The Early Spring - Chapter 92

Chapter 92 - A Severe Affliction

People were coming and going in the emergency room. Although Luan Nian did his best to maintain his composure, his body remained slightly hunched, his brows knit tight—the pain was truly severe.

“Sit right here and don’t move. I’ll go get a registration number,” Shang Zhitao instructed him, then ran off to line up. The hospital was crowded, and the line was long. Fearing Luan Nian might panic or get anxious, she sent him messages from time to time: Ten people left, five people left, it’s my turn now. Once she got the slip, she ran back to the waiting area to find him. It was rare to see Luan Nian looking vulnerable; Shang Zhitao had always thought he was indestructible. As she led him to the consultation room to wait for his turn, he looked thoroughly exhausted. He rested his head against her shoulder, his breathing somewhat rapid.

Shang Zhitao’s heart softened again and again. She reached out to pat the back of his hand, saying softly, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

After a moment, she added, “I think we should call Dr. Liang.”

Luan Nian gave a low hum with his eyes closed, but he didn't call Dr. Liang. When Shang Zhitao asked again, he simply said, “Dr. Liang is very busy.” Luan Nian didn't want to call her; if he did, she would make a fuss, find an acquaintance to examine him, and turn the whole thing into a massive false alarm. He disliked that.

He rarely relied on anyone, nor did anyone seem to rely on him. He disliked coming to hospitals; places like this were filled with partings in life and separations by death. When he went to see Dr. Liang as a child, he had seen family members clinging to her, weeping bitterly, on several occasions.

The last time he had come to the hospital was years ago, bringing a high-feverish, coughing Shang Zhitao.

Shang Zhitao’s hand was warm. After just those two gentle pats, she drew it back, being extremely polite and staying within boundaries.

The consultation, blood tests, and X-rays dragged on until the middle of the night. In the end, he was diagnosed with a kidney stone, 0.5 centimeters in size. The doctor prescribed a painkiller injection and stone-dissolving powder, along with medical instructions.

Luan Nian felt a little better during the IV drip. Looking at Shang Zhitao, whose usually neat and crisp skin was now showing a slight sheen of oil, she was still asking him from time to time:

“Feeling a bit better?”

“Do you want some water?”

“The doctor said to tip-toe or climb stairs, remember that.”

A moment later, she added, “The doctor also said to drink fewer carbonated beverages from now on. Do you still have Coke and soda water in your fridge? If you do, throw them out.”

“Are you hungry?”

Her concern for his illness was overwhelming. It was just a kidney stone, but in her mind, it was a severe, stubborn affliction; she feared he would be uncomfortable, feared he would suffer.

She kept talking, and Luan Nian responded occasionally. Her endless nagging was practically identical to Dr. Liang’s. Feeling a touch of warmth in his heart, he comforted her: “It’s just a kidney stone, it won’t kill me.”

“But you still have to suffer.”

A while later, Shang Zhitao grew too sleepy. Luan Nian patted his leg, and she lay flat on the long bench, her head resting on his lap, and fell asleep. The tips of Luan Nian’s fingers touched her earlobe, lightly kneading it just as he had in the past. This was an intimate gesture belonging uniquely to them. Even though they had ended that relationship long ago, Shang Zhitao didn't resist it today. She slept peacefully on his lap, though her brow twitched occasionally; Luan Nian leaned down to look at her, gently smoothing away her worried expression from time to time.

By the time the IV drip finished, it was early morning. As the early spring light broke, rare red clouds burned across half the sky, drawing quiet exclamations from both people in the car. After the moment of wonder passed, Luan Nian closed his eyes: “I’m placing my life in your hands.” He still remembered Shang Zhitao’s terrible driving skills.

Shang Zhitao was unconvinced: “Then I guess we’re life-and-death friends now.” Her driving was actually very steady now—steady enough that Luan Nian fell asleep in the passenger seat. Shang Zhitao drove him home, and at the entrance of his residential complex, she saw that security guard.

Five years had passed, and the young man was now married and established. On that afternoon last year when Shang Zhitao left Luan Nian’s place for the final time, he had even greeted her.

Seeing Shang Zhitao driving back today, he showed no surprise, offering his usual smile: “Miss Shang, long time no see.”

“Long time no see.”

“If you need me to hail a cab for you, just call the security office.”

“Sure thing, though I can use ride-hailing apps now too,” Shang Zhitao told him. She suddenly felt that time had flown by too quickly—from the days when she delivered files to Luan Nian late at night and the guard helped hail a taxi, to now, when ride-hailing apps were widespread. Though they deliberately ignored it, the passage of time waited for no one.

Luan Nian’s house was still the same—cold, desolate, and lacking any sense of human warmth. Fortunately, the early spring sunlight was bright enough, bringing a lively glow to the room under its rays. She had Luan Nian lie on the sofa and asked him softly, “Luke, where’s the cleaning auntie?”

“She’s not coming today.”

Luan Nian still disliked having people in his home; he remained unaccustomed to it. The person who had been to his home most often was Shang Zhitao. Every week, the auntie would come three times when he wasn't around, clean the rooms, and leave; Luan Nian didn't even remember what she looked like. Only when it was time to pay her salary would she stay a bit longer to wait for him.

“Then do you have any friends you can contact?”

Luan Nian didn't answer her. Shang Zhitao wondered: had he cut ties with all his friends?

Seeing him sick like this, however, Shang Zhitao couldn't bring herself to leave him alone at home. The doctor said passing the stone would take a day or two, or three to four, and he would need care until it passed.

“Then… should I request a day off today?” Shang Zhitao asked him, considering he was her boss.

“Submit it online.”

I’m staying to take care of you, and I still have to submit a formal leave request online? Shang Zhitao’s eyes widened, cursing him inwardly.

“Then what should my reason for leave be? Taking care of a sick boss?” Shang Zhitao asked, refusing to back down.

The corners of Luan Nian’s mouth curled up slightly, but he didn't speak.

Shang Zhitao wasn't going to submit an official leave request anyway. Instead, she said to Grace, “Sister Grace, I have an urgent matter today and can’t make it to the office.”

Grace woke up early and replied quickly: “Don’t worry, I’ll contact you if anything comes up.”

Shang Zhitao put her phone away and said to Luan Nian, “Sleep for a bit, I’ll go cook some porridge.” Seeing a hint of resistance in Luan Nian’s expression, she added, “My porridge is actually pretty good.” When she went home for New Year’s, Big Zhai was worried she’d starve to death in the future, so he insisted on teaching her how to cook porridge, and she had mastered it.

Big Zhai’s porridge was truly top-tier. Shang Zhitao used Big Zhai’s method to cook porridge for Luan Nian, simmering it over a gentle flame without rushing. In Big Zhai’s words: “It’s like living life, you can’t rush it. Good porridge is all in the slow simmer; cooking porridge on high heat just burns the pot.”

“Isn’t that just because you didn’t add enough water?” Shang Zhitao had argued back then, earning two light slaps from Big Zhai.

As the pot began to bubble and steam, Shang Zhitao suddenly remembered the year she fell ill and Luan Nian had taken care of her. Luan Nian’s care had been far better than hers—at least he had made four dishes and a soup, whereas she could only cook porridge.

By the time the porridge was done, Luan Nian was still asleep. Shang Zhitao took the eggs out of the egg cooker and peeled them, feeling it was a bit plain. Since she wasn't good at stir-frying, she suddenly recalled buying pickled mustard greens once. Opening the fresh-food compartment of the fridge, she saw the two bags of pickled greens sitting there intact. Shang Zhitao paused for a moment before taking the mustard greens out.

Then she went to call Luan Nian for breakfast.

Luan Nian took a spoonful of the porridge. Thick, smooth, with an indescribable sweet fragrance—Shang Zhitao had actually learned how to make porridge. So she wouldn't starve to death now. Luan Nian’s standards for Shang Zhitao’s cooking were so shockingly low that it appalled even himself. After eating her cooking once, he had sworn never to eat it again unless he was starving to death.

Now look at him: he wasn't starving to death, but a single 0.5-centimeter little stone could force him to bow his head. After eating, he went upstairs, endured the pain to take a shower, and went to bed to catch up on sleep.

A condition like kidney stones was truly agonizing; it clearly wasn't a major disease, yet when the pain hit, it felt fatal. On top of that, the stone-dissolving powder tasted disgusting, making him throw up twice and putting him in an awful mood.

Hearing him tossing and turning in the bedroom, Shang Zhitao stood at the door and asked twice, “Luke, do you need help?”

“Like what?” Luan Nian was rinsing his mouth, the taste of vomit filling his oral cavity, which revolted him.

“Like...” Shang Zhitao paused twice, unable to think of anything else she could do for him, so she simply mimicked his tone: “Like collecting your corpse if you really kick the bucket.” With that, she shut the guest room door, not caring whether it would infuriate Luan Nian or not.

Luan Nian had replaced the bedding in the guest room with a new set, even more comfortable than before. Shang Zhitao turned the blanket over and examined it carefully, thinking that if someone else had used it, she would sleep on the living room sofa instead. But the blanket was spotless, with no sign of prior use. She opened the wardrobe, finding it completely empty.

Shang Zhitao lay down on the bed and fell asleep in the blink of an eye. She was truly exhausted, having worked overtime for the past two days and barely sleeping a wink all night yesterday. Now she slept deeply, completely oblivious to any noise.

When she opened her eyes, it was already evening. She scrambled out of bed, remembering that Luke was still at home and hadn't been walked all day. Sun Yuanzhu was in the Northwest, and Sun Yu was on an inspection trip in Guangzhou. Feeling a bit annoyed at herself, she hurriedly threw on her clothes and opened the door, only to see that the door to Luan Nian’s bedroom was already open and he wasn't inside.

Shang Zhitao went downstairs and heard Luan Nian sitting in the living room, talking on the phone:

“Mm, I walked, I ran, I tip-toed.”

“Not out yet. The doctor’s scan last night showed it’s already very low down; it should come out in a few days.”

“You don’t need to worry, someone is taking care of me.”

“Who’s taking care of me?” Luan Nian paused for two seconds at this point. “My girlfriend.”

“Do I need to tell you every time I’m in a relationship? How old am I, am I not allowed to date? In short, don’t let Uncle Fang arrange any checkups for me. Once this stone passes, I’ll be fine, no issues at all.”

“I’m not in a bad mood,” Luan Nian’s tone softened. “I’m just in a hurry to go tip-toe.”

Hearing this, Shang Zhitao couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly. Luan Nian’s stubborn mouth habit could never be changed; he talked to Dr. Liang the exact same way—half-truths, half-lies. Hearing the laughter, Luan Nian turned his head. The call wasn't disconnected yet, and Dr. Liang asked from the other end, “Is someone at your place?”

“Didn’t I just tell you?”

“Then can I speak to her?”

“No.” Luan Nian refused.

Dr. Liang was unusually persistent this time: “I think there’s nothing wrong with me asking your girlfriend about your illness, unless you’re hiding something from me.”

Luan Nian didn't want to hear her nag, so he tossed the phone to Shang Zhitao. Seeing her utter astonishment, he said, “Dr. Liang wants to check on my condition. She thinks I have a terminal illness and am refusing to let her doctor friend see me out of fear she’ll find out.”

“Oh, oh, okay.”

Shang Zhitao took a deep breath and answered the phone, “Hello.”

Dr. Liang’s side was silent for a few seconds. During those seconds, she frantically waved at Luan Nian’s father to come over to the phone and turned on the speakerphone.

“Hello, young lady. How should I address you?”

“Dr. Liang, you can call me... Flora.” Shang Zhitao paused, choosing that form of address. Sensing Luan Nian’s glance darting over, her face didn't change color.

“I wanted to ask about Luan Nian’s illness. Is it really just a kidney stone?”

“Yes, I’ll send you the X-ray later. The doctor also mentioned precautions, which are exactly what Luke told you just now. Once the stone passes in a couple of days, we’ll just take another scan.”

Shang Zhitao comforted Dr. Liang: “Please don’t worry, fortunately it’s not a major illness.”

Hearing this, Dr. Liang glanced at Luan Nian’s father and suddenly asked, “Flora, what is your family name?”

Back in Hong Kong, Luan Siyuan had asked Luan Nian the name of the girl he was going to meet, and Luan Nian had said: Shang Zhitao. Luan Siyuan had a loose tongue and turned around to say in the family group chat: The girl my younger brother likes is named Shang Zhitao. Dr. Liang was familiar with the name Shang Zhitao; on a matchmaking app, Dr. Liang had chatted with a girl named Shang Zhitao for a long time, even discussing parents’ professions and plans for children.

Shang Zhitao knew none of this. She was currently pondering how to dodge the question when Luan Nian snatched the phone away: “Alright. Now you know I’m not dying. That’s all, goodbye.”

The call disconnected, and Shang Zhitao asked him, “Girlfriend?”

“Lied to her. Otherwise, she’d make a doctor friend take care of me. That doctor friend has a daughter of marriageable age.”

“Oh. I should head back then. I consulted a friend who knows medicine; aside from pain and vomiting, there shouldn’t be any danger. Call me again if anything comes up.”

Shang Zhitao pulled out her phone, ready to hail a car, when she heard Luan Nian let out a slight groan. Putting her phone down, she saw him leaning against the sofa, his brows tightly knit, seemingly in severe pain.

“Does it hurt a lot?” she asked him.

“It’s fine. You can go,” Luan Nian said, letting out another groan.

Shang Zhitao thought it over, put her phone back into her pocket, and reached out her hand toward him: “Can you lend me your car keys? I’ll drive back to walk Luke, then come back over.”

Luan Nian pointed toward the entrance: “Get them yourself. Bring Luke along too; it’ll be convenient to walk him tomorrow morning.”

Shang Zhitao agreed, went to grab the keys, and took the elevator down to the garage. As the elevator doors were closing, she saw the corners of Luan Nian’s mouth curl up slightly, returning to normal in the blink of an eye. She thought she must have misseen—perhaps he was grimacing in pain, for all she knew.

The dog Luke hadn't been here in a very long time, but how could a dog’s memory be so good? When Shang Zhitao brought him up from the underground garage, he bolted out on his own, running over to the elevator and barking at Shang Zhitao.

“What’s your rush!” Shang Zhitao scolded him, taking him into the elevator. Then, on the ground floor, she watched as Luke dashed toward the living room and pounced straight onto Luan Nian, who was lying on the sofa.

Shang Zhitao was dumbfounded, shouting from behind, “Get off him! He has a stone in him!”

Luke wouldn't listen; he was frantic with excitement, pawing at Luan Nian, desperately needing a hug from him. Looking at this silly dog, Luan Nian thought to himself that feeding you meat and playing with you really wasn't in vain. He sat up and wrapped his arms around the dog.

Luke whimpered and whined, as if he had suffered an immense grievance, letting out soft whimpers in Luan Nian’s embrace.

For reasons she couldn't explain, Shang Zhitao’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

So did Luan Nian’s.

Dogs are simpler than people; when they miss someone, they never hide it. Missing you means missing you, and wanting to tell you means wanting you to hold them. Just like Luke: he truly missed Luan Nian, nesting in his arms with his front paws resting on Luan Nian’s shoulders, his head leaning on his shoulder, occasionally reaching out his tongue to lick him.

Luan Nian coaxed him for a long time before he obediently moved to the floor. The reunion phase over, he looked up and barked at Luan Nian.

Luan Nian naturally knew what he meant, so he told him, “Wait a moment.”

The doorbell happened to ring right then. Luan Nian motioned for Shang Zhitao to open it. She opened the door to find what looked like a fresh takeaway delivery.

“This is?”

“Hello, this is the fresh meat dog food ordered by your home. According to your requirements, we reduced the salt and added extra meat.”

Shang Zhitao turned back to look at Luan Nian. He gestured to her with his finger: “Bring it in, feed it to my stupid friend.”

Shang Zhitao took the fresh meat dog food and saw premium ingredients arranged beautifully inside, along with a small box packed separately with fruit and dog treats. Since when did dog feeding require this level of service? Since when did this kind of business exist? If Luke was spoiled like this, how was she supposed to raise him back home?

Luke had already caught the scent, jumping up and down in excitement. As soon as Shang Zhitao set the bowl on the floor, Luke rushed forward and buried his face in the bowl, as though he hadn't eaten in days.

“What kind of service is this? Freshly made dog food delivered to your door?”

“Mm-hmm.” Luan Nian leaned on the sofa, letting out a half-dead hum. Hearing Luke eating so eagerly that he was snorting, his mood inexplicably brightened.

“How much per portion?”

“Two hundred.” Luan Nian understated it. It was two hundred and fifty, but he thought that sounded unlucky, so he had paid two hundred and forty-nine.

“...”

Shang Zhitao felt a bit pained for the money. Standing in front of Luan Nian, she began to nag: “Money doesn’t just fall from the sky...”

“Mine does,” Luan Nian reminded her in two words; he was still wealthy after all.

“...Still, Luke shouldn’t eat like this. So many children don’t have food to eat, yet he gets to eat so luxuriously. If he’s hungry, I can make food for him, but I won't let him eat this again.”

“Oh.”

Luan Nian stood up from the sofa: “I’m going to go climb stairs. Still drinking porridge tonight?”

“No. Starve.” Shang Zhitao threw a little tantrum, watching Luke ungratefully sitting there licking his chops, clearly finding it delicious. She had truly witnessed what a snobbish, wealth-worshipping dog looked like, so she began to scold him: “Delicious, huh? No matter how good it tastes, you only get it this once! Once we’re back home, you’d better obediently eat your normal dog food, or you’ll go hungry!”

“Let me tell you, don’t go thinking people are your friend. He’s almost annoyed to death by you, and you don’t even realize it.”

“Stay away from him. He has a stone in his stomach. If you step on him and break him, selling you for meat ten times over wouldn’t be enough to pay for it!”

As she babbled on, Luke grew annoyed listening to her, sitting there arguing back at her: Woof~ argh~ woof woof!

One person and one dog made Luan Nian’s house endlessly chaotic.

Luan Nian climbed up and down the stairs ten times and tip-toed for another ten minutes, yet Shang Zhitao still hadn't finished arguing with Luke, acting as if her brain wasn't working properly. What was there to argue about with a dog? As for dogs, spoiling them was fine, why make such a fuss?

However, he said nothing. His body seemed to feel slightly better. He drank a lot of water, which led to frequent urination, so he rushed to the second-floor bathroom.

Relieving himself felt unusually uncomfortable. Looking down, he saw reddish urine in the toilet bowl, with a tiny stone faintly visible inside. His body felt completely unblocked, as if all his meridians had been opened up. Luan Nian flushed the toilet, washed his hands, went downstairs again, and leaned on the sofa.

Seeing him lying down again, Shang Zhitao tried to urge him to go tip-toe.

Luan Nian looked sickly and weak. Only after half a day did he squeeze out a few words:

“Can’t tip-toe, it hurts.”