Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 20:

Chapter 20: The Ailment

Jiang Yan came downstairs in the morning and saw Lu Jie already eating breakfast.

The two had been living together since graduating from university and co-founding the company. Instead of renting his own place, Lu Jie moved directly into Jiang Yan’s apartment in the city center. It was two small stories, big enough for four or five people if one counted carefully. However, since Jiang Yan had many properties and no one to occupy them, the apartment was wastefully occupied by just the two of them.

There were other houses closer to the company, and while the rent was expensive, Lu Jie could afford it. However, the buildings in the city center were generally old and rundown—expensive but very poor value. It was better to just live at Jiang Yan’s place and pay the rent as agreed.

Jiang Yan leaned against the railing, complaining, “President Lu, you only ever make enough breakfast for yourself.”

“Don’t you usually skip breakfast?” Lu Jie bit into half a sandwich and took a sip of milk.

“I don’t care. You don’t have me in your heart.”

“Do you know that when a giant like you says something so disgusting, it’s doubly disgusting?” After so many years, Lu Jie was immune to Jiang Yan’s unreasonableness. While humoring Jiang Yan, he casually scrolled through his phone and suddenly saw a small red circle on the WeChat Moments icon.

He clicked on it. “Expired Canned Food” had liked his most recent post.

It was a photo Lu Jie had taken of a pear tree in the hospital room more than two months ago. On the day he reunited with Fu Jia’an, Lu Jie couldn’t sleep even after Lao Du and his daughter had rested. Sleepless, he watched the pear blossoms fall outside the window, with a full, bright moon illuminating the night sky in the background.

With nothing else to do, he had taken a photo from the window and posted it to his Moments.

What did liking a post from so long ago mean? It was highly unlikely to be an accidental scroll. Lu Jie speculated on all the possibilities behind this bizarre ‘like’.

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Jiang Yan sat across from the dining table and unceremoniously took the remaining sandwich. “The extra rooms in the house are going to waste. What do you think about renting out another one?”

Lu Jie was absent-minded. “It’s up to you. It’s your house anyway. With your miserly character, it’s abnormal that you haven’t rented it out already, isn’t it?”

“That’s where you don’t understand,” Jiang Yan said while chewing the sandwich. “People who can afford to rent this place usually just buy a house. The rent, nearly ten thousand, is enough for them to pay a monthly mortgage.”

“So, besides me, is there really another sucker willing to move in now?”

Jiang Yan said casually, “Still in talks.”

Lu Jie didn’t really care. He remembered the contract he saw in his office yesterday. “Did Fu Jia’an agree to be our company’s long-term clinical consultant?”

“Yeah, I worked hard to secure that, so don’t give him trouble.”

“Am I that shortsighted? We’re not high schoolers anymore.”

Lu Jie looked at the ‘like’ record on his phone screen and felt himself calm down somewhat. He had a premonition that Fu Jia’an was setting a trap for him. Although the true motive was still unclear, the recent series of encounters were too coincidental.

He didn’t know what Fu Jia’an was plotting, but he would take it one step at a time.

“By the way, I can’t make the meeting this morning. Can it be moved to the afternoon? Or just have Xiao Xun substitute for me.”

“It’s not a crucial meeting. If you can’t make it, you can’t make it,” Jiang Yan looked curious. “But what are you up to today?”

“A follow-up check at the orthopedic department.”

“Oh,” Jiang Yan’s tone was ambiguous. “You’ve been visiting the hospital quite often lately?”

Lu Jie ignored him, stood up, and grabbed his jacket. “Remember to wash your plate. See you at the company this afternoon.”

“Hey! I warn you, show some respect to your boss, damn it!”

Lu Jie grabbed some fruit and milk, planning to visit Lao Du while he was at the hospital this time. Even after being discharged for so long, Lao Du would occasionally send Lu Jie some health articles about strengthening bones, and Lu Jie would sometimes reply with a couple of sentences.

Although Lao Du was an elderly man, he had a young mindset and wasn’t rigid, so they had maintained contact. Lao Du was scheduled to be discharged in early June, and since Lu Jie had time to visit, he decided to stop by.

This visit turned into a dose of gossip.

The moment Du Zhenzhen saw Lu Jie, she couldn’t wait to share the hospital gossip. “Dr. Shen hasn’t dared to come on rounds often these past two months!”

Since they were sitting there and just chatting casually, even though Lu Jie wasn’t a very gossipy person, he couldn’t help but be curious. Besides, Du Zhenzhen was naturally expressive, and her storytelling was so animated that it made people want to listen.

“What happened?” He pretended to listen intently.

“After you were discharged, that bed became empty, right?” Du Zhenzhen said seriously. “The person who moved in later was a swimmer. He had multiple fractures in his thigh, hip, and ribs, and I heard he had internal organ rupture. He only came out of the ICU a few days after the surgery, having been in a coma.”

“You wouldn’t believe how lively it was back then. The swimmer’s coach, teammates, and reporters came in shifts. His teammates were all tall, well-built, and handsome. Whenever they stood in a row, it looked like a photoshoot! Oh, I’m getting sidetracked… here’s the main point.”

“I felt something was off with that swimmer before he was discharged. Every time Dr. Shen came on rounds, the guy would just stare at him. Later, he was taken back by the swimming team for recovery, right? I heard that every time he comes back for a follow-up, he brings Dr. Shen a bunch of gifts. If Dr. Shen doesn’t accept them, he just refuses to leave.”

Lu Jie felt he couldn’t just listen without engaging, so he commented, “That sounds like harassment, doesn’t it?” Besides, Shen Rufai had a partner… Fu Jia’an just told him a few days ago, but he couldn’t tell Du Zhenzhen that directly.

“There’s no other way. He’s somewhat of a public figure, even though he hasn’t won a medal and isn’t a household name. But it would look bad if the hospital security had to chase him out, so Dr. Shen has been avoiding him as much as possible.”

“Look, that’s him,” Du Zhenzhen quickly searched for the news and showed Lu Jie the athlete’s profile.

He Shi Ye, 21 years old.

“He’s quite handsome, isn’t he? Great physique too.”

Photos of swimmers were always shirtless. Lu Jie’s attention was drawn to He Shiye’s V-shaped torso. His muscles were lean yet powerful. Lu Jie gave an objective evaluation: “He’s well-built.”

Lu Jie pondered, perhaps he should switch his cardio to swimming more often.

“So, what do you think, Brother Lu?” Du Zhenzhen stared at Lu Jie with eager eyes.

“Huh? What do I think?”

“Do you have confidence?” Du Zhenzhen looked disappointed. “Brother Lu, I think you’re no worse than this He Shiye!”

“……” So Du Zhenzhen still hadn’t given up on setting him up with Shen Rufai. This was completely out of left field. Lu Jie was at a loss for words and could only change the subject. “So, patients really do fall for their doctors?” And the same s3x?

“I don’t think it’s that patients fall for their doctors. It’s just that someone like Dr. Shen is rare and highly sought after wherever he goes. He’s just naturally very attractive…”

Finally escaping the ward, Lu Jie felt lightheaded from Du Zhenzhen’s incessant chatter. He barely registered anything she said during the last hour. His appointment was for 10:30 AM. By the time he held the X-rays and sat down in Shen Rufai’s clinic, it was almost eleven.

While waiting for Shen Rufai to examine the X-rays, Lu Jie casually looked around. He saw exactly what Du Zhenzhen had just gossiped about—

The curtain of the clinic wasn’t long enough, not fully reaching the floor. Through the small gap at the bottom, he could see bright wrapping paper, looking very much like a bouquet. And not just one, he estimated three to five bouquets piled together. The curtain was pushed out slightly, revealing the irregular outlines of the flowers.

Looking back, there were also several boxes piled under Dr. Shen’s desk. Because the packaging was a subtle white box, at first glance, he thought they might be some kind of medical equipment, but considering the “gossip,” they looked suspiciously like gifts.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Shen Rufai looked a little tired, even shedding some of his usual smooth, foxy demeanor. “A patient insisted on sending them. I’ll send them back tonight. I’m just too busy right now.” He paused. “I’ve already reported it to the Dean.”

Lu Jie felt strange. Why was Shen Rufai explaining this to him? Then he realized Shen Rufai was probably afraid that if this got out, it would affect the hospital’s reputation, making it look like he was taking bribes. Lu Jie was cooperative: “Don’t worry, I trust Dr. Shen’s character.”

Shen Rufai returned the X-rays to Lu Jie. “The recovery is good. Normal movement shouldn’t be a problem, but you still need to control the intensity of your exercise and increase it gradually. It’s best to come back for another check-up in a month.”

Lu Jie nodded, saying he would note it. Shen Rufai hesitated, then opened his mouth with some difficulty to ask Lu Jie: “I’m sorry, but could I trouble you with something?”

Fu Jia’an hadn’t been sick for a long time, but it was easy to catch a cold or fever during season changes, which could also be seen as strengthening the immune system. Since it was only a low-grade fever, Fu Jia’an took some medicine, didn’t switch shifts, and held himself up all night at the hospital yesterday.

In the morning, Fu Jia’an finished one more round of checks before going back to his brother’s dorm to lie down. When you’re sick, it’s like this: if you grit your teeth and hold on, it doesn’t feel so bad, but once you relax, the symptoms rebound more fiercely.

His head was foggy from the fever, his eyes felt burning, and his breath was hot. After collapsing on the narrow bed for a while, Fu Jia’an took out his phone and opened the chat window with Lu Jie for the umpteenth time.

He reread the few scattered sentences, one by one.

Then he clicked on the person’s profile picture, then the Moments, repeatedly browsing the few visible posts.

When you’re sick, you don’t worry about being rational. Fu Jia’an succumbed to the sudden impulse, liked Lu Jie’s most recent photo, stared at the screen for two seconds after liking it, then tossed his phone and went into the bathroom to shower.

Only after being washed from head to toe with hot water did Fu Jia’an feel somewhat alive again. After the shower, he felt fresh, but the bad news was that the illness, which had been rampaging throughout his body, seemed to be consciously gathering in certain areas—places that had been strained over the years.

His neck, back, and right arm ached as if they were about to break. Fu Jia’an dried the water from his body, leaving his upper body bare, and planned to apply several medicated patches as usual to alleviate the severe pain.

He pulled out the strong-smelling patches, peeled them, and aimed at the spot on his back using the full-length mirror.

Click.

The doorknob turned. Fu Jia’an glanced coldly toward the door, only to see a person with a shocked expression standing there.

A person who absolutely should not be there.

“Lu Jie… you…”

If Fu Jia’an’s carefully laid plans were a neat chess board, the moment he met Lu Jie, he was destined to lose his advantage.

Fu Jia’an was capable of slow reactions, such as now.

The hand holding the chess piece loosened, and the piece hit the board and rolled onto the floor.