HTI: Chapter 158

On the third day after the operation, Qiu Xing was finally able to stay awake for a long time. Xie Yang was disinfected and went in to talk to Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing had been looking at him since Xie Yang entered through the door. The first words spoken were, “You’re thin.”

Xie Yang smiled, sat by the bed and gently squeezed Qiu Xing’s hand. “You are obviously the one who is thin.”

It was a bit laborious for Qiu Xing to talk. His voice was low but his words were very clear. “Dr Kirkman said you have only been sleeping for a bit every morning. You can’t do this.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

Qiu Xing frowned. His fingers moved and he squeezed Xie Yang a bit harder. “Liar.”

Xie Yang deliberately frowned. “It hurts.”

Qiu Xing relaxed his strength as he kept holding Xie Yang’s hand, but his mouth said, “How can it hurt? I clearly didn’t use force.”

“Yes, it doesn’t hurt.” Xie Yang leaned close to Qiu Xing, hugged this person and laid his head on Qiu Xing’s chest. He listened to Qiu Xing’s heartbeat while talking. “Dr Kirkman says you are recovering well but for insurance, he suggested that I let you stay in the intensive care unit for two more days. I agreed. Will you be impatient lying down and blame me?”

Qiu Xing raised a hand and lightly pressed it against the back of Xie Yang’s head. “What nonsense.”

Xie Yang’s voice was soft. “Ah Xing, get well soon. I can’t sleep without you.”

“……”

Qiu Xing clenched his fingers before once again touching Xie Yang’s head. His voice was lower and gentler. “I will be out soon.”

30 minutes later, Xie Yang left the ICU at Dr Kirkman’s urging. Qiu Xing frowned deeply and glared at Dr Kirkman. “I’m still awake.”

“However, you have to take medicine. You will fall asleep soon after the medicine takes effect.” Dr Kirkman’s voice was filled with helplessness and amusement. “I’m happy you are so energetic but in order for you to be more energetic in the future, I can only split you up for the time being.”

Qiu Xing was so angry that he refused to look at Dr Kirkman. Instead, he turned and stared at the observation window. Xie Yang soon appeared there and waved at Qiu Xing from outside. Qiu Xing stopped frowning but his voice was a bit cold. “What’s going on outside?”

“Mr Qiu, I really don’t recommend that you worry about outside things. You need rest to focus on your recovery.”

“Yang Yang’s appearance is getting worse every day.”

Dr Kirkman glanced at Xie Yang outside and compromised. “Okay, I can tell you a little bit. Xie Yang is blocking the place where you are staying and no one is allowed in the building. Many people have come to make trouble and some bad news is spreading online. It can be seen that he is under a lot of pressure.”

Qiu Xing made a fist before relaxing his hands again out of fear Xie Yang would see. He retracted his gaze and closed his eyes. “Dr Kirkman, I want to get out as soon as possible.”

“You should worry less. I promise you will get out of here soon. You will be able to get out of bed and eat and wash by yourself… Mr Qiu, you are very close to complete health. Don’t worry.”

How could he not be in a hurry? His Yang Yang was having such a hard time.

***

Xie Yang turned on his phone again and called He Jun to say he still wouldn’t go to the company for the next two days.

He Jun told him, “Little boss, Deputy Director Qiu has contacted the directors and shareholders of the foreign branch. He is preparing to convene the shareholders meeting and the board of directors.”

He finally couldn’t help it.

Xie Yang answered, “Let him go and keep watching.”

“Little boss, you could become the acting chairman because of the boss’ support. Now the boss can’t come out to help you. If the shareholders and directors ask to remove your position then you—”

“Let them take it away. This chairman’s position should be returned to Ah Xing.”

He Jun paused and then his voice was filled with suppressed excitement and a bit of careful joy. “Little boss, d-do you mean? The boss has…”

“Yes, he’s getting better”, Xie Yang replied while glancing in the direction of the intensive care unit.

On the surface, all parties were quiet but the exchange of interests and power changes in the dark had become more frequent. On the Internet, news that Qiu Xing was dying and that Xie Yang was losing his mind due to love spread all over the Internet. There were even live media reports that Xie Yang hadn’t left the hospital for a few days.

The Xie fans were worried and countless fans flocked to Qiu Xing’s Weibo to pray for Qiu Xing. It seemed to be a recognized thing that Qiu Xing was on the verge of dying, even if Xie Yang repeatedly guaranteed that he was fine.

On the fifth day after the surgery, Qiu Xing moved out of the ICU and returned to the general ward. That evening, Xie Yang received the notice of the shareholders meeting from Qiu Jingwei.

“You can continue to not show up but it will be at your own risk.”

Qiu Xing stared with anger in his eyes when the call was hung up. Xie Yang let go of the hand covering Qiu Xing’s mouth and bent over to kiss him. “Too much emotional fluctuations isn’t good for recovery.”

Qiu Xing closed his eyes and took a deep breath after hearing this. He barely calmed down before asking, “When does the shareholders meeting start?”

“Next Monday.”

Qiu Xing looked at the calendar on the bedside table.

Xie Yang told him, “It is on Christmas Day.”

Christmas.

Qiu Xing paused before staring at Xie Yang.

Xie Yang smiled and raised his eyebrow. “Do you remember? Our date is coming.”

He bent down and undid Qiu Xing’s clothes, carefully wiping Qiu Xing’s body with a wet towel. He couldn’t bear it when wiping the neck and kissed Qiu Xing again. “Thank you for giving me the best Christmas gift.”

Qiu Xing held Xie Yang’s hand and rubbed it lightly. “Obviously, it is you who gave me the best Christmas gift.”

“I remember that I only give you a messy Rongding.” Xie Yang shook off Qiu Xing’s hand and gently patted his chest. “Don’t make trouble. I will wipe it quickly and then you go to rest. Dr Kirkman said you need to sleep more.”

Qiu Xing obediently let go of his hand. “You obviously gave me Rongding with all the problems that have surfaced. Yang Yang, thank you very much.”

Xie Yang saw Qiu Xing’s serious and solemn eyes and his smile deepened. “Get better soon if you want to thank me.”

As he packed up, Qiu Xing still refused to sleep.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?”

Qiu Xing pulled at Xie Yang’s hand. “Sleep together.”

Xie Yang turned his head and kissed Qiu Xing’s palm. “Okay.”

Xie Yang went to wash and then lay down beside Qiu Xing. He was afraid of rubbing against Qiu Xing’s wound so he slept a bit lower, just enough so he could bury his face into Qiu Xing’s chest. Qiu Xing immediately hugged Xie Yang, breathing in a contended manner. “Good night.”

Xie Yang looked up at Qiu Xing before placing his head on Qiu Xing’s chest. “Good night.”

There were only two dark energy groups remaining in the ability core. Xie Yang closed his eyes and habitually picked at one to absorb. Qiu Xing’s physical recovery still needed the assistance of his ability. Xie Yang wasn’t ready to relax before Qiu Xing could get out of bed.

The moment his ability started absorbing one of the remaining two dark energy groups, a strange piercing sound burst out. All types of chaotic information rushed in and it felt more difficult than when he absorbed the other fragments. Xie Yang was so dizzy that he almost passed out.

Xie Yang quickly withdrew his ability and opened his eyes instinctively.

“What’s the matter?”

Xie Yang’s mind returned. He saw Qiu Xing who was concerned about him and shook his head. He hugged Qiu Xing tighter and closed his eyes again. He once again tried to absorb the dark energy group and a strong sense of dizziness appeared along with countless pieces of information. He quickly withdrew the ability again.

It wasn’t an illusion. This piece was really harder to absorb and it didn’t spit out anything about Mu Zhouyi. Was this the core data of the system? Xie Yang was excited. He temporarily sealed off this fragment that was slightly larger than the other one. Then he started absorbing the other fragment.

His dreams this night were messy.

The next day, Xie Yang woke up first. He first checked Qiu Xing’s physical condition with his ability and got out of bed once he was sure there were no problems.

During the washing up, Xie Yang sorted out all the memories of Mu Zhouyi that he received through the fragments during this period. He found that he could basically piece together everything that Mu Zhouyi had done after getting the system. It could only be said that the original novel had beautified Mu Zhouyi too much. From being bound to the system to encountering Feng Qinglin, Mu Zhouyi actually did many awful things.

After lunch that day, Dr Kirkman came in to check on Qiu Xing’s recovery. The examination ended and Qiu Xing asked, “Can I be discharged before Christmas?”

Xie Yang watched Qiu Xing.

Dr Kirkman calculated the time and replied, “Yes, next Monday will be the tenth day after your surgery. According to your current recovery situation, you can be discharged from the hospital as long as you don’t exercise vigorously and don’t make yourself tired… in short, try to rest and receive the check ups patiently. I’m not asking you to do this for three to six months like other patients but you still need one or two months.”

“I understand, thank you.”

Dr Kirkman left and Xie Yang waved his hand in front of Qiu Xing. Qiu Xing looked at Xie Yang and held his hand. “After the shareholders meeting, shall we go on a date?”

Xie Yang stared at Qiu Xing for a long time before nodding with a smile. “Yes.”

***

At Qiu Xing’s request, Xie Yang still didn’t go to Rongding until the shareholders meeting.

There were all types of reports outside and people had basically determined that Qiu Xing was going to die soon. Their actions slowly became arrogant.

For example, Liu Jiang actually took some of the Rongding stocks that Mother Qiu gave him a few years ago and joined with Qiu Jingbang’s son, Qiu De. He occupied a seat in the shareholders meeting to help Qiu De and Qiu Jingwei fight.

In order to fight for the right to speak, Qiu De actually sold several projects of the Rongding branch companies to the families of several shareholders. This seemed to be related to Feng Chuang who was being investigated.

On the day of the shareholders meeting, Qiu Xing took off the hospital clothes and put on a shirt and suit. Xie Yang helped Qiu Xing with the tie, looked at the scar left on Qiu Xing’s head after the surgery and reached out to touch it.

Qiu Xing lowered his head to help Xie Yang and asked, “Is it ugly?”

“It isn’t ugly. The cut is neat and you look like a gangster boss. In addition, Dr Kirkman said your hair will start to grow again soon and the scar will be covered by your hair.” Xie Yang retracted his hand and touched his face. “It’s me. Am I ugly lately?”

Qiu Xing touched the face that was completely thin and lacking fat. He raised his eyebrow and leaned toward Xie Yang. “You aren’t ugly. You look the best.”

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Bonus ko-fi chapter

Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten