TFS | Chapter 59

“Are you insane, Qi Yue? Burning all this random junk in a room, and you don’t even worry about starting a fire?”

As Xu Zhou approached the room, he caught a faint smell of burning. Through the window, he saw smoke hazing the inside, and his face went pale at once. He thought Qi Yue was trying to kill himself, but after he slammed the door open with all his strength, he saw the other man squatting there, burning a pile of yellow talisman papers.

When he thought of the monks and spirit mediums coming and going from the villa a few days ago, he immediately understood what was going on.

He thought the guy was truly out of his mind, so he rushed over, stamped out the brazier, then grabbed him by the collar and punched the half-dead bastard hard in the face. “Look where you are. This is a hospital room, not some place where you can run wild!”

Before he had even gotten close, he had thought Qi Yue was only burning some clothes. He never expected this guy to have gone completely mad. Just look at the mess all over the floor. What the hell was he burning, anyway? A basin of talisman papers drawn in blood. If not for their past friendship, Xu Zhou would have dragged him outside and beaten him senseless.

Had he not thought about what situation they were in now? Instead of taking proper care of the patient, he actually believed in this kind of supernatural nonsense?

Just thinking about it made Xu Zhou’s head throb with anger. He yanked hard on the other man’s collar and said through clenched teeth, “The person lying there is your girlfriend. If you want to die, go someplace far away. Don’t you know this is dangerous for the patient?”

He raised his fist and was about to hit him again, but when he looked down and saw that dazed, vacant expression, his fist froze in midair.

The man opposite had empty, cold eyes, and Xu Zhou instinctively thought he had lost the will to keep going. Looking at his pitiful state, his cracked lips, his disheveled hair, and the fact that he clearly had not rested in who knew how long, with bloodshot veins crawling across his eyes…

His fist hung there in the air, unable to come down no matter what. He wanted to say something, but seeing how close this guy was to death already, he knew nothing he said would get through to him.

So he threw the man to the floor and said coldly, “Look at yourself now. You can’t even take care of yourself, let alone Ruannan. I’m taking her away from here to find a better medical environment.”

Qi Yue was shoved aside hard, his back smashing against the corner of the table behind him, but his expression did not change. It was as if he could not feel pain at all.

Xu Zhou turned around, pulled back the blanket, and lifted the woman lying unconscious on the bed, preparing to take Ruannan away.

The moment he picked her up, the young man who had been dazed just now suddenly raised his head. His expression was blank, his dark brows and eyes looking especially grim under the light. His limbs, stiff from not having moved for a long time, were clearly a little rigid. He grabbed the other man’s arm with one hand.

His gaze fixed on him, dark and eerie. “Let go.”

Xu Zhou barely suppressed the anger in his chest. He rarely came to the villa. It was not that he did not want to visit Xu Linruan, but that he had no right to. After all, the person she liked was not him.

But now it seemed the one with no right was actually him. “Why should I let go? Look at yourself right now. You’re such a disappointment. I really regret not sticking it out back then.”

Qi Yue knew what he meant and said nothing. He stood up again, his grip tightening and tightening. Seeing that he still had no intention of letting go, he threw a punch straight at him.

Xu Zhou could not dodge in time. The blow made him stagger back, and Qi Yue seized the chance to snatch his girlfriend out of his arms. His movements were quick yet careful. The moment he got her back, he immediately placed her properly on the bed and covered her with the blanket.

On the other side, Xu Zhou rubbed the aching corner of his mouth and felt that things could not keep going like this. He walked over and asked, “Why are you doing this? Do you think she’ll wake up if you do this? These things are all superstition, feudal nonsense. Can’t you wake up a little?”

He reached out, grabbed the stack of talisman papers that had already been written on, and threw them all into the trash.

Qi Yue suddenly lifted his head from beside the bed and stared at him like a wraith. “What I do is none of your business. Who do you think you are, and what right do you have to lecture me?”

“Whether these things are superstition is not something you need to worry about, and I’m very clear-headed. Please don’t disturb us, okay?”

His voice was light and airy, and after he finished speaking, he turned back around. The speed with which he changed expressions was practically like watching a split-personality scene play out in real time. “Ruannan hates it most when people disturb her sleep…”

“…Ruannan has really bad bedhead anger. She hates it most when people disturb her sleep. If she gets woken up, she’ll punish me by forbidding me from getting into bed for a month…”

He gently held his girlfriend’s fingers and pressed them tenderly against his own cheek, staring dumbly at the unconscious woman.

His other hand softly stroked her cheek, each movement meticulous and gentle. “…Ruannan, should I help you chase him away?”

“…All right, if you don’t say anything, that means you agree. I’ll chase away that annoying guy right now, but I have one request. Once you’ve slept enough, please wake up soon, okay…”

His beloved remained asleep, while Qi Yue lightly rubbed her fingers between his own.

Not wanting the atmosphere to be too heavy, he could not help teasing her with a smile. “…Why aren’t you waking up yet? Could it be you were dazzled unconscious by your husband’s handsomeness?”

“Fine, I get it. You’re angry, right?”

“…Even though you look beautiful when you’re sleeping, I still like it better when you wake up and pinch my butt. Or you can kick me, too. But I need to say this first, even though this hobby is a little strange, your husband here is definitely not some perverted masochist. He’s just got thick skin and isn’t afraid of pain at all…”

He rambled on for a very long time, but the person on the bed still gave no reaction.

Xu Linruan’s breathing was steady. Her flowing black hair had been combed neatly, and the clothes on her body were clean and tidy too. Her quiet posture was exactly the same as when she usually slept.

……….

Xu Zhou watched from the side with a splitting headache. In his disbelief, there was also a heavy helplessness. He really had not expected that the once so proud and arrogant guy would change completely at this moment, like a child who had lost everything, his eyes full of unease and apprehension.

He knew Xu Linruan was unconscious, and Qi Yue was more anxious than anyone else. But that was absolutely no reason for him to act recklessly. Since the hospital could not find the cause of the coma, this guy had gone and turned to superstition, actually begging gods and Buddhas and trying to draw blood talismans to summon her soul back.

Just where had he found these scammer charlatans?

He felt that staying any longer would be useless. His presence would only刺激 the Qi Yue in front of him even more. If Xu Linruan did not wake up, he worried this guy might really crack under the blow and go insane.

He turned and left the room, planning to drive away that whole group of con artists first.

……….

Over there, Qi Yue heard the door close and could not help letting a smile curl at the corners of his mouth again. He kept mumbling, “How was it? Wasn’t your husband amazing? I chased away the annoying guy, so shouldn’t you keep your promise and wake up soon…”

“Mm, why… still not waking up?”

“Is it because I’m too chatty? Are you annoyed with me?”

Qi Yue’s voice grew a little hoarse. “…But you promised me. You said you’d stay with me. You can’t lie to me. I’m so stupid, and my brain isn’t smart either, so the kids I have in the future will definitely be stupid too. No one likes me, and if you don’t want me anymore too, then what am I supposed to do all by myself…?”

As he spoke, the corners of his eyes turned red, and tears began to fall uncontrollably. He covered his eyes. Even though they were so close, he felt as if the two of them were separated by an entire universe.

It had been so long since he had heard her call him Qi Xiaoyue. Whenever she was angry, she liked to call him by his full name, and she liked bullying him, too…

“I like you so much, Ruannan.” He liked everything about her. He liked the way she looked when she was angry so much that even if she bullied him for the rest of his life, that would be fine.

Qi Yue thought of the dream he had been having recently again. He barely suppressed the bitterness in his chest. “…Ruannan, do you believe in parallel worlds?”

“I had a dream, or maybe it wasn’t a dream, because it felt too real. In the dream, you were sitting in a restaurant eating, and I was across the street from you. I tried with everything I had to get close to you, but I still could not touch you. It was such a short distance, just a few steps and I could have caught up, and yet it still felt as far away as if there were an entire space-time between us…”

“…You definitely don’t know this, but when I woke up, I was so frightened I cried. I was holding onto your neck and crying so ugly, and I even ruined the outfit you liked best…”

“But don’t worry, I bought you an identical one again. I filled an entire wardrobe with them, so when you wake up, you can wear it.”

He bent down and kissed her forehead, moisture shimmering on his lashes. As he spoke, he could not help smiling again. “So, please wake up soon, okay?”

“Back when I felt wronged, you would always comfort me. Now I’m the one crying, and you still won’t get up to comfort me, Ruannan?”