Chapter 77: Belief
At 1:00 AM, for a civilian hospital, it was still busy and there was no time to rest. But in a military hospital during peacetime, almost no patients could be seen at this time.
The sensor glass door slowly opened in front of Yan Gui Xing. He didn’t wait for the doors to fully open before slipping through the gap.
The hard-soled leather shoes made a series of rapid, crisp sounds on the marble floor. He walked quickly through the lobby, his lips pursed, his sharp eyes scanning the lobby like a hawk, searching for the person he was looking for.
The next moment, Yan Gui Xing stopped abruptly. He found Mu Mu.
Under the dazzlingly bright lights of the lobby, such a small person was curled up alone on an iron bench. He was a tiny ball, his shadow a tiny ball as well. From afar, he looked like an abandoned pet, pitiful.
Mu Mu heard the unfamiliar sound of leather shoes clicking on the floor and raised his head from his knees, revealing a messy face full of tears.
He looked in the direction of the footsteps, his eyes falling on Yan Gui Xing, dressed in a black and gold general’s uniform, his black hair neatly styled with hair gel, revealing a handsome face.
The moment their eyes met, Yan Gui Xing saw Mu Mu’s eyes, swollen like peaches, and felt immense heartache.
Yan Gui Xing quickly walked towards Mu Mu, but before he could get close, Mu Mu jumped off the bench, arms outstretched, limping towards him.
Like a fledgling bird, Mu Mu threw himself into Yan Gui Xing’s arms, burying his head in his chest, his arms tightly around Yan Gui Xing’s neck, as if he wanted to bury himself completely in his arms.
“Gui Gui, why did you come so late? Didn’t we agree? You were supposed to pick Mu Mu up from the repair tank? The first voice Mu Mu heard should have been yours!”
Mu Mu’s forehead rested against Yan Gui Xing’s chest. These words felt like they were spoken directly to Yan Gui Xing’s heart, filling him with both heartache and guilt. He hugged Mu Mu tightly, continuously kissing his soft curls, apologizing.
Mu Mu became more and more aggrieved, his tears falling one after another. He pressed his face against Yan Gui Xing’s uniform, ignoring that the stiff material might scratch his face, wiping his tears on it.
“Mu Mu hurt so much, so much pain! After coming out, I wanted you to hug Mu Mu, but you weren’t there.”
Yan Gui Xing also regretted it. Why hadn’t he found a way to get rid of Mi Ya’s unreasonable demands?
Instead, he sat there and listened to Mi Ya’s irrelevant requests.
Guilt reached its peak, becoming a sharp sword piercing Yan Gui Xing’s heart, turning it into mush.
Ignoring the pain in his neck from Mu Mu’s weight, he only continued to apologize, not seeking Mu Mu’s forgiveness, only wanting him to stop crying.
“Wuwu, I waited for Gui Gui for a long time! Gui Gui didn’t come! The chairs in the hospital are hard and cold, Mu Mu’s bottom hurts from sitting, and Gui Gui still didn’t come! Gui Gui, don’t you want Mu Mu anymore?”
This huge pot of blame fell from the sky, directly smashing Yan Gui Xing. He quickly cleared his name.
“How could I? How could I bear to abandon Mu Mu? Something really delayed me, that’s why I couldn’t stay with Mu Mu.”
Gongsun, standing beside Achi, had written the excuse he made up in the message to Yan Gui Xing, but he was afraid Yan Gui Xing wouldn’t bother reading it and he’d slip up.
Hearing Yan Gui Xing repeat a similar, though not identical, version, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
Okay, that pot wasn’t his anymore.
But the next second, Gongsun heard his own name come out of Yan Gui Xing’s mouth, and he felt the black pot was being slammed over his head again.
“I told Gongsun to take you home first. What? Didn’t he take you back?”
Fearing Yan Gui Xing would blame Gongsun, Mu Mu quickly shook his head, saying in a muffled voice, “No, Doctor Gongsun was going to take me back, but I wanted to wait for Gui Gui.”
Yan Gui Xing remembered Gongsun saying that patients who had just left the repair tank needed to rest. He carried Mu Mu towards the door, asking, “You silly thing, you could have waited at home. What if I didn’t come to the hospital? Would you have just sat here foolishly? What if you got sick?”
Mu Mu’s legs wrapped around Yan Gui Xing’s waist, clinging to him like a koala. Hearing Yan Gui Xing’s words, he seriously refuted, “No, you said you would come.”
Thinking of himself, a few hours ago, completely forgetting about Mu Mu, Yan Gui Xing’s expression dimmed. After a minute of silence, he quietly asked, “Didn’t you ever think I might forget? If I forgot, you would have waited for four hours in vain.”
Mu Mu didn’t raise his head, still nestled in Yan Gui Xing’s arms. The ten hours of torment in the repair tank had almost drained all his energy.
Mu Mu had forcibly overdrawn his mental and physical energy during the four hours he waited for Yan Gui Xing. After seeing Yan Gui Xing, all his emotions were released with his tears, leaving only the comforting weariness.
Even though he was so sleepy his eyes could barely stay open, he acted like a dedicated lawyer, earnestly defending his client.
“Don’t say that. Gui Gui wouldn’t forget, I believe in Gui Gui.”
His soft voice grew smaller and smaller, the final nickname was murmured, disappearing with sleepiness.
Even though Yan Gui Xing was so close, he didn’t hear the last “Gui Gui.” But he heard “believe,” this simple word made his heart tremble violently.
For a moment, several emotions he couldn’t explain mingled together, forming a more sour feeling than sour lemons.
He couldn’t explain what it was, but later, he thought it was probably a kind of touch, love.
It was true that Yan Gui Xing hadn’t kept his promise to Mu Mu that day, and it was true that he hadn’t told Mu Mu he loved him.
A long, long time later, Mu Mu no longer needed that belated confession of love.
——
The appeal of the repair tank lies in the fact that even if you suffer excruciating pain in the repair tank and even consider ending the suffering through self-harm,
after getting out of the repair tank, sleeping, and feeling your body restored to a healthy state, you feel that all the suffering was worth it.
This was the case with Mu Mu. Listening to sounds without any noise, his expression was both surprised and delighted.
Like a newborn child, he was curious about everything.
He would pull Yan Gui Xing, Xiao Ting, even Achi and Gongsun, to listen to their voices, comparing them to what he remembered.
He would also go into the audio-visual room, watch his favorite Star Wars, and listen to the voices of his favorite characters.
Mu Mu also video called Zheng An to share the good news.
Of course, because Yan Gui Xing was sitting next to Mu Mu, although he was reading the news and didn’t say a word, nor did he look at Zheng An.
But Zheng An had an instinctive fear of Yan Gui Xing. Without speaking to Mu Mu for a few words, he said he had work to do and hung up.
Mu Mu looked at the darkened screen, pouting unhappily and throwing himself onto Yan Gui Xing.
Yan Gui Xing put down his light brain, hugged him, pinched his chubby lips into a small beak, and said with a smile, “Your pout is so high, it can be used as a doorknob. Shall we hang it on the door of our bedroom?”
Mu Mu pushed Yan Gui Xing’s hand away, glared at him softly, and said, “No. Gui Gui is just as annoying as An An.”
Yan Gui Xing raised an eyebrow, teasing him, “You said Zheng An is your best friend, why do you hate him now?”
Mu Mu said sadly, “Mu Mu’s ears are better, but stinky An An isn’t happy for Mu Mu. Before, An An always cared about Mu Mu, but after just a few days apart, he doesn’t care about Mu Mu anymore.”
Zheng An wouldn’t have heard this; otherwise, he would have cried out in protest.
With that terrifying god sitting beside him, how dare he say anything?! Especially since this terrifying god had sent two big men to scare him; his legs still trembled when he remembered the scene.
Yan Gui Xing raised his right hand, ruffling Mu Mu’s hair from the back of his head to his lower back, and said with a smile, “People change, you two don’t see each other often anymore, and Zheng An has his own circle now, it’s normal to drift apart. Be good, I’m here with you.”
Mu Mu looked down at the pattern on Yan Gui Xing’s light linen trousers. He thought Yan Gui Xing’s words made sense, but something felt strange.
He was too simple-minded to figure out what was wrong, so he simply put it aside. When he looked up again, the corners of his lips were already raised, and he asked, “Gui Gui, Mu Mu has been at home for three days, when can we go to the gallery?”
Yan Gui Xing rubbed his soft curls. He had originally planned to let Mu Mu stay at home for a few more days. But Mi Ya was making a fuss, wanting him to accompany her shopping and playing.
He had refused a few times, fearing that further refusal would be detrimental to their cooperation, so he had to agree. But he didn’t want to leave Mu Mu alone at home while he went to accompany another woman.
The best solution was to send Mu Mu to the gallery.
Since rushing back from the hospital three days ago, Yan Gui Xing had had an uneasy feeling.
But he didn’t know what this premonition was about, so he could only take out each task and re-examine it.
Finding that everything was proceeding according to plan, he could only attribute the premonition to a malfunctioning sixth sense.
Suppressing the unease welling up in his heart, Yan Gui Xing smiled and said to Mu Mu, “Tomorrow. I’ll take you to the gallery tomorrow.”
Mu Mu happily yelled “Yeah!”, hugged Yan Gui Xing’s neck, and gave him a big kiss on the face, saying with a smile, “Gui Gui is the best!”
Yan Gui Xing hugged the little dessert that had delivered itself to him, biting Mu Mu’s slightly chubby cheek, leaving a light tooth mark before releasing him.
Mu Mu giggled from the tickle, dodging left and right on Yan Gui Xing’s lap. After playing for a while, Mu Mu accidentally knocked Yan Gui Xing over onto the sofa.
A cloud opportunely drifted across the sky, blocking the sun. The two, who had been lying in the sun, were now enveloped in shadow.
Perhaps due to the change from bright to dark, Yan Gui Xing’s vision became blurry. Mu Mu’s smiling face, so close at hand, became a blur.
His heart skipped a beat, and he widened his green eyes in alarm. Mu Mu’s face was clear again.
[Author’s Note]: Mu Mu: I believe in you.
Yan Moumou: … (sweating profusely)