Chapter 159 Gastritis

"What's he doing now?" Rachel asked curiously.

She could hear a muffled sigh on the other end of the line. Not knowing what to say, Austin stammered,
before falling into silence.

It stayed like for a while and judging from the awkward silence, Rachel assumed that something was
wrong.

Still waiting for an answer, she checked her watch. Was he in a social engagement?

"Ask Jack to answer the phone," she said coldly.

Austin could tell from her tone that she was angry. "Wait! Mrs. Fu, please. It's not what you think," he
said hurriedly.

Rachel silently curved her lips in sympathy, curious about what he had to say.

"So will you tell me what's bothering you, Austin?"

It seemed that Austin had been struggling for a long time. Giving in to her persistence, he sighed
helplessly. "I can't make a decision for Mr. Fu. I'd prefer if you come to see for yourself."

So Jack wasn't able to pick up the call. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

Rachel went to the hospital and stared at the man in the bed. She walked towards him, Jack was still
asleep.

Austin explained that before Jack passed out, he had asked him to do a favor. It was to tell Rachel that
he was too busy to pick up the phone. The stubborn man didn't want her to know that he was confined
in the hospital.



After learning about this, she sighed expressionless.

She looked at Austin and asked, "What happened? I thought he had been taking meals on time these
days."

After hesitating for a while, Austin decided to tell her the truth.

"For the last two days, he had been drinking wine for business reasons."

Rachel's face darkened. Why didn't Jack tell her that?

No wonder he was sent to the hospital.

Austin continued the story. "There was an important dinner this evening. A lot of people had attended,
but Mr. Fu's body couldn't take in anymore alcohol.

Mrs. Fu, if it's convenient for you, please try to persuade Mr. Fu to stop drinking. It seems that he only
listens to you."

Rachel kept silent. 'Listen to me? Bully shit!'

He told Rachel that he took his medicine and ate meals on time. Apparently, those were lies!

Stressed, she rubbed her forehead and said, "I'll ask the doctor about his condition."

A hint of hesitation flashed through Austin's eyes. He gave her the attending doctor's name and asked
a nurse nearby to take her there. She muttered her thanks before leaving.

When Jack woke up, he got surprised to see Rachel peeling an apple beside him. The apple skins
gracefully fell into the trash can.



He sniffed the fruit's scent, his tummy grumbling. He licked his dry lips and heard Rachel's voice, "Are
you awake?"

She placed the half peeled apple aside and wiped her fingers with a wet towel. Figuring that he was
thirsty, she gave him a glass of warm water.

Without protesting, Jack allowed Rachel to help him drink. He felt more refreshed afterwards.

He had a terrific sleep last night, but now that he had woken up, he felt a little dizzy.

The previous burning pain he felt in his stomach suddenly dissipated. He looked at Rachel and smiled
guiltily. She probably found out what had happened by now.

Even though he was scared, he pretended not to know anything. Tentatively he asked, "When did you
get here?"

Blankly she replied, "I came here after I called you and Austin answered it."

"Did Austin tell you I was here?"

"Yes." Jack smiled embarrassedly,

his head flaming red.

He had promised Rachel that he would take the pills and eat his meals on time. But as for his social
activities, that was a different story.

He hid the emotion in his eyes and began to think of what to do. From a near distance, he heard her
ask, "How are you now? Is your stomach still aching?"

He felt more comfortable now, since there wasn't any pain left.



However,

Jack pursed his lips slightly. He placed one hand on his abdomen and frowned.

"I feel a little bit uncomfortable..."

"It still hurts?" Rachel frowned. She turned around. "I'll call the doctor."

Jack quickly said, "No need to look for the doctor. It's useless to stop the pain."

Rachel disagreed. "It's gastritis."

Gastritis? What was that?

Jack didn't inform her that he didn't bother to get a thorough check-up. He just popped into the hospital
and asked a doctor to prescribe him some medicine.

He had planned to see the doctor after work, but it seemed that his body got the better of him.

Jack was just relived because he had planned to get a fake medical record to lie to Rachel.

But he didn't expect that it was as bad as gastritis.

This was a more serious case now.

The doctor had informed Rachel that Jack was suffering from chronic gastritis. It couldn't be cured in
just a day or two. If the pain worsened, it could develop into an ulcer.

Jack said he had taken good care of his stomach, but why was it so serious?

Rachel looked at him, doubting whether he had told her the truth.

Seeing her hesitation, Jack was afraid that Rachel would get angry.



He thought for a while and replied, "I didn't have much tonight. I just drank some wine. I'm a little
hungry now."

Rachel said, "You can't eat anything solid right now. I'll buy a bowl of porridge for you to consume."

Then she stopped, thinking that Jack probably had no appetite to eat the food from those small
restaurants nearby.

She had forgotten about the time that Jack had followed her to eat in the snack street.

Rachel paused. "Do you want someone to buy food from a hotel for you?"

"I'm not that picky. Just buy some food from a nearby restaurant. By the way, what time is it? Why don't
you ask Austin to buy it instead? Stay here with me."

It was nearly seven o'clock when he had left the party. He didn't even know what time it was right now.

Rachel looked at her wrist watch and said, "It's ten o'clock. I asked Austin to head back first."

Without leaving room for Jack to interrupt, she continued, "He is your secretary, not your personal
assistant. He's supposed to leave when he gets off work. He was so kind to stay here with you, even if
you are an unreliable boss."

He shamefully bowed his head. "You are right."

When Rachel went downstairs to buy porridge, Jack touched his nose. Although she didn't say
anything, he could feel that she was disappointed.

She was quite rude to him. Well, she had always been rude to him. But it was different this time. She
was colder and more distant.

But it also proved that she did care about him, right?



She must be feeling something for him.

Rachel walked around the private hospital. It had a great ambiance.

Across the road was a row of clean and tidy restaurants. Rachel walked around and, after hesitating for
a while, she finally found a porridge shop at the corner.

It was not suitable for Jack to eat mixed porridge, so Rachel brought back plain porridge.

It was his least favorite food. Jack only ate porridge when he was sick.

He hated it so much that he added it to his black list.

Jack's expression of displeasure was plastered across his face. Rachel knew it would be difficult. She
pulled a chair and sat near the bedside.

Ignoring his disdain, she stirred it with a little spoon. "You just woke up. You need to eat something
warm so you can take your medicine afterwards."

Jack whined, "Can I refuse to eat this?"

"Then what do you want to eat?" She raised an eyebrow, challenging him to respond.

Jack was silent for a while, hesitating on whether he should argue back. Sighing, he obediently agreed.

He fixed his eyes on her, trying to make her uncomfortable. Blankly, Rachel ignored him.

After feeding him half a bowl of porridge, Rachel stopped. "Okay. I'll go get some water. You can take
medicine in five minutes."

After a moment of hesitation, Jack reached out his hand and pulled her. Quietly, he asked, "Are you
angry?"



She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why should I?" She tried to pry his hand off her.

Persistently, Jack continued to hold on. "Please don't be angry, I didn't mean it."

She sighed heavily, "I'm really not angry.

It's no use for me to worry about you since you don't care about your health."

His heart jolted.

Jack leaned his body forward. Just as he was about to reach out to her, she pulled away to the other
side of the room.

Looking at the woman's slender back as she got his medicine, Jack groaned. "Rachel."

"What?" she bitterly replied.

It was not so easy to handle her when she was angry.

He was afraid that she would be disappointed in him.

If she was, then all his efforts would have been in vain.

Jack was a little anxious. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to say that he did listen to Rachel.

He did pay attention to the diet, but he also had to attend the dinner parties. It was rude to decline a
glass of wine in front of everyone.

Like a child, Jack moped. He wanted to win Rachel's favor once again.


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