NOVEL WEB Chapter 442
"Huai, does it hurt? You're bleeding."
"Let go for now, okay?"
Ji Nian looked at his hand, which kept oozing blood, and felt the pain for him.
Lu Jinghuai still refused to loosen his grip.
Ji Nian had no choice but to bend down and press a kiss onto his hand.
By now, his sense of touch had mostly returned, and her kiss was firm—enough for Lu Jinghuai to instantly realize what she was doing.
As if stunned, his grip slackened at once.
Seizing the opportunity, Ji Nian pulled her hand free and began unwrapping his bandages to tend to the reopened wound.
"I'll come back. And when we meet again, I hope your vision will have fully recovered."
"Don't you want to see me?"
Lu Jinghuai remained still.
Ji Nian knew this was far from a sign of his satisfaction.
"Listen, Huai… just being able to see you is already such a stroke of luck for me."
"No matter how advanced the medicine I create becomes, there are so many important people who'll never return to this world."
"I used to think the word 'savior' was ridiculous—something that only existed in stories."
"But ever since… the moment I opened my eyes in this world, I've wished I could be an all-powerful savior, someone who could help everyone important to me."
Ji Nian wasn't even sure what she was trying to say.
She knew Lu Jinghuai didn't want her to leave, but she had to go back.
Perhaps sensing the resolve in her voice, Lu Jinghuai fell silent for a while.
Finally, he gently placed his freshly bandaged hand over hers.
Bedridden since the age of five, Lu Jinghuai had never had the chance to grow beyond his circumstances. Naturally, he couldn't fully grasp the sense of responsibility Ji Nian expressed.
But he understood that this mattered deeply to her—that not doing it would leave her heartbroken.
Heartbreak was an emotion Lu Jinghuai had lived with for years.
No matter how accustomed he'd grown to it, he couldn't deny that it was a wretched thing, a slow poison that ate away at a person from the inside.
He didn't want Ji Nian to feel that way.
"Thank you, Huai."
"Next time we meet, call me by my name, okay?"
Ji Nian stood up, leaned down, and kissed his cheek once more.
As she pulled away, she left something by his hand before turning to leave.
When Lu Zhi entered, he sighed in relief at the sight of Lu Jinghuai's freshly bandaged hand.
"You silly child, this isn't how you keep someone from leaving."
He sighed and walked over to tuck the blankets around him.
But then Lu Jinghuai suddenly raised his hand—and the word "Father" rang out.
Lu Zhi froze.
This was a device Lu Zhi had commissioned years ago: a voice synthesizer that allowed Lu Jinghuai to express himself through simple hand movements, simulating the voice he should have had at his age.
It had been upgraded over the years as technology advanced.
But Lu Jinghuai had never once used it.
Until now.
For the first time in all these years, he'd activated it.
And for the first time in just as long, Lu Zhi heard the word "Father" again.
Even though it wasn't spoken by his son's own voice, the simulated sound was enough to bring tears to the sentimental man's eyes.
"I'm here, Huai. Daddy's good boy, what's wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?"
The thought made his voice tense with worry.
If his son was resorting to calling for him, the pain must be unbearable!
Then the synthesized voice spoke again, slow and deliberate, as if Lu Jinghuai was carefully choosing each word.
"What… did Ji Nian leave… by my hand?"
Lu Zhi relaxed when he realized this was about Ji Nian and not his son's health.
What a scare.
Still, it stung a little that his son's first words in years were about her.
Shaking off the thought, he looked down and realized he'd been too distracted to notice the object earlier.
"Oh? How cute."
He reached for it, only for Lu Jinghuai to smack his hand away with a sharp "thwack."
Lu Zhi didn't mind being hit, but he worried about his son's injury reopening.
"Alright, alright, I won't touch it."
Understanding the issue, he sighed in resignation.
But feeling a bit petty, he decided not to reveal the answer outright.
"The doctor said that after the third round of treatment and two more surgeries, your vision will gradually recover. Then you'll be able to see what she gave you with your own eyes."
"How does that sound?"
Lu Jinghuai didn't respond.
That meant he agreed.
If possible, seeing and touching it for himself would be best.
In the past, such a thing would have been an impossible dream.
...
Ji Nian had assumed Lu Zhi would arrange a flight back to China for her, so she boarded the plane without a second thought.
Only to find Ji Tingzhou already seated inside.
One arm draped over the leather sofa, the other holding a wine glass—the picture of a wealthy young master.
Ji Nian's gaze landed on the glass, and she instinctively frowned.
She'd never liked seeing Ji Tingzhou drink, no matter which version of him it was.
[He's still recovering, and he's already drinking?! I didn't make that restorative medicine so he could waste his energy on alcohol!]
"Do you have a problem with me?"
Ji Tingzhou had clearly noticed her disapproving glare.
Thanks to the memories from his counterpart in the other world, he knew Ji Nian hated when he drank.
But so what?
He wasn't that spineless version of himself, the one who'd let a brat half his size dictate his life. He'd drink if he wanted to, and no one had the right to stop him.
Then the girl in front of him suddenly smiled at him.
It was the brightest smile Ji Tingzhou had ever seen from her in this world—not directed at anyone else, but at him.
On the surface, it seemed perfectly harmless, but the man was so caught off guard that before he could react—
Ji Nian snatched the glass from his hand.
Before he could stop her, she tipped her head back and downed the entire glass of 40-proof liquor in one go.
Tears sprang to her eyes from the burn, but she still managed to shoot him a defiant look.
Ji Tingzhou's response?
He stood up, strode over to the smug-faced Ji Nian—
And stuck his fingers down her throat.
Ji Nian: "……"
"Ji Tingzhou, are you out of your—gag—mind—gag—?!"
Ji Tingzhou held her head firmly, his expression icy. "Spit it out!"
Ji Nian opened her mouth wide and, just as he wished, expelled the alcohol she'd just drunk.
All over his clothes.
Ji Tingzhou: "……"
Seeing the vein throbbing on his forehead, Ji Nian threw her head back and laughed hoarsely, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
For good measure, she wiped the snot dripping from her nose onto his shirt.
At least this version of Ji Tingzhou wouldn't miss out on the experience of being her tissue.
Then, inevitably, the alcohol still in her system took effect. Ji Nian's eyes rolled back, and she passed out cold.
Leaving a fuming Ji Tingzhou with no outlet for his rage: "……"
He cast a cold glance at the few people who had hurried over at the sound, his tone laced with irritation. "What are you standing around for? Help her onto the bed."