The next day during work hours, Xiao Luo came to tidy up the meeting room. As soon as he opened the door, he jumped in fright. President Qi and the Young Master were hugging his boss and sleeping soundly!
He closed the door, took a deep breath, and repeatedly told himself that the wealthy circle has its own winter romance.
Pushing the door open again, three fierce gazes slammed into him, and his psychological defenses instantly collapsed. With a crying face, he stammered, “Boss, I didn’t mean to…”
Zhuang Yuhua figured this had nothing to do with him and half-stood up, only to stumble suddenly. Looking down, he discovered that the hem of his clothes was being gripped tightly in Zhou Ze’s hand, wrinkled and damp with cold sweat.
Zhou Ze’s complexion was terrible; his lips were dry and peeling, the torn cuts still oozing blood, an unnatural flush on his cheeks, and his eyes watery and unfocused.
He was still running a fever.
Zhuang Yuhua frowned, his hand suspended in midair unable to come down.
Qi Lin’s morning grumpiness finally passed. Taking in the situation, he immediately pushed Zhuang Yuhua away and pulled the exhausted Zhou Ze into his arms. “Hey you, Zhou Ze is mine now. You can leave.”
Just what he wanted. Zhuang Yuhua offered a polite smile and walked out briskly under Zhou Ze’s gaze, taking the spectating Xiao Luo along with him.
Rounding a corner, he let go of Xiao Luo and turned the assistant’s curiously scanning head back around. “Go prepare ice packs, fever reducers, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Make sure they are gentle and non-irritating to the stomach.”
Xiao Luo nodded repeatedly, his gossiping heart burning with curiosity.
When he returned to the boss’s office carrying the items, only the coughing man was left alone. He looked left and right, somewhat disappointed. “Boss, where is President Qi?”
With a hoarse voice and leaning against the sofa without opening his eyes, Zhou Ze replied, “He left.”
He had politely asked him to leave.
“The Young Master asked me to give these things to you and instructed me to make sure you take your medicine.” Xiao Luo stepped back, acutely sensing that his boss was in a bad mood.
Zhou Ze sniffed, shook his dizzy head, and without reading the instructions, casually tossed a few pills into his mouth before grabbing an ice pack and pressing it to his forehead.
“Get out.”
Watching with his heart in his throat and mourning the extra warm water for a brief second, Xiao Luo slipped away like a wisp of smoke.
Zhuang Yuhua hadn’t gone far. He picked a breakfast shop downstairs from the corporate building to munch on steamed buns and fried dough sticks, cheerfully opening his data panel while feeling puzzled by the motionless numbers. Is the data update lagging?
The Protagonist Gong is starting to get the hang of things, isn’t he? This doesn’t make sense.
System 999 timely reminded him: “Big Boss, look at that Porsche outside. Isn’t that the Protagonist Gong’s car?”
Zhuang Yuhua cursed inwardly. The breakfast in his hand instantly lost its appeal as he jumped up, looking ready to chase the car down.
Coward! Blockhead! Idiot!
Despite all his painstaking planning, how did he end up running into such a foolish Gong? If he were in charge himself, they would already have a kid. Of course, assuming men could give birth.
Before he could vent his full anger into eating, he received a call from Xiao Luo, who sounded like he was on the verge of tears on the other end. “Young Master, the boss fainted during the morning meeting! Come quick and take a look!”
By the time Zhuang Yuhua snapped back to reality, his body had already bolted forward. He slammed on the brakes, dialed Qi Lin’s number, and only remembered after the call automatically hung up that the system had not returned his phone!
Helplessly heading upstairs and rushing into the meeting room, he found a crowd surrounding the unconscious man without daring to move. He quickly pushed through the throng, his heart tightening sharply when he saw the fainted figure.
Zhou Ze’s complexion looked even worse than before he left. Feeling his forehead, the temperature was frighteningly high. Zhuang Yuhua shook the man’s shoulders. “Zhou Ze? Wake up, can you hear me?”
He quickly unbuttoned a few buttons of Zhou Ze’s shirt, hesitated for a few seconds before lifting the man horizontally in his arms, and strode outward. “Xiao Luo, drive. To the hospital.”
Whether due to magnetic fields or the smell of disinfectant, the moment they entered the hospital, Zhou Ze’s state became extremely abnormal. He fell into what seemed like an inescapable nightmare, cold sweat pouring down in layer after layer, his brows knitting tighter and tighter as he struggled nonstop.
After the intravenous needle slipped out of place twice, the nurse’s expression turned ungracious. Looking at Zhuang Yuhua with some dissatisfaction, she said, “Take better care of your boyfriend. His hands are so good-looking; don’t you feel bad that they are covered in needle marks?”
Zhuang Yuhua gave a wry smile. It’s not like that, really not like that.
Compelled by necessity, he gripped Zhou Ze’s wrists to keep him from thrashing around. Only then did he notice that while the man’s fingers were slender, his wrists were so thin that a single hand could encircle them.
Once again, he sighed. The Protagonist Gong eats really well, but it’s a shame he’s too stupid.
Before long, even before a single bottle of saline finished dripping, Zhou Ze’s eyeballs rolled violently beneath his eyelids, his eyelashes fluttered, and his limbs began to struggle.
Zhuang Yuhua’s head instantly swelled. Pinning down an arm with each hand, he found he could not control the legs, so he scrambled straight onto the bed and knelt across Zhou Ze’s thighs, deliberately avoiding putting his full weight on them out of regard for the man’s thin legs.
The effect was good; the thrashing stopped.
Zhou Ze lifted his eyelids, shooting a gaze sharp enough to throw daggers, but the moment he clearly saw the face of the person straddling him, the glaciers across his brows instantly melted into spring. A slight smile curved the corners of his mouth as he relaxed his body and quietly stared up at him.
Zhuang Yuhua felt a bit chilled under that scrutiny; there was something in the man’s gaze he couldn’t quite read, like a strange filling hidden inside malt candy.
“Are you alright?” He tentatively eased his grip.
Zhou Ze’s gaze followed his movements, lingering on him even after he scrambled down from the bed, his pale complexion making his obsidian-like eyes shine all the more brightly.
At that moment, chaotic human voices and the hurried beeps of medical equipment echoed from outside the hospital corridor, mixed with the painful screams of men, women, and children.
Zhou Ze’s pupils shrank violently, his eyes filled with sheer terror. Without knowing where he found the strength, he struggled to sit up, reaching out to rip the intravenous needle right out of his hand!
Zhuang Yuhua’s hand moved faster, grabbing Zhou Ze’s wrist. Feeling the trembling muscles beneath his fingers, he didn’t dare use too much force, when suddenly, with a powerful wrench, the needle tore free, sending a spray of blood droplets flying!
“Zhou Ze! Stop moving!”
Zhou Ze froze from the shout, his eyes losing focus before he suddenly went limp, his body collapsing forward out of control.
Catching him under the armpits, Zhuang Yuhua let the man’s head lean against his shoulder as he kept murmuring, “Go on, take me away.”
“No, you are…” Zhuang Yuhua cut himself off abruptly, seeming to feel that his shoulder was somewhat damp.
A chime sounded in his mind:
[New Side Quest Issued: Investigate the reason behind the target’s fear of hospitals.]
[Quest Completion Reward: 1 chance at a fake death exit, usable at any time.]
“Alright, alright, we’re leaving right now.” Patting the man’s back soothingly, Zhuang Yuhua felt a bit dazed, somewhat experiencing a sense of déjà vu, though he couldn’t remember why for the life of him.
Returning to Zhou Ze’s downtown residence, Zhuang Yuhua flipped through the man’s phone, found a contact labeled Doctor Li, and cast a glance at the restlessly sleeping figure before placing the call.
It was answered almost instantly, accompanied by a very improper, teasing tone from the other end: “Oh, Mr. Zhou finally remembered me. Have you figured it out? I can do home delivery, free of charge.”
“Please.” Suppressing his nausea, Zhuang Yuhua asked, “Are you a doctor?”
The line fell silent for a moment before turning serious: “Yes. Does Mr. Zhou require medical treatment? I can come over right now.”
To be honest, Zhuang Yuhua really didn’t want this person to examine him; he had a gut feeling the guy would use the opportunity to steal kisses and harbor ill intentions. But he had no choice, as the hot spring date was approaching fast.
The doctor arrived swiftly, within mere minutes. After opening the door, Zhuang Yuhua cautiously sized up the newcomer.
Doctor Li wore a suit and stood even taller than him, sporting gold-rimmed glasses and long blonde hair draped over his shoulders. His phoenix eyes narrowed into a smile with a mole at the outer corner, pushing an overall aesthetic to an alluring extreme.
He took the initiative to greet him: “You must be the Young Master. I’ve heard A-Ze mention you. I’m Li Chen, A-Ze’s family doctor.”
Chewing on the moniker A-Ze, Zhuang Yuhua gave the newcomer a curious, prolonged look and gestured with an inviting hand: “Doctor Li, please come in.”
Li Chen didn’t stand on ceremony at all, changing shoes with practiced ease and striding familiarly into the master bedroom. Just as Zhuang Yuhua was about to follow, Li Chen pressed a palm flat against his chest, his eye tails lifting: “I am consulting a patient; idle onlookers keep out.”
Zhuang Yuhua couldn’t rest easy; he had to protect the Protagonist Gong’s wife!
His tone carried a sharp edge: “Why did Doctor Li arrive so fast?”
Li Chen answered briskly: “I live right downstairs. It only takes a couple of steps to come up.”
“You make house calls without a medical kit?”
Li Chen blinked: “My things are stored at A-Ze’s place. His health is poor, so I’m here every other day. Carrying things back and forth is troublesome, so I just leave them here.”
Hearing the boastful undertone, Zhuang Yuhua was temporarily at a loss for words. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Chen gave him a push, closed the door, and locked it in one fluid motion.
“999, what’s the deal with this doctor?” Zhuang Yuhua always felt like he had invited a wolf into the house, casting a worried look at that closed door.
“Li Chen, Zhou Ze’s personal doctor, cannon fodder character, unrequited love.”
“I knew he wasn’t innocent!” Zhuang Yuhua hopped up, ready to pound on the door.
“Don’t worry, Big Boss Host. He hasn’t made any overstepping moves toward the target; he’s just indulging his mouth.”
“Oh? So he’s a coward too.” Zhuang Yuhua’s rating of the doctor dropped significantly.
Coughing twice to regain his stern demeanor, he said, “Indulging his mouth won’t do either. Could you accept someone eyeing your wife?”
System 999 emitted a mechanical laugh: “999 has no wife.”
Zhuang Yuhua: “Please.”
After a long while, Li Chen finally emerged looking thoroughly satisfied. Seeing Zhuang Yuhua’s hostile glare made him look even more smug, strutting like a peacock.
“How is he?”
Li Chen ransacked the refrigerator, and upon finding it empty, shook his head in disappointment before a mischievous streak flashed in his eyes, his lips curving slightly: “Tastes good.”
“Please.” Zhuang Yuhua rolled his eyes. If the system hadn’t warned him that there were no excessive actions, he definitely would have thrown a punch right at the man’s face.
Seeing that his bait wasn’t taken, Li Chen lost interest and stated matter-of-factly: “Pneumonia, gastritis, hypoglycemia. His health is even worse than when I last saw him.”
Pointing at the practically barren kitchen, he gave the refrigerator a heavy slap: “I suggest putting this blessed piece of real estate to use. Eating good food will improve his health and his mood immensely.”
“Oh.” Zhuang Yuhua made a mental note to pass it on to the blockhead later.
“His work pressure is too high, and his emotions have no outlet. Bottling them up in his chest is a hidden hazard. My personal advice: find a way for him to relax, for example, fall in love.” He curled his lips into a smile, his eye tails lifting.
Zhuang Yuhua nodded earnestly. We’re already working on it; stop nagging.
Pockets still stuffed with his hands, Li Chen continued showing off: “I humbly self-recommend: brilliant medical skills, superb culinary talents, gentle and considerate, exclusive limited edition. Quite worthy of A-Ze.”
“Please.”
Zhuang Yuhua cut off his nonsense: “Why is he afraid of hospitals?”
“Because he wants to see me,” Li Chen adjusted his glasses and raised an eyebrow.
“Please.” Zhuang Yuhua’s face darkened, silently vowing that if this guy muttered one more useless word, a fist would land on his face.
“Just kidding, the little brother is really fun to play with,” Li Chen said, turning serious. “I don’t know either.”
Query?
Zhuang Yuhua was so angry he laughed. You built up the suspense so high, and that’s it?
“The boss pays me to work. This is his privacy, and I have medical ethics, alright?”
Zhuang Yuhua stared at the tall person standing before him. Despite his foul mouth and flippancy, his professional integrity seemed intact.
“999, is the Protagonist Gong the only definite option?”
Having braved countless trials, System 999 stammered slightly upon hearing such a bizarre question: “Our national laws mandate a monogamous system.”
Zhuang Yuhua chuckled: “No, what about developing a spare tire? The target isn’t responding to the Protagonist Gong; maybe he isn’t his preferred type. Since this guy has been mingling around him for so many years, maybe there’s a better chance here.”
System 999 checked its database and replied after a long pause: “No one has ever operated this way. It is recommended that the Big Boss Host consider carefully.”
Overjoyed, Zhuang Yuhua extended a direct invitation: “Doctor Li, are you free to soak in the hot springs the day after tomorrow?”