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Chapter 92: The Cannon Fodder in a Dogblood Novel (92)
Shen Tangqing’s knuckles gripping the phone tightened slightly. Hearing Zhou Geng’s voice, heavy with nasal tones, a sourness rose in his throat.
“It’s me, Shen Tangqing.”
“It’s really you? You… you’re still alive?”
Zhou Geng’s voice trembled uncontrollably, as if emotions accumulated for too long had suddenly found an outlet.
“You’re still alive… that’s great… you’re still alive…”
Zhou Geng spoke somewhat incoherently, repeating this one sentence over and over.
After a long time, once his mood calmed down a bit, he choked out, “Tangtang, what exactly happened?”
Shen Tangqing looked at the setting sun outside the window and said softly, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you slowly later.”
He avoided the questioning and instead asked in a deep voice, “Brother Geng, I heard from Lin Mu that Brother Zhou isn’t doing well. What happened?”
Zhou Geng on the other end of the line fell into sudden silence. The hand clutching his phone tightened unconsciously, veins popping out.
How should he tell Shen Tangqing?
He had never expected that the person Zhou Shuli liked was actually Shen Tangqing.
Back then, Shen Tangqing’s sudden “passing” was a huge blow to him, so much so that he spent those few days drinking in bars and didn’t go home at all. When the butler called him saying Zhou Shuli was being resuscitated in the hospital, he even thought he was still drunk and dreaming.
When he rushed to the hospital in a panic, Zhou Shuli had just come out of the emergency room.
He had never imagined that his cold, restrained brother, who rarely showed emotion, loved Shen Tangqing so much that he actually wanted to die with him.
Later, although the person was saved, Zhou Shuli’s heart seemed to have died with him.
Working overtime day and night, alcoholism, suffering from insomnia all night long. Coupled with his inherent skin hunger disorder and congenital immune disorder, his indicators got worse day by day. At the beginning of the year, he suddenly fainted in the study…
When sent to the hospital, only immune system problems were found; no other diseases could be detected. But Zhou Shuli grew weaker day by day. Finally, they could only send him to Country Y.
Unfortunately, no matter how advanced the equipment and medical technology were, they couldn’t find the cause of his illness. He had been in the hospital for half a year now.
A few days ago, Zhou Shuli’s condition suddenly worsened. By now, he could no longer eat on his own and relied entirely on nutrient fluids.
The doctor said, in all likelihood, it would be just these few days…
Seeing Zhou Geng silent, Shen Tangqing’s suspended heart sank completely. He asked softly, “Is it very bad?”
Zhou Geng’s Adam’s apple rolled violently. Finally, he only let out a sound of agreement. He was afraid that if he said one more word, he couldn’t help but cry out.
Shen Tangqing’s hand holding the phone froze for a moment.
He didn’t understand. He was clearly a male lead in the book, so why would he die?
A moment later, he suppressed the complex emotions in his heart. “Can I say a few words to Brother Zhou?”
“He fell asleep. I’ll call you back when he wakes up.”
“Okay.”
Mentioning Zhou Shuli, this heavy topic left neither of them in the mood for pleasantries.
After hanging up, Shen Tangqing stood up, took a cigarette from the box in the drawer, lit it, and walked to the window. His gaze fell blankly on the bustling street outside, feeling only a suffocating tightness in his chest.
He still remembered the bracelet Zhou Shuli gave him on a business trip; he liked it very much. Unfortunately, it was left at Liuli Waterfront.
He took a drag on the cigarette. The slowly exhaled smoke blurred his expression.
Such a good person, how could he die?
After finishing the cigarette, Shen Tangqing leaned back in the rocking chair. He did nothing, emptying his mind, waiting for Zhou Geng to return the call.
On the other side, after Zhou Geng hung up, he stood outside the door for a while before returning to the ward.
Zhou Shuli was asleep.
The once broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted man with an upright posture was now sunk into the large hospital gown, as if all his flesh had been drawn away, leaving only a skeleton.
His thick eyelashes were like a door, shutting out the whole world. His cheeks were sunken, his lips pale. The whole face exuded an aura of death. The exposed arm was withered to just a layer of skin; on the pale back of his hand, purple and blue bruises intertwined, shocking to the eye.
Zhou Geng stood by the bed, his gaze falling on Zhou Shuli’s face, and as he looked, tears fell.
The person on the bed was like a flower about to wither. He almost dared not confirm that this fragile person, who looked like he would shatter at a touch, was his cold, restrained, and spirited brother.
After a long time, Zhou Shuli’s eyelashes trembled, showing signs of waking up. Zhou Geng hurriedly wiped the tear stains from his face.
Zhou Shuli woke up. His gaze fell on Zhou Geng’s red eyes. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke slowly, his voice very weak.
“Why are you crying?”
“Didn’t cry. Just went out for a bit, the wind got in my eyes.” Zhou Geng tried hard to squeeze out a smile, but that smile was uglier than crying.
“If you don’t want to smile, don’t smile.”
The arc of Zhou Geng’s lips froze abruptly, then slowly faded. Looking at Zhou Shuli like this, how could he smile?
His mother was still lying in the ward downstairs; he didn’t even dare tell Zhou Shuli.
Zhou Geng deliberated for a moment before speaking. “Brother, I received a call from Tangtang at noon…”
Zhou Shuli’s originally half-closed eyes opened abruptly. He looked at Zhou Geng in disbelief. “What… did you say?”
“Tangtang didn’t die… He called me this afternoon. He wanted to talk to you, but you were asleep, so I didn’t wake you.”
Zhou Shuli struggled to climb up from the bed, but his weak body couldn’t support it at all. He tried twice but failed to sit up. He gasped heavily, and a strange flush appeared on his pale face.
Zhou Geng wanted to help him, but his hand shrank back halfway. Zhou Shuli didn’t like being touched. Every needle injection was like another form of torture to him.
“Brother, don’t get excited. Calm down first.”
But in the next second, Zhou Shuli couldn’t help coughing violently. Once this cough started, it couldn’t be stopped.
Heart-rending. As if he was going to cough up his internal organs.
Scaring Zhou Geng, he hurriedly pressed the call bell and ran frantically out of the ward.
“Doctor…”
“Doctor…”
When Zhou Geng brought the doctors and nurses in, he froze in place. He didn’t even dare walk to the bedside.
The white sheets were covered in the blood Zhou Shuli had coughed up. Like blooming flowers of bloody rot, it terrified him, made him afraid, made him collapse and want to scream—
He never knew a person could cough up so much blood.
Watching the doctors and nurses hurriedly push Zhou Shuli into the emergency room, Zhou Geng collapsed on the floor as if he had lost his soul, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Unknown how much time passed, he struggled to get up from the ground and ran fiercely toward the emergency room.
The light of the emergency room turned on, then turned off.
Finally, the door opened. Zhou Shuli was pushed out.
…
He stopped coughing, and his whole person was in a strangely clear-headed state. Although his face was still pale, his spirit was abnormally good.
It wasn’t like his condition had improved; it was more like… terminal lucidity.
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