Chapter 138

Assistant Architect by Xi He Qing Ling
Chapter 138: Vulnerability
For Gu Yu,it is not his body that supports him at this time, but his sheer willpower.Over the years, there was almost no one who could break his stubbornness, untiltoday. When he heard the fool firmly saying he was taking him to the hospital,Gu Yu's wall finally cracked.
Sitting in thebackseat of the taxi and after thoroughly explaining the follow-up work overthe phone, Gu Yu closed his eyes. He continually held Zhang Siyi's hand tightlyas if Zhang Siyi was his source of strength.
At thenearest hospital, Zhang Siyi registered Gu Yu, filled out the necessarypaperwork for him than took him to the waiting area. He also accompanied himinto the room while the doctor evaluated his condition, drew blood, and gavehim an IV of fluids.
For thefirst time, Gu Yu discovered that his 'little apprentice' was also a man who hecould rely on. The feeling of relying on another wasn't as difficult as heimagined.
Sittingalongside Gu Yu's hospital bed, he watched the Doctor take his temperature.When he saw the digital thermometer beep at the final temp Zhang Siyi glared atGu Yu with exaggeration and exclaimed: "39.8°C! (103.6°F). In middle school, I rememberbeing dizzy with a fever of 39.2 (102.6). What were you thinking all day withyour current condition!? Aren't you afraid of frying your brain!?"
With ahoarse voice, Gu Yu weakly defended himself: "This morning my temperature wasn'tso high. Only now after vomiting did it feel worse."
Zhang Siyigritted his teeth and said: “I blame it all on that damn Li! You told himyou weren't able to drink alcohol today, but he still made you drink anyway!"
Gu Yusighed and said: "If this were another occasion, I wouldn’t drink with him.”
Knowing GuYu who can easily takes advantage of any situation because of his normal blackbelly, poison tongue character, it seemed like an unusual comment coming from him.Gu Yu isn't accustomed to making compromises. Wondering what he meant, ZhangSiyi questioned: “Then why did you still drink with him?"
Gu Yuanswered him: “You performed very well this morning.”
Zhang Siyiis quite happy to hear Gu Yu's approval, but what does this have to do withdrinking? Is Gu Yu happy to drink with Li? Wait, no! "You…. You did it for me?"Zhang Siyi asked with wide eyes.
Gu Yu'sfaint smile answered Zhang Siyi.
Feelinganxious, Zhang Siyi hurriedly said: “Why!”
WatchingZhang Siyi closely, Gu Yu saw his frantic expression. He grabbed his hand,squeezed it and explained in a low voice: "Siyi, this morning's presentationwas very good, but the contract wasn't signed so you don't really know what willhappen once they leave the conference room. I have seen many young architectswith good ideas and designs but loose a contract after the fact. You mustmaintain your relationships at the dinner table because it can directly affect thesigning of a contract."
Gu Yupaused and coughed twice then continued: "If it's my own project, I wouldn'tdrink with just anyone under similar conditions, but Party A isn't the samesince we are friends. It's only customary to maintain basic respect between us andfollow along."
Zhang Siyinodded.
Gu Yuadded: “You are taking notes and drawing in your journal every day inorder to be like me. Then I will only say this to you: Siyi, we strive forexcellence in order to maintain our freedom to design. On the road of architecture,you will slowly understand that the hardest part is not the name and profit,but the freedom to do as you please and design whatever you want."
Zhang Siyi:"…… Hmm."
Contradictinghimself, Gu Yu said: "But the world is not so ideal and as a result, sometimeswe have to learn to compromise. Just like Tao Fei had to do with his design forthe High-Rise commercial building. Do you remember Chiang? Do you know why hegive up architecture to open a restaurant?”
Zhang Siyi:“Not for feelings?”
Gu Yu:“It was not simply for feelings, but because he wasn't able to make any concessions.He treats his designs with more stubbornness then Tao Fei and as a result, refusedto make any changes large or small. In the end, you can't survive in the industrywithout some compromises."
Afterlistening to his roundabout explanation, Zhang Siyi still wanted a clear answer:"Because of me you had to compromise yourself?"
"Uh-huh." GuYu finally confirmed: “I know how upset you were when the C City projectwas scrapped in the middle. Both you and Tao Fei performed exceptionally welltoday. There were many good signs throughout the presentation and I didn't wantthem to resent the project just because I didn't drink a glass of wine.Therefore, for the future cooperation of the project, I buried my unease anddrank."
Zhang Siyi didn'trealize the complexities that a glass of wine represented.
Gu Yu lookedat him and firmly stated: “I stopped you because you are always acting rashly.In this situation, what reason is there that you could block me from drinkingwine and instead, drink it in my place?
Zhang Siyi replied:“I can tell him that you are not healthy so I'll drink the glass foryou.”
Gu Yu shookhis head and sighed: “If you really did that, it might cause obstacles inthe future. Look at it from President Li's perspective. Treating people withcourtesy, he was probably very happy and over excited about the project and toshow his enthusiasm he properly drank with everyone. He might have thought highly of me and thus,wanted to raise a glass. If you had stood up and thereby denying hisappreciation, wouldn't that be like a slap in the face?"
Gu Yu'squestion left Zhang Siyi speechless.
Gu Yu:“Today, I asked you to come to the banquet in order to gain experience forfuture reference. Keeping your head down and calmly eating was your bestperformance."
Zhang Siyi:“……”
Gu Yupatted him on the back of his hand: “Well, my cold wasn't the only reasonI got drunk. Don't worry about it so much."
With aplaintive expression on his face, Zhang Siyi lowered his eyes and said: "Iknow."
Whenanother patient on a hospital bed with an IV was pushed into the room, Zhang Siyiquickly took off his jacket and covered their two clasped hands. He said: "Nowit's time to stop talking and rest."
After lookingat Zhang Siyi for another minute, Gu Yu turned his head to a comfortableposition then closed his eyes and went to sleep. Clearly, Gu Yu was in a veryweak state and yet, he was willing to talk to Zhang Siyi for so long. Watchinghim, Zhang Siyi squeezed his hand tightly. Suddenly, he had a strong impulse inhis heart: to become a better person. Only this time, it wasn't solely for himself,but for Gu Yu.
Heremembered the vows and promises that Gu Yu spoke during the time he confessedhis feelings: "… No matter what obstacles we face in the future, I won't let goof your hand." Although he is younger, he doesn't always want to rely on Gu Yu'sstrength. Now, Zhang Siyi desperately wanted to protect Gu Yu by sharing anyburdens and facing all of their problems together. Receiving the love ofanother is like a suit of armor, but loving a person makes one vulnerable.
For threehours, Gu Yu rested and three bags of IV fluids were absorbed into his body.During this time, Tao Fei called and brought Zhang Siyi the good news. The contractwas signed and Party A paid a deposit of three-hundred-thousand. Hearing aboutGu Yu's hospitalization, with a guilty conscience, Mr. Li added anotherfifty-thousand to the total.
Aaaaaah! Thehotel fees can be reimbursed! ~\(≧▽≦)/~
Zhang Siyiresisted the urge to wake up Gu Yu to tell him the good news and instead, continuedto chat on the phone with Tao Fei. Concerned over the situation, he suggested tostay at home for another two days. He also mentioned a celebratory dinner and ifhe had time, he would come over to visit.
After thethird bag of saline was empty, Gu Yu woke up. Zhang Siyi immediately told himthe good news. Looking at the IV in the back of his hand, Gu Yu stated: "Comingto the hospital to earn another fifty-thousand is also an effective way to earnmoney."
Zhang Siyiwas so angry that he punched his arm.
In a hurryto stop Zhang Siyi, Gu Yu waved his other hand and said: "I'm kidding. It's justa joke."
Zhang Siyi glared at him: "I rather not have the fifty-thousand."
_______________________________