Chapter 65 - Pretty

Qiu Yanzhi spent nearly four months in a coma.

Now, after waking up, he was lying prone on the hospital bed crying his heart out.

No one knew what was going on.

The doctors all looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Some of them huddled together for a brief discussion. They decided to let the patient have a moment to himself rather than sedate him.

So they left, leaving only a young doctor to stay with Qiu Yanzhi.

Qiu Yanzhi cried for almost an hour. In the end, he only stopped because he had exhausted himself. He blankly stared at the ceiling, tears still falling from his red-rimmed eyes.

Seeing that Qiu Yanzhi seemed to be better, the young doctor approached him and cautiously asked, "Mr. Qiu, how are you feeling now?"

Qiu Yanzhi tilted his head to look at him.

He strained to raise his arm and wipe the tears from his face before asking, "...How long. Have I been in. A coma?"

Qiu Yanzhi’s voice was hoarse and quiet from going unused for so long. The young doctor couldn’t hear him, so he leaned over and asked, “Could you say that again?”

Qiu Yanzhi repeated, "How long. Have I been in. A coma...?"

"117 days." The young doctor smiled. "Nearly four months. Normally, people who’ve been in a vegetative state for longer than three months never do wake up. It’s a miracle that you regained consciousness.”

Kong Xiujie walked in with an empty lunch box and said to Qiu Yanzhi, "Mr. Qiu, I just asked the doctor. You can’t eat yet because they have some tests to run later.”

Qiu Yanzhi nodded and closed his eyes, a little tired.

Next, he was wheeled to various departments and had countless tests done.

Qiu Yanzhi was in pretty good shape. He didn’t have any aftereffects from being in a coma aside from reduced muscle tone from lying in bed so long. That could be fixed with a bit of rehab.

The doctor tentatively asked Qiu Yanzhi if he remembered what he was doing before he lost consciousness. Did he know what caused him to go into a coma?

Qiu Yanzhi was silent for a while before shaking his head. He said he didn't know.

The doctor sighed and instructed him to eat regularly and attend his rehab sessions.

However, Qiu Yanzhi lacked the energy to do those things.

Kong Xiujie made him some white rice porridge, but Qiu Yanzhi shook his head and said he was full after just two sips.

Because she was worried about him, Kong Xiujie urged him to drink some more.

So Qiu Yanzhi took another sip.

Immediately afterwards, he leaned over the trash can and threw up everything he just ate.

Kong Xiuzhi frantically handed him a tissue and some water to rinse his mouth with. She regretfully apologized for making him eat more.

Qiu Yanzhi rinsed and wiped his mouth. Lying back tiredly, he shook his head and said it was fine before going back to sleep.

He seemed tired all the time recently. The doctor told him to do rehab, but he kept putting it off, saying he just didn’t have the energy.

After that, he would close his eyes again and go back to sleep.

Actually, Qiu Yanzhi had already slept so much that he really couldn’t sleep anymore. Sometimes he felt he was really asleep. Other times he felt he just didn’t want to open his eyes.

After an interminable period of drowsiness, the door to his room was opened from the outside.

Qiu Xicheng's voice came in, "Zhizhi, I heard that you woke up! I came over to see you with Dad."

Qiu Yanzhi’s brows subconsciously furrowed, but he still didn't want to open his eyes.

Since he was sleeping with his back to the door, Qiu Xicheng and Qiu Hongsheng couldn't see his face. They could only see Qiu Yanzhi's body curled up and very still.

Kong Xiujie stood. She glanced at Qiu Hongsheng and whispered, “Young Mr. Qiu is sleeping right now.”

Qiu Xicheng’s tone was calm and cordial. “Zhizhi’s slept long enough. Besides, Dad came all this way to see him! It’s better for him to be awake. I’ll go get him up.”

He headed towards Qiu Yanzhi’s bed immediately afterwards. However, Qiu Hongsheng’s deep voice cut in, “Forget it. Don’t wake him. Let him sleep for now.”

Qiu Xicheng asked the doctor about Qiu Yanzhi's condition in front of Qiu Hongsheng. He appeared to be very worried.

Dr. Lin looked at Qiu Yanzhi. "The patient’s sleeping. Why don't we go out to talk?"

Before the three of them could leave, the door opened once more. Fei Sihao walked in.

Qiu Hongsheng: "You are?"

"Hello Uncle, I'm Zhizhi's..." Fei Sihao paused for a moment and smiled, "friend."

They exchanged a few more words before following the doctor out.

The ward was finally quiet again.

Qiu Yanzhi's furrowed brow finally relaxed. After a while, he drifted off to sleep.

One of the doctors in charge of Qiu Yanzhi was Lin Kangning, a recent medical school graduate. He was a lively and cheerful individual who often urged Qiu Yanzhi to go do rehab.

However, Qiu Yanzhi always seemed listless and tired. He would agree to go to rehab whenever Lin Kangning reminded him, only to go back to sleep moments later.

Dr. Lin was a bit mad after his reminders went ignored twice. He looked at Qiu Yanzhi and said, “Why are you so unconcerned about your own health?"

Qiu Yanzhi expressionlessly looked back at Lin Kangning. "It’s not that I don’t care. I’m just too tired.”

That dispirited look of his took all the wind out of Dr. Lin’s sails. He silently admonished himself for being overly meddlesome and getting too invested in a patient.

Still, he couldn’t stand watching Qiu Yanzhi languish like this. So he brought over a wheelchair and personally pushed Qiu Yanzhi to the rehab room. "Of course you’ll be tired lying around all the time. And if you don’t do rehab, when will you get better? When will you be discharged, ah?!”

So Qiu Yanzhi was basically dragged out and forced to do rehab for the next few days.

At least he and Dr. Lin got to know each other in the meantime.

Fei Sihao would also occasionally visit him.

Although he always came and left in a real hurry, he still perfectly fulfilled the role expected of him.

When he came over this time, he even brought a few roses. With a smile, Fei Sihao placed them into the vase beside Qiu Yanzhi’s bed and warmly asked after him, “Zhizhi, how’s rehab been going recently?”

Qiu Yanzhi put down the grip strengthener he was using. “Not bad. I’ll be able to go home and slowly practice by myself in a couple of days.”

It was already winter now, and the temperature had sharply dropped over the past two days. Fei Sihao felt suffocated by all the layers he was wearing. He moved to take some off as soon as he reached the ward.

But when he looked down and had his scarf half off, Qiu Yanzhi told him to stop.

Qiu Yanzhi looked at him and blinked. "Fei Sihao, can I take a picture of you?"

Fei Sihao froze for a moment, "Sure. Right now?"

Qiu Yanzhi nodded.

Fei Sihao smiled. "Then let me take off my jacket and scarf."

"No need." Qiu Yanzhi frantically cut in, "I really like the way you look now!"

For the first time since he woke up, Qiu Yanzhi seemed spirited. His expression was open and his eyes glittered like jewels.

The contrast was so startling that Fei Sihao was taken aback for a moment when he looked up.

A strange thought even came to mind:

...Qiu Yanzhi actually isn’t half bad looking.

Before he could even say anything, Qiu Yanzhi arduously pushed his way to his feet.

He approached Fei Sihao and tidied his scarf gently like it was some precious accessory. Fei Sihao’s face felt ticklish whenever Qiu Yanzhi’s ice cold fingers brushed past.

In the end, the black cashmere scarf covered a third of Fei Sihao's face.

Qiu Yanzhi took out his cell phone and started taking pictures of Fei Sihao.

Fei Sihao felt that Qiu Yanzhi was acting a bit strange.

He wouldn't let Fei Sihao take off the scarf, and he seemed particularly enamoured with a pose where his head was slightly lowered.

And when Fei Sihao smiled after a while, Qiu Yanzhi even nervously glanced at him and said, "Don't smile in the next shot, oh."

After this impromptu photo session, Fei Sihao went over to look at the final products. However, he discovered that the dozen or so shots were basically of the same pose with only slight differences. Fei Sihao asked him, "How come they’re all so similar?"

Qiu Yanzhi had his head down. He touched the picture on screen and happily smiled. “Pretty.”

Fei Sihao knew he was above average in terms of looks, but this was the first time he had seen someone look at his picture like this and say it was pretty in such a tone.

A very strange feeling rose in Fei Sihao’s heart. It made him want to take initiative and indulge Qiu Yanzhi a bit. So he leaned over to kiss Qiu Yanzhi on the cheek.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Yanzhi frowned and shied away before he could make contact.

Fei Sihao felt a little embarrassed.

Qiu Yanzhi put his phone away. "Someone's here."

Fei Sihao turned and saw Dr. Lin at the door.

…So he did that because he was feeling shy.

Fei Sihao thought.

Lin Kangning didn’t see anything just now. All he saw was that their heads were really close together. He thought that Qiu Yanzhi was just looking at something on his phone with this man. Without giving it much thought, he walked over as sunny as ever. “Yo. How come you’re so lively today? I’m surprised you remember how to stand, considering how much lying around you do.”

With that, Qiu Yanzhi went back to the bed and laid down again.

Lin Kangning: "......"

Lin Kangning and Qiu Yanzhi weren’t exactly strangers anymore, so the young doctor took a seat by Qiu Yanzhi’s bed and tucked him in. Then he looked up at the man who he had only seen twice before and smiled. “I remember you. You’re a friend of Qiu Yanzhi, right?” Come over and see him more often if you aren’t busy. Try to get him to do rehab instead of lying around all the time. He still needs a walker at the moment…”

Fei Sihao stared at the hand Lin Kangning used to tuck Qiu Yanzhi in. He frowned. “Got it, Dr. Lin. I’ll try persuading my boyfriend.”

Lin Kangning: "...Boyfriend?"

Lin Kangning suddenly realized something after noticing the look in Fei Sihao’s eyes. He shot to his feet and scratched his head awkwardly. “D-don’t misunderstand. I’m...I’m straight…”

Qiu Yanzhi was still completely absorbed by his phone.

Lin Kangning nudged Qiu Yanzhi’s arm and murmured with some embarrassment, "Qiu Yanzhi, your boyfriend’s misunderstood..."

Qiu Yanzhi nodded perfunctorily. "Mm-hmm, he's straight and even has a girlfriend."

Fei Sihao felt better after noticing that Qiu Yanzhi was still looking at his picture. He didn’t even feel embarrassed about the scene he had just caused.

Just then, he got a text message. He glanced at it before putting his phone back into his pocket and smiling at Qiu Yanzhi. “Zhizhi, I have some things I need to do. I'll come visit you again later."

"Mm-hmm."

Fei Sihao glanced back at Qiu Yanzhi as he walked out. He was a bit puzzled.

How come Qiu Yanzhi didn't even look up at him? He was leaving! Why was Qiu Yanzhi still staring at his picture?

Qiu Yanzhi selected the best shot from the ones he just took and sent it to his tablet. Then he immediately opened a retouching app.

Lin Kangning was still speechless over Qiu Yanzhi’s boyfriend. He grumbled, “Qiu Yanzhi, isn’t your boyfriend way too possessive? How can he misunderstand people like that…”

Qiu Yanzhi didn’t reply. He was single mindedly focused on retouching the picture.

Lin Kangning shook his head once he saw the photo on the tablet.

Just how much did Qiu Yanzhi like his boyfriend, ah.

Lin Kangning walked to the window and sighed, "Don’t forget to open the window and get some fresh air when you have nothing to do. Look at how stuffy your room is..."

He froze in place as soon as he opened the window. Then he turned and frantically called for Qiu Yanzhi. "Qiu Yanzhi, come here!"

Qiu Yanzhi was still busy with the tablet. "What for?"

Lin Kangning: "There's something you need to see, hurry up!"

Seeing how worked up Lin Kangning was, Qiu Yanzhi put down the tablet, pushed himself off the bed, and slowly walked to the window with his walker.

He was a bit disappointed once he saw what was going on outside.

He thought there was something interesting, but it was just Fei Sihao walking out the hospital entrance with a girl in his arms.

Lin Kangning pointed at the pair, his finger trembling with anger. "Qiu Yanzhi, isn’t that your boyfriend? He's cheating on you!"

Qiu Yanzhi blinked and slowly said, "There’s no need to jump to conclusions. Maybe that girl is his...cousin?”

But just as he said that, the girl in Fei Sihao's arms stood on tiptoe and kissed Fei Sihao on the cheek.

Lin Kangning was even more incensed. “See that?! You saw that right?? That girl kissed him! She’s definitely not his cousin!”

Qiu Yanzhi tried to salvage the situation. “Fei Sihao’s probably also shocked that girl just suddenly kissed him, right?”

But then…

Fei Sihao pressed the girl against the wall and passionately made out with her.

Qiu Yanzhi: "......"

Son, how can you be such a disappointment, ah.

You’re making things really difficult for daddy.

Lin Kangning suddenly realized something. He shut the window with a stern expression. “Qiu Yanzhi, when a man cheats, you must never forgive him! You can’t just lie to yourself and pretend nothing happened just because you love him.”

Qiu Yanzhi pushed his walker back to bed as Lin Kangning rambled on and on. Finally, Qiu Yanzhi was annoyed enough to speak up, "I'll break up with him. Don't worry about it."

Lin Kangning: "And when are you going to do that? Maybe you should call him right now and get it over with.”

Qiu Yanzhi sat down on the bed and picked up his tablet again. His voice was calm. “Now’s not the time.”

After all, the recording was all the evidence he had at the moment. He needed something more damning.

And, well...a few more photos would be nice.

Before long, Lin Kangning was called away. Kong Xiujie also retired for the day. Qiu Yanzhi sat alone in his empty hospital room, completely focused on sketching on the tablet using his stylus.

Eyebrows, eyes, nose…

No. It still doesn’t look like him.

No matter how I change things.

Qiu Yanzhi's fingers were weak to begin with because he wasn’t fully recovered. His whole hand became sore after a while. As a result, the more he drew, the less the photo looked right.

Qiu Yanzhi pursed his lips. Going online, he sought the services of a professional.

"I want to retouch this picture.”

“May I ask what style you want it to be?”

"It’s pretty complicated. Could you live stream the retouching process? Then I can tell you what to fix verbally.”

“Of course, but at an additional cost. If this is urgent, you could even send me the picture now and I’ll share my screen with you.”

"Okay, let's get started then."

It was the first time that the retoucher had encountered such a picky client.

You couldn’t even call this retouching anymore… She felt like she was basically drawing an entirely new picture on top of the old one.

“The eyelashes. Make his eyelashes a bit longer.”

"The hair at the temples should be a little shorter."

"Darken the irises a bit more. Make them a little brighter too."

The retoucher thought, “If this client wasn’t so generous with the pay, I’d definitely quit.”

How could such a picky customer exist? How could he have so many complicated and tedious requests??

When she finally finished, her entire hand felt like it was going to fall off.

As she looked at the finished product, which was only 30% similar to the original, the retoucher couldn't help but be honest: "Although this version is definitely several times more attractive than the original, the difference is way too obvious. You can’t even tell this is the same person anymore.”

A long moment of silence ensued.

Then came the man's slightly trembling voice: "...Thank you."

The retoucher suddenly understood something.

She went quiet for a beat before saying, “If you need something like this again, feel free to reach out.”

And so the four hour long screen share session ended.

Qiu Yanzhi finally received the finished picture.

His fingers trembled slightly.

He opened the picture on his tablet and curled up with it in his arms.