HYBRID

🏒Defencemen ⛸️

"Why are you babying me?" Xian rolled his eyes at Azure. He couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. One second he was celebrating his victory, and the next he was sitting on a cold chair being prodded by a doctor.

"What do you mean by babying?" Azure narrowed his eyes, and while there was no anger behind them, Xian knew the older man was genuinely concerned. "You literally fainted in my arms, and by the number of stitches on your forehead, it indicates that this is serious!" Turning to face the doctor, Azure inquired, "How is he?" 

Shaking her head at their antics Doctor Kim was about to answer when the door burst open and Coach Chen walked in with a frown on his face. Just before the door closed, Xian caught a glimpse of rest of the team. 

Oh boy!

"Doc, how's he?"

"Mr. Lan, Xian was in need of emergency medical aid, which was provided to him promptly. I sutured his forehead to stop the excessive bleeding and--"

"Hey doc!" Xian gave her an awkward grin and asked, "Do you think my beautiful face is going to scar?" 

As much as he tried to lighten the mood, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Both brothers turned their attention to him, and their expressions were identical.

Exasperated.

On the other hand, Doctor Kim found them to be adorable. "It might, but you always have the option of getting them covered through technology."

Before Xian could continue, it was Azure who quickly asked, "Earlier you were checking his ribs. Do you suspect any injury?"

"Wangji, you are a sportsman and are aware of all sports-related injuries. Without a scan, I might not be able to pinpoint the exact issue, but by observing Xian, I can detect that this could be a severe case of rib fracture. He needs to visit the hospital for a better prognosis."

"I'll make an appointment." Coach Chen was ready to dial the number when Xian knew he had to take control back into his hands or everything would be over.

"Hold on!"

Both the Lan brothers looked at him expectantly.

"I won't go to the hospital."

"Why not?" This time it was Azure who asked this question.

Taking a deep breath, Xian answered, "I just have one last match left. If we go to the hospital and I am asked to rest and sit out for this game, it would be the end of everything we all have worked so hard for. I won't allow that, and neither would I allow your concerns to sabotage my plans of winning the cup.

"I won't go even if it means I have to play the next game in immense pain. A lot has been taken away from me." Raising his eyes towards the Doctor, Xian glanced back at Azure and said, "This time I won't allow it."

The room was plunged into silence. It was then that Doctor Kim finally said, "This is going against my ethics, but I'll prescribe some medicines and compression tapes. But after your match, you need to visit the hospital to take care of your pain officially."

Giving her a salute Xian grinned.

Just then there was a knock, and once Coach gave permission to enter, Xian was pleasantly surprised to see Jeff's face.