CHAPTER 683: I’M NOT SICK!

"Your son’s condition..." the doctor glanced at the test results on his computer and shook his head slightly, sighing. "It’s not too optimistic. By estimation, he should have lost 60% of his eyesight by now."

Shen Nianzu froze upon hearing the doctor’s diagnosis.

What the hell...?

"Oh..." Madam Shen covered her mouth, the rims of her eyes reddening in an instant. Her lips trembled as she asked, "Is there no other cure, doctor? What about a new medicine you told us a couple of months ago? Nianzu, he... he’s still so young..."

Shen Nianzu sat on the side, his head buzzing. The conversation was clearly about him, yet for some reason, he felt far removed from the scene as if they were talking about another person with the same name as him. Seeing that the talk was gradually spiraling out of control, he had to interrupt while pressing on his throbbing temple:

"Hold on, what are you talking about?" Incredulity was plastered all over Shen Nianzu’s face as he pointed at himself. "I’m dying? Me...?"

He did remember hearing a similar diagnosis when he was younger; his parents had brought him to countless doctors and they had all come to the same conclusion: he would die young. He wouldn’t have much longer to live. Since birth, he had suffered through so many trivial illnesses that ended up fatal when he caught it—but! That had been ages ago! Now he was completely healthy and... and his eyesight was perfect! Let alone being visually impaired, he could even read the characters reflected off the doctor’s glasses!

...But how did he become so healthy again?

The question flashed through Shen Nianzu’s mind briefly but then his attention was distracted when Madam Shen reached for his hand.

"Nianzu ah..." she gazed at him with sad, gentle eyes. "It’s okay, don’t be afraid. Everything will be fine."

"What are you crying for?" Master Shen chided his wife softly, though he himself looked visibly upset. "Look at how you’ve scared him. Even if the result is not good, at least it hasn’t gotten worse, right?"

"Yes, yes, you’re right..." Madam Shen hastily wiped the tears on the corner of her eyes away.

His parents simply dismissed his protest as him not ready to accept the truth.

"I’d suggest Mr. Shen be hospitalized for a few days so we can monitor his condition," the doctor interjected at just the right moment, earning immediate nods of agreement from the Shen couple.

"Ha..." a faint disbelieving laugh escaped Shen Nianzu. Why must he be hospitalized? Sure, he had felt a little off today, his mind buzzing strangely and conjuring all kinds of hallucination, but he could tell that it was nothing life-threatening!

So why did they treat him as if he would drop dead at any moment?!

"No," Shen Nianzu’s voice dropped, cold and determined. "I won’t stay here. I want to go home."

His parents were both caught off guard by his refusal. "Nianzu..."

Shen Nianzu could tell he was getting a little too agitated. Had it been the usual him, he would have cooperated with the doctor’s arrangement and obediently let himself be hospitalized just so he could ease his parents’ worry but now... there was a voice inside his mind, telling him:

You must NOT stay here—no matter what! You have to leave!

"Nianzu," Master Shen’s brows furrowed and Shen Nianzu could tell that his father was starting to get angry. He was lenient to him on everything, save for his own health and well-being. "Listen to the doctor. Aren’t we doing this for your own good—"

"How many times do I have to say this?! I am not sick!" Too caught up in his emotions, Shen Nianzu slammed his fist on the table and much to his surprise—and everyone else in the room—the corner of the solid wooden table cracked and fell off in a chunk!

"Oh my!" Madam Shen gasped in shock, while Master Shen and the doctor were mainly dumbfounded.

The most surprised one was none other than Shen Nianzu. He stared at his throbbing right hand, which had now started bleeding again due to the small splinters, unable to come back to his senses for a while.

What the hell? Since when have I gotten so strong?

...or is it the table that’s actually creaky despite its solid appearance?

The loud commotion had alerted some of the people outside, who knocked on the door asking whether something had happened. Inside the office, however, it was deathly silent with tension permeating the air.

"As you can see," the doctor broke the silence, his tone filled with suppressed anger and exasperation at the mess. "Your son’s condition is quite... unstable."

Only then did the Shen couple snap back to his senses. "Oh, yes, you’re right! Then—"

Shen Nianzu no longer wanted to listen. Following his instinct, he shot up to his feet, sending the chair scraping against the floor. Then he told his parents, "Sorry, Mom, Dad, I’ll go back first. You two take your time talking to the doctor. I’m truly sorry about the mess I’ve caused."

Using the last bit of patience left within him, he bowed to the three of them and walked briskly toward the door, ignoring the alarmed cry behind him.

"Nianzu!!"

Shen Nianzu pulled open the door with more force than necessary, almost tearing the whole frame off its hinges, and came face-to-face with a nurse. She must have been the one knocking. Surprised, she exclaimed, "You—"

But Shen Nianzu merely brushed past her, walking down the corridor at a fast pace.

He knew that Qing Mo must be waiting in the parking lot, so he could simply go there to find him. If it didn’t work, he could also take a cab home. Anything— as long as he wasn’t forced to stay here!

With a mess of emotions churning inside him, Shen Nianzu rode the elevator down to the first floor, adeptly ignoring the intrigued glances cast his way at his unique hair and eye color.

He crossed the lobby with large strides, his gaze searching around the entrance for the familiar figure of his life assistant— when a particular voice rose above the crowd and reached his ears with vivid clarity:

"Hang on for a while, you will be fine. The doctor will be here soon."

Shen Nianzu turned his head sharply, his pale purple eyes piercing through the crowd to land on the outpatient area a few meters away. A man stood there, talking to a youth clad in school uniform while trying to stop the bleeding gash on the latter’s arm.

He had a graceful bearing, a calm and pleasant voice, and an appearance that was easy on the eye.

Yet as soon as Shen Nianzu saw him, an uncontrollable wave of disgust, hatred, and anger surged from the bottom of his heart—the emotions so strong he nearly rushed over and grabbed the man’s collar and punched him in the face. It wasn’t until a sharp pain came from his palm that he jolted back to his senses, belatedly realizing that he had clenched his fists too tight and aggravated the wounds.

"W-Who is that...?" Shen Nianzu muttered, his face pale. "Do I know him?"