Chapter 1594: Stupid

After telling Lin Yixin what had occurred and bidding her goodbye, I hurriedly logged out of the game, put on a coat and left the building. I started the X12’s engine and sped off as quickly as I could only to find myself stuck in a traffic jam soon after. It was because it was rush hour right now. I could only stew with anxiety as my car inched bit by bit toward my destination.

It was already 7 pm by the time I reached the workshop. I was so anxious that I had even forgotten to lock the car. By the time I arrived, I noticed that Beiming Xue, Lian Xin and Xinran were already sitting in the living room and waiting for me to return.

"How… how is Eve?" I asked urgently.

Lian Xin stood up and looked at me with bloodshot eyes. "Something’s wrong with boss's eyes…"

"What? Where is she right now?"

"Her room!"

"Got it!"

I ran toward He Yi’s room and went inside. I saw Murong Mingyue sitting at the bedhead and two doctors performing an inspection on He Yi. The girl was currently lying on the bed with her eyes wide open. They seemed to have lost their usual radiance for some reason. They were staring blankly, at seemingly nothing at all.

"Lu Chen!" Murong Mingyue turned toward me.

I immediately approached He Yi and gripped her hand. "Eve, can you… see?"

He Yi returned my grip strongly while smiling at me. "It’s fine. It’s just an illness I’ve had since I was young. It seemed to have relapsed recently."

Murong Mingyue nodded to confirm He Yi’s explanation.

One of the doctors looked at me and asked, "You are?"

"Her family," I replied immediately.

He nodded. "In that case I’ll get straight to the point. The patient has an incredibly rare congenital eye disease clinically known as the G12 disease. Only one in ten million patients with eye disease has it. It cannot be fixed with surgery, and the only way to deal with it is medication and a lot of rest. Also, the patient is strongly advised from shedding tears[1] as it will worsen her condition."

I trembled. "That…"

I held He Yi’s hand tighter as deep guilt well inside my heart. "I’m sorry, Sister Yi. It’s all my fault…"

She chuckled. "What are you saying, stupid? It’s hardly your fault I was born with a congenital disease. If there must be a reason, then it’s probably because I’m being punished for the sins I’ve committed in my previous life or something."

I chuckled back. "Well, you heard the doctor. As long as you maintain a happy outlook, you should be able to recover very soon. By the way, can you see me right now?"

"I can see a blurry outline…"

She stretched out her hand and caressed my face lightly. "Judging from the shape of your features, you are definitely Lu Chen…"

I chuckled. "At least you can still make jokes…"

Murong Mingyue chimed in. "Of course she can. She’s one of the toughest women I’ve ever known…"

Suddenly, we heard rain pitter-pattering against the window. It was the beginning of summer, and it looked like the rain had hit us early. Not only that, it rapidly developed into a heavy downpour.

The doctor leftside to the bed looked at us and asked for permission, "Can we begin treating the patient now?"

I nodded. "Sure!"

The doctor took out his pen and began writing down a prescription, but a frown soon appeared on his face. A phone call later, he shot us a worried look and said, "I need to tell you all something. Among the medicines that are used to treat the G12 disease, one of them is called the Nordfran powder[2]. Due to its rarity, none of the pharmacies in Suzhou have stocked up on the medicine, and the nearest pharmacy that has it is at Wuxi. Unfortunately, that pharmacy doesn't do deliveries, and it is raining quite heavily right now. Therefore, I would like to ask one of you to head over to that pharmacy and retrieve the medicine as soon as you can!"

He glanced at He Yi before adding, "Ideally, I would like to treat the patient with the medicine in at most five hours to achieve the best results. Otherwise, I… I’m afraid it may affect her recovery!"

I rose to my feet without hesitation. "Give me the address. It's a one and a half hour trip at most."

He nodded, wrote the address on a strip of paper and passed it to me.

Pa!

Suddenly, Murong Mingyue grabbed my arm and said, "Have you forgotten that you’re a patient yourself? Quite a serious one too. I’ll go retrieve the medicine. You should just stay here and keep Eve company[3]."

I immediately showed off my biceps and shot her a grin. "Come now, sis. I’m not as fragile as you think. If you don’t trust me, I’ll even let you touch my muscles for a bit. Seriously though, there are only so many things I can do for Sister Yi, and this is a responsibility I cannot surrender to anyone else. Just stay in the workshop and wait for my good news. Don’t worry, I’m familiar enough with the Suzhou-Wuxi route that I can drive back and forth with my eyes closed[4]!"

Murong Mingyue rolled her eyes but said, "Fine… be careful!"

"I know. I’m not called the ‘Protector of the Road’[5] for no reason, you know?"

"Heavens. Less boasting, more driving!" Murong Mingyue sighed.

He Yi bade me goodbye with a smile, "Take care!"

……

After rushing out of the room and informing the girls waiting at the living hall about my short trip, I grabbed an umbrella and went out of the workshop. After I entered my car, I started the engine, set the GPS, and cut through the rain like a boat sailing bravely into the dark, stormy sea!

I quickly drove out of the urban area and entered the highway. There were few cars on the highway probably because the downpour was too strong. For once, I complied with Mingyue and He Yi’s request and made sure my speed didn’t exceed 100 kilometers per hour. I turned on all the lights and even the emergency lights for maximum safety[6]. 50 minutes later, I arrived at the pharmacy. I ran into the building so fast I hadn’t even opened the umbrella that was supposed to shield me from the rain.

The receptionist was a white-dressed young woman who looked to be 20 years old or so. She had a small box of medicine in her hands. She asked, "Are you the family of the patient from Suzhou?"

I nodded. "Yes, it’s me. Is this the Nordfran powder?"

"Yes!"

"How much does it cost?"

"I heard that the patient needs to receive their medication as soon as possible, right? Just pay us the next time you come back. It’s not very expensive anyway!"

"Oh, thank you!"

"You’re welcome. By the way…"

I was almost at the door when I turned back to ask, "Yes? What is it?"

She blinked once and stared at me intently. "You… you look real familiar for some reason."

"You mean I look like Lu Chen."

"Oh yeah, you’re right!"

"That’s because I am."

"Ah, really??" the young woman exclaimed in pleasant surprise. "Can I get your signature, please?"

"Not now. I need to deliver the medicine, remember? Don’t worry, I’ll promise to return and thank you when the patient has fully recovered!"

"Okay! You’d better keep your promise!"

"Bet!"

I stuffed the medicine into my pocket and returned to the car once more. Then, I started the engine and drove into the powerful downpour once more. I drove straight for the highway entrance. I needed to get back as quickly as I could to ensure that He Yi’s eyes would heal smoothly. Otherwise, I would regret this for the rest of my life. She had already given up too much for me, and there were only so many things I could do for her.

Along the way, the GPS kept warning me that I was exceeding the speed limit. I would release the gas pedal for a moment only to speed up again before I knew it. It was a struggle to keep my composure the entire way. Again, I was surprised by how few cars there were on the highway. Normally, it wouldn’t be surprising if I was stuck in a traffic jam. It wasn’t until later that I learned that some highway entrances had been closed because the downpour was so strong that driving on the highway had been judged to be a safety hazard. On top of it, it was a workday.

I touched the medicine in my pocket as I approached the exit to Suzhou. A sense of satisfaction welled in my heart. The doctor called this a specialized medicine, so I was sure that He Yi would recover very soon.

It was at this moment a shudder coursed through my entire body, and an unnatural numbness began spreading from that very arm. I stepped down on the brakes almost reflexively. This was absolutely the worst possible timing for my symptoms to suddenly return!

Boom!

There was a bang and a screech of metal as the X12 slammed hard against a bridge pier to my right at nearly 110 km/h. I could’ve been tossed right out of the window if my seat belt hadn’t kept me firmly in my seat. I could see debris flying from in front of my car even as it spun wildly across the highway. The next moment, I lost nearly all of the strength in my body.

The engine was dead before I realized it. I couldn’t muster any energy to help myself. The car crash was obviously one reason, but the virus’s sudden flare-up was a major reason as well. It also proved that the suppressant Xu Ning had given wasn't completely effective. The virus in my body was far stronger than the one in Lin Yixin after all.

Creeeeak…

Somehow, I slid out of my seatbelt and hit the ground with a thump. Rainwater splashed against my face, but my consciousness was still clear. Cars kept driving by the wreckage that was my car, but no one even slowed to take a look at what had happened, much less lend a helping hand[7].

Suddenly, my phone started ringing in my pocket. I did my best to fish it out, but I lacked the strength to even raise it to my ear. When it slipped out of my grasp and hit the ground with a thud, I seized the chance to press down on the receive call button. Unfortunately, any voice that might’ve come from the phone was drowned out by the heavy downpour. A few seconds later, the phone let out a sizzling spark before dying. Its circuits had been fried by the rain.

My consciousness grew more and more blurry.

I wanted to cry, my body had no strength to do even that. It wasn’t because of the car crash, it was because the virus was spreading and slowly but surely taking over my entire body.

……

An unknown amount of time later, I suddenly heard a shrill braking noise from beside my car. It was because a black Lamborghini that was driving in reverse down the highway had suddenly screeched to a stop before maneuvering around to the back of my wrecked X12.

I was barely clinging to my consciousness at that point. However, someone lifted my head and held me against their bosom, sharing with me their warmth in this cold, dark night.

I looked up and saw that it was Murong Mingyue. Her coffee-colored uniform was drenched in blood, and her face was covered in both rainwater and tears. She cried loudly while holding me, "What happened to you, Lu Chen[8]?"

I raised my arm with all my might and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. "I’m fine, sis. I…"

"Stop talking…" she cried uncontrollably. "I’ll take you home. I’ll take you home…"

Murong Mingyue wasn’t physically strong, so it took her a while to carry me into her car and fasten the seatbelt for me. After she had returned to her seat, she took another look at me before leaning against the steering wheel and bursting into tears once more. She couldn’t stop shaking until a long time later.

Now that I was out of the rain, my body was beginning to regain some of its strength again. I put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Stop crying, sis. Why so sad? It was just a small accident. You don’t need to cry that much…"

She looked at me with glistening eyes. "I… I just can’t accept that the man who single-handedly raised Ancient Sword to the top, saved the China server, and bantered dirty jokes with me all the time would… would suddenly become so weak…"

I nearly broke into tears myself, but I forced myself to say quietly, "It’s okay… even if I’m weakened, I promise I will walk with all of you… until the end of my life[9]…"

Murong Mingyue stared at me for a moment before hugging me tightly, her tears streaming down without control. "Stupid dummy…"

1. T/N: does that mean she can only use eyedrops to clean her eyes? Shedding tears is like a vital function of the eyes lol ☜

2. T/N: for once, both the disease and the drug are complete fabrication ☜

3. T/N: HOLY SHIT COMMON SENSE! ☜

4. T/N: guess what’s going to happen in the next couple paragraphs ☜

5. T/N: reference to a show called ‘Protector of the Earth’, I believe ☜

6. T/N: according to a random Chinese article, you are allowed to turn on the emergency lights under exceptional circumstances. I guess a super downpour on the highway does count as one ☜

7. T/N: it is like this in some countries ☜

8. T/N: what you should’ve known was going to happen. What in the world made you think that letting a dying man go on a 2-hour drive on a rainy night is a good idea? ☜

9. T/N: guess who breaks his word the very next chapter ☜