Chapter 204: Chapter 203 A Tangled Mess (2)
It was right at lunchtime, during the peak traffic period, and Shi Yang was stuck under the overpass, wishing he could step on the gas and turn his car into a plane, flying over the long line of cars stretching in front of him.
He was anxious as he followed the car in front, inching along this golden traffic jam spot.
The call just now was from Zhang Xin. Qu Chaozong had fainted from exhaustion and she had taken him to a private hospital in the West District. He was now receiving an IV and is fine.
Until Shi Yang saw Qu Chaozong with his own eyes, he couldn’t just imagine Zhang Xin’s words that he was fine.
Finally, after navigating through the congested traffic, Shi Yang made it onto the wide outer ring road. He quickly stepped on the gas, racing toward the private hospital.
Zhang Xin hung up the phone and looked up at the person standing in front of her, her brows knitted tightly, "Doctor Hao, what’s up?"
Doctor Hao, in his early fifties, wore glasses and looked kind-hearted. He was particularly dedicated to his work, with a serious and responsible attitude. He was an expert-level attending physician with a wealth of experience, although he talked a bit too much. Especially with patients like Zhang Xin, who were stubbornly resistant to change, adept at evading medical treatment, and seemingly embraced a challenge against doctors. He was like an anxious eunuch when the emperor wasn’t in a hurry, always offering advice, just wishing he could take the treatment himself as a test.
Doctor Hao asked, "Why didn’t you come to pick up your medication last week?"
Zhang Xin: "I haven’t finished it yet."
Doctor Hao: "Didn’t I tell you to take it on time and as prescribed? How much do you have left?"
Zhang Xin: "Two days’ worth, I guess."
Doctor Hao clearly didn’t believe her: "Who’s that person inside? Your friend? Did you get a new boyfriend?"
Zhang Xin: "I am pretty and financially well-off, so I’ve always been in demand."
Doctor Hao didn’t react to her answer, but naturally asked, "How many days have you been seeing him? How often this month have you been intimate with someone?"
Zhang Xin: "No."
Doctor Hao’s face turned stern, closely observing Zhang Xin’s expression: "Is it because you suddenly don’t want to, or do you find it boring?"
Zhang Xin: "Neither. That person inside, I quite like him, but he seems to not be very fond of me. So I’ve been busy pursuing him lately."
Having said that, Zhang Xin glanced at the tightly closed ward door, her expression mellowing slightly.
Doctor Hao glanced over as well: "Well, that’s good news. A stable relationship can greatly help with the treatment."
Zhang Xin raised her eyebrows noncommittally.
Doctor Hao: "After being discharged, did you do anything overly exciting?"
Zhang Xin: "No."
Doctor Hao noticeably breathed a sigh of relief: "That’s good, it seems your symptoms should be improving. This time the medication is imported from the United States, you must take it on time and as prescribed."
Zhang Xin: "Hmm, I know."
Doctor Hao handed over the medicine box he was holding: "This month’s meds. After finishing this course, you’ll need to come in for a check-up. I know your time is very tight regarding psychological counseling, but twice a month is already the limit. You need to be responsible for your health, you know? Let’s do it this way, you must come over before next Wednesday."
Zhang Xin: "Hmm."
Doctor Hao glanced at the door of the ward, with the treatment discussion over, he started chatting like an old friend: "This relationship is a bit different from your usual style, looks a lot more steady."
Mentioning Qu Chaozong, Zhang Xin showed a faint smile in her eyes: "Yes, it’s quite different."
Doctor Hao showed concern: "Does he know about your situation?"
Zhang Xin’s smile turned a bit cold, and she slowly replied: "What difference does it make if he knows or not?"
Doctor Hao, very skilled in reading people’s subtle expressions, discerned the hint to end the topic in Zhang Xin’s words, and cooperatively shifted the subject: "Alright, remember to take your medicine on time; I’ll head back to the office now."
"Aunt Hao, thank you." Zhang Xin uttered the only genuine sentence of this conversation.
Doctor Hao waved her hand: "I’m a friend of your mother and watched you grow up—stop being so courteous with me, or I’ll have to smack you."
Zhang Xin’s lips slightly curved, but her eyes held no humor.
Doctor Hao turned and left, with a nostalgic and deeply regretful expression on her face.
Zhang Xin immediately turned around and entered the ward.
Qu Chaozong lay on the bed, his expression serene and peaceful... almost too much so, it seemed a bit fake.
Zhang Xin glanced at his slightly twitching eyelids, then looked down at the shoes by the bed, kicked out into a splay-footed position, a knowing smile flashed across her face.
Zhang Xin sat down next to the hospital bed, leaning in closer to look at Qu Chaozong.
Qu Chaozong had noticeably lost weight since the last time she saw him, his eye sockets deepened, though his face was clean. When he arrived, his clothes reeked of sweat, but after changing into the hospital gown, he revealed a clean body that carried a faint scent of shower gel.
Zhang Xin had never seen a man so sloppy as to bathe clean but then put on dirty clothes again—what kind of habit was that?
"Chaozi?" Zhang Xin grinned, staring at the person pretending to sleep on the bed.
Qu Chaozong didn’t move at all, keeping up the act convincingly.
Zhang Xin reached out and tugged open the covers on him, with no warning, she flipped open his hospital gown, revealing his muscular abs and a small tuft of dark, glistening body hair trailing from his loose hospital gown waistband.
Zhang Xin’s fingers brushed back and forth over his abs twice, causing the muscles beneath them to immediately tense.
Qu Chaozong bolted upright as if he’d been shocked, slapping away Zhang Xin’s hand.
Qu Chaozong, habitually about to voice a sarcastic comment, paused when he caught Zhang Xin’s gaze, and softened his tone: "Are you even a woman?"
Zhang Xin watched as Qu Chaozong adjusted his hospital gown and answered cooperatively: "Yes, can’t you tell?"
Qu Chaozong exhaled a heavy sigh, the conversation he accidentally overheard earlier left him struggling to comprehend, feeling oddly suffocated.
Zhang Xin looked Qu Chaozong up and down, her gaze like a big cat’s tongue, the barbs on it stripping his clothes down like garlic skins: "If you really can’t tell, do you want to find out?"
Qu Chaozong couldn’t take it anymore, raising a hand to block her gaze, the sarcastic tone he’d worked hard to suppress finally slipped out: "With someone like you throwing yourself at me, I’d still have to think about it!"
Zhang Xin chuckled: "So, how long do you generally need to think about it?"
Qu Chaozong glared sideways at her, warning: "Enough is enough, alright?"
Zhang Xin very cooperatively zipped her lips.
The two stared at each other for a while, and Qu Chaozong couldn’t hold back and asked: "Are you really sick? What kind of illness?"
Zhang Xin’s eyebrows twitched slightly: "What?"