CH 23

Ye Fei’s secretary was very efficient, and sent him a screenshot of a neurological examination appointment at a high-end private hospital that very night. The test was scheduled three days later, as the muscle biopsy required local anesthesia and took a full day.

Ye Fei refused to tell anyone. Instead, he arranged the day’s events earlier, before driving to the hospital alone. 

It was a gloomy day, with typhoon warnings on the radio warning the general public to pay attention and advising people not to go out. Ye Fei heard the warning but took no heed, instead taking advantage of the red light to look at his WeChat. His fingers appeared to have their own mind, and tapped into Yan Xiao’s chat dialog unconsciously.

There was not much communication between him and Yan Xiao. Usually, he would make a direct phone call when he had something on. If he scrolled hard enough, he could see the warning of baldness that Yan Xiao sent him.

Ye Fei had been angry at the time, but he now found it funny. Again, his fingers started to tap at his phone, and sent a sticker of a great white goose sashaying its backside as it walked forward. This was obtained from Gu Ruijia.

Once sent, the traffic light turned green, causing Ye Fei to put down his phone and continue to drive. When he arrived at the hospital, Yan Xiao had sent a flurry of messages. Ye Fei clicked into the dialog again, and read the messages one by one. 

Yan Xiao probably did not understand what he meant, and sent him a question mark at first. Then, he questioned what Ye Fei had meant, calling his name. After a few minutes, Yan Xiao assumed that he was currently busy due to the lack of a response, and re-sent the sticker.

He proceeded to forward the sticker back to Ye Fei at three minute intervals, as regular as a clock. Ye Fei wanted to explain to him that he was just playing around because he was bored. But when he stepped into the hospital and saw the doctors in the white coat walking back and forth along the corridor, his heart had started to beat an alarm, panic reigning in his chest.

The nurse at the front desk warmly greeted him and checked the appointment information. Ye Fei still had the same smile as usual on his face, as though nothing strange was occurring. Yet his fingers tightened around his phone.

The phone buzzed and Ye Fei instinctively lowered his eyes. His unfocused gaze fell on the lit screen, and after a few seconds of wandering, he could see that it was Yan Xiao’s message.

He opened it, and a series of big white geese were lined up neatly from top to bottom, swaying as it walked forward, inexplicably causing him to feel a sense of liveliness and optimism. As if returning from hell, his body felt instantly warmed up. Ye Fei leaned against the front desk, sent Yan Xiao a similar goose sticker, and immediately received Yan Xiao’s reply. His eyes were lit up with yet another comical goose. Yan Xiao must have thought that Ye Fei wanted an exchange of geese, and continued to send it repeatedly.

So, as Ye Fei was lying on the hospital bed, his arm cut open by the doctor to take out a sample, his phone would vibrate from time to time, as though it was both accompanying and supporting him. He did not need to make small talk, nor did he need to make excuses. With just a simple emoji, Yan Xiao made his presence known.

The results would only be published in three days, and sent directly to Ye Fei’s mailbox. If he needed, the hospital could also send him a paper version of the report.

Ye Fei refused the physical copy, thanked the staff, and drove home. 

It was three long days of waiting. Though it was typically a short span of time, it was as though time had stretched infinitely, with no end in sight. Ye Fei had to pretend that there was nothing unusual on his face; yet he was torn with anxiety and fear.

Even so, Gu Ruijia was able to get a hint due to spending every day with him.

“Why do you feel like you’ve lost your soul?” Gu Ruijia sat on Ye Fei’s table with a cigarette in his mouth and looked at him carefully, “What happened?”

“Pa’r olcf.” Cr Xe Eelplj rwbxfv, Tf Mfl’r mgjnlcu tla tlw jcv tf klatvgfk jcbatfg mlujgfaaf ogbw tlr qbmxfa. 

Vfflcu atlr, Xe Eelplj kjcafv ab mbwf bnfg jcv rtjgf j mlujgfaaf oijwf klat tlw, yea Tf Mfl vbvufv tlw. Xe Eelplj kjr raeccfv. “Qts?”

Tf Mfl uijcmfv ja tlw jcv abbx bea j ilutafg ogbw tfg qbmxfa. “Glv sbe ygert sbeg affat atlr wbgclcu?”

“F*ck,” Gu Ruijia was so angry that he yelled like a shrew from the film and television circle, “Areyou even a person?!”

Ye Fei curled his lips into a smile, and lazily blew a smoke ring at him. Gu Ruijia glared at him and wanted to say something when Ye Fei’s computer suddenly dinged. The next second, he saw Ye Fei’s complexion suddenly change. 

“Who is it from?” Gu Ruijia poked his head, but Ye Fei forced it away.

“I have something to deal with.”

After being friends for so many years, it was the first time that Gu Ruijia saw Ye Fei show such an expression, and he knew now was not the time to make jokes. Although he was still curious, he did not persist in bothering Ye Fei.

After Gu Ruijia left, Ye Fei sat upright and stared at the computer screen for a long time before moving the mouse and slowly opening the unread email. 

Ignoring the polite remarks above, Ye Fei’s eyes were fixed on the attached PDF document.

A file the size of hundreds of megabytes carried his fate.

Ye Fei’s heart beat fast, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. His fingers went up and down; after five minutes, he gritted his teeth and opened the document. A long line of numbers appeared on the screen.

Every single reading was within normal range. 

Ye Fei collapsed into his chair, overwhelming despair engulfed him. Heaven had let him down again. If nothing could be detected, it meant that it was impossible to receive treatment, and the fate of crippling weakness loomed in the future. To him, the disease would appear without a warning, and he was unable to prevent it from happening.

Ye Fei knew that the sword was hanging over his head, but he did not know when it would fall. He could only tremble in anticipation until the blade was revealed, sending him on just like the previous life. Ye Fei was unwilling to accept this. He tried to suppress the surging emotions in his heart, and picked up his phone. Due to the emotions that threatened to drown him, he aimlessly flipped through his address book several times before finding Ji Peng’s contact.

Ji Peng was Ye Fei’s friend, a doctor in a third-rate hospital, but the two did not communicate often.

No one picked up the first time. Ye Fei persevered, and called for a second time. This time he was finally connected. On the other side of the phone, Ji Peng was a little out of breath, as if he had just run over quickly. “Yo, rare guest, why did President Ye remember to call me?” 

“I have a friend…” Ji Peng laughed.

“Is this friend you are talking about yourself?” Ye Fei did not speak. Ji Peng coughed and touched his nose.

“You continue.”

“He was diagnosed with ALS recently. Do you think it is possible to cure it?” He paused and added, “My friend has a sufficiently wealthy background.” 

Ji Peng was a little surprised.

“Damn – which friend of yours is so unlucky?”

“You don’t know him.”

“Alright then,” Ji Peng became serious when it came to his specialty. “Don’t even think about a cure. The five-year mortality rate of ALS is 90%. Generally, for serious diseases such as cancer, we all talk about the five-year survival rate, but we use the mortality rate when talking about ALS. Just think about it. If you have money, you will definitely be able to prolong the lifespan, but you will suffer.” 

“I see.” It took a while for Ye Fei to find his voice.

If it was Gu Ruijia, he would immediately realize that something was wrong, but Ji Peng was not close to him. He would have been unable to hear the difference.

“Well,” Ji Peng turned on the speakerphone and went to the water dispenser to get the hot water. He feared that Ye Fei would not be able to hear him, so he subconsciously raised his volume, “Anyway, that friend of yours, sigh… Let his family treat him well…”

Ye Fei did not know what else Ji Peng had said. His mind remained in a blank state, until Ji Peng called him several times in a row. It was only then did he come back to his senses. 

“Ji Peng,” Ye Fei shut his eyes. “I’ll hang up first, my friend is eagerly waiting for the answer.”

“Ah? That’s good.”

When the call ended, Ye Fei put down his phone. It was getting harder for him to breath; his chest was a mixture of  burning fire and weighed down stone. His heart and hopes were being burned to ashes, and even so, there was nothing left.

That day, Ye Fei got off work early and started packing as soon as he got home. He was in no mood to pack too many things, so he took two or three sets of clothes, a small bag of daily necessities, and Yan Xiao’s special Jiangcheng specialty: a box of lighters. It was stuffed into a 24-inch suitcase. 

He sat for a while, before calling Sun Qiong. “Please rent the house for me. The one we talked about the other day.”

On the other side of the phone, Sun Qiong was taken aback: “I thought you didn’t want it?”

Ye Fei had asked him to help find a house with a better environment, not too big, just fifty to sixty square meters. Sun Qiong had found it for him, but Ye Fei later said he did not want it. Why had he changed his mind?

Ye – Careless – Fei replied, “Isn’t this because a man’s true intention is always hidden?” 

“Pull the other leg! Then, you’re renting for real?”

Ye Fei gave a “hmm” and asked him again, “When will I be able to move in?”

Sun Qiong was not Zhou Zhensheng. He had an attentive personality, and did not ask any further questions upon hearing Ye Fei’s words. “If you want, you can come and move tomorrow.”

Ye Fei thanked him and chatted with him for a few more words before hanging up. 

The next morning, Ye Fei woke up early and had breakfast with Yan Xiao. Usually, as he went to work an hour later than Yan Xiao, they would never see each other.

Ye Fei sat down beside Yan Xiao and greeted him with a smile, “Morning, President Yan.”

Yan Xiao responded with a “Morning” and filled a bowl of pumpkin porridge before placing it in front of Ye Fei. Ye Fei spent most of his time staring at Yan Xiao, taking only a few bites. Yan Xiao had no expression on his face, but ate two more eggs today. For a person who ate carefully portioned meals, it was a sign of his happiness.

Yan Xiao wore a pure black Western suit, and ate his breakfast properly with etiquette. He sat upright, and hardly made a noise. He stared Ye Fei out of the corner of his eye, but presumed that Yan Xiao could not notice. 

Ye Fei had planned a long conversation, but as he met Yan Xiao’s eyes, words failed to reach his throat. Instead, it culminated in one single sentence. “Brother Yan, you must eat and sleep well in the future.”

Ye Fei had never said such homely and considerate words to him. Yan Xiao could not hide the happiness on his face, and smiled at Ye Fei before touching his hand lightly. “Okay. ”

This morning was too precious and rare for Yan Xiao, so for the first time he had the idea of ​​not going to work. He only wanted to stay with Ye Fei a moment longer, and that time would hold on.

But Ye Fei refused to allow it, so Yan Xiao had no choice but to retreat. Yan Xiao felt that it was a shame that he was going to work, for he felt like getting off work already. 

Yan Xiao needed to get out of the office earlier. He would also bring double skin milk for Ye Fei to drink.

Ye Fei stayed back, watching Yan Xiao’s figure walk off into the distance. Then, he pulled out the small suitcase he had packed earlier, and disappeared.