TLDMDTBS Chapter 34

Chapter 34

“Where are you?!”

Ji Ruan heard a loud crash on the other end and wondered what had fallen.

“No, no, don’t panic,” he hurriedly explained while holding the phone, “It’s Zizhang, she is in surgery for appendicitis, I’m at the hospital with her.”

“……”

“And you? Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine, not a scratch on me.”

There was silence for two seconds on the other end, and Gu Xiuyi seemed to let out a heavy sigh: “Ji Ruan.”

Ji Ruan felt a bit flustered: “Wh-what?”

“Can you finish what you’re saying in one go next time?”

Ji Ruan touched his nose: “……Oh.”

·

In the ambulance, the doctor asked for family members. Ji Ruan used Cheng Zizhang’s phone to contact Cheng Yunxiu and Lin Qing.

Teacher Cheng was out of town and couldn’t arrive quickly. Lin Qing was the first to come, followed closely by Duan Zeping.

Ji Ruan raised an eyebrow upon seeing them both appear simultaneously.

Wasn’t Lin Qing supposed to be back home for a funeral? Why was he with Duan Zeping?

Had their relationship progressed to where someone could accompany him home?

Apparently not.

Duan Zeping was surprised to see Ji Ruan at that moment and then smiled: “Isn’t this Ji Ruan? You’re here too?”

Ji Ruan nodded: “I called an ambulance for my senior.”

“Really?” Duan Zeping rubbed his hands and looked towards the operating room: “How is she?”

“Acute appendicitis, she’s still in surgery.”

When Lin Qing heard this, his expression changed slightly, and he turned his head to murmur: “How could this happen? What if she doesn’t finish the work… she really is…”

Even though he was saying this under his breath, the hospital corridor was remarkably quiet; you could hear a needle drop, let alone his words.

His tone, filled with complaint, made Ji Ruan feel very uncomfortable.

He straightened up in his seat, the cold metal armrests helping clear his tired mind:

“What happens if she doesn’t finish?”

Lin Qing glanced at him: “It needs to be submitted to the organizers tomorrow. If it’s not done, it will affect the event, and the consequences are serious.”

“I see…” Ji Ruan nodded thoughtfully, seeming to question: “But wasn’t it all of your responsibility? If she’s sick and can’t finish, why can’t you step in?”

Lin Qing squinted at him slightly: “Yes, she is my senior. If she has something going on, I can indeed help with part of her responsibilities. But Ji Ruan—”

He became assertive: “I really don’t like the way you talk. Are you a bit too self-righteous? Helping her is a kindness, not helping is my duty. So why should I be expected to take over her work just because she’s sick? Why should I be responsible for her mistakes? Just because she is my senior?”

His words sounded so righteous as if Ji Ruan was forcing him to be responsible for things that weren’t his to begin with.

Ji Ruan showed a bit of interest, laughing as if he had a sudden realization: “So you know this logic too?”

“Otherwise?”

Lin Qing sighed: “I know you have a good relationship with her and might instinctively lean towards her, I understand that. But you can’t be too biased in your words, right? Does it mean that I can casually make some excuses and just transfer all my work to others?”

“—Haven’t you always done that?”

Lin Qing froze: “What are you talking about?”

The hospital was warm enough, both Lin Qing and Duan Zeping had taken off their coats and were holding them. Ji Ruan, however, felt a bit cold, he put his hands back in his pockets and leaned back in his chair slowly:

“Teacher Cheng asked you all to work together on a piece, but you’ve often been unreachable, leaving her to finish the majority of what should have been your responsibility. Isn’t that the truth?”

He waited for two seconds. Seeing Lin Qing say nothing, he continued: “She ended up with acute appendicitis from exhaustion and weakened immunity—couldn’t it somewhat be because of you? So if the work isn’t completed on time because of this, wouldn’t it be appropriate for you to fill in the last part? Why does that turn into others forcing you?”

Lin Qing scoffed at what he heard, sounding ridiculous: “I don’t know why you’d say that. I felt bad when my senior fell ill, but you can’t falsely accuse me or tarnish my character. I left only after finishing the portion I was responsible for.”

Oh, it escalated to character now.

Ji Ruan lowered his head and let out a soft laugh.

Duan Zeping, sensing the atmosphere was off, hastily tried to mediate: “Yes, Ji Ruan, it must be some misunderstanding. Qingqing isn’t that kind of person.”

Duan Zeping’s infatuated persona was well-known, and Ji Ruan didn’t have time to deal with him, quietly looking at Lin Qing: “The part you’re responsible for… are you referring to the collaboration where you completed one-tenth while the senior did the remaining nine-tenths?”

“This, this can’t be true,” Duan Zeping jumped in before Lin Qing could speak, looking helpless: “How could that be? Right, Qingqing, you absolutely wouldn’t take advantage of anybody or owe a debt to anyone.”

“Zeping, you don’t have to speak for me.” Lin Qing interrupted, standing straight with an air of superiority.

Duan Zeping glanced at Ji Ruan, as if saying “See, our Qingqing doesn’t even let me help.”

Ji Ruan barely suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

Lin Qing replied without losing his composure: “I don’t know what my senior told you, but you can’t just believe her side of the story. I guarantee that I finished my half before I left.”

“Right, I can vouch for that!” Duan Zeping immediately recalled: “Qingqing worked several long nights recently, I saw she was too tired and took her out to relax. Your senior being tired affected our Qingqing too; it’s not fair to be blamed for her getting ill since our Qingqing was lucky enough to avoid any sickness. Isn’t that unfair, Ji Ruan?”

Ji Ruan’s eyebrows twitched: “You went on a trip?”

“Yes, we went on a trip,” Duan Zeping said hastily: “It’s a coincidence, we just got off the plane when the doctor called—luckily the airport is quite close—”

“Stop talking, Zeping…” Lin Qing’s expression changed subtly as he grabbed Duan Zeping’s sleeve.

Duan Zeping, however, seemed to latch onto something, patting Lin Qing’s hand: “Don’t worry, Qingqing, we need to clarify this. We can’t let anyone misunderstand you.”

“It’s not… I…”

Duan Zeping looked towards Ji Ruan, acting as if he understood everything: “Is that the reason your senior got unhappy?”

He slapped his thigh: “Oh! It was me insisting on taking Qingqing out for fun. If there’s blame, don’t put it on her.”

Lin Qing closed his eyes, turning his head away.

Ji Ruan was almost laughing out loud.

How could Gu Xiuyi have such a foolish friend? Was he naturally like this, or had he plummeted in intelligence due to love?

But thinking back, aside from meeting at the mountain villa, Gu Xiuyi hadn’t shown up at any of Duan Zeping’s other gatherings, and he didn’t seem to be too familiar with him. Even when Li Sui’an and others mentioned Duan Zeping, they sighed repeatedly. Ji Ruan could probably guess a little from all this.

He licked his lips, looking at Lin Qing; it had been too long since he had a drink and his throat felt fiery. His voice was a bit weaker now: “Didn’t you say a relative passed away and you went back home for a funeral? Doesn’t it seem like funerals nowadays are also a thing for traveling?”

Yet, this weak tone suddenly darkened Lin Qing’s complexion.

Duan Zeping, not understanding: “W-what funeral? What is Qingqing talking about?”

Lin Qing took a deep breath, chuckling sarcastically: “Was that also what your senior told you?”

He spoke in a deep voice: “You don’t know what has happened between us. I can understand speaking for the one at a disadvantage, but that doesn’t give you reason to falsely accuse me. Please don’t spout off baseless claims in front of Zeping based on someone else’s one-sided account. And don’t meddle in other people’s matters.”

Ji Ruan couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise: he was astonished that he could still turn things around like this, gaining a new realization about Lin Qing’s mental strength.

He rested his elbow on the armrest, pressing lightly on his temples: “But aren’t you also speaking from one side?”

“……What?”

Ji Ruan looked at Lin Qing with a half-smile: “Relying on your senior being in surgery and unable to counter you, don’t you say whatever you want, as if it’s all down to you?”

“This is turning ridiculous, Ji Ruan.” Duan Zeping clearly believed Lin Qing, looking at Ji Ruan with some displeasure.

Ji Ruan couldn’t be bothered to glance his way: “Zeping, it’s better if you just shut up since you know nothing.”

He leaned lazily back in the chair, his lips turning pale and his expression weary, looking somewhat unusually fragile.

Duan Zeping had never expected that this kid who was over ten years younger than him would speak to him this way, momentarily speechless: “This, this kid is pretty interesting… I just don’t want you to misunderstand Qingqing.”

“Do I look like I’m misunderstanding?” Ji Ruan covered his lips and coughed lightly: “I’m unclear on what grievances you two have, but that has nothing to do with this situation.”

He paused and looked at Lin Qing: “You have constantly used your unknown conflicts with your senior to validate her saying things to mislead me, which logically speaking doesn’t hold up because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Lin Qing’s expression remained unchanged: “What did you see?”

Ji Ruan’s eyes were devoid of any humor: “I saw your senior painstakingly embroidering while you and Duan Zeping were partying. I saw your senior working herself to the bone to meet the deadline while you used the excuse of a mourning trip to go traveling with Duan Zeping. I saw you insist that you were responsible for half of the work when, in fact, the only pieces you embroidered were a few tiles in the pond…”

“—Am I wrong? Isn’t this your fault too?”

Ji Ruan looked at Lin Qing’s slightly rising chest and realized he was completely aware of it; he had mistaken him before. Lin Qing was not composed but genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with him while believing he was being wronged.

Duan Zeping reached out for his hand: “Qingqing, is what he said true…”

Lin Qing, for the first time, did not shake him off, and the mix of anger and grievance in his eyes was evident: “Ji Ruan, I know you might understand a bit about Han embroidery, but you need to be clear, you’re just an outsider. Sometimes even professionals can’t distinguish our stitches well. How could you possibly tell?”

He looked at Ji Ruan with a knowing expression: “It was your senior who told you, right? She said I only embroidered a little piece of the pond? Isn’t it? She really is… always like this.”

Duan Zeping looked heartbroken: “So that’s how it is. Qingqing, you’ve suffered.” He turned to Ji Ruan: “See, you really misunderstood Qingqing. I advise you to stay away from that senior of hers.”

Ji Ruan finally rolled his eyes, having held back for too long.

“Forget it,” Lin Qing raised his hand to wipe his face: “I don’t want to argue with you anymore. I have to go back and finish the rest for her.”

“No need,” Ji Ruan propped himself up on the armrest and stood up. Feeling dizzy and his vision slightly blurred, he paused before saying: “Your senior came to the hospital only after finishing the embroidery in pain.”

He had a vague thought in mind, so he deliberately didn’t mention his helping her with the final piece, just looked at Lin Qing and smiled: “She knew you weren’t reliable and hadn’t counted on you from the start.”

Lin Qing’s jaw tightened for a moment, his voice slightly stiff: “Then I still need to check once more, in case something goes wrong.”

“No need for that,” Ji Ruan replied, smiling: “Teacher Cheng has already contacted the people from the event to collect it.”

“—You’d best not go anywhere.”

A familiar voice came through, and Duan Zeping’s gaze shifted past Ji Ruan, surprised for a moment:

“Old Gu? You came too?”

“Of course I have to come.”

The voice, slightly tinged with amusement, grew nearer.

Ji Ruan had been waiting for this voice for a long time; knowing Gu Xiuyi had arrived, the tension he had been holding onto weakened momentarily. He staggered back a step, being securely caught by someone.

Gu Xiuyi’s hand rested on Ji Ruan’s waist, drawing him into his embrace, supporting his weight as he lowered his head: “Why does your face look so bad?”

Gu Xiuyi felt somewhat cold, the metallic buttons on his coat grazing Ji Ruan’s wrist, bringing a chill reminiscent of early spring nights as the snow melted. Ji Ruan shuddered, but his heart calmed down.

His lips were cracked and dry, tasting a hint of blood when he licked his tongue. He closed his eyes and shook his head wearily.

Gu Xiuyi helped Ji Ruan into a chair, squatting in front of him as he pulled out a small thermos from his bag, twisted the top and brought it to Ji Ruan’s lips: “Here, take a sip.”

Ji Ruan paused and lightly shook his head, taking the cup from his hands, indicating he could drink by himself.

Gu Xiuyi didn’t insist, standing up and supporting Ji Ruan’s back. He was able to feel the layer of sweat forming at the nape of Ji Ruan’s neck.

Ji Ruan wasn’t someone who sweated easily; it certainly shouldn’t be like this during the chilly early spring. It only meant he was unwell.

Gu Xiuyi’s brows furrowed immediately as he looked towards the two people beside him with evident impatience: “Ji Ruan, I have to take you back now; I also need Mr. Lin to stay and take care of the patient.”

“I’ll take care of her?” Lin Qing pointed at himself, seemingly bewildered.

“Who else?” Gu Xiuyi’s expression was cold: “Mr. Lin often goes unreachable, neglecting his responsibilities. Miss Cheng finished her part but still had to help you complete something that didn’t belong to her at all, resulting in her falling ill and needing surgery. Isn’t that right?”

“It’s not like that, Old Gu, you’re misunderstanding—” Duan Zeping interjected.

Gu Xiuyi raised a hand to stop him; he didn’t have the patience for public opinions about the truth and said lightly: “That’s how it is. If Mr. Lin isn’t going to care for her properly, he should at least hire a nurse to watch over her. This doesn’t count as morally coercing Mr. Lin, does it?”

Lin Qing chuckled lightly: “I didn’t expect you would meddle like everyone else, Old Gu… it’s really like three people make a tiger.”

“How can it be meddling?” Gu Xiuyi took Ji Ruan’s thermos, secured the lid, and put it in his bag while gently patting Ji Ruan’s back: “Ji Ruan considers Miss Cheng a friend, standing up for a friend is loyalty; when a friend is unable to speak in surgery, it’s duty to speak for them.”

He looked towards Lin Qing, the chill in his eyes palpable: “You twist the truth with your lies. If he chastises you, it’s just. If it weren’t for the sake of his friend, do you really think he would say a single word to you? Mr. Lin, please conduct yourself with dignity.”

Gu Xiuyi’s words lacked the gentleness Ji Ruan possessed, piercing directly into Lin Qing’s heart, and his steady yet slow tone seemed to strip Lin Qing bare of his defenses.

Lin Qing stood there speechless, his face fluctuating from red to white.

Duan Zeping couldn’t bear to see Lin Qing like this and quickly jumped in: “Old Gu, you’re over thirty; isn’t it a bit inappropriate to argue with a child?”

Gu Xiuyi let out a disdainful laugh: “Over twenty and still a child? Then you’re in your thirties and were bullying my friend. Didn’t you think that was inappropriate?”

Duan Zeping choked: “I…. When did I bully… sigh!”

Duan Zeping wanted to cry, the “child” in Gu Xiuyi’s words was sharp-tongued and articulate, what had he and Lin Qing combined accomplished?

Had they gained any advantage at all?!

Gu Xiuyi lazily glanced at him and only realized at some point that Duan Zeping was wearing glasses, looking completely out of character.

He raised an eyebrow: “Why are you wearing glasses when you don’t even need them?”

Duan Zeping adjusted his glasses, speaking softly: “I just thought it would make me look more refined.”

You didn’t have to say it; it must have been Lin Qing who liked it.

Gu Xiuyi casually raised a hand and took off his glasses.

“Hey Old Gu, what are you doing!” Duan Zeping temporarily lost his vision, instinctively reaching out to retrieve them; Gu Xiuyi blocked him with an icy tone that brooked no argument.

“Blinded by your own emotions; what good are nice glasses then?”

Duan Zeping was taken aback: “What do you mean…”

Gu Xiuyi didn’t answer; he huffed some breath onto the glasses lens, watching as a thin mist formed and then quickly vanished.

He stuffed the glasses back into Duan Zeping’s jacket pocket: “They’re dirty; wipe them.”

After saying that, he wrapped an arm around Ji Ruan’s shoulder and walked away without looking back.

Outside, night had completely fallen, the darkness thickening as Ji Ruan caught a whiff of the biting cold wind.

The treetops swayed bare, and with the gust of the cold wind, Ji Ruan coughed a couple of times, feeling dizzy again, and black spots swam before his eyes causing him to struggle to remain upright.

He took a breath, unable to help but grasp Gu Xiuyi’s sleeve for support, feeling cold sweat break out across his back as dizziness hit.

Gu Xiuyi’s arm was firmly supporting him, while his other hand seemed to be grabbing something, making soft rustling sounds. Then, his fingertip brushed against Ji Ruan’s lips, his voice carried away by the night wind:

“Open your mouth.”

Ji Ruan, still unable to see clearly and a bit muddled as if he were at the dentist’s, said “ah” as a piece of candy was popped into his mouth, sweet and delicious.

He heard Gu Xiuyi laugh lightly and ruffle his hair, then gently picked him up.

As his vision began to clear, Ji Ruan saw Gu Xiuyi’s sharp jawline illuminated by the dim hospital lights; this angle and lighting made him look significantly more handsome than usual.

Ji Ruan still felt a bit dizzy; his brain was turning slowly as though clouded, a bit dazed: “…Why are you suddenly hugging me?”

Gu Xiuyi’s face held a gentle smile as he gave Ji Ruan a slight bounce, encouraging him to wrap his arms around his neck:

“You’re low on blood sugar; didn’t you notice?”