Moving On from the Tsundere, I Choose the Perfect Sweetheart

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Gu Yifan: Remember, You Owe Me a Life

”Gasp...”

”Holy shit!”

...

A long moment passed before someone finally broke the silence, and the crowd snapped out of their stupor.

”Quick!”

”Save him!!!”

The fire captain in charge of the rescue operation shouted.

Instantly, all the medical responders swarmed forward.

But by the time they reached him, they found Gu Yifan dusting himself off and casually stepping down from the inflatable safety cushion.

He muttered curses as he went, ”Fuck, that scared the shit out of me!”

The crowd: ”...”

Gu Yifan was still cursing when he turned his head and found a group of medical personnel in white coats staring at him.

The situation instantly became a little awkward.

”Hi~”

Gu Yifan scratched his head sheepishly. Then, for some inexplicable reason, he waved at the crowd and gave them an awkward smile.

The crowd: ”...-_-||”

The middle-aged, bespectacled doctor leading the group felt the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably.

But he was a professional, after all. He shook his head, his expression turning serious as he asked, ”Young man, are you feeling any discomfort?”

”Huh?”

Gu Yifan froze for a second.

’Am I feeling any discomfort?’

He shook himself out and said, a bit baffled, ”I don’t feel any discomfort anywhere!”

Hmm?

’That can’t be right!’

’From that height, with that kind of impact... Even with the safety cushion, he should have broken a few bones at the very least!’

’Maybe even worse!’

The middle-aged doctor frowned, puzzled.

”Oh, wait!”

”Actually, now that you mention it, there is one thing!”

Just as the doctor was puzzling over this, Gu Yifan suddenly spoke up.

”Where are you feeling discomfort?”

The middle-aged doctor blurted out instinctively.

”Well... my kidney kind of hurts. Does that count?”

Gu Yifan said, looking at the doctor with a perfectly straight face.

The doctor: ”...”

”Um... so it doesn’t count?”

Seeing the doctor’s silence, Gu Yifan asked meekly.

”Get a stretcher!”

”Take him back to the hospital for a full-body examination!”

The doctor gave him a long, hard look before saying with a dark expression.

And just like that!

To the stunned amazement of the crowd, Gu Yifan was strapped onto a stretcher by a few nurses and hauled off to the hospital.

............

「6:30 PM.」

「Mountain City People’s Hospital.」

In Room 305, a handsome young man was lounging on a white hospital bed, leisurely eating grapes.

As he ate, he spoke to the girl peeling an apple beside him. ”Hey, make sure you get all the peel off. I don’t like the skin.”

”Oh, okay...”

The girl gave a small nod and lowered her head, continuing to peel the apple with great care.

The young man was, of course, Gu Yifan. The girl was the ”pauper campus belle” who had tried to jump earlier—Su Qinghe.

While Gu Yifan was being loaded onto the stretcher, the people who had rushed to the rooftop managed to pull Su Qinghe back from the edge.

Afterward, she was escorted to the hospital by several of her teachers.

The school had sent so many people with her because they were afraid she might get another foolish idea and try to harm herself again.

By the time she reached the hospital, Gu Yifan had already completed a full-body check-up and been moved to a room for observation.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief when she saw that he was all right.

’She couldn’t help it.’

’If something had actually happened to Gu Yifan, she would never have been able to live with herself.’

’Even in death, she would have been burdened by guilt.’

”I’m sorry.”

The moment she saw Gu Yifan, she stood before his bed, head bowed, and spoke softly.

However, Gu Yifan simply waved a hand. ”Ah, don’t worry about it. Just as long as you don’t go jumping off any more buildings!”

”WHOOSH-”

Su Qinghe’s face instantly flushed red.

’Actually, on the way to the hospital, she’d already come to a realization.’

’Life is full of disappointments; things go wrong more often than not. There were so many people in the world who had suffered more than she had, yet they still fought to live their lives to the fullest. She shouldn’t be so cowardly. If her mom, dad, and grandmother were still alive, they wouldn’t want to see her like this, either.’

’Besides, the guy in front of her was right.’

’She was eighteen, in the prime of her youth. She still had a long future ahead of her, filled with meaningful things to do. She had to live on, carrying the will of her parents and grandmother with her, and just keep going.’

’Most importantly, it seemed there were still some things in this world worth holding on for. For instance...’

As this thought crossed her mind, she furtively raised her head to peek at Gu Yifan.

”Ahem?”

”Hey, I’m talking to you!”

”You’re not planning where to take your next jump, are you?”

When Su Qinghe didn’t answer, Gu Yifan sat bolt upright in bed and looked at her.

”N-No, I won’t.”

Su Qinghe raised her head, met his gaze, and spoke softly.

”Good, that’s what I like to hear!”

Hearing her promise, Gu Yifan nodded in satisfaction.

After a moment’s thought, he added, ”I’m telling you, Su Qinghe, you owe me a life debt!”

”And until you’ve paid me back in full, you’re not allowed to do anything stupid, you hear?”

”Otherwise, even if you die, I’ll dig up your grave and make you repay your debt!”

Su Qinghe: ”...”

Hearing him threaten to dig up her grave, she fought the urge to roll her eyes at him.

Still, she knew he was only saying it because he didn’t want her to do anything foolish again, so she wasn’t angry.

”Mm... I get it!”

Su Qinghe looked at him and nodded.

”BANG~”

Just then, the door to the hospital room was suddenly thrown open.

At the sound, both Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe turned to look toward the door.

A beautiful middle-aged woman with a frantic expression burst into the room.

”You little brat, are you okay?”

The moment she entered, the woman rushed to Gu Yifan’s side in a few quick strides, her face etched with worry as she asked.

”Here, let Mom see where you’re hurt!”

As she spoke, her hands began patting him down all over, looking like she was about to lift his shirt to check for herself.

”Er...(⊙o⊙)...”

Gu Yifan froze for a second.

When he came to his senses, he quickly stopped his mother’s hands, saying awkwardly, ”Hold on! Mom, what are you doing here?”

”Hey, you little brat! What do you mean, ’what am I doing here?’”

”After something like this happened, how could I possibly stay away?”

Chen Dongmei shot him a glare and said huffily.

Just then, more people began to file in through the door—doctors and school teachers!

With so many people suddenly inside, the small hospital room began to feel rather cramped.

Among them was Gu Yifan’s father, Gu Jiaguo—a handsome, middle-aged man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, his hair slicked back.

”Uh... Dad, you’re here too.”

Gu Yifan greeted his father.

”Mm.”

Gu Jiaguo glanced at him and gave a slight nod. Then, he turned to the doctor who had entered with them and asked, ”Director He, what’s my son’s condition?”