Infinite Game Ch.15

Chapter 15 – Being a Hostage (Excited)

Jiang Yujin finally got his hands on the game, and next door, Zhou Yang also finally woke up.

Memories lingered on the scene before fainting. When he opened his eyes, he shuddered instinctively, almost letting out a scream. It wasn’t until he saw the people gathered around his bed that he gradually realized he had been rescued.

Upon regaining consciousness, his immediate reaction was to search for the person who had been in front of him before he fainted.

Zhang Si said, “He’s upstairs, heard he got pretty badly injured.”

Zhou Yang struggled to go find the person, others couldn’t stop him and could only watch him run upstairs in a crooked hospital gown.

It wasn’t until he entered the ward that he noticed besides the person lying in the hospital bed, there was someone sitting by the bed with grey eyes, smoothly muscled arms, objectively speaking, a rather handsome person.

Zhou Yang almost instantly recalled the words the person in the bed had said before, “I like men.”

Before thoughts that shouldn’t exist in his innocent mind surfaced, he was informed that the person sitting by the bed was from the Special Investigation Unit that had rescued them that day.

He silently breathed a sigh of relief, directly taking the initiative to pull over a small stool and sit by the bed.

Jiang Yujin on the bed held a cup of steaming water in his hand, with a phone on the blanket still displaying the game interface, life seeming surprisingly comfortable.

Zhou Yang blushed, saying, “Before, I wanted to thank…”

“You’re here!”

Jiang Yujin handed the water cup to Xu Tonggui, switched the game on the phone to a calculator, grabbed the paper and pen from the bedside table, and lifted his eyes, “It’s perfect timing to calculate the commission fee.”

Eyes that hadn’t opened much when entering the tunnel were now completely open, light-colored pupils seeming to shimmer in the light.

Zhou Yang: “…”

Zhou Yang nodded, “Okay.”

Jiang Yujin happily calculated the commission fee, then happily doubled it. When he showed the final number to Zhou Yang, joy of a bountiful harvest exuded from head to toe.

He actually doubled the money for the game and the helmet, and even added the hospitalization fee.

Zhou Yang nodded in confirmation of the amount, then suggested exchanging contact information.

The commission fee was entirely legal, so Xu Tonggui sat to the side, watching Jiang Yujin swiftly jot down a series of numbers and hand them to Zhou Yang.

…

After school, the high schooler arrived at the hospital in the evening, carrying nutritious congee, only to be told the patient had been moved to a different room.

Although not aware of what had occurred, Chen Jing could guess it wasn’t something good, causing an immediate furrow of his brow.

Carrying the congee, he reached the door of the newly assigned room. Initially ready to push the door directly, he paused upon glimpsing through the glass window at the two inexplicably unfamiliar strangers inside, even though he could recognize one from just their back.

He hadn’t expected Xu Tonggui to be here.

But they didn’t stay long in the room. Once the phone was charged enough to power on, the commission fee negotiated, Jiang Yujin mercilessly ushered both Xu Tonggui and Zhou Yang out.

Watching them leave, Chen Jing then stepped into the room.

The person playing the game on the bed waved at him, “You’re here.”

Glancing at the bandages peeking out from under the hospital gown, Chen Jing put down the congee and glanced through the diagnosis report at the bedside.

“…”

He deeply sighed, wondering what this person had done in just one day. How had he shifted from the gastroenterology department to surgery with such a prolonged hospital stay in such a short span?

Unable to figure it out, he pulled a chair, sat down calmly, and looked at the still fervently playing person.

That night, Jiang Yujin received a lecture from the high schooler and later faced mockery from the owner of the barbershop who arrived at the hospital.

But it was okay because he earned a commission fee that could buy several dishwashers.

…

The next morning, Jiang Yujin, sleeping soundly, was unearthed from under the covers by the doctor for a medication change. After the medication was changed, he floated back to bed, slept until noon, and absentmindedly turned on the midday news while having lunch.

The news was indeed fresh. What happened last night was already on TV today, artistically presented, mentioning only the two missing persons found, one dead and one injured. Not a word about the discovery of the rest of the people or the strange species, choosing instead to stay silent and conceal it.

What actually happened, what he fabricated, and what the news reported were three separate things, each with no relation to the others.

After another careful glance, today’s news wasn’t as explosive. Jiang Yujin regretfully turned off the TV, bowing his head to focus on eating.

On the first day of his hospitalization, the ordinary citizen Jiang behaved obediently.

By the first week, the bored citizen Jiang began wandering around the hospital and its vicinity, buying a hat in passing.

By the second week, the freedom-craving citizen Jiang swapped his hospital gown, hopped on the electric scooter brought by the Special Investigation Unit, and left the hospital.

After leaving the hospital, he took a detour on the road, weaving through the congested traffic before finally returning to the street where his home was situated, walking into the barbershop.

It was past the peak hours for haircuts, and the shop was empty except for the owner smoking while cleaning the tables. Hearing movement, he glanced at Jiang Yujin.

Jiang Yujin exercised his subjective initiative and took a seat, beckoning with a smile.

Realizing what he wanted, the owner, annoyed, stubbed out his cigarette and wiped his hands with a towel.

As he approached, Jiang Yujin took off his hat.

With the hat off, a messy mop of hair appeared, where previously only a few strands of white hair had been visible.

No wonder he wore the hat.

Jiang Yujin succinctly stated his request: “Dye it black, don’t cut it short. Thank you.”

“Not cutting it short?”

Jiang Yujin shook his head, “No.”

The owner slowly set down the razor he had picked up.

Jiang Yujin chuckled softly.

Quiet for a few hours, happy for several months, Citizen Jiang, who walked out of the store, held his head higher. Playing Xiaoxiaole became more enjoyable.

Riding the electric scooter back to the hospital, he stayed calm for a few more days, until finally being discharged upon completing his sentence.

On the day of discharge, the high schooler took half a day off to pack things and send him home. Zhou Yang, his former employer, appeared at the door, handing him a bunch of bright yellow flowers, a touching moment.

Walking home with the flowers, Jiang Yujin turned to the high schooler and asked, “How much do you think these flowers would sell for?”

The high schooler chose not to answer.

Back home, following the routine, he lazed around for two days before his physical abilities declined. Jiang Yujin chose a weekend with decent weather to take his dear high schooler to the mall to buy a new dishwasher.

New traffic rules in the city prohibited two people from riding on an electric scooter, so he regretfully took the bus.

The sunlight outside the window flickered. Chen Jing turned to look at him and said, “Your grey hair is gone.”

Jiang Yujin nodded, “I plucked them out of boredom in the hospital.”

He continued, “Do you think I’m more handsome now?”

Chen Jing chose to turn away without answering, leaving Jiang Yujin sighing sadly.

Getting off the bus and entering the mall, even before reaching the appliance store, the composed adult rewarded himself with an ice cream sundae, though he hadn’t done anything worth rewarding yet.

Holding the cold ice cream sundae, Jiang Yujin asked the high schooler beside him, “Would you like some?”

The high schooler declined.

So, Chen Jing took charge of reading the layout map and leading the way, while the adult followed, enjoying the sundae and unintentionally making sounds from the cold.

Entering the appliance section, the salesperson instantly surrounded them. Initially attacking Jiang Yujin, then realizing who was actually choosing, shifted focus to Chen Jing.

The high schooler was earnestly comparing performance and value for money while Jiang Yujin wasn’t particularly interested in home appliances. After a quick round of browsing, he leaned against the mall railing, bored, gazing down at the mall’s activities.

Then, he noticed a man in black clothing and an unusual woolen hat for the season hopping over the railing and swiftly scaling upward.

Jiang Yujin thought the person ran strangely fast and took a closer look, just in time to see another person, also dressed in black, following behind.

Unable to resist the urge to watch the commotion, Jiang Yujin moved his ice cream sundae to get a better view. He shifted to another spot after going downstairs and continued observing the chase from the other side of the mall.

The mall was crowded, and as the three passed by, unsuspecting customers in the lower floor were startled, emitting short bursts of surprise.

Jiang Yujin continued eating his sundae while observing their chase. Several people around him were also watching intently.

Gradually, they shifted from being bystanders to being part of the scene.

The person who had been running upstairs suddenly changed direction, leaping into the air and using a giant advertising banner to land on the same level as them, right in front of them.

The person chasing him seemed undecided about following suit or using the stairs. For a moment, they hesitated.

Taking advantage of the pause, one of them swiftly pulled out a gun and aimed it at the crowd, threatening, “Don’t move!”

No one dared to move.

Jiang Yujin lowered his head and took a bite of his quickly melting sundae.

The person with the gun immediately noticed him and began approaching while holding the gun, closing the distance rapidly. If he moved, Jiang Yujin moved. In the process, the sundae nearly slipped out of his hand.

Jiang Yujin chose to stop.

When they were close enough, the man in the woolen hat discarded the toy gun and brandished a rusty-looking utility knife near Jiang Yujin’s neck, warning him not to move. Then, he turned and cautioned the two approaching individuals not to make any sudden movements either.

Jiang Yujin indeed didn’t move, except for eating the sundae. He apologized while eating, “Sorry, let me finish the last two bites before I become your hostage.”

He oddly had a hostage spirit.

The man in the black woolen hat urged him in a low voice, “Hurry up and eat.”

Jiang Yujin finished at his own pace, casually threw the trash into the bin for recycling, and stood back.

“…”

Amidst the noise from outside, Chen Jing, who was upstairs looking at dishwashers with the salesperson, said, “Wait a moment.” Then, he walked out of the store to see what was happening.

As if sensing something, he glanced down and spotted the man threatening with a knife—and Jiang Yujin, who was being threatened by him. The man noticed Chen Jing, gave a slight wave, and a red rope dangled in his wrist.

Chen Jing: “…”

Some people just never seem to stay calm.

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