Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 53:

Chapter 53: Brand New

Fu Jia’an waited at the door of the hospital room, not stepping inside. The door was slightly ajar, and inside, a warm scene of a beloved child being discharged and embraced by his family was unfolding.

The repeated sound of “Lin Qi” echoed from within, overlaying a sound deeply embedded in his memory, like a searing curse. Time cruelly rolled back, back to the swaddling days when Fu Jia’an was called “Lin Qi.”

Fu Jia’an had once only remembered those two syllables, barely even the syllables themselves. It was during a time in his childhood, passing by a convenience store, when he heard the manager scolding an employee: “Why are you putting ‘near-expiration’ canned goods on the back shelf? Either put them on the front to sell them off, or just throw them away! They’re worthless anyway.”

The name, imprinted on his body like a steel stamp, flickered like an old seal. Fu Jia’an was 10 years old that year, and he finally understood the meaning of his former name—”worthless thing.”

Eighteen years later, in this not-so-large city, Fu Jia’an, now a doctor, pushed a car accident patient whom other hospitals refused to admit into the operating room. The moment he took off his scrubs after the surgery, he learned that this child’s name was Lin Qi.

A coincidence? Perhaps just a shared name?

As he thought this, his assistant, Chu Yanchuan, suddenly remarked, “Have you noticed that the patient looks a bit like Doctor Fu?”

Shen Rufēi was also nearby at the time and seemed to pause upon hearing this, subtly observing Fu Jia’an’s reaction. It was too obvious; Shen Rufēi must have known something. Right, he had an examination at the Second Municipal Hospital before being abandoned, so Fu Zihua and Shen Rufēi should both know his original name.

The name Lin Qi was a heart-wrenching spell for them as well.

The moment he stepped out of the operating room, the tearful couple rushed to Fu Jia’an, offering endless thanks. The steel stamp was polished a bit brighter. For a long time, Fu Jia’an had wished his memory wasn’t so good, and he wasn’t so intelligent. To just be an ordinary abandoned person, to grow up ordinarily, and forget all the memories of being abandoned, suffering from illness, and being mocked and bullied by bad children.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as he wished; he remembered everything.

The room door was pulled open. Lin Qi, sitting in a wheelchair with his luggage packed, was surrounded by his parents, uncle, and aunt behind him. The hospital room entrance instantly became crowded and lively. Lin Qi’s mother, Li Xiaolan, was the first to spot Fu Jia’an. She quickly called Lin Qi to thank Fu Jia’an again.

Everyone spoke at once, praising Doctor Fu’s noble character and superb medical skills. Lin Qi was squeezed in the middle, struggling to speak. The stitches on his cheekbone had been removed, leaving only a “Feng”-shaped scar. His physique was good, and his recovery was faster than expected. He would likely start rehabilitation soon.

“Doctor Fu,” Lin Qi, still in the wheelchair, held Fu Jia’an’s hand and said expectantly, “Did you go to see the musical? I gave the ticket to Doctor Shen to pass on to you.”

Fu Jia’an was uncharacteristically slow to react, then smiled and humored him like an elder speaking to a junior. “Yes, I went. I liked it very much. Thank you.”

Fu Jia’an then gave a few more instructions regarding care at home. The area outside the room was busy, unsuitable for a long conversation, and the Lin family’s car had been waiting downstairs for a while, so they had to leave gradually.

Lin Qi was pushed toward the elevator, seemingly reluctant, turning his head a few times. Fu Jia’an stayed in place, smiling and waving at him a few times.

“Doctor Fu.”

Fu Jia’an blinked, realizing Lin Qi’s mother had walked back to stand in front of him.

“Is there anything else?”

“No, I just wanted to thank you one more time,” Li Xiaolan bowed deeply. When she stood up, her eyes were tearful, and her voice trembled slightly: “Lin Qi is the complete hope of our Lin family. He is our family’s lucky star. Ever since he was born, everything has gotten better. The family debt was paid off, and relatives we were estranged from started contacting us again. If only… Ah, never mind. Anyway, our Lin Qi is lucky to have met such a good doctor like you.”

After Li Xiaolan left, Fu Jia’an didn’t linger. He checked the time, thinking it was lunchtime.

As he turned around, he found Lu Jie standing right behind him.

“Why didn’t you answer my call?”

“Oh, did you call me?” Fu Jia’an was behaving like a puppet responding to commands. He started to reach for his phone inside his white coat when Lu Jie embraced him tightly.

“Aren’t you the best at playing the victim? Then why don’t you ever mention the things that make people feel the most sorry for you?”

Fu Jia’an was slightly surprised because he had never told anyone about retaining those childhood memories. “…Did you guess it?”

“Then it seems I guessed correctly,” Lu Jie gritted his teeth, suppressing the surge of bitterness in his throat. “Fu Jia’an, didn’t you say you loved me? Why do you give up when you encounter a little difficulty?”

Fu Jia’an lowered his gaze. “I thought it was right for you to blame me, so I should accept the punishment.”

“You just give up like that?”

“I wanted to wait until you weren’t angry anymore…”

“How long were you planning to wait, another 12 years? What if I never stopped being angry?”

Fu Jia’an fell silent, only pulling his arms out of Lu Jie’s embrace to hug him back tightly. Like the dark vines in Lu Jie’s dream, he wrapped around him relentlessly.

—So, how had Fu Jia’an been all these years?

—Recovering, taking medicine, exercising, studying relentlessly, starting rotations in various departments at the Second Municipal Hospital three years earlier than his peers, rarely resting. He would occasionally ask us about your recent status, only very occasionally. Whenever he did, it meant he couldn’t hold on anymore.

Lu Jie was always accustomed to judging Fu Jia’an’s decisions by his own approach to life. Lu Jie was direct, decisive, and efficient. Once he recognized his feelings, he couldn’t wait a second longer. He believed that if he loved someone, he should fight for it, and even if rejected, he should honestly face his inner feelings.

But he had forgotten that, to some extent, he was privileged. He had known since childhood that he was good-looking. Girls liked to be around him, he had many friends, and teachers often favored him. He was naturally intelligent, quickly excelling in anything he put his mind to. He hadn’t experienced workplace abuse; his friend started a company and invited him to head the lab, so all he had to do was focus on the research he loved.

Lu Jie had been beaten down by reality, but there was never a door he couldn’t unlock.

Looking back at this life, which Lu Jie called “ordinary,” it was undeniably smooth sailing.

But Fu Jia’an? He was punished by fate from birth due to undeserved illness. He had no companions growing up and was constantly scrutinized. The world seemed easy for Fu Jia’an to navigate, but the persistent curse was sealed the moment he was born:

Whenever he thought about his less-than-healthy body, did he always recall the day he was abandoned?

If even his biological parents could leave him because of a so-called incurable disease, what reason did he have to believe in unconditional love in this world?

So, Fu Jia’an spent twelve years finding every way to achieve the “conditions” under which he believed he would be loved. Only when he was perfect did he dare to see Lu Jie again.

“Lu Jie, did… did you cry?”

He thought he heard a very faint sniffle from Lu Jie. Lu Jie’s arms around Fu Jia’an tightened further. “Fu Jia’an, if you ever hide things like this from me again, I will truly never forgive you.”

“It’s okay…” Fu Jia’an even managed a smile. “I actually don’t feel much about it anymore. Since you don’t want me to hide things from you, let me tell you something.”

“What is it?” Lu Jie finally released Fu Jia’an, looking at him with great concern.

Fu Jia’an took Lu Jie’s hands and said casually, “It’s a small thing. After I found out they were my biological parents, I couldn’t help but wonder about one thing. Did they name their second child Lin Qi to commemorate the first child they abandoned, or to forget the first ‘Lin Qi’ by creating a new Lin Qi to overwrite the previous memory?”

Fu Jia’an could feel Lu Jie’s pupils constrict momentarily. Soon, Lu Jie’s eyes turned red. His Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly as he struggled to remain composed and asked, “And then, do you have an answer?”

Fu Jia’an shook his head. “When I said goodbye to them just now, I realized it doesn’t matter anymore. Even if I think about it a hundred more times, the answer to that question will ultimately only be known by that couple. I should still move toward a new life, a new life with you.”

That evening, Lu Jie and Fu Jia’an did not go home but went to the W Hotel in the city center.

The moment the door card was scanned, Lu Jie urgently shoved Fu Jia’an against the door.

They kissed each other frantically, clothes were scattered one by one on the floor. Lu Jie pressed Fu Jia’an onto the low cabinet in the entryway, nipping at his shoulder from behind, grasping his waist, and going straight to the point.

After much effort, he hadn’t managed to enter far. Lu Jie was breathing heavily, patiently waiting for Fu Jia’an to relax. He pressed his chest against him and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Fu Jia’an’s face was flushed, like a ripened apple. His tightly closed eyes conveyed unspeakable pain, but he clenched his jaw shut, refusing to make a sound.

This only hardened Lu Jie’s resolve instead of softening his heart, spurring him to be more forceful. He thrust forward with sudden, hard pressure. The gap between them instantly closed, fitting together perfectly, like a tenon joint freshly carved and tightly interlocked.

Fu Jia’an’s hands gripped the edge of the cabinet, enduring the agonizing pain. Just as Lu Jie suppressed the rush of pleasure to his head, he was displeased with Fu Jia’an’s composure. In a fit of possessiveness, he grabbed both of Fu Jia’an’s hands, domineeringly taking away his point of support.

Fu Jia’an, whose eyes were tightly shut, finally opened his lips, which were bruised with bloody teeth marks from biting down.

He cried out in pain and cursed, “Damn it, Lu Jie… you’re an animal.”

The next moment, the curse was silenced by a kiss, completely drowned in their prolonged entanglement.