, he would have looked exactly like a top-tier professional elite.

Lu Huaichu felt a flicker of annoyance. A medical representative. He had seen this kind of opening too many times—trying to build a relationship so they could get him to prescribe more of their company’s drugs to earn a fat commission. As for whether the patients lived or died, who cared? Nevertheless, he politely accepted the card.

He flipped it over.

Anzhou Times Reporter, Wen Di.

Dr. Lu, my name is Wen Di. I am twenty-seven years old, a local of Anzhou, 181cm tall, and weigh 55kg. I hold a bachelor’s degree and graduated from the Journalism Department of the Communication University five years ago. I have no bad habits like smoking or drinking. I am male, my preference is men, and I do not have a partner. I don’t have one in other cities or other countries, not online, not physically, and not spiritually. I am not divorced, have no children, own one apartment, and have a car for commuting though I don’t drive it often. I lose no more than six points on my driver’s license per year on average… Wen Di took a deep breath and continued while meeting Lu Huaichu’s shocked gaze: Thank you, Dr. Lu, for giving me artificial respiration today. You saved my life, and you also took my first kiss.

You asked me what I’m doing at the hospital every day. I can tell you everything. I am a reporter, and I came to your hospital to collect material based on a lead. Initially, I came for an interview, but later I realized that I unconsciously wanted to see you every day. Even on days when there were no interview tasks, I wanted to sit outside your consulting room just to hear your voice.

Lu Huaichu, you like men too, don’t you? I can feel it.

Lu Huaichu was currently so stunned by Wen Di’s blind-date-style self-introduction that he was speechless. He could only blankly follow Wen Di’s questions by nodding or shaking his head.

He nodded.

Do you have a boyfriend?

He shook his head.

I like you. Are you willing to let me be your boyfriend?