Chapter 686: 685 Asking about Love

The loud ring of a mobile phone just happened to ring at this moment.

Mo Xiuchen’s eyes briefly went blind. His fingers, immersed in the darkness, blindly landed on the answer button. When the ringing stopped, his heart sank, he loosened his hand, and the phone fell back onto the bed.

His lips tightened—a moment of emptiness washed over him. He had no idea who had called, nor what to say, so he said nothing.

On the other side of the phone, Gu Kai’s voice, though unclear, resonated with a touch of worry: “Mo Xiuchen, are you alright?”

Mo Xiuchen’s headache was still severe. His phone had fallen back onto his bedsheet and he didn’t dare to pick it up again, fearful that he’d accidentally press the hang-up button. With a forced calm, he managed to say, with a modicum of calm in his voice, “I’m fine.”

But his headache was intense. It felt as if his entire body was in pain and his eyesight had faded. His voice had developed a slight tremor and Gu Kai, inspite of being on the other side of the call, discerned the change in his tone and grew more worried, “Mo Xiuchen, do you have another headache attack?”

As strong as Mo Xiuchen was, he had his moments of vulnerability.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Especially during these moments when disease tormented him. Hearing Gu Kai’s worried words, he feebly responded with a, ‘Hmm.'”

Gu Kai retreated into silence on the other end of the call.

Mo Xiuchen was in pain and Gu Kai was helpless to share his burden. Any words of comfort would have fallen on deaf ears. Moreover, everything Mo Xiuchen endured today was due to Gu Kai’s sister.

If it hadn’t been for Mo Xiuchen transferring the virus from Wen Ran’s body to his own, perhaps it would be Wen Ran enduring the pain right now. Thinking of this, Gu Kai tightened his grip on the phone.

“Ah Kai, I’ve had a new symptom.”

After a long pause, Mo Xiuchen spoke up, his voice weary and devoid of strength.

“What symptom?”

Gu Kai’s voice came immediately, brimming with palpable tension.

Mo Xiuchen’s sight had just slowly come back. He closed his eyes and opened them again until they weren’t shrouded in darkness anymore. The panic inside him gradually subsided. He reached out with trembling hands for his mobile and faintly said, “I had a brief moment of blindness just now.”

“Blindness… I understand.”

Mo Xiuchen knew that Gu Kai was as shocked and terrified as he was.

“That was only temporary, I’m fine now. Ah Kai, you need to inform father about this new symptom…”

Mo Xiuchen’s hand went to wipe off the sweat that had trickled down his forehead due to the immense pain. Each time, the headaches seemed to be getting worse. Talking was becoming a herculean task for him.

This, indeed, felt like torment—desperate to live but unable to die.

After hanging up, he lay back onto his bed, exhausted. He unlocked his phone gallery and started scrolling through the photos they had taken at Bali Island. One of them showed Wen Ran making a peace sign with her fingers, a simple diamond ring adorning one of them.

He looked at the diamond ring, a sense of confusion sweeping over him. His handsome brows furrowed out of the blue. He had no recollection of when that ring was purchased.

He tried hard to remember, rummaging through his memory. But no matter how hard he tried, he failed to recall. A wave of panic welled up inside him, spreading swiftly through his body, leaching the little color his face had regained.

His poignant eyes were now filled with a look of confusion and pain. He watched his trembling fingers brush over the mobile screen, caressing the picture of a beaming young lady. It felt as though someone had clamped onto his heart, causing him immense pain.

“Ranran, if I ever forget you one day, please don’t be upset.”

He mumbled to himself, his voice laced with pain and helplessness. He was afraid, afraid he’d forget her. He’d rather forget himself than his beloved.

Fu Jingyi had said that the virus wouldn’t just eat away his organs in the shortest possible time but also slowly gnaw away at his memory. The people he cherished, the ones he loved, he’d start forgetting them slowly.

He’d also mentioned that he’d given the virus a pretty and romantic name – ‘Love’s Question’.

Fu Jingyi’s eerie laughter echoed in his mind: “Haha, Mo Xiuchen, you know, I’ve given this virus a very romantic name, ‘Love’s Question’. It beckons the question, what do people live for, but to be with the ones they love. The original intention was to use it on Yu Han, to test if Gu Yan would die for her. But then I had a change of heart. I wouldn’t give Gu Yan a chance to die for Yu Han. So I used it on his daughter. Either his daughter would die, or she’d watch the man she loves slowly forget her and then fade away…”

“I really want to know if that girl would break down as she watched you slowly forget her and ultimately die right in front of her. All this is Gu Yan’s debt. It should have been his daughter who paid it back. Haha…”

Mo Xiuchen forcefully shook his head, driving away Fu Jingyi’s voice that was echoing in his mind. He did not want to think of that psychotic man. Nor did he want to fulfil his wishes and make Ranran watch as he forgot her and eventually died before her eyes.

Besides, they would catch Fu Jingyi in two days’ time. No matter what it took, he’d get the cure out of him.

**

By the time Qin Mu and Luo Haofeng returned home, it was already half-past eleven.

As he pushed open Mo Xiuchen’s bedroom door, he found Mo Xiuchen lying on his side on the bed, tightly clutching his mobile phone. His eyes were closed, and his breaths were slow and steady. He had fallen asleep at some point.

Qin Mu stood at the doorway for a moment, then lightly approached the bed. Mo Xiuchen was fast asleep, with obvious signs of exhaustion on his face. His complexion was also pale, indicating that his headache might have returned after they had left.

A sense of sorrow flashed in Qin Mu’s eyes at the sight of Mo Xiuchen’s phone clutched tightly in his hand. An array of emotions stirred within him.

These days, Mo Xiuchen spent most of his time looking at his phone, full of pictures of Wen Ran and images of them together.

The majority of the pictures were of Wen Ran alone, at different locations, and sporting different expressions. Mo Xiuchen often gazed at these photos, lost in thought. One could only wonder whether he was missing the person in the photos or trying to etch the images of her in his heart, determined not to forget her.

Qin Mu let out a sigh and discarded the thought of waking him up. He turned around, exited the room, and just as he closed the door behind him, the phone rang.

It was a call from Gu Yan in D country. Upon noticing the caller’s identity, Qin Mu answered the call, his tone hopeful, “Uncle Gu, has the experiment been successful?”

“Ah Mu, just now Ah Kai called me and told me that Mo Xiuchen’s condition has developed a new symptom. Whenever he gets a headache, he experiences temporary blindness. Since you’re with Mo Xiuchen, I want to know the intricate details of his condition.”

Qin Mu was taken aback. The joy in his eyes was immediately replaced with surprise. He turned to look at the closed door, took a few hurried steps away, and then responded in a hushed voice, “Uncle Gu, when did Ah Kai tell you about this? I had no idea, Mo Xiuchen didn’t tell me.”