Chapter Forty-Nine: It"s not ugly. My baby looks good all over. Cheng YuTang picked up on it, so just as the little thing was ready to pull up the sheets and hide from his own smug face, he changed the topic in a timely manner, “Baby, are you hungry?”
Ji XiaoYu had originally planned to bury his head like an ostrich for a while, but once he heard this, he forgot his shame. He quickly nodded and said, “Hungry? I"m starving to death!”
He had pa.s.sed out and been in a coma. And now, when he woke up, he had felt hungry, enough that he could eat a whole cow.
“Then I"ll have someone bring food in.” Cheng YuTang smiled, then rang a bell to summon Zhao BaiXin and give him a short command. When Zhao BaiXin had gone back out, he said, “Since you"re injured, you"ll have to eat a little lighter and there are some restrictions, some things you can"t eat. Just you wait, in the future, whatever you want to eat, I"ll make for you, okay?”
“Okay!” Ji XiaoYu licked his lips, his response simple. At that time, he wouldn"t be just be a guest!
Ay, I knew that I"d end up with this man in the end. I shouldn"t have hid in the first place. No, how many big meals did I not get to eat, how many delicious things have I missed!
He couldn"t help but feel a little heartache for the him from the past two months.
Cheng YuTang was looking at him as if he were imagining him being greedy and wanted to tease him. But just as he was opening his mouth, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and then answered the phone, “Hey, Ma.”
Ji XiaoYu"s ears twitched as he heard a word that was very unfamiliar to his vocabulary. He felt a little nervous inside.
“You and Dad don"t have to worry, don"t believe the rumors you hear. I"m fine, I just suffered a minor injury, it"ll be fine soon.
“Don"t you come over. I have a lot of people looking after me here. You couldn"t fit in even if you came over. And I"ll go back next month, so there"s no need to go back and forth now.
“Yes, someone saved me, you don"t have to worry, I"ll bring him back and let you look him over clearly.
“Mmm, tell Dad h.e.l.lo on my behalf. If there"s nothing else, I"ll hang up.”
Putting his phone down, he glanced at the little thing in the next bed, whose ears were up, looking like some kind of alert little animal. Cheng YuTang couldn"t help but raise the corners of his lips. “What, can"t wait to see your in-laws?”
Ji XiaoYu"s face went bright red all of a sudden, “Wh-what in-laws? I don"t have any!”
Cheng YuTang laughed lightly, “Rest a.s.sured, you"re not an ugly daughter-in-law. You"re the most beautiful and most clever little to-be-wife. The in-laws will definitely love you.”
Ji XiaoYu was embarra.s.sed and annoyed. Just as he was about to reject going back, Zhao BaiXin came in carrying a container of food with two nurses, so he had to keep his mouth sealed, glaring at a certain someone with fierce eyes instead.
Cheng YuTang"s lips curled in a smile as he waited for one of the nurses to raise Ji XiaoYu"s bed and put the food and tableware on the bed table. When they were about to feed Ji XiaoYu, he said, “Come, let me do it.”
The nurse was stunned and shot a bit of a confused look at Zhao BaiXin. Zhao BaiXin hurriedly said, “Cheng Zong, it"s not convenient for you with the injuries on your body. Why don"t I feed Mr. Ji?”
“There"s nothing inconvenient. I just broke my leg, my hands haven"t been ruined.” Cheng YuTang wiped his hands with a disinfectant wipe and said indifferently, “You can go out with them. I"ll call you in to clean up when the meal is finished.”
“Yes, Cheng Zong.” Zhao BaiXin was forced to go out with the nurses.
Cheng YuTang then used his arm to support his body as he moved Ji XiaoYu"s side. He took one of the bowls of porridge, scooped up a spoonful and gently blew on it a few times. He touched gently to his lips, checking that the temperature was right, before he lifted the spoon to Ji XiaoYu"s mouth.
Ji XiaoYu blushed, wearing a disgruntled expression, and muttered, “I-I can feed myself.”
Cheng YuTang was firm, “No, you can"t move, otherwise you could easily affect the wound. Do you want to have to stay in the hospital for a few extra days?”
Ji XiaoYu certainly didn"t want to. In fact, it felt horrible to be stuck in bed, feeling disabled. In this life, he never wanted to experience this for a second time.
“So then, let me feed you. The personal care of a president is not easily bought, other people can"t just request it,” Cheng YuTang quipped. "Darling, open your mouth, ah~"
Ji XiaoYu opened his mouth without thinking, “Ah-”
Cheng YuTang fed the spoonful of porridge into his mouth. After retracting the spoon, he licked the leftovers off in a casual way, “Mmm, it tastes good.”
Ji XiaoYu: “………”
Looking at his face was embarra.s.sing, so he turned his eyes and looked at the door, fearing that someone would suddenly come in. Cheng YuTang suddenly asked, “Baby, if I"m hurt more seriously one day and can"t feed myself or in a few decades when I"m too old to hold a spoon, would you be willing to feed me?”
Ji XiaoYu"s eyes went red as soon as he heard this and his nose started to ache too. With unbearable sadness, he said, “Why are you asking this? I don"t want you to get hurt again and I don"t want you to get old………”
No matter which one, he couldn"t accept it.
If he could exchange his spiritual power for the man"s safety, health, and longevity, he wouldn"t hesitate.
Cheng YuTang"s heart also ached, but he didn"t let it show on his face. He said softly, "Little fool, where did your thoughts go? I"m not good at this, but I was just using an a.n.a.logy. Me being older than you, does it disgust you?”
Ji XiaoYu whispered firmly in reply, “Of course not!”
Cheng YuTang followed up persuasively, “So then, I"ll feed you now and later on, you"ll feed me. It"s all normal so don"t be embarra.s.sed, okay?”
Ji XiaoYu looked at him for long time and then finally replied, “Okay.”
Cheng YuTang laughed and lifted a spoonful of porridge to his mouth. Ji XiaoYu finally overcome his mental obstacles and accepted being fed.
Just like that, a bite for you, a bite for me; the two men dilly-dallied as they finished their meal.
Cheng YuTang pressed the call b.u.t.ton and Zhao BaiXin brought some staff in to clean up. Ji XiaoYu rinsed his mouth and then Cheng YuTang personally wiped his face and hands with a wet towel carefully. After a while, he fell asleep again.
Since he was seriously injured, his strength and spirit were greatly reduced and the medicine he was taking included a sedative. So once he fell asleep, he slept very hard, not waking up even if there was a thunderstorm.
After the two nurses finished cleaning up, they went out. Zhao BaiXin collected the doc.u.ments signed by Cheng YuTang and reported on some updates, describing the recent work in a concise and clear manner. As he was preparing to leave, Cheng YuTang, who had been previously silent, suddenly opened his mouth, “Zhao BaiXin, after the new year, you"ll go to be the manager of the new company in Wu City.”
Zhao BaiXin was stunned at first, then he went cold inside. Terrified and a bit reluctant, he asked, “Cheng Zong, where have I failed in my work? You tell me and I"ll correct myself from now on!”
Wu City was located in the northwest China, at a high elevation with a tough climate. Anyone at HongSheng with a bit of power and status, the mid- and high-level managers, wouldn"t go to that dry, barren desert where there was nothing to eat but sand. Therefore, the manager who took up the post at the new company over there would be praised by everyone as "the number one most capable person on Cheng Zong"s side." It would seem as if he were promoted, but he would really be giving up his status.
“You"re dedicated to your work, there"s nothing wrong with that, but you touched my bottom line, and not for the first time.”
Cheng YuTang leaned to the side to caress the sleeping Ji XiaoYu"s head and then, neither too fast nor too slow, said, "What was it you said to my mother? What was it about my personal affairs, about how I treat my people? I have my own standards for behavior, no one is qualified to override me. Going to Wu City is not a small punishment, but a test. If you work well, your future will be bright. If you feel that this position isn"t worthy of your talents, you can just not go. Find another job on your own and I"ll give you compensation in accordance with the company"s articles of a.s.sociation.”
Zhao BaiXin was dumbfounded and, after a long moment, he slumped and said, “Thank you, Cheng Zong, I understand.”
After Zhao BaiXin also left, Cheng YuTang turned off the overhead lights, leaving only one bedside lamp of his own. Then, he reached out and gently brushed Ji XiaoYu"s pretty nose, saying to himself, “Ji XiaoYu, my friend, I kind of understand what you meant by saying "incapable ruler" now.”
Ji XiaoYu didn"t wake up, just pursed his lips in a pout as if he were protesting.
Cheng YuTang leaned over and kissed the pale pink lips gently. He smiled happily as he said, “Good night, baby, have a good dream.”
……
These days of convalescence were a bit difficult. He couldn"t get out of bed, couldn"t move around, couldn"t eat this, couldn"t drink that; Ji XiaoYu almost suffocated to death.
Fortunately, Cheng YuTang would occasionally use some little tricks to distract him, such as reading him an interesting article, joining him in a game of aeroplane chess, and showing him photos he had taken while traveling around the world and telling him more about the stories behind the photos and all.
Ji XiaoYu was most interested in the last one. He had lived a very simple existence. He had been in Xiao Qing Shan previously. And last year —- no, he should say the year before last, he had left Xiao Qing Shan to go to Xing Cheng, and then, in the middle of last year, came to Ning City. But he had never been anywhere else. Seeing the magnificent scenery of the sea, mountains, deserts, and gra.s.slands around the world, among others, in Cheng YuTang"s photos, listening to him telling the feelings of his own experience, he yearned for it in his heart.
Each time Cheng YuTang finished talking about a place, he would kiss him and say indulgently again, “Darling, just you wait until you are well. Wherever you want to go, we"ll go together.”
Like that, Ji XiaoYu looked forward more and more to the day when he would recover soon. He also cooperated more with his treatment and no longer resisted so negatively.
He had a special const.i.tution, so the injury healed as quickly as possible. In early February, the dean of the hospital personally examined him and the results showed that the wound had completely healed and all the measures of health were fully back up to standard.
On that same day, Cheng YuTang also had his cast removed and he bid farewell to the wheelchair. The two patients were finally discharged.
Zhao BaiXin sent two sets of brand new clothes. The two men closed the door, pulled the curtain, and changed out of their hospital gowns in their room.
Ji XiaoYu was trying to enter the bathroom because a certain someone had already stripped down to his underwear in the room outside. He glanced at him and quickly turned his eyes away as his face went red, this man is still so shameless!
But he was also a man himself. If he was always hiding, acting like a big girl, that would be even more awkward, so he hesitated, then turned his back and began to change his clothes.
Just as he had put on his shirt, not even starting to b.u.t.ton it up yet, the already-dressed Cheng YuTang suddenly came around in front of him. He opened his lapel without a word and gazed at his chest.
Right there, on the center-left side, was a little scar, which was different from the surrounding delicate, smooth, white-as-jade skin. It was wrinkled, showing some patches of pink flesh.
Having the man stare at his scar without blinking, Ji XiaoYu got upset all of a sudden. He was ashamed of having his naked body looked at and the courage he had just acc.u.mulated disappeared in an instant. He hurriedly pulled his shirt closed and muttered, "You don"t want to look at that. It"s so ugly.” As he spoke, he moved to run into the bathroom.
Cheng YuTang reached out to hold him, then simply picked him up and put him on the sofa. He said with a respectful tone, “It"s not ugly. My baby looks good all over and here is the same. I like it all.”
With that, he bent his legs and knelt in front of him. His lips gently touched the bullet mark and his expression was extremely serious, though his movements were extremely soft, as if he were worshipping the most precious and fragile treasure in the world.
Ji XiaoYu felt a thrill and he suddenly felt stiff. The place where he kissed felt warm and a little ticklish. He slowly began to feel itchy all over, just as if a stone had been dropped in the heart of a lake with the ripples gradually spreading outwards until they spilled over the entirety of the water.
Just when he couldn"t help but want to moan, Cheng YuTang"s lips finally left that spot and then he helped him fasten his b.u.t.tons one by one.
Ji XiaoYu: “………”
It"s, it"s over? I thought that something, that something special was about to happen……
Cheng YuTang looked at his shy and disappointed expression and couldn"t help but smile and sigh, “Baby, don"t test my strength, I"ve endured very hard. This is a hospital, the environment isn"t ideal. Wait until we get back, okay?”
How could Ji XiaoYu say okay to that? His face was about to boil from embarra.s.sment.
Fortunately, a knock sounded on the door just then, which defused his embarra.s.sment. Yang YiPeng said outside, “Cheng Zong, the discharge process has been completed, you can leave now.”
“Okay, wait a few minutes.”
Cheng YuTang personally stripped Ji XiaoYu of his hospital pants and changed him into the new pants. Thinking of the captain just outside the door, Ji XiaoYu didn"t dare to even take a breath, letting the man have his way with moving him back and forth.
Then he put a sweater on Ji XiaoYu, wrapped him up in a coat, put on his scarf and a woolen hat.
“My baby is so beautiful," Cheng YuTang finally praised with satisfaction, “Now we can go.”
“Wait, wait!” Ji XiaoYu ran to his hospital bed, pulled back the quilt, and picked up the little white egg to put in his coat pocket with great reverence.
Cheng YuTang: “………”
It"s alright, never mind. He was a generous, honorable man who was already capable of completely ignoring this light bulb.
He took Ji XiaoYu"s hand and put it into his own coat pocket with the same level of reverence, then he pushed the door open to leave the room.
—