Chapter 18: It’s Stomach Cancer
Liang Sheng sat on the hospital bed, waiting with bated breath for the results of Xie Zhengran’s diagnosis.
It had been a long time since the exam finished, and Xie Zhengran still hadn’t come out of the instrument room.
The wait was exceptionally agonizing.
Nervousness, fear, helplessness…
He didn’t dare to think about what he would do if he were sick… would Shen Xingyu care?
Liang Sheng was surprised by this thought. It turned out he had been controlled by his husband to such an extent that his first thought wasn’t about the treatment, but about whether his husband would care.
Finally, Xie Zhengran walked over slowly. His expression didn’t look very good, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Liang Sheng instinctively felt that the atmosphere was wrong. He asked anxiously, “How is it? Is it… gastritis?”
Xie Zhengran took an imperceptible breath to calm his emotions, then nodded with a forced smile. “Yeah, chronic gastritis. Have you not been eating properly lately? I’ll prescribe some medicine for you!”
He spoke very calmly, as if it were just a minor illness that wasn’t a big deal, but Liang Sheng still noticed his abnormality.
“Can you let me see the examination report?”
He spoke suddenly, his voice tinged with a bit of testing.
Xie Zhengran’s hand, which was writing, paused. The emotion in his eyes was fleeting, and he immediately handed the report to him.
“Here, for you.”
Liang Sheng took it, looking at the results on it with urgency and nervousness. It indeed said chronic gastritis.
But why did he always feel like something was wrong…
From the moment Xie Zhengran came out, he could sensitively detect that the other’s expression wasn’t as relaxed as it was at the beginning.
Xie Zhengran placed the prepared prescription in his hand. “You can get these medicines at the pharmacy on the first floor. Remember what I said: four times a day, every four hours. Take them before meals. And remember, absolutely no more spicy food.”
He repeated all the dietary restrictions to Liang Sheng several times. While the other was looking down at the prescription, a trace of grief flashed in the depths of his eyes.
“It’s stomach cancer… right?”
Just as Xie Zhengran turned around, he heard Liang Sheng suddenly drop this sentence. His heart instantly suffered a fierce jolt.
“What are you saying? How could it be stomach cancer…”
“I’ve seen this medicine online before. It’s for treating stomach cancer.”
Liang Sheng interrupted his words, pointing at a specific medicine on the prescription.
Xie Zhengran’s face stiffened. He hurriedly explained, “Medicines have multiple functions; it’s not necessarily for stomach cancer.”
“Enough. I know my own body… Brother Ran, stop trying to lie to me.”
Liang Sheng’s face was solemn, and his eyes grew wet in the shadows. He murmured, “I’ve already been lied to enough…”
Xie Zhengran’s hand hanging by his side clenched into a fist, so tight it was trembling. After a long while, he finally squeezed a sentence out of his throat:
“It… it is stomach cancer. I’m sorry…”
Liang Sheng’s pupils shrank. He let out a bitter tug at the corners of his mouth.
As expected… God hadn’t let him off either.
“Why are you saying sorry? It’s not like you caused my illness.”
He smiled, pretending to be relaxed.
Xie Zhengran only felt a wave of heartache. He placed both hands on Liang Sheng’s shoulders and comforted him seriously:
“But it’s okay! Sheng-sheng, trust me. With current technology and medical skills, as long as we’re willing to spend time and energy, it can definitely be cured!”
Liang Sheng shook his head, gently brushing his hands away. “It can’t be cured. My eldest aunt… passed away from stomach cancer. The doctor also encouraged her to treat it well, but it only meant enduring for a few more years…”
“That’s not true! Listen to me, you’re only in the middle stage; it can be treated!”
Xie Zhengran was very anxious, not wanting him to give up on himself.
Though he said this, patients who could completely eradicate stomach cancer were few and far between. Even if the condition was controlled, they would have to live in the pain of stomach cancer for the rest of their lives. Not to mention, the other’s cancer cells had already spread beyond the stomach wall; it could shift toward the late stage at any time. It all depended on whether he would seek treatment.
“Can you give me the real examination report?”
Liang Sheng’s voice was hoarse. He wanted to see exactly how sick he was. If it could still be treated, he would continue to drag out his existence. If not, it could be considered a release…
Xie Zhengran hesitated, truly unable to bear lying to him anymore, so he handed over a thin sheet of paper.
Originally, he had thought of lying to him so he would take the medicine and undergo conservative treatment first. But Liang Sheng was too sensitive; he couldn’t be fooled.
Liang Sheng’s breathing stalled. He took the lab report, his brows furrowing as he looked at the contents. He didn’t quite understand the official medical conclusions, but when he saw the four large words at the end—“Mid-stage Stomach Cancer”—there was a boom in his head, and the strength in his limbs vanished instantly.
He knew it was stomach cancer, but he hadn’t expected it to be… mid-stage, with a high possibility of progressing to the late stage.
“Sheng-sheng…”
Xie Zhengran called him worriedly, afraid he would do something rash.
He also couldn’t believe that someone so young would actually develop such a serious illness as stomach cancer.
He had always been very confident in his own diagnoses and medical skills, but at this moment, Xie Zhengran couldn’t help but doubt whether his judgment had been wrong.
Liang Sheng gripped the lab report, his eyes hollow. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t make a sound. Only tears slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the report and blooming into two small flowers.
Why… had things turned out like this?
Why was there such an ugly thing inside his stomach!
Seeing him crying like a broken person, Xie Zhengran’s heart was about to break. He could only offer a pale comfort:
“Sheng-sheng, it’s okay. I’ve treated many patients with stomach cancer; I have experience in this area. If I say it can be cured, it definitely can!”
Liang Sheng shook his head. He raised a pair of almond eyes blurred by teary mist, looked at the man, and pleaded:
“Don’t tell Shen Xingyu, okay?”
“At a time like this, why are you still thinking about him? Besides, isn’t he your husband? He has even more of a right to know! Only then can your treatment schedule be properly arranged.”
Xie Zhengran was a bit angry, and even more unwilling that Liang Sheng had married such a beast in human clothing!
“There’s no need. He won’t believe it anyway. He’ll only think I’m being ‘hypocritical’ or ‘acting’…”
Liang Sheng lowered his head. What he thought of was the way Shen Xingyu had humiliated him that night.
Xie Zhengran felt like his heart had been pricked by a needle.
He only regretted that he had come too late. He hadn’t waited for Liang Sheng; he had only waited for news that the other was already another’s wife.
“Has he… been treating you poorly all these years?”
Xie Zhengran asked with heartache.
Although he knew Liang Sheng had secretly loved Shen Xingyu since college, he hadn’t expected the two to actually marry. He had thought the wealth gap would hinder Liang Sheng…
Liang Sheng froze. Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Xie Zhengran: “You don’t have to say it; I already know. If he loved you, why would he let you faint alone in the rain at night?”
Liang Sheng lowered his gaze, not daring to look at Xie Zhengran. His heart was filled with a complex mixture of emotions.
Seeing his silence, Xie Zhengran knew he had guessed correctly, and continued, “Also, why did you leave without saying goodbye back then?”
“I…”
Liang Sheng shook his head, his eyes reddening. His water-filled eyes were brimming with tears. He looked up slightly and pleaded with a sob, “Brother Ran, I… I’m begging you. Don’t tell him, alright?”
As he spoke, he unconsciously grabbed the man’s sleeve, his body leaning forward. He looked pitiful to the extreme.
“Alright, alright. Don’t be like this. I promise you…”
Xie Zhengran couldn’t withstand such a pitiful sight and could only compromise. Looking at the Liang Sheng before him, a sudden impulse surged in his heart, and he actually pulled him into his arms.
Liang Sheng was startled. “Brother Ran…”
“Let me hold you for a moment. You really are a fool.”
Xie Zhengran gently stroked his soft, black hair, his eyes holding a trace of an indefinable emotion.
Liang Sheng instinctively wanted to push him away, but the warmth in the man’s embrace was something he couldn’t resist. He hadn’t been held so gently in a very, very long time.
He felt like a drowning person desperate for salvation. He pressed his face against Xie Zhengran’s back, smelling the fresh scent on him. It felt very grounding and peaceful.
If Shen Xingyu was the cold and desolate winter, then Xie Zhengran was the orange-flavored summer.
“What are you two doing?!”
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.
A man’s cold, stern voice suddenly rang out.
Liang Sheng shuddered, hurriedly breaking free from Xie Zhengran’s embrace.
He looked at the man walking over with a menacing aura and murderous intent. Just as he was about to speak, a slap suddenly landed viciously on his face, knocking his head to the side.
His ears were ringing. Liang Sheng was stunned, unable to process it for a moment. Trembling, he raised his hand to cover his cheek and slowly turned his head to look at that tall, cold man.
His husband’s face was livid, his eyes full of violence.
“I’ve endured again and again. I’ve never once hit you, yet today, I’m making an exception because of him!!”
Shen Xingyu pointed at Xie Zhengran, roaring.
“What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind!”
Xie Zhengran forcefully pushed Shen Xingyu aside, anxiously stepping forward to check Liang Sheng’s reddened cheek:
“Sheng-sheng, how are you? Does it hurt a lot?”
Looking at their intimate actions, Shen Xingyu let out a cold laugh. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions and mocked:
“I knew it. Three hours. Does an exam really take that long? Turns out you were having a tryst behind my back.”
“Enough… stop talking.”
Liang Sheng’s face was humiliated to the extreme.
He had never been this embarrassed. Especially in front of the big brother he had looked up to since childhood, he was being verbally humiliated by his husband, and that slap had stripped him of all dignity.
“What? Did I hit the mark? You’re not even bothered to explain?”
Shen Xingyu relentlessly poked at his heart.
Xie Zhengran couldn’t take it anymore and retorted, “Have you had enough?! We have nothing going on! Just because you’re filthy doesn’t mean others are dirty!”
“Nothing going on?”
Shen Xingyu arched an eyebrow and began to laugh lowly, his face holding a sense of calm madness. “Then why… were you hugging?”
“I was comforting Sheng-sheng!”
Xie Zhengran was so angry he was about to spit blood! He truly hadn’t expected Shen Xingyu to be so unreasonable!
“Comforting?”
Shen Xingyu slightly narrowed his eyes, then waved his hand.
Qin Lou stepped forward and grabbed Xie Zhengran. The next second, he raised his knee and slammed it hard into Xie Zhengran’s abdomen.
“Ugh…”
Caught off guard, Xie Zhengran let out a muffled groan. He instinctively bent over and clutched his stomach, his face turning pale from the pain.
“Don’t hit him!”
Liang Sheng cried out, wanting to go over and save him, but his wrist was tightly gripped by Shen Xingyu, leaving him unable to move.
“Sheng-sheng, answer me. Why?”
The man asked with a smile, but the gloom in his eyes was too heavy to see any joy or sorrow.
Liang Sheng bit his lip, stubborn and wronged.
Shen Xingyu continued to pressure him on his own: “Was it you seducing him? Or was he bullying you? If he bullied you, I’ll have someone beat him to death right now.”
Translator’s Note: Ugh, my heart is breaking for Liang Sheng. Mid-stage stomach cancer is no joke, and Shen Xingyu just had to walk in at the worst possible moment. The “orange-flavored summer” vs “desolate winter” comparison is so poetic but so sad.
- Mid-stage Stomach Cancer (胃癌中期): This is a very serious diagnosis in the context of this novel’s drama.
- Hypocritical (矯情): This is a word Shen uses a lot. It implies Liang is being “extra” or “fake” for attention. It’s really hurtful given the reality of his health.
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