Qi Fang miraculously resurrected within ten minutes, fully recovered, and bursting with vitality. The crowd in the hospital room exchanged bewildered glances, with Li Congming being the most devastated.
Wasn’t the plan to put on an act and trick Shen Yu into getting a full-body checkup? How did it fall apart so quickly? Was he the only one who had diligently stayed in character?
Li Congming, recalling his awkward, monkey-like performance moments ago, felt utterly mortified. He wished he could slam his head against the hospital bed and die in Qi Fang’s place.
Shen Yu stepped closer, ignoring Qi Fang’s words. He looked him up and down, asking, “You’re fine?”
Qi Fang suddenly remembered he was supposed to be playing dead. But at this point, dramatically collapsing back onto the bed seemed too obvious. So he said, “I’m better now. Earlier, I couldn’t catch my breath. I thought I wouldn’t make it.”
Shen Yu stated matter-of-factly, “A broken leg doesn’t usually affect heart and lung function.”
Qi Fang quickly retorted, “Li Congming’s medical skills are so poor, he probably made my leg worse.”
Li Congming, who had just managed to calm down, nearly died of anger upon hearing this. He could tolerate insults about his intelligence or slow reactions, but not about his medical skills!
“He’s faking it,” Li Congming angrily exposed Qi Fang’s scheme. “He was never hurt at all.”
Shen Yu paused, looking down at the medical examination appointment slip in his hand. He asked thoughtfully, “To get me to have a checkup?”
“Do you think there’s something wrong with my health?” Shen Yu inquired.
Qi Fang: “…”
Li Congming: “…”
How terrifyingly perceptive.
“There’s nothing wrong…” Qi Fang cleared his throat. “Li Congming’s hospital is offering free checkups. He gave me a slot for a family member, but since I can’t go, I thought you could use it.”
Shen Yu pocketed the appointment slip and asked, “Then why did you pretend to be…?”
“Oh,” Qi Fang replied, “My joints were stiff from lying down, so I was doing sit-ups to exercise.”
Everyone: “…”
Shen Yu nodded, then turned to Zhao Minqing and said coolly, “It’s inconvenient for you to be here. You can leave now.”
Zhao Minqing had only come to take a look – the last time Qi Fang had an accident, he hadn’t had the chance to see what Shen Yu’s husband looked like when Shen Yu rushed to the hospital. He couldn’t find any photos online either. Now that he’d seen him, he thought Qi Fang was nothing special.
Just a bit taller, a bit more handsome, and seemingly quite shameless…
Zhao Minqing silently compared himself to Qi Fang. After comparing them over and over again, he found little he could surpass him in, except perhaps in the realm of shamelessness, where he might still strive to outdo him.
He felt frustrated. He’d expected, as rumors online suggested, that the CEO of a large corporation like Qiling would be a greasy, arrogant middle-aged man. Instead, he turned out to be a rather… good-looking guy.
Zhao Minqing secretly cursed Qi Fang as a second-generation heir inheriting his family’s throne, conveniently forgetting that he himself was a prime example of such privilege.
“I’ll be going then, Professor,” Zhao Minqing said, maintaining a facade of innocent smiles. He politely explained to Qi Fang, “The professor rushed to the hospital without a car to pick him up, insisting on taking the bus. I was worried about his safety, so I followed him all the way.”
Zhao Minqing thought his words were quite clever, subtly criticizing Qi Fang’s apparent lack of concern for Shen Yu while demonstrating his own loyalty. Any normal person would be moved by such a statement.
But Shen Yu was clearly not ordinary, appearing utterly unmoved.
Seeing Zhao Minqing’s crestfallen expression, Qi Fang kindly explained, “Your Professor Shen takes the bus not because he can’t afford a taxi or doesn’t have a driver, but because he believes in—”
“Energy conservation and emission reduction,” Qin Xiaosa interjected, suppressing a laugh.
Qi Fang nodded vigorously, “Exactly, exactly.”
Shen Yu frowned at Zhao Minqing, “Is there a problem?”
Zhao Minqing stuttered, “No… no problem.”
Qi Fang and the others watched with satisfaction as Zhao Minqing left, his face ashen.
Having enjoyed the spectacle, Qin Xiaosa finally remembered his real purpose for coming. He approached the bed, glancing at Qi Fang’s leg under the blanket, and asked Shen Yu, “How many legs are broken?”
Shen Yu replied, “One.”
“Oh,” Qin Xiaosa continued, “Can it be treated? I know some manufacturers specializing in wheelchairs and prosthetics. Do you need their contact information?”
Shen Yu thought for a moment, then nodded, “The wheelchair one, thank you.”
Qi Fang weakly interjected from the side, “I think I can still be treated…”
Qin Xiaosa smiled, glancing at Qi Fang’s leg that showed no signs of treatment, his eyes thoughtful. He asked curiously, “How long will the treatment take?”
Before Qi Fang and Li Congming could answer, Shen Yu spoke first, “A few months, I suppose.”
“I’ve researched it. Bone fractures require a certain recovery period,” Shen Yu said coolly. “Although it’s not too severe, immediate return to normal walking seems impossible at this point.”
“I see,” Qin Xiaosa rubbed his chin, asking, “No surgery needed?”
Shen Yu paused for a few seconds, his brow furrowing slightly. His long eyelashes fluttered, and a rare look of confusion crossed his eyes.
Indeed—why hadn’t the hospital scheduled surgery for Qi Fang yet?
Noticing the change in Shen Yu’s expression, Qi Fang immediately spoke up, as if reading his mind, “There’s a minor surgery scheduled for tomorrow.”
Shen Yu looked at him.
“It’s scheduled at the same time as your checkup,” Qi Fang said calmly, raising his eyebrows at Shen Yu with a smile. “I specifically arranged it with the doctor today. I didn’t want you to watch me go into surgery or wait outside for me.”
“By the time you finish your checkup and come back, I’ll already be treated,” Qi Fang added.
Shen Yu gazed at him quietly for a long while before slowly nodding and saying, “Alright.”
*
The next day, before Qi Fang’s “surgery,” Qin Xiaosa came to the hospital again to visit.
This time, Li Congming wasn’t there. He had a full day of consultations and couldn’t accompany Qi Fang in his supposed illness.
“You’re not really hurt, are you?”
Qin Xiaosa pushed open the window of the hospital room and put an unlit cigarette in his mouth, drawling lazily, “Come on, tell me. Why are you deceiving Shen Yu out of the blue? How could you bring yourself to lie to him?”
Qi Fang, who had just bid farewell to Shen Yu as he left for his checkup, sighed wistfully and said, “It’s not me deceiving him, it’s Shen Yu…”
After listening carefully to Qi Fang’s explanation, Qin Xiaosa looked slightly surprised. “What do you mean? You’re saying you’re not sick? Then who is?”
Qi Fang repeated, “I’m not sick, I don’t have a fracture, but now I suspect Shen Yu is ill. Shen Yu’s illness is suspecting that I’m ill.”
“…What a mess…” Qin Xiaosa muttered. “You guys are making me feel like I’m the one losing my mind…”
Fortunately, Qin Xiaosa had a strong psychological resilience. He gathered his thoughts and asked Qi Fang, “So, are you certain that Shen Yu has that… what’s it called… Menglusen?”
“Munchausen syndrome by proxy,” Qi Fang said. “We can’t be certain yet. Li Congming has a friend who’s a psychology expert. Today, she’s taking Shen Yu for a checkup to see if there are any physiological abnormalities. If there aren’t, then it’s almost certain.”
“Is this reliable?” Qin Xiaosa pondered, still finding it incredible. “Shen Yu is so intelligent. How could he develop such a foolish condition?”
Qi Fang paused. “You’re right.”
“How could my clever Shen Yuyu suddenly develop such a strange illness…”
Qi Fang’s expression grew serious as he lowered his eyes in thought. “He was perfectly fine before the business trip. Could it be as Li Congming suggested, that he was poisoned by contaminated food? Or perhaps… could he have contracted some secretly developed virus from another country?”
Qin Xiaosa was speechless. “Now I think you’re the one who’s mentally ill. Maybe you should see a psychologist too?”
Qi Fang said earnestly, “I’m serious. Something unknown must have happened to my Shen Yuyu during that business trip.”
Qin Xiaosa replied, “Cause and effect. If there’s an illness, there’s a cause. If Shen Yu really has some strange condition, to cure him, you first need to find the cause to treat it effectively.”
Qi Fang pondered, “You have a point. After Shen Yuyu’s test results come out, I’ll ask him about what happened before.”
*
Meanwhile, at the hospital’s examination building.
Shen Yu had completed most of the tests that required fasting. For the remaining examinations, he had to wait in line. He lowered his eyelashes, watching a video of an academic discussion on his phone.
Chen Ke sat beside him—truthfully, Shen Yu didn’t understand why this woman was here.
…He had no need for anyone to accompany him during his checkup.
But out of politeness, after his initial inquiry, Shen Yu didn’t try to avoid her deliberately. Fortunately, Chen Ke was very quiet, never interrupting when Shen Yu was focused on work or watching academic videos.
“Number D06,” called a nurse at the triage desk.
Shen Yu paused the video and put away his phone. As he was about to step forward, he suddenly frowned, gently pressing his abdomen through his coat.
“Wait,” Chen Ke called out to him.
Shen Yu turned around to see Chen Ke taking out several round chocolates from her pocket. The wrappers were colorful and vibrant.
“Qi Fang asked me to bring some candy and chocolate, saying they’d be useful,” Chen Ke said, handing the chocolates to Shen Yu with a smile. “Are you hungry? I’ve already ordered takeout, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Have these to tide you over.”
Shen Yu chose a chocolate, unwrapped it, and ate it. Looking up, he said, “Thank you.”
Chen Ke replied, “No need to be so formal.”
Following the doctor’s instructions, Shen Yu changed into loose clothing and lay on the narrow bed. His gaze involuntarily fell on the snow-white ceiling. With nothing specific to focus on, his thoughts began to wander.
Shen Yu thought of Qi Fang, who should be in another building at this moment.
According to Qi Fang, his surgery was scheduled for this time. Shen Yu blinked as he watched the machine slowly cover his entire body.
Thinking back, Shen Yu realized he had rarely seen Qi Fang sick or injured.
It wasn’t that Qi Fang had never been ill or hurt, but he deliberately hid it from Shen Yu.
For minor ailments like colds, Qi Fang would usually guzzle ginger tea on the first day of symptoms, sweat it out, and be back to his energetic self the next day, the whole process not exceeding three days.
For more serious issues, such as falls, sprains, or even being hit by Li Congming’s bicycle on the way home from school… Qi Fang always concealed them, never letting Shen Yu see his injuries.
“Too many people looking makes it heal slower,” Qi Fang would always say. “Shen Yu, don’t look. It’ll be all better in a couple of days.”
Today was no different, Shen Yu thought.
Qi Fang was having surgery and didn’t even want him waiting outside the operating room.
In such matters, Qi Fang always showed surprising stubbornness. Shen Yu had argued with him about it before, but seeing no effect, he stopped wasting time on it.
Avoiding all unnecessary waste — this had always been Shen Yu’s principle.
He had adhered to this principle for many years.
“Number D06, your examination is complete. The results will be ready in six hours. You can leave now,” the doctor said.
As Shen Yu got up, his hand brushed against his coat pocket, causing a faint rustling sound. It was the wrapper of the chocolate ball.
“Thank you,” Shen Yu bid farewell to the doctor. As he exited, Chen Ke was holding the examination form, counting off items. “There are six more tests to go. We should be done in about an hour and a half…”
Shen Yu suddenly spoke up, “I’m going to check on Qi Fang.”
Chen Ke was taken aback. “But Qi Fang… he should still be in surgery. There’s nothing you can do if you go now. Why not wait until he’s finished—”
Shen Yu interrupted her, his tone calm but unyielding, “I’m going now. We’ll do the remaining tests this afternoon.”
Chen Ke paused, then folded the examination form and put it in her bag. “Alright,” she said.
*
“Urgent, urgent, urgent, urgent!”
Li Congming was hiding under his office desk, eating cookies during a break between consultations, when he suddenly received a frantic call from Qi Fang. The string of “urgents” startled him.
“What’s wrong?!”
Qi Fang’s voice was panicked, “Shen Yu suddenly wants to come wait for me after my surgery and take me back to the ward. But I don’t have any surgery scheduled! All the operating rooms in your hospital are fully booked. I don’t even have a chance to fake it. What should I do?”
Li Congming nearly choked on his cookie. He quickly grabbed his water cup and drank, then swallowed and said, “What?! Wasn’t Chen Ke supposed to take Shen Yu for his checkup?”
Qi Fang replied, “He came back before finishing the checkup!”
“?!” Li Congming exclaimed, “How long until he reaches your ward?”
Qi Fang said, “Chen Ke messaged me saying she’s taking Shen Yu to the front desk of the examination building to reconfirm the completed items. They’ll probably be here in about ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?” Li Congming was both furious and distressed. “Where am I supposed to find an operating room for you to lie in in ten minutes? Why don’t you just go lie in the morgue! There’s space there.”
Qi Fang retorted, “…Li Congming, did you eat too much chicken shits as a kid and get a stroke?”
Li Congming was about to curse back as usual, but glancing at the clock on the wall, he swallowed his words. After taking a few deep breaths, he said, “Then there’s no choice. Qi Fang, we can’t keep hiding this. Shen Yu will have to face the truth eventually.”
Qi Fang frowned deeply, “Didn’t we already tell Shen Yu before? He didn’t believe it. Chen Ke said forcibly changing his mind might cause his thinking to become confused.”
Li Congming asked, “Then what should we do? Tell Shen Yu your surgery failed, and you died, that you’ve been taken to the morgue, and ask him to pick you up there. Isn’t that absurd?”
“…” Qi Fang said weakly, “Forget it, I’ll figure something out myself.”
*
Shen Yu and Chen Ke returned to the inpatient building where Qi Fang was staying.
As they approached the elevator, Shen Yu turned to Chen Ke and asked, “Which floor is the operating room on?”
“…” Chen Ke coughed lightly. “It should be on the third floor, if I remember correctly.”
As she lowered her head, she caught a glimpse of a message from Qi Fang on her phone: [Buy some time, I’m on my way.]
Chen Ke turned off her phone screen and rubbed her brow, feeling somewhat helpless.
The elevator quickly arrived at the third floor. Upon exiting, Shen Yu followed the signs to the operating room at the end of the hallway—coincidentally, the light in this operating room was on.
Seeing this, Shen Yu frowned slightly, “It’s not finished yet?”
Chen Ke didn’t know how to react, “Well…”
Surely Qi Fang wasn’t actually in there?
There were two rows of waiting chairs outside the operating room. As Shen Yu was about to sit down, the red light above the operating room door suddenly went out.
Shen Yu paused, stopping his movement.
Two minutes later, the operating room doors slid open, and several doctors and nurses walked out, calling, “Is the patient’s family here? Are there any family members present?”
Shen Yu immediately stepped forward, “Here.”
Chen Ke: “Wait…”
“Oh,” one doctor noticed Shen Yu and muttered softly, “The family is actually here today… Alright, let me briefly explain the surgical results.”
“The patient’s lower limbs were severely necrotic. We’ve done our best, and we’ve had to amputate both legs below the knee. The anesthetic will take some time to wear off. The nursing station will send a detailed surgical report to the ward later. Remember to comfort the patient emotionally when they wake up. If you have any difficulties, please ring for us.”
Shen Yu: “……”
Chen Ke: “???”
After gently delivering this information, the doctor looked at the two “family members” in front of him and patiently asked, “Do you have any questions?”
Shen Yu stood still, his cool demeanor somewhat pale. Those eyes, dark as cold stars, stared fixedly at the doctor as he repeated, “Both legs amputated below the knee?”
The doctor: “Yes, we had discussed this with the family earlier…”
Shen Yu pressed his lips together, not quite hearing the doctor’s subsequent words. He just lowered his lashes and said, “I see.”
At the elevator at the other end of the hallway, Qi Fang received Chen Ke’s message and rushed to the third floor in a panic.
From a distance, he saw Shen Yu standing outside the operating room. A doctor in a white coat was saying something. As Qi Fang hurriedly approached, he heard Shen Yu’s calm, low voice.
“A friend of Qi Fang’s, surnamed Qin, should have contact information for prosthetic limb manufacturers.”
Shen Yu took out his phone and turned to Chen Ke, saying, “I’ll call him now and ask him to arrange a pair of usable lower leg prostheses for Qi Fang as soon as possible.”
Qi Fang, who had just rushed to the scene using his very intact legs: “Huh???”
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