The ultimate blue sea

Chapter 59-Bewilderment

Xu Ruchong didn't return to his room, just lay down in a lounge next to the lab. The RZ Unit's people normally handled minor complaints like this, in case last minute work came up.

After a while, someone opened the door and came in, startling Xu Ruchong. He gave an indistinct "yeah," not opening his eyes.

He heard Fang Xiu's voice say, "Sleep, it's all right, it's me."

So Xu Ruchong drifted murkily back to sleep. Fang Xiu leaned down and felt his forehead to check his temperature. He looked at the water stains on his glass, determined that he had already taken medicine, then quietly walked out. After a moment, he brought in a thick blanket from somewhere and smoothed it over Xu Ruchong.

Perhaps it was heavy and Xu Ruchong was uncomfortable from the weight. He struggled a little. Fang Xiu put a hand on his head, then flattened the corners of the blanket. He quietly said, "Shh, don't move. You're running a slight fever. It'll be good to sweat it out a bit."

Xu Ruchong slowly opened his eyes and glanced at him. Probably from the fever, the corners of his eyes were a little reddened.

Fang Xiu poked him in the forehead. "Isn't that brain of yours any use? Why don't you go back to your own room and sleep? I can keep an eye on things for you here."

Xu Ruchong disdained him in a heavily nasal voice: "Nope, a gorilla like you can't handle work of such high intellectual requirements."

Fang Xiu spat. "Ingrate."

Xu Ruchong asked, "Don't you have an assignment?"

"I came to look in on you first. If Master Xu falls, half the sky will be missing for all of us field personnel."

"I'll be fine. I just need to lie down." Xu Ruchong closed his eyes somewhat wearily. "You go ahead."

Fang Xiu felt that he looked pitiful. He could only sigh. He sat there for a while, then finally got up and left. Not long after he left, someone opened the door again. This time it was Lu Qingbai who came in holding an IV bag. He closed the door with his foot and walked in almost noiselessly. He hung up the IV bag and attached the drip to Xu Ruchong.

Dr. Lu's skills were excellent. Xu Ruchong didn't even feel pain. He only felt a tightening and then a loosening on his wrist, and the needle was in. He couldn't resist forcing his eyelids up once more to look at him. "Why did you come yourself? Aren't you busy?"

Lu Qingbai said, "I'll finish with you first, then I'll see to the rest. They're all dead, anyway. They can wait a bit. You're still breathing, so I'm giving you the tie-breaking point."

He had just spoken when Hu Bugui also opened the door and walked in. He asked, "How is he? I heard Xiao Xu is running a fever."

At last, Xu Ruchong couldn't keep lying down any longer. He wanted to get up, but Lu Qingbai held him down and scolded: "Enough, you can't even balance, don't thrash around."

Hu Bugui nodded. "Look after your health. I'll have the treatment center send a nurse over to help look after you. How about that?"

Xu Ruchong quickly said, "No need, no need."

When Lu Qingbai and Hu Bugui had also left, Xu Ruchong seemed to sigh in relief as he lay back down. But in no time at all, Qin Luo and Xue Xiaolu also came. The girls quietly put a thermos on the little cabinet at the head of the bed. Xue Xiaolu kept her voice very low and asked, "Do you think he's awake?"

Qin Luo said in an even quieter voice, "Half-conscious, I think. I'm always like that when I have a fever. He might know if you talk to him."

So Xue Xiaolu leaned close to Xu Ruchong's ear. In a quiet, soft voice, she said, "Master Xu, remember to drink the soup when you wake up."