Chapter 16: Hospital Phobia
The hotel manager followed behind, and upon seeing the situation clearly, let out an “Aiyo.”
Caroline gasped, and seeing Gu Jingxiu take off his overcoat to wrap around Lin Zhile, she hurried forward to help.
Gu Jingxiu picked the person up from the floor and walked towards the door.
Caroline escorted them: “The closest is Hejia Hospital, it takes about fifteen minutes to get there.”
The manager followed behind. He knew of Hejia Hospital; it was a private hospital with exorbitant fees that only wealthy tycoons and celebrities could afford.
Afraid they would demand an exorbitant price when claiming compensation later, he wanted to intercept them: “I think it’s better to call an ambulance…”
Gu Jingxiu shot him a glare: “Get lost!”
Seeing his expression clearly, the manager jumped in fright and didn’t dare to speak again.
Lin Zhile felt himself being supported by a pair of firm, powerful hands, and subconsciously wrapped his arms around the other person’s neck.
Like a small beast, he tried hard to press closer to Gu Jingxiu, wanting to gain more of a sense of security.
His forehead pressed against the side of Gu Jingxiu’s neck. The latter instantly felt an astonishing, scalding heat; the breath puffing against his skin was also damp and hot.
Even though he was clearly holding him in his arms, there was a feeling of imminent loss. Gu Jingxiu couldn’t help but tighten his arms.
Arriving downstairs just like this, Caroline took the steps two at a time, got into the car, and started the engine.
Gu Jingxiu carried Lin Zhile into the backseat. The car quickly turned out of the hotel and slipped into the lane, speeding towards the nearest hospital.
Lin Zhile’s back was embraced by Gu Jingxiu, pressed against his chest.
He tried his best to make Lin Zhile’s posture more comfortable, while his other hand took out his phone and dialed a number.
The call wasn’t long. He started by stating Lin Zhile’s condition, and finally said: “Sorry to trouble you, Uncle Yang. We’ll be there right away.”
He was arranging the hospital matters in advance so that treatment could be received as quickly as possible.
Lin Zhile’s entire body was soft and devoid of strength, the world before his eyes a chaotic blur, spinning around. He could only bury his head in Gu Jingxiu’s chest.
When his ears clearly caught the word “hospital”, he suddenly moved, reaching out to grab the clothes of the person in front of him.
“No… not going to the hospital, Ge, I’m begging you.”
Gu Jingxiu had just tossed his phone aside and was somewhat stunned. Caroline asked from the front: “What did he say?”
The hand Lin Zhile used to grab his clothes tightened forcefully, and he suddenly began to sob.
His slightly opened eyes looked at Gu Jingxiu, a layer of moisture covering his pupils, gradually overflowing from his eye sockets and wetting his eyelashes.
Crystal-clear tears streaked across his face, and his lips still bore the bloody cracks brought on by the high fever. Seeing Gu Jingxiu not answering, the pleading tone in his voice grew thicker: “Ge, I’m begging you…”
Gu Jingxiu’s jawline abruptly tightened, his side profile looking exceptionally cold and hard. He used the overcoat to cover Lin Zhile’s face and said to Caroline: “Drive faster.”
Fortunately, it wasn’t rush hour, and the road was clear of obstructions.
The hospital had already dispatched medical staff to wait outside. Upon seeing their car, they surrounded it. Director Yang’s son, Yang Peng, helped lift the person onto a stretcher bed, clicking his tongue: “Looks like a fever, burning this intensely?!”
His hands didn’t stop moving as he added: “How come I didn’t know you had a younger brother before?”
Gu Jingxiu looked at Lin Zhile lying there, his expression unable to relax in the slightest. He said: “Now you know.”
Yang Peng: …
Caroline didn’t follow up on the hospital matters anymore, returning to handle the issues over at the hotel.
Arriving at the hotel, she found a man wrangling with the manager, asking where Lin Zhile went, and asking him why he would arrange for people to stay in this kind of room.
Caroline gave a mocking smile; truly more drama than an actor. She adjusted her collar and stepped towards the two of them.
When Lin Zhile completely woke up, the time had already reached 4:00 PM. He had been brought back to Gu Jingxiu’s house and was currently lying in the guest room he stayed in on his first night.
A glass of warm water sat on the nightstand, and beside it were some pills cut out along with their foil packaging.
The door was slightly ajar, and the sound of conversation drifted in from outside.
He heard an unfamiliar female voice say: “I handed such a big nephew over to you for just a few days, and he ended up in the hospital?! Then if your mother here gets too old to move in the future, I might as well just hurry up and kick the bucket!”
Gu Jingxiu was walking toward the guest room carrying a freshly steamed bowl of egg custard. Hearing Ms. Lin’s accusations, his expression remained completely unruffled: “As a matter of fact, haven’t you already invested in several nursing homes.”
Ms. Lin slammed her water glass onto the table: “Is that what I’m talking about?!”
She clearly had an ulterior motive; she had specifically pushed back some of her itinerary to detour to Jinghua to see her nephew. How could she have expected this kind of thing to happen the moment she got off the plane?
How could she not find a few faults with her own son, at least to lighten her mood.
“Truly an unfavorable year; even riding the plane was uncomfortable. Sleeping in economy class is already inconvenient, and there was an old man next to me asking this and that. Now I’m exhausted to death.” Ms. Lin stroked the corner of her eye, lamenting that she was going to grow two more wrinkles now.
Gu Jingxiu caught the keyword: “Economy class? Did our family’s stocks plummet?”
Ms. Lin snorted: “What do you know? Back in the day, when your old lady was earning milk powder money for you, after coming off two red-eye flights I could still hold a three-hour meeting and sign a collaboration deal!”
“It’s true that time spares no one. Now that I’m older, I can’t stay up late at all.”
Gu Jingxiu: …Alright, this is reminiscing about the eventful years of the past.
Having vented her emotions, Ms. Lin stood up from the table: “I’m going to sleep for a bit now to get over the jet lag. When I wake up, if my little nephew still hasn’t woken up…”
“You just wait for me to drag you by the collar to Teacher Lin’s house to apologize!”
Ms. Lin had always pursued the rule of never going to sleep with a bad mood. Having finished bullying her own son, her mood was finally somewhat eased, and she changed her route to go rest upstairs.
Gu Jingxiu breathed a sigh of relief, turned around following his original itinerary, and walked towards the guest bedroom.
The moment he pushed the door open, he locked eyes with the person on the bed.
Lin Zhile’s first reaction was to close his eyes and pretend to sleep. Later, realizing this behavior was somewhat futile, he opened his eyes again and gave Gu Jingxiu a fawning smile.
Gu Jingxiu didn’t cling to his failed attempt at covering up. He walked over and placed the egg custard next to the water glass.
“How long have you been awake?” he asked.
Lin Zhile originally wanted to say he had just woken up a moment ago and wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping on their conversation.
But after thinking about it, his eyes followed Gu Jingxiu’s face, and he opened his mouth with a hoarse voice: “Sorry, it’s because my health is too poor and I easily get sick, resulting in you being scolded by Auntie Fang.”
“I’m sorry.”
Gu Jingxiu pulled over a chair and sat opposite him.
Lin Zhile was originally pale, and after a high fever, his face was a few degrees paler. The bloody cracks on his lips were still there, making him look very haggard.
He shouldn’t be saying sorry, Gu Jingxiu thought to himself.
“Since you’re sorry, then eat this portion of egg custard,” Gu Jingxiu said.
Lin Zhile let out an “Oh,” sat up from the bed, and leaned against the headboard. Gu Jingxiu took out a small overbed table and helped set it up for him.
The egg custard was drizzled with a spoonful of sesame oil and looked very delicious. Lin Zhile didn’t forget to hold back his saliva and act sweet-mouthed: “Thank you, Ge. This looks very delicious at a glance, especially since you brought it in, it’s even more delicious.”
Gu Jingxiu appeared very receptive to this, saying: “Although I have no intention of claiming credit, the sesame oil on top was also added by me.”
Lin Zhile let out another “Wow.”
Gu Jingxiu looked at the completely untouched medicine on the nightstand and said: “Besides food, you also have to eat your medicine properly.”
Lin Zhile whispered: “You don’t need to specifically emphasize it, I don’t not want to take medicine.”
Gu Jingxiu: “I don’t think I said you didn’t want to take it, did I?”
Lin Zhile: …
Now he had completely confessed without being prompted.
Lin Zhile lowered his head to eat the egg custard. He was a little curious why he was in this room.
Gu Jingxiu thought about what happened after going to the hospital and said: “Ever since you entered the emergency room, whenever you woke up you only had one sentence: ‘Ge, I want to go home.'”
“How could I dare not bring you back.”
Even Yang Peng, who had seen so many patients, felt surprised, asking Gu Jingxiu if this child had nosocomephobia.
“Just a simple cold turned everyone upside down, Lin Zhile, you…”
Gu Jingxiu’s teasing words suddenly stopped, because he saw the expression on Lin Zhile’s face—
That was clearly the self-blame and guilt of a child realizing they had done something wrong, mixed with an imperceptible trace of self-deprecation.
Gu Jingxiu had no doubt that if he continued speaking, Lin Zhile would apologize to him again.
But getting sick wasn’t his fault.
“The egg custard inside might still be a bit hot, eat slowly.” He quickly changed the subject.
“If you feel unwell anywhere, you must say it. If you don’t want to go to the hospital, it doesn’t matter, I can call the family doctor,” Gu Jingxiu said.
Most of the examination results at the hospital were fine, but Yang Peng said it was best to check his temperature every two hours to see if the fever would spike again later.
Hearing this, Lin Zhile immediately nodded heavily, indicating he understood, then shook his head: “I feel very good right now.”
Although his entire body still lacked strength and his throat hurt terribly, at least his mind was clear.
Gu Jingxiu watched him eat spoonful by spoonful; the room only held the occasional sound of the bowl and spoon clinking together.
The golden sunset slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows, dust motes dancing within it. Gu Jingxiu suddenly opened his mouth and asked:
“Lin Zhile, why don’t you want to go to the hospital?”
Lin Zhile swallowed the last bite of egg custard. As he lowered his head, his bangs covered his eyes, making it impossible to see the look within them.
A few seconds passed before he raised his head, a shallow smile lifting his face, yet his answer did not address the question: “Thank you Ge, I’ve finished eating!”
The room fell into silence once again. Gu Jingxiu’s gaze cooled down bit by bit. Lin Zhile didn’t dare to look at him, gently placing the bowl back down.
After another moment, Gu Jingxiu stood up and reached out to touch the side of the glass. The water still had some warmth. He said: “Drink your medicine.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lin Zhile answered obediently this time.
Gu Jingxiu watched him drink all his medicine before leaving. A short while later, Jin-jie walked in and placed two fruit juice gummies on the nightstand.
Lin Zhile’s eyes instantly sparkled brightly. Jin-jie gave him a smile, cleared away the overbed table and bowl from his egg custard just now, let him lie down, and tucked in the corners of his blanket.
“Rest a bit longer.”
Jin-jie closed the guest room door. Gu Jingxiu was leaning against the wall, playing a game on his phone, but the screen was filled with a bunch of red ‘miss’ notifications; clearly, he wasn’t focused.
Jin-jie said to him: “I gave them to him, he was quite happy.”
“Mm.” Gu Jingxiu responded, putting away his phone.
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