Promise

For nurse Xiao Li, that day was also quite unforgettable.

She slept on a small bed in the break room until her colleague who was here to take over her shift came to wake her up.

"What time is it?" She sat on the edge of the bed and yawned. She was so sleepy; her mind wasn't functioning properly.

"Five o'clock." Her colleague pointed outside, "Wash your face and sober up. It's snowing outside and the road is very slippery. Be careful when you go home later."

Xiao Li splashed her face with water a few times at the sink, but it was of little effect. She stared dazedly at her colleague and said, "You can change first. I'll go to the ward and take a look."

As she walked through the corridor carrying her chart, the entire floor was silent.

In fact, it wasn't like this before. Whether it was during the day or at night, it would never be so quiet, and one would always hear the low breathing from the patients.

Ever since that group of special patients took over this floor, she never heard such painful groans anymore. It even made her wonder if the anaesthetic was changed and if the effect lasted longer now.

Now that most of them had left, the floor was so quiet it felt almost like it could be haunted.

The guards in charge of the night watch were still standing out in the corridor. Just like a few hours ago, they still stood there, tall and firm.

Xiao Li gave them a soft sleepwalking smile before turning into 906.

At the request of Gao Qi, this place had been turned into a double room with the two beds placed side by side. There was a transparent slip at the head of the bed displaying the patient's name. The one near the window said 'Qin Jiu' while the one near the door said 'You Huo'.

After checking Qin Jiu's drip, Xiao Li walked over to You Huo's bedside.

The cold white lights had not been turned on and the ward was still dim with only the monitor screen and drip regulator glowing softly. Xiao Li borrowed this source of light to record the data and when she looked back up, her eyes were met with You Huo's light-coloured eyes which had opened at some unknown point in time.

Xiao Li screamed and dropped her chart.

The soldiers outside rushed in and soon following them was the colleague who had just finished changing. Her colleague asked, "What is it? What happened?"

Xiao Li said in shock, "He's awake!"

"Really?!" Her colleague rushed to the bed. After checking for a while, she turned back to ask, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Aren't his eyes open?" Xiao Li went over, only to see the person lying there with his eyes closed and breathing even. It was as if he had never woken up.

"The director said he should still need at least another three or four days." The colleague checked the monitors. The chart had risen sharply a few seconds ago before quickly becoming stable again.

Xiao Li said, "I really saw him wake up. He touched his earlobe as soon as he opened his eyes."

"Touched his earlobe?" Her colleague checked and said, "Oh, there is an ear stud there."

After checking the records and waiting by the side for a long time in disbelief, You Huo didn't show any signs of opening his eyes. It was as if he had just dreamed of certain people or of a certain something and was startled awake before confirming that it was okay and falling into a coma again.

Xiao Li who had received such a scare was no longer sleepy and she also wasn't in a hurry to go home so she decided to stay until the cafeteria opened at 7:30 and leave after having breakfast there.

After waiting around, she received another scare——–

At 7:05 in the morning, she helped her colleague change some drips in the intensive care unit.

As soon as she walked in, she saw a man sitting on the bed removing something with one hand while his eyes kept falling onto the figure on the other bed.

Hearing her footsteps, he raised his eyes and looked over at the door. His dark eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to make out who she was.

The temperament was calm, but it also carried a sense of laziness. It may be because he gave off such an arrogant demeanour, Xiao Li even felt a little fearful.

"Sorry, wrong room." She subconsciously apologised and hurriedly withdrew with her tray. When she turned around, her eyes met with the guards.

Guard: "?"

Xiao Li: "?"

She looked up with confusion. Room 906. It's not the wrong one!

So who was the person sitting on the bed???

Xiao Li was stunned for a few seconds before she pushed the door open again.

This time she saw it clearly ——— the sheets on the bed near the window had been lifted and that man had already stood up. He was very tall and he had to lower his head in order to bypass the drip bottles.

Who else could it be if not for Qin Jiu?!

"You're awake?! When did you wake up? I'm the nurse in charge here, you can just call me Xiao Li." Xiao Li walked over with a look of surprise.

Qin Jiu nodded and responded, "Just woke up."

He hadn't spoken for a long time so his voice still carried some hoarseness.

Xiao Li who was both young and thin skinned blushed in response.

She would always lower her head when she blushes. As soon as she lowered her head, she saw what Qin Jiu was holding in his hand ——- An infusion needle that had been forcibly removed and still had two pieces of tape stuck to it.

Xiao Li: "...….."

"Why did you take it off for?" The little nurse's face immediately lost all the colour from earlier and her expression turned stern.

Qin Jiu let out an 'oh' and answered, "I saw that the drip was almost empty and it was too troublesome calling for someone so I thought I could do it myself."

As he said this, he and Xiao Li looked over at the drip....

The drip that was still more than half full swayed innocently.

Xiao Li: "...…."

"Does that look like it's almost empty?" She pointed at the bottle.

"Sorry, I was still a little confused after waking up and was mistaken." Qin Jiu's attitude was gentlemanly and sincere, but it was a pity that this little nurse had seen plenty of this and wouldn't fall for it.

Clutching her chart, her expression basically said: Lie, go ahead and lie!

"Let me tell you, you're not the only one. Several of your friends or comrades did this too." Xiao Li said seriously.

"Our people? They're all here?" Qin Jiu walked over to the door when he heard this. He firstly looked at the soldiers guarding them before looking over at the 'Chu Yue' nameplate on the door opposite his ward.

"They were here before and left the other day after recovering from their injuries. Seemed to have some business to deal with." Xiao Li recalled Gao Qi's instructions and explained, "That friend of yours called Gao Qi said something about.....returning to the army for review? There are only you two left here as well as that patient surnamed Chu opposite this room. Her eyes have already been operated on and it will take some time to recover. Let me tell you first, you were all originally given luxurious single rooms, but Gao Qi asked me to put you two together. If you're not happy with it, you can vent it on him."

As she said this, Xiao Li was looking at Qin Jiu.

She noticed that when he heard Gao Qi and Chu Yue's names, there was a slight change in the muscles around his neck and shoulders. As someone who works in a hospital, she understood the reason for these changes. It was only at this moment did she realise that Qin Jiu who may appear lazy and sloppy, in fact also carried a rather aggressive nature.

The little nurse was shocked.

She wondered if she had accidentally said something wrong just now. Was she about to meet her doom?

"Is it convenient for me to take a look at the opposite ward?" Qin Jiu turned and asked her.

Xiao Li looked fearfully at him. 

Qin Jiu stared at her for a few seconds before saying with a small laugh, "I'm really sorry about this. Before checking where this place is, I have to be on guard. Did I scare you?"

"No, no." Xiao Li subconsciously shook her head, "I understand. I understand."

After shaking, she inwardly muttered some complaints to herself about her being convinced so easily when faced with an attractive face.

"So the opposite ward—-" Qin Jiu indicated with his chin.

Xiao Li said, "It's okay, I just tucked in the sheets. She hasn't woken yet. The director said it will take a few more days."

She very easily reported Chu Yue's condition and examination results lest Qin Jiu was still on guard.

But she soon discovered that this person was a straightforward pragmatist. Words alone couldn't convince him. After reading through Ch Yue's reports, even without Xiao Li's explanation, he very obviously lowered his guard.

"The information in here is quite technical. Do you understand it?" Xiao Li helped Chu Yue close the door and followed Qin Jiu back to 906.

"Somewhat." Qin Jiu said.

In fact, he understood it very well. Afterall, he had once lived in the systems medical centre for more than half a year and he had dealt with data like these every day. After that experience, he was almost at the level of a medical specialist.

Qin jiu pulled over a chair and sat down by You Huo's bed.

Xiao Li selected open the monitor and pointed at the screen, "You're not looking at his data?"

"I've seen it." Qin Jiu said.

"When did you look at it?" Xiao Li asked with surprise.

"When I first woke up."

"...…"

Speechless, Xiao Li caught sight of the bruising on the back of Qin Jiu's clearly defined hand. She had a lot of experience and she naturally knew of the cause for this ——- If one didn't pay attention to the drip whist they're receiving it and pulled it around or tugged at it, something like this will happen.

And why would he pull or tug the needle?

Was he so concerned about how the other person was the moment he woke up that he didn't notice that he was on a drip?

The gentle blue light from the monitor illuminated Qin Jiu's face, making his profile and silhouette appear more profound and handsome. He sat there hunched with his fingers pressed against his chin and his eyes remained fixed at the head of the bed, unmoving.

All the aggression and danger in him was lowered to a minimum and he sat there quietly watching over the person before him.

Xiao Li originally wanted to say, 'Let me put the drip on you again' but she felt that the current situation was inappropriate for her to say that. After thinking about it, she decided to avoid that topic....

And with this, she avoided it for three days.

Over those three days, apart from washing up, Qin Jiu basically never left that place by the bed.

Xiao Li who couldn't hold back anymore complained to the director, "Even though he's eating normally, I don't know about sleep. Every time I go there, he would always be awake."

The director asked, "And the data?"

"Oh, the usual. Healthier than me." Xiao Li said with some defeat.

The director said hesitantly, "Then that's fine…."

"Director, are you afraid of him?"

"Nonsense!"

"Then why won't you go and tell him off?" Xiao Li asked. "In the past, you would always scold a patient harshly to make them do as you have instructed. We now need him to be more obedient. He will need to have a full examination tomorrow, what if he says something like leave it for another two days?" 

The director responded solemnly, "He won't. Old Wu and the others from the army will come tomorrow. They'll definitely be able to explain everything to him. Once he understands the situation, he will probably cooperate."

"Wait....You're thinking that he's like this because he doesn't want to cooperate?" Xiao Li asked.

"It might also not be that. Might be because he still doesn't trust us." The director said sincerely, "Afterall, everything they've experienced.....was indeed quite complicated. Even I would be more vigilant."

Xiao Li glanced silently at the director's bald head. She felt that she couldn't seem to communicate with this old antique.

Their phones also needed to be reviewed so they were all taken away as soon as they were admitted into the hospital. And so, Qin Jiu's waiting was really just waiting. He didn't have anything he could use to pass the time.

Xiao Li tried to think about it in another way. If it was herself, she definitely wouldn't be able to sit there like that. She had always felt that Qin Jiu wasn't such a gentle person. Even if this prickly person settled himself down, he would still have his guard up. She couldn't believe he would have such a patient side to him.

Once, Xiao Li couldn't hold herself back and said to him: "There is a special bell here. As long as he wakes up and presses it, we will all know. There won't be any delay so there is no need to watch over him like this."

Qin Jiu said, "It's okay, its not because I'm afraid of the delay."

Xiao Li was curious, "Then why?"

Qin Jiu smiled lazily and didn't answer.

Xiao Li knew not to overstep her boundaries, so she didn't ask further. She would just occasionally wonder how long this person would have to wait.

Fortunately, it wasn't too long.

The next day, it was also early in the morning. Xiao Li at the time was similarly about to change shifts with her colleague and, as usual, she did her final round before passing over the job.

She hung up a new drip bottle, adjusted the speed and briefly said a few words of precautions to Qin Jiu before leaving.

When she retreated out of the ward and closed the door, she suddenly saw through the glass the man who had been waiting all this time lean forward.

The scene outside the half-opened curtains was pure white. Heavy snow had fallen over the past three days and everything was frozen.

The corridor was a little colder than the room. The little nurse stood in place stunned for a long time. It was only when she felt the chill on the tip of her fingers that she realised....the person on the bed had finally woken up.

·

In his dream, You Huo had walked for a very, very long time. When he finally reached the end of that road, he felt himself being hugged.

A familiar scent enveloped him; strong, intimate and gentle. He slowly loosened the brows he had furrowed because of the discomfort and before he even fully opened his eyes, he whispered with a hoarse voice, "Qin Jiu?"

You Huo hadn't spoken for too long and he couldn't really make a proper sound, but Qin Jiu seemed to have heard him...

He seemed to always hear him.

His deep voice reached You Huo's ear: "I'm here."

He said: "My dear, you have slept for a long time."

That day, the nurse had asked him why he had to wait like this.

He didn't answer.

In fact, it was because of some words he had said to his Big Invigilator a long time ago. He had said: When we get out of this damned system someday, I will accompany you to have your eyes checked. It's okay if you have to have an operation, I will be there waiting for you to open your eyes.

After all sorts of accidents along the way, he had missed it and had even forgotten those words...It was something he had always regretted.

So this time, no matter what, he didn't want to break his promise.

From now on, he will never break his promise.

KK has something to say: 

OMG Qin Jiu