Tms 57

Chapter 57: TMS

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Tang Assistant hurriedly pushed open Lu Ge's office door without bothering to knock.

“Hey, hey.” Lu Ge lazily spun the pen in his hand twice and smiled, “Tang Bai, is it just me being deaf, or did you really not knock just now?”

Tang Bai steadied himself.

“Mr. Lu, something happened to Young Master Xu.”

—

Tang Bai rushed to the hospital, trying to block out Lu Ge's intermittent urging voice along the way.

It was the first time he had seen his boss so emotionally intense; he didn’t dare to elaborate on what he had heard from the phone, only saying that the two had accidentally fallen down the stairs and were injured.

“Where is Chi Qiu?”

“Uh?” While parking, Tang Bai instinctively replied, “The eldest young master seems to be in room 923.”

“The second young master is in—”

Just as the car stopped, a loud sound of the back door slamming interrupted him. He turned his gaze to see Lu Ge already sprinting towards the hospital entrance.

Wait... he hadn’t even mentioned where the second young master was; it was the second young master who had gotten into trouble!

He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and hurried after him.

Tang Bai, panting, just reached the elevator when it was still on the upper floor. Lu Ge didn’t wait and went straight into the stairs. All Tang Bai could catch was a glimpse of Lu Ge's clothing corner.

Standing between the staircase and the elevator, Assistant Tang hesitated.

It was the ninth floor; he really, really couldn't run anymore!

The door to room 923 was pushed open forcefully, and Ji Mian instinctively looked over.

The person who burst into the ward, gasping heavily, was someone he knew all too well.

Qin Yan stood opposite Ji Mian, looking despondent. He had originally been talking, but was interrupted by Lu Ge's sudden entrance.

Lu Ge's gaze swept directly to Ji Mian, his eyes sharp as a precise instrument, pinpointing the changes in Ji Mian's condition at a glance.

Ji Mian's right arm was bandaged like a “zongzi,” with scrapes on his neck and elbow. There was gauze taped to the side of his right eye, held in place by several strips of medical tape, obviously swollen. Plus, he looked thinner.

Lu Ge was about to explode, and he almost laughed in anger.

He dared not look at Ji Mian any longer, stepping forward to grab Qin Yan by the collar, veins popping on his arm hidden within his sleeve as he slammed him against the wall.

The rule of keeping noise down in the hospital ward had long been forgotten: “I entrusted him to you, and this is how you take care of him?”

Qin Yan had never seen Lu Ge in such a disarrayed state. Usually, even when facing Qin Yan, Lu Ge could still greet him with a smile, saying “Mr. Qin.”

He was instantly dumbfounded: “I…”

Ji Mian was also startled by Lu Ge's demeanor and hurried over to mediate, grabbing Lu Ge's sleeve with his uninjured left hand.

Lu Ge ignored him, gripping Qin Yan's collar tighter, almost choking him.

“Mr. Lu, don’t…” Ji Mian's right hand, wrapped in bandages, exerted some weak force, pulling at Lu Ge's sleeve with the few fingers that could still move, “It’s not Qin Yan’s fault, really.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Ge’s eyes moved slightly.

Ji Mian thought Lu Ge was swayed by his words, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, his brain suddenly rang with the system’s notification sound.

[Affection Value +300 (150x2), Contributor: Lu Ge.]

[Affection Value +400 (200x2), Contributor: Lu Ge.]

[Affection Value +600 (300x2), Contributor: Lu Ge.]

The consecutive system notifications left Ji Mian completely at a loss.

[Affection Value—] The system cut off the notification about the increase in affection value.

“Lu…”

When Ji Mian spoke again, Lu Ge released his grip, his expression indifferent and somewhat cold. “Mm, it has nothing to do with him.”

Strangely, Ji Mian felt something blocking his chest, making it hard to breathe.

“What happened to your hand?” Lu Ge asked him.

“Nothing, just a sprain,” Ji Mian said, holding onto Lu Ge's sleeve with fingers like tender bamboo shoots, not daring to let go, “Zhi Xia is injured seriously; the doctor said he needs to rest and only allowed one caregiver. Uncle Zhou is busy with him.”

“Mm. What about your face?”

“I bumped my head; the wound is small, just swollen.”

“What about your arm?”

“Scrapes; it’s not serious. I’m fine, really.” Ji Mian added, “Really.”

“...How did you get hurt?”

Ji Mian actually didn't quite understand what had happened. He just wanted to go out for a stroll, and as soon as he stepped out, he saw Xu Zhi Xia being pulled by Qin Yan at the stairway. Before he could react to what conflict these two were having, Xu Zhi Xia broke free from Qin Yan's hand and fell down due to the backward motion.

So weird, Ji Mian couldn't help but feel a sense of dread when he thought about it.

【Who told you to be foolish?】The system couldn’t help but reprimand him, wanting Ji Mian to be less reckless next time. It was truly startled when it saw him reaching out; it thought the world was about to end.

It wanted Ji Mian to cherish his life a bit more, but in the end, it could only say indirectly: 【If you hadn't reached out, Xu Zhixia might not have gotten hurt so badly.】

This was indeed...

Ji Mian pressed his lips together, feeling a bit regretful.

If he hadn't been such a burden on Xu Zhixia, perhaps the injury on the back of his head wouldn't have been so serious.

【Think twice before acting...】The system continued to murmur in Ji Mian's mind.

“It was just... Zhixia accidentally stepped into empty space, and I didn't pull him back, so I fell down with him,” Ji Mian replied to Lu Ge.

Qin Yan stood by, feeling awkward and unable to interject.

He stood for a while and then tactfully left.

After interrogating the suspect like a judge, Lu Ge fell silent for a moment before saying, “Don't rush back; observe in the hospital for a few more days.”

Ji Mian wanted to say it wasn’t a serious illness, just some superficial wounds. Only the outer side of his right hand was injured when he fell. When the doctor came to check, he was more concerned about having him check other aspects of his health, not mentioning his injuries much.

There was no need to stay in the hospital, occupying a bed for no reason. Ji Mian planned to handle the discharge procedures after today.

But looking at Lu Ge’s expression, he still replied, “Okay.”

It was rare for Lu Ge to be serious, which made Ji Mian uncomfortable; he couldn't figure out what the other was thinking.

What he didn't know was that Lu Ge was also pondering his thoughts. Ji Mian had previously told him, “Don't come over again,” but not only did he come, he almost made a move on Qin Yan.

‘It has nothing to do with him...’ When Lu Ge thought about Ji Mian clinging to his arm, protecting him, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Qin Yan in his mind, feeling sour.

Unfortunately, the system had muted the prompts for affection points; otherwise, at this moment, Ji Mian would definitely have received several noisy notifications.

“When Tang Bai said you had an accident, I thought you were going to die,” Lu Ge suddenly said.

This statement was hardly auspicious in the hospital room.

Tang Bai said Ji Mian fell down the stairs, and Lu Ge had walked those stairs too many times. In the past, he didn’t feel how long that stretch of road was, but when he recalled it in the car, it felt like that artfully curved staircase was thousands of feet deep. Ji Mian was like a beautiful piece of glass; if not treasured carefully, it could easily shatter.

On the way from the company, Lu Ge kept thinking if this might be his last time seeing Ji Mian. That sense of helpless uncertainty made him nauseous, almost wanting to vomit.

Ji Mian detected the fear in Lu Ge's voice; his eyelashes trembled, but he couldn’t respond.

He thought that pushing Lu Ge away from him was a good thing for the other person.

He had lost love once and understood how painful it was to lose a lover, which could sap one’s will and courage and make them weak. Those things he had lost were regained because of Lu Ge.

For this reason, he was even less willing for Lu Ge to suffer like him.

“Have you had lunch?” Lu Ge suddenly changed the subject.

Ji Mian: ...

He silently turned his face away. Although it was still not yet eleven o'clock, he always felt guilty whenever Lu Ge asked this question.

Lu Ge viciously pressed his tongue against his cheek; seeing Ji Mian's expression, he immediately knew the answer.

“Young master, I’ve changed my mind.” He plopped down on Ji Mian's hospital bed, leaned against the headboard, and shamelessly declared, “I now think it’s better for people to be a bit selfish.”

All that talk about just wanting Ji Mian to be happy was nonsense!

Lu Ge thought: no matter how much Ji Mian tried to chase him away, he wouldn’t leave and would stick around.

Ji Mian remained silent for several seconds before finally sitting on the stool beside the bed.

Their positions had reversed.

Ji Mian lowered his head, his fingers tugging at the bandage wrapped around his wrist, pulling a bit out, then stuffing it back in.

Lu Ge’s gaze followed his movements; his mood gradually calmed down, even feeling a bit like laughing.

Just as his lips curved up, Ji Mian simultaneously raised his eyes, and their gazes met.

If the ending is destined, what’s the point of holding on?

Ji Mian looked into Lu Ge's eyes and knew his answer.

For this person, it was meaningful.

He couldn’t reciprocate Lu Ge's love. But at the very least, he wanted to do something for this person in front of him.

Ji Mian thought, if he could stay a bit longer, would Lu Ge feel less sad?

He slightly lowered his eyelashes and said, “I want to eat... little yellow croaker.”

The person in the hospital bed was taken aback.

At that moment, Lu Ge wished he could gather all the little yellow croakers in the world into Ji Mian’s fish basket.