Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 181

“Binhai Road, the second traffic light intersection…” Zhao Beichuan finished reporting the address, then his vision went black, and he passed out.

“Hello? Zhao Beichuan? Zhao Beichuan!” The noise of a bustling crowd came from the other end of the phone, and before long, the call was disconnected. Lu Yao grabbed the car keys from the table and rushed out like the wind.

While driving, he repeatedly called Zhao Beichuan back, but after dialing four or five times, no one answered. Half an hour later, he finally arrived at Binhai Road.

A large crowd had gathered by the roadside to watch the commotion, but there was no sign of the injured person—only the vehicle involved in the accident and Zhao Beichuan’s scrapped electric scooter.

The wheel of the electric scooter had been completely knocked off, and there was a pool of fresh red blood on the ground…

Lu Yao’s heart clenched violently, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. He hurriedly grabbed a sanitation worker watching from the side. “Uncle, where is the delivery guy who got hit?!”

“He was taken away by the emergency services. Tsk, he was hit really hard—flew more than ten meters. I don’t know if he’ll survive…”

The color drained instantly from Lu Yao’s face, his ears buzzing. His legs nearly gave out beneath him, and it took him a long moment to recover. “Do you know which hospital they took him to?”

“Probably the City Central Hospital.”

“Thank you.” Lu Yao rushed back to his car and drove toward the nearest hospital.

The entire way there, his mind was filled with worry. What if Zhao Beichuan didn’t make it? His father was seriously ill, and he still had two underage siblings to take care of…

The thought of Zhao Beichuan possibly leaving his life forever sent a sharp pain through his chest, making it almost impossible to breathe.

They had only known each other for just over a month, yet Lu Yao had no idea why he was reacting so strongly.

Arriving at the hospital, he ran straight to the reception desk and asked the nurse, “Where’s the delivery worker who was in the accident just now?”

“Check the emergency room.”

“Thank you.” Lu Yao rushed to the emergency room and spent a while questioning passing doctors before he finally found Zhao Beichuan.

When he arrived, Zhao Beichuan was lying on a hospital bed under observation, with a doctor treating the wound on his head. Half of his face and ear were scraped raw, dried blood clinging to his skin in a shocking sight. His shoulder was also injured, his clothes torn, and his pants had been cut open—one of his legs was already bandaged.

Holding his breath, Lu Yao stepped forward. “Doctor, how is he?”

The doctor turned at his voice. “Are you the patient’s family?”

“Yes.”

“His left calf has a comminuted fracture, and he has multiple soft tissue contusions. There’s also a possibility of a concussion. We’ll monitor him for now, and he’ll undergo surgery for his leg in the afternoon.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Lu Yao looked down at the unconscious man on the bed, his eyes instantly turning red. He silently thanked the heavens—at least his life wasn’t in danger.

When he returned after paying the hospital fees, Zhao Beichuan had already woken up. Seeing Lu Yao, he tried to sit up in excitement.

“Lie back down, don’t move, you’ll disturb the IV.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Don’t be polite with me. How did you get hit so badly?”

Zhao Beichuan recalled for a moment, his voice hoarse. “The driver must have run a red light. Just as I was passing through, he hit me…”

It was lucky he had a strong physique—anyone weaker might have died on the spot.

Perhaps due to hitting his head, he felt unbearably dizzy and soon started dry heaving.

Lu Yao quickly called for the doctor, who gave him a sedative to stabilize his condition. If the nausea persisted, they would conduct a brain CT scan.

In the afternoon, the family of the driver responsible for the accident arrived, carrying two boxes of milk as a supposed peace offering.

They called it a settlement, but their tone carried an air of superiority.

“I heard from the doctor that it’s just a minor leg fracture. A simple surgery and two months of rest will fix it. We’ll compensate you with fifty thousand yuan—just sign the settlement agreement…”

“Just a minor leg fracture? It’s a comminuted fracture! How about I give you fifty thousand yuan and hit you with my car instead?!”

Seeing that Lu Yao was not easy to deal with, the other party softened their tone slightly. “Let’s discuss this. If you think fifty thousand is too little, we can add another ten thousand. How much can a delivery worker even earn in a year?”

Lu Yao, fed up, waved them away impatiently. “Get lost. If anything happens to my brother, your driver can wait to go to prison!”

Dealing with an accident like this was already frustrating enough, and now these people had the audacity to act as if it wasn’t a big deal. If the injury didn’t heal properly, it could affect him for life! Lu Yao was so furious he nearly punched them.

At around four in the afternoon, the surgery began.

Lu Yao sat outside the operating room, anxiously waiting. Since the fracture was severe, the doctors had to insert a metal plate into his leg, which would need to be removed later after healing.

Three hours later, the surgery was finally over. By then, it was already past seven in the evening.

Zhao Beichuan was wheeled out of the operating room, still under anesthesia. Lu Yao accompanied him to the inpatient ward and then went to the front desk to pay another round of fees.

Returning to the hospital room, he looked at the pale-faced man lying on the bed and felt a heavy tightness in his chest.

The nurse set up the IV, and slowly, Zhao Beichuan regained consciousness. He opened his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar room for a long time before fully waking up.

“Lu Ge…”

“Hey, you’re awake.” Lu Yao lifted his head and, noticing how dry his lips looked, quickly poured a cup of warm water and handed it to him.

Zhao Beichuan gulped it down. He didn’t know how to express his gratitude—he already felt like he owed Lu Yao too much.

As if reading his mind, Lu Yao took the empty cup and said, “Don’t overthink things right now. Focus on recovering first—everything else can wait.”

“Mm.”

“I just quit my job recently, so I have a lot of free time anyway. Don’t worry about bothering me.”

Zhao Beichuan swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. After a long silence, he finally whispered, “Alright.”

The accident happened so suddenly that Zhao Beichuan couldn’t visit his father at the hospital for a while. To avoid worrying his mother, he called and told her he had taken a temporary job out of town for a few months.

Zhao’s mother didn’t suspect anything, only reminding him to be careful and return home soon.

Lu Yao peeled an apple and handed it to him. “Which hospital is your dad in? I can go visit him.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“It’s just a visit as a friend. But if you really don’t want me to, I won’t force it…”

“Neurology Hospital, Room 602, Bed 3.” Zhao Beichuan watched Lu Yao cautiously, as if afraid he would overthink it.

“I’m heading home this afternoon. Let me know if you need anything—I’ll bring it over for you.”

Zhao Beichuan scratched his face awkwardly. “Uh… could you bring me two pairs of underwear?”

Since he would be staying in the hospital for a while, Lu Yao planned to grab some toiletries and other necessities from home.

Returning to his apartment, everything was exactly as he had left it the day before. Half-eaten food sat on the table, so he quickly threw it into the trash and tidied up.

He found a small travel suitcase, packed essentials for both of them, and then went to Zhao Beichuan’s room to find the underwear.

The guest room was nearly empty—aside from the furniture Lu Yao had bought, Zhao Beichuan only had one bag of clothes.

Lu Yao opened it to check. Inside, there were only four sets of clothes and a down jacket. He took out two pairs of underwear, noticing they were clearly several sizes larger than his own. Blushing slightly, he stuffed them into the suitcase.

After packing, Lu Yao went downstairs to buy some fruits and supplements, then drove to the neurology hospital to deliver them.

Taking the elevator to the sixth floor, he found Room 602 and knocked on the door.

Zhao’s mother opened the door and looked at Lu Yao with a puzzled expression. “Who are you looking for?”

Lu Yao was momentarily stunned as he looked at the woman in front of him. A familiar feeling surged in his heart. “May I ask if you are Zhao Beichuan’s parents?”

“Yes, I’m his mother.”

“Hello, Auntie. I’m Beichuan’s friend. He’s been working out of town these past few days and asked me to check in on you.”

“Oh, come in! Why did you even bring gifts?” Zhao’s mother enthusiastically pulled Lu Yao inside and brought over a stool for him to sit on.

“I never heard Beichuan mention making new friends. What’s your name?”

“My name is Lu Yao. We haven’t known each other for long. Beichuan once helped me fix my water pipes and also delivered food to me. Over time, we became familiar with each other. Recently, I was renting out a place, and he happened to take it.” Lu Yao didn’t mention their video project.

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Not at all. He’s a great person and often helps me tidy up the place.”

Zhao’s mother smiled warmly at Lu Yao, finding him more and more familiar-looking the longer she observed him. The more she looked, the more fond she felt of him.

“Young man, how old are you?”

Lu Yao answered nervously, “Thirty-five.”

“Oh my, you don’t look it at all! I thought you were around the same age as Beichuan.”

Lu Yao scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “How is Uncle’s condition?”

“Still the same. The doctor said that after the surgery, there’s a possibility he might wake up.”

“These past years, just to pay for his father’s medical treatments, Beichuan has been working three to four jobs a day. He’s aged more than his peers from all the stress. I don’t know when this kind of life will ever come to an end…”

Zhao’s mother choked up and started crying. Over the years, relatives had distanced themselves, fearing they would be asked for money. She had been holding in all the bitterness with nowhere to vent, and the pressure on her was no less than on the children.

Lu Yao instinctively hugged her. “Everything will get better.”

After a while, Zhao’s mother pulled away, embarrassed, and wiped her face. “Look at me, I even got your clothes wet from crying. I’m so sorry. I don’t even know why, but the moment I saw you, I felt like I had seen you somewhere before, like we had met before.”

“I feel the same way!”

Zhao’s mother broke into a smile through her tears. “Maybe we were family in a past life.”

After spending some time chatting with her at the hospital, Lu Yao left around dinner time. Rushing to another hospital, he picked up a serving of pork bone soup for Zhao Beichuan along the way.

Back at the hospital, he arrived just in time to see Zhao Beichuan struggling to get up and go to the restroom on his own.

Since his injury was on his leg, he would be immobile for quite a while.

On the second day after surgery, they had just removed his catheter. The doctor instructed him to use a bedpan, but Zhao Beichuan was too embarrassed to urinate in bed and insisted on getting up to go to the bathroom.

Lu Yao quickly put down his things and helped him hop on one leg to the restroom.

The hospital bathroom was very small, barely leaving space for two grown men to move around. The cramped environment made both their heartbeats quicken.

“Uh… Lu Ge, I can manage on my own.”

“Be careful. Call me if you need help.”

Lu Yao stepped outside and waited. Hearing the steady stream of water inside, he figured the kid must have been holding it in for a long time.

After a while, the sound stopped. Lu Yao knocked on the door and asked, “Are you done?”

“Yes, yes.”

Zhao Beichuan opened the door and hopped out on one foot. Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he fell backward.

Lu Yao reached out and caught him by the waist, but their weight difference was too great. He was pulled down as well, ending up on top of Zhao Beichuan.

“Are you okay?” Lu Yao panicked and quickly got up.

“I—I’m fine.” Zhao Beichuan’s face flushed as he turned his head away. Well… as long as Lu Yao wasn’t sitting on his sensitive area, then yes, he was fine…

[Author’s Note]

Rewrote this chapter. I also think Little Chuan is kind of cute. Old Dengchuan will have to wait for now.