Cheng Boyan held the X-ray films Xiang Xi had just taken and examined them. Considering it had only been two weeks, the recovery was progressing quite well. After all, Xiang Xi was young, and as long as the bones healed properly, there would be no lasting effects.

Xiang Xi's injuries were serious, but perhaps because he had positioned himself correctly to protect himself, his head and vital organs had not sustained any severe damage.

His face seemed to have been protected as well, with only some scrapes and bruises that faded within a few days.

However, his arms, legs, and back were covered in wounds. Aside from the fractures, there were numerous lesions from being struck, many of which required stitches of varying sizes.

He must have been in a lot of pain, but Xiang Xi only complained about the pain during the first two days after waking up. After that, he never mentioned it again.

Before the patient in the neighbouring bed, Zhou Jin, was discharged, Xiang Xi could still chat happily with him for quite a while.

He was quite resilient.

Xiang Xi was usually cheerful and carefree, but when it came to how and where he got injured, he remained tight-lipped, not even letting a single detail slip.

Cheng Boyan had no idea what Xiang Xi had gone through or what could make him keep his mouth so tightly shut. He also didn’t know how Xiang Xi had managed to drag himself to the hospital parking lot with such severe injuries.

There was something about this little troublemaker that made Cheng Boyan reflect—something indescribable, like seeing a doomed prey trapped in a snare, still struggling desperately to survive.

And also... he really was quite resilient.

"Can I put my leg down now?" Xiang Xi lay on the bed, looking at him. "Even the thing around my neck is gone."

"The brace will have to stay for a few more days," Cheng Boyan put down the medical chart he was holding. "Since the swelling in your leg has gone down, you don’t need to keep it elevated. Let me check first."

"If I keep holding my leg up like this, I think I’m going to develop a lumbar strain. Do you think my hair is getting long?" Xiang Xi sighed.

"You’re still far from a Mohawk..." Cheng Boyan glanced at his head.

"Should I call a nurse to take a look? Is your hand better?" Xiang Xi looked at his right hand.

"It’s been fine for a while," Cheng Boyan bent down to examine the leg that was still elevated. "It looks good; the swelling has mostly gone down. I’ll have the nurse lower it for you later, but you still need to be careful not to move around too much."

"Got it, I won’t move," Xiang Xi smiled, then after a moment of thought, added, "How did you hurt your hand? I... didn’t dare to ask before."

"It was an accident. There’s nothing to be afraid of asking," Cheng Boyan didn’t feel like elaborating. "A patient’s family member got upset and lashed out."

It was an outpatient case—a patient with a fractured forearm. After the cast was removed, the patient kept complaining about arm pain, but several doctors had examined him and found nothing wrong. The family had come to the hospital for several days in a row, and even Director Liang personally conducted another examination, but everything was normal.

When the family heard this, they became furious. Cheng Boyan, being the attending physician, ended up getting hit. Fortunately, he dodged quickly, and the chair that was thrown only grazed the back of his hand.

Xiang Xi chuckled a couple of times but didn’t say anything else.

Hearing this, he felt a wave of relief. When he had first seen the bandage on Cheng Boyan’s hand, he had been startled. Although it seemed unlikely, he had been secretly afraid that Uncle Ping’s men had found the hospital, questioned Cheng Boyan about his whereabouts, and Cheng Boyan had refused to talk, resulting in the injury.

It sounded far-fetched, but even though he knew it was, he had never dared to ask.

Cheng Boyan was usually mild-mannered, occasionally joking with nurses and patients, but most of the time, he was quite serious. Combined with the fact that Xiang Xi had seen him dislocate someone’s shoulder, Xiang Xi was afraid that saying the wrong thing might provoke him.

"Today, we’ve reduced one of your stitches," Cheng Boyan finished examining his leg and picked up the medical chart again. "How’s your appetite now? Your stomach..."

"Must be urgent, huh?" Sister Sun suddenly pushed the door open, her voice loud as she walked to the bed and efficiently pulled out a urinal from under it. "Here, go ahead and pee."

"I..." Xiang Xi was so embarrassed he wished he could disappear into the ground. "I don’t need to pee."

"Didn’t you just say it was urgent?" Sister Sun laughed. "I didn’t even finish washing my dishes—I left them in the break room and rushed over."

"Go ahead and pee," Cheng Boyan smiled, then turned and walked out of the hospital room.

*

In the afternoon, Cheng Boyan went back to the ward. The nurse had removed Xiang Xi's spreader and checked the condition of his leg. The swelling had gone down, and the recovery was progressing well.

However, Xiang Xi was really thin. It was unclear how he usually lived his life, which probably explained his stomach issues.

"Am I all better now?" Xiang Xi asked.

"All better? It’s not going to heal that quickly," Cheng Boyan replied.

"No, I mean, is it done? Is the brace off?" Xiang Xi asked anxiously.

"Yes," Cheng Boyan nodded.

"Quick, quick, quick..." Xiang Xi immediately turned to the nurse and Sister Sun beside him, calling out in a rush, "Sister, Auntie, help me out! Flip me over! I want to lie on my stomach for a bit, just for a bit!"

"On your stomach? No, that won’t work. Flipping over could hurt your arms and legs," the nurse shook her head immediately. "You’ve got injuries on your collarbone too. You can’t put pressure on it."

"Let’s turn him onto his side, to the left," Cheng Boyan said to the nurse, seeing Xiang Xi’s eagerness. "Let him lie like that for a few minutes."

Sister Sun supported Xiang Xi’s back and slowly turned him onto his side.

"Ah—" Xiang Xi let out a sigh with his eyes closed.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Boyan was startled by the sound and quickly reached out to steady his shoulder.

"It feels good," Xiang Xi smiled sheepishly. "I’ve been lying on my back for so long that I feel completely flattened. Now that I’m slowly rounding out again, it feels amazing."

"...Just lie on your side for a bit. If lying down is uncomfortable, you can sit up and lean back," Cheng Boyan instructed. "But you can’t put your legs on the ground, and you can’t sit on the edge of the bed either."

"Got it, got it," Xiang Xi closed his eyes, looking completely at ease. "Got it..."

*

When Cheng Boyan got home that evening, he was greeted by a delicious aroma as soon as he walked in. No one was there, but he knew his mom had come by.

After changing his clothes and washing his hands, he went into the kitchen and found a pot full of soup in the thermal cooker. The rice was already cooked and set aside.

He stirred the soup with a spoon—it was a hearty mix of yam, corn, and pork ribs. It smelled amazing, and he suddenly felt hungry.

However, he still forced himself to run on the treadmill for an hour. After working up a sweat, he felt refreshed.

After resting for a bit and taking a shower, he ladled out a bowl of soup. Just as he was about to eat, he noticed a sticky note next to the pot with his mom’s handwriting: "There’s fresh lettuce in the fridge, grown by your aunt."

Originally, he didn’t feel like bothering with vegetables, but his mom’s note made it clear she wanted him to eat them.

So he opened the fridge and found a small bundle of washed lettuce, tender and fresh. He rinsed it quickly and popped a leaf into his mouth.

His aunt loved growing her own vegetables—no pesticides, no residue, completely natural.

Cheng Boyan actually quite liked eating lettuce.

*

At night, Xiang Xi felt particularly bored. After Zhou Jin in the neighbouring bed was discharged, an older man took his place. The man had a terrible temper and loved nothing more than yelling at his son. Every evening when his son came to stay with him, the yelling would start at dinner and continue until the lights went out.

With no one to talk to, Xiang Xi had no choice but to watch TV. The hospital TV only had a few channels, and Sister Sun loved watching soap operas, tuning in to one every night.

Xiang Xi had initially planned to watch with her, but every few minutes, the older man would yell, making it impossible to hear what was happening on the show.

Sister Sun could hear just fine standing in front of the TV, but lying in bed, Xiang Xi only felt more and more agitated.

In his entire life, he had never been this still—lying in bed for a whole month like a log, unable to get comfortable no matter how he lay, constantly wanting to turn over but unable to do so freely.

Moreover, he didn’t dare ask Sister Sun to keep flipping him over. Just yesterday, he overheard her chatting with another caregiver about how physically demanding orthopedic caregiving was, how exhausting it was, and how she was almost ready to quit.

He was afraid that if he kept asking her to move him around, she might leave, causing more trouble for Cheng Boyan.

"Ah..." Xiang Xi sighed and closed his eyes.

He wondered how Mantou was doing—whether he had managed to escape or not. After Erpan’s underling had fled, losing face, Erpan would undoubtedly stop at nothing to find him, digging three feet—or even three meters—into the ground if necessary.

It had been so long. He didn’t know if Mantou had been found yet.

And then there was... Li Hui.

Xiang Xi frowned. He couldn’t forget Li Hui’s cries, which had sounded like the most tragic movie soundtrack as she lay curled up in the snow and mud, clutching his head.

He had even heard her cries in his dreams many times since being hospitalized.

But he didn’t regret helping Li Hui escape. He had just underestimated how little Ping Shu trusted him. He knew Li Hui wouldn’t regret it either—if given another chance, she would still run away.

He could tell from the determination in her eyes the first time she had begged him.

But what would happen to her now that she had been caught... he didn’t want to think about it.

Every other night, Sister Sun would wipe him down before bed. At first, he had been really uncomfortable with it, but over time, the awkwardness faded. It felt good to be cleaned up before sleeping, and the feeling of being cared for was... nice.

"Thank you, Sister Sun," he said softly.

"Don’t mention it," Sister Sun replied, holding a towel. "I’ll tell you, I’m only doing this because I feel sorry for you, kid. Otherwise, I would’ve quit days ago. Even though Dr. Cheng gave me a raise, I wouldn’t have stayed."

"He gave you a raise?" Xiang Xi was stunned.

"Yeah, without the raise, it really wouldn’t have been worth it. You can’t move at all, so taking care of you is like taking care of two patients," Sister Sun said.

Damn, Xiang Xi closed his eyes. Cheng Boyan’s ledger was going to have another entry.

Xiang Xi usually woke up early in the morning. The older man didn’t yell much during the day, but he got up early and made a lot of noise at the bedside, though Xiang Xi couldn’t tell what he was doing. Xiang Xi had no choice but to follow his biological clock.

After being woken up and having breakfast, he immediately felt sleepy again. He decided to go back to sleep—he felt like he was sleeping away his entire life in the hospital. After all, there was nothing else to do besides sleep.

When the older man wasn’t yelling, he could read newspapers or magazines, but Xiang Xi couldn’t do that. The nurse had brought him a magazine, but he hadn’t had the heart to tell her that he couldn’t read most of the words.

Besides, sleeping made his body feel better, and he couldn’t hear the older man’s noise.

He slept for who knows how long, until he started feeling stuffy and reluctantly opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a face right in front of him. He was startled: "Holy sh*t!"

"If I hear you swear one more time, I'll have someone sew your mouth shut," Cheng Boyan frowned.

"You scared me!" Xiang Xi said.

"So what if I scared you ten times? If I scare you once, you can just jump," Cheng Boyan walked to the foot of the bed, turned the crank, and raised the head of the bed. "You've been sleeping all morning. Time to eat something."

"Where's Sister Sun?" Xiang Xi turned his head to look around. His arm could bend now, so he could feed himself with a spoon, but tasks like washing his face that required a bit more effort still needed Sister Sun's help.

"She took the morning off. Something urgent came up at home," Cheng Boyan took his towel and went into the bathroom.

"Oh..." Xiang Xi responded, noticing that Cheng Boyan wasn't wearing his white coat today. "Bro, are you off today?"

"Yeah," Cheng Boyan wrung out the towel and came back out. "I was planning to bring you some soup tonight, but she called me, so I came over."

"You came all the way just to bring me soup?" Xiang Xi glanced at the thermal pot Cheng Boyan had placed on the bedside table. "All the way?"

"If you feel bad about me making a special trip, I can go to the supermarket later to buy some groceries. I'll buy groceries and bring you soup as a side errand," Cheng Boyan supported the back of his head and wiped his face with the towel.

"Hey," Xiang Xi closed his eyes, somewhat surprised. Cheng Boyan's movements were as skilled as Sister Sun's, and he applied just the right amount of pressure. The warm towel felt soothing against his face. He mumbled, "Do you have kids?"

"Huh?" Cheng Boyan moved the towel away. "What did you say?"

"You're so professional at wiping faces, just like Sister Sun. You must be a pro," Xiang Xi raised his bandaged arm and gave him a thumbs-up. "Feels good."

"Eat," Cheng Boyan didn't continue the conversation. He placed the tray in front of him, poured the soup into a lunchbox, handed him a spoon, and then went back into the bathroom to rinse the towel.

"What kind of soup is this? It smells amazing!" Xiang Xi called out from the bed.

"Chinese yam soup," Cheng Boyan replied.

"Damn," Xiang Xi paused, then burst into laughter. "Are you doing this on purpose? This Chinese yam thing is never-ending."

"It really is Chinese yam," Cheng Boyan walked out of the bathroom, squeezing some disinfectant from the bottle in the room and rubbing it on his hands. "Chinese yam, corn, and pork ribs. The yam is good for your stomach."

"It smells great," Xiang Xi took a few sips. "But there's no salt."

"Is the hospital food bland for you?" Cheng Boyan sat down by the bed and asked.

"Yeah, but the hospital food is just bland. This has no salt at all. It's different. Did you make this?" Xiang Xi wrinkled his nose and smiled. "But even without salt, I'll definitely finish it. This is the first time someone's made food just for me. I have to eat it all to make it worth it, to commemorate it."

"There is salt in it. You just eat too salty normally," Cheng Boyan glanced at him. The happy expression on his face made Cheng Boyan decide not to mention that the soup wasn't specifically made for him.

Sister Sun wouldn't be back until after lunch, so Cheng Boyan planned to wait until she returned before leaving. He asked a nurse to buy him a bucket meal, which he ate in the ward.

"I thought you'd already eaten," Xiang Xi looked at the twice-cooked pork bucket meal in Cheng Boyan's hands. "If you'd said you hadn't eaten, I wouldn't have finished all that Chinese yam. I would've saved some for you."

"Don't worry about me..." Cheng Boyan wasn't particularly interested in the meal—it was too salty and greasy. He started to say something but looked up at Xiang Xi and couldn't help laughing. "Do you really want to eat this?"

"Hey," Xiang Xi turned his face away, embarrassed. "I'm full."

"Really? You don't want any?" Cheng Boyan picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and asked.

"I..." Xiang Xi glanced over, then turned his face back, opening his mouth. "Maybe just a piece of meat?"

Cheng Boyan put the meat in his own mouth. "Dream on."

"You're a doctor!" Xiang Xi was speechless. The aroma of the twice-cooked pork filled his nose, and not being able to eat it was bad enough, but now he was being teased. "A doctor teasing a patient like this!"

"Just stay here. You need to eat light right now. This is too greasy," Cheng Boyan stood up and walked out of the room to finish his meal in the hallway.

When Cheng Boyan returned to the ward after eating, Xiang Xi was trying to reach for the cup on the bedside table to drink some water.

"You could've just called me," Cheng Boyan walked over and handed him the cup. Sister Sun had bought the cup, which had a straw, making it easier to drink.

"You were eating. Coming in here smelling like meat and not letting me have any is torture," Xiang Xi clicked his tongue. "All I can do is drink some water to curb the craving."

Cheng Boyan smiled but didn't say anything. He sat down in a chair and turned on the TV. The older man in the next bed was already asleep. Cheng Boyan turned to look at Xiang Xi. "Do you want to take a nap?"

"No, I've been sleeping all day. I'm sick of it," Xiang Xi sighed.

"The nurse brought you some magazines. Why don't you read?" Cheng Boyan picked up a magazine and flipped through it.

"Brother," Xiang Xi hesitated, then said quietly, "I don't know many characters. I just look at the pictures. It's boring."

Cheng Boyan raised an eyebrow. "You don't know many characters? Did you not go to school?"

"No, what school? I was lucky to survive in the wild, let alone go to school," Xiang Xi laughed. "Last time... when I took your ID, I almost didn't recognize your name."

"Cheng Fuyan, right?" Cheng Boyan looked down at the magazine. "It's not a big deal. Lots of people misread my name."

"I didn't misread it, I just... never mind," Xiang Xi took another sip of water, feeling reflective. "Your parents must be really educated. Your name sounds like it was given by someone cultured."

"Really?" Cheng Boyan took the cup from his hand and placed it back on the bedside table.

Xiang Xi nodded. "Yeah, look, Cheng Boyan, Cheng Boyan. So cultured. If I were your dad, I'd probably name you Cheng Boner..."

"Shut up," Cheng Boyan frowned and cut him off.

Xiang Xi chuckled a couple of times but didn’t say anything else. He leaned back against the bed and watched TV.

After just a few minutes, he tugged at the blanket covering his stomach. A few minutes later, he moved again. Before the commercial break was over, he shifted back again.

"Stop moving around," Cheng Boyan said.

"I wasn’t trying to move..." Xiang Xi clicked his tongue. "Brother, why isn’t Sister Sun back yet?"

"It hasn’t been that long," Cheng Boyan closed the magazine and stood up. "If you need to pee, you can call me too."

"Huh?" Xiang Xi was stunned, suddenly feeling awkward. "I don’t... I mean, it’s not urgent... I..."

"You’re squirming so much it’s making me want to go to the bathroom," Cheng Boyan sighed.

"Forget it," Xiang Xi thought about it and sighed too. "You’re the type who disinfects your hands after wringing out a towel. That day, after handling a urine bag, you washed your hands three times. If you touch a urinal, won’t you have to scald off a layer of skin with boiling water?"

"Do you need to pee or not?" Cheng Boyan bent down and pulled out the urinal from under the bed.

"Ugh, I could’ve held it a bit longer, but seeing that thing just made it worse," Xiang Xi frowned. "Yeah, I need to pee!"

 

Translator : DarNan