The air conditioner in the room was turned up to the maximum, and the heater was also on full blast. After Lin Yao cleaned and stitched up Long Yihun's wounds, who was shirtless, the anesthetic from the pharmaceutical company was not very effective, making Long Yihun's attempt to act like a hero in front of the girl he liked very difficult. He endured the pain and did not cry out, and his whole body was covered in cold sweat. Lin Yao had to instruct Xiao Lian to wipe his sweat to prevent the wound from being infected again by his own sweat.
Watching the slender Lin Yao skillfully clean and stitch up his wounds with his right hand, Ruonan developed a liking for this seemingly weak boy who didn't make a good first impression.
When Lin Yao shielded her from the knife, Ruonan was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, as if she had received the love and care of her closest person. In her most fearful and dangerous moment, Lin Yao appeared before her, giving her safety. She had always looked down on the boys around her; her pride had prevented her from accepting any man her own age. In that brief moment, her gratitude brought Lin Yao's image into her heart, and Ruonan suddenly felt lost.
Shaking her head, Ruonan dismissed the unrealistic thoughts in her mind. The difference in their social status was too great, and the possibility of them being friends was zero. Besides, she was only grateful for the other party's selfless rescue, and there was no question of understanding each other, let alone developing feelings.
Lin Yao had been tending to Long Yihun's wounds. By this time, his left arm was completely numb, and the pain had shifted to his shoulder. He was soaked in sweat.
Ruonan knew that Lin Yao's injuries were much more serious than Long Yihun's; the sound of the knife clashing against bone still echoed in her ears. At this moment, Lin Yao actually treated Long Yihun's injuries first, while he himself endured the pain. This behavior made Ruonan both surprised and moved, and Lin Yao's image in her heart grew even more noble.
Lin Yao didn't have the energy to notice Ruonan's behavior at this moment. After Long Yihun's wound was stitched up, Lin Yao tried his best to appear calm. "You guys rest first. I have something to do. I'll be back in a bit."
Ruonan kept an eye on Lin Yao. She secretly followed behind him, but Lin Yao, who was focused on controlling his movements, didn't notice her.
Lin Yao arrived at the pharmaceutical factory's laboratory, prepared all the materials, cut off the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a deep wound. The exposed muscle tissue resembled a gaping mouth, a horrifying sight.
Lin Yao endured the pain, secured his left arm to the machine, and began treating the wound. Then, he laboriously stitched it up with his right hand. Cold sweat slid down his hairline, wetting his entire face. Sweat dripped from his chin like rain from the eaves, and his whole body trembled violently.
Ruonan stood to the side, tightly covering her lips with her hand, trembling all over at the horrific scene. This was no ordinary injury; it was as if her entire left arm had been severed. The skin and muscles were torn open, revealing the pale periosteum. The bright red muscle contrasting with the pitiful white bone made Ruonan's stomach churn and she felt like vomiting.
At that moment, she was so surprised that she forgot a detail: the wound had not bled any more, only residual blood remained on her sleeve and the surface of the wound.
After carefully stitching the wound, Lin Yao applied anti-inflammatory and analgesic medication and received an antibiotic injection. He had already sensed Ruonan's presence during the stitching process, which was why he concealed the antibiotic injection; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed it now that he had Xiaocao.
After finishing everything, Lin Yao pretended not to have noticed Ruonan's presence and slowly packed his things. Ruonan finally couldn't hold back her vomiting and secretly slipped out of the room.
Back in the air-conditioned room, Lin Yao gave Long Yihun a large dose of antibiotics, completing the treatment. No one was in the mood for conversation; the events of the evening weighed heavily on their minds, making them even more exhausted. Lin Yao arranged for the two women to rest in bed, while Long Yihun and he each had a sofa.
Not long after lying down, Xiaolian began to sob. With tears streaming down her face, she said, "Tonight is all because of me. I'm so sorry for making you all suffer."
Long Yihun said boldly, "Xiao Lian, don't feel guilty. We're fine. It's just a minor injury. It'll be nothing to worry about. You'll be back to your old self in a few days."
Ruonan glanced at Long Yihun without speaking, thinking to herself, "Of course your injuries are minor, just superficial wounds that don't bother you, and you almost fainted from the pain. But Lin Yao's injuries are serious; he almost became crippled."
Suddenly she realized that Lin Yao was a very reserved person. He didn't want anyone to know that he was so badly injured, nor did he try to act like a savior in front of her. This made her think more highly of Lin Yao's character.
Xiaolian was still crying. When her crying annoyed Lin Yao, she said, "Actually, I'm not a bad girl. I just indulged myself because I was in pain. I'm sorry."
"I'm dying." Xiao Lian's words startled Long Yihun so much that he immediately rolled off the sofa, wincing in pain. Lin Yao remained motionless, busy directing Xiao Cao to help him reconnect the damaged tendons and nerves with the medicinal energy. Fortunately, the knife had slashed the outside of his arm; otherwise, he might have been crippled.
"I had resigned myself to my fate and was prepared to live out my remaining days peacefully, but this time my family is using me as a bargaining chip, forcing me to marry a person of terrible character. I won't do it, I'd rather die than do it!" Xiaolian spoke with great sorrow, her tragic story and grief-stricken tone bringing tears to the eyes of those who heard it. Long Yihun looked on with pity, while Lin Yao listened indifferently, busy dealing with his own health issues.
"I originally wanted to escape with Ruonan to fulfill some wishes, to see the things I've always wanted to see, and then go somewhere where no one could find me to live and die. But I didn't expect to drag you all into this. It was all my willfulness. At that time, I even thought about simply giving myself to a real thug and then going to get back at the bad man my family arranged for me, to take revenge on them. Actually, I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to die."
Xiaolian continued to cry and recount her grievances. Knowing what was going on, Ruonan gently stroked Xiaolian's back to comfort her.
"Are there really so few beautiful things? I've always wanted to see Paoma Mountain, which is described in the famous 'Kangding Love Song,' but when I got there, all I saw was a lawn the size of a basketball court where you could ride horses. The rest of the place was just an ordinary hill with a temple built on it. The pandas, on the other hand, were really well-behaved and cute. And how could those hooligans be so mean on our first meeting with complete strangers?"
Xiao Lian's thoughts were a bit chaotic, and she talked about whatever came to mind, making it difficult for Long Yihun and the others to listen.
Lin Yao thought for a moment, knowing that Xiao Lian still hadn't resolved her inner conflict, and that such a thing could still happen, causing Long Yihun even more pain. So he said, "Actually, beautiful things reside in the human heart. Does it matter how big or small Paoma Mountain is? Is it serious if it's not beautiful? As long as you understand its value and meaning, even a hill the size of a room can become a symbol of love and a happy life. We don't know about your situation, but if you're willing to talk about it, I'd love to know. After all, Long Yihun and I are both medical students, and I can tell you that our skills are actually quite good."
Lin Yao couldn't fathom the extent of Long Yihun's love at first sight. Even if he could help Xiaolian escape her fate, he could only decide whether to help based on the situation. His secret was too grave to be known by anyone. To recklessly take such a huge risk for someone he'd only met was unwise; only a fool would do that.
Upon hearing Lin Yao's words, Xiao Lian stopped crying in surprise. Were these two young men really that amazing? She looked at Ruonan, seeking her opinion with her eyes.
Ruonan nodded to Xiaolian. At this moment, she had a great deal of respect for Lin Yao. In her opinion, someone who could endure the excruciating pain to perform surgery on her must be quite accomplished in medicine. Although he was too young, she could not rule out the possibility that he had real skills. Besides, Xiaolian's illness was not a particularly secret matter.
"Hehe, Lin Yao is the good one. I just laze around at school and my skills are terrible." Long Yihun turned into a good boy in front of the girl he liked, and had never been so honest before.
Xiaolian ignored Long Yihun's words. She was in no mood to laugh. "Our family has a hereditary disease with a very low incidence rate. But once a descendant shows a dominant inheritance pattern, they cannot live past the age of twenty-two. I happen to have a dominant inheritance pattern. I am already twenty-one years old this year, and I only have less than a year to live. But my family still wants to use me as a bargaining chip to arrange a marriage with another family. I know that they no longer care about my life or death. Apart from my mother, no one in my family really cares about me. Even my older brothers and sisters who say they care about me are the same. I know that I have been abandoned by them since I was a child."
Lin Yao thought to himself, "Oh, I see." Then he decided he should continue to comfort Xiao Lian, "There have been great breakthroughs in the treatment of genetic diseases in the world. Through some gene modification methods, many genetic diseases can be controlled, and even for individual patients, they can be guaranteed to live a healthy life until they die of natural old age. You can try to seek help from these institutions."
At this moment, Long Yihun felt a pang of resentment towards himself for not studying hard enough and for relying on cheating on exams. This made him unable to offer any opinion on the illness of the girl he admired. He admired his brother greatly and decided to learn more from him in the future.
“It’s no use.” Xiaolian shook her head. “My family will not allow such an institution to treat my illness. They would rather I just die. I have consulted with them. This treatment method requires the cooperation of as many family members as possible for the research to proceed smoothly. At least the cooperation of my father, mother, grandparents, and siblings, as well as anyone related by blood, is needed. The more people there are, the easier it is for the research to make a breakthrough. They will not agree. No one will cooperate except my mother.”
"Has this disease in your family been discovered a long time ago? Also, do you have any special medication to suppress this disease? Or after you got sick, did your family give you any medication?" Lin Yao continued to ask. Although he hadn't decided to help Xiao Lian yet, it was good to know more beforehand so that he wouldn't be too late to help Xiao Lian if Long Yihun made a decision later.
"I don't know exactly how long it has been, but it's said that this kind of thing was discovered hundreds of years ago. There are also medicines available. When we were young, everyone would be tested using an ancient method to see if they had this disease. Then, some medicines would be given to those who had the disease to try to delay the onset of the disease and reduce the pain." Xiaolian's expression was indifferent. She had resigned herself to her fate for more than ten years, and she spoke of this as if she were describing something that had happened to someone else.
Lin Yao said nothing more. He wouldn't make promises lightly. Although Xiao Lian was pitiful, there were far too many pitiful people; he couldn't give his love to everyone. Besides, if he pitied Xiao Lian, it was very likely that he himself would become pitiful. What if he ended up on the dissection table? Who would pity his parents then?
After the topic of hereditary diseases was put to rest, Long Yihun was finally able to join the conversation. He comforted Xiaolian repeatedly, vowing to protect her and trying his best to help her evade the family's pursuit. Lin Yao didn't know what the final result or decision was, because he was too exhausted and had already fallen into a deep sleep.
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Chapter Ten: Kobayashi's Flying Needles
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The next day, Xiao Li, with dark circles under her eyes, and Long Yihun announced their decision: they would go to Long Yihun's home in Aba Prefecture for refuge. Ya'an was originally a suitable place to take refuge, because Lin Yao was there, but after getting involved with some thugs, it was no longer a suitable place to stay.
Ruonan immediately supported their decision. In her opinion, her best friend only had less than a year left, so it was better to let her spend the rest of her life happily. She could tell that Long Yihun liked Xiaolian very much. Being with someone who liked her, even if Xiaolian didn't love Long Yihun, was better than going home and being forced to spend the rest of her life with that detestable man.
Lin Yao remained noncommittal, only saying that he hoped to obtain the medicine Xiao Lian usually took for research. He also instructed Long Yihun on a few things, which he required to keep from Xiao Lian, otherwise he would not help him in the future and might even sever their brotherly relationship.
Lin Yao hadn't decided to help Xiao Lian yet; he was just making preparations. He wanted to see Long Yihun's attitude. If he really fell in love, he would figure out a way to help her later. After all, Long Yihun had too many bad deeds in the past, and he didn't want to take such a huge risk to help a woman who might only have a three-day interest in him.
After everyone made their decisions, Ruonan immediately disguised herself and returned to the hotel to retrieve her luggage, where Xiaolian's medicine was kept. Fortunately, disguising oneself in winter is easy; she simply changed into a cotton coat, wore a thick hat, and wrapped a large scarf around her neck, making it impossible for anyone to tell who was inside, and no one suspected anything.
Ruonan, having retrieved her luggage, tearfully bid farewell to Xiaolian. She was returning home; after all, it was still the Lunar New Year period, and she couldn't always stay with Xiaolian. She admitted to being moved by Lin Yao; when he bravely stood in front of her, the feeling of being protected and cared for by a man made her feel sweet and happy, but that was all. Their circumstances were too different in many ways.
This rare man who moved her deeply was someone she couldn't have any thoughts about, not even a single idea. Her upbringing had instilled in her a calm, almost ruthless, approach to this matter.
Long Yihun also decided to return to Aba Prefecture with Xiaolian that day. His injuries were not serious, and he would feel at ease if he left Ya'an sooner. In addition, the New Year in Aba Prefecture is also very important. He came here specifically to visit Lin Yao, which Lin Yao was well aware of.