Pastoral Daily Life

Chapter 5

Lu Lingxi’s ward was on the third floor of the inpatient department. He remembered that there were a few pots of large-leaved golden pothos placed at the entrance of the lobby on the ground floor of the inpatient department. He had seen them when he was pushed by the nurse to the ground floor for a CT scan last time.

Thinking of those pots, Lu Lingxi quickly straightened his hospital gown and changed his shoes with the intention of going to have a look.

“Xiao Lu, where are you going?” The person who asked was Sister Tian, the wife of the patient in Bed 19, Brother Li.

During the past few days of Lu Lingxi’s hospitalisation, although the people in the ward had a bad opinion of Wang Shuxiu, they could not find anything wrong with Lu Lingxi. The child was good-looking and polite, and was very pleasant to be around. In particular, although Lu Lingxi was alone and had no one to take care of him, he rarely bothered anyone else, even the nurses, and did everything he could alone. The people around felt that he was so sensible that it was heartbreaking, and everyone was usually willing to give him a hand with anything.

Sister Tian had just fed Brother Li and turned her head to see that Lu Lingxi was going out, so she asked casually.

“Going downstairs to buy some things.” Lu Lingxi explained.

“Can you do it alone? Do you want me to accompany you?” Sister Tian felt a bit uneasy.

Lu Lingxi smiled shyly, “It’s okay, I’ll be fine alone.”

After Lu Lingxi left, the few people in the ward sighed; this child was really quite pitiful. He had been in hospital for so many days but they had not seen any other relatives apart from Wang Shuxiu. The child also had a father, but it was better to have no father at all than a father like that, who neither contributed money nor effort, and seemed to have a bad relationship with Wang Shuxiu and his son. In the beginning, they were a bit uncomfortable with Wang Shuxiu, especially the female family members, who felt that Wang Shuxiu was immodest. But after spending more time together, they found out that Wang Shuxiu only dressed a little extravagantly and was not really what they thought she was. In particular, although Wang Shuxiu was rude and often quarrelled with the doctors and nurses, she was still very attentive to Lu Lingxi. Considering that it was not easy for a woman to support the family, everyone was not as critical of Wang Shuxiu as they had been at the beginning.

Lu Lingxi didn’t know about all the gossip behind the scenes; he was actually a bit bad at getting along with people around him. His social life used to be too monotonous in the past and he didn’t really see many outsiders apart from his parents, family members and doctors. A small environment like a multi-person ward was something he had never experienced before. He could feel the kindness of the people around him, but he did not know how to respond and how to measure his response.

Lu Lingxi did not use the elevator but took the stairs to the ground floor. He also felt that his body was recovering well and was usually willing to move more whenever he had the chance. After buying something from the kiosk on the ground floor, he pretended to be curious and stood in front of the potted plant at the entrance, reaching out quickly to touch the green leaf in front of him while no one was around. Soon the white panel appeared.

Plant name: Golden pothos

Plant needs: None

Plant viability: High

Lu Lingxi’s eyes lit up. Just as he had expected, the white panel was not just able to show the chlorophytum, but other plants as well. The pot of golden pothos in front of him was obviously well looked after, and although he hadn’t obtained a plant heart, Lu Lingxi was still in a good mood. He walked around the hall on the ground floor, intending to look at all the golden pothos on the ground floor.

One pot, two pots, three pots… By the time Lu Lingxi got around to the west door, the record on the white panel changed.

Plant name: Golden pothos

Plant needs: Water

Plant viability: High

Lu Lingxi quickly unscrewed a bottle of water and carefully poured it into the pot. But unexpectedly, the plant needs on the panel did not change, still showing the need for water.

“Watering the flowers?” A familiar voice sounded behind him.

Lu Lingxi was startled, “Dr. Su.”

Behind Lu Lingxi, Su Lang stood in a simple T-shirt and jeans, looking at Lu Lingxi with a gentle expression. After taking off his hospital white coat, Su Lang looked a little less serious and a little more bright and cheerful as a young man should be.

Lu Lingxi nodded and Su Lang smiled as he stood behind him, looking at the plant and pointing out, “The soil is almost wet but the leaves also need some spraying.”

Lu Lingxi listened to his words and gently sprinkled some water on the leaves. The plant’s needs quickly changed. A strange expression flickered in his eyes and he subconsciously looked up at Su Lang.

“What’s wrong?”

Lu Lingxi smiled, “You know so much, Dr. Su.”

Su Lang saw his smile and couldn’t help but look slightly dazed. It was already the second time that he saw the shadow of that teenager in Lu Lingxi. Ever since that teenager had died of sudden haemorrhage during surgery, that incident had become Su Lang’s heart demon.

“Dr. Su?”

Su Lang quickly returned to his senses and smiled covertly, explaining, “I just know a little bit about it, I learnt it from my grandfather. He likes to raise flowers, plants and stuff since he’s retired and has nothing to do.”

Lu Lingxi had a very good impression of Grandpa Su and was concerned, “Is Grandpa Su feeling better?”

Su Lang nodded. The old man’s health was actually fine; it was more that because of a sudden incident his blood pressure was a bit high due to the stimulation, so he was okay after he recuperated.

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“That’s good. If there’s nothing else I’ll go back to the ward first, Dr. Su.” Lu Lingxi said politely. He and Su Lang used to be quite familiar with each other, but because of that he was a bit afraid of Su Lang, afraid that Su Lang would notice something. Although the idea of a soul transfer was a bit absurd, there was no guarantee that he would not resemble his past self too much and cause Su Lang’s suspicion.

Su Lang seemed to want to say something, but the phone rang just in time. Lu Lingxi turned around and with his peripheral sight saw Su Lang picking up the phone, so he went straight upstairs without pausing.

“Hello?” Su Lang hastily waved his hand to Lu Lingxi and picked up the phone.

“This is Ye Kang.” The person on the other side of the phone said in a deep voice.

Su Lang’s expression relaxed a bit, “Something happened?”

“Yan Yue has returned to China, let’s have a meal together.”

“Yan Yue has returned to China?” Su Lang was quite surprised by this news, then said regretfully, “There’s no chance for dinner. I resigned, now I’m not in Zhongjing but back in Fengcheng.”

“You resigned?” This time it was Ye Kang’s turn to be surprised, “Why? Weren’t you about to be promoted to deputy director soon?”

“Something came up at home.” Su Lang explained vaguely.

“Forget it then, Yan Yue will probably stay in the country for a bit longer this time, let’s talk about it when we have time.”

The two said a few more words and quickly hung up the phone.

Su Lang and Ye Kang had met when they were studying abroad. The two were students at the same medical school, one in clinical medicine and the other in psychology. As they were both from China, they met at a compatriot meeting and soon became friends. Through Ye Kang, Su Lang got to know Yan Yue. Yan Yue was a finance student at another university. He had been friends with Ye Kang since childhood and their families were close to each other. For several years, the three of them had a good relationship and would often have dinner together until Su Lang and Ye Kang returned to China while Yan Yue stayed abroad to take over the Yan family’s company.

Su Lang remembered that when he spoke to Ye Kang on the phone about Yan Yue some time ago, Ye Kang said that Yan Yue would not be returning to China anytime soon. But within a few days Yan Yue suddenly returned to China, and according to Ye Kang, he was going to stay here for a while. Although Su Lang had a good relationship with Yan Yue, probably because of Yan Yue’s personality, he had never known much about him. He had vaguely heard Ye Kang say that Yan Yue’s family was rather troublesome; could it be that something had happened to Yan Yue’s family? After thinking about it, Su Lang couldn’t come up with any clues, so he decided to call Yan Yue later to say hello.

Zhongjing Ye Family’s Psychological Clinic

Ye Kang hung up the phone and returned to his office. In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Yan Yue, dressed in a black suit, was standing looking out of the window. His well-cut suit outlined his strong and slender body, making him look even more upright.

Hearing the sound of the door closing, Yan Yue turned around, “What did Su Lang say?”

Ye Kang whistled at Yan Yue, “Hold this pose, I’ll take a picture and sell it to my cousin.”

It was nearly evening and the streetlights outside were turned on, the bright lights illuminating Yan Yue’s profile, handsome and dazzling. Among the three of them, Su Lang, Ye Kang and Yan Yue, Su Lang had the best personality, Ye Kang was the most narcissistic, and Yan Yue was the most handsome, a heroic kind of handsome.

Yan Yue did not take Ye Kang’s words seriously, pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down, repeating the question, “What did Su Lang say?”

Ye Kang spread his hands, “He resigned, he’s not in Zhongjing now, dinner is out of the question.”

“Resigned?” Yan Yue was as surprised as Ye Kang, “Didn’t you say he was going to be promoted soon?”

Ye Kang shook his head, “Maybe there’s something going on at home.”

The reason of something going on at home resonated with Yan Yue; his brow furrowed slightly and although it quickly smoothened, it was still noticed by Ye Kang. Ye Kang had heard Yan Yue talk about the reason why he had returned to China this time. What he was worried about was not Yan Yue’s inability to handle things at home, but the state of Yan Yue’s mind.

“Have you been in contact with Professor Susan recently?”

Professor Susan that Ye Kang spoke of was his teacher when he was studying and was quite knowledgeable in psychology. Yan Yue had always had serious psychological problems because of his family environment. It was just that Yan Yue refused to mention it and Yan Yue’s parents didn’t even know about it. Ye Kang actually had chosen to major in psychology that year because he was influenced by Yan Yue. He knew that Yan Yue was very reluctant to talk to strangers about his family and when he had to return to China a few years ago, he entrusted Yan Yue to Professor Susan, who knew both of them well.

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Ye Kang’s question made Yan Yue frown and say instead of answering, “Didn’t you cry that you were hungry? Let’s go eat.”

The more he avoided the topic, the more Ye Kang felt that Yan Yue’s problem was aggravated. But Yan Yue did not want to talk about it; a trace of worry flashed in Ye Kang’s eyes as he held back from asking again.

It was after nine o’clock when the two of them finished dinner. Ye Kang had his own house in downtown Zhongjing, so Yan Yue drove back to the Yan family mansion by himself. The Yan family mansion with a four-entry antique compound was located at the foot of the most prestigious Xiangshan Mountain in Zhongjing, covering a wide area. When Yan Yue’s grandfather built the mansion, he wanted the Yan family’s children and grandchildren to blossom and live together in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, until the old man’s death, the only owners of the Yan family’s mansion were Yan Yue’s parents and Yan Yue. Later on, Yan Yue’s parents abandoned the young Yan Yue and moved out of the mansion, leaving Yan Yue the only owner of the mansion.

When Yan Yue returned, there were only a few lights flickering in the house, and most of the mansion was shrouded in deep darkness. Compared to the brilliant lights and liveliness of the Ye family’s house not far away, the Yan family’s house looked like a ghost mansion.

Upon receiving the news of Yan Yue’s return, the Yan family’s housekeeper quickly welcomed him. “Shaoye (young master).”

Yan Yue nodded and walked past the housekeeper towards his courtyard.

The housekeeper took a few steps closer to follow behind Yan Yue, carefully peering at Yan Yue’s expression, asking awkwardly, “Second Miss, she…”

Yan Yue paused slightly and said without looking back, “What’s wrong with her?”

The housekeeper answered carefully, “Second Miss said she wanted to see you, Shaoye, saying that Madam has a message for you, and that if she can’t see you, she… she is going to die.”

Yan Yue’s expression remained unchanged as he lightly instructed, “Then let her die.”

The housekeeper wiped a cold sweat and looked at Yan Yue’s back with a bitter smile, not daring to say anything. As for the Second Miss, who did not justly deserve this name, the housekeeper shook his head and thought, “Madam let the things go on like this, now Shaoye really doesn’t have the slightest bit of mother-child affection with her.”