According to Tao Yunli, Tan Yue’s uncle, his grandfather fell while exercising in the yard this morning and hit his head on the steps. The situation was very serious.
When Tan Yue arrived at the hospital, his grandfather was still in the emergency room, and his uncle was anxiously waiting outside.
“Uncle, how is grandfather?” Tan Yue approached and asked in a deep voice.
Tao Yunli replied, “The doctor said he has a skull fracture and needs surgery. There is also minor damage to the brain nerves, but there is no danger to his life.”
Tan Yue breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that there was no danger to his grandfather’s life, and finally felt at ease.
His uncle was a very steady person and wouldn’t be so anxious over the phone unless the situation was serious.
Tan Yue said, “I will arrange for the best doctors to come and operate on my grandfather.”
“Okay.”
Tao Yunli looked at Tan Yue, who was in a neat suit, and asked, “Was your work delayed? Your grandfather may not wake up so soon. Why don’t you go back to work and come back later? I will call you when he wakes up.”
Tan Yue turned and sat down on a single sofa in the corridor, where family members could rest and wait. His eyes fell on the three bright words “Emergency Rescue Room.” He said lightly, “No need.”
Tao Yunli wanted to say something, but seeing Tan Yue’s determined expression, he knew that his resolution was unshakable and did not persuade him further. He sat down beside him.
After a moment, he spoke again in a low voice, “Although your grandfather is not in danger of losing his life, he is getting old. A fall like this will undoubtedly take a toll on his body. You…you should let him worry less.”
Of course, the most important thing for the old man was the marriage issue of his grandson Tang Yue.
He had not worried much before, knowing that Tang Yue had a sense of propriety.
It was only when Tang Yue had an accident and underwent surgery, that Grandpa Tang began to worry when he saw him lying alone in the hospital ward, without any trusted relatives to take care of him.
“Okay,” Tang Yue’s calm gaze flickered slightly, “I understand.”
Tao Yunli secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He did not dare to say such things in front of Tang Yue before. He could not figure out this nephew of his and did not dare to have any say about his affairs.
To be precise, apart from the old man, no one dared to have a say in Tang Yue’s affairs.
It was only now that the old man was injured that he dared to bring it up.
——————
University A.
“Why do we have to take finals again, ahhh, it’s so painful!”
During the break between classes, Li Chang slammed his head on the desk and lamented.
After New Year’s Day, it was exam week, which was undoubtedly a kind of torture for contemporary college students.
“Hey, Linchu, remember to call me when you go to the library in the future.”
Li Chang turned his head to speak to Song Linchu, but found that his roommate was lying face down on the table, with most of his face buried in a furry scarf. When he heard Li Chang talking to him, he muttered “Mm” in a muffled voice.
“Are you okay?” Li Chang asked with concern when he saw Song Linchu’s wilted appearance. “Do you want to go to the infirmary?”
“After class,” Song Linchu’s voice was nasal, “Let’s go after class.”
Their school was large, and the infirmary was on the east side, which would take half of their class time to walk there.
Li Chang remembered the reason why he caught a cold and gritted his teeth, saying in a low voice, “I feel like Su Zhan swapped your water. I only glanced at him yesterday and didn’t say anything, if he wasn’t guilty, there wouldn’t be such a severe reaction.”
Song Linchu said in a dull voice, “We’ll find out when we go back tonight.”
He poured hot water into the kettle before he left, intending to test if it was really broken.
“Okay, you rest then.” Li Chang didn’t want to bother Song Linchu, who was in so much discomfort.
Song Linchu tucked his hands into his sleeves and was about to find a more comfortable position to continue lying down, when his phone, which was buried under a pile of books, vibrated twice.
Song Linchu ignored it and buried his face deeper into the warm scarf.
But the phone didn’t give up, and vibrated several times in a row.
Damn!
With frustration written all over his face, Song Linchu pulled out his phone from under the textbook to see who had the audacity to disturb him. When he saw the two characters “Tan Yue,” he was momentarily taken aback.
It was no wonder that Song Linchu was surprised, as Tan Yue was the kind of person who never messaged him first unless it was absolutely necessary.
Today, however, he had reached out twice in a row.
The first time was to deliver a scarf, but what about now? Did he forget something?
Song Linchu rubbed his eyes and unlocked his phone, opening the WeChat app.
Tan Yue: [Are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together?]
Tan Yue: [Any other time is fine too.]
Tan Yue: [I need a favor, can we meet up and talk?]
Song Linchu: “…”
Why do you rich tycoons always like to send messages sentence by sentence?!
But Tan Yue had actually asked him out for dinner. Didn’t that equate to a date, then? Or perhaps even a marriage proposal?
Happiness came too suddenly, and Song Linchu tried to remain calm and composed.
Little Songlin: [Sure thing, gege! I’m free tonight. Where are we eating?]
Little Songlin: [(fox circling around.gif)]
Li Chang was busy messaging his girlfriend when he noticed the gloomy Song Linchu suddenly perk up like he had just received an adrenaline shot. He sat up straight, banged on the table, and exclaimed, “Holy shit, brother, did you just get a burst of energy? Are you having a midlife crisis?”
“Mind your own business!” Song Linchu snapped and kicked him in the shin. “Talk about your own life.”
“No, seriously, you’ve been acting strange lately and smiling a lot. Are you sure you don’t have a boyfriend or something?”
This comment caught the attention of their classmates who were waiting for class to start, especially the girls.
The news of the “school flower” having a boyfriend was definitely worth gossiping about.
Song Linchu was completely flustered.
Li Chang didn’t know about his pursuit of Tan Yue. When Tan Yue sent him flowers, Song Linchu told him that they were from a friend, and Li Chang didn’t suspect anything and assumed it was one of Song Linchu’s admirers.
The pursuit was not yet successful, so he must not reveal his intentions, especially not in front of Su Zhan.
Song Linchu said in a low voice, “Object my foot, he’s my creditor.”
The gaze of the onlookers turned from gossip to sympathy. In their field, those who had connections would take orders to hone their skills.
The ones urging for orders were called creditors.
Li Chang sympathetically patted his shoulder and said, “Hang in there, brother. My spirit is with you.”
Unaware that he had become a creditor, Tan Yue sent him another message.
Tan Yue: [What time do you finish class? I’ll have the driver come pick you up.]
Liy Songlin: [5:30, but I have to stop by the dormitory first, so I’ll probably be there around 6.]
Tan Yue: [Okay.]
Normally, their chat would end here.
But a moment later, Tan Yue sent another message.
Tan Yue: [I didn’t consider your cold earlier, let’s just talk on the phone.]
Little Songlin: [It’s okay, gege. I just caught a mild cold because my feet were too cold when I slept last night. Drinking some hot water will fix it.]
Little Songlin: [QAQ Believe me, gege, I can even take an exam with a high fever!]
Tan Yue: […]
Tan Yue: [Cold feet?]
Little Songlin: [Yeah, I have a weak constitution. If I don’t soak my feet every night before bed, my feet will be very cold. Yesterday the water supply was cut off, so…]
Little Songlin: [(Crying) I miss the soft bed and warm floor heating at your place.]
Tan Yue: [I see.]
Xiao Songlin: [(Nodding fox.gif)]
Xiao Songlin: [I loved them!]
Tan Yue: [I’ll give you the contact information for the renovation team.]
Song Linchu: “???”
Song Linchu: “……”
What the fuck, is this even human language?
As expected of you, Tan Yue, the steel straight man of the Niu Guluo family!
In terms of disappointment, you never fail to disappoint!
—————–
After finishing classes and returning to his dormitory in the evening, Li Chang rushed towards his water kettle even faster than Song Linchu. However, he was dumbfounded when he opened the kettle.
“What’s wrong?” Song Linchu asked, having changed into a pair of cotton slippers.
“The inner container is broken!” Li Chang exclaimed.
Song Linchu was also taken aback and leaned over to take a look. Sure enough, he saw the shattered pieces inside the hot water kettle.
“Damn it! It’s Su Zhan’s doing!” Li Chang cursed through gritted teeth.
If he only suspected it before, now he was certain.
“I’m going to beat that stupid and poisonous green tea to death today. Nobody can stop me!” Li Chang’s face turned red with anger.
Although he was always careless and often verbally threatened Su Zhan, he had never actually hit him before.
But enough was enough!
Although Song Linchu was also very angry, he knew that fighting was not the key to solving the problem. If they fought, it would break the surface harmony of their dormitory, and who knew what disgusting things Su Zhan might do in retaliation after being beaten up.
If they were going to fight, they couldn’t do it openly.
Just as Song Linchu was about to calm down Li Chang, the dormitory door was knocked on twice.
Li Chang irritably asked, “Who is it?”
There was no response from outside, and then the knocking resumed, not too hard but not too soft either.
Song Linchu walked over to open the door, and was almost surprised when he saw who was standing outside.
“Secretary Cheng?” Song Linchu thought he had made a mistake. “What are you doing here…?”
“Well, master asked me to deliver this box to you. I felt it was a bit heavy and you’re on the sixth floor without an elevator, so I took the liberty of bringing it up myself,” Secretary Cheng Bing said as he held a cardboard box that didn’t look light.
Song Linchu blinked and asked, “What is it?”
“It’s a warm foot patch made of Artemisia, which can dispel dampness and drive away cold. Master said you should need it,” Secretary Cheng explained.
Song Linchu’s fingertip paused.
He had casually mentioned his cold feet during his WeChat conversation with Tan Yue, and Tan Yue had sent something like this..
But he still gave such an irritating reply on WeChat.
This straight steel man!
While Song Linchu complained in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel happy. He stepped aside and let Secretary Cheng into the room.
Cheng Bin sensed Li Chang’s lingering anger and assumed it was directed towards Song Linchu for provoking him. Cheng Bing calmly placed the box on the ground and stood between them, asking, “Did I come at the wrong time?”
“It’s not that,” Song Linchu noticed Cheng Bing’s gesture and replied, “He’s not angry at me.”
With that, Song Linchu approached Li Chang and patted his shoulder, saying, “Don’t be angry for now. I have a way to deal with him. Don’t alert him yet.”
Li Chang was stunned and asked with suspicion, “What’s your plan?”
Song Linchu didn’t actually have a plan for dealing with Su Zhan. He just didn’t want Li Chang to get in a fight, knowing Su Zhan’s retaliatory nature would likely result in Tang Mingqing’s retaliation.
To deal with someone like Su Zhan, he had to use underhanded tactics.
“I’m going out to dinner with a friend now. I’ll tell you more when I come back tonight. In the meantime, don’t act impulsively and ruin my plan.”
Li Chang looked at him skeptically, but Song Linchu lowered his gaze and said, “Let me handle him myself. Is that okay?”
“Okay, I’ll let him off the hook for now!” Li Chang agreed, and Song Linchu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He briefly introduced Cheng Bin to Li Chang, changed his clothes, and went downstairs with Cheng Bing.
“Do you need any help?” Cheng Bin asked after they left the dorm.
He had investigated Song Linchu and had a hunch that this matter was related to his weird roommate who stole from him.
“No, I can handle it myself,” Song Linchu replied.
It was time to deal with Su Zhan’s increasingly outrageous behavior. Enduring it would only make it worse.
