Chapter 480 - 479: Giving Lu Yunzhou Acupuncture

Three people worked in shifts around the clock, and the pay was very high.

When Yun Zijin entered the hospital room, she saw the caregiver sitting on the sofa.

Besides helping Lu Yunzhou to the restroom, giving him a daily sponge bath, and bringing him water and meals, he was quite easy to care for the rest of the time.

"You can make some gentle movements, or do some light stretching exercises in bed. This will help with muscle recovery.

But absolutely no physical therapy. You must wait until the acupuncture treatments are finished. Only after I’ve confirmed everything is okay can we make a plan for rehab."

Yun Zijin reiterated this every day when she came for the acupuncture session, making sure that Lu Yunzhou, the caregiver, and Lu Yunque all understood the gravity of the situation.

"I know. You’ve stressed this many times. We’ll be sure to follow your instructions."

If they didn’t follow Yun Zijin’s instructions, Lu Yunque would be the first to suffer the consequences. So, no matter what, he was determined to make Lu Yunzhou obey her.

Lu Yunzhou was also desperate to stand on his own two feet again, so he followed everything Yun Zijin said to the letter.

"Don’t worry, Yun Zijin. I want to be able to stand again more than anyone. I’ll definitely follow your instructions."

Lu Yunzhou chimed in to show his commitment. Having others watch over him wasn’t foolproof; the most important thing was his own self-discipline.

"Since you’re ready, shall we begin the acupuncture?"

"Okay."

The acupuncture required him to be undressed. Lu Yunzhou managed to take off his own shirt, but he needed help with his pants.

The caregiver proactively stepped forward, removed Lu Yunzhou’s pants, and then draped a large towel over his private areas.

"Miss Yun, you can turn around now."

Yun Zijin had already turned her back as soon as Lu Yunzhou started removing his shirt. Only when the caregiver prompted her did she turn back around. She took the acupuncture kit from the medical case slung over her shoulder and unrolled it, revealing a dense array of silver needles of all lengths and sizes.

Anyone with a fear of needles would have likely fainted at the sight.

"Here is today’s Nourishing Body Pill."

Yun Zijin took an already-prepared Nourishing Body Pill from her medical case and handed it to Lu Yunzhou.

Lu Yunque had arrived late today. Someone was already brewing the herbal medicine, so he was now in the hospital room, watching the entire process of Yun Zijin performing acupuncture on Lu Yunzhou.

"Why don’t you go take a walk? The acupuncture process is going to be very painful for him. I’m afraid you won’t be able to bear watching it."

’Anyone who didn’t know what was happening might think I was torturing Lu Yunzhou.’

The acupuncture had just begun; Lu Yunzhou still had a long period of pain to endure.

"It’s fine. We knew about this from the start. I’m mentally prepared."

Lu Yunque didn’t think he was so weak that he couldn’t sit through the entire acupuncture session.

Since Lu Yunque insisted, Yun Zijin didn’t press the issue. If he really couldn’t take it later, he could just let himself out.

"Lu Yunzhou, I’m beginning now."

Lu Yunzhou was already mentally prepared. He gave Yun Zijin a determined nod. "I’m ready."

With a deceptively casual motion, Yun Zijin picked up a silver needle, quickly located an acupoint, and inserted it.

The moment Yun Zijin inserted the first needle, intense pain shot through Lu Yunzhou’s legs.

What Lu Yunque saw was his brother enduring the entire process in silence, yet in so much pain that the veins on his body bulged and he looked as if he was on the verge of fainting.

Just as Yun Zijin had expected, Lu Yunque couldn’t bear to watch any longer after seeing only half of the procedure.

This was his own brother, the one he’d been inseparable from since they were kids. And now he was lying on that bed, enduring unimaginable pain just for the chance to stand again.

Unable to watch any longer, Lu Yunque quietly left the room. Not knowing when the session would end, he could only wander around the sanatorium.

Lu Yunque’s photo had appeared in business magazines and on financial news channels multiple times. While he wasn’t a major celebrity, it wasn’t uncommon for him to be recognized.

Just after leaving the room, Lu Yunque headed for the garden behind the inpatient building to calm himself down.

The greenery was supposed to be an effective way to calm one’s mind.

"Mr. Lu?"

Lu Yunque vaguely heard someone call his name. He instinctively turned toward the sound and was surprised to see someone there.

"It really is you! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Hello, Mr. Lu. I’m Zhou Zongxiang, the general manager of Zhou’s Department Store. This is my card."

Zhou Zongxiang took a business card from his briefcase and handed it respectfully to Lu Yunque.

Lu Yunque didn’t really want to take it, but it would have been rude to refuse someone so polite, so he accepted it in the end.

However, just because Lu Yunque accepted the card didn’t mean he had any intention of collaborating with the man.

Besides, a department store had no overlapping business with the Lu Family’s enterprises. The chances of a partnership were slim to none.

The man was tactful, though. After handing over his card and exchanging a few pleasantries, he sensed that Lu Yunque wasn’t in the mood to talk business and politely excused himself.

’That makes sense,’ Lu Yunque thought. ’No one comes to a sanatorium unless a family member is sick. To be thinking about business at a time like this would seem too cold-blooded.’

Now that he was alone, Lu Yunque’s mind was filled with the image of Lu Yunzhou’s vein-popped body. He walked over to a bench by the garden path and sat down, waiting for Yun Zijin to message him when the acupuncture was over.

Lu Yunque didn’t know how long he sat on the bench. He was only jolted back to his senses by the sound of a message notification from his phone.

Seeing it was a message from Yun Zijin informing him that the session had been successfully completed, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Yunque returned to the room just as Mrs. Wang was arriving with the freshly brewed medicine.

The moment he walked in, he was hit by the strong smell of traditional medicine. He then saw Lu Yunzhou holding a massive bowl, drinking a pitch-black herbal concoction.

Lu Yunque instinctively shivered. The medicine looked incredibly bitter; anyone who could drink that was truly something else.

In some ways, Lu Yunque truly admired his brother.

"What’s wrong?"

Yun Zijin noticed Lu Yunque’s reaction but didn’t understand the reason for it.

"It’s nothing. I just think... that medicine must be incredibly bitter. I feel like I can taste the bitterness just from the smell."

’If it were me,’ Lu Yunque thought, ’I don’t know if I’d have the courage to drink it down.’

"Bitter medicine is effective medicine. His legs won’t get better with a mild prescription; he needs a potent dose."

’In any case, I’m not the one drinking it,’ Yun Zijin thought. ’Whether it’s bitter or not has nothing to do with me.’

Lu Yunque looked at Lu Yunzhou with a sympathetic gaze.

Lu Yunzhou simply ignored Lu Yunque’s gaze. He didn’t need anyone’s sympathy.

After finishing the medicine, Lu Yunzhou calmly picked up some grapes—which the caregiver had already washed and left on the bedside table—and popped them into his mouth to get rid of the bitter taste.

"I’ll say it one last time: absolutely no physical therapy until the acupuncture treatments are finished. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I have another appointment."

Lu Yunque hadn’t come to see Lu Yunzhou anyway; his real reason for being there was Yun Zijin. Now that she was leaving, he of course went with her.

He called out a quick goodbye to Lu Yunzhou and, without waiting for a response, dashed out of the room in the direction Yun Zijin had gone.