Xie Shuyang

"Let's get acquainted first. I'm Xie Shuyang, your attending physician." Xie Shuyang didn't approach Shen Yu, instead sitting casually on another empty hospital bed. "Your name is Shen Yu. Do you remember that?"

Shen Yu remained wary, but he was visibly more relaxed than before. Leaning against the headboard, he frowned in thought, then slowly shook his head before nodding.

Xie Shuyang fell silent for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "Oh! I said your name. You don't remember it, but you heard us say it. Is that what you mean?"

Shen Yu nodded.

Beside them, Luo Ningsang opened his mouth to speak. As though Xie Shuyang had eyes in the back of his head, he said, "Shut up."

Luo Ningsang was pinned to the spot.

Xie Shuyang turned to Shen Yu, his gaze solemn and his nerves taut as if facing a formidable enemy. Shen Yu couldn't help holding his breath as well, watching him slowly hold up two fingers.

With a serious expression, he asked, "How many is this? Nod if you know."

Shen Yu: "...?"

Perhaps the speechlessness in Shen Yu's eyes was too obvious, because Xie Shuyang smiled a little sheepishly. "Looks like you know."

Seeing Shen Yu gradually lower his guard, Xie Shuyang pointed at his hand. "Shall I take care of that for you? My professional conscience won't let me stand by and watch someone suffer like this."

Shen Yu didn't object.

Xie Shuyang leaned forward and removed the IV needle, which had long since slipped out of the vein. He had held Shen Yu down earlier, but hadn't managed to hold him completely still.

Shen Yu didn't react much, letting him do as he pleased.

Only when Xie Shuyang took his hand did he notice how abnormally low his temperature was. He was cold as ice. Xie Shuyang instinctively wanted to pull out a thermometer and check, but held back. He would take it slowly; Shen Yu had to stay in the hospital anyway.

What if another trigger made him react badly again?

But it wasn't particularly severe yet. At least, once Xie Shuyang made his intentions clear, Shen Yu didn't resist much.

When Xie Shuyang finished, he didn't let go. Using the need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding as an excuse, he sat down on the edge of the bed. He distinctly felt Shen Yu tremble, but after Shen Yu's gaze fell on his own hand, he said nothing more.

Next, Xie Shuyang asked some questions about Shen Yu's past. Shen Yu shook his head at every one. When the questions really got on his nerves, he covered his head and pretended it hurt.

The sight brought Luo Ningsang to tears.

Click—

The ward door closed, leaving the blue-haired young man alone on the hospital bed. Xie Shuyang had tucked the corners of the blanket around him, and Shen Yu was curled up inside it. The faint color he had only just regained had vanished completely, leaving him deathly pale.

Luo Ningsang asked anxiously, "What exactly is wrong with Xiao Yu?"

Xie Shuyang sighed and pulled a medical record from inside his coat. Xu Shenzheng looked at the white coat he was wearing in surprise, marveling at how much it could hold.

Lu Yanjin and Lu Xianchang gathered around as well.

"The patient was previously forced to swallow a large quantity of sleeping pills. Fortunately, he threw some of them up, but the amount remaining was still an overdose. His blood pressure dropped, his heart rate slowed, and he became drowsy. It could even affect his respiratory function."

"Fortunately, he was brought in fairly promptly. As long as he takes his medicine on time and receives treatment, there's still a chance he'll recover."

Xu Shenzheng patted his chest. "That's good. I'll make sure he takes his medicine on time!"

Xie Shuyang glanced at him. "That's not the main point."

Xu Shenzheng's smile froze on his face. "There's more?" he asked awkwardly.

Lu Xianchang pulled him behind him. "Just listen until the doctor's finished. Stop butting in."

Xu Shenzheng: "Got it."

"The patient suffered a heavy blow to the back of the head. For now, we've provisionally diagnosed him with amnesia, but his social cognition is normal. In other words, he's a normal person who's simply lost his previous memories. As for whether he can remember them, that depends on how he recovers. Once he's had a few days to recuperate and his physical condition has improved, I'll arrange a brain CT."

Xie Shuyang turned a page and continued.

Luo Ningsang had already clenched his fists without realizing it, his heart full of regret.

"The patient's throat was cut. Don't let him speak for the time being. No solid food; he can have liquids, but they should be mild. It's best to ask me first and only give them to him once I've said they're all right."

Xie Shuyang's tone suddenly grew grave. He looked around at them. "The last point is also the most important. I don't know how a seventeen-year-old ended up being kidnapped, but judging by his current condition, I suspect he has post-traumatic stress disorder."

"He refuses to let strangers approach or touch him. And since he's lost his memory, the whole world is effectively made up of strangers. Officer Luo, you should know better than I do how difficult this condition is to treat."

Luo Ningsang looked through the window in the door at Shen Yu lying on the hospital bed. He didn't seem to be sleeping soundly; his brows were tightly furrowed, and the corners of his eyes were red.

"...Mm."

Luo Ningsang's eyes reddened, and tears threatened to fall again. He wiped them away haphazardly and gave a heavily nasal "Mm."

"I'll be careful," he added hoarsely.

There wasn't much Xie Shuyang could do about it either. "I'll try to prescribe him some medicine that isn't bitter. As for counseling, I have a junior fellow disciple who's quite good in that area. I'll contact him for you when I get back."

Xie Shuyang added, "There's no need to be so pessimistic. It's only a suspicion for now; we'll have to see exactly how the patient behaves later. But keep him away from similar situations as much as possible and try not to let it happen a second time. At least he doesn't reject people approaching him with good intentions."

"Thank you." Luo Ningsang still hadn't taken his eyes off Shen Yu.

Xie Shuyang shook his head and left.

"Captain, how about Little Shorty and I keep watch here? Go home and get some sleep. Xiao Yu's awake now, but if you wear yourself out, who'll protect him?"

Xu Shenzheng patted Luo Ningsang on the shoulder, doing his best to persuade him tactfully.

In return, he got an eye roll from Lu Xianchang.

But Lu Xianchang followed his lead and joined in the persuasion. After all, Shen Yu had been asleep for a week, and Luo Ningsang had kept watch here ever since he'd overturned several of Qingjiu's operations.

Lu Yanjin, who wasn't much of a talker, also tugged on Luo Ningsang's sleeve and sided with Xu Shenzheng.

Luo Ningsang wiped his face and looked at the three hands behind him. "All right. Keep a close eye on Xiao Yu, and contact me as soon as he wakes up."

"We'll complete the mission, Captain!" Xu Shenzheng hurriedly pushed him and Lu Yanjin toward the elevator, telling Lu Yanjin along the way to take the captain home and not let him drive while exhausted and get caught by the traffic police. That would be a joke.

Little Shorty... no, Lu Xianchang stayed on guard at the door, shaking his head as he watched the three of them.

Meanwhile, inside the room.

"Have they gone?"

[Luo Ningsang was escorted away. Two of his subordinates are still keeping watch at the door.]

Only then did Shen Yu open his eyes. The gaze that had been fixed on him from the doorway was gone, leaving him with a view of a round, round back of a head.

"Tsk, what that doctor said was pretty scary. Luo Ningsang isn't crying again, is he? Did he cry this much in front of the original host too?"

Shen Yu recalled how the man had just sat in the corner, looking at him like that while tears fell, drop after drop, without stopping...

How strange.

[Not really. After all, the original host wasn't as... miserable as you.]

Shen Yu: "..."

True. The original host had burned down a school and still been full of life, while he had merely gone out to save himself and ended up like this. He really was something else.

No, wait. It wasn't his doing.

It was all that damned Qingjiu's fault.

He would kill him.

So Shen Yu thought.

He gradually drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he hacked Qingjiu into eight pieces!