Coughing up blood

The sky gradually darkened.

Gu Nian'an lay on the bed with his eyes half closed.

Although his fever had almost completely subsided, he still could not stop coughing. His throat stung as though a knife had sliced through it, and every so often, he let out a wrenching cough or two.

Drowsiness had enveloped him for a long time, but his throat kept him from falling asleep.

Perhaps because he had been coughing for so long, even his abdomen ached in waves. Gu Nian'an frowned in discomfort, trying to force himself to sleep.

But whenever he was about to drift off, his throat would itch again, making him cough uncontrollably and sit up in bed.

The drowsiness he had finally mustered was exhausted, leaving him able only to curl up in bed and rest with his eyes closed.

Just then, the door suddenly opened. Gu Nian'an lifted his eyes slightly and saw Fu Xiuyuan walk in carrying a bowl of steaming soup.

"Freshly simmered pear soup. Have some." A trace of concern flashed through the eyes of the man who had been listening nearby to the young man's coughing for almost the entire evening. He set the soup aside, bent down to gather the young man up, then brought the soup to his hands.

Gu Nian'an carefully took the bowl and began sipping the pear soup. So sweet...

Before long, he finished the bowl amid his coughing.

Fu Xiuyuan picked up a tissue and wiped his fingertips, letting the still-coughing Gu Nian'an lean against his chest.

He lowered his head and asked gently, "Can't sleep?"

Gu Nian'an lifted his eyelids with some effort and gave a weary murmur of assent.

Whenever he was about to fall asleep, the itch in his throat would wake him, followed by uncontrollable coughing. Once he finished coughing, his sleepiness would be gone.

The next time, the cycle would repeat.

So no matter how sleepy he was now, he simply could not fall asleep.

Fu Xiuyuan lowered his eyes, glanced at the pale, exhausted young man in his arms, then slowly laid him on the bed, tucked the covers around him, and sat down beside the bed.

Sensing movement beside the bed, Gu Nian'an glanced at the man in mild confusion and asked quietly, "Sir, aren't you going to bed?"

Fu Xiuyuan said casually, "Go to sleep. I'll stay here with you."

Gu Nian'an opened his mouth, but at the man's unconcerned gaze, he swallowed his words.

Something shifted faintly in his eyes, and he merely murmured his thanks.

Fu Xiuyuan tilted his head slightly, unbothered.

Gradually, drowsiness crept over Gu Nian'an again. After several more repetitions, he finally fell asleep.

Gazing at the young man on the bed, his eyes lightly closed and his face pale and bloodless, still coughing once or twice every so often in his sleep, Fu Xiuyuan's gaze involuntarily darkened.

His health was far too poor, so poor that it seemed he might vanish before his eyes with a moment's inattention.

Thinking again of how inexplicably Gu Nian'an had been affecting his emotions lately, an unreadable darkness flashed through Fu Xiuyuan's eyes.

He had not yet figured out what this was. There were still three years, anyway. There was no rush.

Early the next morning, another bout of violent coughing jolted Gu Nian'an awake.

Gu Nian'an clutched his chest tightly as sharp pain kept flaring in his throat. Suddenly, something surged up his throat. He instinctively reached out to catch it, and his palm became wet and slick.

Looking down, he saw thick red blood flowing between his fingers and dripping onto the light-colored bedsheet.

The door flew open with a bang! Hearing the sounds from the room, the man had immediately come over.

The instant he opened the door, Fu Xiuyuan's pupils contracted sharply. The young man was clutching his chest, his other hand held loosely over his mouth as copious blood spilled between his slender, pale fingers.

Fu Xiuyuan felt his fingers go slightly numb. He strode forward, scooped Gu Nian'an off the bed, and headed downstairs.

Suddenly lifted into his arms, Gu Nian'an was just about to speak when the man snapped, "Shut up! Don't speak!"

The young man froze briefly, then quietly closed his mouth.

Seeing the large patches of blood splashed across the cream-colored bedsheet, Fu Xiuyuan felt cold all over, just as he had in that snowy place when his mother died.

He placed the young man in the passenger seat and immediately drove toward the hospital.

Watching the young man slumped to one side, breathing faintly, Fu Xiuyuan felt as though something were pounding mercilessly against his heart, filling him with uncontrollable panic.

He kept tapping the steering wheel, trying to calm his unease and match the young man's symptoms to the illnesses he knew.

They soon reached the hospital. Without time to think further, he hurried out of the car with the young man in his arms.

Curled in the man's arms, Gu Nian'an looked at his panicked expression and thought, There really isn't anything seriously wrong with me. I've just been coughing too hard.

But seeing how panicked he was, Gu Nian'an could not get the words out and merely let him carry him into the hospital.

The Fu Corporation had invested in this hospital, so Fu Xiuyuan only had to show his face for several department heads to come out to greet him.

They all paused in surprise at the sight of Gu Nian'an in the man's arms.

Then, seeing the dried blood on his sleeve and around his mouth, their expressions immediately turned grave. After asking about the specific circumstances, they sent Gu Nian'an to the CT room.

The chest CT results came back quickly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the findings on the report.

An older department head adjusted his glasses and said gravely, "The examination results show no problems with Mr. Gu's lungs. Most likely, he has been coughing so hard over the past two days that he ruptured the capillaries in his throat, causing it to bleed. He just needs to go home and take good care of his throat."

Hearing the results, Fu Xiuyuan glanced at the young man, who had fallen asleep again on the hospital bed, and finally felt his heart settle.

He thought of how Gu Nian'an had been over the past few days.

Then he frowned slightly again and told them, "Give him a full physical examination."

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

Fu Xiuyuan read through the examination results one by one: malnutrition, gastritis, esophagitis, allergic rhinitis, damage to his legs, various allergic symptoms, and low immunity.

His brows were tightly knitted, and with each item he read, the air around him grew colder. After a long time, he put down the reports.

He rubbed between his brows with some helplessness, then turned toward the young man sitting on the hospital bed, eating porridge in small mouthfuls.

He could not help feeling irritated, unable to understand how the young man had managed to wear his body down so badly.

Seeing the male lead looking at him, Gu Nian'an rubbed his fingers together awkwardly and gave him a faint smile.

He seemed to have given the man quite a fright this time, but the examination results showed nothing seriously wrong; it had only been a false alarm. He could not help feeling awkward. He had caused the man trouble again.

At that moment, the trending searches on Weibo exploded.