10 Dispute

“Hmm... huh?” Even Zhou Mingze himself hadn’t expected Lu Yu to forgive so easily.

Song Jianli stared into Lu Yu’s eyes, as if trying to read something deeper, but the emotion in Lu Yu’s gaze was too calm.

Was it insincere? Or genuine forgiveness?

“Yes, I forgive you,” Lu Yu nodded this time to express his decision.

The infirmary fell into a profound silence, so still that the drip of the IV could be heard clearly.

Suddenly, Zhou Mingze laughed, breaking the quiet. With a trace of pride, he raised an eyebrow at Song Jianli. “Nothing could be better than this.”

Even in his own understanding, he thought Lu Yu’s attitude was too indifferent, but seeing the once overbearing Song Jianli defeated was the best outcome for him.

“Well, I’ll leave first,” Zhou Mingze said, one hand casually in his pocket as he pushed aside the curtain and left.

Song Jianli lowered his eyes and took a deep breath.

Forget it. Since Lu Yu chose to forgive, at least he shouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Lu Yu was always too soft-hearted; that wasn’t good.

“Lu Yu, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere else? Is it just a headache? What about your body? Did you hit any other parts?” He had already heard from others about how Lu Yu had fainted.

First, he collapsed onto his seat, then his thin back hit the desk behind, and finally, the back of his head struck the edge of the desk.

Lu Yu shook his head. “Just a little headache.”

Just as he finished speaking, the curtain shielding the bed was drawn aside, and the school nurse came in holding a medical record book.

“How are you feeling? Better?” The nurse adjusted the IV drip rate as she leaned closer to Lu Yu.

Lu Yu cooperated smoothly. “Yeah, just a bit dizzy still.”

“Dizziness is normal since you hit your head. I’ve already contacted your homeroom teacher to notify your parents. Should I call someone to bring professional equipment to check you here? Or should I remove the IV now and you go to the hospital for a CT scan?” The nurse saw the worry in Song Jianli’s eyes and seriously offered these two options.

In this school, there were always students from well-off families, and Song Jianli’s family owning a private hospital wasn’t a secret. Perhaps he felt more at ease having Lu Yu checked there.

But ultimately, it depended on the injured party’s wishes.

“All right, we’ll go to the hospital.”

“No, no need.”

Both spoke at the same time after the nurse’s suggestion, but the one who meant it was Song Jianli.

Yet he couldn’t understand why Lu Yu refused.

“Why not go?” Song Jianli’s brows furrowed slowly.

He had never lost his temper with Lu Yu before, so Lu Yu knew this wasn’t anger—it was pure worry.

Just then, someone called for the nurse’s help outside, so she said, “You two decide quickly; I have to go help now.” She placed the record book on the bedside table and left.

“It’s not that…” Lu Yu wasn’t refusing; he was afraid.

Wei Qin already knew about this, so his parents must have heard too. He had to be thankful they were out of town.

But when he went home at night, he would inevitably be scolded over the phone—they were already busy enough; couldn’t he behave at school?

They would be disappointed.

Also, going for a CT scan worried Lu Yu that his illness might be discovered. If his condition became public, he wouldn’t dare face anyone at home.

Too many things at once were overwhelming. He didn’t want his illness exposed, didn’t want to be blamed, and didn’t want Song Jianli to worry.

“Lu Yu, I’ve already asked for leave for you. Uncle Xu will come to pick us up to go to my family’s hospital. I’m worried there might be complications, okay?” The complexity of emotion in Lu Yu’s eyes was something Song Jianli had never seen before; this was the first time he couldn’t understand him.

Song Jianli softened his voice, lacing it with a coaxing tone.

But Lu Yu still shook his head, refusing, because his illness was a secret he guarded fiercely.

“Jiange, I don’t really want to go to the hospital,” Lu Yu said slowly.

Song Jianli was patient. He sat on the chair beside the bed, grabbed Lu Yu’s wrist gently, and asked softly, “Are you going to not listen to me again this time, Lu Yu?”

The last two words carried sadness and a gentle longing.

Lu Yu could only make up an excuse. “Because the smell of disinfectant makes me uncomfortable.”

But his instinctive avoidance betrayed him, and Song Jianli’s sharp mind caught the lie. After pondering, Song Jianli suddenly asked:

“Lu Yu, I never knew you hated the smell of disinfectant. Are you hiding something from me? Did you conceal something when you went to the hospital to get your test results?”

With no information from Lu Yu, Song Jianli nearly guessed the truth simply by intuition. His genius mind made Lu Yu stiffen in fear. He hurriedly explained:

“How could that be? Jiange, I’m not lying. I really think I’m fine, so there’s no need to go to the hospital.”

In his panic, his words became incoherent.

Over the years, Song Jianli’s gentleness had made Lu Yu overlook the fact that even Song Jianli had limits. He could refuse the hospital visit, but he needed to hear a reasonable explanation from Lu Yu.

Clearly, Lu Yu’s explanation didn’t convince Song Jianli; instead, it deepened his suspicion.

“Then we’re going to the hospital.” Lu Yu struggled, but his wrist in Song Jianli’s grasp couldn’t break free.

His heart raced, overwhelmed and confused, not understanding why Song Jianli insisted.

“Jiange, please let go. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to, Jiange…” Lu Yu’s other hand had an IV needle, making it difficult to struggle. He was on the verge of tears.

Tears welled up, threatening to spill over.

In fact, he did cry.

“Jiange, I don’t want to go, uh…” Lu Yu stopped speaking, biting his lip and sobbing while shaking his head. Tears streamed down his pale cheeks like broken strings of pearls, stifling his sobs.

Song Jianli’s heart felt as if it had been violently seized. Lu Yu’s tears made it hard for him to breathe. His remedy was to make Lu Yu happy.

He was wrong to push so hard; he had to allow Lu Yu his secrets.

Lu Yu’s cheeks and ears flushed pink from crying, his eyelashes wet. Song Jianli was filled with regret. He quickly released his hand and grabbed some damp tissues from the table to wipe Lu Yu’s tears.

The tears flowed uncontrollably, soaking the tissue in his hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Lu Yu.” For the first time, Song Jianli made Lu Yu cry. Usually calm, he was now flustered, apologizing repeatedly while dabbing at the tears.

Lu Yu wiped his tears with the backs of his hands, his eyes red and his sobbing intense.

He murmured brokenly, “I hate it, I hate it…”

Song Jianli panicked completely; he didn’t want to hear those words from Lu Yu.

He bent down and pulled Lu Yu into his embrace. “Don’t hate me, Lu Yu, don’t hate me…”

His voice trembled.

Lu Yu’s nose was blocked with tears, yet he felt the comforting scent from Song Jianli, calming his erratic heartbeat.

“No, I don’t hate you, Jiange, uh…” Lu Yu buried his face in Song Jianli’s chest, crying so hard he could hardly breathe, shaking his head while wiping tears on his chest. “I hate… the hospital.”

That had been Lu Yu’s nightmare since childhood.

Every time he went to the hospital, he was scolded. No one at home was more familiar with hospitals than he was.

Whoever accompanied him had the right to complain, but being sick was beyond his control.

By fourteen, Lu Yu had already learned to go to hospitals alone to queue, register, and see doctors.

He was physically weak and short for his age, so when facing the nurse behind the counter, he had to tiptoe and lean on the counter to see her.

Even now, he was used to going alone, refusing company—even from Song Jianli, whom he relied on most.

Lu Yu sobbed as he explained.

The moment he finished, he clearly felt the person holding him exhale in relief, his tense body relaxing. Lu Yu vaguely heard Song Jianli whisper, “That’s a relief…”

Then came the sound of warm breath against his ear.

“All right. We won’t go to the hospital. I’ll have Uncle Xu take us home to see our family doctor, okay?” Song Jianli’s voice was hoarse; Lu Yu’s sorrow was all because of him.

He added, “Alright? I want to hear from Dr. Wang that you’re fine.”

Dr. Wang was the family doctor for Song Jianli’s family. Lu Yu had met him twice and heard he was quite accomplished medically.

The important thing was that the family doctor’s clinic didn’t have the advanced equipment of a hospital, so Song Jianli would feel assured, and Lu Yu would too.

“All right.” Lu Yu nodded in agreement.

Both made concessions. No matter how many doubts Song Jianli had, he suppressed them all.

He released his hold on Lu Yu, who stopped crying but still sobbed uncontrollably.

Standing by the bedside, Song Jianli looked down at Lu Yu, who tilted his head up to meet his gaze. Tears still filled his moist eyelashes, his nose and cheeks flushed pink.

His red-rimmed eyes and quivering lips made him look like a timid little rabbit, pitiful and vulnerable.

Song Jianli felt a pang of heartache.

He bent down to wipe the tears from Lu Yu’s eyes, teasing gently, “Whose little rabbit cried into a spotted cat?”

That made Lu Yu finally smile through his tears. Song Jianli lowered his gaze and steadied his breath.

“Looks like you’ve made up your minds. Planning to go to the hospital again?” The nurse came in holding a bottle of alcohol disinfectant and two cotton swabs.

Song Jianli turned and said, “Yes, please help us remove his IV.”

The nurse smiled and nodded, “No trouble. I’ll have someone come to take you to the hospital later.”

“No need. Someone will pick us up,” Song Jianli replied.

“Alright.” The nurse didn’t insist; wealthy kids had their own minds, especially when it was Song Jianli.

She went to the bedside, picked up the medical record book from the bedside table, and handed it to Lu Yu. “Fill in your information, please.”

Lu Yu was about to reach out to take it when Song Jianli intercepted the book, saying calmly, “I’ll do it.”

The nurse began, “You need to fill in your ID number and phone number. He can—”

Before she could finish, she saw Song Jianli already writing a string of numbers in the ID field.

This made her swallow back whatever she was about to say.