Chapter 11

Mu Chi quickly got a taxi at the intersection and helped Song Wenzhou into the back seat.

Inside the car, Song Wenzhou closed his eyes and leaned against the car window, his brows tightly furrowed.

Mu Chi hesitated for a moment, then reached over and tugged at his arm. When Song Wenzhou lifted his eyelids to look at him, Mu Chi shrugged and said, “The glass is pretty hard, huh?”

Song Wenzhou: “?”

“My shoulder’s not that hard.” Mu Chi said, lightly patting his shoulder and gesturing for Song Wenzhou to lean on it.

Song Wenzhou twitched the corner of his mouth and, following Mu Chi’s pull, leaned against his shoulder, closing his eyes to rest.

The taxi stopped outside the hospital’s outpatient department, and Song Wenzhou was still carried inside by Mu Chi.

Mu Chi grew up around here, and his family also had an elderly grandmother. The old woman’s health had been deteriorating, requiring frequent check-ups and visits to the hospital, so Mu Chi had come in and out of this hospital many times.

Although Mu Chi had always been healthy and rarely got sick, he remembered the procedures for seeing a doctor very well.

Even though it was late at night, the hospital was still bustling with people. Mu Chi registered Song Wenzhou for an emergency appointment. While waiting, Ren Suyi called to say that she and Song Wenzhou’s father had arrived at the hospital and asked which department they were in.

Mu Chi gave her the floor and room number. Ren Suyi and Song Chenglang were probably visiting the hospital for the first time after moving to the city and were unfamiliar with the hospital’s layout. It took them about seven or eight minutes to find their way.

“Zhouzhou!” From a few meters away, Ren Suyi’s voice was heard. Mu Chi looked up and saw a woman in casual clothes, wearing slippers, running toward them with a series of “pa-da” sounds.

“Mom…” Song Wenzhou softly called out.

Mu Chi quickly stood up and made room next to Song Wenzhou. In the next moment, Ren Suyi took the spot and grabbed Song Wenzhou’s hand, asking him one question after another with concern.

Song Chenglang, who had arrived a bit later, made eye contact with Mu Chi. Mu Chi politely greeted, “Hello, Uncle.”

“Hello.” Song Chenglang’s eyes were filled with worry for his son, but he nodded to Mu Chi first and thanked him, “I really appreciate it, little classmate. Thank you for bringing Song Wenzhou to the hospital in the middle of the night.”

“No problem, no problem,” Mu Chi waved his hand, “It’s what classmates do for each other.”

After asking Song Wenzhou about his condition, Ren Suyi let out a sigh of relief, then turned around to grab Mu Chi’s hand, nearly in tears, saying, “Thank you, child. I heard you’re Zhouzhou’s deskmate? You’ve really worked hard.”

Mu Chi, somewhat awkwardly, thought that while there was nothing wrong with what Song Wenzhou’s mother said, something felt odd when the two sentences were put together. However, he smiled politely and responded, “No need to thank me, no need to thank me. Zhouzhou has been very good to me too.”

Song Wenzhou leaned back in his chair. Maybe it was because the intense pain had passed, but now, watching Mu Chi being “surrounded” by his parents, he quietly remarked with a touch of mischief, “He carried me all the way here.”

Ren Suyi and Song Chenglang kept expressing their gratitude.

Mu Chi almost couldn’t handle it. He wanted to glare at Song Wenzhou, but it would be awkward in front of his parents, so he just forced a smile and repeatedly said, “It’s nothing, really…”

Under the guidance of the doctor, Song Wenzhou underwent several tests, including a gastroscopy and abdominal CT. During this time, due to the large number of people accompanying him, the examination room didn’t allow everyone to go in, so Mu Chi had to wait in the corridor.

Afterward, when he heard Ren Suyi “scolding” Song Wenzhou, Mu Chi realized that the cause of Song Wenzhou’s stomach pain was eating overly spicy food.

And at that time, he was eating hot, and spicy hotpot while also having two bowls of ice jelly, with the alternating temperatures causing his stomach issues to flare up.

“I’ve always told you to watch your diet,” Ren Suyi scolded Song Wenzhou in frustration, “Why don’t you ever listen?”

Song Wenzhou silently listened to the lecture without saying anything.

“I’m sorry, Auntie,” Mu Chi quickly stood up, “I’m the one who treated him to spicy food, and I also gave him the ice drink. I didn’t expect… it’s all my fault, please don’t blame Song Wenzhou.”

Song Wenzhou turned to look at Mu Chi, opening his mouth to retort.

“Oh no, how could we blame you?” Ren Suyi immediately softened, her tone turning kind, “Zhouzhou’s stomach problems stemmed from not eating properly when he was younger. He knows his own body, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation. If his stomach hurts, he deserves it!”

“Oh, is that so?” Mu Chi didn’t defend Song Wenzhou at all. Instead, he continued “scolding” him, “Why didn’t you tell me you had stomach problems? Your health is the most important thing; don’t think that just because you’re young, you can push through everything. This is no joke.”

Ren Suyi nodded repeatedly, agreeing, “Exactly, see how understanding your classmate is.”

Song Wenzhou: “…Yeah.”

The test results showed that Song Wenzhou had acute gastritis. In addition to taking medicine, he would need an IV treatment tonight.

Song Chenglang went to the designated window to collect the medicine and pay the fee, while Ren Suyi, with a look of having found a kindred spirit, kept talking to Mu Chi. “Classmate, what’s your name again?”

“My name is Mu Chi,” Mu Chi repeated, “I’m Song Wenzhou’s deskmate.”

“I know, I know,” Ren Suyi said with a smile, “Zhouzhou often talks about you.”

Song Wenzhou weakly objected, “I don’t.”

“Really?” Mu Chi laughed from the heart, completely ignoring Song Wenzhou’s words, and asked Ren Suyi, “What did he say about me?”

Ren Suyi: “Uh…”

See? Now you can’t say anything, Song Wenzhou thought, smiling to himself. He had never mentioned Mu Chi to Ren Suyi.

“Oh!” Ren Suyi finally remembered something, “Last time I took him to the mall, he purposely went to buy a gift for you. Oh my, he spent ages picking it out.”

Song Wenzhou: “…”

First of all, he didn’t “purposely go,” he just happened to see it and bought it. Secondly, could a few minutes really be called “ages”?

“Really?” Mu Chi turned to look at Song Wenzhou, his eyes shining brightly.

Song Wenzhou: “…Yeah.”

Forget it, as long as they were happy.

“I really like it,” Mu Chi said.

Song Wenzhou: “I’m glad you like it.”

“By the way, Xiao Mu,” Ren Suyi called Mu Chi’s attention back, “Auntie has something to ask of you.”

Mu Chi nodded and asked, “What is it? You can tell me, Auntie.”

“You know Zhouzhou transferred schools, right? His dad and I are quite busy with work, so if there’s something happening with him at school, we might not find out right away. So…”

“Don’t worry, Auntie,” Mu Chi interrupted, “I’ll take good care of Zhouzhou.”

“No, no, that’s not what I mean,” Ren Suyi laughed lightly, “He’s already an adult, and I believe he can take care of himself just fine. What I want is for you to keep an eye on his meals. You don’t know, he always wants to try foods that his body can’t handle, and if no one stops him, things like today could happen again.”

“No problem,” Mu Chi nodded vigorously, “Leave it to me, I’ll make sure he stays healthy, with strong teeth and eating well.”

Song Wenzhou was speechless, it seemed his opinion as the person involved didn’t even matter.

When the nurse came to perform a skin test on Song Wenzhou, Ren Suyi happened to go to the bathroom, and Song Chenglang had not yet returned, so Mu Chi was the only one with him.

“Song Wenzhou,” the nurse confirmed the patient’s name and said gently, “Please extend your left hand.”

“Can I use my right hand?” Song Wenzhou asked.

“Yes,” the nurse smiled seeing how obedient and good-looking he was, and explained, “But some people experience discomfort after the skin test, so using the right hand might be more convenient.”

“Use the left hand,” Mu Chi interjected, “You’re always writing a lot with your right hand every day, right?”

Song Wenzhou then extended his left hand, which was clenched into a fist.

“Don’t tense your muscles like that,” the nurse reminded, “Relax your wrist.”

“Are you scared of pain?” Mu Chi teased.

Song Wenzhou: “Of course.”

Who isn’t afraid of pain?

Song Wenzhou loosened his fist, revealing a white button he had been holding in the palm of his hand.

Mu Chi: “Huh?”

He looked down at his chest and realized that one of the buttons on his wrinkled shirt had fallen off, probably because Song Wenzhou had pulled it off while he was carrying him earlier.

“You… you really have quite a strong grip,” Mu Chi took the button from his hand. “But why were you holding onto it?”

Song Wenzhou’s ears turned slightly red, and he retorted, “I forgot, here, I’m giving it back to you.”

Mu Chi waited until the nurse finished administering the injection and left before playing with the button and saying, “Even if you give it back to me, it’s useless. I don’t know how to sew.”

Song Wenzhou endured the pain in his arm, thinking that he was the one who had ripped it off, so it was his responsibility to fix it. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I’ll sew it for you.”

Mu Chi imagined the scene of Song Wenzhou carefully threading the needle and sewing his shirt, and couldn’t help but laugh, which made Song Wenzhou widen his eyes and glare at him.

“Forget it, I never button this shirt anyway,” Mu Chi handed the button back to Song Wenzhou. “If you like it, just keep it as a souvenir.”

After Ren Suyi and Song Chenglang returned, Mu Chi knew it was time for him to leave and head back to school.

Song Chenglang had driven there, and insisted on personally seeing Mu Chi safely back to school before he would feel at ease.

Mu Chi couldn’t refuse, so after saying goodbye to Song Wenzhou and his parents, he left with Song Chenglang.

Song Wenzhou watched his retreating figure and muttered, “I don’t like it,” yet his right hand reached into his pocket to touch the button. The next day, he asked Ren Suyi for an unused jewelry box to carefully store it.

He kept it in the box for many years. Although Song Wenzhou didn’t consider it extremely important, he took it with him wherever he went.