Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 33:

Chapter 33: Stomach Ache

In late August, during the senior year motivation and sharing session, Lu Jie returned to school as the top student of his graduating class to share his study experience with Dai Xin’s new senior class.

He was admitted to Q University and had also set a new record for the college entrance exam score at Yaochen High School. Both events had caused a sensation throughout the high school. Standing on the podium, looking at the passionate and excited boys and girls in the classroom, he delivered a short, modest, and carefully prepared speech, which was met with thunderous applause.

During the Q&A session, a girl raised her hand and asked, “Senior, with your score, why did you choose Q University over J University? I know both are top universities in the country, but Q University is in the South and quite far from our city. Did you want to see more of the world?”

Lu Jie smiled and said, “Yeah, I want to escape my mom’s control and be free for a few years while I’m in college.”

Another boy suddenly called out, “Senior! I’ve decided to aim for Q University because of you!”

“Hahahahaha… Xu Shen, no taking advantage to confess to the senior! Why are you bringing personal feelings into this?”

Everyone laughed. A few more students asked simple questions about choosing a major, and Lu Jie’s sharing session concluded.

The next speaker was Peng Yuan, the second-ranked student in the school, who shared more about his experience of retaking the exam over the past year.

Lu Jie sat down on a chair by the classroom door, planning to grab a meal with Peng Yuan after the session. Next to him was Dai Xin, watching Peng Yuan with a proud and relieved “old father’s” gaze. Seeing Lu Jie sit next to him, Dai Xin quietly asked, “Is Jia’an coming today? I contacted him too, but he didn’t reply.”

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Lu Jie said, looking towards the podium with a natural expression. “Our relationship is so strained; why would he tell me if he’s coming?”

“Still strained?” Dai Xin, no longer Lu Jie’s homeroom teacher, teased like a gossip monger. “You’ve graduated, it’s time to let bygones be bygones, isn’t it?”

“No kindness, no enmity,” Lu Jie summarized. “Just ordinary classmates.”

The long vacation without the pressure of college preparation seemed to have made Lu Jie a little more handsome and upright, and his demeanor more assertive. The young man had passed his nineteenth birthday, and the lines of his face were sharper and more defined. When he sat there without smiling, he possessed a subtle tension between youthfulness and maturity. When Lu Jie stood up, he was humble, decent, and full of confidence. Dai Xin noticed that more than one person in the audience was charmed by him.

He had watched Lu Jie grow up, and now that the young man had matured, he was relieved for his sister and also reminisced about his own eighteen or nineteen-year-old self while looking at Lu Jie.

Besides, it was good to get some help cheering on these kids, “seducing” them into aiming for Q University too.

Both finished speaking, and it was lunchtime. It was no longer feasible to settle for the school cafeteria, as a large number of senior students would rush in as soon as the bell rang… Lu Jie didn’t want to relive the time of scrambling for food.

“Should we go eat outside the school?” Lu Jie suggested.

Peng Yuan looked down, fiddling with his phone, still reluctant to lift his head, just like before. “I have plans.”

“You have plans?” Lu Jie didn’t press. “Alright.” After all, he and Peng Yuan would be in the same city for university, so they’d have plenty of chances to eat together.

What about calling Jiang Yan? Oh right, he also said he was busy today. So, it seemed like only he was idling at home during the summer vacation, enjoying the air conditioning, reading comics, and playing games, while those two had already found partners. They were certainly being productive.

After Peng Yuan left, Lu Jie figured he wasn’t very hungry anyway, so wandering around the school wouldn’t hurt. He stood in front of the Honour Roll outside the senior building, where he saw photos of the top three students in the grade. Above those three photos, Fu Jia’an’s name, photo, and early admission university were posted separately.

He was like the pinnacle of a tall tower, a world of difference away from everyone else.

This was the first time Lu Jie had seriously looked at the Honour Roll. He even felt he hadn’t seen Fu Jia’an for so long that his appearance was becoming hazy. He stood there for a while, when suddenly, his chest felt like it was hit hard, and a dull pain came from the centre between his two ribs.

The pain was not sharp but engulfing. It was agonizing one moment and numb the next, as if someone was hammering that spot, making his limbs feel weak and aching.

Lu Jie leaned against the nearest pillar to recover. After the intense pain narrowly passed, he realized he was drenched in cold sweat. He had a premonition that if this pain returned, he might not be able to handle it, so he clutched the painful area and headed to the school clinic.

“It’s just an upset stomach,” the school doctor said, pressing the centre of his chest. After the check-up, he got up to fetch some spare gastrointestinal medication.

“Stomach?” Lu Jie, half-lying on the bed, felt slightly better. This was the first time he realized his stomach was in this location. “So the stomach is here. I was wondering why it suddenly hurt.”

“That’s right. You’re still young and rarely experience stomach aches, so it’s normal not to know where the stomach is. It means you were healthy before. Come on, take this medicine and lie down to rest for a while.”

Lu Jie cooperated, swallowing two tablets and setting the warm cup of water aside. He continued to ask, “Why did I suddenly get a stomach ache?”

The school doctor replied, “You’d have to tell me. Are you eating irregularly?”

Lu Jie thought back on his recent life. He was someone who didn’t quite know how to relax, so his life had become disorderly since he suddenly had free time. Also, his college entrance exam results were good, so Dai Mengshu hadn’t been controlling him much all holiday. She had recently focused her energy on work. In the blink of an eye, the summer vacation was almost over.

He told the doctor, “I eat when I’m hungry and forget when I’m not. Sometimes I only eat one meal a day, or none at all.”

“You can’t do that. Your body will break down sooner or later. You must eat on time,” the school doctor said seriously. “But logically speaking, you have a pretty good physical foundation. Skipping a few meals shouldn’t lead to stomach problems. Have you been in a bad mood recently?”

Lu Jie thought about it, saying in a detached state, “I’m in a good mood.” He got first place in the school, was living a carefree life every day, and had a great future ahead. What troubles could he possibly have?

“Look at you, do you look happy? The stomach is an emotional organ. Too many worries hurt the stomach. Try to find ways to relieve your stress and don’t get hung up on things, understand?”

Lu Jie felt the warm water had helped a little; he seemed to feel better. He was grateful for the school doctor’s care and managed a faint smile in response, “I understand. I’ll get over it.”

“Still uncomfortable?”

“Much better than before.”

“Good. Have your parents take you to the Second Municipal Hospital for a check-up when you have time. For today, just lie here for a while. You haven’t had lunch yet, right? I’m going to the cafeteria for my meal. I’ll bring you back some rice porridge. Remember to drink another glass of hot water later.”

“Okay, thank you, teacher.”

In front of him were white curtains. When the wind blew, the thin fabric parted for a moment before slowly closing again. After the school doctor left, Lu Jie was alone, seriously reflecting on what worries he might have.

Frankly, he truly didn’t think he had any concerns right now. After graduating high school, he was mostly in a state of constant relaxation. He didn’t need deep thought, nor was there much to think about. But by forcing himself to face it now, Lu Jie felt like he was driving a shovel into the flat surface of his heart, and suddenly, fiery, splashing magma erupted.

The emotions that had been forcibly suppressed burst out instantly, burning Lu Jie all over. Lu Jie raised his hand to touch his face. He didn’t know when the temperature had risen; it was frighteningly hot.

He seemed to be running a fever.

His head was spinning, but his thoughts didn’t turn into mush. Instead, the weakening willpower due to the illness allowed those firmly sealed ideas to be released, rushing wildly through his mind.

Fu Jia’an never returned to school, which shouldn’t have been something to dwell on. But Lu Jie had intermittently heard some inside information later—it turned out Fu Jia’an’s tumour had relapsed, and he had undergone another surgery. Also, Fu Jia’an’s family had experienced a major change; his mother was investigated by the Health Commission for five months and ultimately had her medical license revoked. And, of course… the rumour about Fu Jia’an dating Tang Ningxue was completely baseless.

Lu Jie’s fists had landed exactly when Fu Jia’an’s life was at its most battered. He deliberately tried not to think about it because every memory brought back the sight of Fu Jia’an lying on the ground, letting him have his way. He was the perpetrator who had added insult to injury in Fu Jia’an’s life.

For the past few months, Lu Jie avoided any topic related to Fu Jia’an. Yet, in a corner of his heart, heavy guilt and pain intertwined, condensing into an increasingly powerful force, almost pushing cracks through the flat ground. On the surface, everything was calm and peaceful, but his body broke down before his own mind even realized it.

It was so uncomfortable. He felt like a hole had opened in the centre of his chest, and at the same time, the air was becoming thinner. He gripped the front of his shirt, struggling to breathe.

“You have a fever.”

Someone was standing next to him, speaking.

Lu Jie’s ears were ringing. He struggled to open his eyes, already finding the light before him blurry and indistinct. “Fu Jia’an?”

“You know me?” The person sat down, smiling at him from the bedside.

Lu Jie was vague from the illness but didn’t look overly vulnerable, just slightly pale around the lips. He propped himself up on his arm, sitting up a bit to see the person clearly, but he wasn’t sure if his mind was normal; perhaps it was a hallucination.

“You are Fu Jia’an.” He repeated mechanically.

The person smiled again and politely asked, “Not bad, I met another acquaintance today. Were we close before?” He picked up the hot water kettle by the bed, poured some hot water into the glass, and offered it to Lu Jie.

In that moment, an absurd thought flashed through Lu Jie’s mind: Fu Jia’an’s surgery was for a brain tumour. Craniotomy is dangerous and complex, easily affecting the intricate neural system of the brain. Could it be a cliché, just like in a TV drama—amnesia?

“How many stitches did you get on your ankle?”

Fu Jia’an said, “I don’t remember. You drink this water first, and I’ll count later.”

In that instant, Lu Jie felt a strong impulse. He reached out for the cup, his slender, strong fingers wrapping around Fu Jia’an’s hand along with the cup. He forced out a surprising strength despite his illness, pulling the person and the cup closer. He lifted his head and kissed Fu Jia’an’s lips without giving him a chance to refuse.

It’s better if you forget. Forget everything. But please, don’t forget me, okay?

Fu Jia’an paused but didn’t pull away. After Lu Jie finished kissing, he fell back into a daze. He turned his head to the other side, the heat rising along his neck. He said somewhat stubbornly, “Don’t misunderstand. I just wanted to test if you really had amnesia. Given our former relationship, you would definitely have slapped me.”

Lu Jie felt his heart was beating too fast; he couldn’t tell if it was due to the high fever or something else. His eyes were too tired, painfully sore. He blinked and couldn’t open them again.

He felt a cool hand gently run through his hair.

Fu Jia’an’s voice, carrying a laugh, reached his ears as if from a distance—”I never said I had amnesia.”

He was played again. Lu Jie cursed under his breath. He desperately wanted to get up, grab Fu Jia’an by the neck, and beat this damn kid again. And he wanted to say other things; there was so much he wanted to say, but he truly couldn’t hold on. His consciousness was constantly drifting away. Soon, he fell completely into darkness.

When he woke up again, Lu Jie was in the hospital emergency room. Later, he asked several people. Teacher Dai and the school doctor both said Fu Jia’an had not appeared, and he certainly didn’t have the authority to check the school surveillance cameras.

He had a severe fever that day and was diagnosed with acute gastritis. It was a serious illness, and he was on an IV drip in the hospital for a full week. The Fu Jia’an in his memory was so real, and as annoying as he remembered, but the unreal part was Lu Jie. He believed that was completely unlike something he would do. Most importantly, the conscious him had no motive to kiss Fu Jia’an.

It’s only in dreams that people lose control of their actions and do things that completely contradict their true feelings.

Lu Jie told himself that no one could prove it was real, so it must have been just a dream.

Little Jia’an: I was just planning to play a joke on my crush today, but I unexpectedly got a kiss instead