Chapter 6
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The next morning at eight o’clock, when the doctor came to check on him, Ning Yiwei was already awake. He was texting Zhou Zirui on his phone, hoping that the doctor would discharge him because he had classes to attend in the afternoon.
The main doctor entered the room, followed by a few young doctors and nurses. Ning Yiwei noticed that the nurse who had cleaned his wound last night was also present.
The doctor looked down at the notebook in his hand and asked Ning Yiwei, “Did the wound reopen last night?”
Ning Yiwei smiled at the nurse and quickly answered, “Last night, I moved too much while turning over, causing a small reopening of the wound. There was hardly any bleeding, and I felt completely normal, not dizzy at all.”
“I see,” said the doctor as he moved closer. He asked Ning Yiwei to hold his knee and carefully examined the wound behind his right ear.
Liang Chong and the secretary walked in together, carrying Ning Yiwei’s change of clothes. They happened to overhear the conversation between the doctor and Ning Yiwei. Liang Chong warned Ning Yiwei, “Be honest in your words.” Then he asked the doctor, “His wound is quite big, and he bled quite a bit last night. Does he need to stay in the hospital for a few more days for observation?”
After examining for a while and asking Ning Yiwei a few questions, the doctor prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine and cautiously told Liang Chong, “He can stay or not. However, even if he doesn’t stay, he still needs rest.”
“Doctor, my campus life is quite calm,” Ning Yiwei reasoned. “I study physics, so I don’t need physical labor.”
The doctor nodded and said, “But you shouldn’t strain your brain excessively either.”
Ning Yiwei hesitated for a moment and defended himself, “I only learn some very basic knowledge.”
Liang Chong stood on the side with crossed arms, initially not interfering, but later seeing Ning Yiwei’s strong desire to be discharged. After the doctor gave some instructions on wound care, Liang Chong finally showed mercy and said, “Then you can be discharged.”
Ning Yiwei joyfully changed his clothes and followed Liang Chong out of the room. However, because his movements were too exaggerated, Liang Chong lightly slapped his hand.
Once they got in the car, it was still the female secretary who drove. Liang Chong noticed that as soon as Ning Yiwei got in, he started playing with his phone again. He reached over, took Ning Yiwei’s phone away, securing his seatbelt against the back of the seat before returning it to him.
Ning Yiwei had long grown accustomed to Liang Chong’s authoritarian actions. After getting his phone back, he skillfully informed Zhou Zirui about being discharged and then cleverly asked Liang Chong, “How should I go to my 2 P.M. class?”
With a gentle smile, Liang Chong replied, “You still want to attend class?”
Assertively, Ning Yiwei said, “I’m already discharged. How can I skip class?”
“I’ve already let you be discharged today. What more trouble do you want?” Liang Chong said coldly. “Dr. Li said not to strain your brain, stay home and rest.”
“Nonsense,” Ning Yiwei retorted. “At school, I always walk quietly to the classroom, listen quietly during the lecture, and leave quietly. Besides, for the Plasma Physics Introduction, what brain do I need? I’m not Kong Zong. He’s the one who suffers brain fatigue studying Plasma Physics Introduction.”
The car suddenly braked, causing the seatbelt to tighten against Ning Yiwei’s shoulder. He looked up and his gaze coincided with that of the female secretary in the rearview mirror. There was a hint of strangeness in her eyes, but Ning Yiwei didn’t pay much attention.
After observing Ning Yiwei for a moment, Liang Chong extended his hand and pinched Ning Yiwei’s left cheek. “You understand, yet you still want to go to class.”
The pinch was a bit forceful, causing Ning Yiwei to speak with a slight stutter, but he persisted, “The afternoon class is taught by Professor Zhu, who interviewed me for admission. He only teaches the first five sessions, and this is the final one. If I don’t go, he will be disappointed. He’s a plasma authority, a middle-aged man in his fifties.”
Liang Chong remained unaffected, seeming unwilling to engage in further arguments with Ning Yiwei. He opened his laptop and started reviewing the company’s new advertising campaign. While casually giving advice, he said, “Don’t you still have Zhou Zirui? Let him request leave for you, saying you got injured in a bar fight. I’m sure the authority will understand.”
Ning Yiwei was rendered speechless by Liang Chong’s unreasonable remarks. He glanced up and noticed the female secretary looking at him again. Feeling puzzled, he was about to say something when Liang Chong, who was reading the campaign, spoke up, “Laila, you missed the turn. Take a left at the next intersection.”
“Oh, oh, sorry,” the secretary realized her mistake and immediately apologized to Liang Chong in a low voice. She switched to the left lane and stayed close to it.
She had been working in the secretary department for a few years and was recently assigned to her current position due to the previous secretary’s overseas assignment. She began to get involved in some aspects of Liang Chong’s personal life. Sometimes she had to drive Liang Chong home late at night after he worked overtime at the company, or accompany him on early mornings for negotiations in different places. She often felt that Liang Chong was like a robot blended among humans, with his personality, abilities, and appearance seemingly crafted according to the standards set by next-century artificial intelligence textbooks. He always wore a sharp suit, looked composed and reliable, and spoke to everyone in a gentle and impeccable manner.
It wasn’t until today, witnessing Liang Chong’s behavior towards Ning Yiwei, that she realized things might not be exactly as they seemed.
After a couple of minutes of silence in the car, Liang Chong’s eyes remained fixed on the computer screen. He turned to Ning Yiwei and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Ning Yiwei glanced at Liang Chong and mumbled, “I want to go to class.” He felt a bit worried and messaged Zhou Zirui, “Liang Chong won’t let me go to school.”
“Why?” Zhou Zirui replied promptly, without stuttering, and asked Ning Yiwei, “Didn’t you get discharged?”
“He wants me to rest,” Ning Yiwei typed, each word carrying a sense of grievances.
Zhou Zirui responded, “Just come to class quietly and leave quietly. Keep it peaceful.”
“Exactly what I said!” Ning Yiwei silently praised Zhou Zirui. Their spiritual worlds were so in sync, like the harmonious meeting of mountains and rivers.
Before receiving Zhou Zirui’s reply, a call from Lu Jiaqin suddenly came through. Ning Yiwei’s hand holding the phone paused, and he tugged on Liang Chong’s arm.
Liang Chong finally shifted his gaze away from the screen. He turned his face and looked at Ning Yiwei. “What is it?”
“It’s my mom,” Ning Yiwei said, “I need your help.”
Once Liang Chong nodded, Ning Yiwei answered the call, putting it on speakerphone.
Lu Jiaqin’s voice came through the speaker, “Baby, Mom and Dad will be back home the day after tomorrow. We’ll stay for a while and bring fresh yellowtail fish!”
Ning Yiwei didn’t say a word. He looked at Liang Chong expectantly, and Liang Chong pinched Ning Yiwei’s face again before picking up the phone and putting it to his ear. Without changing his expression or skipping a beat, Liang Chong calmly said to Lu Jiaqin, “Auntie, it’s me, Liang Chong.” Ning Yiwei involuntarily nodded along with Liang Chong’s words.
“Ning Yiwei stayed up all night writing his paper and is still asleep,” Liang Chong effortlessly lied, “His paper is important, and it’s due this weekend. He might not finish it by the day after tomorrow.” Seeing Ning Yiwei nodding again, Liang Chong’s eyes carried a hint of amusement as he spoke a few casual words with Lu Jiaqin. After hanging up, he asked Ning Yiwei, “How will you thank me?”
Ning Yiwei, however, didn’t express gratitude. He sighed to Liang Chong, “How are you so good at deceiving people?”
Liang Chong returned the phone to him with an unfriendly expression. Ning Yiwei leaned closer and said to Liang Chong, “I want to go to class.”
With a pale complexion and long eyelashes, Ning Yiwei pressed his lips together and focused on Liang Chong. “Just for two sessions. Not too long, right?”
After being stared at by Ning Yiwei for a while, Liang Chong looked away, gazing at the dimmed computer screen, appearing somewhat unnatural and awkward. “I have a video conference in the evening, so I might not be able to pick you up in time. Have dinner first and find a place to sit.”
“I’ll take a taxi back,” Ning Yiwei said.
“No,” Liang Chong tapped on the touchpad, brightening the computer screen, still not looking at Ning Yiwei directly. He simply said, “I’ll finish as soon as possible. Behave yourself.”
Ning Yiwei agreed, moved a little closer, and placed his hand on Liang Chong’s shoulder. His face approached, and he glanced at the project Liang Chong was reviewing, softly expressing gratitude to Liang Chong several times.
Liang Chong’s body slightly stiffened. He said to Ning Yiwei, “Don’t move so much.” Ning Yiwei had no choice but to sit back, but he noticed that when he had moved away from Liang Chong’s shoulder, Liang Chong didn’t seem particularly happy or pleased.
The hospital was a bit far from Liang Chong’s house, so Ning Yiwei spent the time observing Liang Chong with boredom. Liang Chong noticed and glanced at Ning Yiwei. “What are you looking at?”
Ning Yiwei couldn’t help but reach out and touch Liang Chong’s chin, feeling the slightly rough texture on his fingertips, which made Ning Yiwei involuntarily stroke up and down. Ning Yiwei himself hardly had any body hair and his skin was smooth all over. If it weren’t for him entering university at the age of sixteen and never living in the school dormitory, his high school classmates going through puberty might have teased him.
Liang Chong didn’t stop Ning Yiwei, but he raised his hand and pressed it on the back of Ning Yiwei’s hand. Liang Chong had a slightly darker complexion than Ning Yiwei, and his hands were bigger.
His fingers paused on the back of Ning Yiwei’s hand for a moment, then he firmly held Ning Yiwei’s palm and pulled his hand down. However, after pulling it down, he didn’t let go. Ning Yiwei didn’t try to break free either.
Liang Chong held someone’s hand with his right hand while using the touchpad with his left hand to look at the project. It seemed a bit unskilled as he scrolled down the page.
In reality, Ning Yiwei didn’t know why they were holding hands, but he felt that Liang Chong liked it, and he himself didn’t dislike it either. It was just that holding hands made it easy for his mind to wander and imagine things.
“Liang Chong,” Ning Yiwei suddenly spoke up.
Liang Chong tightened his grip on Ning Yiwei’s hand.
“Let me test you,” Ning Yiwei said, “Do you know which hormones determine the growth rate of adult male facial hair?”
“…………”
“You don’t know, do you?” Ning Yiwei said smugly, “Do you want to know?”
“All I know is that if you continue saying things I don’t want to hear, the plasma authority will be very disappointed this afternoon.”
Ning Yiwei reluctantly picked up his phone with one hand and continued updating his schedule for Zhou Zirui.
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