Evil Love Appears chapter 92

The time for the midnight flight that Xu Jiale had booked was already tight, so when he arrived at the airport, he immediately proceeded with the check-in process.

On his way, he called Wang Xiaoshan twice, but Wang Xiaoshan didn’t pick up. He replied with a brief message: “My phone’s almost out of battery, I’ll call you once I charge it at the hospital.”

Not giving up, Xu Jiale called Fu Xiaoyu’s phone several times, but there was still no answer. This wasn’t surprising, as Wang Xiaoshan probably forgot he could answer calls from Fu Xiaoyu in this situation.

Throughout the two-hour process of check-in and security clearance, Xu Jiale was in a near-dazed state. He could barely remember that he also called Xu Lang briefly, providing minimal details, only saying he had an urgent matter to attend to in Vietnam and asking Xu Lang to keep an eye on Nanyi’s situation while also taking care of Xia’an.

Aside from this shred of rationality, he had no time to contemplate the meaning of his actions at this moment. His mind was fixated on one thing:

Fu Xiaoyu had a high fever.

That was the only information he currently had. He didn’t know why Fu Xiaoyu had a fever or what his current condition was. All these unknowns were tormenting him more than anything else.

Holding his passport, Xu Jiale stood pale-faced in the boarding line, knowing that he would soon have to switch his phone to airplane mode.

After what felt like an eternity, Wang Xiaoshan finally called him.

Before the phone even finished ringing, Xu Jiale answered.

“Xu Ge…” Wang Xiaoshan had likely been quite busy and sounded a bit out of breath. “I just finished, Mr. Fu is settled in the hospital now. Sorry, my voice might be a bit weak. I’ve been through a lot.”

“How is he now? Why did he suddenly have a high fever?”

“Xu Ge, I honestly thought earlier that you might be a bit overly sensitive, but it turns out you were right to be so nervous. The doctor just ran some tests, and it turns out to be dengue fever. If he had kept running the fever, it could have been really dangerous.”

“Dengue fever?”

Xu Jiale’s breath became heavier.

With those three words, he suddenly understood why he had become so anxious a while ago.

Southeast Asia had a hot climate, and the frequent rain made it particularly suitable for mosquito breeding. He remembered a French student who had contracted dengue fever due to mosquito bites during one of his field visits to Vietnam. The student had a high fever, decreased platelet count, and had stayed in the hospital for three to four days.

Fu Xiaoyu had mentioned being bitten by mosquitoes before in their group chat.

Even though Xu Jiale couldn’t have immediately pieced everything together earlier, all the information he had taken notice of had subconsciously formed in his mind.

It was his subconscious that had him on edge before he had any logical or rational support, making his heart clench.

“So, how severe is it? How are his platelet levels?”

Xu Jiale asked anxiously while watching the flight attendants check row by row. He knew he would be asked to switch to airplane mode soon.

“For now, he’s doing okay, and his platelet levels are normal,” Wang Xiaoshan said. “The doctor said, as long as it was caught early, it should be fine. At this stage, Mr. Fu has a fever and muscle pain, but there’s no gum bleeding or severe vomiting, so it’s not considered a severe case. He’s dehydrated from the high fever, so they’re giving him fluids and observing him overnight.”

“Alright, I understand.” Xu Jiale couldn’t chat with Wang Xiaoshan any longer; he only added, “Make sure to send me the name of the hospital.”

After hanging up, Xu Jiale realized that he had broken into a cold sweat. But it was a relief to know that it wasn’t a severe case.

Although it should have been a moment for him to breathe a sigh of relief, he couldn’t relax during the entire five-hour flight. The urgency to see Fu Xiaoyu had overridden any need for sleep, and the accompanying fatigue seemed to have briefly disappeared.

Upon landing in Vietnam, the early morning light was just breaking. Xu Jiale had almost been the first to disembark. He hadn’t checked any luggage, so he rushed to the immigration counter with great speed.

But the more anxious he became, the more it felt like fate was playing a joke on him.

Perhaps because another flight had recently arrived, the immigration counter, even in the early morning, had quite a few people queuing up to process their visas on arrival.

Xu Jiale swore silently. He clenched his passport tightly and waited in line. He requested an expedited processing, found a spot to sit and continued to call Wang Xiaoshan twice. However, it was still early in Vietnam, so Wang Xiaoshan didn’t answer the calls immediately.

In this state of restlessness, Xu Jiale waited for over half an hour before Wang Xiaoshan finally returned his call.

“Hey, Xu Ge, sorry, I didn’t sleep all night. Just took a short nap.” Wang Xiaoshan’s voice clearly sounded fatigued as he spoke softly. “Don’t worry too much. Mr. Fu and I are still at the hospital, but he’s already recovered from the fever, and it doesn’t seem like anything serious. It’s a mild case.”

“Fever… his fever is gone.” Xu Jiale supported his forehead with his hand and leaned back in a plastic airport chair. He took a deep breath and said, “Xiaoshan, I’m currently at Tan Son Nhat Airport. I’ll be there shortly.”

“What?!”

Sitting by the hospital bed, Wang Xiaoshan, who had just been informed about this, suddenly woke up. He raised his voice, “Xu Ge, you… you’re in Vietnam?”

After saying this, he only then realized it wasn’t right, but it was too late. Fu Xiaoyu, lying in the hospital bed, had already turned to look at him.

Fu Xiaoyu had recovered from the fever, but he looked pale and exhausted. His big round eyes appeared even larger, and they blinked rapidly as he stared in shock.

“Mr. Fu,” Wang Xiaoshan spoke softly, muffling the phone so that Xu Jiale wouldn’t hear, then he asked cautiously, “Xu Ge… Ah, I mean, Mr. Xu has also come to Vietnam. Would you like to say a few words to him?”

After a moment of silence, Fu Xiaoyu gently shook his head.

…

After a two-hour wait at the airport, Xu Jiale managed to complete all the procedures. As he exited customs and took a dusty taxi to the hospital, it was already 10 o’clock.

Wang Xiaoshan sent him the room number while he was on the way. The hospital was crowded in the morning. Many locals were moving and chatting in the corridors. Xu Jiale followed the signboard and, after a bit of wandering, finally located the ward where Fu Xiaoyu was staying.

The door to the ward was closed, but the curtains of a large window were only partially drawn.

As a result, Xu Jiale could faintly see half of Fu Xiaoyu’s body lying on the hospital bed. Standing beside the bed were three people: Wang Xiaoshan, a doctor, and… Wen Huaixuan.

The doctor had a faint smile on his face, indicating that the atmosphere inside was probably not too tense. However, Wen Huaixuan was currently bending over and he seemed to be talking to Fu Xiaoyu with concern.

The surroundings were still quite noisy. Xu Jiale stood alone in the bustling corridor, feeling like he had been bumped into by passersby. Yet, he remained rooted to the spot.

There were no words to describe the overwhelming feeling of loss he experienced at that moment.

Inside the window was Fu Xiaoyu, Wen Huaixuan, Wang Xiaoshan, and the doctor. The same window also reflected him standing outside the ward.

This scene was so absurd.

Looking through the glass, the blurry figure of himself seemed to be on the same plane as the people inside, but in reality, he was completely cut off from them.

At that moment, Xu Jiale suddenly realized that the last time he had wanted to come to Vietnam to find Fu Xiaoyu, his visa had not expired. However, the trip did not happen. But this time, when he had flown to Vietnam overnight for Fu Xiaoyu, his visa had coincidentally expired. He had rushed to the airport to apply for a visa on arrival, but the counter was unusually crowded early in the morning, and he had been stuck at the airport for two hours.

Just those two hours made all the difference.

The person who had come to see Fu Xiaoyu first was Wen Huaixuan.

Was life really meant to be so absurd?

Or was all of this some kind of cosmic punishment?

At that moment, facing the glass window, Wang Xiaoshan looked up, saw Xu Jiale, and immediately waved, speaking while heading outside. Wen Huaixuan also turned to look at Xu Jiale and followed Wang Xiaoshan outside.

“Mr. Xu.” Wen Huaixuan shook his hand and examined Xu Jiale from head to toe, raising an eyebrow. “You… flew over here overnight?”

“Hello,” Xu Jiale found himself at a loss for words for a moment and just greeted them.

Wen Huaixuan’s expression of surprise only emphasized the inappropriateness of Xu Jiale’s presence at the moment.

“I spoke with the doctor, and Dengue fever is a common disease here, so there’s no need to make a big deal out of it for mild cases. Mr. Fu’s fever has subsided, and there are no other symptoms. He’ll probably be discharged after another day or two of observation. You don’t need to worry too much.”

Since Xu Jiale remained silent, Wen Huaixuan quickly changed the subject and added, “But he’s still a bit tired right now. He mentioned wanting to get more sleep just now. I have something to take care of, so I’ll be gone for half an hour. Xiaoshan, please keep an eye on Mr. Fu.”

“Sure, don’t worry.”

Wang Xiaoshan had dark circles under his eyes, but he nodded quickly. After Wen Huaixuan left, Xu Jiale asked in a hushed voice, “Is Fu Xiaoyu asleep? Can I go in and see him? I bought some fruit juice for him, and I want him to drink it when he wakes up.”

This was somewhat of a tentative question, and it was also because Xu Jiale sensed Wang Xiaoshan’s somewhat ambiguous attitude.

Wang Xiaoshan glanced at him and at the fruit juice in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally whispered, “Alright.”

With permission granted, Xu Jiale took a deep breath and walked into the air-conditioned ward. He gently placed the fruit juice on the bedside table and stood by the bedside.

He looked first at Fu Xiaoyu’s right hand resting on top of the blanket. Fu Xiaoyu’s skin was fair, with faint blue veins visible underneath. A thin piece of tape held something in place on the back of the slender hand.

Just that one hand kept Xu Jiale staring for quite some time.

His gaze gradually moved upward.

Fu Xiaoyu had his back to him.

In the quiet hospital room, his pale skin was contrasted against the bed. Although he had his eyes closed, his long eyelashes flickered slightly, and you could faintly sense the uneven rhythm of his chest rising and falling under the blanket.

Fu Xiaoyu wasn’t asleep.

At that moment, Xu Jiale’s chest was suddenly struck with a heavy blow.

Perhaps, he simply did not want to see him.

He had crossed thousands of miles overnight, only to become an unnecessary presence.

Wen Ke’s words reverberated sharply in his mind once again.

“You know how sensitive Fu Xiaoyu is. So, breaking up means that you and he are already strangers. No matter how much you want to care for him and protect him, everything you do is in vain.”

This statement was as sharp as a knife, sharper than any other words, and it cut deep into him.

At that moment, Xu Jiale was at a loss, thinking for the first time—Could he really do it?

If he couldn’t…