After Reuniting, My Beautiful Ex-Lover Fishes for Me Every Day - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Peculiar Ailment

Wei Changli had nothing in his stomach, but the uncontrollable sensation of nausea forced him into a mechanical repetition of retching. With nothing to throw up, he could only heave up pale yellow bile.

No matter how Zhai Wo called from outside the restroom, there was no response. Steeling his heart, the boy kicked the door open and rushed to the sink. He was utterly stunned to see Wei Changli’s face, which looked like that of a ghost.

His complexion was a greenish-white, like a corpse that had been frozen for three days, with almost no trace of blood. His body, struggling to maintain balance due to dehydration and exhaustion, was slumped half-paralyzed against the edge of the sink.

“Xiao Li-ge!!” Zhai Wo lunged forward in a panic to support him. “What on earth is going on?”

Wei Changli had no way to explain to Zhai Wo that he had been unable to step foot in places like hospitals since he was a child—that being in such an environment triggered a severe stress response. Seeing that the kid was about to be scared out of his wits, he forced out a strained “I’m fine.”

Zhai Wo didn’t believe him for a second. Fortunately, the doctors who had heard the bell arrived. Several people scrambled to carry him back to the hospital bed.

The lead attending physician examined Wei Changli’s condition, adjusted his glasses solemnly, and said with a frown:

“Hypoglycemia can cause nausea and vomiting. Administer another shot of glucose. Family members should go buy some food. Since he is vomiting severely right now, we cannot irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Sugary drinks or oral glucose tablets are fine; for now, do not consume foods containing fat or protein.”

Zhai Wo nodded hurriedly upon hearing this. He nervously tugged at Wei Changli’s hand: “Xiao Li-ge, wait a moment, I’ll be right back!”

Wei Changli had no capacity to worry about him. He loathed the feeling of being pinned to a hospital bed; the veins at both his temples throbbed with tension. Even though his consciousness was still blurred, he took advantage of everyone’s distraction to roll off the bed again, staggering to the ward door and bolting out.

A chorus of startled cries rose behind him. Wei Changli’s gaze scanned the corridor with effort. After confirming the general layout and the fluorescent directional signs, he braced himself against the wall and turned two corners. Just then, a descending elevator opened. Wei Changli squeezed through the crowd, and as the elevator doors closed, he saw the pursuing medical staff blocked outside.

The elevator was nearly packed. Someone looked up curiously at the young man who was the last to board and was startled by his deathly pale face.

Wei Changli propped his hand against the elevator door, trying his best not to slide down. He watched the numbers on the electronic screen scroll downward. With a “ding” at the first floor, the doors opened again.

Wei Changli did not stop his pace, but the ensuing scene was actually quite farcical. The security guards, who had been alerted via walkie-talkie and were waiting in the medical hall, approached him, only to be left behind in groups as he shook them off.

The young man actually had no physical strength left, but he was driven by a neurotic urge to run toward the main hospital entrance. His body’s hormone levels were passively adjusted to their peak—

Bang!

Just as Wei Changli was about to step out the door, his vision went black, and he collided head-on with someone entering.

Gasps erupted from the surroundings!

Warm liquid flowed down from the young man’s nose. A dull pain reached his central nervous system; Wei Changli realized sluggishly that he had probably hit his nose hard enough to bleed.

The person he hit also took half a step back but quickly stabilized their stance. After a brief moment of surprise, that person instinctively pulled Wei Changli into their arms.

“Changli?”

Wei Changli suddenly heard a familiar voice. He looked up with effort and saw Yan Xu wearing a white doctor’s coat, entering like a star surrounded by a cluster of hospital leaders.

“How are you…”

Yan Xu frowned, his expression heavy. He only needed one look to see that Wei Changli was on the verge of losing total control. Regardless of how surreal the current situation was, he made a split-second decision to lead him out of the hospital.

No one present knew the truth. No one knew where the leader from the direct research institute, who had come for an inspection today, was taking that patient suspected of causing a medical disturbance. The hospital leaders responsible for the reception stood there looking at each other, unsure if they should follow.

Yan Xu half-dragged and half-carried Wei Changli to the hospital garden, where the space was relatively open. The moment he placed him on a bench, Wei Changli slumped down like his bones had been removed, covering his mouth as he vomited uncontrollably. The blood from the collision flowed down from his nose, making him look utterly wretched.

“Changli,” Yan Xu knelt down to support him, calling his name repeatedly, “Wei Changli, can you hear me?”

Wei Changli forced his eyes open to look at him. His eyes were turned bright red by the stress response, the corners wet as if washed by water. He wanted to answer, but his entire body was shaking. Another wave of nausea hit; Wei Changli could only shake his head and cover his mouth, leaning over the bench to vomit again.

Yan Xu’s originally spotless white coat was stained. Wei Changli wanted to push him away, but the former held him in a half-embrace that brooked no refusal, stroking his back to help him catch his breath.

Yan Xu contacted the hospital head on his phone to request saline, mood-stabilizing medication, and an anti-emetic injection. Perhaps due to his professional background, he handled Wei Changli’s reaction with an extraordinary level of familiarity.

After leaving the hospital building, Wei Changli’s stress response was relieved to a degree, but both his stomach and his nerves were screaming in pain. He suddenly grabbed Yan Xu’s hand, offloading his entire weight onto him. His voice was completely hoarse, his eyes almost pleading: “Don’t… come here.”

“Okay,” Yan Xu promised him, “we will leave as soon as the medicine arrives.”

“Don’t come here…”

Wei Changli was in so much pain that he could only repeat this one sentence, falling into a state of semi-conscious, semi-comatose hysteria.

Yan Xu coaxed him, saying “okay.”

As an inspecting leader, the hospital naturally did not dare to be negligent. The items Yan Xu requested were delivered shortly. However, when Wei Changli saw the metal box containing the injectables, he began to struggle again.

The doctor who ran over to deliver the items was at a loss: “Uh, Director Yan, this…”

“It’s fine, I’ll do it.” Yan Xu took the items and signaled for him to leave first.

The doctor did as he was told, but he stood far behind the flower bushes with a sharp mind, just in case this patient—who had managed to lead half the hospital on a chase after being admitted for hypoglycemia—turned violent.

However, in the next moment, he saw the usually stern Director Yan pull the struggling patient into his chest.

Yan Xu lowered his head slightly, covering Wei Changli’s eyes with one hand. His voice was so soft it was almost a hum. Somehow, he persuaded the young man to bury his face in his chest, and while he wasn’t reacting, Yan Xu withdrew his hand and precisely injected the medicine into his vein.

Wei Changli began to struggle again after realizing he had been tricked, but Yan Xu had anticipated this and held him down. He leaned down and pressed his lips with restraint against the youth’s forehead, telling him it was already over.

Unexpectedly, this move actually worked on the blank-minded Wei Changli… It was as if, when all conscious will was exiled, the person in front of him was the only safe haven he could trust.

The doctor who delivered the medicine instinctively held his breath, sensing he had seen some personal secrets he shouldn’t have. With a lump in his throat, he hurried away with light steps.

Not long after, Yan Xu took the now-stabilized Wei Changli to the parking lot and drove away.

…

Hide and seek… flower bed… wall bricks… clockwork… snail shell… daydream… corpse… freedom…

Blurred images flashed with a dreamlike light, as if a “dream core” planted in his genes was being awakened.

Wei Changli felt as if he were submerged in some non-aggressive liquid, his soul gently supported, light yet pale. Brilliant lights flashed before his eyes—scenes that should have strongly stimulated the senses, yet he could see nothing, hear nothing, and remember nothing.

Beneath the dazzling light, Wei Changli seemed to perceive with his whole being a thin, slender young silhouette, while he himself crouched on the boy’s back like a small, un-cocooned butterfly.

“Yan Xu—Yan Xu?”

Wei Changli stubbornly called out to that silhouette in his dream.

Why won’t you answer me?

Isn’t it you? Are you… not him?

“Yan Xu… Yan Yu…”

A damaged name suddenly flashed before Wei Changli’s eyes like it was escaping a cage. A bizarre and beautiful giant bird flew past. He reached out his hand to grab it with all his might, but only caught a handful of dissipating light.

Yan…

That name felt like it had been remembered for years, and forgotten for years.

“I’m here.”

Suddenly, a gentle, deep voice passed through Wei Changli’s ear, reaching directly into his clamorous heart.

I am here.

The dreamlike glare bloomed into flowers as white as paper, first spreading into a sea of flowers, then receding like a tide—

Wei Changli opened his eyes.

That nightmare-like, out-of-control stress response had been pulled from his body. He felt light as a feather, like a survivor of a catastrophe, with a hollow sense of exhaustion.

The surroundings were silent. The night wind could not penetrate the tightly closed windows; there was only the rise and fall of faint breathing.

He turned his eyes with effort and saw Yan Xu sitting quietly by his bed.

Wei Changli instinctively held his breath.

Yan Xu was propping his head with one hand, his long hair half-tied and half-falling over his shoulder. His eyes were slightly closed; it seemed he had been on watch for too long and had fallen asleep.

Wei Changli used his gaze to trace every line on the man’s face. He spared no effort in scrutinizing him, inch by inch, from his elegant eye-corners to his soft lips, and from the firm, clean bridge of his nose to his well-defined jaw.

It was simply… an irreproducible work of art.

Wei Changli made a small swallowing motion. Suddenly, he noticed a fallen eyelash on Yan Xu’s right cheek, like a feather resting on warm jade, adding an interesting flaw to that impeccable face.

For no reason, his hands felt itchy. He held his breath and endured for a long time, but finally lifted his hand with light movements, wanting to flick it away.

However, as Wei Changli was about to touch the man’s face, he felt his baseless action was too offensive, so he froze his hand in mid-air.

The second hand of the mechanical clock in the room ticked a full circle. Yan Xu still showed no signs of waking; he seemed to be sleeping very soundly.

Wei Changli observed for a long while and finally couldn’t help himself. He carefully plucked the fallen eyelash from the side of Yan Xu’s cheek.

And then, he met a pair of eyes that were slightly open.

Wei Changli: “…”

Yan Xu was awake.