Chapter 97: Stomach Ache

Ying Huai was in a daze and didn't know what happened afterwards.

He felt as though he had fallen asleep; in between there was a vague awareness, as if someone was calling him.

"Let him keep the medicine in his mouth first, that way he'll feel a little better."

"He keeps spitting it out... looks like his stomach is still uncomfortable."

"His stomach was already bad to begin with, and on top of that he's a bit heatstroke — the irritation to his gastric mucosa is significant, and... let's cool him down first, see if he can wake up later."

Ying Huai listened in a stupor, his mind still a complete blur.

He felt an unusual exhaustion throughout his body. In his subconscious he instinctively wanted to open his mouth and respond, but his weakened thoughts couldn't react in the slightest.

Ying Huai could only listen as that call gradually faded away, and once again sank into a heavy unconsciousness.

When Ying Huai woke again, the first thing he felt was a sharp sting on the back of his hand.

He instinctively frowned and tried to pull his hand back, but the next moment he heard Song Si Lan's voice, carrying a hint of relief and weariness.

"Don't move, why are you trying to fidget the moment you wake up."

Ying Huai was startled for a moment.

He instinctively relaxed his body and forced his eyelids open, only to see Song Si Lan inserting an IV catheter into the back of his hand.

Over the past few years he had been a regular at the Hospital, and after countless treatments, his veins had become unusually fragile — IV catheters often couldn't be placed.

Even when they were finally placed, they couldn't be left in for too long. Song Si Lan had seen it himself — once, when infusing an irritating medication, Ying Huai's vein had turned red over a large area in just one night.

Ying Huai had a relatively high tolerance for pain, but over time, every time he got an injection he would instinctively tense up.

Song Si Lan also felt Ying Huai's breathing quicken instinctively.

"If it's uncomfortable, sleep a bit more — it'll be in by the time you wake up."

Song Si Lan lowered his head, searching for the right angle, his tone still remarkably steady.

"Don't panic."

Ying Huai couldn't help but let out a small laugh: "What would I be panicking about — as long as Doctor Song doesn't get nervous, that's fine."

The moment his words fell, he felt another sharp sting on the back of his hand, followed by Song Si Lan letting out a small breath of relief.

"There, it's in. Today went fairly smoothly."

He said as he loosened the tourniquet, then looked up with a half-smile and glanced at Ying Huai: "Thank you for your concern, Teacher Ying — in all my years of practicing medicine, this is the first time anyone's told me not to be nervous."

The door to the room happened to be pushed open just then. Yu Wu, who had just entered, heard Song Si Lan's words and instinctively objected: "Si Lan, haven't you ever been nervous? Last time when Teacher Ying was kidnapped by Chu Hongsheng and something happened, I saw your expression was really serious..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Song Si Lan suddenly turn his head and give him a merciless glare.

Yu Wu, still smiling, instantly fell silent. Liang Shi Ning, who had followed him in, said nothing either, and simply walked naturally to Ying Huai's bedside and stood there.

Ying Huai listened to what Yu Wu had just said, paused for a moment, and suddenly laughed.

"Really?"

He turned to Song Si Lan and spoke with great interest: "Doctor Song was really that nervous about me?"

"—Of course not, who's nervous about you. One big illness every three days, one small one every two days — if I were nervous every day I'd have driven myself crazy with worry first."

Song Si Lan suddenly turned his head away; his expression was a little unnatural, but he pretended to speak in an annoyed tone.

He turned and glared at Yu Wu beside him once more.

"What did you come over for?"

"Teacher Liang asked me to come over — but I was definitely going to come find you anyway, Si Lan." Yu Wu said with a smile, and quickly stepped back before Song Si Lan could bristle.

Song Si Lan couldn't bring himself to be as shameless as Yu Wu.

His face flushed a few shades warmer, and he simply turned his head away abruptly.

Ying Huai said nothing, watching with a smile as Song Si Lan, his ears red, connected the IV medication for him and even took the opportunity to check his blood sugar.

"All right, blood sugar is back to normal — are you still feeling dizzy?"

Song Si Lan glanced at the number on the glucometer, then looked up at Ying Huai with feigned composure.

Ying Huai instinctively shook his head, and was immediately glared at again by Song Si Lan in annoyance: "Stop shaking around, you'll feel bad again in a bit."

Ying Huai was startled for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

He really didn't feel anything seriously wrong with his body. He propped himself up to sit a little higher, caught his breath, and turned his head to look at Song Si Lan: "What happened to me just now?"

Song Si Lan had finally regained his composure by now. He straightened up and looked at him: "What do you think happened to you?"

In Ying Huai's impression, he had just taken a nap — just slept a bit... exhaustingly.

But seeing Song Si Lan's slightly grave expression, he hesitated and asked quietly: "Did I just... faint?"

Song Si Lan gave a short, mirthless laugh.

"Faint? You almost went into mild shock."

"Didn't you feel your hypoglycemia at all? You didn't remember to eat the sugar and medicine we prepared for you, and you dared to just fall asleep out there like that."

Song Si Lan spoke with the frustration of someone unable to help: "Do you have any idea how dangerous hypoglycemia is if it's not treated in time? If it really caused shock, the impact on your heart..."

Ying Huai was startled for a moment.

Before Song Si Lan could launch into a long lecture, he hurriedly spoke up in a small voice: "I didn't know it was hypoglycemia, I just thought I was too tired..."

"If you didn't know, couldn't you call for someone?"

Song Si Lan gave a cold snort and cut him off directly: "Thought you could tough it out? Afraid we'd see you feeling unwell?"

Ying Huai instantly realized that he'd still been betrayed by the bullet comments.

He sighed helplessly: "We agreed they wouldn't tell on me — how come they're not keeping their word?"

"Who agreed with you? Do you have any idea you pushed that livestream straight to the top of the trending searches?" Song Si Lan said with his arms crossed and a mirthless laugh.

Ying Huai was startled, and raised his head in disbelief: "What?"

Song Si Lan seemed to know what he was worried about. He glanced at him: "Don't worry, Li Xiang and Lu Jing have already been working with the PR team all afternoon to bring the trending topic down — the heat has basically subsided now."

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment, listening as Song Si Lan continued to chatter on.

"All right, can you worry about yourself first? I know every one your little tricks for hiding things inside out — you are absolutely the most—"

"—the most troublesome patient I've ever had?" Ying Huai came back to himself and finished with some amusement.

Song Si Lan immediately glared at him again: "What did you say?"

"Nothing, I'm wrong, Director Song." Ying Huai smoothly changed his tune at once.

He curved his eyes ingratiatingly and said earnestly: "I definitely won't do this again next time — but you haven't said this to every patient you've treated, have you, Doctor Song?"

The moment his words fell, he felt something cool on his forehead, and the next moment a pill was stuffed into his mouth.

"For stomach pain — chew it then swallow, it protects the gastric mucosa."

Song Si Lan pressed the Cooling Patch onto his forehead and glared at him with a cold expression.

"You're overthinking it. Most patients don't reach your level — so far I've only met two who could enjoy that line."

At this point he didn't know what came to mind again, and he slightly ground his teeth: "Don't let me run into a third."

Ying Huai couldn't help but laugh for a moment, covering his lips and turning his head to cough twice.

He didn't say anything more, slowly chewing the medicine. After a moment's hesitation, he suddenly looked up at Song Si Lan: "Could Doctor Song give me my phone for a moment?"

To get him to rest properly, Song Si Lan would always "confiscate" his phone for a period every time he was recovering from illness.

The person who had been about to leave instantly turned back, alert: "What are you trying to do? Don't worry about all that messy stuff right now — what matters is that you rest properly—"

"No, I'm not doing anything."

Ying Huai swallowed the pill in his mouth, and was instantly startled by the bitterness.

He raised his head somewhat helplessly: "The fainting during the livestream earlier really was just an accident. I want to start another livestream to explain, so no one misunderstands..."

"Misunderstand what?" Song Si Lan was a bit puzzled and frowned: "You were sick — what's there to misunderstand?"

Liang Shi Ning beside him seemed to realize something, frowned slightly and lowered his head. Ying Huai hesitated and said nothing.

Song Si Lan still didn't understand. Yu Wu beside him yawned and suddenly spoke languidly: "Teacher Xiao Huai is worried that some people might think he's faking illness to play the victim."

Song Si Lan was startled, and a flash of disbelief crossed his expression: "How could they? Those people are crazy..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly remembered something and his words paused slightly.

—If it had been back when he was being cyberbullied by the whole internet, it really would have been possible.

Song Si Lan seemed to realize something, and a flash of understanding crossed his expression.

No wonder Ying Huai had been hiding his condition from everyone, and no wonder Liang Shi Ning had immediately contacted Li Xiang and the others to delete the replay as soon as he came back.

—Lu Jing and the others must have known about Ying Huai's hang-ups, which is why they were so nervous when they found out.

Song Si Lan frowned slightly.

'What you went through before...'

Before he could finish, the next second he saw Yu Wu step forward and unhurriedly shove his phone directly into Ying Huai's hand.

'Here, take a look.'

Yu Wu yawned, lowering his eyes with a teasing tone: 'But I have to warn you... be prepared.'

Ying Huai's grip on the phone instantly tightened.

Song Si Lan beside him turned his head in disbelief, reaching out to stop him: 'What are you—'

But the next second, Yu Wu caught his wrist and gently shook his head at him.

Song Si Lan was momentarily stunned.

Although Yu Wu usually seemed unserious, when it came to real matters he was never careless.

Song Si Lan hesitated and stopped speaking, but the next second his expression suddenly changed.

'Let go of me, damn it—'

Yu Wu quickly let go of Song Si Lan's hand, which he had secretly interlaced fingers with, and sighed with a hint of reluctance.

Ying Huai beside them didn't notice the unusual exchange between the two.

He took a deep breath and nervously opened his phone.

This was the first time he hadn't been able to hold on and had an episode in front of the public.

Most of the livestream replays had already been deleted by Li Xiang and the others, and the trending search position was gradually dropping, but many fans were still discussing it.

Ying Huai nervously tapped into the first related tag, but his expression instantly froze.

The comments below were not the questioning and condemnation he had expected, but almost uniformly—worry.

【How is Teacher Xiao Huai now? Is he okay? Waaah.】

【What's going on? I just got out of class and was about to watch the livestream, how did the tag #YingHuaiSick suddenly trend? Is Teacher Xiao Huai okay?】

【I was at the livestream just now. Teacher Xiao Huai said he was tired and would sleep for a bit, but when he lay down he seemed to lose consciousness in an instant. I just thought back, and at that moment Teacher Xiao Huai's lips were really pale and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.】

【Right right, I was also at the livestream. After Teacher Xiao Huai said his last sentence he seemed to lose consciousness instantly, and his hand that was resting on the seat slowly dropped down. I was really scared out of my mind, waaah, I wanted so badly to crawl over through the internet cable.】

【Although I'm really anxious... but the person above, are you the internet version of Sadako? How is it both creepy and funny hahahaha (jk)】

【Ahhh oh god what do we do, is Teacher Xiao Huai just going to keep fainting like this?】

【No no, Teacher Liang rushed over very quickly!】

【Right right, Teacher Liang seemed to immediately notice something was off with Teacher Xiao Huai, picked him up directly, seemed to know exactly what was happening right away, and quickly put pills in his mouth.】

【Waaah Teacher Liang is really super good to Teacher Xiao Huai, when he picked him up he specifically shielded him entirely in his arms, even though he was clearly very nervous, before closing the livestream he specifically told us not to worry.】

【Although but—how could we not worry! How is Teacher Xiao Huai now!】

【Can the official account give an update, or Teacher Liang post on Weibo to tell us what's going on?】

Ying Huai stared blankly at the comments on Weibo, a rare look of stunned relief crossing his expression.

'Well? Didn't I tell you to be prepared?'

Yu Wu beside him, having watched enough, took the phone back with a grin and handed it back to Song Si Lan.

'Even if you want to do a livestream to explain, it should be to let the people who are worried about you know you're safe.'

Yu Wu said lazily: 'Not to give those trolls a pointless celebration.'

Song Si Lan beside him, hearing Yu Wu still trying to egg on his patient to make a fuss, glared at him irritably.

Yu Wu quickly corrected himself: 'Of course—doing a livestream is for later. If you livestream looking like this now, it'll only make them more worried.'

The person wearing a nasal cannula, pale-faced, unable to even sit up on his own, and only able to lean against Liang Shi Ning:........

Yu Wu couldn't help laughing, then immediately cleared his throat and straightened up under Song Si Lan's warning gaze.

'You can't keep punishing yourself with other people's past mistakes, Ying Huai.'

'Your physical condition isn't something you can decide for yourself. You've already done better than most people.' Yu Wu said softly.

What he said was indeed the truth.

People with congenital heart disease, due to prolonged suffering, mostly become depressed or have difficult personalities. Even Song Si Lan had to admit that although Ying Huai wasn't very cooperative with treatment, he had a remarkably good temperament.

Ying Huai's expression froze slightly.

Yu Wu knew he had taken it in, and only went so far.

He yawned, suddenly reached out to sling his arm around Song Si Lan's shoulder again, and pushed him toward the door.

'Given that my psychological counseling fees are really expensive... any further talking will cost extra.'

Yu Wu turned his head and said half-jokingly: 'Once bitten by a snake, ten years fearing a well rope is not advisable, Teacher Xiao Huai.'

The words seemed to carry some hidden meaning, but Ying Huai just sat silently on the bed without any reaction.

The room finally quieted down. Ying Huai leaned against Liang Shi Ning and after a long while let out a helpless sigh.

'Is this why you called Yu Wu over, xiaotudi.'

Liang Shi Ning carefully tucked the blanket around his waist and nodded slightly.

Ying Huai curved his lips with some effort.

After a few seconds, he sighed softly again: 'So you also tacitly allowed Xin Wan and the others to take turns coming to take care of me, and quietly had my father brought over, didn't you?'

Liang Shi Ning's expression paused.

After a few seconds, he finally said softly: 'I know what kind of person you care about, Ying Huai.'

Ying Huai was slightly stunned.

He himself might not have realized it, but Liang Shi Ning could feel that Ying Huai's anger toward Xin Wan and the others was gradually fading.

If Ying Huai really didn't want to see them, he wouldn't have repeatedly tacitly allowed Xin Wan to pester their way closer, nor would he have accepted Lu Jing and Su Xin's various cautious gestures of goodwill time and again.

Ying Huai feared being hurt, so he always wore a teasing, indifferent mask as if nothing mattered.

But he was also too easily moved by other people's kindness.

Liang Shi Ning could block those ill-intentioned 'kindnesses' and shelter him.

But Xin Wan and the others were truly making up for their guilt toward Ying Huai bit by bit, and Liang Shi Ning couldn't stop the thoughts in Ying Huai's own heart.

He knew that if this continued, in the end only Ying Huai himself would be hurt.

Ying Huai was silent for a few seconds: 'But I remember you seemed to dislike them even more than I did, Liang Shi Ning.'

Liang Shi Ning didn't deny it.

He nodded: 'Yes.'

Ying Huai tilted his head slightly, looking at the person behind him: 'Then why... do this?'

Liang Shi Ning lowered his eyes, looking at the person before him.

He didn't answer immediately, but reached out and gently peeled the Cooling Patch from Ying Huai's forehead.

'I don't like them... nor will I ever forgive everything they did to you.'

He reached out to test the temperature of Ying Huai's forehead. There was still a slight fever, but much better than before.

'But I don't want you to be sad, Ying Huai.'

Liang Shi Ning lowered his hand.

He slowly bent down and placed a kiss on Ying Huai's brow: 'I also don't mind having a few more people to take care of you.'

Ying Huai's expression froze.

'You don't have to decide right away, but you can slowly try to accept their kindness toward you.'

Liang Shi Ning said softly.

'Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Don't make yourself suffer like today again...'

Ying Huai didn't speak.

His mind was in chaos. After a long while he suddenly felt his vision darken, and then felt himself being supported at the waist as he was slowly laid down.

'Sleep first, shifu.'

Liang Shi Ning supported the person half-leaning against his chest and said softly: "I did this only because I didn't want you to be sad. In the end, however you choose is your own decision."

The person in his arms didn't answer.

After a moment, Liang Shi Ning felt a slight weight settle against his chest.

Ying Huai rested his head against his chest and gave a soft "mm."

·

When Ying Huai woke again, it was already the next morning.

Around midnight the night before, he hadn't been able to hold back and had gotten up to retch once more. Though nothing actually came up, his stomach still spasmed in waves he couldn't control.

Ying Huai braced himself against the bedside table to sit up, listlessly let Liang Shi Ning hold him through washing up, and slowly settled into a seat at the dining table.

A person with congenital heart disease can't eat too much — increased digestion in the stomach adds to the burden on the heart. But they also can't go without eating entirely, or the body won't hold up.

And Ying Huai already had a chronic stomach ailment, so eating had become especially difficult.

Since his rebirth, Liang Shi Ning had been making all sorts of food in different ways, trying to coax him into eating a little more.

But most of the time, Ying Huai only forced himself to eat a few bites so Liang Shi Ning wouldn't worry.

Yesterday Ying Huai had nearly thrown up the whole day, and had woken with palpitations that lasted half the morning. Now, listlessly held in Liang Shi Ning's arms, he had no appetite at all.

"Can I not eat... I'll go back and tell Song Si Lan, can I just get an IV of nutrient solution?"

Ying Huai looped his arms around Liang Shi Ning's neck, facing him, resting his chin on Liang Shi Ning's shoulder, and spoke softly.

Normally Liang Shi Ning would probably go along with him, but these past few weeks had coincided with a medicine change, and Song Si Lan had specifically instructed Liang Shi Ning to take any opportunity to have Ying Huai eat on his own — otherwise his stomach function would be even harder to recover later.

Liang Shi Ning clenched his teeth, but in the end still shook his head: "No. Nutrient solution can only maintain the most basic needs of your body. Can you eat just a little, shifu?"

Ying Huai also knew Liang Shi Ning was right.

He buried his head in the crook of Liang Shi Ning's neck, was silent for a few seconds, and then slowly turned around.

Liang Shi Ning let out a silent breath of relief.

He helped him sit at the table on his own, then quickly got up and went to the kitchen to bring over the breakfast that had been kept warm.

But for some reason he was in the kitchen longer than usual today, and only returned to the dining room after Ying Huai had already noticed something was off.

"What is it? What happened?"

Ying Huai looked up at Liang Shi Ning, but Liang Shi Ning gave a slight shake of his head: "Nothing."

He set the dishes in front of Ying Huai and said softly: "Today's breakfast... was specially made to your taste, shifu. Try it and see if you like it."

Ying Huai didn't sense anything wrong.

His breakfast was usually made by Liang Shi Ning himself.

Even when Liang Shi Ning was too busy to make it himself, he would specifically instruct the nutritionist they'd hired at home to prepare it according to Ying Huai's health condition and taste preferences.

—But Ying Huai could still easily tell the difference.

He only assumed Liang Shi Ning was worried, and sat up slightly with a smile: "How could I not like it? Of course I like everything you make..."

As he spoke, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge and put it in his mouth, but his expression paused slightly.

Liang Shi Ning, who had been watching him closely, instinctively asked: "What is it, shifu?"

Ying Huai didn't speak.

His eyes flickered. He swallowed the porridge in his mouth, then calmly scooped up another spoonful as if nothing had happened.

"Nothing."

Ying Huai glanced toward the kitchen, then turned back to Liang Shi Ning with a smile.

"It's very good."

There seemed to be a faint sound from the kitchen. Ying Huai only lowered his eyes, his expression unchanged.

·

Although Ying Huai's stomach was clearly uncomfortable today, for some reason he ate a little more than usual in the morning.

But whether it was a reaction to that little bit of extra food, it wasn't long before Ying Huai's stomach began to churn.

At first he could barely hold it in without being noticed, but later, when Liang Shi Ning saw his face growing paler and paler, he also realized something was wrong.

Before noon, Ying Huai had thrown up everything he'd eaten that morning.

He retched until his whole body trembled, and patches of black fog before his eyes wouldn't clear.

Song Si Lan, who had rushed over, was afraid he'd become hypoglycemic again, and anxiously hurried to hook him up to a bottle of glucose.

Ying Huai leaned drowsily against the headboard. After a while, he heard a flurry of hurried footsteps approaching.

Assuming it was Liang Shi Ning, Ying Huai covered his lips and coughed twice, then opened his eyes with a strained smile: "Cough, cough, cough, I'm fine, maybe I just ate too much of that millet porridge earlier..."

Before he could finish, he looked up and his voice suddenly caught.

Ying Father had, at some unknown point, walked to his bedside.

For some reason his expression was flustered; he gripped the Cane in his hand tightly and silently stared at the person in the bed.

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment.

The smile on his face quickly vanished. He lowered his eyes and said softly: "Father."

Ying Father barely managed a curve of his lips.

He hesitated, wanting to sit on the edge of Ying Huai's bed, paused for a few seconds, but still stood stiffly in place.

"How are you feeling now, Xiao Huai?"

Ying Father said softly: "It was that meal this morning..."

"It has nothing to do with that meal, Father."

Ying Huai gently cut him off.

He looked up at Ying Father, his expression unusually calm: "I ate too much on my own. My stomach couldn't take it, so I threw up."

Ying Father silently opened his mouth.

He felt something was off, hesitated and was about to say something, when suddenly the door was pushed open.

"What did you eat this morning, Ying Huai?"

Song Si Lan hurried in: "Didn't I tell Liang Shi Ning before not to put anything hard to digest in the porridge? You know how fragile your stomach is — it can't digest those things at all..."

Before he could finish, Ying Father's face beside him had already gone pale.

"There wasn't much in that porridge, just a little dried shrimp..."

"Dried shrimp is hard to digest, and it's also greasy. His stomach right now can't absorb it at all." Song Si Lan pressed Ying Huai's pulse, frowning without looking up.

Ying Father's mind was a mess; he silently opened his mouth.

"I — I didn't know it would be like this. I just wanted to give him a little extra nutrition..."

Ying Father stood in place, his expression panicked.

Liang Shi Ning had carefully instructed him about Ying Huai's food restrictions and taste preferences.

But Ying Father, thinking Ying Huai had no appetite today, and remembering that as a child Ying Huai had liked dried shrimp, had added a little of it to the porridge for flavor, hoping it would make Ying Huai happier eating it.

—But he hadn't expected... that Ying Huai's body was already so weak.

Song Si Lan, not understanding what was going on, raised his head. He seemed to think of something else, turned and frowned at Ying Huai: "Even if Liang Shi Ning forgot, couldn't you tell yourself when you ate it?"

Ying Huai leaned against the headboard with a pale face. Listening to Song Si Lan's words, his lashes trembled and he didn't answer.

But Ying Father suddenly realized something.

He instantly turned to look at Ying Huai: "That meal just now... you actually couldn't get used to it from the start, didn't you?"

Ying Father spoke in a trembling voice.

"Then why did you still..."

Ying Huai was quiet for a few seconds.

He lowered his eyes, and after a long moment, let out a soft sigh.

"That meal — Father made it, didn't you."

Ying Father's whole body instantly froze in place.

Ying Huai looked up at Ying Father and gave a slight curve of his lips.