Ti Shen

Su Yi Mo brought Ran Feng Ge to his room on the second floor, then went back down for the big bag of medicine sitting on the coffee table.

Looking at the bag, Su Yi Mo couldn’t help but think, was it… because of his contract that Ran Feng Ge had left the hospital in such a hurry?

And because of a mysterious tattoo, he had even gone out to investigate Jing Qiu Han’s background. Ran Feng Ge did say that it was part of his preparations as a body double, but wouldn’t it have been better if he had just directly asked Su Yi Mo himself instead?

Should he put it off as Ran Feng Ge being dedicated to his work, or was it that he was bored and thus wanted something to do?

Su Yi Mo shook his head to clear his thoughts and climbed the final step of the stairs.

He walked down to the room at the end of the hall, which was serving as Ran Feng Ge’s temporary room. The injured man was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. One arm lay across his forehead, his breathing somewhat rushed.

Hearing Su Yi Mo’s footsteps, Ran Feng Ge opened his eyes and attempted to push himself up using an elbow.

Su Yi Mo quickly walked over and stopped him. “Just tell me how you want me to use these things.”

Ran Feng Ge raised his eyes and glanced at him, giving a slight smile. “You know how to set up an IV?”

That question truly stumped Su Yi Mo.

As he stared blankly at Ran Feng Ge, the latter took the big plastic bag from his hands. From the bag, Ran Feng Ge took out rubbing alcohol, an IV bottle, an IV needle and tubing, cotton swabs, and a series of other things. His quick hands swiftly connected the tubing to the IV bottle. He then handed the bottle to Su Yi Mo. “Help me hold this and put it up high.”

Su Yi Mo accepted the bottle and did as he was told. He watched as Ran Feng Ge dipped a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and used it to wipe the back of his left hand clean. Ran Feng Ge then formed a tight fist, highlighting the veins on his hand. Then, without blinking, he picked up the IV needle and inserted it into a vein.

“You’ve studied medicine before?” Su Yi Mo asked quietly, having watched this series of actions.

“Yup. The field I’m most knowledgeable in is traditional Chinese medicine, with a focus on poison and how to make antidotes and detoxify the body. I only have superficial knowledge on western medicine.” Ran Feng Ge responded to the question in a deadpan voice, but he was secretly smiling on the inside.

“Poisons and antidotes?” Su Yi Mo was shocked; he frowned and then asked, “You guys use poison?”

“No, we aren’t the ones who use poison. We have to learn how to make antidotes in the case that we are poisoned ourselves. Did you think it was easy to be a body double? We might drop dead at any given moment. How would we live if we don’t learn a wide variety of things?” Ran Feng Ge pressed down on the needle in his hand. He let out an annoyed sigh; he had forgotten to rip off a piece of tape earlier.

Su Yi Mo noticed the problem and reached out a hand. “I’ll help you press it down. You can go look for the tape.”

Accepting the offer, Ran Feng Ge released his hand. Su Yi Mo moved in and used two fingers to hold the needle down. Through his fingers, he felt that Ran Feng Ge’s skin was somewhat feverish. He looked up and noticed that the other’s face was flushed red, and that his eyes were dull and listless.

It looks like a fever induced by his injuries.

Ran Feng Ge did not notice that Su Yi Mo was staring at him. His head was lowered and he was currently searching through the bag for tape. After rummaging around, he finally pulled out a roll of white medical tape. He used his teeth to pull free a strip and used his teeth again to rip it off. Then he stuck the strip of tape on the back of his hand, holding the needle in place.

“You can let go.” Just when Ran Feng Ge was about to pull his hand back, Su Yi Mo reached out and stopped him. “Wait, you should stick on two more pieces. Just one isn’t enough to hold the needle in place.”

Like Ran Feng Ge, Su Yi Mo used his teeth and tore off a piece of tape. He stuck it beside the other piece. After doing this one more time, he put down the roll of tape.

“Did you buy any fever medicine?” Su Yi Mo looked through the plastic bag.

“The IV drip has antipyretics in it. I’m going to sleep. You can do whatever,” Ran Feng Ge said tiredly. He then lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. Muddleheaded, he quickly fell asleep, not hearing Su Yi Mo’s reply.

Su Yi Mo looked at the other’s sweat-soaked shirt and the blood tainted bandages that were peeking through. He set the IV bottle down on a tall desk and walked downstairs to the bathroom. He then filled a small tub with warm water, grabbed some fresh towels, and walked back upstairs.

He unbuttoned Ran Feng Ge’s shirt, but discovered he couldn’t take it off as the latter’s left hand was attached to the IV. After thinking for a bit, Su Yi Mo decided to just simply rip the shirt off, leaving the left arm on.

He soaked a towel in the warm water and wrung it dry. Using it, he wiped away the sweat on Ran Feng Ge’s body little by little. In some places though, light traces of blood still remained.

Although he had said he would never pry into the other’s private business, Ran Feng Ge was still someone under his employ. What would he do if Ran Feng Ge suddenly dropped dead because he had left him alone?

Finished with wiping down Ran Feng Ge’s upper body, Su Yi Mo’s hand paused near the injured man’s belt. What should he do about below?

Forget it; he had never personally wiped down Qiu Han’s body before. He was being too lenient with this fellow.

Su Yi Mo glanced at the layer of gauze wrapped around Ran Feng Ge’s middle and sighed. He would change the gauze, but wouldn’t do anything about below.

Peeling aside the gauze, Su Yi Mo discovered that the other’s wound had been caused by a blade. The stab wound wasn’t very deep, but Ran Feng Ge had refused to lie obediently on the hospital bed and kept moving around, thus the wound still hadn’t fused yet.

It would probably be alright if he rested for a few days at home.

After changing Ran Feng Ge’s bandage, Su Yi Mo drew the blankets over the injured man. Carrying the tub of bloody water, he prepared to walk downstairs.

At that moment, he heard a phone vibrate.

It wasn’t his phone.

Su Yi Mo paused and turned his head to look at the pocket on Ran Feng Ge’s pants. He hesitated for a bit, but finally turned around. He put down the tub and pulled out Ran Feng Ge’s phone. It was an unknown number. At least, that was what the phone displayed it as.

As if something had overtaken him, unfathomably, Su Yi Mo pressed “Answer.”