Became the Terminally Ill Supporting Male Lead's Rabbit Spirit

Chapter 41: 041

At that moment, a woman pushing a wheelchair with an ALS patient passed by them.

Both Su's Mother and Lu Zhe watched the pair until the woman wheeled the patient into the hospital room.

Lu Zhe's dark eyes turned cold, his thin lips losing their color as his entire body went numb.

The dream was over.

Su's Mother watched the silent young man, patiently waiting for his answer.

"Yes, I do."

Lu Zhe's cool voice was slightly hoarse, "I like Su Ci."

Su's Mother seemed unsurprised, as if she had expected this.

Lu Zhe's face turned pale, his expression increasingly rigid and cold. "But please don't worry, I won't have any further thoughts."

He knew better than anyone that his life would be short; he never dared to hope for anything. Now Su Ci's mother had actively sought him out, begging him to leave her daughter.

Someone like him, standing in the darkness, truly had no right to covet the Su family's little princess.

Hearing Lu Zhe's words, Su's Mother's face showed reluctance, but she bit her lip and continued: "Auntie knows you're a good child, but you and Ci Ci aren't suitable for each other. I shouldn't be saying these things to you, but Ci Ci likes you. Although she appears gentle and soft, she's actually quite proud and strong-willed. This is her first time liking someone, and if I forcefully intervene, she absolutely won't listen."

Su's Mother looked at Lu Zhe, "I've come to you hoping that you will be the one to reject her."

The gentlest people often inflict the deepest wounds.

Lu Zhe listened quietly, his dark eyes becoming hollow, his arm muscles twitching as he weakly agreed.

While Su's Mother felt relieved, she also felt increasingly grateful and guilty towards the young man. "The Su family will cover all medical expenses for the ALS treatment. You don't need to worry about that."

The treatment costs were very high, beyond what ordinary people could afford.

Lu Zhe's thin lips were dry, his throat parched as he spoke in his cool, deep voice, "I will pay it back."

"There's no need to pay it back. You've helped the Su family so much; this is our responsibility." Su's Mother had a gentle and kind nature. For her child's sake, she was hurting another child. She felt her actions were selfish and hated herself for it, but for her daughter, she was willing to be the villain.

Whether or not Lu Zhe was from the Lu family, she had no objections to his background, and she believed he was a child with excellent character. If Lu Zhe had been healthy, she definitely wouldn't have stopped her daughter from liking him.

But things weren't as she wished, and for her daughter's sake, she could only play the role of the villain.

Su's Mother took Lu Zhe to see several specialists in ALS treatment.

Lu Zhe underwent a series of neurological examinations, electromyography, special serum antibody tests, and other checks, but the results were the same as before.

Since learning that her daughter liked Lu Zhe, Su's Mother had researched ALS online.

She learned that ALS patients typically die within three years after onset, some within five years, and only a small number survive up to ten years. In extremely rare cases, patients might live for 30 years after onset.

This meant that Lu Zhe's life could likely end within three years.

This was why she couldn't continue letting her daughter like Lu Zhe.

One of the specialists, learning that Lu Zhe had been ill for nearly a year, was surprised.

Based on his experience with ALS patients, symptoms typically worsen after the first year. By this time, patients usually have difficulty speaking, slower speech rates, and unclear pronunciation. In more severe cases, patients' limbs begin to atrophy.

Yet this young man, ill for nearly a year, only showed early ALS symptoms. His speech was clear, his build was tall and strong, and his limbs showed no signs of atrophy.

"Are these the medications you're taking?" The specialist reviewed Lu Zhe's medical records. While these drugs were appropriate for the condition, other patients taking the same medications hadn't shown such good results, suggesting it wasn't just about the medication.

The specialists asked Lu Zhe, "Besides taking medication regularly, do you get acupuncture or massage therapy?"

Lu Zhe replied, "No, but I exercise every day."

During the examination, the specialist had noticed the young man's arm muscles were tight and firm, completely unlike what would be expected of someone with ALS after a year.

While exercise might have some alleviating effects, it shouldn't be this effective. If exercise alone could treat ALS, it wouldn't be one of the world's five major terminal illnesses.

The specialists hadn't expected the young man's condition to be so different from what they anticipated.

Finally, they needed to study how to maintain Lu Zhe's current condition, or at least slow down the disease's progression.

......

Su Ci only learned about Su's Mother taking Lu Zhe for examinations that evening.

Looking at the young man in the video call, she said, "If I had known Mom was taking you to the hospital for checks, I definitely would have gone with you."

Although she felt that even bringing in a group of authoritative experts wouldn't make much difference to Lu Zhe's condition, she had wanted to see him.

However, Su Ci realized she hadn't gotten any golden cotton candy for Lu Zhe in quite a while, and she wondered how his body was recovering.

Su Ci called out to Fugui, "How much golden cotton candy do we need to cure Lu Zhe's ALS?"

Fugui: [Master, Fugui doesn't know.]

Su Ci began to show her disapproval: "Why don't you know anything?"

Fugui's little voice sounded somewhat shy: [Fugui's age in system years is equivalent to a three-year-old human child. Fugui is still a child.]

It was still a child, so master shouldn't expect too much from it.

Su Ci's breath caught - no wonder this thing was both silly and greedy.

Fugui seemed to sense Su Ci's disapproval and quickly explained: [If master shares more cotton candy with Fugui, Fugui can level up and grow.]

Fugui no longer hoped that master would give it all the golden cotton candy; now it was happy just to get a tiny bit from what master gave to Lu Zhe.

Su Ci asked it: "What new functions will you get after leveling up?"

Fugui: [After leveling up, Fugui can see life values for up to one month ahead.]

Su Ci had heard this from Fugui before, but now she had no golden cotton candy to share with it.

Su Ci told Fugui to go back.

Looking at the young man on the screen, she asked, "Lu Zhe, how were your examination results?"

She felt the golden cotton candy must be very effective for Lu Zhe, otherwise Fugui wouldn't be so fixated on it.

Previously, she would notice Lu Zhe limping slightly when walking, but now that had stopped, and he no longer suddenly fell while walking either.

Lu Zhe's expression remained calm, "The results are the same as before." He should be grateful that his condition hadn't worsened.

He knew well that in the late stages of ALS, his limbs would become rigid, his body would waste away, just like the ALS patient he'd seen in the hospital today - bedridden, unable to eat, struggling to breathe, just waiting for death.

Lu Zhe had thought about it - when he became like that in the future, regardless of whether Su Ci would despise him or not, he would leave and go far away.

He didn't want Su Ci to become like that woman at the hospital, pushing her husband's wheelchair.

However, he had hoped for too much. Even now, he couldn't continue staying by her side.

"The same?" Su Ci blinked, lying down on her bed and adjusting to a comfortable position, her snow-white feet raised and swaying occasionally.

"It's okay, you'll live to be a hundred anyway." As long as she could get more golden cotton candy for him, his illness would be cured.

Lu Zhe gave a soft laugh. Living to a hundred, huh?

He didn't ask for a hundred years; he only wished for one year by her side, but even that had become an unreachable dream.

"What are you laughing at?" The young man's laugh was very light, but Su Ci heard it.

She loved seeing Lu Zhe when she pushed him to his limits and he lost control, and she loved seeing his dimples when he smiled.

In fact, she loved Lu Zhe in every way.

On the screen, the girl's dark eyes were sparkling, her fair and delicate face close to the camera, beautiful yet somehow adorable. Lu Zhe curved his lips into a smile for her.

Su Ci felt she was so weak - how could just one smile from Lu Zhe make her heart flutter like this?

But Su Ci was used to being shameless, and even with a blushing face, she teased him, "Lu Zhe, I want to lick the little dimple on your face, it must be sweet."

Lu Zhe looked at her deeply, withdrawing the smile from his eyes, "Last time, you asked me if I liked you."

Su Ci blinked, wondering if he was about to confess to her since he suddenly brought up such a topic.

Thinking this, Su Ci's eyes brightened, and her swaying bare foot stilled as she looked at Lu Zhe expectantly.

Under the light, Lu Zhe's pale white skin appeared almost ghastly, his face increasingly rigid and cold, "Su Ci, I don't like you."

The smile faded from Su Ci's lips, and she looked at Lu Zhe, saying fiercely, "You're terrible at telling jokes."

"It's not a joke," Lu Zhe lowered his eyelids, his features unbearably cold. "You're too delicate, which I don't like. You're always full of schemes, which I don't like. You enjoy playing tricks on people, which I also don't like."

Su Ci sat up on the bed, gripping her phone tightly, her dark eyes fixed intently on Lu Zhe's image on the screen. "You're lying. I'm so beautiful, and my personality is so kind, it's impossible for you not to like me."

Su Ci refused to believe she had actually been rejected. Whether before or after transmigrating into this novel, she had always been the one being pursued. Only with Lu Zhe had she fallen first, and now she was being rejected?

How was this possible?

Lu Zhe said softly, "Even your narcissism, I don't like."

Su Ci felt a tightness in her chest, as if it were stuffed with cotton, making her anxious and uncomfortable.

She felt like she could barely breathe, and angrily asked Lu Zhe, "Do you have a new bunny outside?"

The girl's words almost made Lu Zhe laugh. He looked up at her with deep eyes, "No!"

Su Ci's delicate eyebrows furrowed tightly. True, if Lu Zhe could ignore someone as stunningly beautiful as her, he wouldn't be interested in other women or bunnies.

Su Ci was always clever and quickly realized something. "Is it because of what my mother said to you today?"

Lu Zhe didn't respond.

"Did my mother tell you not to be with me?" Su Ci seemed to have found the reason. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her..."

"No," Lu Zhe interrupted her words. His dark eyes were dim and lightless. "It's that I don't like you. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Su Ci glared at Lu Zhe angrily, "Lu Zhe, I'm angry."

She abruptly ended the video call, not wanting to hear any more words that hurt her.

Looking at the screen that had exited the chat, Lu Zhe's face grew increasingly pale under the light.

Su Ci was furious. She threw her phone aside and lay on the bed, her chest feeling sour and bitter. She thought Lu Zhe was colder than stone - even stones could be warmed up, but Lu Zhe only grew colder the more you tried to warm him.

How could there be such an annoying person?

Ah, she was burning with anger!

Meanwhile, in Su's parents' room.

During Lu Zhe's examination today, Su's Mother had specifically arranged for someone to obtain a sample of Lu Zhe's hair.

Su's Father said to Su's Mother, "The DNA test results will be ready tomorrow morning."

"If Lu Zhe is indeed from the Lu family, it would be a good thing, considering all the hardships he's been through," Su's Mother felt both grateful and guilty towards Lu Zhe.

Su's Father nodded. Setting aside his dislike for Lu Chen, helping this young man find his family would be a way to repay Lu Zhe's life-saving grace to the Su family.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Su's Mother opened the door to find her daughter standing outside. "Ci Ci, what's wrong?"

"Mom, I need to talk to you about something," Su Ci said.

"What's this? You have secrets to discuss with your mother that your father can't hear?" Su's Father joked from inside the room.

"This is a secret between Mom and me." Su Ci pulled her mother out.

After closing the door, the hallway was quiet.

Su Ci directly said to her mother, "Mom, I told you before that I like Lu Zhe."

Su's Mother's heart tightened, knowing that Lu Zhe must have said something to her daughter.

Su Ci's fair face was serious, "But I never told you that if I lose Lu Zhe, I might never like anyone else again."

"Ci Ci!" Su's Mother looked at her daughter in shock.

"Since I was little, whatever I liked, you would have it sent to me." Whether before or after transmigrating into the book, she got whatever she wanted. For her, this was the first time she desperately wanted something - she wanted Lu Zhe.

"Mom, I like Lu Zhe, and I hope you won't stand in our way." Su Ci's dark eyes looked seriously at her mother. "Because you can't stop me."

"Ci Ci!" This time, Su's Mother was truly shocked by her daughter.

Just as she said, her daughter had always gotten whatever she wanted since childhood. This was the first time her daughter had so firmly told her that she wanted Lu Zhe.

"If you're worried about Lu Zhe's ALS, that's not a problem." Su Ci didn't know how to explain. "No matter what his condition is or how much time he has left, I want to be with him."

"But he will die," Su's Mother realized her daughter truly liked Lu Zhe; it wasn't just talk. "If he dies, what will you do?"

If Lu Zhe died and Ci Ci loved him this much, would she do something foolish because of him? This was what she had been worried about all along.

Su Ci protested, "He won't die, I can..."

The words caught in Su Ci's throat, and she felt powerless.

Hearing her daughter's naive words, Su's Mother stroked her head soothingly, "Ci Ci, Mom knows you like Lu Zhe, but Lu Zhe told me he doesn't like you."

She trusted Lu Zhe's character; if he promised to stay away from Ci Ci, he would keep his word.

Su's Mother's words felt like an invisible knife piercing Su Ci's chest. Su Ci remembered Lu Zhe's words during their video call, and she could no longer speak.

Su's Mother couldn't bear to see her daughter's dejected expression. She stroked her daughter's hair gently, saying softly, "Ci Ci, you'll meet someone you like even more in the future."

Su Ci muttered in protest, "No, I won't." After saying this, she left.

.......

The next day, after receiving the DNA test results, Su's Father went directly to the Lu Corporation.

Lu Chen sat in his office chair, lazily leaning against the backrest, his face full of displeasure. He sneered at Su's Father sitting on the sofa, "Early in the morning, what are you doing here? Looking to be scolded? I'm not in the mood to scold you today."

His wife had banished him to the study to sleep last night, so he wasn't in a good mood today.

Su's Father, being a father himself for many years, was much more mature than Lu Chen and wouldn't easily be provoked by him. "I can see that. You're sexually frustrated - did Wen Ya kick you out of the bedroom this time, or out of the house?"

Lu Chen was hit where it hurt. He glared at Su's Father, "If that's all you came to say, you can get lost."

"Wait," Su's Father took out an envelope, smiling, "I'm here to save you. Here, take a look at this, and don't be too grateful afterward."

"Are you calling a puppy?" Lu Chen raised his phoenix eyes, unwilling to deal with Su's Father.

Seeing this, Su's Father smiled, "Lu Chen, if you don't look at it, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow and finally stood up. "What is it? If you're playing games with me with a bunch of waste paper, you won't be leaving through this door today."

Su's Father remained unfazed, "Don't worry, after you see it, you'll definitely be grateful to me."

Lu Chen sneered and picked up the envelope from Su's Father with an indifferent expression.

He opened the envelope and took out the documents inside, immediately noticing the large characters on the document.

Instinctively, his hand holding the document tightened.

Lu Chen quickly read through to the last word, then asked Su's Father with a stern face, "What do you mean by this, forging documents to fool me?"

He and Su's Father had been rivals since childhood, often playing tricks on each other, and he absolutely believed this was another of Su's Father's schemes.

Su's Father sat calmly on the sofa, "Why don't you keep reading?"

Lu Chen glanced at him before continuing to flip through the pages. His gaze fell on a photograph at the back, and those familiar features nearly made his legs give out.

He glared fiercely at Su's Father, "You think finding someone who looks like me and forging a paternity test will make me believe this person is my son?"

Su's Father understood Lu Chen's personality, just as Lu Chen understood him. He smiled and said, "Lu Chen, if you don't believe me, you can check for yourself. If your son hadn't saved me and my wife during that fire, do you think I would bother helping you find your son?"

Su's Father stood up and patted Lu Chen's shoulder. "Fox, you'll know if this is your son just by taking one look."

Watching Su's Father leave the office, Lu Chen's almond-shaped eyes narrowed.

Meanwhile, Su Ci woke up feeling thirsty, her throat dry and scratchy.

She opened her eyes and tried to get up, but found herself with a headache and weak limbs.

The air conditioning in the room was so cold that she instinctively curled up under the covers and sneezed several times.

Hearing her own congested voice, Su Ci remembered that last night, angry and feverish, she had turned the air conditioning to its lowest temperature. Plus, she had washed her hair and fallen asleep without drying it properly, no wonder she caught a cold.

A cold?

Su Ci instinctively reached up to touch the top of her head.

Soft and fluffy.

Sure enough, her rabbit ears had popped out.

Oh no!

She was at home with so many servants around. If they saw her rabbit ears that had appeared, what would she do?

Su Ci immediately made a video call to Lu Zhe.

He answered quickly.

"Lu Zhe, my rabbit ears came out," Su Ci said pitifully.

Before Su Ci could say more, Lu Zhe had already seen the white fluffy rabbit ears on top of the girl's head in the video. He frowned instinctively, "Are you sick?"

"Mm-hmm, I caught a cold because you made me angry." Su Ci boldly blamed the young man.

Lu Zhe asked her, "Have you taken any cold medicine?"

Su Ci shook her head, making her rabbit ears sway with the movement, looking so soft and cute that one would want to pinch them. "I don't have any cold medicine in my room."

Lu Zhe shifted his gaze away from the girl's rabbit ears, "Put on a hat and have someone buy you cold medicine."

Su Ci shook her head again, "That won't work. If Mom knows I'm sick, she'll definitely worry. She'll either send me to the hospital or have the family doctor come check on me."

Lu Zhe thought for a moment, "I'll buy medicine and bring it to you later."

"Where are you? I need to come to your place. I can't stay at home, there are too many people here, I could easily be exposed."

Lu Zhe was concerned about her cold and gave her his address.

After hanging up, Su Ci quickly got up to change clothes. After washing her face, she looked at herself in the mirror with the rabbit ears on top of her head. Though anxious, she couldn't help but admire herself for a few moments. Her already beautiful face topped with rabbit ears made her look like a little sprite.

Coming out of the bathroom, Su Ci put on a hat and went downstairs.

Su's Father and her older brother Su ZhiYuan had gone to the company, while Su's Mother had taken Little Tiancai and Little Su Ning out, leaving only a few servants at home.

Su Ci made sure the hat securely covered her rabbit ears and asked the driver to prepare the car to take her to Lu Zhe's place.

When the car reached the community entrance, she already saw the young man standing straight by the iron gate.

It was almost noon, with no shade around, yet Lu Zhe stood there waiting for her under the scorching sun.

Su Ci asked the driver to stop and got out of the car.

"Why didn't you wait in the shade?" Su Ci quickly walked up to Lu Zhe.

The girl's voice was notably congested, confirming she had a cold. Lu Zhe reached out to feel her forehead - her temperature was normal, no fever.

He withdrew his hand and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"

Su Ci shook her head; she had come straight to find him.

"Let's have some breakfast first, then take the cold medicine," Lu Zhe said as he led her into the community.

Su Ci nodded obediently.

This was her first time visiting Lu Zhe's newly rented house. Compared to the one in City D, she noticed this house was much larger and brighter. Though simple, it was clean and comfortable.

"Come have breakfast," Lu Zhe brought out freshly cooked porridge.

Su Ci removed her hat, and immediately her white, soft rabbit ears popped out, catching the cold-faced young man's attention for an extra moment.

Su Ci noticed this right away.

She remembered his words from yesterday about not liking her, and she hadn't gotten over her anger yet.

Su Ci stood by the sofa, not moving closer. She was wearing a white dress today that perfectly matched her white rabbit ears, making her look just like a rabbit spirit.

She glanced at Lu Zhe and deliberately said, "I don't have an appetite, I don't want to eat."

Lu Zhe: "You need to eat something before taking medicine."

"I was already full from being angry with you last night," Su Ci looked at him with reproachful eyes, "I haven't digested that yet."

Lu Zhe lowered his gaze and said in a deep voice, "Eat breakfast first, then take the medicine, and your ears will go back to normal."

Su Ci wasn't concerned about her ears anymore.

She walked up to Lu Zhe and stared at him directly, "You made me want to cry." The next second, her eyes turned red.

Crying at home wouldn't work; if she was going to cry, it had to be in front of Lu Zhe.

Seeing the young man's suddenly panicked expression, Su Ci knew her crying skills hadn't deteriorated at all.