The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie

Chapter 96: 096: Jiang Zhi: Zhou Xufang, is it you?
 

She carried a person on her back, emerging from the shimmering water, her eyes wet and red as blood.

The winter night was cold, and the rocks were chilling to the bone.

She placed him on a dry patch of grass, laying him flat, and knelt beside him.

“Jiang Zhi!”

“Jiang Zhi!”

No matter how she called, he wouldn’t wake up.

She took off her mask, her eyes red, and kept pressing on his chest, constantly performing CPR.

“Jiang Zhi!”

“Wake up, Jiang Zhi!”

Zhou Xufang had never been so scared. If Jiang Zhi were gone, if Jiang Zhi were gone…

Her hands shook, her whole body trembled, and she didn’t even have the strength to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When she bowed her head, tears fell, mixing with the seawater, running from her face to the corner of his mouth, both salty and bitter.

“Jiang Zhi.”

Her voice choked in the wind, “Don’t you die…”

Then—

Jiang Zhi spat out a mouthful of water onto her face.

“Cough, cough, cough… cough…”

His body curled up, coughing continuously.

Zhou Xufang’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and she collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. He was alive, he was alive…

“Zhou Xufang,”

The next second, cold hands grabbed her wrist. “Is it you?” He could only see half of her face in the blurry night.

Zhou Xufang violently turned around.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

He struggled as she pulled away, and he fell back heavily onto the ground. It took a long while before he propped himself up and reached for her still dripping sleeve.

“Turn around, let me have a look at you.”

His voice, raspy from swallowing seawater, broke as he spoke.

Zhou Xufang, standing with her back to him, deliberately suppressed her voice, “I’m just an errand runner, taking people’s money to solve their problems.” After saying this, she put on her mask, lowered her eyelashes to cover her reddened eyes, and turned to walk away.

The sea breeze was painfully sharp, the wind whistled past her ears, and he kept coughing behind her. Zhou Xufang wiped her eyes, which were scorchingly hot.

At this hour, there were only a few people on the beach, all appearing cold and desolate. She had thought there would be many reporters, but it turned out they had been cleared away, an utter waste of his new sunglasses.

Why wear sunglasses at night?

What an act!

Ming Yanghua took off his pretentious accessory, no longer posing, kicking the stones by the seaside as he walked, with his friends calling out on the phone.

“Ming Xiaohua, where are you, why aren’t you here yet?”

His friends liked to tease his name, his ancestors!

How could Sixth Master Ming put up with that? He immediately showed his displeasure, “Your mother, if you call me Xiao Hua again, I’ll hammer you to death!”

His friends chuckled mischievously, not taking anything seriously, “Alright, alright, Young Master Ming, just come on over, we’re all waiting for you.”

There was nothing serious going on. His friends were all wealthy idlers with money to burn, spending their days not doing anything constructive, just enjoying singing KTV, flirting, and playing mahjong with him.

Ming Yanghua ran his fingers through his tin-foil-permed hair, “I’m not coming.”

His friends were displeased, “Why not?”

Ming Yanghua made up an excuse, “Ying Xianxian from Tingyu Building has invited me over to enjoy some music.” In reality, his tomboy sister insisted he come pick someone up. If he didn’t, his sister could have their dad cut off his card, and his dad, being utterly devoted to his daughter, would definitely comply.

His bold friends dared to expose him, “Ying Xianxian is at our place, got dragged by your sister to work again, huh?”

Ming Yanghua hated it when people said he was weak or scared of his sister, how could he tolerate this?

“Put your damn—”

“That thing said, ‘Someone fell into the water, call an ambulance.'”

Wearing a mask, her face not visible, cars sped by on the roadside, their headlights flickering momentarily over that ‘thing’—barely qualifying as a person—until Ming Yanghua saw her eyes.

“You, you, you, you… you are that, that, that thing from Tingyu Building…” That female ghost with red eyes who had thrown him into the trash!

Zhou Xufang was out of patience and commanded, “Hurry and call an ambulance.”

Ming Yanghua’s face had turned pale, his body shaking uncontrollably: “You, you, you, you—” He screamed as if his life depended on it, “Ahhhh! A ghost!”

Ming Yanghua was afraid of ghosts, had been since he was young.

His limited-edition versatile tool was lost; he was just about to ‘escape for his life’ when that ‘female ghost’ suddenly leaped in front of him—really, just like that!

This ‘female ghost’ could even drift…

His eyes rolled back, and he fainted, his cellphone dropping to the ground while his mischievous friends still called out for ‘Xiao Hua.’

Zhou Xufang picked up his phone and dialed for emergency services. In the man’s contacts, there was also a number she recognized—it was Xue Baoyi’s.

Within ten minutes, Xue Baoyi found Jiang Zhi by the seaside.

The ambulance arrived quickly; because a young master of the Jiang family had had an accident, the cruise wedding was hastily concluded.

At ten o’clock, doctors lined up in two rows at the entrance of the hospital.

At quarter past ten, the two rows of doctors moved to the emergency room.

At half-past ten, in the empty hallway, the sound of a cane hitting the floor grew closer and closer, tap, tap, tap… it was chilling to hear.

Vice Dean Sun hurriedly advanced, “Old Madam, how come you are here?”

The arriving figure, leaning on a cane, dressed in a button-embroidered overcoat, hair meticulously combed, was none other than Old Madam Jiang from the Xu Jiu Ru family.

Old Madam’s expression was cold, her presence commanding without anger: “My grandson is in the hospital; how could I not be here?” She supported by others, walked to the emergency room door, glanced around at everyone, and asked, “How is Brother Zhi?”

Vice Dean Sun replied, trembling, “Still, still in emergency treatment.”

She then asked, “Which doctor is in charge?”

“Dr. Xue.”

Ah, Xue Bingxue.

Accompanying her was the newly appointed Dean of the Fifth Hospital, Qin Shiyu.

He stood beside Old Madam Jiang, slightly lowering his head, yet neither servile nor overbearing, he asked, “Old Madam, do you need me to go in and check?”

Jiang Zhi’s chronic illness had always been treated by him; he knew the situation better than anyone.

Old Madam Jiang dismissed the offer: “No need, let’s wait for Bingxue to come out.”

Qin Shiyu agreed and said nothing more.

The emergency room was silent, only the sound of the heart monitor audible. The person on the bed, having just undergone emergency treatment, moved his fingers.

“Awake?” He awoke quite quickly.

Jiang Zhi stared at the ceiling, distracted for a moment, then reached up to remove his oxygen mask.

Xue Bingxue said, “You can’t remove that yet.”

Ignoring her, he took it off anyway, his handsome face unnaturally pale, his body weak, his dull blue hair limp; he began to cough as soon as he opened his mouth: “Cough, cough… Zhou… cough, cough…”

Opening his eyes, he asked for Zhou Xufang.

Xue Bingxue pressed the oxygen mask back on him: “Don’t speak yet.” With a stern expression on her doll-like face, she spoke with a maturity beyond her years, “You’ve only recently stopped your medication, your body hasn’t recovered, and you’ve ingested a lot of water this time, which isn’t good.”

The most critical issue was his lungs.

Jiang Zhi’s body had been ill for too long, all his organs were damaged; he needed careful nursing, having only recently stopped the medication that caused his condition, his body hadn’t recovered yet, and this incident was a major setback.

“If you still want to keep this life, then you better stay in bed these next few days.” Xue Bingxue sternly lectured, “Qin Shiyu is also here; I’ll administer your medication in a bit, but you’ll stay in the ICU for now.”

Qin Shiyu couldn’t be fully trusted, and it was unclear whose side he was on; precautions were necessary.

Jiang Zhi opened his mouth, his voice hoarse as if smoke-damaged: “Help me.”

Xue Bingxue didn’t quite catch that, leaning closer: “What?”

He said, “I want to be discharged.”

Xue Bingxue thought he was being reckless: “Jiang Zhi, don’t act rashly.”

This wasn’t up for discussion.

Jiang Zhi pushed himself upright, pulling out his IV: “Don’t let the old lady know; get me out of here, I’ll come back soon.”

“Planning to see Zhou Xufang?”

“Mm.”