RIACMET chapter 247

 

“Brother Chu, why are you here? Where’s Xiaoya?”

Inside the tent ward of the temporary mission camp, Tang Ji lay on a simple folding bed. When he saw Chu Yi enter carrying two lunchboxes, his expression turned awkward and his appetite vanished.

His hand was tightly bandaged. Recently, Xiaoya had been bringing him meals and feeding him. Perhaps it was because he often talked about Jiang Nian—Xiaoya seemed to enjoy spending time with him.

Chu Yi visited morning and night, passing along greetings from Tang Yi and the others. Nurses from the medical team took care of his daily needs.

There was nothing unusual about that until last night. When Chu Yi visited and the nurse happened to be away, he kindly helped Tang Ji go to the bathroom. However, Tang Ji’s brain suddenly short-circuited, triggering an unexplainable reaction. He suffered instant, utter social death.

All night long, Chu Yi’s words echoed in his mind: “Still full of energy, huh?”

Since then, he has wanted to crawl into a hole whenever he sees anyone.

This morning, he even pretended to be asleep just to “escape danger.” Chu Yi usually didn’t show up in the afternoon. To avoid further embarrassment, Tang Ji called Tang Yi earlier and told him to contact him directly if he needed anything. He hadn’t expected this.

“Xiaoya was exhausted today. I told her to rest after dinner, and the same goes for the nurse. The medical team is short-staffed and overworked right now. I told her to take the afternoon off.”

Chu Yi responded calmly, showing no concern for Tang Ji’s awkwardness. After washing his hands in the nearby basin, he helped Tang Ji sit up, opened a self-heating lunchbox, handed it to him, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Come on, eat.”

“… ”

Tang Ji looked down at his “useless” hands, glanced at Chu Yi, then opened his mouth obediently. His gaze stayed fixed on the lunchbox and spoon, his eyelids lowered.

Their conversations were usually light and easygoing, but today, the atmosphere was thick with awkwardness. Though he was starving, he couldn’t eat quickly; it felt like something was caught in his throat.

Noticing his struggle, Chu Yi slowed his pace and said casually,

“Tang Yi called me just now.”

“Huh? Cough, cough, cough—!”

Tang Ji choked and spat out half a mouthful of food. He reflexively raised his hand to cover his mouth, then quickly dropped it again.

“Careful.”

Chu Yi remained calm, neither flinching nor scolding him. He set down his bowl and chopsticks, picked up some tissues, wiped Tang Ji’s mouth, and cleaned his own clothes.

“…”

Tang Ji’s face was already flushed red, but he braved it and asked,

“My brother… what did he say?”

Seeing how guilty he looked, Chu Yi responded with a question instead.

“What did you say to him?”

“…”

Tang Ji nearly choked on his own tongue.

“I… I didn’t say anything. I just felt useless… like I’ve been a burden to you… all of you…”

That’s it, I’m doomed. He was definitely in trouble. He hadn’t meant anything by it; he was just too embarrassed.

“He’s worried that your injury has made you emotionally unstable.”

Chu Yi said this while watching Tang Ji’s head droop even lower. He reached out and gently tilted Tang Ji’s face up again.

“Eat first.”

“…Okay.”

Tang Ji’s brain buzzed. He couldn’t even tell what the food tasted like anymore.

Chu Yi was kind of scary when he got serious.

“Thank you, Brother Chu…”

Tang Ji let out a breath of relief after finally finishing his last bite.

Chu Yi wiped his mouth, picked up the second lunchbox, and quickly ate his meal—far faster than Tang Ji—finishing it in no time.

After throwing away the empty containers, he looked back at the restless person sitting there.

“Do you want water?”

“NO!”

Tang Ji refused reflexively. Realizing how intense that sounded, he hung his head and added,

“I’m not thirsty yet. You should go back to work. Don’t worry about me.”

“…”

Chu Yi stared at him, then calmly opened the water bottle and handed it to him.

“Drink some water. Go to the bathroom.”

“No…”

Tang Ji refused, his cheeks burning like fire. He was sure this guy was doing it on purpose.

Chu Yi persisted.

“I told you the nurse will be back this afternoon.”

“In that case, I don’t need your help.”

Tang Ji no longer cared about his pride or offending anyone; he just wanted Chu Yi to leave.

Chu Yi held out the water again and stared at the kid, who looked ready to crawl under the bed. He said calmly,

“You’re a patient. Don’t overthink it. What happened last night was just a little accident. It’s normal for your body to react that way after lying in bed for days.”

“It’s not normal. I wouldn’t react like that to anyone else…”

Tang Ji blurted out, then froze as soon as the words left his mouth. He hadn’t meant to say that. His voice faltered, and he turned his face to the side, his heart pounding.

He felt deeply ashamed because he knew it wasn’t normal. He couldn’t explain why or when it had started to become “not normal.”

But before that embarrassing incident, he’d always thought it was normal to want to be closer to Chu Yi.

“…”

Chu Yi didn’t seem to pick up on the implications in his words. After a moment, he asked,

“You really don’t want my help?”

“No, go do your work.”

Tang Ji shook his head, utterly mortified. His voice was dry, but deep down, he also felt a strange sense of disappointment, like something unresolved was left hanging.

Chu Yi checked the time on his watch.

“All right. I’ll try to have the nurse come earlier.”

He stood and walked out. His expression remained composed from start to finish, but once outside the tent, he allowed himself a quiet smile.

Out in the field, people encountered all kinds of situations. He had taken care of teammates with much worse injuries than Tang Ji’s. There was no need to dwell on something as minor as a little awkwardness.

Still, Tang Ji’s attitude toward him seemed a bit different.

But he wasn’t the sentimental type. If there was a misunderstanding, clarifying it too soon might backfire.

Let’s give it a bit more time.

“…”

Just as Tang Ji was struggling to reset his mindset and “go back to normal,” Chu Yi contacted the base the next afternoon and requested a plane to pick him and Xiaoya up first.

He explained that the mission plans had changed. He and the rest of the legion would stay a few more days, coincidentally waiting for an official superpowered boss with spatial abilities spanning dozens of hectares to arrive and help plan the next expansion of South City Base.