40 – That Dummie
Gu Mingxi, why do you keep asking me about Xie Yi?
After Gu Mingxi’s IV finished, Pang Shuisheng took the two kids home. By the time they got back, it was already 9 PM.
Jin Ai’hua let the them into the house. She said to Pang Qian, “Qian Qian, when you were at the hospital, there was a boy that called. I said that you’d gone out, so he said for you to call him when you get back.”
Pang Qian asked, “Who was it?”
“His last name is Xie. He said you had his home phone. He’s on the ping pong team.”
“Oh, Xie Yi!” Pang Qian changed her shoes and ran over to the phone in the living room. She didn’t take note of Gu Mingxi’s gloomy look.
While Pang Qian was on the phone with Xie Yi, her face was shining brightly. With the phone next to her ear, she spoke quickly and lowered her voice a bit. Gu Mingxi sat in her room for awhile, then he came out and looked at her. It seemed like Pang Qian was worried that he’d hear what she and Xie Yi were talking about, and she even turned away. Finally, she said happily, “Oh, I know. Xie Yi, bye.”
After she hung up, she turned back and made a face at Gu Mingxi. “Why are you eavesdropping?!”
“When was I eavesdropping. I… I came out to get some water.” Gu Mingxi pretended to look around, then followed Pang Qian to her room.
Pang Qian looked over the medicine from the hospital, and picked out the two kinds that he had to take that evening. This was the task that Pang Shuisheng gave to her. He said that Pang Qian was in charge of Gu Mingxi’s medicine-taking.
Gu Mingxi sat down next to Pang Qian. He coughed a few times and then asked, “Why was Xie Yi looking for you?”
“He invited me out to play ping pong. He said that the gym would be open tomorrow, so the team would be practicing.” Pang Qian was still looking over the medicine kit. “Oh my G.o.d, you have to take four kinds of medicine? You’re going to become a medicine pot.”
Gu Mingxi rushed to ask, “Are you going?”
Pang Qian answered, “I told him I wasn’t sure. Then he said that school was starting soon, so the team wanted to practice a bit. [He said] that after the New Year’s celebrations, we must have all gotten fat, so it was a good opportunity to exercise.”
Gu Mingxi thought for a moment, then continued to ask, “You and Xie Yi both know each other’s phone numbers?”
“Mm, I used to sit in front of him in cla.s.s.” Pang Qian turned to look at Gu Mingxi. “I know Zhou Nanzhong and w.a.n.g Song’s numbers too. Don’t you know?”
“…” Gu Mingxi didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Do you often call Xie Yi?”
Pang Qian was finally curious, “Gu Mingxi, why do you keep asking me about Xie Yi?”
Gu Mingxi’s face turned red. Then he coughed. “…I-I’m not always asking!”
“You did, you kept asking.” Pang Qian helped him pat his back. Then she opened the medicine case and pulled out a capsule. “Why are you still coughing so much? I’ll go get you some water. After you take your medicine, you should go to sleep.”
That evening, none of Pang Shuisheng’s family of three agreed to let Gu Mingxi sleep on the floor again. In order to watch after Gu Mingxi, Jin Ai’hua still put out the floor bedding in Pang Qian’s room. Gu Mingxi had sweat a lot and his whole body was sticky, but he didn’t have the strength to bathe himself, so he could only ask Pang Shuisheng for help.
After he cleaned up, Gu Mingxi returned to Pang Qian’s room, and found that she’d already crawled into the bedding on the floor.
He walked over to her and gave her a kick. Pang Qian didn’t respond, so Gu Mingxi could only walk over and climb into the bed.
Pang Qian popped her head out to look at him. With her hands on the edge of the bed, she said, “You should sleep earlier. If you need to drink something at night, just give me a call. If you want to go to the bathroom, call me, and I’ll get my dad. Also, if you’re feeling unwell, you have to call me. The doctor was worried that you’d get pneumonia.”
Gu Mingxi looked at her silently.
Pang Qian smiled at him, then said, “Also, if you want to cough, just cough. Don’t worry that it’ll bother me. Holding in a cough is bad, really.”
Gu Mingxi pursed his lips. Pang Qian was about to go to sleep, when she heard him ask, “What time did Xie Yi say to meet up tomorrow?”
Pang Qian flipped over and then sat up again, “2 in the afternoon.”
He asked, “Are you going?”
“I already told you. I’m not sure yet. We still have to go to the hospital tomorrow for your IV drip.”
“Then, do you want to go to play?”
Pang Qian stretched her arms out. “To be honest, I do want to go. A few days ago, we went to my grandparents’ houses, and I ate a lot. I’ve gotten fatter. I really should exercise a bit.”
Gu Mingxi said, “I don’t think you’re fat.”
“That’s what you think.” Pang Qian suddenly thought of something. She crawled out from her bedding and left the room. When she came back, she was carrying a thermometer. She waved it back and forth and said, “Gu Mingxi, open up. I’ll take your temperature again.”
Gu Mingxi held the thermometer in his mouth, quietly lying on the bed. Pang Qian didn’t let him sleep without his clothes on. She went to get a long sleeved shirt that Pang Shuisheng didn’t wear much for him.
The clothes were for older men, so it didn’t really fit him. The shoulders were a bit tight, the waist a bit loose. The shirt sat loosely on Gu Mingxi’s body, the empty sleeves hanging on the sides. Gu Mingxi looked at the sleeve cuffs. There was nothing there at all. He let out a sigh. He said a bit ambiguously, “Go practice with Xie Yi tomorrow. I can go to the hospital on my own.”
“That won’t do,” Pang Qian said. “My parents are both working tomorrow. I promised my dad that I’d go to the hospital with you tomorrow.”
“Then we can go together after you finish playing.” Gu Mingxi smiled. “Speaking of, how’s the paddle that I gave you?”
“Ah! It’s great!” Pang Qian went to her cabinet to pull it out as she spoke. She put the paddle into its case and said, “In the past, I couldn’t beat Zheng Qiaoqiao at all. But with this paddle, our playing is at least even.”
Gu Mingxi smiled, “It’s good that you like it.”
“It’s time.” Pang Qian pulled out the thermometer from his mouth and looked at it. With a smile, “38.7, it’s gone down!”
Pang Qian was usually a very heavy sleeper, but that night, she climbed out of her covers, enduring the cold. She turned on her lamp and felt Gu Mingxi’s forehead. His body was still very hot, and his complexion was also still rather poor. Pang Qian knew that he must be having a hard time, but there was nothing to be done.
Maybe it was because of the light, Gu Mingxi squinted open his eyes a bit. Afraid of waking him entirely, Pang Qian immediately turned off the light, and knelt beside the bed quietly.
Gu Mingxi made an “mn” sound, and after some difficulty, turned to face the wall. He was sleeping soundly again soon after.
Because he was turning, his blanket was pushed off slightly. Since he had no way of adjusting it himself, Pang Qian helped him readjust it. Quietly, she spoke, “Get better soon, dummie.”
The next day, the New Year’s break was over, so the adults went back to work. Only Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi remained at home. The two of them stayed in the master bedroom watching TV. Gu Mingxi was a bit drowsy, and he had a fever, so he wasn’t really in the mind to work on homework.
When it was time for lunch, Pang Qian warmed up the food that Pang Shuisheng had prepared for them. In the morning, he’d also made some congee for Gu Mingxi. He ate a bit of plain congee and vegetables, his appet.i.te slightly better.
After they ate, Pang Qian washed their bowls. Gu Mingxi said to her, “I want to take a nap. You go ahead and go to practice.”
Pang Qian thought for a moment, then asked, “Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll probably be back by 3,” Pang Qian said. “I’m riding my bike, so I’ll be really fast. When I get back, I’ll go with you to the hospital for your IV.”
“There’s no need to rush. Riding your bike too fast is dangerous.” Gu Mingxi smiled, “Pang Pang, just make sure you have fun. Don’t worry about me.”
Pang Qian looked at him, thought it was a bit odd, but didn’t linger on it. “Okay, make sure you take your medicine later. I’ll be back soon. The coach is coming today too, so Xie Yi said it wouldn’t be very good if we don’t show up.”
Gu Mingxi nodded, “I understand.”
Pang Pang smiled, and stood on her toes to rub Gu Mingxi’s head. “Be good and sleep. Wait for me to come back.”
It was 1 in the afternoon. After she watched Gu Mingxi get into bed, Pang Qian walked out with her paddle. She rode her bike to the school gym. A lot of the team members were already there.
Pang Qian saw Xie Yi and Zheng Qiaoqiao. They all greeted each other, “Happy new year.”
It was the first practice of the new year, so the coach had everyone warm up by jogging and practicing in pairs.
Pang Qian’s mind was clearly not at the practice. She couldn’t even receive the very straightforward serve that Zheng Qiaoqiao sent her. From the side, Xie Yi asked, “Crab, what’s the matter? You didn’t practice all month? You can’t even receive a serve.”
Pang Qian gave a slight apologetic look to Zheng Qiaoqiao, who was picking up the ball. She ran over to Xie Yi and asked, “When will we be finished? It’s already been an hour, and I still have something else to do.”
Xie Yi said, “If you have something else, you can leave first. It’s not a bit deal.”
“Really? The coach won’t say anything?”
“Of course not. It’s still vacation after all. Didn’t you notice, there are a bunch of memebers who aren’t here.” Xie Yi laughed, “What, you have a date?”
“Of course not. I…” She didn’t want to mention that Gu Mingxi was waiting for her at home, so she waved her paddle in the air. “Then Xie Yi, let the coach know that I left first. I have a pressing matter.”
Xie Yi smiled, “Okay, go on then.”
Behind her, Xie called out to Zheng Qiaoqiao, who’d just been stood up, “Come on, Zheng Qiaoqiao. I’ll practice with you.”
Pang Qian rode her bike and nearly flew home. She ran up the stairs, a suspicious feeling creeping up on her.
“Gu Mingxi!” she shouted.
No one responded, so Pang Qian ran into her room. Her bed was neatly made up, and there was no one there.
She ran over to the master bedroom and the bathroom, “Gu Mingxi!”
She went back to the living room and looked around. “Gu Mingxi!”
Soon, she realized that Gu Mingxi wasn’t home.
She looked for Gu Mingxi’s backpack. Gone. But his clothes were still there, minus a shirt and a pair of pants. Pang Qian looked for the medicine from the hospital. It was also gone.
She grabbed her keys and ran out the door.
She rode her bike quickly to the hospital, and then went directly to the transfusion room. With just a glance, she saw the lonely figure sitting in the corner.
He was wearing his brown coat and grey pants. His head leaned against the transfusion chair, his big backpack next to his legs.
It was winter, but he wasn’t wearing socks or shoes, just a pair of flip flops. The IV bag hung in the air, the tube hanging down to the needle in his neck.
Pang Qian was panting as she walked over to his side. She looked down at him from the side. Gu Mingxi was actually not wearing a sweater, and who knew if he had on any thermal underpants. His empty sleeves were tucked into the armrest of the chair. His pace was pale, his eyes closed. Every once in awhile, he would cough a bit.
In that moment, all of Pang Qian’s anger vanished. She didn’t wake him, but instead, she sat down in a chair beside him. She lifted her head to look at his medicine bag, quietly waiting for him to wake up.