Song Yu slept extremely uncomfortably this time, only groggily opening his eyes as evening approached. When he saw the pure white hospital room, he let out a soft hiss.
“Did I die and end up in the underworld?”
“What are you thinking about all day long?” A slightly impatient voice came from beside him, and Song Yu suddenly snapped awake, turning his head with wide eyes.
“Lu, Lu, Lu Lu…”
“What’s with the ‘Lu Lu’?” Lu Qiwen snorted coldly. “You think you’re calling a dog?”
“No!” Song Yu protested vehemently. “Absolutely not!”
“But why am I here? Did you bring me?”
At this, Lu Qiwen’s body suddenly stiffened, looking extremely unnatural. His tone of voice was completely different from his earlier impatience.
“You don’t know you fainted in the dorm?”
Song Yu suddenly understood, it seemed he had fainted because of the punishment. But this time, the effect was clearly different from the last.
He rolled over, hugging the blanket in thought.
Could it be because last time he directly refused, while this time he just acted out of character a bit?
Seeing Song Yu looking carefree and about to fall back asleep, Lu Qiwen couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Tsk.”
“If I weren’t afraid you’d die in the dorm and make it stink and dirty, I wouldn’t have bothered bringing you here.”
Before Song Yu could reply, the hospital room door was knocked, and a group of doctors in white coats walked in, looking quite serious.
He tightly gripped the edge of the blanket, pulling it over his head. Were they here to give him an injection?
“Young Master, the test results are out.” The doctor’s expression looked troubled.
Seeing this, Lu Qiwen stood up from the chair and pulled Song Yu out with one hand. “What are you doing? Trying to suffocate yourself?”
“Come out and eat.”
The other’s tone wasn’t very friendly, but his movements were gentle. Song Yu couldn’t help but mumble, “Where’s the food? I don’t see it.”
Lu Qiwen didn’t speak, just crossed his arms and stared coldly at him.
“Sorry, Young Master Lu, I’ll get up right away.” Song Yu knew when to yield and sat up straight and steady.
After Lu Qiwen left, sure enough, someone came in carrying a meal tray.
Song Yu unconsciously propped his hands on the small table, resting his chin on his palms as he stared at Lu Qiwen’s retreating figure by the door.
What’s this? He’s supposed to be a school bully, but he’s clearly so kind.
He actually brought me to the hospital, and it looks like he hasn’t slept much.
“Speak. What’s going on?” Lu Qiwen stood in front of the doctors, casually pulling a mint candy from his pocket and tossing it into his mouth.
The doctor placed the test results in front of Lu Qiwen. “Since this young master is a beta, we first ruled out causes related to pheromones. We didn’t find any external injuries on him, and various instrument tests couldn’t yield results either. After extensive discussion, we believe it’s a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, which triggered the body’s self-protection mechanism and caused him to faint.”
“We’re not entirely clear about what happened to him, so that’s as far as the diagnosis can go for now.”
Lu Qiwen didn’t speak. Instead, he pressed the candy against his canine tooth with his tongue and bit down hard. The burst of menthol filled his mouth, clearing his somewhat muddled mind.
“Wow, what kind of porridge is this? It’s so delicious!”
A voice brimming with surprise and delight instantly drew Lu Qiwen’s attention. Through the crack in the door, he saw Song Yu eating happily, even covering his cheeks in satisfaction.
After watching for a long moment, Lu Qiwen felt as if the tingling sensation from the menthol was still spreading on the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t help but bite down on his lip ring before releasing it and withdrawing his gaze. “So, how do we solve this?”
…
Song Yu finished the entire bowl of chicken congee, and the woman who had brought it over couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, young master, eat slowly! There’s no rush.”
“It’s just a simple bowl of congee, but you’re eating it as eagerly as a newborn puppy nursing.”
Song Yu pouted his little mouth. “No, no, no, sister, you’re wrong about that.”
“Simple ingredients create the most perfect flavors!”
The woman giggled at being called “sister.” “Young master, your mouth is too sweet.”
For a moment, laughter filled the hospital room. When Lu Qiwen walked in, the woman’s smile immediately vanished. “Young master.”
Lu Qiwen had naturally overheard their entire conversation. He glanced at Song Yu, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Having so much fun?”
“Of course I’m happy!” Song Yu hummed twice. “The morning sets the tone for the day, all good moods start with the first meal after waking up!”
Lu Qiwen truly couldn’t understand how such a little thing, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, could face life so cheerfully every day.
Seeing Lu Qiwen’s gloomy expression, Song Yu thought of the doctor from earlier and figured it would be like last time, nothing would be found.
“It’s fine, Brother Lu. I just have these episodes occasionally.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Thank you for bringing me to the hospital!” Suddenly, Song Yu remembered the hospital expenses. After all, last time he had been hospitalized for half a month and completely drained the original body’s savings.
He immediately jumped off the bed. “How much did you pay for me? I’ll pay you back as soon as I get home!”
“No need.”
“I insist!” As a well-rounded individual raised in a socialist country, how could Song Yu take advantage of someone like that!
Lu Qiwen studied him for a moment before suddenly smiling. “Alright then.”
“Give him the bill.”
Song Yu took it and stared at the numbers in disbelief. “One, two, three, four… five digits?!”
“Mhm.” Lu Qiwen leaned lazily against the windowsill.
Song Yu fell silent for a long while before suddenly bouncing back onto the bed, kneeling with both knees. “I’m sorry, young master! I spoke too boldly. I, Song Yu, will charge into battle for you! I’ll follow your lead!”
[…] The system had just returned from submitting materials and was met with this sight.
[Host.]
Hearing the system speak, Song Yu immediately replied in his mind, “Hey, I’m just properly carrying out the sidekick plan! To better complete the mission, this shouldn’t count as OOC, right?!”
The system rolled its eyes internally, its voice no longer as mechanical as before.
[I submitted your feedback from last time. The main system’s response is that your actions can be considered within the bounds of not being OOC, as long as the world consciousness doesn’t reject you.]
Song Yu’s smile stiffened on his face, and he nearly fainted from anger at these words.
So, he got electrocuted for nothing?!
[Therefore, the system will provide the host with compensation.]
Compensation? Song Yu’s eyes suddenly lit up.
[The host is granted one penalty-free opportunity as compensation.]
Song Yu: “…That’s it?”
His previously excited expression suddenly deflated.
Lu Qiwen watched all the changes in Song Yu’s expression and couldn’t help but reach out to pinch his cheek. The texture was exactly as he had imagined.
Very soft.