Chapter 33

“Lu Sen comes from a wealthy family, has a respectable education, and is neither idle nor excessively driven by career ambitions.”

“He gets along well with you, shares similar interests, and hasn’t shown any disinterest in settling in Qinghe with you.”

“After your relationship becomes stable, you two can get married and return to Qinghe to live together…”

In the past, whether the potential match was a blind date or not, the grandfather and the butler would always point out the possible flaws in the candidates that might make them “incompatible” with Bai Wei. Perhaps they came from a rich family but had weak internal capabilities, expecting Bai’s family to fill their financial gaps; maybe they were too career-driven and wouldn’t be willing to help manage the Bai family business, opting to seek other paths; perhaps they were indulgent, visibly obsessed with luxury items; or they were impractical, more obsessed with abstract concepts than real-world business…

Whenever they pointed out those flaws, Bai Wei always felt as if each one of those criticisms applied to him.

Except for Lu Sen. The experts from Bai’s family seemed to be enchanted, thinking he was perfect for Bai Wei, and saw no flaws in him. No ordinary person could receive such high praise from Bai’s family, given their contradictory requirements. If Bai Wei truly liked Lu Sen, he should be overjoyed by this. Even if not, he should at least feel relieved to find someone who met the criteria and wasn’t unpleasant.

However…

Bai Wei vomited again. He felt an immense pressure, throwing up until his head spun. In the mirror, he saw his bloodshot eyes. His third date with Lu Sen had gone smoothly, even very well. All the evaluations indicated that his relationship with Lu Sen was progressing naturally, and they were heading towards a promising future.

He could even see himself smoothly sliding into marriage with Lu Sen, much like how good grades in school would lead one smoothly into Beijing University. Everyone was expecting that, eagerly waiting to hand Bai Wei over to Lu Sen.

No resistance, completely smooth… Bai Wei couldn’t understand why he felt so nauseous.

He instinctively began to distance himself from Lu Sen—even as their relationship was becoming stable. But soon, the butler sent him two invitations to a charity auction, asking him to bring Lu Sen along. By then, it had been half a month since Bai Wei’s last date with him.

Bai Wei didn’t want to sever ties with Lu Sen, but he wasn’t eager to meet him either. The tickets added even more pressure. Looking at the calendar, Bai Wei realized it had been half a month, so he decided to meet him again.

Lu Sen agreed quickly. They met at the charity auction. After half a month, Lu Sen was wearing a very fitting suit and smelled of elegant French perfume, a romantic touch. Bai Wei stood beside him, smiling and greeting other guests. The pressure in his stomach grew heavier.

The charity auction was hosted by a foreign politician. In his early years, he had led an attack on a small country for resources, and all images of the suffering citizens were suppressed by the media. Now, he was promoting environmental protection and animal welfare, with auctioned items coming from various small countries. The funds would go toward environmental protection and plant-based meat research…

Bai Wei was looking at the paintings in the hall. The host was giving an interview behind him, while Lu Sen stood beside him. The hypocrisy of the evening made Bai Wei feel drowsy. Just then, Lu Sen suddenly said about one of the paintings, “Oh, I’ve eaten this fish before, it was quite good.”

Bai Wei: ?

Seeing Bai Wei’s confused expression, Lu Sen added, “The texture was sandy, like frozen fruit slush.”

The host was still being interviewed at the front, talking about environmental protection, while Bai Wei and Lu Sen, like mischievous teenagers, walked around the gallery, pointing and commenting on the fish in every painting.

“I’ve eaten this one, it’s like jelly.”

“This one isn’t good, it leaks a fishy taste when you bite into it—I’d rather starve than eat it.”

“This one has too many bones.”

Discussing such things at an environmental charity banquet felt as out of place as dancing on graves! Yet behind the luxurious clothes, wine, and perfume, they wore the same attire as the guests, yet acted like antisocial figures, lurking in the shadows, commenting rudely on the animals in the paintings—describing even cute animals as beasts. It was especially crude, as if they were two mischievous little creatures up to no good.

At that moment, Bai Wei felt like they were two wanderers from different civilizations, running around in ragged clothes, spitting on everyone’s pristine skirts. He almost wanted to laugh, but he had never laughed like that before.

He even thought about picking up a gun and shooting at the champagne glasses on the tower, one by one, watching them explode, their amber liquid dripping like blood on the red carpet. Lost in these thoughts, they finally reached the last exhibition room. There stood a sculpture, the host of the charity dinner immortalized in stone. Bai Wei wasn’t sure which sycophant had gifted it. The middle-aged charity dinner host stood there, full of pride, holding a finely crafted crown, with a huge gemstone embedded in it.

“Do you want to see that crown? I can help you climb up to look at it,” Lu Sen whispered in his ear. “Climb up to the statue.”

He turned his head and saw Lu Sen’s blue eyes, which were as powerful and deep as the ocean under the sunlight.

The clock struck eight o’clock. Eight chimes, and the auction was about to begin. At that moment, Bai Wei suddenly came to his senses, like waking from a dream. He transformed from a princess wearing glass slippers into Cinderella, from a small thug back into a civilized person.

“I think we should head back,” Bai Wei said dryly.

He turned around quickly and was very polite when apologizing for his lateness to the host of the banquet. Just like how he had suddenly been stripped and thrown onto the street earlier, Bai Wei didn’t speak much to Lu Sen during the banquet. By midnight, he hurriedly got into a car and went home.

—–

After returning home, he looked at himself in the mirror, his heart pounding. Bai Wei inserted his finger into his mouth, biting down on his knuckles. He realized that thinking about the day’s events didn’t make him feel nauseous.

Even using his fingers to gag himself didn’t give him this feeling. It felt like his body and mind were at ease.

Perhaps Lu Sen also wondered if he had offended Bai Wei. After that day, Lu Sen sent some probing messages. Eventually, he invited Bai Wei to a seafood restaurant. Bai Wei agreed without hesitation.

At this point, Bai Wei’s expression on the hospital bed became especially distorted.

Seafood again! Eating marine creatures again! Now he understood, Lu Sen wasn’t knowledgeable, he just really liked to eat!

At the charity dinner, he probably couldn’t resist starting to talk about his thoughts on eating seafood!

As for climbing statues… to a monster, maybe a stone is just a stone that can be climbed, not a sculpture.

Bai Wei had just been pushed out of the operating room. After several rounds of checks, the doctors were surprised to find that Bai Wei’s wrist was recovering very well, far beyond their expectations. They had thought it would take at least a year for his wrist to heal, but now it seemed that Bai Wei might fully recover within three months.

“Really? Thank you, doctor. I’d like to learn more about bone anatomy…” Lu Sen said with a proud smile and followed the doctor out.

The entire hospital’s doctors really liked Lu Sen. Even though they were busy with their work, they always showed extraordinary patience when answering his questions—even the emergency room doctors. A nurse, while changing Bai Wei’s dressing, accidentally mentioned that they felt Lu Sen had some sort of metaphysical quality. Since Lu Sen arrived, all the surgeries had been going smoothly. There were fewer serious cases in the emergency room, and the patients in the inpatient department no longer had night crises. The hospital even had more free time now, and the doctors weren’t as superstitious about apples or annoyed by dragon fruit anymore.

And every time Lu Sen asked a simple question, he would leave a small gift and several pens for each doctor. These were considered precious gifts.

The nurses also noticed Bai Wei’s good character because of his past act of helping a child in need.

They gradually began to connect the Bai Wei from the media with the Bai Wei they saw before them. In the big city, Bai Wei had suffered from media attacks, so he especially disliked the media and facing the public, even going out. So when a nurse suddenly brought it up, Bai Wei almost had a heart attack.

“When you get better, is there a chance we could be included in the book about your hospital and town?” The young nurse chirped happily, “Can you also write about me?”

They had heard so many things like “Zhong Yong’s injury” or “Bai Wei’s mental breakdown and retreat,” or “Bai Wei falling out with the previous publisher,” but the nurse didn’t seem to care. She just admired that Bai Wei had won a literary award.

The nurse said, “I don’t read much, but if you write it, I’ll definitely buy it.”

All the gloomy things seemed insignificant to her compared to the real person.

“Just seeing how good your relationship is, I know many rumors are made up. Before, the town even said you two weren’t getting along,” the head nurse also said, “Your husband is so concerned about you. I heard him asking the doctor about ligaments and recovery…”

Bai Wei’s smile suddenly cracked at that moment.

After the head nurse left, Bai Wei stared at his wrist, a sudden chill running through him.

“A one-year recovery turned into three months—did he secretly alter my body, fix my wrist?”

“Did he inject something into me? What changes has he made to me? Wait…”

A memory from several days ago suddenly flooded Bai Wei’s mind. Finally, Bai Wei, now fully alert, recalled all those things he had been meaning to process on his hospital bed.

Lu… Sen…!!

What exactly did you do to my body?!!

Bai Wei was both anxious, ashamed, and angry. He finally understood everything. Just then, Lu Sen entered the room. He saw Bai Wei and immediately ran over.

“Your hand isn’t healed yet. Why are you moving around in bed?”

Bai Wei looked up, glaring at him with deathly eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Sen asked.

“Nothing, husband. I’m just a bit bored sitting here,” Bai Wei replied.

A week later, Bai Wei finally gave Lu Sen a warm, sweet smile and called him “husband.”

Death sentence, it must be a death sentence!

“You finally smiled again. Looks like the surgery is over, and your pain has lessened, so your mood has improved,” Lu Sen said with relief.

Bai Wei: …

Lu Sen sat next to Bai Wei, peeling an apple. His knife skills were excellent, and his fingers were very nimble. The thin apple peel was removed from top to bottom without breaking. “Dr. Qin is really nice. I asked her about bones and ligaments, and I just sent her a box of rare fruits. She didn’t want any.”

“What did you send her?” Bai Wei, half-dead on the bed, asked.

“Mangoes, strawberries, dragon fruit.”

Bai Wei: …

—–

After Bai Wei got upset, he suddenly thought of something serious. Lu Sen probably planned to feed him the apple. Could it be that Lu Sen was secretly poisoning him during these moments?

He immediately straightened up and looked at Lu Sen’s hand movements. Seeing that Bai Wei was watching him carefully and attentively, Lu Sen smiled and said, “My dear, that expression of yours always reminds me of when we first met, and you came to the hospital to see me…”

He was about to throw the apple peel away when he noticed there were already fresh apple peels in the trash bin.

“Did someone else come today?” he paused for a moment and asked.