IPC Chapter 6: Hemophobia
Translator: Lala
Quality Check: Vemmy, Leslie
Chapter 6: Hemophobia
The Xiao residence was very large, but not every member of the family lived at home. Currently, only old Madam Xiao, the Xiao Zhicheng couple; the third child, Xiao Lingshu; and the fifth child, Xiao Lingyu lived in the house.
Xiao Lingyu lived next door to Lei Jue, but despite waking up earlier the next day, Lei Jue still didn't see him. He hadn't slept for the entire night, so he was pretty sure that Xiao Lingyu hadn't even come home after going out last night. Of course, he didn't have much of an opinion on this. Either way, Xiao Lingyu had already done everything he could for him, not to mention that, as a notorious player, it'd be weird if he actually did come back home on time.
Lei Jue held Loquat—the cat he had brought over from the Lei family—and had stopped thinking about it by the time he got downstairs. The only thing on his mind now was to find himself some sort of security for his life.
"Little Jue, what's wrong? Is it that you're not used to sleeping in a different place? Those eye bags of yours are practically black." Luo Yuling looked at Lei Jue's panda eyes. "I have some really effective eye cream, do you want to use it?"
"There's no need, thank you. Also, I want to go out later to take Loquat to get the wound on his leg checked out." Loquat's leg had broken from Lei Haige stepping on it before, but since it hadn't gotten any proper treatment it had healed crooked and Loquat couldn't walk very smoothly. He wanted to go to the vet to see whether they could fix Loquat's leg and return it to the way it was originally. Although he had the power to heal wounds, it didn't work for wounds which had already healed, like Loquat's.
"That's a good idea, do you need me to find someone to go with you?" Luo Yuling wasn't very reassured.
"There's no need for such trouble, I'm simply heading to the vet. I'll come back after Loquat's leg has been checked."
"Okay then. You should eat first." Luo Yuling was walking towards the kitchen when she suddenly turned her head back, as if she'd thought of something. "Oh, that's right… Little Jue, let aunty transfer you some money. That way, it'll be convenient for you wherever you go. Come, stand still and don't move, I need to scan your biometrics."
"There's no need for that aunty, Big Brother Lingyu has already given me some." Lei Jue smiled. "Thank you." He'd already turned her down three times this morning and almost didn't have the heart to turn her down again.
"There's no need to thank me, kid, I already told you to not be so polite with us. I really hadn't imagined that your Big Brother Lingyu would be so proactive and share his funds with you, though. It seems like he has a conscience after all." Luo Lingyu had the robots get Lei Jue something to eat, then went off to work on something.
Once Lei Jue had finished his breakfast, he headed to Bulacca City's biggest veterinary hospital. When the medical personnel caught sight of the little ball curled up in his arms, they asked if he needed any assistance, so he directly told them his situation.
After listening, the medical personnel suggested they break and reset the bone.
"Roughly ten or so days of recovery is needed after the surgery. If you need it, we can make an appointment for the surgery. Would you like us to do that?"
"Yes please. May I ask approximately how much it will cost? And are you sure it can be restored to what it was like before the injury?"
"It's impossible for it to be exactly the same, but it can recover to an extent where you wouldn't be able to tell the difference just by looking."
"That's good, then." Lei Jue asked a few more related questions, then asked the staff to book the best vet for Loquat's surgery. However, that vet was currently on holiday and he might need to wait a few more days, so Lei Jue put his name on the waiting list. Once he went home, he just needed to wait for them to notify him.
He paid the deposit and was just about to leave when a child's sharp cry pierced through the air halfway through his exit.
"I don't want to!"
Over in the emergency area, a five- or six-year-old boy tightly grasped a pet carriage, peering at the man beside him as he cried until his face was streaked with tears. "Daddy, I don't want Kaka to die… daddy, I'm begging you… don't let Kaka die… save him please, daddy, I want Kaka." The little boy pointed to the dog on the pet carriage and sobbed, "Daddy, please…."
"But Kaka's been hurt too badly." The father stroked his son's little face, his heart broken. "Daddy will buy you another one later, okay?"
"No! None of them… none of them will be Kaka then. Daddy, you have to save him." The little boy gazed up at his father as if his father was his only hope, his voice hoarse from crying. "Daddy, I'm begging you, can we take him t-to other places to treat him okay?"
"But this is already the best pet hospital in Bulacca." The child's father bent down, his heart also in pain.
Kaka was a German shepherd that had grown up together with his son. A thief had entered the house and Kaka was shot while protecting his family. They'd originally thought that it was a normal tranquilizer bullet and it would be fine as soon as the tranquilizer wore off, but Kaka's state got worse and worse, and when they brought him here, the doctors said that he'd actually been shot with a poisoned dart. Kaka's organs were already in late-stage failure and there was no possibility of saving him anymore.
"We've given him a strong analgesic. You should take him home." The doctor sighed, handing the euthanizer over to the father.
"Come on son, let's take Kaka home." The father took his child's hand and placed it on the carriage's handle again.
The child's tears fell in large drops, pitter-pattering as they descended. When they passed by Lei Jue, they accidentally bumped into him. Despite being breathless from crying and hiccuping unstoppably, the child still didn't forget to say, "S-sorry b-big brother."
Lei Jue glanced at the child, but didn't say anything. However, after thinking about it, he still pulled his hood over his head and followed them.
The child's father had just been through a dangerous situation recently, so he was very alert. Upon detecting that there was someone following them, he swiftly turned around and warily watched the person across from him.
"Apologies." Lei Jue brought up his hands. "I don't have any other intentions—it's cold outside, so I wanted to cover him up a little." Lei Jue put his hands inside the pet carriage and touched Kaka's leg, then pulled the little blanket that was beside him up a bit.
Seeing this, the child and his father uttered their thanks.
Lei Jue could sense that Kaka wasn't in as much pain as before and there was a little more spirit in his eyes, so he waved, leaving with Loquat in his arms. When he'd gone out, Luo Yuling had told him to ride the family's aircraft. He thought that the aircraft in the Marshal's estate was too eye-catching, though, so he had taken a hovercar instead. For ten galactic dollars, he could wander around wherever he wanted, however he pleased. It was quite convenient.
"Went out to play?" Just as Lei Jue was about to enter the house, Xiao Lingyu's voice drifted over from behind.
"Mm, I took a stroll around." Lei Jue's arms tightened around Loquat. "You got hurt?" Xiao Lingyu's hand was bleeding, looking as if it'd been pierced by something.
"That's right. Ah, I'm about to faint. Babe, c'mere and support me, hurry!" Xiao Lingyu had originally looked as if he didn't care at all, but upon hearing Lei Jue's question he immediately started acting like a fragile little… no, that wasn't right. This guy wouldn't look like a flower regardless of how frail he pretended to be, the key being that he was too tall. He'd look like a tree, at least.
Seeing the despicable way in which he was acting, Lei Jue didn't want to help him. He dipped his head and responded in a troubled tone, "Sorry, Big Brother Lingyu, I have hemophobia."
"Hemophobia?" Xiao Lingyu stood speechless on the spot.
"Mm." Lei Jue held back his laughter, a picture of soft fragility.
At this moment, Luo Yuling walked out and, upon seeing that Xiao Lingyu was wounded, cried, "What on earth happened to you this time!"
Xiao Lingyu embraced his mother with his uninjured hand and said, "Isn't this your fault? You made me so handsome that people keep thinking I'm their rival in love at every turn. Oi, mum, be gentle! I'm not dead yet!"
"No kidding! If you'd died already, I would've directly thrown you into the trash! That way I wouldn't have to follow behind you every day, fretting!" Luo Yuling aimed a crisp slap at her youngest son's back and a 'pa!' sound rang out. "Hurry up and treat it!"
"What treatment, you're gonna give me internal injuries with your slaps already. Don't you know how strong you are? It's just a small wound anyway, it'll heal in time."
"Who was it that said they were about to faint?" Luo Yuling made the servants retrieve some medicine and helped her son wrap up the injury. "You're not allowed to go out in the next few days. If you've got the time, then spend more of it with Little Jue. Don't play around so much outside that you forget to come back home!"
"Babe, do you need me to spend time with you?" Xiao Lingyu asked Lei Jue smilingly.
"No, thank you. It's fine if you go about your own things." So he doesn't start being despicable as soon as he gets home.
"See, mom, even Little Jue says that it's not necessary. If I forcefully hang out with him, wouldn't Lord Father-in-law jump up from the grave and strangle me to death?" Xiao Lingyu's eyes lingered on Lei Jue's face for a moment. "After all, when I hang out with people, I'd prefer not to… 'purely chat'."
"You! You stupid brat, get your act together!" Luo Yuling flicked her wrist, ready to deliver yet another slap, but Xiao Lingyu quickly dodged it this time.
"I'll just grab some stuff and go, don't slap me anymore." Xiao Lingyu went up to the second floor and didn't come back down again. From the sound of it, he'd gone straight to the aircraft from the second floor.
"Little Jue, you," she sighed, "you shouldn't bother with your Big Brother Lingyu, that heartless thing. He's just in need of a beating! With the Xiao and Lei families' union, there's a lot of things that aren't very convenient to be discussed, but if you really don't want to be together with your Big Brother Lingyu in the future you can divorce him and go find someone that you like. Either way, you shouldn't feel pressured, okay?"
"Got it, Aunty. But I don't have anyone that I like, and Big Brother Lingyu's not that bad." Although his mouth was irritating, at least when facing him, Xiao Lingyu didn't have any bad intentions. Lei Jue could feel it. He could also sense that the other people of the Xiao family were all very kind to him. He could even feel that, when she spoke of divorce, Luo Yuling's voice was carrying a hint of heartache and worry.
Perhaps as a mother, she still hoped that her child's life would be a little more stable, even if this marriage would need to end sooner or later.
Xiao Lingyu sat on the aircraft in silence, watching Lei Jue and his mother chat in the room for a little while. A moment later he asked, a little frustrated, "Carrera, do you think I'll turn into a pervert in the future from holding myself back?"
Carrera replied in an astonished tone, "Aren't you a pervert now?"
Xiao Lingyu almost choked. "Don't you have any awareness of your position as an underling?!" Having spoken, he shot an annoyed glance at the CPU. "Whatever, let's talk about what the higher-ups want me to do this time."
"There's a new mission."
"I only just came back injured!"
"But you said it's just a small wound, it'll heal in time."
"You!" Xiao Lingyu glared angrily for a moment before feeling that there wasn't any fun in arguing with a program and, in the end, he could only bitterly drive the aircraft to a large casino in the city centre.
Ten minutes later, a hunch-backed man with a full beard walked out from the casino. He shakily gathered up his shirt around him and set off toward the northwest.
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