CH 3

Ji Ruan failed to fall asleep that night. He always thought that he accepted himself well with the current hearing impairment and often voluntarily took off his cochlear implant to enjoy the quiet. But when the quiet became involuntary, he became a little panicked. His right ear could hardly hear any sound without the cochlear implant, while his left ear could still hear some, but these sounds became abstract and fragmented at night, like ghosts whispering, disturbing his sleep. He used to sleep well even without the cochlear implant, so Ji Ruan didn't understand why he felt so uneasy when he couldn't find that small black external device. Perhaps for people with hearing impairments, any hearing aid device is no less addictive than a substance. Ji Ruan got up early the next day. When he was washing up, the person in the mirror had dark circles under his eyes, looking lifeless. After a night's sleep, he had bruises on his collarbone and ribs from being pounced on by a cat. They were sore and painful, and his back hurt too, but he couldn't see whether they were purple or just blue. Ji Ruan sighed inwardly. He didn't have many clothes, so he could only find a small round-neck T-shirt to wear, barely covering his collarbone. Perhaps due to his physique, any slight discomfort would show on his face, and he would look very unhealthy. For example, now, Ji Ruan knew he didn't have any big problems, but he looked like a desperate employee exploited by 996 work hours for a whole month. Ji Ruan stared at himself in the mirror for a while, then finally picked up a basin of hot water, wet a towel, and rubbed his face hard. At least he used the hot steam to make his cheeks look a little rosy. It seemed like someone came into the room, and Ji Ruan was afraid he wouldn't hear someone knocking on the door due to his hearing impairment. So today he left the door open, put down the towel, and walked out of the bathroom, bumping into Gu Xiuyi and his assistant Song Ling behind him. Gu Xiuyi was already dressed neatly, wearing a white shirt and a dark gray suit, looking clean and elegant. Ji Ruan's bangs were wet, and a few strands were sticking to his forehead. He casually pushed them aside and walked towards the two by the door, smiling slightly as a gesture of greeting. "Good morning." Assistant Song immediately responded with a polite smile, "Good morning, Mr. Ji." Gu Xiuyi didn't say anything, his gaze stayed on Ji Ruan's face for a moment, then moved to his hair. This kid had messy hair in the morning, and a few strands were wet and sticking to his forehead, making him look quite sloppy. Gu Xiuyi pursed his lips tightly, trying to endure for a moment, but couldn't help it in the end. He approached Ji Ruan and smoothed out his unruly hair. While straightening his hair, Gu Xiuyi said seriously, "Even if you're not feeling well, you should always maintain your best image in front of outsiders." He was so close that his words were transmitted clearly into Ji Ruan's left ear, although not entirely clear, at least it was audible. His tone was like a leader inspecting during an early meeting. Ji Ruan, who had never worked before, was at a loss for words, feeling absurd. But surprisingly, Gu Xiuyi's assistant, Song, agreed very much, nodding earnestly with a serious expression, making Ji Ruan suspect that if he had a notebook in his hand, he would immediately jot down and store Gu's classic quotes in a collection and recite them repeatedly. Did he lose his mind from being exploited? Ji Ruan didn't say anything more and went back to the bathroom to continue washing up and packing his things. After making sure his documents were in order, he went downstairs with Gu Xiuyi. The two walked side by side without talking. Ji Ruan hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "My cochlear implant..." Gu Xiuyi was walking on Ji Ruan's right side and was about to reply when he paused, took a step back to Ji Ruan's left ear, and said: "Let's go to the hospital now and get you a new external device." Ji Ruan didn't expect this answer and his eyes widened slightly: "What about getting our marriage certificate?" Gu Xiuyi took out his phone and scrolled through it, saying: "I asked the doctor, it won't take long to get a new device. We can still make it to the Civil Affairs Bureau after that." It was indeed inconvenient for them to communicate now. Ji Ruan could still hear some sounds, but texting on his phone was not ideal. However, Gu Xiuyi had to be very close to him to speak. Even though they only spoke a few sentences just now, Ji Ruan's ears were tickled by his breath. If he tilted his head slightly, he could even see the lines on Gu Xiuyi's lips very clearly. This wasn't the polite distance that should be kept in an arranged marriage. Ji Ruan silently agreed with Gu Xiuyi's decision and smiled in relief: "Thank you." Gu Xiuyi then raised his head from his phone and glanced at Ji Ruan. He was tall and close to Ji Ruan, and the corridor was dimly lit. The glow from his phone screen made his already smooth jawline even sharper and colder, giving him a distant and fierce look. Ji Ruan didn't understand his expression. Gu Xiuyi only looked at Ji Ruan for a short moment before putting down his phone and moving his gaze away. He said lightly, "I said you don't need to be so polite. It was my cat's fault for being too unruly and hurting you. I should apologize to you." He hurt him? In a moment of confusion, Ji Ruan lowered his head and noticed that his collar was indeed askew, revealing a small bruise. Was Gu Xiuyi looking at it? The man didn't wait for Ji Ruan to answer and had already walked away. Ji Ruan watched his back for a while, then shook it off and straightened his collar before following him downstairs.

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-An hour later, in a private hospital lounge.

After the routine examination, Ji Ruan and Song Ling sat on the couch waiting. The nurse beside Ji Ruan asked softly, "Do you need a glass of milk?" The pretty girl spoke in a gentle voice, and Ji Ruan thought he had walked into a pediatric clinic by mistake. Song Ling laughed and joked, "Lily, be normal, he's an adult now." The nurse, called Lily, glared at him and said, "Isn't it obvious? Stop talking." Then she smiled and asked Ji Ruan, "Do you want milk?" Ji Ruan smiled and shook his head lightly, "No, I'll just drink water." "Water, okay, I'll go pour it for you, wait a minute~" Lily got up and moved to the water dispenser. Song Ling waved his arm to shoo her away and said to Ji Ruan, "Don't mind her, these young girls like good-looking guys like you." He spoke slower and clearer than Gu Xiuyi, and Ji Ruan could mostly understand him. He replied with a smile and looked around before asking, "Do you all know each other?" In Ji Ruan's mind, hospitals were just places for treatment, and he even had deep grievances towards them from his previous illness. But today, as soon as he arrived, Song Ling showed familiarity with everything and greeted the passing nurses, while Gu Xiuyi chatted with a doctor in a white coat not far away. Following Ji Ruan's gaze, Song Ling laughed and said, "Yes, that's the doctor who will check your ears later, Li Sui'an, our boss's friend." Ji Ruan raised his eyebrows slightly and found it interesting that the CEO's friend was a doctor. He chuckled to himself and said, "What a friend..." Song Ling caught this sentence but didn't know Ji Ruan's thoughts. He thought the young lady was curious and quickly said, "Yes, actually the entire hospital is owned by our group. In the past few years, our boss's grandfather, who is also the chairman, has had some health issues and his hearing isn't very good. He's been seeing Doctor Li here, and our boss is very filial. He goes to the hospital every few days and takes care of him, so they've become quite close..." As soon as Song Ling started speaking, Ji Ruan felt uneasy. It felt like he was being sold something, and the product being promoted was Gu Xiu Yi himself.

This strange feeling caused Ji Ruan to furrow his brow and try to interrupt: "Assistant Song..." "What's up?" "You don't have to tell me so many details." Ji Ruan forced a smile.

"Huh?" Song Ling widened his eyes in surprise. "The boss said the same thing!" Ji Ruan didn't understand: "What did he say...?" "-- Ji Ruan." Gu Xiuyi's voice came from behind him, interrupting Song Ling, who was about to answer. Ji Ruan turned around and saw Gu Xiu Yi approaching with a doctor wearing a white coat. He stood up from the sofa and Gu Xiu Yi introduced them: "Let me introduce you, this is Doctor Li Sui'An, your attending physician. Ji Ruan, my fiancée." It was clear in the contract that their marriage was public, and the doctor in front of them obviously knew about it too. He didn't show any surprise and greeted Ji Ruan warmly, "Congratulations, you're really beautiful and a perfect match. It's like you were made for each other!" The doctor's smile revealed eight big teeth, and he seemed to genuinely bless them with a new marriage Ji Ruan felt a bit dazed and didn't know if he really believed that they were in love or if he was just being deceitful. But Gu Xiu Yi didn't say anything, so Ji Ruan could only continue to fake a smile and respond with a lie, "Thank you, you're very good at speaking." Lily brought water over for everyone, giving each person a glass. Doctor Li joked loudly and nudged Gu Xiu Yi's elbow, "Are you preparing for the wedding? When are you going to get your marriage license?" Ji Ruan lowered his head to drink his water, thinking that Doctor Li was talking to him. He blurted out without thinking, "Soon." "Cough--!" Lily choked on her water. "Splash--" Doctor Li's water spilled all over the floor. Ji Ruan suddenly splashed water onto the back of his hand, startling him. He accidentally bumped into Gu Xiuyi's arm, and he calmly helped him up Li Sui'an didn't expect this little sister-in-law to be so wild. When he spoke softly, he sounded like a proper wife. "This, this -- so fast?" Ji Ruan realized he said the wrong thing and that Gu Xiuyi hadn't told his doctor friend that they were about to get their marriage certificate. However, since he had already spoken, he had to continue, "Um... we brought our household registration book." The two people wiping the floor were even more shocked. Gu Xiuyi watched the whole thing and intervened at the perfect time, taking Ji Ruan to the treatment counter, "It's not that fast. We were planning to get the certificate yesterday." Li Sui'an helped Lily clean up the water on the ground, washed his hands, straightened his white coat, and sat down. He wiped his sweat and said, "You are efficient...". He took a deep breath and looked at Ji Ruan, "Let's check your ears. Can you use sign language?" Ji Ruan nodded and said, "I wasn't born deaf, but I got sick when I was a child and didn't go to the hospital in time, so I became like this. Um... I got a cochlear implant soon after, so I can hear now, but I didn't learn sign language specifically." Gu Xiuyi sat next to Ji Ruan as a family member, and this was the first time he heard the young man in front of him speak so much. Before, Ji Ruan would blurt out a few words at a time, and he couldn't tell if there was anything unusual. But when he spoke in long sentences without the help of a hearing device, his speech became a bit stuttered. Gu Xiuyi noticed that he lowered his eyelashes several times, as if trying to figure out the tone of certain words, and he sounded younger. Li Sui'an nodded in understanding and said, "I checked you earlier, and your cochlear implant is fine. We'll just provide you with a new external device. When we turn it on, you may feel dizzy or uncomfortable. If you're really uncomfortable, we'll stop and continue later, okay?" Ji Ruan turned his head slightly and looked at Li Sui'an's lips, listening carefully to every word. After confirming that he understood, he nodded, "I know." However, even though he was mentally prepared, Ji Ruan was still shocked when the device was turned on. The processor was attached to the skin behind his ear and connected to Li Sui'an's programmer through a wire. He didn't know what Li Sui'an had pressed, but suddenly an electric current passed over his scalp, causing goose bumps to appear on the back of his neck, and his hair stood up. Then, the sound of rustling began to enter his ears, like surging waves, stimulating his senses and making him dizzy. Li Sui'an kept adjusting something, and the sound in Ji Ruan's ear kept changing. He gradually felt like he was seasick, with a headache and occasional nausea. He tried hard to suppress the urge to vomit, but the headache and dizziness became unbearable. As the mechanical sound in his ears changed, it became more and more intense. Gu Xiuyi watched as Ji Ruan's face turned worse and worse as he listened. At first, he was able to give feedback on the sound with Li Sui'an's guidance, but his hands were shaking later on. After hesitating for a moment, Gu Xiuyi lowered his head and leaned in close to Ji Ruan's left ear. "What's wrong?" he asked. Li Sui'an also noticed something was wrong and quickly asked, "Is it uncomfortable? Do you need to stop for a moment?" Ji Ruan used all his energy to resist the discomfort. He glanced at Gu Xiuyi, then his heart and chest surged again. In a flash, Ji Ruan's body stiffened for a moment, and then he forcefully removed the processor from behind his ear and covered his mouth, forcefully holding back a retch.