Chapter 12: Sent to the Hospital.

As soon as the word “cancer” hit, Bai Huang went completely limp—hands and feet turning soft like mud, collapsing to the floor and unable to stand.

Lu Hang took a deep breath.
Deep down he had a vague feeling that the Baidu self-diagnosis was probably unreliable.
Judging from the questionnaire’s logic—staying up late + irregular eating + feeling weak = cancer—then he himself could probably self-diagnose uterine fibroids or something.

But even if there was only a one-percent chance, they still had to get it checked.
No time to overthink.

That much blood was definitely not normal.

“Let’s go, let’s go—hospital, get a number, it’ll be quick.”
Seeing Bai Huang sitting paralyzed on the floor, Lu Hang grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

Bai Huang was clearly terrified out of her mind, sobbing and refusing to stand.

Lu Hang steeled himself, hooked an arm around her neck, scooped under her thighs, and lifted her in one motion.
He was surprised how light she felt despite those meaty-looking legs—almost like picking up a bucket of water.

He carried her toward the bedroom while saying urgently:
“Bro, put some pants on first. We can’t go register at the hospital with you in lace panties.”

“Hang-ge…”
Bai Huang was crying so hard in his arms she could barely breathe:
“That thing you found online… is it accurate?”

“Don’t worry about whether it’s accurate—just get checked and we’ll know.”
Lu Hang was anxious too.
While holding her, he scanned the room, spotted a pair of sweatpants on the floor, tossed her gently onto the bed, pinned her legs down, and pulled the pants up over her thighs.
His fingers brushed soft skin; his heart skipped, but he ignored it, scooped her up again, and headed downstairs.

No need to guess big illness or small—just go to the hospital and find out.

If it’s minor, great.
If it’s serious, treat it.
If it’s terminal, then die.
Everyone dies someday—what’s the big deal?

Carrying her shakily downstairs, Bai Huang was obviously terrified, curling into a ball against his chest.

Her body was warm; it felt like holding a big cat scared half to death.

“Bro, it’s not that serious—why act like it’s the end of the world? It’s just some blood.”

Lu Hang carried Bai Huang down the stairs, feeling her tremble against him.
He kept murmuring comfort while scanning the traffic for a taxi, inwardly cursing: these things are never around when you need one.
“Come on, big man—pull yourself together a little.”

“I’m not a big man anymore!”
Bai Huang wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing:
“I’m not!”

Lu Hang fell silent for a second, then said:
“Then just pretend you are.”

“Am I?”

“I think you are.”
Lu Hang stared anxiously at the traffic.

“Hang-ge.”
Bai Huang clutched his sleeve.
Clearly, being a pampered young master her whole life—physicals always handled by others—she hadn’t even learned to put on pants properly outside her own house.
She sniffled:
“Is what you saw online reliable?”

“I don’t know—ask the doctor. These things aren’t accurate anyway.”
Lu Hang kept soothing her softly.
Finally he spotted a taxi in the distance.
A young couple was walking up laughing and chatting, about to get in.
Lu Hang immediately sprinted over with Bai Huang in his arms.

The couple had been about to open the door but saw a guy charging over carrying a girl and politely stepped back.

“Thanks, thanks!”
Lu Hang flashed an apologetic smile, climbed in with Bai Huang, and shut the door.

From outside, the couple muttered:
“Never mind, let him go first. Probably his wife’s about to give birth.”

Bai Huang heard and felt awkward.
Lu Hang suddenly leaned over to buckle her seatbelt.
She startled, instinctively pulling her hand off the back of his.
But out of nervousness, she tentatively placed it back on top of his hand again.

“Where to?”
The driver glanced back.

“Biggest hospital.”
Lu Hang said urgently:
“Sorry, master driver—can you go a bit faster?”

…

Bai Huang hadn’t expected him to be this frantic.

She’d never seen so much blood in her life.
After the initial panic, she’d been scooped up princess-style by a flustered Lu Hang and carried downstairs.
She still hadn’t fully processed it.

Earlier, because of the shock, she hadn’t had time to feel anything.
But now, riding in the car, besides the physical weakness, there was a faint tingling numbness where his arms had gripped her thighs tightly—making her body go even softer.

But seeing Lu Hang even more nervous than she was actually calmed her a little.
He hadn’t said much, but she could tell he was deliberately acting calm to keep her from panicking.
Still, the anxious way he kept staring out the window betrayed how unsettled he really was.

And precisely because he cared so much, Bai Huang felt a tiny flicker of unease.

“We’re just bros.”
She exhaled, clutching the seatbelt to comfort herself:
“Good bros get worried when one’s sick. Normal.”

Even after turning into a girl, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it,
no matter how much Bai Huang wanted to go back to the old brotherly dynamic with Lu Hang…

Perhaps because her body had changed, her thought patterns were starting to shift too.

Two guys slinging arms over shoulders felt nothing.

A guy and a girl doing the same—there was always a fleeting thought:
Is this bro secretly taking advantage?

When someone has breasts, the moment someone looks at them,
it’s impossible to pretend they don’t exist.

This is called “breasts determine thought.”

Seeing Lu Hang so worried made Bai Huang—after the initial panic subsided—feel slightly unnatural.
She thought: Hang-ge isn’t trying to hit on me, is he?

Bai Huang took a deep breath to steady herself.
Probably not.

Lu Hang had always been gentle.
Even when she was still a guy, if something like this happened, he’d probably be just as anxious.

Thinking back—Bai Huang had actually been the sickly type since childhood.
Freshman year in the dorm, she’d caught flu and fevers more than once.
How had Lu Hang handled it back then?

“You’ve got a cold—you’re not gonna die. What are you scared of? Come on, let’s go net café.”

Realizing something, Bai Huang’s eyes suddenly widened.
Her mind spun into chaos.

Holy shit.

The way he was treating her now was completely different from before.

Lu Hang stared out the window, feeling like the car was crawling like a turtle.

He glanced at Bai Huang again.
For some reason, her face looked unnaturally flushed, earlobes tinged red, expression dazed.

But seeing her clearly off-kilter, Lu Hang grew even more anxious and urged:
“Master driver, can you speed up a bit?”

“City speed limit, kid. Why the rush? What’s wrong with the girl?”

Lu Hang took a deep breath.
At this pace, Bai Huang would be dead before they arrived.

Gritting his teeth, he blurted:
“Master, my wife’s got terminal cancer—she’s dying. Can you please go faster?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the car fell into dead silence.

Bai Huang’s hand twitched in mid-air, as if searching for something to hit.
Her hand had been resting on Lu Hang’s thigh; she paused, then grabbed the seat cushion instead.

From Lu Hang’s and the driver’s perspective, it clearly looked like she was in such extreme pain she couldn’t even cry out anymore.

“You see that, master? She can’t even scream anymore. If we don’t hurry, she’s gonna die.”
Lu Hang urged desperately.

The old driver glanced in the rearview mirror, took a deep breath, lit a cigarette as the light turned green:
“Hold on tight!”

…

“Sigh… phone’s out of service… can’t reach Hang-ge. Moved out and didn’t even contact me once.”

At a crosswalk, a masked girl squatted on the curb in sportswear, sighing heavily.

Sitting like that, the tight-fitting athletic top strained against her ample chest, almost bursting.
It drew fleeting glances from passersby.
Feeling the looks, she couldn’t help feeling irritated.

She used to squat like this while waiting for lights.
Maybe because she was a girl now, she was starting to notice people’s stares—
and noticing only made her more annoyed.

“Whatever. I’ll try catching him at the school gate next time.”

She sighed, stood up, ignoring the eyes on her, and prepared to cross.

Vroom—

A taxi roared past right in front of her, startling her badly.

“Fuck, that driver—driving like a rocket.”

She cursed, watching the taxi speed away, way over the limit.
Curious, she wondered who was in such a hurry—someone’s wife giving birth? Or someone dying of cancer?

Shaking her head at the departing car, she looked down again and once more despaired at not being able to see her own toes.

A whole week later and she still wasn’t used to it.

And because she couldn’t find any decent clothes that fit, this tracksuit was skin-tight—
from certain angles it looked like she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
With the mask on, strangers probably thought she was some exhibitionist looking for a place to flash.

The girl gritted her teeth and endured the occasional stares.

It’s fine. Pull yourself together.

As long as she found Hang-ge, everything would be okay.