"Captain Chi, you finally woke up!"
Chi Ruanfan woke up from a splitting headache and saw Chaoyang's much younger face.
"Why are you in my house?" Chi Ruanfan held his aching head and looked around.
There was no Jinzhu to be seen, only the white sheets and pillows.
This is not his home, but...
Chi Ruanfan's eyes moved up along the metal rod beside the bed and saw a hanging medicine bottle, the other end of which was connected to his hand.
It's a hospital.
Seeing Chi Ruanfan's doubtful look, Chaoyang hurriedly said:
"Captain Chi, don't you remember? You announced your retirement after winning the championship, and Jinzhu took you to the hospital for a checkup, but you had a car accident on the way."
"Car accident..."
He had only experienced one car accident in his two lifetimes, which allowed him to be reborn, to join the Chaoge team, and to develop his relationship with Jinzhu from close friends to lovers.
How could he not remember
But that was a long time ago.
He and Jinzhu have already stepped down from the front stage, and the alliance has become the world of the new generation.
Could it be that...
Has he returned to the original world again
Thinking of this, Chi Ruanfan suddenly sat up, turned his head and asked Chaoyang:
"Where's Jinzhu? How is he?"
He and Jinzhu were in the same car.
He also vaguely remembered that when the bright white car lights enveloped everything, a hand reached out and tried to protect him.
If even he was unconscious and admitted to the hospital, then Jinzhu...
"Jinzhu is fine. He stayed with you all night. My sister just persuaded him to eat something." Chaoyang raised the head of the hospital bed and let Chi Ruanfan lean against it first.
Chi Ruanfan calmed down a bit and asked, "Is he injured?"
"Nothing."
Chaoyang sighed, "Such a big truck hit you two, but you two were not hurt at all. It's a miracle. Maybe this is the luxury car that I can't afford."
Snap—
There was a sound of door opening, and Chi Ruanfan looked over across the sunrise.
Jinzhu, carrying a large bag, stood at the door, opening the door and staring blankly into the room.
Chi Ruanfan subconsciously gave a soothing smile, "Are you here?"
He didn't take his eyes off Jinzhu, and carefully examined her body. He was relieved when he didn't see any signs of injury. He smiled and said, "What did you buy? Such a big bag."
Only then did Jinzhu remember what he was holding.
"I didn't know when you would wake up, so I bought you some porridge and fruit."
He let go of the door handle, walked slowly into the room, and put the bag on the bedside table. His movements were very gentle from beginning to end, as if he was afraid of startling something.
"Eh?" Chaoyang asked in surprise, "Jinzhu, why did you come here so soon? Have you had breakfast?"
Jinzhu said nothing and took out the ceramic thermos box containing porridge.
When Chi Ruanfan saw Jinzhu's appearance, he knew that he had not eaten at all.
I'm afraid Jinzhu went out just now just to buy him food.
"Let's eat together. If it's not enough, we can order takeout." Chi Ruanfan looked at Jinzhu sitting down on the bed with a bowl in her hands, stirring the porridge with a spoon. For some reason, he felt that this scene was familiar.
But he was sure that he had never seen a similar scene.
How strange.
Jinzhu scooped up some porridge with a spoon, and paused before handing it over, asking Chi Ruanfan's opinion with some hesitation: "Shall I feed you?"
After years of being together as a couple, Chi Ruanfan had long been accustomed to the absolute intimacy and mutual care with Jinzhu.
At this moment, he stretched his neck and was about to open his mouth to take the food. When he heard Jinzhu's question, he was still a little surprised.
"Of course, well... I can actually do it myself."
Halfway through his sentence, Chi Ruanfan deliberately moved the hand connected to the IV, intending to let Jinzhu see that he was not inconvenient to "do it himself".
Jinzhu Guoxiang couldn't bear to let him move on his own, so she handed him the porridge that had just cooled down to the right temperature.
Chi Ruanfan drank the porridge handed to him by Jinzhu with his head slightly lowered. When Jinzhu was about to hand him the porridge for the second time, he said, "You eat too."
"There is only this one spoon." Jinzhu looked at Chi Ruanfan and said.
"Hmm?" Chi Ruanfan didn't understand Jinzhu's meaning for a moment.
What's wrong with one spoon? Isn't it enough
Thinking of this, Chi Ruanfan realized that he had been too cautious.
In his eyes, he and Jinzhu have been lovers for many years and have had many intimate contacts, so sharing a spoon is nothing.
But in Jinzhu's eyes, they are just friends, close friends who can only have close contact within fifteen centimeters.
However, even when they were close friends, Chi Ruanfan never cared about these things.
"Don't be too picky at this time. What's important is to fill your stomach." Chi Ruanfan said.
Jin Zhu persuaded him and ate the spoonful of porridge himself, then passed the next spoonful of porridge to Chi Ruanfan's mouth.
Chaoyang, who was standing aside, felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Chi Ruanfan and Jinzhu seemed to be in their own world, and he felt like he couldn't get involved at all.
"You guys eat first, I'm going to go report to the coach and the others that I'm safe." Chaoyang slipped away quickly.
Chaoyang's words "I'm safe" reminded Chi Ruanfan of the car accident which seemed very far away to him, and also reminded him of the conversation he had with Jinzhu before the accident.
At that time, they talked about their plans to retire.
He said that he might become a coach for the team, or do something else. But before he could hear Jinzhu's plan, bright white car lights shone over him.
"What did you say before the accident?" Chi Ruanfan asked.
The white porcelain spoon in Jinzhu's hand hit the wall of the bowl, making a crisp sound.
He quickly collected his thoughts, gently stirred the porridge, and said, "I can't remember for the moment. But you, your plans for the future are nothing but recuperation, team building, and games. Have you ever considered... emotional matters?"
After so many years of close relationship, Chi Ruanfan understood Jinzhu's implication almost instantly.
Emotional matters? Isn't Jinzhu just trying to test the possibility of dating him in a roundabout way
etc…
The words that Jinzhu whispered in the car at that time, could it be a confession to him? !
Chi Ruanfan sat up straight suddenly, his heart pounding with excitement, and wanted to immediately grab Jinzhu's arm to confirm.
But he didn't do that. Facing Jinzhu's confused gaze, Chi Ruanfan forced himself to calm down.
Jinzhu was always extremely cautious in her relationship with him. If he asked her directly, she would probably be frightened and hastily deny it.
Chi Ruanfan slowly leaned back on the upright pillow.
"Emotionally... I didn't have any plans before, but I have some ideas in my heart." Chi Ruanfan said while looking at Jinzhu.
Jinzhu tightened her grip on the spoon, took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then asked, "What do you think?"
“That is…” Chi Ruanfan stammered, deliberately revealing an expression of “particularly conflicted” and “difficult to swallow”.
Jinzhu's heart was completely in his throat, and he already had the worst premonition in his heart.
Maybe... Xiaoruan has someone she likes, and she just realized her feelings.
"Come closer, I'm only telling you this." Chi Ruanfan said seriously.
Jinzhu pursed her lips and leaned closer.
Chi Ruanfan leaned close to Jinzhu's ear and whispered, "I found that I am particularly interested in men..." referring to someone.
“I might be gay.”
Chi Ruanfan held back his laughter as he finished speaking, then turned his head to see Jinzhu's reaction.
Jinzhu suppressed his emotions very well. If Chi Ruanfan hadn't known him too well and keenly caught the fleeting light in Jinzhu's eyes, he would have been deceived by his calm appearance.
"Xiaoruan," Jinzhu pursed her dry lips nervously and said to Chi Ruanfan:
"Whether you like the same sex or the opposite sex, it's normal. Just follow your heart. There's no need to feel uneasy about it."
"If," Chi Ruanfan stopped pretending, grabbed Jinzhu's wrist, and said, "The person of the same sex I like is you."
Jinzhu's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He could only keep telling himself in his heart, "This is just Xiaoruan's hypothesis, don't take it seriously." Only then did he manage to calm down and not do anything out of line.
"It's your freedom to like anyone, including me." Jinzhu's expression remained unchanged.
Chi Ruanfan didn't expect Jinzhu to be so serious at this time. With the idea of seeing how long Jinzhu could pretend, he continued:
"Then can I pursue you?"
Chaoyang came in from outside the ward with the coach, and saw their captain and Jinzhu huddled together very closely. He didn't know what the captain said, but Jinzhu's hand trembled and she almost spilled the porridge on the table.
"What are you two planning?" Chaoyang approached and saw that there was still most of the porridge left in the bowl. He asked in surprise, "What's going on? Only two of you ate this little?"
"Nothing, just chatting casually." Jinzhu stood up hurriedly, and her slightly hot earlobe was exposed to the air.
He avoided everyone's gaze and put down the half-cold porridge.
"The porridge is cold. I'll go buy another one." Jinzhu said and turned to leave.
Chi Ruanfan held him back and said, "I'm fine. I won't stay here and occupy medical resources. Just leave the hospital."
The coach respected Chi Ruanfan's decision and said, "Do a comprehensive check first and make sure there is no problem before leaving."
Chi Ruanfan agreed.
He was also somewhat curious about his current physical condition. If a truck hit them, would they really be completely unharmed in the car? Could this have something to do with his rebirth
Chi Ruanfan didn't know whether it was related to his rebirth, but the results of the comprehensive examination showed that he was normal. Even his waist and wrist injuries from playing e-sports were much better than the last time he came for a check-up.
It feels like... there is someone, or should I say "God".
God saved him, allowed him to be reborn and travel back in time, then took him back and cured his injuries.
Sitting in the car at the base, listening to the congratulations from teammates and coaches, Chi Ruanfan suppressed those strange thoughts, took Jinzhu's hand, and responded with a smile.
Jinzhu's eyes fell on the clasped hands.
When they came out of the hospital, Xiaoruan held his hand. She held it so naturally that it seemed like a subconscious action of the body.
Perhaps, Xiaoruan's brain has not yet realized that his body has been holding him back for so long.
Before in the hospital, Xiaoruan said that she liked him and wanted to pursue him.
Is it a joke or is Xiaoruan sincere
Jinzhu unlocked the phone with one hand and confirmed five times that today was not April Fools' Day.
"Although the examination showed no problems, you were in such a car accident and were quite frightened. You still need to recover."
The coach looked through the rearview mirror at the two people in the second seat, his eyes swept across their clasped hands, he didn't think much about it, he just said to Chi Ruanfan:
"I'll help you turn down the 10th anniversary celebration of "The Ultimate Tower Defense" next week, so you can just rest at home."
Only then did Chi Ruanfan remember about the anniversary celebration.
He had already decided to announce his retirement at the World Championship, and he accepted the invitation to the anniversary celebration in order to bid a formal farewell to the audience who had accompanied him all the way.
"No need to push it. There's still a week left. It's enough time for me to rest." Chi Ruanfan said.
Now his real problem is: he has to familiarize himself with the version again.