Chapter 8: CH 8

The protagonist's "stamp collecting journey" kicks off

Fingers squeezing the slender goblet, Chen Zhiyu lowered his eyes, his eyes gloomy.

A ray of sunlight shone in from the window, a mixture of light and dark, shadows and shadows, setting his face even deeper.

Xia Shan pulled his shirt together and laughed, “Sorry, couldn’t resist, mainly because I didn’t expect the iron tree to blossom one day.”

Chen Zhiyu put his glass down, a coldness permeating his face.

“Who is the other party? What does he look like?” Xia Shan, who never pried into gossip, was piqued and asked several questions in a row.

Without speaking, Chen Zhiyu rechecked his clothes, buttoned the last button, smoothed out the folds on his shirt and gave Xia Shan a cold look.

Xia Shirt knew that he did not want to say anything. What Chen Zhiyu did not want to talk about, no one else could ever ask.

When Xia Shan saw that he was not worried, he put away his joking mood and became serious, “Aren’t you going to be abstinent for the rest of your life? You’ve only just turned 25 and you’ve broken your abstinence.”

Chen Zhiyu’s face was even sullen, not knowing what he was thinking. After a moment, he said indifferently, “Help me look up a person’s medical information.”

“Name?”

“Xia Qing Shu, almost eighteen or nineteen years old.”

“Eighteen or nineteen?”

“…… Not sure, freshman at R university.”

“You don’t even know how old someone is after you’ve slept with them?!”

“…… It’s not him!” Chen Zhiyu black face, incoherent, “A friend asked me to check for them.”

Xia Shan typed the name in the system, Xia Qing Shu, as if he had heard of it somewhere. Xia Shan suddenly remembered that the classmate Xia Yubin bullied was named Xia Qing Shu.

“Which friend?”

“You don’t know them.”

“No problem, I’ll have someone send it to you right away.” The Xia family’s industry had infiltrated almost the entire medical institutions in the capital, and in less than five minutes, Xia Qing Shu’s information was passed over.

Chen Zhiyu clicked on the email, the cover was a picture of Xia Qing Shu, the little teenager on the picture was staring with big eyes, pursed lips and dull eyes.

“Sure enough, really stupid.” Chen Zhiyu ignored the photo and clicked straight into the medical records, read a few pages, then exited and clicked on the photo again. The teenager in the photo had not changed much from the features he had seen.

Demented, stereotyped, boring.

On closer inspection however there was a difference.

He had come into contact with Xia Qing Shu twice so far, and although the other man spoke foolishly, his eyes were different. The Xia Qingshu he had met had dumb eyes and spoke with an unworldly dementedness that, on closer inspection, had a hint of the small mischievousness of an innocent child. There was a cunningness in the foolishness that was unwilling to suffer.

It’s a completely different temperament from the character in the photograph. He looked at the tablet in fascination. Xia Shan approached and the two stared at the photo together.

“Aren’t you going to a meeting?” Chen Zhiyu turned his head to look at Xia Shan and snapped the tablet backwards onto the hospital bed.

“He seems familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before.” Xia Shirt brought the tablet straight over and zoomed in on the photo, turning his head to ask, “Don’t you think so?”

“Don’t think so.” Chen Zhiyu extinguished the screen and put the tablet away in his bag, giving him a cold look, “I have a meeting at three, I’ll leave first.”

VIP had a special lift, Chen Zhiyu walked to the lift door and suddenly saw a familiar figure.

~~~

Xia Qing Shu came out from the police station and received a call from Xia Lao Er, old man Xia was hospitalized and called to name Xia Li to take care of him.

Li Xiao daughter-in-law, being honest, made soup and brought Xia Qingqiu to the hospital. Xia Lao Er is so determined to clear the air with Old Man Xia that Xia Qing Shu, fearing that Old Man Xia will pretend to be sick and coax Xia Lao Er rushed to the hospital, not expecting to see Chen Zhi Yu just as he exited the lift.

In the original book, Chen Zhiyu is unpredictable and moody, and no one who messes with him would end up well. The last time they met, although the conversation was not very pleasant, they still managed to muddle through the “defilement of innocence” thing.

He would never admit to having sex with Chen Zhiyu anyway. Chen Zhiyu was innocent, and so was he.

Xia Qing Shu quickly lowered his head, pretending not to have seen him, buried his head and rushed forward. Rushing to the end of the corridor, he carefully looked up and found that Chen Zhiyu was gone.

So close.

He heard that Xia Yubin was in hospital for a stomach pump, so could it be that Chen Zhiyu had come to visit him? He wondered how far the two have progressed.

When Xia Qingshu found the ward, old man Xia was lying on the bed, moaning long and short chants. Li Xiao daughter-in-law and Xia Lao Er stood next to him, heads bowed, not speaking, while Eldest Uncle Xia stood watching and two cousins were playing a game with their mobile phones.

He didn’t know what Eldest aunt was saying, but when she saw Xia Qing Shu enter, she immediately shut her mouth. Xia Qingshu sat down on the edge of the bed and gently shouted, “Grandpa.”

Old man Xia struggled to “half close” his eyes, he couldn’t even lift his eyelids, he looked more out of breath than in.

Xia Lao Er tugged on Li Xiao Daughter-in-law’s sleeve, who gritted her teeth and turned her head. He didn’t know what unequal treaty Uncle Xia has proposed again, but Xia Lao Er had gone soft.

Xia Qing Shu sat down on the hospital bed, stomping off his shoes, his small white feet swaying back and forth, “Mom, what’s wrong with grandpa?”

The eldest aunt came over and pulled him, “Qing Shu, grandpa is very sick, almost not ……” Halfway through her sentence, she actually sobbed.

Xia Qingshu was shocked, “Grandpa is going to ascend to heaven?”

The eldest aunt did not answer, inclined her head and swung her head as a tacit acknowledgement.

Xia’s eyes were moist.

Xia Qingshu grabbed his eldest aunt’s hand, his puzzled little eyes dripping with surprise, “Then can we, can we eat meat?”

“……”

“I want to eat roast pork.”

“Pfft-” Li Xiaoyao daughter-in-law couldn’t hold back her laughter. Eldest Aunt Xia Da Bo was holding in her laughter so hard that even Xia Lao Er, who was immersed in grief, couldn’t help but break into laughter.

“Cough cough” Old man Xia choked on his saliva and let out a thick coughing sound on the bed, after coughing, he sat himself up and pointed at Xia Qing Shu, with crossed eyebrows, “You – you – you – -”

The eyes were bulging and the eyebrows were glaring. That look could not wait to cool Xia Qing Shu off on the spot.

Xia Qingshu jumped off the bed and hid behind Xia Lao Er, saying with regret, “Okay I won’t eat it.”

Xia Lao Er patted his hand and said soothingly, “Dad will make it for you at home later.”

Old man Xia blew on his beard, his chest heaving with anger, “Lao Er, you’ve raised a good son, to curse me to death!”

Xia Qing Shu stuck his head out from behind Xia Lao Er and said in a resigned voice, “Master, I didn’t, it was Eldest Aunt who cursed you to death …… I didn’t, I was simply craving meat.”

It was indeed the eldest aunt who had deliberately misled and acquiesced to Old Man Xia’s imminent death at first. Old man Xia grunted coldly at the eldest aunt and twisted his head away.

Eldest aunt laughed and changed the subject, “Lao Er, you wash the urinal and take it to the balcony to dry, it smells.”

Xia Lao Er honestly took the urinal and went into the bathroom.

Eldest aunt: “Xiaoxiao daughter-in-law, you feed Dad.” Li Xia-in-law took out a thermos bucket, served soup and fed him. When Old Man Xia finished the chicken soup, his face was not as dishevelled and pale as he had been, but slightly rosy.

When Xia Lao Er returned to the ward after washing the night pot, the eldest uncle cleared his throat and said, “Older brother, although our father is not related to us by blood, he at least raised us, and our family elders have also said that it is our duty to support the elderly, and we can’t just ignore our father when he is in hospital.”

Xia Lao Er, who could not speak, looked down at his feet and gave a soft “hmm”.

“Dad needs to be taken care of when he’s in the hospital, and there are medical bills …….” The first uncle looked at Xia Qing Shu and paused, “You also know that your brother is not capable.”

Xia Lao Er still did not say anything, “Oh”.

Li Xiaodong’s hand shook as she carried the bowl of soup, her eyes flushed a little. You’re not even their son, and you have to contribute money and effort, his brain must have been left outside the door.

But she didn’t dare to say anything, or she would be accused of “disrespecting the elderly” again, and the Xia family village’s group of moral table turners who have nothing better to do are not to be messed with.

Xia Qing Shu took the soup bowl from Li Xiao Daughter-in-law’s hand and asked in a low voice, “Mum, when taking care of Grandpa, do we do whatever Uncle Da and the others do?” Li Xiaoxiao daughter-in-law nodded her head.

Xia Qing Shu blinked his big eyes twice and thought about it, “They just moved their mouths.”

Xia Qing Shu pointed at her eldest aunt, mimicking the tone of the other party just now, “Shu Fen, go and wash Lord Xia’s pants and socks, there are several pairs piled up in the basin, Xia Zu De, go and pay grandpa’s hospital fees, the nurse just came to call, there are not enough hospital fees.”

After saying that, he pulled Li Xiaodong daughter-in-law to beg for praise, “I will take care of grandpa too.”

Old man Xia: “……”

He felt himself getting more sick

When the eldest aunt heard Xia Qing Shu’s words, her eyes glazed over and kicked the eldest Xia uncle. Eldest uncle pulled a bitter face, “Lao Er, let Qing Shu go back, children don’t need to get involved in this ……”

Just halfway through, he was interrupted by Xia Qingshu, “Dad, my grandmother said you are a mallet, not even your own father but you are here serving him.”

“Grandpa, they said that you are heartless, they are not your children , are you not afraid of being poisoned??!”

Old man Xia looked at the bowl in Xia Qing Shu’s hand, and his face turned white.

Seeing that the old man Xia was about to get mad again, Xia Qing Shu hurriedly opened his phone and tapped on the WeChat group chat, “Master, it wasn’t me who said that, it was grandpa Tang who said that.”

There was a group in Xia Qing Shu’s WeChat, several of the Xia family’s better developed elders were all in it, and he had told them all about the family before he came.

“You son with filial piety, the family scandal must not be disclosed!” Old man Xia was so angry that he punched the bed and grabbed the cane beside the bed to hit Xia Qing Shu.

“Grandpa, I didn’t spread it outside, we are all surnamed Xia, it can only be considered an internal propaganda.” Xia Qingshu hid behind Uncle Xia, paddled his phone and read from the chat log, “Master, second grandfather said, let you go check your health, is it spermia, not a single son has been born.”

“Third grandfather asked if you wanted him to adopt a son to you.”

Old man Xia was so angry that he dropped his cane and lay on the bed twitching.

“Mom and Dad, we won’t disturb Grandpa when he’s asleep.” Xia Qing Shu pulled Xia Lao Er and Li Xiao Daughter-in-law outside, and before leaving, thoughtfully helped Old Man Xia pull the curtain closed.

～

In the monitoring room, as Xia Qing Shu left, Chen Zhi Yu also stood up. He casually flipped open the medical records in his hand.

The medical record, written more than ten years ago, was relatively simple: Xia Qing Shu had a fever and high fever convulsions when he was five years old. His parents took him to the hospital for the first time at the age of eight. He had a normal IQ, but was simply slow, and after the age of ten, no more psychiatric visits were recorded.

But there are quite a few trauma visits, so it seems that little Bean was often bullied. It was a miracle he hadn’t been beaten to death for being so silly and saying everything without thinking.

Chen Zhiyu closed the medical records and asked the staff to send him a copy of the surveillance video before leaving.

Just as he stepped out of the monitoring room, someone bumped into him head-on, he ducked sideways, but still got half a cup of coffee splashed on his shirt.

“Ah, I’m so sorry.” Xia Yubin looked apologetic and took out a handkerchief to wipe it on Chen Zhiyu.

Chen Zhiyu quickly took two steps back, dodging Xia Yubin and staring at him with cold eyes.

Staring at him with such eyes, Xia Yubin couldn’t help but shiver as he tried to squeeze out a smile, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’ll pay for your dry cleaning.”

Chen Zhiyu narrowed his eyes and gave a cold laugh, “You can’t dry clean this suit.”

“Or you can take off your clothes and I’ll return it to you after I wash it?” Xia Yubin took out his phone and apologised, “Add a WeChat, it’s so embarrassing.”

Xia Qing Shu came out of the toilet just in time to see the two talking at the end of the corridor. He looked at them twice and hurried away.

The protagonist’s stamp collecting journey kicks off ……