My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"Acute gastritis." 

Lei Liqiu gaped, her breath stuttered. "W—What?"

"Acute gastritis." Xu Binchen massaged his brows and sighed. "She must be pranking you. I am not dying whatsoever. I only need to be on IV drips for a few days and eat some medicine to recover fully."

As soon as Lei Liqiu saw Shi Nian's message last night, she directly asked for half a day's leave from her job and proceeded to go to the hospital as soon as the visiting hour was open. She indeed found Xu Binchen in the list of patients but instead of seeing him sick and fragile, he looked as healthy as a bull, even with the IV drips still hanging on his wrist.

"But it's acute," Her brows knitted. "Anything that's acute is bad, right?"

"It's not that bad."

"What's not that bad?" Shi Nian's voice suddenly came from the door. Lei Liqiu lifted her head to see the girl coming in while pushing a man in the wheelchair who wore the same patient gown as Xu Binchen. 

Different from Xu Binchen whose charm was aggressive and fierce — often scaring people away — the man in the wheelchair was another kind of beauty altogether. There's a tinge of melancholy in his eyes even though he hardly put any expression on his face. Nonetheless, his delicate feature was still eye candy, it could even rival top actors in the entertainment industry.

"You even vomited blood and fainted, remember?" Shi Nian said helplessly.

Lei Liqiu snapped her head to Xu Binchen, eyes widening in incredulity. "Vomit blood?!"

Xu Binchen held his forehead and sighed. "It's really not as bad as you think. Why are you two here anyway?" His eyes landed on the man on the wheelchair. "Aren't you just waking up a few days ago? Why don't you lie in bed for a few more days?"

The man scoffed. "Different from a certain someone, I recover fast."

"Don't lie, Jinyan." Shi Nian giggled and exposed him. "As soon as he heard you're also being treated here, Binchen gege, he asked me to come visit you together. And I guessed that Sister Liqiu would be here. Turns out I am right. So here we are!"

"You…" Jiang Jinyan tugged on her hand, a helpless look on his face. 

"Oh right, I haven't introduced you two, right?" Shi Nian turned to Lei Liqiu and gestured between them. "Jinyan, this is Sister Liqiu, the one I talked to you about before and… Sister Liqiu, this is Jiang Jinyan, my boyfriend." A smile graced her lips as she said the last few words.

Lei Liqiu's eyes automatically shifted to Xu Binchen yet the man didn't show any reaction except for boredom and faint annoyance. It made her sigh in relief, for some reasons she couldn't describe. So, Shi Nian already had a boyfriend and Xu Binchen also knew it...

Bowing slightly, she greeted Jiang Jinyan in a formal tone. "Good morning, Mr. Jiang. My name is Lei Liqiu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Jiang Jinyan nodded. "My apologies, I am unable to stand at the moment."

At the mention of that, her eyes moved to the man's leg and only then did she realize that one of his legs was missing. Exclaiming softly, she blurted out in surprise. "Aren't you the former athlete who was kidnapped by the serial killer, Jiang Jinyan?!" In the next second, she covered her mouth, shocked by her audacity. "Oh no, I'm sorry—I didn't mean to put it like that…"

"It's okay." The man cut in. His eyes which turned to Shi Nian contained smiles and affection. "It's already in the past."

Shi Nian grinned and smoothed down the strands of his messy hair. "Aren't you happy that someone still recognizes you after so long?"

Jiang Jinyan scoffed and caught her hand, a hint of smile playing on the corner of his lips.

Xu Binchen cleared his throat, his expression showed obvious irritation. "Haven't you forgotten whose room this is? Go out if you want to talk, okay? You're so noisy, for God's sake."

Shi Nian harrumphed. "Is this how you treat someone who has come to visit you?"

He sneered. "Should I go and cut you some fruit?"

"You—!" Shi Nian directed an angry glare at him.

Lei Liqiu looked at them back and forth, surprised. She didn't expect that Xu Binchen would treat Shi Nian in the same harsh way as others. Afterall, wasn't this the girl he liked? At least, the thing he could do was to treat her a bit better, right? Lei Liqiu was kinda reluctant to admit that seeing their interaction lightened her mood somehow. 

So it turned out Xu Binchen wasn't only harsh and cold to her, but also to everyone else...

Jiang Jinyan tugged on Shi Nian's hands to pull the girl's attention away. "Well, now that I've taken a good look at him and confirmed that he will still be alive until the next fifty years, I think it's time to go back."

Shi Nian blinked and exclaimed as realization dawned on her. "That's right! We should go back now. Binchen gege doesn't even want us here! Goodbye, Sister Liqiu, see you again!"

Xu Binchen pinched his brows. "You…" However, he still hadn't had the chance to rebuke yet when Shi Nian went to push Jiang Jinyan out and waved them goodbye with a wide smile, closing the door behind her. The atmosphere instantly turned still and awkward between the two that were left behind.

"Sorry," Xu Binchen spoke first. "She has always been this wilful. No need to take it into heart."

Lei Liqiu shook her head. "It's okay, she's a really nice person. But then, is it okay for you to treat her like that?" Her eyes were trained on the fingers above her thigh that wrung together, the words were out before her brain could process. "Afterall, she's the person you like…"

Instantly, the air froze. 

Lei Liqiu snapped out of her reverie and her eyes widened. W—What did she just say...? Why did her mouth become so loose today?! She clasped her mouth and snapped her head up, flabbergasted. However, the sight in front of her caused the breath to hitch on her throat.

Xu Binchen clenched his jaws tightly, his eyes were exceedingly grave and heavy as if wanting to pierce a hole through her. Those eyes were so dark, bottomless and staring into them made Lei Liqiu forget how to breathe. 

"What do you mean?" A voice so cold it made her shudder. 

"I—" Lei Liqiu got tongue-tied. Colors drained from her face and beads of sweat formed on her back, terrified by the extent of coldness and animosity that Xu Binchen exuded. Every second passed by like years. If the man had continued to put pressure on her like this, Lei Liqiu might have had a breakdown right then and there.

Fortunately, Xu Binchen sighed and withdrew his eyes in the next moment. "...How do you know about it?" 

Lei Liqiu let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and stammered out. "S—Sorry! I found it out myself… Really! It's true, because I have been looking at you a lot and hmm—" She shut her eyes and bit her lips, mortified. Lei Liqiu ah, Lei Liqiu, what the hell did you blurt out again? Why did everything seem to go wrong today? Seriously, it's the worst…

The ticking clock sounded especially loud, echoing along with her thumping heartbeat. Tears welled up in Lei Liqiu's eyes and her shoulders trembled minutely. "Sorry, Detective Xu, I really didn't mean to meddle in your private affair—"

"Alright, calm down." His firm voice cut through the fog in her mind, snapping her out of her senses. When she blinked again, a glass of water appeared in front of her. Lei Liqiu trailer her gaze up Xu Binchen's arm until she met his eyes. There was none of the terrifying, threatening feeling as if he was going to break her in two. Only his usual impassive and placid gaze.

"I'm sorry." The man said, much to her surprise. "I didn't mean to question you like a criminal. I was just...a bit surprised. Here, drink first."

Lei Liqiu received the glass of water and drank it, her mind still in daze. 

What was going on? One second, he was so fierce to her but the next second, he offered her kindness and comforted her.

Exactly what was going on in Xu Binchen's mind? He continued to make Lei Liqiu more and more confused...

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A/N: The perfect song to describe Xu Binchen is Hot n Cold by Katy Perry lol

Guide 101 to date Xu Binchen — you need to get used to his:

1. Sarcasm

2. Extreme moodswings

3. Workaholic tendency

4. Denseness; if you don't say what's on your mind, he will never know

6. Will interrogate you like a criminal without him realizing

But in exchange you get a super handsome, rich, caring and surprisingly romantic boyfriend who would even give up his life for you *kiss*