“Jiang Yanyi, time to get up. Jiang Yanyi, your kid is hungry. She needs milk. Jiang Yanyi, have you passed out? Should we call 911?”
Early in the morning, Villa No. 78 echoed with loud knocking sounds, accompanied by Chi Xiaoxue’s not-so-gentle wake-up service.
Today was Xiao Bai’s first day of school. Chi Xiaoxue had woken the still-sleeping child bright and early.
The curly-haired little one washed her face and brushed her teeth with her eyes closed, waited with her eyes closed as Chi Xiaoxue changed her into her school uniform, and was now sitting in her high chair with her eyes closed, head drooping as she sulked over being woken up.
The kitchen was Chi Xiaoxue’s blind spot. After cutting her hand last time, she hadn’t touched anything kitchen-related since.
She also didn’t dare to casually make formula or anything for the child. It was the kid’s first day of school—what if she messed up the child’s stomach? That would be a serious offense, maybe even leaving a lifelong trauma.
Jiang Yanyi was also acting strange today. Usually, he’d be up by this time, but today there was no movement at all.
Chi Xiaoxue knocked on the door for a long time, then pressed her ear against the door panel to listen. The house had excellent sound insulation—she couldn’t hear a thing.
She banged on the door a few more times, calling Jiang Yanyi’s name even louder.
After calling for quite a while, Chi Xiaoxue’s patience ran out. She kicked the door and roared, “You jerk, if you sleep any longer, the entire Qing Dynasty will have fallen!”
Before the echo of her roar faded, the bedroom door opened from inside.
Jiang Yanyi leaned against the wall in his pajamas. Just as Chi Xiaoxue was about to yell at him some more, she suddenly noticed something was off. Jiang Yanyi looked pale, with water all over his forehead and chest, and even the tips of his hair were damp.
“Did you take a shower?” Chi Xiaoxue asked.
Jiang Yanyi weakly waved his hand, his voice hoarse and faint. “I’m… sick.”
“How did that happen?”
Chi Xiaoxue pointed downstairs.
“Your kid is waiting for breakfast. She has school today—first day.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Yanyi forced a nod and leaned against the wall as he slowly shuffled out. He moved very sluggishly, having to pause every few steps to catch his breath, clearly in great pain.
How had he suddenly become critically ill?
Chi Xiaoxue didn’t understand the reason, but seeing Jiang Yanyi in such pain, she couldn’t just stand there doing nothing.
“I’ll carry you down.” Chi Xiaoxue rushed in front of Jiang Yanyi, blocking his path, then bent over and gestured for him to climb onto her back.
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Yanyi raised his hand to push Chi Xiaoxue away, but his arm went limp and dropped back down. Even the simple act of raising his arm seemed strenuous. As his arm fell, his brows furrowed tightly, as if enduring extreme pain.
“Then I’ll help you down.”
Chi Xiaoxue lifted Jiang Yanyi’s arm and draped it over her shoulder, supporting his waist with her other hand, using her own body to guide him downstairs.
Throughout the process, Jiang Yanyi gritted his teeth in pain. It wasn’t any specific spot—it felt like his entire body ached, as if his very soul were being torn apart.
Just before the pain completely overwhelmed him, he was finally half-dragged, half-carried downstairs by his own robot.
Once they reached the living room, Chi Xiaoxue felt a bit lost.
She had originally called Jiang Yanyi to make breakfast for Xiao Bai, but now it felt wrong. He was so sick he could barely function; asking him to work would be utterly inhumane.
“Sit on the sofa first.” With that thought, Chi Xiaoxue dragged the heavy human appendage toward the couch.
As Chi Xiaoxue helped Jiang Yanyi sit down, a muffled groan of discomfort escaped his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Chi Xiaoxue asked, startled.
Jiang Yanyi grimaced and uttered, “Leg… can’t bend.”
What kind of illness was this?
Chi Xiaoxue helped lift Jiang Yanyi’s legs, slowly lowering him until he was lying flat. Once he was fully reclined, she dragged over a single-seater sofa and propped his feet on it.
By the time this was done, Jiang Yanyi was drenched in sweat from the pain.
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai was stretching her neck from her high chair, shouting loudly, “What’s wrong with my daddy? What’s wrong?”
Chi Xiaoxue felt her head was about to explode. Xiao Bai hadn’t eaten breakfast, it was her first day of school, Jiang Yanyi had suddenly fallen gravely ill—so many things all needed her attention.
“Robot, I want to get down!” Before Jiang Yanyi was even settled, Xiao Bai’s voice called from the dining area again.
Chi Xiaoxue sighed, pressing a hand to her head, then walked over and lifted Xiao Bai out of the high chair. Once on the floor, the child hurried anxiously toward Jiang Yanyi.
“Daddy’s fine, just a regular sickness,” Jiang Yanyi said gently, placing his palm on the child’s head to comfort her.
To avoid worrying the child, he tried not to show his pain.
Xiao Bai was an emotionally stable child who listened well to adults. Jiang Yanyi told her to drink some milk, eat some bread, and then go to school.
Though worried, when Chi Xiaoxue handed her milk and bread, the child obediently ate them while fighting back tears.
Before the school bus arrived, Chi Xiaoxue helped Xiao Bai put on her dark blue school blazer, matching cap, and empty little backpack. Her fluffy curls peeked out from under the brim, making her look adorable, like a little figurine.
But she wore a worried, troubled expression.
Chi Xiaoxue held Xiao Bai’s hand as they waited by the door for the school bus. Mimicking Jiang Yanyi, she placed her palm on the child’s head and spoke in a gentle, reassuring tone.
“Zhibai, I’ll take your dad to see a doctor later. Go to school without worries, okay?”
“Mm.” Xiao Bai tucked her hands into the pockets of her blazer, nodding expressionlessly.
It was clear she was holding back. Though worried, she didn’t cry or fuss, trying her best to be a child who didn’t cause trouble for adults.
So young, yet more mature and obedient than most children her age.
With her father suddenly falling ill and facing her first day alone in a completely new environment, today would undoubtedly be a long and challenging day for the little girl.
Chi Xiaoxue crouched down, hugged the child, patted her back, and whispered in her ear, “It’ll be okay. Eat well, sleep well… I’ll always be here for you, sweetheart.”
After saying this, Chi Xiaoxue lowered her head and gently kissed the child’s smooth forehead.
She didn’t know how else to comfort her, so she imitated how her own mother had comforted her in the past.
Whether her comfort helped or not, once the school bus arrived, the child still wore a neutral expression. Holding the teacher’s hand, she climbed into the bus, leaned out the window, and waved at Chi Xiaoxue.
Chi Xiaoxue waved energetically. “Bye-bye, see you this afternoon.”
After sending the child off, Chi Xiaoxue returned inside to find the man who had been lying on the couch was gone.
Chi Xiaoxue: “……”
She’d once read in a novel that some animals, when nearing death, leave alone to find a secluded place to die quietly.
Had Jiang Yanyi already slipped away?
“Jiang… Jiang Yanyi! Jiang Yanyi!” Chi Xiaoxue cried out in panic.
“Here… I’m here,” a faint, breathless reply came from a corner.
Chi Xiaoxue followed the sound and hurried over, finding Jiang Yanyi clinging to the staircase, inching his way upstairs. His handsome face was contorted with pain.
“What are you doing?” Chi Xiaoxue ran over to support his arm.
“Changing clothes,” Jiang Yanyi said, then hissed through his teeth.
“Why change clothes?”
Jiang Yanyi: “The ambulance is almost here.”
“I’ll go upstairs and get your clothes for you.”
Jiang Yanyi: “Okay, that works.”
Chi Xiaoxue turned to head upstairs, but then Jiang Yanyi called her from behind.
“Moji.” His voice was weak, as if he were on the verge of passing out.
Chi Xiaoxue abruptly stopped her ascent.
Thinking Jiang Yanyi had something important to say, she heard him continue:
“The gray long-sleeved pullover T-shirt in the left compartment of the wardrobe, paired with the brown checkered casual pants hanging at the very bottom left. For socks, find a gray pair—just match the T-shirt color.”
At first, Chi Xiaoxue didn’t get it. Jiang Yanyi was this sick, yet still so concerned about his appearance. Could there be someone at the hospital he cared about?
But as she opened the wardrobe and searched for the clothes, Chi Xiaoxue suddenly realized something else.
Did this Jiang Yanyi not trust her sense of style?
·
Nowadays, hospitals handle all the paperwork automatically. When Chi Xiaoxue arrived at the hospital with the ambulance, a dedicated caregiving robot stayed by Jiang Yanyi’s side.
The strong robot moved Jiang Yanyi around for various tests, making Chi Xiaoxue feel somewhat redundant. She simply sat on a bench in the corridor.
Outside the corridor window was a patch of greenery. Turning her head, Chi Xiaoxue spotted a green caterpillar climbing up a tree trunk. Bored, she watched it for a while.
When the caregiving robot wheeled Jiang Yanyi past her, she shifted her gaze from the caterpillar and waved at him.
“What a coincidence, meeting you here.”
A short while later, Jiang Yanyi was wheeled past again. Chi Xiaoxue waved once more. “We meet again so soon.”
Jiang Yanyi was pushed away calmly, pretending not to know Chi Xiaoxue.
After the tests, Jiang Yanyi was moved to a hospital room for an IV drip. No one informed Chi Xiaoxue; she only found out after growing bored and wandering around the hospital.
Spotting Jiang Yanyi lying in a hospital bed through an open door, Chi Xiaoxue strolled in, pulled up a chair, and sat by the bedside.
“What’s the diagnosis? Did the doctor say?”
“Rhabdomyolysis,” Jiang Yanyi murmured, his body sinking into the soft hospital bed, eyes closed, breath faint. He looked as if his soul had already departed.
Chi Xiaoxue asked again, “Why the lysis?”
Jiang Yanyi kept his eyes closed, silent, as if he had already passed away.
The caregiving robot entered with medicine. Chi Xiaoxue turned to the robot. “Excuse me, do you know why he’s lysing?”
The robot paused for a moment, then replied word by word:
“Well, your question is somewhat ambiguous. I need to confirm: Are you asking why patient Jiang Yanyi contracted the disease rhabdomyolysis?”
“Ah, yes,” Chi Xiaoxue nodded.
The robot said, “Understood. There are many factors that can lead to rhabdomyolysis. Given that the patient engaged in high-intensity mountain climbing the previous day, the doctor suspects the condition resulted from muscle damage and necrosis caused by the climbing.”
“Oh, so it’s from climbing the mountain?”
Chi Xiaoxue muttered to herself. She patted Jiang Yanyi’s shoulder, forcibly “restarting” the patient, then leaned her face close to his and asked:
“Teacher Zhang is older than you, Xiao Bai is younger than you. Neither of them ‘lysed.’ Why is it only you who lysed?”