In the ward, Xiang Han was lying in bed with a weak and pale face.
The system was still blabbering in his head, [Mr. Xiang, I only left for a while, how did you get yourself into this mess? Was there a problem with the instant noodles? According to my analysis, a small amount of preservatives shouldn't lead to such severe consequences…]
The doctor standing next to Xiang Han scolded him, "Don't you know that you have a chronic stomach ulcer? Not only did you not take care of yourself, but you also drank on an empty stomach and ate spicy food, do you not want your life anymore? This disease has a possibility of leading to cancer so it must be taken very seriously…"
Lu Ze stood on the side, his expression sinking.
The system was relieved, [So the problem was with the original host.]
Xiang Han was filled with grief, [Didn't you check the original host's physical condition beforehand?]
In the end, the original host was only cannon fodder. Having a minor issue such as stomach problems wasn't significant enough to be written into the script.
The system was very embarrassed, [Sorry ah, Mr. Xiang, we didn't think about it before. I'll go request for permission from the admiral- I mean, Mr. Dean.]
[Go go.] Xiang Han felt unwell again so he didn't notice the system's change in topic.
On the other hand, Lu Ze was also affected by the doctor's fury and glared at him. Xiang Han was feeling somewhat guilty so after the doctor left, he immediately pretended to be asleep.
From Lu Ze's point of view, the young man lying in bed was pale and thin; only his sharp chin covered by the blanket and his exhausted expression could be seen. He slowly walked towards the bed with a complicated gaze.
Lu Ze had already seen the tickets Xiang Han had bought. The destination was a remote town in the southern province and it would take at least 15 hours by bus to get there.
Xiang Han thought that because he'd offended Zhao Handong, he needed to get away. Silly, he was even unwilling to take the high-speed rail and in order to save money, he merely ate a few packets of instant noodles. Didn't Xiang Han know it was bad for his stomach?
The young master Lu who had just been expelled from the Lu family probably didn't know that although the price of the porridge on the roadside stalls was similar to instant noodles, they had a higher nutritional value. As for Xiang Han's failure to buy the high-speed rail tickets, it was completely the system's fault. It hadn't collected enough information thus, it could only find a long-distance bus station. Although it was very economical for Xiang Han, in reality, this matter had nothing to do with saving money.
Lu Ze, of course, didn't know this because the railway station and the long-distance bus station were merely a street apart. Therefore, he concluded that in order to save money, Xiang Han couldn't bear to take the speedy train. Moreover, his reason for leaving was also because – in order to help him – Xiang Han had ended up offending Zhao Handong.
Lu Ze's eyes darkened as he remembered how Xiang Han's weak body had shrunk against the wall earlier and his heart felt a stabbing pain. How could such a foolish lover, who cared so much about him, be the greedy person Sun Shuya said he was? Not to mention, Xiang Han himself had been born into poverty, how could he be afraid of living a hard life together?
When he thought of the scene at the bar, he wondered how he hadn't seen through Xiang Han's act and almost believed Sun Shuya's words. Lu Ze's heart was filled with regret.
If only he had taken Xiang Han away at the time, this fool wouldn't have offended Zhao Handong, forcing him to escape only to land himself in the hospital. Luckily, he'd found out in time and didn't end up making a bigger mistake. It was really quite fortunate.
Xiang Han didn't know that in just a few minutes, Lu Ze's train of thought had already flown in this direction, even his brain couldn't stop it. At the moment, Xiang Han could feel a pair of eyes staring at him. His heart beat wildly as he wondered, why is the target staring at me? Could it be that he's already realised I'm only pretending to be asleep?
Lu Ze saw his brows suddenly crease and thought Xiang Han was suffering from pain, he couldn't help raising his hand to stroke him comfortingly. He sighed and asked, "Silly, how can you just leave like this? You don't want that diploma anymore? Are you really planning on throwing away your future?"
Xiang Han, "!!!! What's happening?"
"You worked so hard to get into A University but gave up everything because of me. Is it worth it?" Lu Ze's fingers slowly slid towards his ears and pinched his earlobe.
Xiang Han almost choked, he weakly asked the system, [Little Nine, didn't we already break up?]
System, [According to my calculations, he probably wants to reconcile your love.]
Xiang Han was stunned, [But I only ate instant noodles and haven't even done anything yet?]
Lu Ze's fingertips had moved to his lips, slowly tracing the shape, he gently pressed against the slightly dry lips. Xiang Han couldn't help but tremble; half of his body had gone numb.
Lu Ze was reminded of the bright, red color of blood and his face suddenly became dark again, "Rest assured, I'm here. Zhao Handong won't be able to harm you."
After saying this, he paused before continuing helplessly, "In the future, don't think too much and make decisions by yourself. Even when at the bottom, I'm still capable of taking care of you." After a while, he whispered once more, "I'll go get your medicine and some porridge on the way back."
Xiang Han couldn't stay still any longer and swiftly got up the moment Lu Ze left. His face was extremely bitter when he let out a breath, [Little Nine, this target is a bit scary.]
The system slowly swallowed, [I think he knows you were only faking sleep.]
Xiang Han, [That's even scarier…]
System, [Compared to this, what I'm more concerned about is how you didn't recognize him, sir.]
[Ah? I couldn't see him clearly at the bar and the information you provided was all in text. There were no images or pictures.] Xiang Han innocently explained.
System, [You didn't receive the original host's memories?]
[Nope.] Xiang Han was confused.
System, […There seems to be a problem. Mr. Xiang, I might have to leave for awhile.]
[Can you not?] Xiang Han panicked, [What if the target returns while you're gone?]
System, […] What on earth are you afraid of?
Although Xiang Han kept begging, the system left him mercilessly. He could only curl up in bed and keep an eye on the door. The target didn't seem like a normal person. They'd already separated yet he still kept touching him. Didn't the plot say he only loved the protagonist? Ah, he had a headache…
While thinking about this, he unwittingly fell asleep. When Lu Ze came back, he saw Xiang Han curled into a ball, clutching the quilt with his hands which were full of bite marks and saliva.
Lu Ze frowned and put the box of food and medicine on the table. Walking forward, he gently tucked the arm that was exposed into the quilt, then covered him properly.
Seeing the tooth marks, he lifted his hand to lightly touch Xiang Han's forehead. He felt helpless and distressed, "If it hurts so much, why didn't you press the bell? It's not hygienic to chew on the quilt."
When awake, Xiang Han felt a hand stroking his forehead. He immediately hugged the person tightly and sobbed, "Dad, you finally came to see me…" and finally came to give me money. Any longer and your son would have starved to death.
Lu Ze froze and suddenly remembered Xiang Han saying that his father had died when he was six years old.
It was heartbreaking to hear Xiang Han 'cry'. Lu Ze couldn't bring himself to withdraw his hand and continued to pat him comfortingly, "Be good."
This wasn't his father. His dad's voice didn't sound so pleasant; he'd only hit him on his head and shout at him, "So, how many times have you starved to death this year?"
Xiang Han carefully opened his eyes and saw a pair of dark, beautiful eyes. He was immediately petrified, only regaining his senses after a while before stiffly stammering, "L-Lu Ze …"
"Yeah," Lu Ze replied dully. He felt that Xiang Han might be feeling embarrassed so he didn't say much.
Lu Ze reached out to pick up the bowl of porridge on the table before returning to the bedside. He scooped a spoonful and blew on it before sending some into Xiang Han's mouth. Not a word was spoken.
Xiang Han had wanted to say, 'I can do it myself', but since he was glared at, he stopped himself in time.
In the end, he didn't know what Lu Ze was trying to do and was so terrified that he ate the whole bowl nervously, not even daring to savor its taste.
Once he finished eating, he finally gathered his courage to say, "Lu Ze, thank you for taking me to the hospital. However, we've already broken up."
Regardless of what Lu Ze wanted to do, he only needs to adapt accordingly. Based on the plot, they would first break up then reconcile, this process definitely can't be wrong.
When Lu Ze heard this, his face suddenly sank. After placing the bowl loudly down on the table, he turned around and walked towards him, step by step. He stared at Xiang Han with a dark expression.
Xiang Han's heart jumped and suddenly tensed. W-w-w… What does he want to do?