Actual Fairytale – Picking up a Mermaid! (5)

“Where are you? Come to my lab for a bit.”

Shen Shao’s voice sounded off, with heavy but weak breathing.

Lu Shijin was confused and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Shao didn’t explain and just urged him to go over quickly before hanging up.

Lu Shijin was a bit confused, but he had to listen to whatever the male lead said, so he turned his car around and went to Shen Shao’s lab.

Lu Shijin had an access card to Shen Shao’s lab, and everyone there knew him as Shen Shao’s friend, so he had no problems entering.

Finding Shen Shao’s office, Lu Shijin opened the door to go in and found Shen Shao collapsed on the table, not moving.

“Shen Shao?” Lu Shijin circled around him and tried to wake him, “Wake up, what happened?”

Shen Shao roused slightly and looked at Lu Shijin weakly. “You’re here. I just injected some medicine, I need you to record my reactions.”

Lu Shijin was shocked. “What medicine did you inject?”

“Something the lab just developed for my disease.”

In order to cure his hereditary disease, Shen Shao built a laboratory just for investigating it.

Every time something was developed, he would test it on himself.

As his good friend, Lu Shijin was one of the few who knew about his disease.

So every time Shen Shao tested a new medicine, Lu Shijin would record his reactions.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was probably only because of plot armor that Shen Shao hadn’t died yet.

Lu Shijin unhappily took the clipboard and pen from the table. “You’re playing with your life, testing all kinds of random drugs.”

Shen Shao’s pale yet handsome face showed a self-mocking smile. “I need to test these, even if it does cost me my life. Don’t worry, the drugs are all tested on animals multiple times to guarantee it won’t pose any life-threatening dangers.”

Lu Shijin sighed. “All medicine is three parts poison, even if it won’t kill you, it’ll still harm you.”

Shen Shao didn’t respond and closed his eyes. “Start.”

Lu Shijin began monitoring Shen Shao’s heart rate, and recorded down all his physical measurements after ingesting the drug. Then, he opened his eyelids to observe his pupils.

“Your heartbeat is still normal, do you feel off anywhere?” Lu Shijin asked.

Shen Shao’s eyelids twitched, and said in a low voice. “My chest feels stuffy, and my stomach is uncomfortable.”

Lu Shijin wasn’t a doctor and didn’t understand what it could mean, so he only dutifully recorded everything down, for Shen Shao to analyze when he was better.

“What about compared to the previous drugs you’ve injected? Is it better?” Lu Shijin asked again.

Shen Shao nodded. Lu Shijin jotted some more things down and finished his task.

Lu Shijin put the clipboard and pen aside as he supported Shen Shao up to lean against the chair, “You should be glad for your ability to survive, you’ll poison yourself to death someday.”

Shen Shao smiled lightly. “If I can’t cure myself, then death is just a matter of time. There’s nothing much to be afraid of.”

Lu Shijin could understand Shen Shao. With a disease that prevented him from living past forty, it was like a curse, a knife held right above his neck, something no one could save him from.

Shen Shao was in the prime of his life. He clearly didn’t do anything wrong, but was faced with death from such a young age.

God was fair, for giving everyone a life.

But also unfair, because some bad people could live until a hundred, while some good people couldn’t.

“Did you bring Jun Li to see me?” Shen Shao suddenly asked Lu Shijni after resting a bit.

“Yes.”

Shen Shao opened his eyes slightly to look at the clock on the desk. “Has he ever told you about his past?”

“No, why?”

Shen Shao closed his eyes again. “Nothing.”

Lu Shijin disliked this kind of person who only said half of their words, and asked, “What do you think of Jun Li?”

“What do you mean what I think?” Shen Shao responded.

“Don’t think I can’t tell, the kid literally has the words “I like you, Shen Shao” written all over his face, are you still trying to act dumb?”

Shen Shao sniffed, “You also know that he’s just a kid, what thoughts could I have towards a kid?”

Lu Shijin asked, “You don’t like him? Then why do you let him stay by your side?”

Shen Shao rubbed his eyebrows, seeming a bit tired, “As long as they don’t interfere with me, there’s nothing wrong with keeping them. If I chase them away, wouldn’t I be hurting their feelings?”

Lu Shijin sneered, listening to these holier-than-thou words, he’d probably believe it if he didn’t know the story.

Lu Shijin waited a while and made sure that Shen Shao was fine before standing up and saying, “Do you feel better? If so, I’ll leave now.”

Shen Shao shook his head with a frown. “Wait, I still feel a bit nauseous.”

“How about I call the doctor over?”

“No need, the doctor might not understand as much as me, they wouldn’t help.” Shen Shao slowly stood up, leaning against the table. He suddenly covered his mouth, seeming like he was about to throw up, and rushed to the bathroom behind him.

At the same time, the door to the office opened. The person there was actually Jun Li.

“Why are you here?” Lu Shijin felt confused, Shen Shao’s laboratory was a well-kept secret, so Jun Li shouldn’t have access to it.

“I’m here to see Mr. Shen, what happened?” Jun Li came in just in time to see Shen Shao rush into the bathroom, so they were a bit surprised.

Lu Shijin walked in front of Jun Li and used his body to block his line of sight, smiling fakely, “Nothing, he just needed to go to the washroom. This isn’t a place for children, you should leave first.”

Jun Li didn’t believe him, and looked over Lu Shijin’s shoulder.

At this time, the sound of something falling came from the bathroom, Jun Li was anxious and immediately pushed Lu Shijin away to check.

“Mr. Shen, what happened?” Jun Li barged in and found Shen Shao on the floor. They were so scared their voice shook. “Don’t scare me, what happened?”

“Nothing.” Shen Shao tried to stand up, but he was too weak and almost fell until Jun Li supported him. Shen Shao forced a smile at Jun Li. “Why are you here?”

“I’m here to see you, you have  to tell me, what happened? Are you sick?” Jun Li’s face was pale from worry, their eyes red. It seemed like they were about to cry.

“I’m fine, don’t ask.” Shen Shao turned away, not planning on telling Jun Li anything.

Jun Li obviously didn’t believe him. Shen Shao’s face was as white as paper, his forehead filled with beads of sweat, how could he be fine.