Chapter 22: Chapter 9.2 - Feigning amnesia to avoid suspicion
Li XinWen was surprised when they reached the private room reserved for Xue Rui. The lighting was cozy to say the least and the room exuded a warmth that was inviting. It was spacious with a high ceiling and the entire room was illuminated by a large raindrops pendant chandelier hanging above a circular table big enough for a small family of four.
Li XinWen approached the wall to his right and ran his hands along the length and realized that the walls were padded. The padding was covered in velvet fabric and accentuated by silver studs. From the feel of it, the padding was relatively thick which contributed to the reduction of sound escaping and coming into the room.
It must be said that since he is a 4th stage Houtian, he had the ability to hear sounds from a hundred meters away. But it seems that this ability was greatly reduced for as long as they were inside the room.
Xue Rui noticed Li XinWen's fascination and wondered amused as he sat down on one of the chairs. 'He's acting like a child again. I wonder what he finds fascinating. It's not like this is the first time he has ever seen this room…'
Catching his behavior, Li XinWen retracted his hand and took the seat opposite Xue Rui. Li XinWen was still processing the room's structure in his head as he made himself comfortable in his seat. At first he thought there was some sort of formation in place that was responsible for the sound barrier, something similar to what cultivators use whenever they want to talk in private back in Long Xing. But when he realized that he was no longer in Long Xing he knew that it was impossible. He initially suspected that there might be other cultivators present in the establishment which triggered him to expand his spiritual sense to confirm this suspicion. But he did not sense any other presence, which prompted him to ask Xue Rui about the room.
"Rui-ge, if I may ask, what is this room?" Li XinWen asked out of curiosity.
"This is a private room XinWen. You could say that only VIP clients of the establishment can make a reservation for a private room. The room is soundproof so it's a favorite among businessmen and C-suite executives who wish to negotiate terms in private," Xue Rui answered automatically as he perused the restaurant's extensive menu.
"I see," Li XinWen responded, gaining a little bit of clarity from Xue Rui's answer.
Xue Rui realized how trivial Li XinWen's question was and recalled that this was not the first time they dined in this private room. He narrowed his eyes and asked Li XinWen: "What's gotten into you XinWen? This isn't the first time you came here with me," he remarked as he set down the menu on the table. "I feel like you are acting a little bit out of character. Is everything really alright?" he asked, his voice full of genuine concern as he reached out to take Li XinWen's hand in his.
Li XinWen's body went stiff when Xue Rui voiced his suspicion. He nervously looked up but immediately looked away, unable to stand that questioning gaze. "I... umm... to be honest..." Li XinWen rushed to look over the memories to see if there were any information that he could use as an excuse. Luckily, there was one. One of the roles that the original Li XinWen played in the past was someone who had forgotten part of his memory due to a traumatic accident. Li XinWen decided to use it in his defense. "I have some fuzzy memories... I think it might be because of the accident. There are some things that I can't seem to remember... this room is one of them."
"Is that so? How long have you been experiencing these fuzzy memories? Did you tell the doctor about this? How come you're only telling me this now?" Xue Rui asked almost in a panic, his initial concern now amplified with worry. He stood up from his seat and took out his phone. He dialed XinZhou Hospital and made an appointment for Li XinWen after lunch.
'Ugh… as expected he's overreacting again. Perhaps it was a bad idea to use that role as a reference for my reasoning… well I guess it's too late to take it back…' Li XinWen sighed.
"Before getting your gift, we'll go to the hospital and have them perform CAT scan on you." Xue Rui said as he walked towards Li XinWen. He kneeled down in front of Li XinWen and placed one hand on Li XinWen's lap as he gazed Li XinWen's eyes.
'What the…why is he kneeling down?' Li XinWen thought his eyes widening, afraid that Xue Rui was going to bring out a ring and ask him to marry him. He braced himself and started to come up with ways to reject Xue Rui.
"I'm worried about you XinWen and I don't want to take any risks. If there is something wrong it will be better if it's found and treated early. So be a good boy and do not make any protests regarding the CAT scan, okay?" Xue Rui said, his voice tender and pleading.
Li XinWen blushed, embarrassed with himself. He caught himself and immediately regained his composure. A part of him felt relieved that it wasn't a proposal. But for a moment, somehow he realized that a part of him almost felt disappointed and a little sad. He quickly disregarded this feeling but tried to analyze it just the same. 'What was that? Was I really disappointed? Was I sad? Did I want him to ask me to marry him? No, no, no… not happening… I'm just disappointed that I ended up wasting my time thinking of ways to reject him in vain... En. That must be it,' and with that, Li XinWen convinced himself and no longer paid that feeling any more attention.
"Thank you for your concern Rui-ge. I appreciate you making the appointment for me," was all Li XinWen could come up with in response to Xue Rui's pleading.
Xue Rui stood up and caressed Li XinWen's cheek. He walked around and stood behind Li XinWen and gently massaged Li XinWen's head. Li XinWen wanted to pull away but when he felt the warm hand, gently massaging his scalp, he couldn't help but close his eyes and unconsciously leaned into the touch.
Xue Rui smiled seeing Li XinWen accept his gesture of affection. "Feels good XinWen?"
"En. Feels really good," Li XinWen replied. "As for the doctor, I didn't tell them about the fuzzy memories. Actually, I don't know what else I might have forgotten…" he continued.
Xue Rui found himself feeling elated at what was happening at that moment. It felt like they were a married couple sharing their concerns at the end of the day. He closed his eyes and thought, 'I could spend the rest of my life just like this. I can spend every moment just like this with you XinWen… so be mine… just how can I make you mine…'
Xue Rui stopped himself when he noticed that he was about to kiss the top of Li XinWen's head. As if awakened from a trance he pulled his hand away, thinking that he needed to avoid doing anything unnecessary and cause Li XinWen to get mad at him again. 'Control yourself Xue Rui. God, I want to hold him right now… but I won't… I need to be patient and not rush at winning his affection.'
Li XinWen felt slightly disappointed when Xue Rui stopped massaging his scalp, yearning for that comfortable warm feeling on his head. He opened his eyes and saw Xue Rui standing on the other side talking into the hand phone mounted on the wall.
"I've asked the chef to prepare and serve us our lunch," Xue Rui addressed Li XinWen smiling as he replaced the phone's handset. He made his way to his seat and sat opposite Li XinWen.
"Will the CAT scan take long?" Li XinWen asked. Right now, he wished that it would. His Jian can wait. If he can disrupt Xue Rui's plans for today, he wouldn't mind acting sick the entire time.
"It depends on your situation. If there is nothing wrong, typically it wouldn't take long. But if they find something wrong, then it might take some time as the doctor's may need to conduct additional procedures. Nevertheless, whatever the outcome, it's better to catch it early," Xue Rui told Li XinWen in a serious tone.
Chapter 23: Chapter 9.3 - Hospital visit
Because of what Li XinWen told Xue Rui, they ended up having a quick lunch and they rushed to the hospital immediately after. Of course, the hospital that Xue Rui had chosen was one where he had power over as part of the board of directors. A hospital attendant led them to the back as soon as they arrived. There was no need for them to fill in the paperwork and wait for their turn. In fact, the hospital staff were already waiting for them.
The same hospital attendant escorted them all the way to the CAT scan control room where a nurse guided Li XinWen to a separate room. "Mr. Li, please change into this patient robe. Make sure you remove any metallic items in your person," the nurse said in a polite tone before leaving Li XinWen to change. Li XinWen quietly changed into the patient robe then heard the nurse's knock on the door not long after: "Mr. Li? Are you done? I will escort you to the CAT room."
"Alright. Please wait a moment," Li XinWen said before stepping out of the changing room. He followed the nurse to another room where the machine was located.
It was the first time Li XinWen saw such an equipment and he couldn't help but feel curious. It was almost daunting because of the huge circular gantry which was the most dominant feature of the equipment. From what he gathered from his spiritual sense, the gantry was made up of technology unlike any he had ever seen in all his years in Long Xing.
"Mr. Li, please lie down here," the nurse gestured to what Li XinWen saw as a table-like bed. He got onto the bed and laid down while the nurse prepared the machine. "Mr. Li, please relax and close your eyes," the nurse's voice came again and Li XinWen obeyed. After closing his eyes, he felt the nurse place something on top of his eyes as a cover. "Do not worry, this will help protect your eyes and reduce any radiation absorbed by your eyes," the nurse quickly said when she noticed Li XinWen's hand shot up to reach for the eye mask. "Just relax, Mr. Li. It will be over soon."
Though Li XinWen actually felt uncomfortable, he decided to put his trust on Xue Rui. He doubted that Xue Rui would let any harm to come to him. Li XinWen didn't notice how long he laid down but when he got up, he sensed that something was wrong with his body. Using his spiritual energy to do a quick scan, he noticed that there were some impurities mixed within. He frowned before quickly dispelling the impurities from his body.
When the nurse saw that Li XinWen did not suffer any side effects that patients usually suffer from after a scan, he was astonished. "Mr. Li, are you feeling alright? No dizziness? Nausea?" he asked.
"No. I feel quite alright. Why?" Li XinWen asked back.
"Oh it's nothing. Usually, due to radiation exposure, patients would feel uncomfortable for a while. You must have high tolerance," the nurse explained with a smile on his face.
After hearing the explanation, Li XinWen finally realized what the impurities were. He didn't say anything else afterwards and simply followed the nurse out of the room and changed back to his clothes. After that, he went to the CAT scan control room where the doctor and Xue Rui were waiting.
Li XinWen approached Xue Rui who was leaning into a screen resembling the television they had at home. But this was smaller in comparison and was bulkier. The doctor fiddled with the controls until the CT scan image of Li XinWen's brain appeared on the screen. The projection of his brain on the screen surprised Li XinWen, realizing that he was actually looking at the image of his brain.
"Amazing… so that's how the brain actually looks like?" he thought to himself.
The doctor was explaining the image to Xue Rui and Li XinWen, pointing to specific parts and rambling off technical jargon that Li XinWen was unable to understand. Xue Rui on the other hand was nodding his head as if agreeing to what the doctor said. He kept asking questions until he felt satisfied and all Li XinWen could do was look at the two men exchanging gibberish.
"Mr. Xue, Mr. Li, please rest assured that there is nothing wrong with Mr Li's brain. We did not find any concussion or swelling which might be the cause for the memory loss. Based on the results, I can confidently say that Mr. Li is 100% healthy. I am not entirely sure what is causing Mr. Li's fuzzy memories but it is highly probable that this is only a temporary condition and isn't something to worry about," the doctor said.
Turning to Li XinWen, he said: "However, I do advise you, Mr. Li to observe your condition closely. If you experience any additional symptom such as headaches, dizziness or any kind of pain, please come see us right away so we can do another exam."
He paused when he saw Li XinWen's reluctant look and couldn't help but let out a small laughter. "It's better to be on top of these things to make sure that it doesn't get any worse, Mr. Li. For now, you can go on with your day without any worries," he continued as he stood up and patted Li XinWen's shoulder.
"Alright, thank you Dr. Zhang," Xue Rui remarked as he shook the doctor's hand.
Xue Rui turned to Li XinWen and ran his fingers through his hair and heaved a sigh of relief as if all the worries and tension he was holding since their lunch had just completely melted away. He reached for Li XinWen and squeezed him in an embrace before whispering: "I'm glad everything's okay. I'm glad that you're okay XinWen."
Li XinWen was at a loss for words at what just happened. He couldn't name what he was feeling at that very moment. It was like as if all the butterflies in his stomach were flapping their wings, restless, and were trying desperately to fly up to his heart and up to his throat. He felt warm and confused at the same time that he thought he was going to tear up. In front of him stood a man who was genuinely concerned for his health and well-being. Something he had only felt from his recent encounter with the figure they called mother.
He didn't know how to react and all he could do was lower his eyes because he knew that if he looked straight at Xue Rui he might do something he might come to regret later on.
'Ah! This is cheating…seriously,' Li XinWen thought, mustering enough composure to face Xue Rui again. He let out a nervous laugh and said: "Thank you Rui-ge…"
"Well, now that we're sure that everything's alright, why don't we go get your gift XinWen," Xue Rui said, smiling.
"Yeah…let's go!" Li XinWen responded enthusiastically before continuing, "See…what did I tell you Rui-ge. I told you I was fine and you were just being too paranoid," he chuckled and clapped Xue Rui's back gently.
They made their way out of the CT scan control room and boarded the elevator to the hospital's first level basement where Xue Rui's Maserati was already waiting.
Li XinWen checked his watch and saw that it was close to 3:30 PM. Based on the original's memories, his sister Li JingHua gets off work at 4 PM, so he casually made a suggestion. "Rui-ge, Hua-jie will finish her work in thirty minutes, right? How about we drop by her office and go pick her up?" trying his best not to sound like as if he was finding a way to foil Xue Rui's date plans.
Xue Rui's smile quickly vanished upon hearing Li XinWen's suggestion. However, Li XinWen suggested it so casually that he didn't even suspect that it was Li XinWen's way of escaping from their supposed date. He looked at Li XinWen who was standing beside him in the elevator, grinning like a child after the innocent suggestion.
'He is too cute… I don't think I can be angry at his suggestion…' Xue Rui thought before speaking in a business-like manner.
"I'm sorry XinWen but we can't do that. Since we are acquiring your Jian from an auction house, last minute addition of auction participants is impossible. If I had known that you wanted JingHua to come with us, I would have secured another entrance pass, but unfortunately I only managed to get two. Even with my status, it's impossible to bend the auction house rules at the last minute," Xui Rui told Li XinWen.
Of course it wasn't entirely true and Xue Rui didn't have any plans of admitting this to Li XinWen. Xue Rui belonged to such a distinguished family that any establishment would gladly bend its rules just to accommodate him. So much so that he can even opt to go through the back door and acquire whatever items were on the auction list even before these items go into auction to the wider network of buyers.
"An auction house?!?" Li XinWen asked excitedly, which came as a pleasant surprise to Xue Rui. Li XinWen's reaction was everything to him at that moment. "I can't wait to get to the auction house Rui-ge!" he expressed, eyes brightening like a child's.
In Long Xing, wherever there was an auction, one was sure to find a treasure, and finding out that there are also auction houses in the mortal world, Li XinWen could not wait to find out what kind of treasures he was bound to come across.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
3 Power
stone 
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