After paying the fees and returning, Lu Zhuonian was getting stitches while Chen Zemian sat at the table filling out forms.
Lu Zhuonian noticed that in the column labeled “relationship with the patient,” Chen Zemian had written “ok.”
“Just ok?” Lu Zhuonian asked.
Chen Zemian paused mid-writing, then hesitantly crossed out “ok” and changed it to “very good.”
Lu Zhuonian felt slightly satisfied.
The doctor had seen all kinds of strange patients and family members, so he was not surprised. He said, “Are you supposed to indicate your relationship — family member, friend, or colleague?”
Chen Zemian suddenly realized, “Employee.”
Seeing “very good” crossed out on the form, Lu Zhuonian was dissatisfied again.
Of course, he was even more displeased with Chen Zemian writing “employee.”
After treating the wound, Lu Zhuonian’s hands were bandaged, as if he had lost the ability to care for himself.
Chen Zemian went to the pharmacy to get medicine.
The doctor said, “The burn might fester. Remember to boil the Chinese medicine for the wound when you get home.”
Chen Zemian replied, “Yes, I won’t dare let him cook for himself now.”
After all this trouble, it was already three in the morning when he returned to Lu Zhuonian’s residence.
It was Chen Zemian’s first time visiting Lu Zhuonian’s house.
The right half of a duplex villa, it had two floors above ground and one underground. The size was just right, with a well-designed layout perfect for living alone. It wasn’t too spacious, nor cramped. There was a study, gym, and audio-visual room.
The kitchen and dining room were both on the first floor. There was no time to clean up the glass and milk spilled on the floor. From the kitchen to the bathroom to the door, blood stains dripped on the tiles like a crime scene — even on the sofa.
Chen Zemian first wiped blood off Lu Zhuonian’s mobile phone with alcohol wipes, handed it to him to play with, then turned around to clean the kitchen.
Lu Zhuonian suddenly appeared behind Chen Zemian and said, “You should also go to bed early. You don’t have to work tomorrow.”
Chen Zemian was startled. Hearing that voice, his muscle memory kicked in. He twisted around and almost threw him over his shoulder.
Fortunately, Lu Zhuonian’s height and body shape were very recognizable. Chen Zemian recognized him by his shoulder and barely avoided it.
“It’s hard to clean once it dries,” Chen Zemian said as he dumped broken glass into the trash. “The blood all over the floor is scary.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “I really shouldn’t have troubled you so much, but I didn’t know who else to find at the time. Kesong can’t hide the truth, and Ye Chen lives far away.”
Chen Zemian opened a packet of Chinese medicine and soaked it. “Don’t say that. If I hadn’t taught you how to boil milk at night, this wouldn’t have happened. I should’ve told you to buy a small stew pot — glass can’t be placed directly on the fire.”
“It’s not your fault. You just told me that drinking boiled milk at night helps with sleep, but you didn’t teach me how to boil it,” Lu Zhuonian said as he opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of fresh milk with his left hand. He seemed casual but stopped at that point. “You didn’t come that night.”
Chen Zemian: “…”
Although Lu Zhuonian didn’t specify the day, Chen Zemian knew very well he was talking about the night he promised to boil milk for him.
Chen Zemian hadn’t really wanted to go that night. Later, when the phone went silent, he gave in, hung up, and went to bed calmly.
This happened almost half a month ago.
Lu Zhuonian brought up the past again now. His tone sounded casual at first, but on closer thought, there was a hint of resentment. He was clearly blaming Chen Zemian for breaking his promise but pretending to be generous, as if mentioning it in passing.
“I’ll make it for you now,” Chen Zemian said, taking the two bottles of milk from Lu Zhuonian. “I’ll make two bottles for you.”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t object but said, “Chen Zemian, I didn’t drink the boiled milk that night, and I didn’t fall asleep.”
Chen Zemian: “…”
Was he… blaming me?
He quickly boiled the milk and brought it to the dining table along with the boiled Chinese medicine. He went back to the kitchen to wash the pot and came out again. Several bowls were empty.
Chen Zemian held the empty basin that had been full of Chinese medicine and was stunned for a moment.
Lu Zhuonian saw Chen Zemian standing there dumbfounded and called to him.
Looking at Lu Zhuonian, who seemed indifferent, then at the empty medicine basin, Chen Zemian still held a glimmer of hope and asked in a trembling voice, “Lu Shao, where is the Chinese medicine that was in this basin?”
Lu Zhuonian replied matter-of-factly, “I drank it.”
Drank it?!!! That’s the medicine for washing wounds!!!
Chen Zemian threw the basin away and immediately checked the prescription to see what medicinal materials were in the Chinese medicine.
No poisonous ingredients prescribed, no poisonous ingredients prescribed!
Real rhinoceros horn, cinnabar, realgar, borneol, bee hive, silkworm, borax…
Borax!!!
Chen Zemian’s eyes went dark.
It’s over!!!
Chen Zemian suddenly grabbed Lu Zhuonian and pushed him toward the door. “Let’s go to the hospital.”
Lu Zhuonian was pushed forward a few steps and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That Chinese medicine is for wound cleaning. Why did you drink it?!” Chen Zemian wanted to cry but had no tears. “Borax is poisonous.”
Lu Zhuonian asked puzzled, “Isn’t it for drinking?”
Chen Zemian was so anxious he almost fainted. “Of course not! It’s for washing your wound — otherwise why is it called wound cleaning?!”
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
Chen Zemian’s forehead veins bulged. “How do you feel now?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “No special feeling, just cold.”
“Wait for me at the door, I’ll drive.” Without even grabbing his coat, Chen Zemian rushed out.
Running down the stairs, he took out his phone and searched Baidu for the properties of borax, feeling relieved when he saw: “Trace amounts of boron are beneficial to the human body,” but soon read below: “High intake will be toxic.”
Chen Zemian’s worry deepened as he kept reading hurriedly.
He opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat just as he read about the poisonous dose —
[The adult poisonous dose of borax is 1–3 grams.]
It’s over, it’s over, Lu Zhuonian must be poisoned!
They needed to get to the hospital to have his stomach pumped.
Chen Zemian stepped on the accelerator, reversed, and turned around quickly. While turning, he glanced at the screen again.
This glance terrified him.
[The adult lethal dose is 15–20 grams.]
!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!
Chen Zemian braked suddenly, and the Maserati turned sharply and stopped at the villa’s door.
Lu Zhuonian saw the car stop, took Chen Zemian’s coat, and stepped down. Just after he stepped down two steps, he saw the driver’s door open and a figure rush forward.
Chen Zemian moved so fast that he almost left an afterimage in the dark. Like a stressed cat, he dove into Lu Zhuonian’s arms, hugged his waist, and pushed him back.
Lu Zhuonian suddenly froze in place.
Chen Zemian said, “It’s too late, it’s too late, open your mouth.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “What do you mean it’s too late?”
Chen Zemian was so anxious that he no longer cared about being polite. He raised his hand and pinched Lu Zhuonian’s face. “The lethal dose of borax is 15–20 grams, and you drank a whole bowl!”
Lu Zhuonian was about to say, “That bowl wasn’t all borax,” but before he could speak, Chen Zemian’s finger jabbed into his throat, pressed on his larynx, and forced him to vomit.
“…”
Lu Zhuonian’s throat contracted involuntarily, and an overwhelming feeling of gastric reflux surged into his larynx. He only had time to push Chen Zemian away before vomiting as he leaned forward.
Seeing Lu Zhuonian vomit, Chen Zemian breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Zhuonian had drunk two bottles of milk and Chinese medicine, all of which were liquids, so he vomited smoothly. However, after vomiting some, the nausea gradually subsided and he couldn’t vomit anymore.
Faced with life and death, Chen Zemian ignored etiquette or whether it was dirty. Seeing Lu Zhuonian stop vomiting, he put his hand into his mouth again.
Lu Zhuonian choked and coughed twice, his eyes reddened, and he turned his head to avoid Chen Zemian’s hand, saying hoarsely, “No.”
“No, no, you’ve vomited less than half,” Chen Zemian said, pinching Lu Zhuonian’s chin. “Open your mouth quickly.”
Lu Zhuonian was losing blood and vomiting, his eyes darkened. He raised his face to avoid Chen Zemian’s hand and said stubbornly, “I’d rather be poisoned to death.”
Chen Zemian was shorter than Lu Zhuonian. It was difficult for him to act while Lu Zhuonian raised his head. He could only try to persuade him: “Don’t think I have no way just because you’re looking up.”
Lu Zhuonian glanced at Chen Zemian with disdain.
Chen Zemian adhered to the principle that there are always more solutions than problems. He went behind Lu Zhuonian, hugged his waist from behind, pressed his fists on Lu Zhuonian’s stomach, and pushed forward with force.
Lu Zhuonian thought, What kind of posture is this!?
He couldn’t help but suspect that with Chen Zemian’s persistence, if this method couldn’t push the medicine out, he might punch him in the stomach next to force him to vomit.
When there is danger, Chen Zemian is the safest; when there’s no danger, Chen Zemian is dangerous.
He has good ideas and many methods — he is simply sent by God to torture him.
“Wait.” Lu Zhuonian held Chen Zemian’s hand. “Listen to me first.”
Chen Zemian leaned over from behind, his nose brushing against Lu Zhuonian’s ear. “Hmm?”
Lu Zhuonian’s breathing was slightly choked. He turned his head to avoid Chen Zemian’s face and quickly said, “I only drank a sip of the medicine in the basin and poured out the rest.”
Chen Zemian asked suspiciously, “Really?”
Lu Zhuonian nodded. “I thought you wanted me to drink the medicine in the basin, so I took a sip and found it unpalatable. I poured out the rest when you weren’t paying attention.”
Chen Zemian was skeptical. “Are you telling the truth? Or are you making it up to avoid vomiting?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “You can go to the bathroom to check. I’m afraid you’ll hear water running so the sink hasn’t been flushed yet.”
Chen Zemian slowly let go of Lu Zhuonian’s waist, wanting to check the bathroom, but fearing he’d run away, he put his arm around him: “Come with me.”
*****
Half a minute later, in the bathroom on the villa’s first floor.
The light was as bright as day, shining on the white ceramic sink, where there was indeed a layer of brown Chinese medicine residue.
Chen Zemian and Lu Zhuonian looked at each other.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Chen Zemian was so angry he pushed Lu Zhuonian hard. “You almost scared me to death!”
Lu Zhuonian turned on the faucet to wash his hands and rinse his mouth. “Your hands are faster than my words.”
Chen Zemian washed his hands too. “I was anxious!”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t pursue it, but stuffed Chen Zemian’s coat into the laundry bag. “Sorry, I vomited on your clothes just now. I’ll buy you a new one to make up for it.”
“No, I’m responsible for this too,” Chen Zemian said, still worried about the half mouthful of medicine soup left in Lu Zhuonian’s stomach. “So, are we still going to the hospital?”
Lu Zhuonian was physically and mentally exhausted and didn’t want to go anywhere.
The anesthetic had worn off, the wound throbbed painfully, he felt dizzy from blood loss, his stomach was uncomfortable, and his throat burned.
Although uncomfortable — probably from being tossed around too hard — he actually felt a little sleepy.
This was very rare for someone usually so overly excited.
Lu Zhuonian shook his head and turned to walk upstairs. “I’m not going to the hospital. I want to take a shower and sleep. You can do whatever you want — sleep in the guest room. If you want to leave, you can wear my coat.”
“Don’t be so mysophobic, Lu Shao,” Chen Zemian said, looking at Lu Zhuonian’s swollen hands. “Why take a shower when your hands look like that?”
Lu Zhuonian walked upstairs calmly. “If you hadn’t made me vomit, I wouldn’t have needed to take a shower.”
“…”
Saying this, Chen Zemian felt a rare twinge of guilt and muttered softly, “The problem is, you can’t wash it off either.”
Lu Zhuonian paused slightly, turned, and looked at Chen Zemian. “Then can you help me wash it?”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
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