Secretly, But Unable to Hide It

Chapter 34

At that moment, other bed was empty in the small ward and only Duan Jiaxu was inside. The room was excessively quiet, making it feel empty and lonely. He was lying flat on the bed. His Adam’s apple moved slightly but he didn’t say a word.

His lips were straight and his face was expressionless, giving no clue as to what he was thinking.

Without hearing his agreement, Sang Zhi didn’t dare to enter and could only ask again, “Is it okay?”

Only then did Duan Jiaxu speak, softly asking, “Have you eaten?”

“I just went to buy bread.” Sang Zhi blinked and hesitantly walked to his side, handing him the bag for him to see. “I also bought oolong tea.”

“Can you get full eating that?” Duan Jiaxu glanced at the things. “Order some takeout.”

Sang Zhi shook her head. “I’m not very hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten anything yet, how can you not be hungry?”

“Just not hungry.” Sang Zhi placed the bag on the table beside him and slowly moved a chair from the foot of the bed to the bedside. “If I want to eat, I’ll eat. I’m a grown-up, I won’t starve myself.”

Duan Jiaxu stared at her and suddenly smiled, saying nothing more.

Sang Zhi sat on the chair, took out the bread, and said softly, “I just asked the nurse. You have to lie flat for six hours and you can’t get out of bed for twelve hours.”

“Mm.”

Sang Zhi took a bite of the bread and mumbled, “And you can’t eat anything right now. You have to be on a liquid diet for a week. It seems the IV drip will last for three days.”

Duan Jiaxu listened absentmindedly and responded again with a hum.

Then the room fell silent.

The only sound was the rustling noise Sang Zhi made while eating.

There was heating in the ward, and after sitting for a while, Sang Zhi felt a bit hot. She stood up, took off her coat, folded it, and hung it on the chair.

Noticing her movement, Duan Jiaxu glanced at her, his eyes lingering for a few seconds before he said lightly, “Why are you wearing a dress in this cold winter?”

The silence was suddenly broken.

Sang Zhi looked up in surprise, meeting his slightly raised eyes.

His tone was similar to how her mother would scold her for not wearing long pants in the fall.

In a way, he was like a combination of her father, her mother, and her brother. At home, she was always managed for her clothing. Sang Zhi didn’t want to come there and still be managed.

“It’s a long dress.” Sang Zhi lowered her head and continued eating the bread. “You can wear one too if you want.”

“……”

Duan Jiaxu turned his head to look at her.

The way she ate was still the same as before, her cheeks puffing up like a little pufferfish. He wanted to laugh but was afraid of pulling the wound, so he only spoke softly, “It’s colder here than in Nanwu. Just be careful not to catch a cold, it’s not pleasant being sick.”

Hearing his words, Sang Zhi suddenly thought of the last time she came to Yihe. The food in her mouth suddenly became hard to swallow. She didn’t look at him, took a sip of the oolong tea, and nodded.

After reluctantly finishing the bread, Sang Zhi checked the time. “Brother Jiaxu, do you want to sleep?”

“What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.”

Duan Jiaxu asked, “How will you sleep?”

Sang Zhi thought for a moment, “I’ll rent a folding bed. It’s not expensive.”

“A folding bed? Won’t you be uncomfortable sleeping on that?” Duan Jiaxu frowned, clearly disagreeing. “The bed next to mine is empty, you can rent that one.”

“No need.” Sang Zhi mumbled, “I’m not here to enjoy life.”

“……”

Before he could say anything else, Sang Zhi stood up and walked out. “Brother Jiaxu, you try to sleep. I’ll go ask.”

Renting a folding bed for a day costs only a few dozen yuan.

After paying, Sang Zhi took the time to buy some extra toiletries nearby. When she returned to the ward, Duan Jiaxu was on his phone, seemingly texting someone.

Sang Zhi glanced at him but said nothing.

“Why did it take so long?” Duan Jiaxu put down his phone and asked, “What did you buy?”

“Toothpaste, toothbrush, and towel.” Sang Zhi took out the items. “I want to freshen up.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

After taking a few steps, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered something and hesitantly asked, “Brother Jiaxu, do you want to wipe your face? You probably can’t brush your teeth yet.”

With many things in her hands, Sang Zhi decided to take the entire bag with her on the bathroom.

There was hardly anyone inside. She placed the items on the counter, took a deep breath, and slowly began to freshen up, thinking about what to do next.

She had asked on impulse.

She felt that if she didn’t take the initiative, he wouldn’t ask for anything.

But it shouldn’t be a big deal.

He had helped her with her injuries before when she had fallen.

He didn’t find it dirty.

He had also helped her wipe her face.

And now he was a patient, unable to do much himself.

Since she had suggested staying there to take care of him, she couldn’t regret it later. That would be too petty.

Sang Zhi didn’t hesitate any longer. She took a towel from the bag and washed it with hot water.

Then she returned to the ward.

Sang Zhi placed the items carefully, walked to Duan Jiaxu’s side, and informed him, “Brother Jiaxu, I’ll wipe your face.”

“No need.” Duan Jiaxu didn’t seem inclined to let her. “Hand it over, I’ll do it myself.”

“How can you do it yourself?” Sang Zhi, already feeling awkward, became inexplicably angry when he refused. She frowned as she sat by the bed, her tone harsh and cold, “If you pull on the wound, you’ll have to stay in the hospital for a few more days.”

Duan Jiaxu paused, then smiled. “Why do you keep on getting angry with me today?”

“……” Sang Zhi didn’t look into his eyes. She folded the towel smaller and started wiping his forehead. “I’m not angry. I always talk like this.”

She didn’t hesitate any longer and started wiping his face.

The towel glided from his forehead to his eyes and Duan Jiaxu instinctively closed them.

She didn’t get too close, her movements were careful and gentle, avoiding touching him directly.

Duan Jiaxu had never been cared for like this.

He never thought he would be taken care of this way either. He didn’t like troubling others, especially this girl, who, although was now a grown-up, still felt like needed protection.

The warm touch of the towel moved to his nose, cheeks, and chin.

Duan Jiaxu opened his eyes and his gaze met Sang Zhi’s.

Her eyes were large and bright, with distinct double eyelids and curled, thick lashes, resembling small brushes. The corners of her eyes naturally drooped, giving her an innocent, puppy-like appearance.

She looked extremely pure.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Duan Jiaxu’s gaze dropped slightly and he lazily asked, “Is it done?”

“Yes.” Sang Zhi averted her gaze and pulled back her hand. She then stood up quickly. “I’ll go rinse the towel.”

When Sang Zhi left the ward, the calm facade she had been maintaining crumbled instantly and her back relaxed. She slowly regulated her breathing, trying to calm her racing heart.

What was that?

His eyes were closed but he suddenly opened them.

Couldn’t he have said something in advance?

Like ’I’m going to open my eyes. Prepare yourself’ or something.

Couldn’t he?

Couldn’t he???

He scared her to death.

He! Scared! Her! To! Death!

Sang Zhi recalled her reaction just now.

It should be quite normal, right?

There didn’t seem to be any extreme reaction. She treated it as an exceptionally ordinary thing.

Her attitude was neither overbearing nor servile.

Sang Zhi gradually relaxed.

In the end, only one thought remained in her mind.

That was the first and last time in her life she would wipe his face.

Returning to the ward, Sang Zhi unfolded the folding bed and lay on it. She thought for a moment and decided to use her coat as a blanket and make do for the night.

Duan Jiaxu was not yet asleep. Seeing this, he called out, “Sang Zhi.”

She looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“Use my coat as a cushion.”

Sang Zhi paused for a moment. “Oh.”

Today, he was wearing a long coat that was bigger than her entire body when spread out. Sang Zhi laid it on the folding bed, arranged it a bit, and then went to turn off the light.

Duan Jiaxu didn’t say anything more.

Sang Zhi took out her phone from her coat’s pocket, lowered the brightness to the minimum, and saw that Ning Wei had called her several times. She froze for a moment, suddenly remembering she hadn’t told her roommate that she wouldn’t be coming back tonight.

She quickly opened WeChat and typed a message to their chat group, 【I’m not coming back tonight, I have a brother—】

Sang Zhi thought for a moment and changed ‘brother’ to ‘sister’, then continued typing, 【—who is sick, and I’m taking care of her at the hospital.】

【Sang Zhi: I only check my phone just now.】

【Ning Wei: Oh, as long as you’re fine. You didn’t come back when it was already so late and also wasn’t answering your phone, so we got worried.】

【Ning Wei: Also, Jiang Ming seemed to have something to talk to you about. He said you haven’t been replying to his WeChat messages, so I told him you went out with a friend and haven’t come back yet.】

【Sang Zhi: Okay.】

Sang Zhi exited the chat window and scrolled down.

Since Ning Wei’s birthday, Sang Zhi had rarely seen that person. He hadn’t asked her out and only occasionally chatted with her, and even then, it wasn’t very often.

She opened her chat window with Jiang Ming.

She saw that he had only sent her a few funny memes, followed by a few short voice messages. Sang Zhi wanted to convert them to text, but her hand slipped, and she accidentally played one.

The young man’s clear voice instantly echoed in the small room.

“Sang Zhi, are you free—”

Startled, Sang Zhi immediately pressed the power button.

The voice message was abruptly cut off.

Sang Zhi involuntarily looked at Duan Jiaxu, holding her breath. But it was too dark to tell if he was asleep.

After a long while, Sang Zhi didn’t hear him speak. She sighed in relief and carefully turned over.

She glanced at her phone again.

Sang Zhi didn’t dare check the voice messages anymore, deciding to listen to them tomorrow. She checked her schedule for tomorrow and wasn’t sure if she could make it back for the first class. So, she sent Ning Wei another message, 【I might not attend the politics class tomorrow, could you sign me in?】

【Ning Wei: Okay.】

Sang Zhi turned off her phone and put it beside her, curling up under her coat. She sniffed. Underneath her was Duan Jiaxu’s coat, making it feel like his scent was surrounding her.

A faint smell of tobacco mixed with lime.

Like a mature big boy.

Strangely, it gave Sang Zhi a sense of security.

Perhaps because she was in an unfamiliar environment, Sang Zhi couldn’t fall asleep. She lay with her eyes closed for a long time without any drowsiness. She couldn’t help but turn over, wanting to play with her phone for a while.

Sang Zhi carefully reached out, fumbling on the table.

Just then, Duan Jiaxu suddenly spoke, “Can’t sleep?”

Sang Zhi froze and answered, “Mm.”

“Because you didn’t finish listening to that voice message?”

“……” Sang Zhi looked at him, feeling that her fluctuating emotions just now were ridiculous. She felt a bit aggrieved, “You heard it but pretended to be asleep?”

“Pretended to be asleep?” He smiled. “I just didn’t say anything.”

“That’s pretending to be asleep.” Sang Zhi said sulkily, “Why do you like eavesdropping so much?”

“Hmm?” Duan Jiaxu’s tone rose, “Didn’t you play it yourself? You’re so young yet you’ve already learned how to frame people?”

Sang Zhi couldn’t argue with him so covered her head with the coat and said, “I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m going to sleep.”

“Weren’t you unable to sleep?”

“I have to sleep even if I can’t.”

“Want to chat with Brother for a while?”

Sang Zhi uncovered her eyes and looked over. “Chat about what?”

“Do you want to finish listening to that voice message?” Duan Jiaxu’s voice carried a hint of amusement, “Let Brother listen to who it is that wants to ask our little Sang Zhi out.”

Sang Zhi was annoyed. “You don’t know him.”

“Tell me and I’ll know. Describe him, Brother will help you judge.”

So annoying.

Just now he was calling out how Sang Zhi wore dress in winter like Li Ping.

Now he was acting like Sang Rong.

Sang Zhi asked, “Do I need you to judge even when it’s just for a simple meal invitation?”

Duan Jiaxu said, “I’m just afraid you’re too young and might get deceived.”

Sang Zhi replied perfunctorily, “Oh, fine.”

Before Duan Jiaxu could speak again, she rubbed her eyes and added, “There are quite a few. I won’t be able to finish talking about them in one night.”

“……”

“I’ll have to take a notebook and jot it all down.”