TLDMDTBS Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Gu Xiuyi was right. Ji Ruan not only lost his voice, but also his strength.

That night, Ji Ruan slept uneasily. Although he had been exhausted all day and fell asleep quickly from fatigue as soon as he got into bed, he could not sleep soundly. He felt uncomfortable and, in the middle of the night, suddenly woke up with a start.

In the moment he woke up, it was dark in front of him. He couldn’t feel the streetlights outside, nor could he see the small night light on the table. He had removed his cochlear implant before sleeping, and now there was a faint ringing in his ears.

Ji Ruan was immersed in this feeling of suffocation with all his senses dulled for a few seconds, then the sharp pain in his stomach pulled him back to reality, the darkness in front of him dissipating as the ringing intensified.

His stomach churned and burned, the pain making him shudder involuntarily. He instinctively hugged his upper abdomen, curling up, which felt cool, as if a block of ice had sunk there.

He was sweating profusely, his pajamas damp beneath his palms, and his hair was wet, sweat soaking his eyelashes, blurring his vision.

Ji Ruan’s consciousness had not fully awakened, and he gasped, dazed, feeling the pain.

In the next moment, a more intense cramping pain surged from his stomach, as if his chest and abdomen were constricted, forcing Ji Ruan instinctively to crawl out of bed and stagger mechanically toward the bathroom.

As soon as Ji Ruan reached the sink, he vomited.

His vision blurred, and he couldn’t gauge how long he had been throwing up, only knowing that the cramping pain in his stomach gradually turned into a dense stabbing sensation. His collar and back were soaked with cold sweat.

It might have been the bile he vomited that made his chest and throat burn fiercely. Ji Ruan splashed some water on his face, coughed, and collapsed onto the floor, the world spinning around him, with a buzzing in his ears.

In this extreme discomfort, Ji Ruan found a strange clarity.

His fingertips were numb, and he leaned against the wall for a long time before getting up, only to be bent over again by the stomach pain.

Gu Xiuyi’s room was next door, while Aunt Zhao lived on the first floor. Ji Ruan was in so much pain just walking from his room to the next that he had never felt so resentful of the size of the house as he did today.

The doorknob to Gu Xiuyi’s room was icy. Ji Ruan knocked twice, but no one answered. The pain in his stomach was relentless, not letting up for a moment, and he had to lean against the door for support and pat the door with more force.

“Click—”

The door was pulled open from the inside, and Ji Ruan, losing his support, stumbled straight in, only to be caught steadily by someone.

With blurred vision, ringing in his ears, and his senses out of balance, the only sense still functioning was his sense of smell, which caught the familiar scent of Gu Xiuyi.

When Gu Xiuyi was woken in the middle of the night by a commotion, he did not expect to catch Ji Ruan at the door in such a state, drenched in cold sweat, pale, and trembling.

He patted Ji Ruan’s sweaty face, wanting to say something, but noticed that Ji Ruan hadn’t put on his cochlear implant, so he moved closer to his left ear and asked, “Ji Ruan?”

“Ji Ruan, where does it hurt?”

Ji Ruan was in so much pain he couldn’t hear a thing. The air conditioner in Gu Xiuyi’s room was set very low, and a gust of cool air hit his stomach, causing a severe spasm of pain, making him cry out.

Seeing Ji Ruan press hard against his stomach, his knuckles turning white, Gu Xiuyi immediately guessed it was likely gastroenteritis.

Ji Ruan’s whole body felt cold, so Gu Xiuyi grabbed a jacket and wrapped it around him, then lifted him and headed for the garage. After taking a few steps, he stopped, turned back to Ji Ruan’s room, and took the small cochlear implant.

As Ji Ruan was carried to the passenger seat, he was in so much pain he could hardly muster any strength. He had sweated so much that he couldn’t wear the cochlear implant, but Gu Xiuyi seemed to keep trying to engage him in conversation.

Every time a hazy voice reached his ears, Ji Ruan would respond with a faint “mm,” at least letting Gu Xiuyi know he hadn’t passed out.

Another wave of intense pain hit him, and Ji Ruan curled up in the passenger seat, biting his lip hard until the skin split and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Then he was swallowed by a huge vortex, and in his daze, it felt like he was back when he was seriously ill, taking a lot of medicine, the side effects of which could also cause intense stomach pain, much worse than what he felt now.

That kind of pain made one acutely aware that their body was being eaten away by illness, a terrifying pain that devoured the mind along with the physical.

·

At five in the morning, Gu Xiuyi rushed into the emergency room, carrying a crying Ji Ruan, and finally got him settled in a single-occupancy ward.

By that time, Ji Ruan had already lost consciousness. Gu Xiuyi felt he had fainted from the pain, but the doctor repeatedly emphasized he was simply exhausted from the pain and had fallen asleep.

Gu Xiuyi sat by the bed, watching the nurse give Ji Ruan an injection, and waited a while. When he confirmed that Ji Ruan showed no signs of waking up, he got up and went to the doctor’s office.

“Oh, it’s nothing serious,” the doctor said casually, having seen this too often. “It’s just ordinary acute gastroenteritis; a couple of days of IV fluids and he’ll be fine to go home.”

“But he bit his lip until it bled,” Gu Xiuyi said, his expression dark.

Hearing this, the doctor laughed: “Does gastroenteritis not hurt? What did he eat?”

Gu Xiuyi pressed his lips together: “Barbecue, beer… and ice cream.”

“Normal, normal,” the doctor said, not surprised. “It’s graduation season and summer vacation; the kids are probably out partying. The emergency room gets a wave of this every night, all kids of this age. Just a few days ago, there was even someone who drank until they had stomach bleeding; that was scary…”

As Gu Xiuyi listened, his brow furrowed tighter. He realized he really felt the generation gap between him and the younger kids; when he graduated, things had never been this wild.

The doctor glanced at Gu Xiuyi’s expression, shaking his head with a smile: “It’s fine; your child is quite well-behaved. His issue is mainly a weak constitution leading to his sensitive stomach. He just needs to avoid irritating foods in the future.”

Gu Xiuyi nodded, forcing a smile: “I understand, thank you, doctor.”

Before he left, a nurse brought in a report. The doctor glanced over it and immediately called Gu Xiuyi back: “Wait!”

Gu Xiuyi turned back.

The doctor looked at the report again, then at Gu Xiuyi, and confirmed: “Ji Ruan, RH negative blood type A?”

Gu Xiuyi was taken aback.

He had no idea what Ji Ruan’s blood type was, but he knew RH negative blood was extremely rare.

Gu Xiuyi closed the door and returned to the doctor’s desk, his expression serious: “Is there a problem?”

The doctor, putting away his smile, became much more serious: “Now there is a problem.”

He pushed up his glasses: “The patient has a rare blood type, but his blood coagulation isn’t very good.”

Gu Xiuyi frowned.

“Let’s put it this way,” the doctor continued, pointing at the report: “His platelet count is low, which will make healing from injuries more difficult than that of an average person. This is normally not serious, but if it’s a rare blood type, it becomes significant.”

The doctor tapped the table to emphasize: “Family members must pay attention to this, reducing bumps and falls. Large-area injuries must be absolutely avoided; otherwise, it could be very dangerous if blood cannot be sourced in case of an emergency…”

·

Until he came out of the office, Gu Xiuyi’s brow remained tightly knitted. The hospital’s fluorescent lights flickered in his eyes, making him inexplicably anxious.

He suddenly recalled Ji Ruan’s lingering bruise from when the cat pounced on him, that small, slow-to-heal cut on his ankle… everything seemed to relate to his not-so-good coagulation function.

Holding the report, Gu Xiuyi glanced at Ji Ruan in the ward, who was still unconscious. It was already morning. He called Aunt Zhao, quietly waiting for her to come in, then said nothing as he returned to the villa.

Gu Xiuyi had breakfast, took a shower, changed his clothes, but strangely, that little bit of anxiety in his heart had not eased.

When he entered the ward again, Ji Ruan was awake, very obediently lying in bed receiving an IV, quietly looking at the green leaves through the curtain’s gap.

His complexion was still poor, eyes tired, lips colorless; the hand that wasn’t receiving the IV lay limply on his stomach, his fingers unusually slender.

Gu Xiuyi exchanged a few words with Aunt Zhao in a low voice, letting her leave first. After the door closed, he quietly sat down on the chair by the bed.

Ji Ruan now looked far from the lively person he had been after drinking last night; in an instant, Gu Xiuyi was transported back to the day they first met, when Ji Ruan also lay in bed looking slightly lethargic.

Gu Xiuyi sat silently, suddenly unsure of what to say.

Ji Ruan also couldn’t speak.

He really felt a little unwell. His stomach still ached vaguely, and his throat was uncomfortable.

Thinking of the previous day’s back-and-forth with Gu Xiuyi while tipsy, now suffering from gastroenteritis, half dead knocking on someone’s door and being tossed around in the hospital all night… Ji Ruan wanted to leave this beautiful world.

Eventually, it was Ji Ruan who spoke first.

His voice was hoarse, slow, each word seemingly carefully considered: “I… won’t drink anymore.”

He conveniently overlooked the whole back-and-forth from last night.

Gu Xiuyi almost instantly understood Ji Ruan’s meaning, calmly responding, “Yeah, your stomach isn’t good, and you should eat fewer irritating foods.”

He conveniently glossed over the part where he didn’t win their argument last night, which had almost made him lose his composure.

The two exchanged glances, reaching an unspoken agreement to not mention last night.

The doctor’s words lingered in Gu Xiuyi’s mind, and after a moment’s hesitation, he reminded Ji Ruan: “You have a rare blood type, and your coagulation isn’t very good. You should pay more attention to that.”

“What?”

Ji Ruan moved slightly, like a startled little animal, turning his head slightly.

Gu Xiuyi didn’t understand why he reacted this way and asked hesitantly, “What’s wrong?”

In Ji Ruan’s mind, a memory suddenly surged forth.

It was a long-ago memory; hospital, surgery, cochlear implant, RH-negative A blood…

“Nothing, nothing…” Ji Ruan swallowed hard, forcing himself to regain composure. “I have panda blood…”

Gu Xiuyi was no longer sitting up straight but leaning forward, his finger poised over the call button, evaluating Ji Ruan’s expression: “Are you okay? Do you need me to call the doctor?”

“I’m really fine,” Ji Ruan’s eyelashes trembled, licking his dry lips. “It’s just… my coagulation is fine, right…”

He looked at Gu Xiuyi, his delicate eyebrows slightly knitted, pointing to his ears: “I had a cochlear implant; the surgeon didn’t mention anything about coagulation…”

Ji Ruan’s heart sank slowly. He knew this body had always been a bit unwell, but he hadn’t thought it would be this severe, rare blood type paired with coagulation difficulties—how much did this condition improve compared to his previous serious illness?

Perhaps he could live longer, but did that mean he had to live cautiously forever?

“Ji Ruan,” Gu Xiuyi placed a hand reassuringly on Ji Ruan’s shoulder. “Don’t be nervous. I asked the doctor; your coagulation issue relates to your environment and physical condition. As long as you take your medication and adjust your diet, your indicators may slowly improve.”

“Really?” Ji Ruan pressed against his stomach; his emotional fluctuations caused him more pain.

Buzz—

The phone on the bedside trembled twice. Gu Xiuyi picked it up and handed it to Ji Ruan, comforting him: “As long as you pay attention, it’s fine. Don’t overthink it.”

“Yeah…”

Ji Ruan tried to calm his emotions and took the phone; it was a message from Han Xiaolin, saying she wanted to bring him something.

Since he was on an IV, it was hard for Ji Ruan to type, so he pressed the voice message: “I’m at Second Affiliated Hospital, is it convenient for you to come over?”

Half an hour later, Han Xiaolin rushed into the ward, immediately noticing Gu Xiuyi sitting nearby and instantly reining in her demeanor.

“Good morning, Mr. Gu…”

Gu Xiuyi acknowledged her with a nod, not interrupting their conversation.

Han Xiaolin cautiously stole glances at Gu Xiuyi’s expression and carefully sat at the bedside, lowering her voice to ask Ji Ruan: “What happened to you?”

“Nothing,” Ji Ruan’s voice was hoarse; he coughed twice, which made him pale again. “…What are you bringing me?”

“Oh, this notification letter,” Han Xiaolin took a letter from her bag. “This Saturday is the freshman mobilization meeting at Jing Da, which is also the campus open day. We need to attend and report.”

Ji Ruan adjusted the bed slightly, sitting up to take the letter and open it.

Seeing Ji Ruan’s weak appearance, Han Xiaolin looked worried: “Can you… make it?”

Ji Ruan gently nodded: “I should be fine by Saturday; I can be discharged in the next couple of days.”

“And also,” Han Xiaolin whispered, “the open day invites family members, so most of the freshmen’s parents will probably come…”

Ji Ruan’s grip on the letter faltered; it seemed he didn’t have any parents.

“I’ll go.” Gu Xiuyi’s voice broke in.

The two turned to look at him in unison.

Gu Xiuyi handed him a cup of warm water, calmly stating: “Many alumni will attend the open day; I received the invitation as well.”