The Patient And I (Cai Xukun x Reader)

Chapter 1

Oh yes, Xukun thought as he dragged himself out of unconsciousness, this is exhaustion.

It was too awful to be experiencing, but at least it was familiar. It indicated that things were back on the right track and in working order again. It felt like he had swallowed half the dessert, and had the other half permanently jammed into him eyeballs. Opening them was like trying to drag a brick wall up a steel hill, and he ran out of energy half way up.

It was enough to see the white tilling of a hospital ceiling.

Figured that a car accident where he wasn't even behind the wheel for once would hospitalise him. It didn't take long for Xukun's erratic heart beats on the EKG to get the attention of a nurse, who was prompt in calling the doctor to his room. After a couple of tests to check his condition, the doctor was quick enough to fill him on everything that had happened. It turned out that he was unconscious for far longer than he had initially expected.

The car accident had pulled him into a coma for about three weeks after the incident and caused him to suffer notable head trauma. Xukun was from a small town in Hebei, and the hospital he was originally taken to hadn't been capable of tending to the injuries he had received, so his father had agreed to have him sent to Shanghai for better recovery. The man had stayed with him for the first week, but unfortunately couldn't afford to be away from work for too long, so he resumed tending to his responsibilities back in Hebei.

Xukun's mother on the other hand--there was a reason that the inside of the hospital room was so familiar to him. He was still young and clueless when a sudden sickness overcame her, and he remembered being by her side through the long, cancerous battle that she eventually succumbed to. Xukun didn't have much recollection of that period of his childhood, but the constant beeping of the heartrate monitor and the smell of both sickness and saniation lingering in the air left a lasting impression.

Moving past the fact that Xukun was alone, the doctor informed him that his body still needed time to heal, and that they would do regular tests on him to make sure there was nothing critical. When Xukun asked him how long he would be held prisoner for, the older man seemed unamused by his poor attempt at humor before giving an answer of "Two to three months, it really depends on your physical and mental improvement."

Xukun gave his father a call a little while after the doctor had left the room. The older man had immediately offered rushing to Shanghai as soon as he got off work, but Xukun insisted it wasn't worth the hours and money it took to get all the way to the hospital. Instead he just requested that he gets sent some of his belongings over so that he wouldn't die of sheer boredom in the few months he would be forced to stay in captivity.

There were two things that he absolutely could not stand during his say. One, there was a swarm of nurses who decided to paint Xukun as the objection of their affections for the duration of his stay. Two, the only television shows playing in his room were some god awful soap operas re-runs that he could really do without, thank you very much.

So imagine his cry of frustration when the one thing his father had managed to send him amongst his suitcase of clothes, was a zip-lock bag filled with long forgetten Gameboy catridges...but no Gameboy. Not even his manga books that were probably collecting dust underneath his bed.

Ignoring the slew of curses running rampant in his head, Xukun decided to heed the doctors advice to stretch his legs and wander outside the building to get some fresh air and sunlight he was so desperately craving. He pulled off his hospital prescription pants in exchange for washed out jeans, and cracked the door open by an inch to peek out into the hallway.

Clutching the zip-lock bag close to his chest, Xukun kept an eye out for any signs of giggling nurses, and bolted down the emergency staircase. Taking some time to explore the facilities, ended up at the hospital courtyard, which was a large, open zone with paved paths winding all around sections of grass and steady trees. There were many others around taking in their daily dose of vitamin D, and Xukun took some time himself to stroll through the entire expanse, happy to have his feet hit the solid ground and his lungs take in the crisp, afternoon air. As he kept roaming, he discovered several benches scattered throughout the area where one could sit and admire the view of the garden located near the centre of it all.

Xukun drew closer to the beautiful scenery, but the rose bushes weren't what caught his attention.

Sitting alone at a bench under one of the Hawthorn tree's, was a girl.

She was dressed in the same attire as him, which was the hospital's uniform for patients that consisted of a long-sleeved white and blue collared shirt and long pants (except he had donned his beloved jeans) that closely resembled pajamas- both in look and practically. The girl's back was facing Xukun, but he could still see the familiar device in her hands-- it was a powder blue Gameboy advance, just like what he owned. Unfortunately, he had his own console stashed somewhere in his Hebei based home. But he figured that the girl would have shared the same thought as him and wanted to spend some time gaming outside rather than in bed.

Curiosity got the best of him as he slowly made his way to her position where she basically sat cross legged with her face buried in the screen. Stopping a safe distance behind her, Xukun tried to peek discreetly over her shoulder to identify what was on her screen. He instantly recognized that the game she was playing was Pokemon, specifically Fire Red, and he wasn't able to suppress the grin that was forming on his face at the sight of someone else sharing the same interest as him.

He was a sucker for the classics.

The girl must've noticed the sudden change in lighting from the shadow Xukun's presence made as it hovered over her ominously, because she craned her neck to look up from her console and turned her head to greet the newcomer. Xukun felt his breathe hitch in his throat and chest constrict with something unfamiliar as his eyes wandered over her stunning features.

She had dark brown curly hair that swept down in loose curls over her shoulders and a flawless complexion that his female friends would be jealous of. She stared up at him with round, brown eyes and her pink lips were lush and parted, as if waiting for something particular to happen. That was when Xukun realized that he had been standing there, staring with what probably looked like a creepy smile.

Great. Even before introductions were made, he was probably being labelled as a creepy stalker.

Wonderful.

~~~babababambabam i'm writting another story again 😂😂 i'll finish this story very fast. And sorry if there are any kinds of word mistakes. Enjoy IKUNs 😘💓~~~