Chapter 35: Emergency
In winter, barbecue restaurants were always busier than at any other time. Not long after the sky darkened, the restaurant was already full. The sizzling sound of meat on the grill mixed with the sounds of drinking and chatting, and glasses clinked constantly. It was exceptionally lively.
Fu Rangyi sat among them, distracted, so quiet that he seemed somewhat out of place. The Alpha colleague diagonally opposite him was already flushed from drinking. He had an arm around another Alpha’s neck and was urging him to go to an island together during the holiday to escape the winter.
Everyone was used to Fu Rangyi’s taciturn nature. He was also the youngest among them, so no one found it strange. They only called him a few extra times whenever they clinked glasses.
They had already clinked glasses nine times. Zhu Zhixi still had not arrived. Fu Rangyi lowered his head and opened WeChat for the sixth time, tapping into the pinned chat and refreshing it. Even though he knew very well that this was useless.
Zhu Zhixi’s last message had been sent forty-three minutes ago.
[Bad Rabbit: Professor Fu, I might arrive a little late. Sorry, sorry. You guys eat first, don’t wait for me. Help me tell your colleagues I’m sorry!]
Below that were the three messages Fu Rangyi had sent after sitting down.
[Pretty Widower: Did something urgent happen? Do you need help?]
[Pretty Widower: Don’t rush. We haven’t started yet. Everyone was a little late. Drive carefully. Safety first.]
[Pretty Widower: Are you okay?]
“Professor Fu, you didn’t drive today, right? Then you can drink a little. I heard you can hold your liquor.” The Beta male teacher sitting to his left smiled and said, “Want me to pour you some? White or red?”
Fu Rangyi smiled and shook his head. “I have a bit of a headache today. Water is fine.”
Professor Wang, the senior advisor from the same lab, heard this and looked up. “Hey, Little Fu didn’t drive? I was just thinking of hitching a ride with Little Fu later.”
Before Fu Rangyi had time to speak, Teacher Zhang, who worked in the same office and sat diagonally across from him, beat him to it.
“Professor Fu’s tire blew out. His car was sent for inspection.” The day before yesterday, they had left work together and walked from the office to the parking lot.
“Blew out? What happened?”
“Good thing it didn’t burst on the road.”
“Could it be because it’s been too cold these past two days? The roads are icy, and the tire got too brittle?”
“Not too sure. It’s possible.” Fu Rangyi said, “It’s already been sent for repair. We’ll see what the 4S dealership says.”
Teacher Zhang was warmhearted. While busily grilling meat with tongs, he cut in, “I told Little Fu to go to the security office and check the surveillance, just in case. Maybe it was some student’s prank.”
“Professor Fu is so popular with students. Surely not?”
Fu Rangyi paused, then said, “I went to the security office this morning. No one was there. They told me to wait, but then a student came looking for me, so I went back to work. I really didn’t have time.”
“It’s cold out. The security office went to help clear ice, too. They must be exhausted.”
A professor from the neighboring group also took the opportunity to complain, “Ah, tell me about it. In weather this cold, we still have to take groups into the field. The students have already started drawing talismans to pray for rain.”
“Good thing Professor Fu doesn’t have to go. Otherwise, his first Spring Festival after getting married would be spent outside, and he wouldn’t be able to accompany his wife.”
Fu Rangyi was a little absent-minded. When he heard himself being mentioned, everyone was laughing. Only then did he lift his head, somewhat bewildered, which made everyone laugh even harder.
He was restless. After thinking for a while, he quietly asked a colleague who had worked with the museum before. After several turns, he finally got Zhou Ming’s phone number.
“I’m going out for a moment.”
A few minutes later, he returned with his brows furrowed. Zhou Ming had answered, but he said Zhu Zhixi had left as soon as the museum closed.
After hanging up with him, Fu Rangyi called Zhu Zhixi. He knew Zhu Zhixi could be a little procrastinating and did not like being rushed, but he was truly uneasy.
Only after making the call did he discover that Zhu Zhixi’s phone was actually turned off.
A bad premonition crawled up his spine like a snake, inch by inch, squeezing his heart. Thinking carefully, even if it was evening rush hour and the museum was not exactly close to here, two hours should still have been more than enough.
Could he have gotten into an accident? He lowered his head and checked the navigation app. Whether from the museum to here or from home to the barbecue restaurant, he checked both routes. There were no traffic accidents, only regular congestion.
Once he thought of these things, his wild thoughts began growing madly. For some reason, the auditory hallucination of “tick-tock, tick-tock” appeared in his mind.
They had already made an appointment. Tomorrow was the physical examination.
This was terrible. The long-lost feeling of anxiety was making a comeback, frying his composure mouthful by mouthful until it became scorched. It turned out that he had never trained himself to face loss at all. Just as Zhu Zhixi had said, everything was a paper tiger.
The air was hot. Fu Rangyi suddenly found himself unable to sit there peacefully any longer. He picked up his coat and phone, put on the coat, and stood up directly.
“Hey, Professor Fu? Where are you going?”
“I…”
Fu Rangyi was momentarily speechless. He did not know where to look either. Perhaps he should go home and check? Could Zhu Zhixi have fainted at home?
This was abnormal. He knew that. Zhu Zhixi was an adult who understood how to protect himself. He loved adventure and had been to all kinds of dangerous places. Fu Rangyi should not treat him like a child, growing anxious and thinking wildly just because he was a little late to an appointment.
“I’m going out to make a phone call.” He casually made up an excuse and left his seat, opening the door and walking out.
Snow drifted along the street, and the air was cool. This was a bustling district, and there were many young people lining up for food, noisy and lively. He tried calling several more times, but Zhu Zhixi’s phone was still off.
Across the street from the barbecue restaurant was a small supermarket. Fu Rangyi walked over, entered the store, and bought a pack of cigarettes directly at the counter.
He had quit smoking three years ago. Back when he was studying, the pressure of research had been too great, and the malignant syndrome during his susceptible periods had also been difficult to endure. To ease the pain, he had smoked for a while. But it was truly unhealthy, so later he quit and switched to using fitness to resist it.
But now, once he grew anxious, his first reaction was still to smoke. Bad habits were psychological chronic illnesses buried inside the body. They could never be cured.
He borrowed a light from the shop owner, lit the cigarette, and pushed the door open to step out. The red ember was blown brighter by the cold wind. Pale gray smoke was exhaled and mixed with the cold air. Fu Rangyi leaned halfway against the wall. Whether from cold or something else, his fingers actually trembled so much that he nearly could not hold the cigarette.
The street was full of traffic. He caught sight of a taxi with its green light on and still decided to go back first, so he raised the hand holding the cigarette, preparing to hail it.
But just then, in a daze, he caught sight of a familiar figure across the street, back turned to him, standing beneath the traffic light opposite the pedestrian crossing. At the same time, his phone vibrated.
His heart finally dropped back into place. Fu Rangyi answered the call and, at the same time, quickly walked to the trash can, stubbed out the cigarette, and threw it in.
“Hello? Fu Rangyi, I’m sorry. I’m so late. Are you guys almost done eating? A lot happened and I can’t explain it all at once. If you’re still at the restaurant, can you come out first? I’m right next to the barbecue restaurant. There’s a traffic light here…”
Zhu Zhixi poured out all the words he had prepared in one breath, but before he could finish the last few words—
“Turn around.”
The moment he turned around, he froze.
The neon lights were dazzling, and the crowd crossing the road was packed tight, but Fu Rangyi was tall and striking, standing out sharply among the surging mass of people. He was running over. The hem of his dark-gray coat was lifted by the cold wind. Many people around him were looking at him.
“Why are you across the street…” Zhu Zhixi held the phone and watched helplessly as he reached him in a few steps, grabbed his arm, and brought him to a less crowded place.
“I happened to come out.”
Zhu Zhixi did not know if it was his imagination, but on the crosswalk, he had clearly seen a trace of anger on Fu Rangyi’s face. He thought Fu Rangyi was going to scold him, but now, Fu Rangyi, who was holding his arm, was very calm and gentle.
Even so, Zhu Zhixi still felt guilty. Without another word, he lowered his head and apologized first. “I’m sorry. I promised you I definitely wouldn’t be late, but so much really happened on the way. Really, I swear I’m not making excuses. Listen, I left a little after four in the afternoon. The road was smooth at first, but as soon as I got off the elevated road, guess what happened? I saw that little white dog! The one I met before. I’ll show you…”
He took out his phone and was about to look for the photo, but the phone powered off and the screen went black again.
“It’s out of battery again.” Zhu Zhixi scratched his hair in distress. “I just charged it a little in the shop. As soon as it turned on, I hurried to contact you.”
The light here flickered between bright and dim. The moving neon of an advertisement board shone over and lit up Zhu Zhixi’s face.
Before he could finish speaking, Fu Rangyi suddenly reached out, grasped his chin, and forced him to lift his face. “Is this blood?”
“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi froze for a moment, then quickly reacted. “It’s fine. It’s a nosebleed. I wiped it, but there was still a little I didn’t clean off.”
There was blood on his clothes too, all dried now. A perfectly good white jacket had become very dirty. Zhu Zhixi knew he must look terribly disheveled right now. A strong embarrassment suddenly rose in him, and he did not want Fu Rangyi to see.
But Fu Rangyi did not say anything. He let go, found the wet wipes he carried in his coat pocket, tore open the package, lifted Zhu Zhixi’s face, and gently wiped it for him. This time, the force with which he held Zhu Zhixi’s chin was much gentler.
“Keep talking. I’m listening.”
Zhu Zhixi’s heart stirred inexplicably. But the timing was too strange. His Adam’s apple rolled unnaturally, and he tried hard to pick up the thread from earlier.
“Then…”
“You saw the little dog,” Fu Rangyi even reminded him while wiping.
“Right! The dog. Then I parked the car temporarily and went to look for it. I chased it for an entire street, but still lost it. No matter how I called, it wouldn’t come out…”
He was very anxious to pour out the entire sequence of events in one go, but his tongue seemed a little frozen and tangled.
Fu Rangyi focused intently and carefully wiped him, from his nose to the corner of his mouth, then downward along the traces. The wet wipe and his fingertips were both cool.
“Slow down. There’s no rush.”
His voice was very gentle and deep. For some reason, Zhu Zhixi’s nose suddenly felt sore. He pursed his lips and lowered his eyes.
“I didn’t find it, so I went back to the car. There was still time then, so I thought I’d go home first and change clothes. I didn’t expect that as soon as I drove out, something happened.”
Coincidentally, it was a road he had never taken before, an old district that was very prone to traffic jams. If he had not chased the dog, he would never have gone there. But just as he was about to drive out, he suddenly caught sight of an old lady collapsing by the roadside. She fell straight onto the curb, her head and upper body tipping outside the sidewalk. It was extremely dangerous.
His first reaction was myocardial infarction.
“Isn’t that such a coincidence? This morning we were just talking about the AED sticker, and then I actually ran into something like this!” At this point, his voice grew louder.
“You went to save her?” After hearing about the incident, Fu Rangyi’s shoulders visibly relaxed. But Zhu Zhixi did not notice. He only knew that Fu Rangyi had finished wiping his face and was now holding his hand, wiping his fingers one by one.
“Of course!”
Afraid of delaying the golden rescue window, he had not hesitated for even a second. He turned on the hazard lights and stopped the car temporarily again, then ran over with the onboard defibrillator to save her. Kind passersby helped move the old woman to a safe place so he could perform first aid, and they also called an ambulance.
“My hands were shaking at the time. At first, the old lady had no response at all. It was also my first time using it, so I wasn’t very skilled. I was really worried my method was wrong, and I was so scared. Luckily, it worked later. I checked her phone, but there wasn’t an emergency contact, and I tried unlocking it but couldn’t. I was afraid that once she got to the hospital, the doctors and nurses wouldn’t be able to contact her family, so I went along too, to see if there was anything else I could help with.”
As expected, the hospital really could not contact her family. Without another word, Zhu Zhixi paid the old lady’s fees for her. Only after confirming that she had been saved and was only waiting to regain consciousness after finishing her IV drip did he hurry home.
“My phone ran out of battery and shut off on the road. There wasn’t a charger in the car either. I thought I could charge it once I got home anyway, but for some reason, our electronic door lock suddenly malfunctioned. It couldn’t recognize my fingerprint and kept beeping and alarming. My phone was off, so I couldn’t contact customer service either. I felt like if I kept dragging it out, I’d definitely be late, so I quickly drove here first. But then I hit evening rush hour, and it was so congested. I almost got rear-ended too…”
The more Zhu Zhixi spoke, the more anxious he became, and his face even flushed a little.
He simplified all the difficulties in the process, only picking out a few key points and roughly describing his terribly unlucky experience. During this, he secretly glanced at Fu Rangyi several times and felt that he did not seem angry. He was just very seriously helping him “wash his face.”
As expected of a clean freak.
“Do I look really sloppy?” Zhu Zhixi’s voice became much quieter. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. “I’m sorry. I know you hate it most when people are late. I was late for so long, and I even came here all dirty.”
For some reason, Fu Rangyi suddenly laughed.
“You’re still laughing!” Zhu Zhixi became even angrier. This was not what he had expected at all! He had planned to make a dazzling entrance.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind.
“Hey! Professor Fu? Why are you still outside?”
Most of the figure was blocked by Fu Rangyi. Zhu Zhixi clung to his arm and tilted his head out slightly, sneaking a glance.
“Hey, who’s that?”
Zhu Zhixi quickly hid back, even pulling up Fu Rangyi’s coat in an attempt to cover himself completely.
Fu Rangyi lowered his head, suppressing a smile as he glanced at him. Then he turned back and said to the colleague who had come out to smoke, “It’s nothing. My lover is here.”
Zhu Zhixi’s heartbeat began to accelerate in a panic from that very second.
Lover?
Lover.
For no reason, those two words spun before his eyes, swaying and drifting, as if they had turned into two butterflies and flown into Zhu Zhixi’s overly anxious and exhausted brain. Their wings fluttered lightly, and everything fell silent. All his worries were paused.
Only Fu Rangyi’s voice remained.
“It’s cold outside. Do you want to go in?”
I only wanted to go in looking cool.
Zhu Zhixi lowered his chin and said in a muffled voice, “I’m such a mess right now. I’m too embarrassed to eat with you all. Why else would I call and ask you to come out alone? I just wanted to come over and explain, so you wouldn’t worry.”
“How are you a mess?” Fu Rangyi lifted his chin again, looking left and right, as if admiring his own work.
“Isn’t this fine? Clean and fair, kind and warmhearted.”
Why did that sound so strange? Why had this person’s mouth become so sweet lately?
Zhu Zhixi was very unused to it. It was as if he felt uncomfortable if Fu Rangyi did not sting him with a few words.
“No, it’s not fine. My clothes are dirty too. I look like I just went coal mining.”
Fu Rangyi said solemnly, “It’s fine. They all dig in the dirt too.”
Zhu Zhixi was almost helpless. “Great professor, you’re really good at joking.”
“Do you really mind?” Fu Rangyi asked seriously. “If you don’t want to go in, wait here a moment. I’ll tell them, and then we’ll go home.”
“That doesn’t seem good. That teacher already saw me. It’d be rude.” Zhu Zhixi glanced at the restaurant next door, then lowered his head and looked at himself. “I’m just a little annoyed. I’d already planned to dress handsomely. I had my outfit all matched, but I didn’t get to change. Look at this down jacket. It’s so dirty. I got it all over the ground while doing first aid.”
“Take it off.”
“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi was stunned.
Three minutes later, wearing Fu Rangyi’s coat, Zhu Zhixi pushed open the glass door of the barbecue restaurant with dignity. Fu Rangyi followed behind him, wearing a black turtleneck knit sweater. The soiled white jacket was hanging over his arm.
“Hey? Professor Fu is back?”
Several teachers raised their hands and waved. Zhu Zhixi immediately put on his infectious signature smile, bent slightly at the waist, and greeted them.
Under Fu Rangyi’s lead, the two finally sat down side by side. Fu Rangyi briefly introduced him, and everyone exchanged names. As soon as he finished, Zhu Zhixi naturally picked up the conversation and skillfully seized the social initiative.
“Hello, hello, everyone. I’m really sorry. Something happened on the way and delayed me, so I’m terribly late. Are you all almost done eating? How about this? I’ll pay for today’s meal!”
As he spoke, he saw the sake on the table and immediately found a way to break the ice. He stood up, picked up the cup in front of Fu Rangyi, and poured himself wine without another word. “I should have arrived early, but I made everyone wait so long the first time we met. I’m really sorry. I’ll punish myself with three cups and toast all the teachers here.”
Zhu Zhixi was already very practiced with this smooth little apology combo. Three cups in a row, full of sincerity, not vague in the slightest. After drinking them with a smile, he shrugged at everyone. “The last time I ate with this many teachers was at a teacher appreciation banquet.”
Faced with this scene, the table of university teachers had an astonishingly unified reaction. Every single one of them was dumbfounded. They looked at him, then at Fu Rangyi sitting beside him, who had tried several times to stop him but had been unable to insert a single word. Finally, they all burst into laughter together, their laughter rising and falling in waves.
Zhu Zhixi was a little confused.
What did this mean? Did he look funny when toasting?
Or did wearing Fu Rangyi’s clothes make him look like a child secretly wearing an adult’s clothes?
After sitting down, he still had a smile on his face, but his elbow secretly nudged Fu Rangyi. He leaned close and asked in a small voice, “What’s going on…”
Fu Rangyi picked up his cup and drank water, blocking his face as he said quietly, “Your persona collapsed.”
“Huh? Persona?”
“I told them your personality was very introverted…”
Author’s Note:
Why Has Professor Fu Been Less Sharp-Tongued Lately?
Time rewinds to that snowy night, beside the tree-lined road on campus, when Student Little Zhu unleashed a whole speech at Professor Fu. Among it, keywords such as “you’re so annoying,” “cold,” “too serious,” and “you speak so harshly” were deeply engraved in Professor Fu’s mind.
That night, he worked hard to recall everything and gradually agreed with Little Zhu’s criticism, conducting deep self-reflection.
So he added one line to the memo [Little Rabbit Foster Care Manual]:
[7. Think three times before speaking. Try not to blurt out harsh words.]
Then he remembered that during his susceptible period, because he felt sorry, he had told Little Zhu he could make any request of him. Little Zhu’s first request had been—
“Praise me.”
So he added another line.
[8. Learn to praise him more.]
