Chapter 115: 115 – Fang Makes A Mistake
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Fang somehow ended up at a shady bar. He had already switched off his phone after seeing Pax's reminder to check his account statement in detail. Fang was a bit too irritated to do that at the moment.
"Young man, it is not good to drink so much at your age," the bartender said to Fang while pouring him the fifth glass of alcohol.
Fang smiled bitterly and drank some more, feeling painfully sober. Ren didn't let Fang drink more than an occasional glass of wine, saying that he was too young to drink, even though he was legally an adult now.
And Fang often heard his classmates in medical school talk about how getting drunk was one of the best ways to drown one's sorrows in a glass of alcohol. So, Fang had decided that he would get drunk today to forget about his current problems.
Perhaps he may be able to forget them for good. After all, Fang couldn't bear to have another fight with Ren, no matter what. Fang had sworn to himself last time – when Ren had run off to Sand Country and Fang had gone over to court him again – that he would never again do anything to make Ren upset, and that he would try his best to bring himself up to par so that he could stand proudly by Ren's side.
But now Fang felt unworthy and useless, despite the candid conversation with recently. He knew that Ren cherished him above everything – but Fang felt inadequate. He felt that he was far behind Ren and that he would never be able to catch up with him, that he would never be able to stand by Ren's side at an equal position, that he would always be overshadowed by Ren's glory.
That Ren was the one who held all the power in their relationship while Fang himself had nothing.
At some level, Fang knew and recognised that he was being unreasonable, and that Ren meant him no harm; he was simply looking after Fang in his own way. Fang also knew that he and Ren had very different points of view on money and how it was to be used. For Ren, money wasn't something all that important – and that was because Ren had never been poor – neither the original Ren of this world, nor his Ren, who had come from another world, and who had inherited the memories of this world's Ren, somehow. The original Ren's adoptive parents were quite affluent, and even when he was thrown out, he still had a legacy waiting for him.
As for Fang's Ren – from what Ren had told him so far about his life in the other world, Fang could easily see that Ren was a rich young master in the other world – probably born with a gold spoon in his mouth rather than a silver one. It was clear from his mannerisms that he had never lacked anything in his life – and he seemed to have an inherent golden touch as well. Sirocco had made record breaking profits in the last few months.
Fang knew that Ren genuinely didn't understand that Fang felt bad about being given money by Ren and that it made Fang feel cheap. And this made Fang even more helpless, because he knew that Ren truly believed that Fang had as much of a claim on Ren's money as Ren himself – Ren really was very generous with the people he loved.
But this was something Fang couldn't accept. It wasn't about something as antediluvian as his pride as a man and all that. Actually, even Fang didn't know why he was so resistant to the idea of being provided for by Ren for everything. All he knew that it was niggling away at him and causing him to feel more and more insecure as the days passed by.
And it was making Fang rougher and more aggressive than usual. He was often angry and irritated, and trying his best to keep himself under control.
Fang felt like he was a tightly wound string that was about to break at any time. Perhaps the alcohol could mellow down this awful feeling…
Fang brought his glass to his lips and realised that it was empty again.
"Another one, please," he told the bartender.
The bartender, a middle aged woman with a kindly face, frowned at the beautiful young man.
"Are you all right, son?" she asked, a bit concerned. "Having trouble with affairs of the heart, is it?"
Fang blinked at her. "How did you know?" he demanded.
"Well, a beautiful young man like yourself, sitting here alone and getting drunk – what else could it be?" the woman said with a smile and a shrug. "But you shouldn't drink too much. It isn't good for your body, all right?"
Fang shook his head. "I'm all right," he murmured. "I feel like I am drinking water."
The bartender peered at Fang – indeed, he looked like he had not drunk any alcohol at all. Perhaps he was a natural drinker, she thought to herself. Some men were like that, and she had seen plenty of them during her work here.
So Fang sat there and continued to drink – until, suddenly, his chest hurt and a bad premonition rose up in his heart. He stood up quickly, paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for the kind bartender, and ran out. He pulled out his phone to call Ren, but then realised that he had switched off his phone in a pique earlier.
Fang switched on his phone and froze. Thirty seven missed calls! From Pax, Dr. Gordon, Wolf, Steward Paul…! And not a single one from Ren!
Fang's head was in a whirl. Something must have happened to Ren – why else would his chest hurt like this?!
Two members of the Blue Wolves appeared as Fang fumbled with his car keys.
"We will drive you home," one of them said. "Or do you want to go to the hospital instead?"
Fang suddenly understood why no one had approached him at the bar – these two had been keeping an eye on him.
Fang flushed in embarrassment. And then their words registered.
"Is Ren still at the hospital?" he asked.
The two members of Blue Wolves exchanged a strange glance.
A cold fist closed around Fang's heart. "What happened?" he asked in a fearful voice. "Is Ren – is Ren all right?"
"We will take you to the hospital, then," one of the Blue Wolves said.
"You may want to return the calls," the other one told Fang.
Fang nodded in a daze and handed over the car keys to them. Then he sat in the back seat and called Pax.
Pax's phone was busy.
Fang called Wolf next.
Wolf's phone was busy, too.
Fang called Dr. Gordon after that.
To his shock, even Dr. Gordon's phone was busy!
Then he called Steward Paul.
But even that call didn't get through.
What in the world could everyone be busy with?
Fang opened the new messages on his phone – and found a cold message from Pax. It said – Ren collapsed. Call back when you can.
Fang froze, the words making him feel as if a bucket of ice had been dumped over him. How – how could Ren collapse? He was perfectly fine when Fang left him in the new research lab at SIMS earlier today! Fang had been monitoring his exercises and meals regularly and making sure that he didn't skip his meals and that he got enough exercise! Ren was getting better and stronger!
How could he collapse all of a sudden?!
Fang dialled Pax's number again.
Pax picked up this time. "Had a nice drink?" he mocked in an icy tone, without waiting for Fang to say anything. "Or maybe a hundred nice drinks?"
Fang could feel the anger radiating from Pax and being transmitted to him through the phone.
"What happened to Ren?!" Fang asked anxiously. "Why did he suddenly collapse? I've been keeping an eye on his meals and exercises, like Dr. Gordon said and he was fine when I left SIMS…"
Tears dripped down Fang's beautiful face silently as he spoke.
"Ren collapsed with the symptoms of severe alcohol poisoning," Pax's ice cold voice, dripping with fury, came from the other end of the phone. "Except that he never drank a single drop of alcohol today, so there is nothing that can be pumped out of his body."
The phone fell from Fang's hands on to the car seat.
And suddenly, Fang understood exactly why he hadn't been getting drunk despite downing glass after glass of potent alcohol!
The reflection magic cast by Ren had caught on to his negative state of mind and had perceived his attempts at getting drunk as an act of danger or self harm, and the reflection magic had kicked in automatically!
And Fang hadn't even realised this at all! Why hadn't he found it suspicious when the alcohol had failed to have any effect on him?! How could he have been so stupid?!
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Fang somehow ended up at a shady bar. He had already switched off his phone after seeing Pax's reminder to check his account statement in detail. Fang was a bit too irritated to do that at the moment.
"Young man, it is not good to drink so much at your age," the bartender said to Fang while pouring him the fifth glass of alcohol.
Fang smiled bitterly and drank some more, feeling painfully sober. Ren didn't let Fang drink more than an occasional glass of wine, saying that he was too young to drink, even though he was legally an adult now.
And Fang often heard his classmates in medical school talk about how getting drunk was one of the best ways to drown one's sorrows in a glass of alcohol. So, Fang had decided that he would get drunk today to forget about his current problems.
Perhaps he may be able to forget them for good. After all, Fang couldn't bear to have another fight with Ren, no matter what. Fang had sworn to himself last time – when Ren had run off to Sand Country and Fang had gone over to court him again – that he would never again do anything to make Ren upset, and that he would try his best to bring himself up to par so that he could stand proudly by Ren's side.
But now Fang felt unworthy and useless, despite the candid conversation with recently. He knew that Ren cherished him above everything – but Fang felt inadequate. He felt that he was far behind Ren and that he would never be able to catch up with him, that he would never be able to stand by Ren's side at an equal position, that he would always be overshadowed by Ren's glory.
That Ren was the one who held all the power in their relationship while Fang himself had nothing.
At some level, Fang knew and recognised that he was being unreasonable, and that Ren meant him no harm; he was simply looking after Fang in his own way. Fang also knew that he and Ren had very different points of view on money and how it was to be used. For Ren, money wasn't something all that important – and that was because Ren had never been poor – neither the original Ren of this world, nor his Ren, who had come from another world, and who had inherited the memories of this world's Ren, somehow. The original Ren's adoptive parents were quite affluent, and even when he was thrown out, he still had a legacy waiting for him.
As for Fang's Ren – from what Ren had told him so far about his life in the other world, Fang could easily see that Ren was a rich young master in the other world – probably born with a gold spoon in his mouth rather than a silver one. It was clear from his mannerisms that he had never lacked anything in his life – and he seemed to have an inherent golden touch as well. Sirocco had made record breaking profits in the last few months.
Fang knew that Ren genuinely didn't understand that Fang felt bad about being given money by Ren and that it made Fang feel cheap. And this made Fang even more helpless, because he knew that Ren truly believed that Fang had as much of a claim on Ren's money as Ren himself – Ren really was very generous with the people he loved.
But this was something Fang couldn't accept. It wasn't about something as antediluvian as his pride as a man and all that. Actually, even Fang didn't know why he was so resistant to the idea of being provided for by Ren for everything. All he knew that it was niggling away at him and causing him to feel more and more insecure as the days passed by.
And it was making Fang rougher and more aggressive than usual. He was often angry and irritated, and trying his best to keep himself under control.
Fang felt like he was a tightly wound string that was about to break at any time. Perhaps the alcohol could mellow down this awful feeling…
Fang brought his glass to his lips and realised that it was empty again.
"Another one, please," he told the bartender.
The bartender, a middle aged woman with a kindly face, frowned at the beautiful young man.
"Are you all right, son?" she asked, a bit concerned. "Having trouble with affairs of the heart, is it?"
Fang blinked at her. "How did you know?" he demanded.
"Well, a beautiful young man like yourself, sitting here alone and getting drunk – what else could it be?" the woman said with a smile and a shrug. "But you shouldn't drink too much. It isn't good for your body, all right?"
Fang shook his head. "I'm all right," he murmured. "I feel like I am drinking water."
The bartender peered at Fang – indeed, he looked like he had not drunk any alcohol at all. Perhaps he was a natural drinker, she thought to herself. Some men were like that, and she had seen plenty of them during her work here.
So Fang sat there and continued to drink – until, suddenly, his chest hurt and a bad premonition rose up in his heart. He stood up quickly, paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for the kind bartender, and ran out. He pulled out his phone to call Ren, but then realised that he had switched off his phone in a pique earlier.
Fang switched on his phone and froze. Thirty seven missed calls! From Pax, Dr. Gordon, Wolf, Steward Paul…! And not a single one from Ren!
Fang's head was in a whirl. Something must have happened to Ren – why else would his chest hurt like this?!
Two members of the Blue Wolves appeared as Fang fumbled with his car keys.
"We will drive you home," one of them said. "Or do you want to go to the hospital instead?"
Fang suddenly understood why no one had approached him at the bar – these two had been keeping an eye on him.
Fang flushed in embarrassment. And then their words registered.
"Is Ren still at the hospital?" he asked.
The two members of Blue Wolves exchanged a strange glance.
A cold fist closed around Fang's heart. "What happened?" he asked in a fearful voice. "Is Ren – is Ren all right?"
"We will take you to the hospital, then," one of the Blue Wolves said.
"You may want to return the calls," the other one told Fang.
Fang nodded in a daze and handed over the car keys to them. Then he sat in the back seat and called Pax.
Pax's phone was busy.
Fang called Wolf next.
Wolf's phone was busy, too.
Fang called Dr. Gordon after that.
To his shock, even Dr. Gordon's phone was busy!
Then he called Steward Paul.
But even that call didn't get through.
What in the world could everyone be busy with?
Fang opened the new messages on his phone – and found a cold message from Pax. It said – Ren collapsed. Call back when you can.
Fang froze, the words making him feel as if a bucket of ice had been dumped over him. How – how could Ren collapse? He was perfectly fine when Fang left him in the new research lab at SIMS earlier today! Fang had been monitoring his exercises and meals regularly and making sure that he didn't skip his meals and that he got enough exercise! Ren was getting better and stronger!
How could he collapse all of a sudden?!
Fang dialled Pax's number again.
Pax picked up this time. "Had a nice drink?" he mocked in an icy tone, without waiting for Fang to say anything. "Or maybe a hundred nice drinks?"
Fang could feel the anger radiating from Pax and being transmitted to him through the phone.
"What happened to Ren?!" Fang asked anxiously. "Why did he suddenly collapse? I've been keeping an eye on his meals and exercises, like Dr. Gordon said and he was fine when I left SIMS…"
Tears dripped down Fang's beautiful face silently as he spoke.
"Ren collapsed with the symptoms of severe alcohol poisoning," Pax's ice cold voice, dripping with fury, came from the other end of the phone. "Except that he never drank a single drop of alcohol today, so there is nothing that can be pumped out of his body."
The phone fell from Fang's hands on to the car seat.
And suddenly, Fang understood exactly why he hadn't been getting drunk despite downing glass after glass of potent alcohol!
The reflection magic cast by Ren had caught on to his negative state of mind and had perceived his attempts at getting drunk as an act of danger or self harm, and the reflection magic had kicked in automatically!
And Fang hadn't even realised this at all! Why hadn't he found it suspicious when the alcohol had failed to have any effect on him?! How could he have been so stupid?!
Fang somehow ended up at a shady bar. He had already switched off his phone after seeing Pax's reminder to check his account statement in detail. Fang was a bit too irritated to do that at the moment."Young man, it is not good to drink so much at your age," the bartender said to Fang while pouring him the fifth glass of alcohol.Fang smiled bitterly and drank some more, feeling painfully sober. Ren didn't let Fang drink more than an occasional glass of wine, saying that he was too young to drink, even though he was legally an adult now.And Fang often heard his classmates in medical school talk about how getting drunk was one of the best ways to drown one's sorrows in a glass of alcohol. So, Fang had decided that he would get drunk today to forget about his current problems.Perhaps he may be able to forget them for good. After all, Fang couldn't bear to have another fight with Ren, no matter what. Fang had sworn to himself last time when Ren had run off to Sand Country and Fang had gone over to court him again that he would never again do anything to make Ren upset, and that he would try his best to bring himself up to par so that he could stand proudly by Ren's side.But now Fang felt unworthy and useless, despite the candid conversation with recently. He knew that Ren cherished him above everything but Fang felt inadequate. He felt that he was far behind Ren and that he would never be able to catch up with him, that he would never be able to stand by Ren's side at an equal position, that he would always be overshadowed by Ren's glory.That Ren was the one who held all the power in their relationship while Fang himself had nothing.At some level, Fang knew and recognised that he was being unreasonable, and that Ren meant him no harm; he was simply looking after Fang in his own way. Fang also knew that he and Ren had very different points of view on money and how it was to be used. For Ren, money wasn't something all that important and that was because Ren had never been poor neither the original Ren of this world, nor his Ren, who had come from another world, and who had inherited the memories of this world's Ren, somehow. The original Ren's adoptive parents were quite affluent, and even when he was thrown out, he still had a legacy waiting for him.As for Fang's Ren from what Ren had told him so far about his life in the other world, Fang could easily see that Ren was a rich young master in the other world probably born with a gold spoon in his mouth rather than a silver one. It was clear from his mannerisms that he had never lacked anything in his life and he seemed to have an inherent golden touch as well. Sirocco had made record breaking profits in the last few months.Fang knew that Ren genuinely didn't understand that Fang felt bad about being given money by Ren and that it made Fang feel cheap. And this made Fang even more helpless, because he knew that Ren truly believed that Fang had as much of a claim on Ren's money as Ren himself Ren really was very generous with the people he loved.But this was something Fang couldn't accept. It wasn't about something as antediluvian as his pride as a man and all that. Actually, even Fang didn't know why he was so resistant to the idea of being provided for by Ren for everything. All he knew that it was niggling away at him and causing him to feel more and more insecure as the days passed by.And it was making Fang rougher and more aggressive than usual. He was often angry and irritated, and trying his best to keep himself under control.Fang felt like he was a tightly wound string that was about to break at any time. Perhaps the alcohol could mellow down this awful feelingFang brought his glass to his lips and realised that it was empty again."Another one, please," he told the bartender.The bartender, a middle aged woman with a kindly face, frowned at the beautiful young man."Are you all right, son?" she asked, a bit concerned. "Having trouble with affairs of the heart, is it?"Fang blinked at her. "How did you know?" he demanded."Well, a beautiful young man like yourself, sitting here alone and getting drunk what else could it be?" the woman said with a smile and a shrug. "But you shouldn't drink too much. It isn't good for your body, all right?"Fang shook his head. "I'm all right," he murmured. "I feel like I am drinking water."The bartender peered at Fang indeed, he looked like he had not drunk any alcohol at all. Perhaps he was a natural drinker, she thought to herself. Some men were like that, and she had seen plenty of them during her work here.So Fang sat there and continued to drink until, suddenly, his chest hurt and a bad premonition rose up in his heart. He stood up quickly, paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for the kind bartender, and ran out. He pulled out his phone to call Ren, but then realised that he had switched off his phone in a pique earlier.Fang switched on his phone and froze. Thirty seven missed calls! From Pax, Dr. Gordon, Wolf, Steward Paul! And not a single one from Ren!Fang's head was in a whirl. Something must have happened to Ren why else would his chest hurt like this?!Two members of the Blue Wolves appeared as Fang fumbled with his car keys."We will drive you home," one of them said. "Or do you want to go to the hospital instead?"Fang suddenly understood why no one had approached him at the bar these two had been keeping an eye on him.Fang flushed in embarrassment. And then their words registered."Is Ren still at the hospital?" he asked.The two members of Blue Wolves exchanged a strange glance.A cold fist closed around Fang's heart. "What happened?" he asked in a fearful voice. "Is Ren is Ren all right?""We will take you to the hospital, then," one of the Blue Wolves said."You may want to return the calls," the other one told Fang.Fang nodded in a daze and handed over the car keys to them. Then he sat in the back seat and called Pax.Pax's phone was busy.Fang called Wolf next.Wolf's phone was busy, too.Fang called Dr. Gordon after that.To his shock, even Dr. Gordon's phone was busy!Then he called Steward Paul.But even that call didn't get through.What in the world could everyone be busy with?Fang opened the new messages on his phone and found a cold message from Pax. It said Ren collapsed. Call back when you can.Fang froze, the words making him feel as if a bucket of ice had been dumped over him. How how could Ren collapse? He was perfectly fine when Fang left him in the new research lab at SIMS earlier today! Fang had been monitoring his exercises and meals regularly and making sure that he didn't skip his meals and that he got enough exercise! Ren was getting better and stronger!How could he collapse all of a sudden?!Fang dialled Pax's number again.Pax picked up this time. "Had a nice drink?" he mocked in an icy tone, without waiting for Fang to say anything. "Or maybe a hundred nice drinks?"Fang could feel the anger radiating from Pax and being transmitted to him through the phone."What happened to Ren?!" Fang asked anxiously. "Why did he suddenly collapse? I've been keeping an eye on his meals and exercises, like Dr. Gordon said and he was fine when I left SIMS"Tears dripped down Fang's beautiful face silently as he spoke."Ren collapsed with the symptoms of severe alcohol poisoning," Pax's ice cold voice, dripping with fury, came from the other end of the phone. "Except that he never drank a single drop of alcohol today, so there is nothing that can be pumped out of his body."The phone fell from Fang's hands on to the car seat.And suddenly, Fang understood exactly why he hadn't been getting drunk despite downing glass after glass of potent alcohol!The reflection magic cast by Ren had caught on to his negative state of mind and had perceived his attempts at getting drunk as an act of danger or self harm, and the reflection magic had kicked in automatically!And Fang hadn't even realised this at all! Why hadn't he found it suspicious when the alcohol had failed to have any effect on him?! How could he have been so stupid?!
