Yuan Chu was crouching in the bathroom, strenuously scrubbing her clothes. Before establishing a connection with the child of Luck, her body was constantly on the brink of collapse.
Additionally, to fit her current identity, she also had a 'poisoned' debuff. Every day, she took medicine, got injections, and drank rice gruel, looking quite miserable.
She carried the cleaned clothes to the window and hung them up one by one.
The slight movements caught the attention of Li Xi, who was sitting on the adjacent window sill. He looked up and saw a little girl standing on a stool, tiptoeing to hang her small clothes on the window.
Her arms, revealed by the sleeves of her shirt, were as thin as cotton swabs, covered with needle marks, and skeletal, looking like they could fall apart with a slight shake.
Noticing him watching her, the little girl turned her head and waved at him with a happy smile, her big eyes sparkling.
Looking like this due to illness, yet still smiling so happily, was she naive?
"Stay where you are and don't move," Li Xi shouted in a low voice.
He then jumped off the window sill, quickly walked to the adjacent window, lifted the little girl off the stool, and quickly hung up the rest of her clothes, not even forgetting her underwear.
"Thank you, big brother," Yuan Chu thanked him politely.
"Where are the adults in your family?" Li Xi asked angrily. "How can they let a child do the laundry?"
"I am the adult in my family," Yuan Chu replied. She walked to the bedside table, reached for a thermos, and prepared to pour water for Li Xi.
Li Xi quickly stepped over and snatched the thermos from her hand, pouring half a cup of water into a glass on the table. Then he paused, frowned, and asked,
"When is this water from?"
Yuan Chu answered honestly, "The day before yesterday."
Li Xi's face darkened. "Wait here."
He carried the thermos and left the room to call his nurse to bring hot water.
After giving instructions, he didn't immediately return to the room but waited in the corridor. He regretted asking the question earlier.
The reason no one was taking care of her might be that the people who could take care of her had died in the accident. His question seemed redundant.
While he was pondering this, he inadvertently saw a small head peeking out from behind the door, cautiously looking his way.
"What are you looking at? Stay in the room obediently," Li Xi shouted impatiently.
The little head quickly retracted.
Li Xi pursed his lips, his face becoming even worse. He returned to her room only after the nurse brought the hot water.
The little girl sat obediently on the edge of the bed. When she saw him coming in, she immediately smiled, completely ignoring his previous rude attitude.
Without saying a word, Li Xi poured a glass of hot water into a glass and set it aside to cool down.
"Thank you, big brother, you're so kind."
Li Xi thought: Is he? She's so naive.
"Huh?" Yuan Chu noticed his feet. "Big brother, aren't you cold without shoes?"
She pointed to her shoes and generously said, "You can wear my shoes first and change into your own when you go back."
Li Xi almost burst into tears at her naivety. His feet were bigger than her face. How could he fit into her shoes?
His gaze shifted downward, first seeing two tiny feet in mismatched old socks. Under her bed, neatly placed, was a pair of adult slippers, much larger than his feet.
For some reason, his nose suddenly felt a bit sour.
The accident had sent Li Xi from heaven to hell, but even so, his daily life was taken care of by others. In contrast, the little girl in front of him had nothing at all.
How could she still keep a smiling face? Did she even understand what despair and death meant?
While others could live to be seventy or eighty years old, their lives were forced to end in the prime of their youth.
"Big brother, can I have some water?" Yuan Chu licked her dry lips and looked up at Li Xi.
Li Xi restrained his emotions, tested the temperature of the glass with his hand to make sure it wasn't too hot, and then handed it to her.
"Thank you." Yuan Chu took a few sips of water and smiled, "The doctor uncle will give me new medicine tomorrow. Big brother, do you think the new medicine can cure my illness?"
Li Xi was stunned, "New medicine?"
"Yes." Yuan Chu nodded, her face showing some small expectations as if she was expecting to eat delicious snacks tomorrow, not medicine.
Li Xi's complexion wasn't good. He casually told her to rest well before leaving.
After leaving Yuan Chu's hospital room, Li Xi went straight into the attending doctor's office.
"Li Xi? Do you need something?" Song Zhicheng looked at the young man who had walked in front of him and asked in surprise.
"Have you developed a new medicine again?" Li Xi asked directly.
Song Zhicheng hesitated for a moment and replied, "Yes, this new medicine has passed the tests and received authorization. We can start clinical trials."
"Has anyone tried it?"
"Yes, two people."
"Let me see the data." Li Xi reached out without hesitation.
"I'm sorry," Song Zhicheng shook his head, "The data involves patient confidentiality. I can't just give it to you."
Li Xi sneered, "Isn't the new medicine you developed for us, the terminally ill?"
Song Zhicheng sighed, "I will inform you if there are results."
"You don't have to show me the data. I want to know, are you planning to give the new medicine to the girl named 'Yuan Chu' tomorrow?"
Song Zhicheng hesitated for a moment but finally admitted, "Yes."
"Replace her," Li Xi demanded firmly. "She's already so frail. How can she endure your experiments?"
"Replacing her might not be possible," Song Zhicheng said helplessly. "We only have three volunteers, and she is one of them."
"Are you kidding me? How old is she? She has no autonomy. How can she be a volunteer?"
"Her family died in that accident, and her volunteer application was signed by government personnel."
"So, because she has no family left, you can manipulate her as you wish?" Li Xi remembered the girl's smile and felt an inexplicable anger.
"It's not what you think," Song Zhicheng explained, "Our experiments are very rigorous. We don't joke with human lives. The reason we chose that girl is because... she doesn't have much time left."
Li Xi clenched his fists, felt a sharp pain in his chest, and a surge of blood rose to his throat. "Cough, cough..."
He covered his mouth, and blood seeped through his fingers. His once straight posture bent in pain.
"Quick, help him back to the room!" Anxious voices of Song Zhicheng echoed in his ears, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Li Xi felt his consciousness fading, and he eventually plunged into darkness.
Yuan Chu walked out of the room, silently watching the medical staff carry the collapsed Li Xi back to his ward.
Li Xi lacks a strong will to live and even tends towards self-destruction. This is the first calamity arranged for him by heaven.
If he doesn't overcome it, he will die in two months. As for her, she can only leave this world.
What Yuan Chu needs to do now is to change his negative mindset and help him test the medicine. The first new drug has defects, not only causing rejection but also leaving behind side effects.
It's not suitable for Li Xi to take. After she tests it, the research center will improve the new drug.
The biggest problem for Yuan Chu right now isn't the disease but whether she can be accepted by the Child of Luck.
The next morning, Li Xi slowly woke up from unconsciousness. The first thing that caught his eyes was still the unchanged pale ceiling and the dusty overhead light.
He struggled back from the brink of death once again, but he didn't feel fortunate.
"Young man, you're awake~~" A cheerful child's voice suddenly reached his ears, clearing his muddled mind a bit.
Li Xi squinted, turning his head to look at the little thing by the bed. She sat with her back to the window, her yellowish hair casually draped over her shoulders.
The morning light outside shone on her, making her look like a shining ball of fuzz. Only her eyes, as bright as the night sky, were clean and pure as if she had no worries.
"Why are you here?" Li Xi asked hoarsely.
"I just went to buy breakfast and passed by your room on the way." Yuan Chu opened the food box on the bedside table and asked, "It's a fragrant millet porridge, do you want to eat?"
Li Xi glanced at the sticky lump, where's the fragrance in that?
"I'm a bit hungry, can I have a bite?" Yuan Chu asked.
"It's your breakfast, eat if you want to," Li Hao replied with a bad attitude.
"Alright~" Yuan Chu immediately picked up the spoon, ready to eat, but Li Xi stopped her, "Wait, I'll eat with you!"
After saying that, he struggled to get out of bed, went to the bathroom to freshen up, and then picked up his phone to make a call.
In just ten minutes, a nurse came in carrying a food box, arranging everything neatly on the small dining table.
Fresh milk, bread, eggs, fruits, simple yet rich, and especially good-looking.
"This, pour it out," Li Xi pointed at the millet porridge on the bedside table, instructing the nurse.
"Ah," Yuan Chu protested, "That's my breakfast."
"Is that even edible?" Li Xi urged with a disgusted look, "Pour it out, I've lost my appetite by just looking at it."
"If you pour out my porridge, what will I eat..." Yuan Chu looked pitifully as the nurse took the "fragrant" millet porridge from her hands.
"With so much food on the table, isn't it enough for you?" Li Xi glared at her.
Yuan Chu looked at him, then at the food on the table, and confirmed, "Can I eat your food too?"
"Of course, didn't you see I prepared two portions?" Li Xi didn't want to talk to this incredibly foolish girl anymore and started drinking his milk.
Yuan Chu watched him without making a move.
"Why do you always like to stare at others? Hurry up and eat!" Li Xi grabbed a piece of bread and rudely shoved it into her hands.
Yuan Chu held the bread and took small bites, still looking at him.
Just as Li Xi was about to lose his temper from her staring, Yuan Chu spoke, "Thank you, big brother, you're really kind," accompanied by a smile with a hint of wheat fragrance.
The harsh words on the tip of Li Xi's tongue were forcibly held back. After a moment, he spat out two words, "Idiot!"
Yuan Chu continued to enjoy her bread, responding with a look of 'caring for a rebellious teenager', leaving him to interpret it himself.
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