My Favorite Ship Became My Sister-in-Law - Chapter 17

“Shi Yue.”

Ji Chenchuan’s muffled voice came from the emergency room. Moments later, a nurse pushed out a patient transport bed. The person lying on it was Ji Chenchuan.

“I did not call for Ji Chenchuan’s family. Why are you all crowding around?” Hearing Shi Yue’s shout, the doctor realized there had been a mix-up. He barked at Shi Yue and the others in frustration and called for Wu Zhiquan’s family.

Despite being yelled at, the four of them actually smiled, feeling profoundly grateful to the doctor.

At that moment, Wu Zhiquan’s family, who had been waiting nearby, rushed forward with cries of grief.

Hearing Ji Chenchuan weakly calling his name, Shi Yue hurried into the emergency room. He took over the transport bed from the nurse and, with a mix of tears and smiles, carefully helped Ji Shengqiang and Feng Liuyu push Ji Chenchuan back to the ward.

The anesthesia had not yet worn off, leaving Ji Chenchuan groggy and drowsy.

The doctor instructed that the patient must not be allowed to sleep for the next six hours and that someone should keep talking to him.

Shi Yue stood guard firmly by the bedside, refusing to move. Ji Chenchuan had been transferred to the ward at eight o’clock, which meant someone had to stay awake with him until two o’clock in the morning.

From Ji Shengqiang, Shi Yue learned that the accident happened at the construction site when a piece of rebar accidentally pierced the side of Ji Chenchuan’s waist. Fortunately, it missed his vital organs and was not considered very serious. The doctor said he could be discharged after a week in the hospital.

The hospital did not have private rooms, so the best available was a double room. Since the nurse did not allow so many people to stay, only one caregiver was permitted per patient. Ji Shengqiang told Feng Liuyu to take Ji Zhiruo and Shi Yue home to rest while he stayed with his son.

“Uncle Ji, let me stay instead,” Shi Yue said.

“No, you have exams tomorrow. You need to get proper rest,” Ji Shengqiang disagreed.

Shi Yue insisted on staying, explaining that he usually stayed up until one or two in the morning anyway to study and solve problems. Staying with Ji Chenchuan until two would not affect him at all.

Unable to win the argument, Ji Shengqiang reluctantly agreed. Seeing that the other bed was empty, he told Shi Yue to sleep there once the anesthesia wore off. He reminded him not to stay up all night so his exams would not be affected.

Feng Liuyu was even more worried and gave him repeated instructions. She went to the hospital supermarket to buy a lounge chair for Shi Yue, fearing another patient might be admitted and leave him with nowhere to sleep. She also bought various fruits and sliced them. She left half in the ward for Shi Yue and delivered the other half to the nurses’ station in a subtle, non-bribery manner. Without needing a word, the nurses would naturally pay a bit more attention to her patient.

Once everything was settled, the couple finally went home.

Shi Yue placed the lounge chair next to the bed. Sitting there with his chin resting on his hands and his elbows on the edge of the bed, he worked hard to tell Ji Chenchuan horror stories to keep him awake.

The protagonist of the story was the son of the richest man in Ningzhou. Because he helped blow sand out of his best friend’s eye, his father misunderstood and thought he liked boys, subsequently kicking him out of the house to reflect. Unexpectedly, instead of reflecting, he was tricked by that same friend and sent onto a death train.

Once you boarded this train, no matter how young you were, you only had sixty minutes to live. To survive, you had to constantly complete tasks to gain more time. The protagonist did not believe it at first, thinking it was a game, until he saw people dying one after another right before his eyes. It was then that he met the other protagonist, and they were sworn enemies from the moment they met.

“Did the protagonist eventually return to reality?”

Shi Yue told the story so vividly that Ji Chenchuan woke up from his drowsiness several times to ask questions.

“I do not know, it is still being serialized and has not finished yet. But based on the usual logic of novels, he will definitely return. If I were the protagonist, the first thing I would do upon returning to reality is beat that friend up until even his own parents would not recognize him,” Shi Yue said with a laugh.

Seeing that Ji Chenchuan was still groggy and sleepy, Shi Yue tried everything to keep him talking, discussing topics that interested him. After finally making it through the six hours, Shi Yue rushed to ask the duty doctor if Ji Chenchuan could sleep.

The doctor came by and said it was okay.

Finally relieved, Shi Yue whispered happily into Ji Chenchuan’s ear, “The doctor said you can sleep now. Go to sleep, Brother Chenchuan.”

“You should go to sleep too. You still have exams tomorrow.”

Ji Chenchuan’s voice was clearer than before. Now he wanted to sleep but could not. The anesthesia had worn off, and the wound was stinging. To make Shi Yue go to sleep quickly, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Believing he was actually asleep, Shi Yue quietly turned off the ward lights and tip-toed out with his backpack.

There were no benches in the hallway of the inpatient department. Shi Yue found a quiet spot at the end of the corridor, placed a book on the floor to sit on, and used his backpack on his lap as a desk to start solving math problems.

From the day He Lin suggested he take the path of a mathematics competition recommendation, Shi Yue had never stopped. He had to complete two math papers every day, consisting of various high-difficulty examples and even many advanced topics beyond the syllabus. For two years now, this persistence had never changed for any reason. This was also what He Lin was most satisfied with.

By the time he finished, it was already three thirty in the morning.

Ji Chenchuan kept his eyes open, quietly watching as Shi Yue crept back into the ward and fell asleep on the neighboring bed. Only then did he close his tired yet sleepless eyes.

At six o’clock, Shi Yue’s internal clock woke him up on time.

The exam was at eight thirty. It only took twenty minutes to take a taxi from the hospital to the school, so Shi Yue could have slept for another hour, but he could not sleep. He sat up to check on Ji Chenchuan, who seemed to be sleeping, so he opened his phone to memorize English essay materials.

Shi Yue did not consider himself a naturally gifted player, so he would not waste any time that could be used for learning.

He studied until seven o’clock. Seeing that Ji Chenchuan was still not awake, Shi Yue rolled out of bed and left the room. He went to the hospital supermarket to buy toiletries like toothpaste, a toothbrush, a towel, and a washbasin. Then he went to the cafeteria to buy two breakfasts before returning to the ward.

As soon as he entered, he met Ji Chenchuan’s wide-awake gaze.

Perhaps due to his youth and strength, Ji Chenchuan looked much better after a night’s rest. He was even able to prop himself up against the headboard with a pillow. It looked as though he did not need to stay for a week at all; even three days seemed long. However, this still made Shi Yue panic. He quickly dropped what he was holding and rushed to the bedside.

“Brother Chenchuan, why are you sitting up? Lie down quickly.”

“It is fine, just a small injury.”

Shi Yue would not listen. He insisted that Ji Chenchuan lie down, then raised the headboard slightly. He brought some water, intending to help Ji Chenchuan wash his face and brush his teeth.

Ji Chenchuan had never been cared for like this. His instinctive reaction was to refuse, saying he could go to the bathroom himself. He asked Shi Yue to just help him walk there.

The double ward had an attached bathroom with a sink.

“Can you walk?” Shi Yue asked worriedly.

“The place I am injured is my waist, not my legs.” Seeing the intense worry on Shi Yue’s face, Ji Chenchuan smiled comfortingly.

“Then move slowly.” Shi Yue leaned down to help him up but suddenly stopped. He said very seriously, “How about I carry you there?”

Upon hearing this, Ji Chenchuan nearly choked on his own saliva. Leaving aside whether Shi Yue could actually carry him, he did not even want to imagine such a scene.

“What is with that expression? Are you looking down on me? You are afraid I cannot carry you, right?” Shi Yue rolled the sleeves of his school T-shirt up to his shoulders, revealing the perfect muscle lines of a young man. “Look at this, I can definitely carry you.”

Before speaking, Ji Chenchuan was clearly trying his best to stifle a laugh. Shi Yue’s serious look was truly too cute. He said, “Yes, I believe you; but I think it is safer if I walk myself!”

“So it turns out you do not believe me. It seems I have to let you see reality clearly.”

As he spoke, before Ji Chenchuan could react, Shi Yue lifted him from the bed in a princess carry without much effort. He walked steadily toward the bathroom and asked somewhat proudly, “I told you I could lift you. Do you believe me now?”

Ji Chenchuan looked stunned. He had indeed underestimated this well-behaved boy. He tried his best to struggle down.

“Do not move! I will not be responsible if you fall to the ground!” Seeing Ji Chenchuan’s shocked expression, Shi Yue could not help but laugh. This was the first time he had seen such a massive emotional shift on Ji Chenchuan’s face.

“I believe you, you are truly impressive!” Ji Chenchuan praised him sincerely. He did not want to fall on the floor, so he stopped struggling.

“I am impressive in many other ways; you just do not know yet.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Which aspect do you want to hear about?”

“I can choose?”

Shi Yue laughed loudly. “How about it? Have you just realized that I am a special treasure?”

Ji Chenchuan nodded. He was indeed the most special treasure.

Shi Yue pushed the bathroom door open with his foot and carefully set Ji Chenchuan down in front of the sink. Fearing Ji Chenchuan might be unsteady, he made him hold onto the sink before going back out to get the toothpaste, toothbrush, towel, and washbasin.

He then squeezed the toothpaste and filled a cup with warm water at the right temperature. After placing them on the sink, he held Ji Chenchuan’s waist and only then let him let go of the sink to brush his teeth and wash his face. He did this to prevent Ji Chenchuan from slipping.

Looking at Shi Yue, who was taking meticulous care of him, ripples of emotion stirred in Ji Chenchuan’s heart.

When he was finished, Shi Yue intended to carry him back, but Ji Chenchuan firmly refused. Doing such a thing once was enough.

Shi Yue could not win the argument, so he very carefully helped Ji Chenchuan back to the bed.

Despite Ji Chenchuan’s repeated urgings that he could not be late for his exam today, Shi Yue waited until seven fifty, when Feng Liuyu arrived, before heading to school. This was the latest Shi Yue had ever gone to school.

However, even as he was leaving, he still felt uneasy. He gave Ji Chenchuan a thousand reminders to rest well and said he would come to stay with him after the exam.

Shi Yue’s worried behavior made Feng Liuyu laugh. After Shi Yue left the room, she smiled at Ji Chenchuan and said, “I have never seen Yue Yue so worried about anyone. It seems he really likes you as an older brother.”

Ji Chenchuan did not answer with words, only offering an ambiguous smile.

After the exam in the afternoon, Shi Yue did not follow his usual route to the bookstore. He went directly home to shower and change, then took a taxi to the hospital without stopping.

Upon arriving at the inpatient department, he ran into Feng Liuyu in the hallway. She was quietly answering a phone call. Based on the content, he could guess it was from Ji Chenchuan’s grandmother, likely asking about his condition.

“Aunt Feng.”

Shi Yue greeted her and entered the ward.

As soon as he entered, he saw a patient with a bandaged head lying on the bed he had slept in last night. The man, who looked to be in his forties, was fast asleep and snoring like thunder. Shi Yue furrowed his brow in frustration and walked toward Ji Chenchuan’s bed.

Ji Chenchuan was sleeping on his side with his back to the door. He did not know Shi Yue was there and thought it was his mother. The snoring was so annoying that he wanted to find something to plug his ears. He said, “Mom, please give me a tissue.”

Shi Yue remained silent and silently pulled out a tissue to hand it to him.

Ji Chenchuan reached out to take it and was surprised to see it was Shi Yue. He laughed in exasperation. “Taking advantage of me again, are you?”

Shi Yue chuckled and sat down on the lounge chair. Resting his chin on his hand and his elbow on the bed, he whispered to ask when that patient had arrived.

Ji Chenchuan glanced at the patient and said with a headache, “At noon.”

“It seems tonight is destined to be sleepless.”

“So you are going home to sleep tonight. No need to stay with me.”

“How can that be? On such a turbulent night, I must stay with you.”

“You have exams tomorrow. Be good and go home to sleep,” Ji Chenchuan said in a commanding tone that brooked no argument.

No one knew better than Shi Yue how to handle Ji Chenchuan in various situations.