Chapter 4 She Worsened My Wound
That night, in No.901 in the inpatient building.
"D*mn him!! The car was parked on the roadside at that time. I got out of the car to buy a can of Coke, and it was hit by a blind fella! It was really Noah Bennington's flipping trick!"
Mark's face flushed with anger in the ward.
Charlie sat next to him, leaning over the coffee table as he was writing a prescription. He smiled as he heard Mark, and handed the prescription to Mark. "Mr. Valentine, calm down. Give this to the nurse first and collect the medicines for Luke."
Mark went silent. He took the prescription and left promptly.
As soon as he stepped out of the ward, he stuck his head back into the ward, and probingly asked the man who was looking at his phone, "Luke, I used your Instagram account to send a follow request to the doctor. Has she accepted the request?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Luke was lying in the hospital bed at a 45-degree angle. He didn't take Mark a look.
Mark went silent.
Mark sent the follow request sneakily. He couldn't ask her.
"If she accepts it, please don't delete her and wait until my phone is repaired. It takes only one day!" Mark raised his finger and promised Luke.
Luke raise his eyes and looked at Mark from a distance.
"Yo, Mr. Valentine's phone is broken? Why don't you buy a new one?" Charlie made fun of Mark deliberately.
Charlie was Luke's concierge doctor. The three had known each other as friends for many years. Charlie wasn't from Athana, and he looked relatively well-mannered among the deviant highborn boys. 
"I wanted to! I didn't back up the data on the phone. Whose shoulder can I cry on?" 
Mark was so aggrieved that his face was wrinkled. As he was complaining, he met Luke's cold stare. He was startled and corrected himself immediately, "Oh please, it's super cool to have my phone smashed by Luke! I love it, okay?" 
"..." 
Luke grabbed the cigarette case on the bedside drawer and knocked out a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth, and said sluggishly, "Shut the door." 
"Bang". 
Mark shut himself out. 
Charlie shook his head with a smile. He poured a glass of water and reminded Luke, "You are not allowed to smoke for at least a month." 
"I know." The girl said so earlier. 
Luke thought of Dr. Moore suddenly and went blank for a short while. He then sniffed at it and didn't take it seriously. 
He was used to being arrogant. Fate was the last thing he believed. 
Nonsense.
At that very moment, Luke's phone rang. A new message popped up on Instagram. 
Nata texted, "Hello, I'm Mia's friend."
Nata, "Nice to meet you."
Nata, "I have some relationship problem, but there's no hurry. I will consult you when you are free [obedient.jpg]"
Luke's right arm was in a shoulder sling. He bit and ground the cigarette lightly to relieve his urge to smoke. He exuded the quality of half a gentleman and half a bad boy, while radiating madness. 
He stared at the chat window. He frowned and bit his cigarette slightly harder. 
The profile picture was an image of a cute kitten. The Instagram name was Nata.
He looked at his own. "Luke". 
"Tsk-Tsk." Luke irritably tapped on his profile and posted some terrible pictures on his account.
Then, Luke replied sourly, "?"  
Just as the question mark was sent, Nata texted, "By the way, my name is Natalie Moore." 
Nata texted, "By the way, my name is Natalie Moore." 
Luke was stunned that he accidentally dropped his cigarette, which fell onto his pajamas. He didn't pick it up. He only realized after a while that she was the doctor whom Mark sent the follow request to. 
However, she seemed to have mistaken him for someone else. 
God knew what Mark used to get her Instagram account. With his low IQ, it wouldn't be surprising if he did anything stupid. 
Luke sneered softly. 
Usually, he ignored this kind of message, but this time even he himself couldn't explain what he was feeling. Perhaps it was because she had the same name as the girl whom he had met before, or perhaps she felt too familiar to him. 
Even the small red mole on her nasal ala appeared in the same spot as the girl's. 
Anyway, Luke unknowingly paid special attention to Dr. Moore. He even had a little bit of patience, which he rarely had, with her. 
Otherwise, he wouldn't re-read Natalie's texts twice, find them interesting and reply her with "what relationship problem". 
But… 
As soon as he tapped the send button, he, who was usually unfazed, appeared shocked. 
"You have 1 unsent message." 
"Nata has set his/her Instagram account to private. Please send Nata a follow request. You can only send messages to Nata after your request has been accepted."
The red exclamation mark in the chat window was so striking that it hurt Luke's eyes. 
Luke looked dumbfounded, which he rarely did. Realizing that he had been deleted, he moved his tongue to the side. He was annoyed and almost laughed. 
She deleted him once she introduced herself? 
Well done. 
His little patience didn't last long and was worn out just like that. Luke threw his phone away, picked up the cigarette on his belly, and bit it again. 
After thinking it over for three seconds, he felt a little depressed and dissatisfied. 
He clutched his phone again and sent her a follow request. 
He remarked, "You left me hanging. I'm calling the police."
Threatening really worked. She replied in only half a minute. 
Nata, "I have accepted your follow request. We can start chatting now."
Luke raised his eyebrows and asked deliberately, "Is this Dr. Moore?"  
She was probably afraid of him as he was mean to her earlier. Her text sounded cautious, "Yes... it's me."
Luke glanced at the electronic clock on the wall, "10/14, 20:20:52"
The girl on the other end couldn't understand, "This is..." 
Luke replied, "A memorabilium."
Nata, "What?"
Luke, "It was my first time being deleted by someone."
Nata, "…" 
She sounded deeply troubled. "I'm sorry, my hand… it was shaky just now."
Luke forced a smile as he saw her text. "A surgeon's hand was shaky?"
Nata, "…"
Nata, "Is it daybreak on your end? I'll stop texting you for now. As for the counseling session, can we talk about it another day?"
She ended their conversation decisively yet tactfully, "Have a nice trip!"
She slipped away like she ran for her life. 
Luke tilted his head and texted playfully, "What if you delete me again?"
Perhaps the primacy effect took place such that her first impression of him was already fixed in her mind. He was just making fun of her, but the girl thought he was threatening her, as if he was asking- 
"If you dare delete me again, what do you think I'm going to do to you?"
 So, she answered in a well-behaved manner, "I won't."
Luke, "For real?" 
Nata, "…Yes." 
Luke snorted. 
Fine. 
One wore and took away his blazer eighteen years ago. The other one dared fool him and even deleted him on Instagram. 
They were both tyrants. 
As he thought of it, he suddenly smiled and replied "umm" for the first time. 
"What are you thinking about? It apparently made you smile." Charlie took a sip of water and asked calmly. 
Luke kept smiling casually.  
"I thought of my tyrant." 
Charlie was used to him being arrogant and difficult. He suddenly became easy-going, like a bad-tempered lion that surprisingly allowed someone to comb its mane. Charlie couldn't get used to that. 
He felt that something must have happened. 
He said the unthinkable, "Are you in love?" 
He was really curious to know who had the capability of bringing down a tyrant and became the tyrant of a tyrant. 
Luke gave him the side-eye. "Stop acting like my mom." 
"I'm concerned about my boss's relationship status." Charlie looked serious. 
Luke put on the face of a jerk and chuckled. "I don't want to talk about it even when I am free." 
"You don't like girls?" 
Mark only heard what Charlie last said when he entered the ward. 
He walked into the ward looking very shocked, and said fearfully, "Luke, you are not satisfied with the girls introduced by Madam Livingston. Is it because you like me..." 
Charlie choked suddenly as he was swallowing a mouthful of water.
"You should either read 'The Classic of Mountains and Rivers' more frequently, or lie in your own grave." Luke glanced at him blankly. 
Mark went silent.
-
That night, Luke dreamed. 
He dreamed about that night. It was dark, starless and moonless. The street was quiet. 
He was accompanying a child, sitting on a stone pier at the entrance of the quadrangle courtyard. He was trying to engage in small talk with her. 
Sometimes the little girl was silent. Sometimes she laughed through tears while hiccupping with her tender baby voice. She felt embarrassed after laughing, and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Then, she ignored him again.
He chuckled, while toying with his rattling metal lighter. 
The police arrived shortly after. 
It was hazy around the wall lamp outside the quadrangle courtyard. Luke stood there and watched her back as she was taken away by the police. 
Natalie wasn't far away from Luke when she turned her head. The two looked at each other for a while. She suddenly stopped and ran back to him in short steps. 
She raised her face. Her eyelashes were wet. She still looked a little timid. 
"Thank you, mister." The five-year-old Natalie whispered to him with a gentle, childish nasal voice. 
Luke looked down at her, took his hand out of his pocket, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and smiled. "Are you thanking me?" 
He bent his legs and crouched down, looking at her at eye level. 
"How are you going to thank me?" Luke laughed lazily. He couldn't help but tease the little crybaby. 
Natalie thought blankly for a while, not knowing how to thank him. 
She felt a little aggrieved as she lowered her head. She repeated hesitantly, "... Thank you, mister." 
Luke chuckled and intentionally lowered his voice. "I heard you." 
Natalie lowered her head for a while. However, she couldn't help but see the wound on his face.
It was such a handsome face, like a cracked fine ceramic. 
Even his bleed was poignant yet beautiful. 
Natalie, being a pure-hearted child, couldn't bear to see his perfect face being hurt. Natalie was grateful to him, so she felt a little worried for him. She grabbed the corner of his shirt and pulled it twice. 
"Mister, please don't fight anymore." 
"I feel worried……"
Luke's eyes flickered. He smiled and said indifferently as he stared at the child in front of him, "All lay loads on a willing horse, little lady. Have you heard of that?" 
"Did someone bully you?" 
"What do you think?" 
"Then did… did you tell mom?" 
Luke fell silent. A few seconds later, he smiled coldly and answered jokingly, "I'm pretty much the same as you." 
Natalie couldn't quite understand what he meant by "pretty much the same". She thought he had no parents, just like herself. 
She shut her mouth. The world fell silent. 
"Then... then you should fight," Natalie spoke falteringly after hesitating and thinking for a long time. 
Luke looked at her with half a smile, "I should fight? What if I get hurt?"
Natalie still had a baby voice at that time. She said in childish seriousness, "Once you are good enough, you won't." 
Upon hearing her, Luke lowered his head and laughed. 
Then, he felt emotional. 
See, even a little girl who was a stranger to him wanted him to be brave and uncompromising. However, some would only force him to see forbearance as a virtue. 
Natalie wanted to take off the blazer and return it to him, but her arms too were short, and the boy's blue and white school uniform was too loose. She could even step on it while wearing it. The sleeves were also ridiculously long to her. 
She couldn't reach the cuffs at all. 
"What are you struggling for? Just keep it." Luke knocked her forehead lightly. He put the cigarette back between his teeth and stood up. "Go home now. Stop hanging around or I can't smoke." 
He saw her lower her head shyly. "Oh..." 
"You don't want to go home?" Luke noticed that the child, who was only as tall as his waist, seemed reluctant. 
"I'm... afraid of the dark." 
Natalie's voice was so soft as if she spoke only to herself. What she said seemed to have subtle meanings. 
Luke didn't think much about it and assured her that she was safe around the police. He thought this little girl was very strange. She was timid in front of everyone else, but why wasn't she afraid of him?
He had to admit that the little girl was so pretty and likeable. 
Luke raised his eyebrows, crouched down again, and smiled like a jerk. "Tell me, how do you spell your name?" 
He asked, and Natalie thought hard about it, but to no avail. 
In the end, she shook her head dejectedly. "I don't know how..." 
Before Luke could speak, the scene changed suddenly. He was lying on a hospital bed in a ward. The orange street lights changed into white fluorescent lights. 
A girl was touching his waist while leaning over the bed. She wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Her skin was snow-white and her white coat was spotless. She was so pure and beautiful that he fell into a reverie. 
In his dream, she wore fluffy cat ears. 
She looked at him suddenly. Her eyes were as clear and innocent as that child. 
She leaned over him. Her shallow breath smelled sweet and pleasant. Her lips were rosy and moist like a cherry with dewdrops. 
He blinked. Suddenly, there was a puff of smoke like those in cheap magic shows. Once it dissipated, she turned into a kitten, sitting on his chest. The kitten looked like it had jumped out of Natalie's Instagram profile picture. 
The kitten squinted happily and meowed. Suddenly, it spoke human language softly and gently. 
"Mister." 
"......"
Luke's lips twitched. He raised his hand and scratched its white, fluffy chin. 
... 
"Thud, thud, thud." 
Someone knocked on the door unexpectedly. Luke was dragged out of his dream abruptly. 
"Luke, time to wake up. You have to take medicines after meal. My phone is repaired. Let me know when you wake up." Mark shouted loudly outside the door. 
Luke frowned heavily. 
Bloody hell. 
Mark was so loud that he could even wake up a dead body. 
Luke opened his eyes slightly. The ward was dark. There was only a ray of bright light shining through the gap between a pair of curtains. 
The night was over. It was the next day. 
He closed his eyes again. His voice was hoarse and low as he just woke up, but it still sounded harsh. 
"Scram." 
The ward became quiet suddenly. Mark stopped making a sound. 
Luke couldn't fall back asleep. When he closed his eyes, the kitten was all he could see. He couldn't stop thinking about it.
He opened his eyes irritably and grabbed his phone on the bedside drawer. He switched it on and squinted at it. 
It was noon. 
He opened the Instagram message list casually. The image of the snow-white kitten was particularly eye-catching among the men's profile pictures, which were unbearable to look at. 
Her profile picture looked quite pleasing. 
"Meow, mister..." 
As he thought of the ridiculous kitten's flirtatious voice in his dream, his ear felt as if it was tickled by a kitten's paw. 
Goosebumps popped up all over his skin. 
Luke moved his chin, scratched his ears, and cursed silently. 
"Once you are good enough, you won't." 
Suddenly, the little girl's childish voice echoed softly and gently in his mind. 
Luke's eyes were half-closed facing the bright phone screen. He calmed down. 
Now, it was true that he wouldn't get hurt. 
He raised his hand unconsciously and tapped Mark's profile picture, which showed a silly dog. 
Luke, "Where is Dr. Moore?"
Mark replied immediately, "Luke, you woke up!"
Mark then posted a cute emoji, trying to please Luke. 
With a stern face, Luke sent "?". 
Mark was experienced in dealing with Luke. He knew what was going on, " What do you want, Luke? I will ask for it right away!"
Mark, "Even if Dr. Moore is on a date, I will still drag her back to you!"
Luke was used to being wild. He never gave a reason for what he wanted to do. However, this time, he hesitated for a short while. 
He thought about it and made an excuse while keeping a straight face, "She worsened my wound."
He then texted, "Tell her to come over and check it."