After Failing to Reverse the Plot, I Made My Escape - Chapter 5

“Who is this man?”

Chu Baoli adjusted the emerald green bracelet on her wrist. She supported Yu Fuqiu’s trembling body and was about to say something when she was interrupted by the entering doctor.

“Mr. Chang, you are awake?”

Chang Tingzhi squinted to read the doctor’s name tag. Seeing the title of Associate Chief Physician, he finally relaxed his tensed jaw slightly. He leaned back against the bed with a composed and noble air, appearing as if he were facing a guest at a banquet rather than a doctor.

He looked up lazily, signaling the doctor to continue.

“Ah, Mr. Yu is here too. That is perfect. I will perform an examination on Mr. Chang and update you on his condition.”

“By the way, I have a few students who would like to observe,” the doctor added, glancing cautiously at Yu Fuqiu’s expression. “Of course, the fact that Mr. Chang is conscious despite such severe injuries is truly a miracle.”

Chang Tingzhi frowned slightly. He was the patient; the doctor should be asking for his opinion. Why did the man keep looking at that other person?

“Of course, you may,” Yu Fuqiu replied. He tidied his messy hair. His eyes, which had been brimming with tears moments ago, now looked like clear, bright obsidian washed by water. His eyes were red, and the corners carried a breathtakingly vivid hue.

The doctor’s breath hitched for a moment.

Chang Tingzhi’s expression turned cold. “What are you looking at?”

The doctor snapped back to reality and hurriedly whispered, “My apologies, Mr. Chang.”

At the doorway, several heads peeked in. Upon seeing Yu Fuqiu, their eyes lit up instantly.

One intern in a white coat looked particularly young. She held a delicate notebook, her eyes sparkling. Her face was flushed, and her hands shook slightly.

“Brother, it really is you!”

The girl’s voice trembled with excitement, and she instinctively stomped her feet lightly. “I, I like you so much! I have watched every one of your movies and listened to every song. Especially Song Yu in Red Wind Ferry; I have watched it five times!”

“I, I have written down many of Song Yu’s lines here. Whenever I was studying for exams or being scolded, they encouraged me to get through the hard times! Oh, right, Brother, you hurt your back doing wirework on set before. This is something we made ourselves. I hope you like it.”

The girl’s hands shook, and her palms were covered in sweat. She could not even hold her pen steadily, nearly dropping it several times.

She looked ready to cry from embarrassment. “I am sorry, I am so clumsy.”

“Not at all.”

A pair of jade like hands reached out to support her notebook. Yu Fuqiu wore a gentle smile as the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting a glow on his beautiful face. The girl’s pupils contracted, and she nearly dropped the notebook again. She seemed to forget to breathe, only recovering after a few seconds of gasping for air.

“It is my honor to be liked by you.”

He flipped to a fresh page and took the pen with his slender fingers, not minding the sweat from the girl’s hand, and signed his name in beautiful calligraphy.

“Thank you so much!”

The girl seemed unable to believe it and began to cry behind her hands. “I, I have liked you for seven years!”

“I really never thought I would meet you one day.”

“Brother, when you said you were going to pause your work earlier, we were all so scared. We were afraid you would leave the industry or that you would not be doing well in a place where we could not see you. We,”

The girl sobbed, her tears dripping onto her white coat.

Yu Fuqiu pulled out a wet wipe and handed it to her. His heart, which had been shattered into a thousand pieces by Chang Tingzhi’s words, seemed to be injected with life again, beginning to beat slowly.

“I am sorry, but I will not leave.”

“As long as there is one person who still likes me, I will appear before you.”

The interns had been stiff at first, but after this small interlude, everyone became warm and friendly. After all, they were just students who had not yet experienced the harsh realities of society.

“I am the patient, correct?”

Chang Tingzhi followed the doctor’s instructions, turning and raising his hands as told. He directed this question to the doctor with a completely expressionless face.

“Yes, you are.”

The doctor performing the knee jerk reflex test recorded the data. He looked at Chang Tingzhi’s tense jawline with some confusion. Seeing the two deep handprints on his face, he could not help but ask, “Mr. Chang, did you make Mr. Yu angry?”

Those words were like lighting a fuse.

“Firstly,” Chang Tingzhi held up one finger with his usual unquestionable dominance, waving away the small hammer the doctor had placed on his knee. “I must ask, since I am the patient, why must you all revolve around that man, Yu Fuqiu? Why must everything go through his consent?”

His voice was as cold as ice, and if one listened closely, they could hear the teeth grinding tone of someone whose pride had been wounded. He was the patient; he should be the center of attention. Why did everyone look at Yu Fuqiu the moment they walked in? Why did they ask Yu Fuqiu’s opinion on everything, from whether he needed to fast for blood tests, whether he could get out of bed, or even if he could turn over without pulling his wounds?

Even using the bathroom or changing his undergarments had to go through Yu Fuqiu’s thoughts.

“Secondly, my face was clearly hit. On what basis do you assume I provoked his anger, rather than him provoking me, or even us getting into a physical fight?”

His voice lacked confidence toward the end. After all, Yu Fuqiu looked so pale and fragile in the sunlight, as if he would break at a touch. He did not look like someone capable of a physical fight.

“…”

The doctor held his clipboard, his expression shifting from surprise to something extremely complex. It was a mixture of disbelief, realization, and a strange look of someone trying desperately to suppress a laugh.

He patted Chang Tingzhi’s shoulder and said earnestly, “Mr. Chang, I understand. I have been married to my wife for five or six years. Everyone has a few days of rebellion.”

He adjusted his glasses, tucked his hands into the pockets of his white coat, and showed a knowing, slightly playful smile.

“I understand your confusion and grievance.” His tone slowed, turning into a tease. “Couples always have their quarrels.”

“But those two points you mentioned actually prove exactly how much Mr. Yu cares for you, and how much you used to, cough, depend on him.”

Before Chang Tingzhi could argue, the doctor began listing examples with glowing eyes, as if reciting a textbook.

“During the half month you were in a coma, Mr. Yu canceled all his work and stayed by your side without leaving for a second. If your vital signs became even slightly unstable, he was more nervous than the medical staff. His eyes were bloodshot, but he refused to sleep, especially when you were in the ICU and receiving one critical condition notice after another.”

“In my career, I have seen many patients, but none as calm as him, staying beside someone who seemed impossible to save for such a long time. When you needed surgery and risk disclosures had to be signed, his hands shook so much he could barely hold the pen, yet he still signed. He said he was your closest person, your lover, and had the right to bear everything for you.”

“Sometimes during my late night shifts, every time I passed your ward, the night light was always on. Mr. Yu would be massaging your muscles. Many details were more thorough than any caregiver I have ever seen.”

“However, Dr. Zuo communicated with Mr. Yu more frequently. You can ask him for specifics.”

The doctor pulled out a photo taken late at night. It showed Yu Fuqiu with his head lowered, standing very close to the doctor next to him as they discussed Chang Tingzhi’s case.

For some reason, seeing this made Chang Tingzhi’s expression turn cold immediately. His eyes darkened, and his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Who is this man?” Chang Tingzhi zoomed in on the photo. “He looks untrustworthy.”

“That is Dr. Zuo, your childhood friend,” the doctor said, his mouth twitching.

Chang Tingzhi’s expression froze for a moment, and he cleared his throat.

“As for why everything must be asked of him,” the doctor smiled, “it is because you personally gave those instructions before. Have you forgotten?”

“When you and Mr. Yu were preparing for a pregnancy previously, you came to our hospital for a checkup. You spoke to our director and said that in your family, regardless of the matter, Mr. Yu has the final say. You said you have no right to interfere and that anything you say is nonsense, so we should just listen to him.”

The doctor looked around. Yu Fuqiu was still surrounded by students. He took out his phone and pulled up a video. The quality was blurry, but it could not hide Yu Fuqiu’s beauty. Chang Tingzhi instantly recognized Yu Fuqiu being held tightly in his own arms.

In the video, he was shielding Yu Fuqiu completely as if afraid someone would steal him away. His face was full of pride, like a peacock showing off. “In my house, my wife is the boss! If he says one, I would not dare say two. Do not tell me anything; what I say is nonsense. My wife has total control.”

Just as someone in the video was about to speak, the Chang Tingzhi in the video said, “Hey, how did you know my wife sent me here?”

“Ah, there is nothing I can do. My wife loves me too much!”

The rest of the words were unclear. The doctor quickly hid his phone, fearing Chang Tingzhi’s anger.

Chang Tingzhi’s brow furrowed tighter, his face written with disbelief.

He hated physical contact with others. Every time he touched someone, he would scrub his skin until it was raw. He usually wrapped himself up entirely when going out. How could he have such close contact with someone and even brag about it everywhere?

He really did not want to admit that the annoying wife-slave in the video was himself.

It was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

It must be an AI face swap. It had to be.

As the doctor was about to put the phone in his pocket, Chang Tingzhi’s face twitched. “Wait,”

He cleared his throat and said coldly, “Send me a copy of that video.”

The doctor was speechless.