Chapter-12: Please Don't Hate Me

He took a bite with so much hesitation but as soon as the food touched his tongue his eyes lit up. He smiled wide, 

"Ish... sho *chomp* good."(It's so good).

Shen Yu and Xin Yi smiled looking at how adorable he was while munching the food like a rabbit.

Wang Mu Chen's lips raised a few degrees without him knowing.

"Aww, cutie. Come on eat more," Shen Yu placed the dumplings in Xiao Bo's bowl.

Xiao Bo ate some of everything excitedly and all of them were eating with smiles on their face seeing the smaller eating the food delightfully.

But then suddenly he felt pain in his stomach. He put down the chopsticks and clutched his abdomen tightly.

"What happened?" Mu Chen asked as he noticed the pained expression on his face.

Shen Yu and Xin Yi were alerted. They looked at the smaller with worried eyes.

Xiao Bo felt like his insides were being churned, he closed his mouth with widened eyes as he felt the food he ate coming up to his throat.

He looked here and there saw the washroom sign and ran towards it.

The three of them got up and followed the smaller who went inside the cubicle, knelt in front of the commode, and threw up everything he ate so excitedly.

He felt sick as his gut forced all the contents he ate out as it couldn't take it.

His stomach was not used to such food cause he ate only green vegetables that were too small quantities but today he ate beyond the limit he ate every day so his stomach got upset.

Mu Chen, Xin Yi, and Shen Yu were shocked to see the scene. The smaller was crying while throwing up, his stomach was hurting and he didn't have much strength.

"If you can't eat the food, you should have said so, why did you eat just to throw up like this, huh?" Wang Mu Chen snorted.

Xiao Bo's body became stiff as he heard the disdain in the elder's voice, his throat was burning, and he felt shivers all over his body as he looked up.

He felt as if he did wrong, he thought they would hate him for this and then again he would have to die in the same way as he did in his past life.

"S-Sorry...I-I...*hic*...am...*hic* S-Sorry, f-forgive m-me...*hic* please," Xiao Bo started begging, "I-I won't...d-do this *hic* again...please, h-hit me *hic* if y-you...want, I-I am S-Sorry, b-but please...*hic* don't h-hate me..."

He started crying hysterically as his body trembled continuously.

The three of them looked at the smaller in shock.

"I am sorry *hic* I will eat whatever you give *hic* I won't do it again *hic* so please..." Xiao Bo was begging continuously.

"Xiao Xiao, what..." Xin Yi was shocked. He felt so bad seeing the smaller in that state.

Shen Yu immediately crouched down and cupped the smaller's face with his palms. 

"Xiao-Er, stop crying. It wasn't your fault. I am sorry, ok? Please don't cry and why would we hit you for this? You are our friend, calm down."

Xiao Bo looked at him with glossy red-swollen eyes.

"Don't hate me *hic* I won't do this again..."

"I don't hate you, Xiao Bo, come on get up and wash your face."

Shen Yu calmly said and helped the smaller to stand on his feet.

Wang Mu Chen was balling his fist seeing the smaller's state.

>>>Why...why is he like this? Are those rumors about him...all a lie?

Shen Yu helped the smaller to stand up and washed his face. Xin Yi just stood there as his eyes were burning with tears.

>>>What did they all do to him?

Shen Yu was washing his hands so Xiao Bo turned to walk but due to the lack of strength as he didn't eat anything from the morning also due to the vomiting, his head felt light and started spinning.

His vision blurred and he blacked out. He was about to fall just then two strong arms held him tightly not allowing him to fall.

Shen Yu and Xin Yi were shocked to see Xiao Bo unconscious. Mu Chen lifted the smaller in his arms immediately.

"Let's go to the hospital."

Both of them nodded and followed Mu Chen out of the restaurant with worried expressions on their faces.

Mu Chen sped the car and stopped at the nearby hospital where his friend Yang Yi Xuan was working as a doctor.

He again carried the smaller in his arms, this time he noticed something,

>>>He doesn't weigh anything at all... he is all bones.

Something twisted inside Mu Chen's heart as he took him inside and called his friend.

"Why, what happened, Chen?" Yi Xuan asked.

"He fainted after throwing up, check him," Mu Chen replied.

"Nurse!"

Yi Xuan called immediately. They brought the stretcher and took him into a room.

The three of them were pacing back and forth outside the room.

"I think I should call Wei Chen Gege and inform him about Xiao Xiao," Xin Yi took out his phone.

"No," Mu Chen refused immediately.

Xin Yi and Shen Yu frowned, "Why, Mu Ge... it's better if his family is present with him."

"I presume his brother came to the university two times today even though he is busy and it's already late, we shouldn't disturb him. Let's hear what Yi Xuan says about his condition, if it's something serious then we will call his brother, ok?" Mu Chen reasoned out.

Shen Yu and Xin Yi nodded, understanding.

After ten minutes, Yi Xuan came out of the room, "I kept him on I.V., let's talk in my cabin."

The three of them followed the doctor inside his cabin and sat in front of him anxiously.

"Mu Chen, is he your friend?" Yi Xuan asked.

"He is my junior and classmate of Xin Yi and Shen Yu," Mu Chen answered.

Yi Xuan nodded his head, "I think we need to talk with his family."

"Why, Yi Gege? What happened to Xiao Bo?" Shen Yu looked distressed.

Yi Xuan sighed, "He is suffering from severe anorexia."

"What?" 

The three of them looked at each other with widened eyes cause if it was the truth then letting him eat such heavy food would of course make him throw up everything.

"It was all my fault if only I asked what would he like to eat," Shen Yu teared up.

"It's not your fault, Yuyu. We didn't know about his condition and he was happily eating everything so we couldn't stop him." Mu Chen patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Xin Yi also had tears in his eyes, "Wei Chen Gege said that Xiao Xiao's father abuses him but I didn't know it was to this extent that he was not given proper meals to eat to become anorexic."

Wang Mu Chen gritted his teeth when he heard that.

"So, is he fine now, Xuan?"

"If his condition continued, he would have died slowly due to lack of nutrition in his body. It's still not worse, he can still become healthy if he starts eating lightly and improves his diet slowly day by day," Yi Xuan informed.

Mu Chen nodded his head, "Prescribe the medication and the diet suitable for him."

He then looked at Shen Yu and Xin Yi, "You both take care of his meals every day, ok?"

"Shouldn't we inform his family?" Xin Yi asked again.

"No, if his father actually starved him in a form of abuse then his brother would also have known about this, and if he still can't do anything what do you think he will do now?" Mu Chen questioned.

Xin Yi sighed, "You are right, Mu Gege we will take care of his diet from now on. We have already thought of him as our friend and we won't let anything happen to him."

"Yes, Ge," Shen Yu also looked determined.

"Xuan, don't let anyone know about this," Mu Chen requested.

"Alright, if you say so," Yi Xuan nodded. 

"You can take him back tomorrow after the I.V. finishes, I will give a detailed prescription after discussing it with the nutritionist. He showed the symptoms of reversal syndrome, you absolutely can't let him eat heavy food, or it will get dangerous for him, got it?"

The three of them nodded. After that, they went inside the room and sat beside his bed.

Wang Mu Chen was staring at the smaller with a complicated expression on his face.

"Was... Xiao-Er abused in his home? Is that why he panicked like that when he threw up?" Shen Yu held Xiao Bo's hand with glossy eyes.

Even though it has not been a day since they met he felt this strange connection with him that they were meant to be good friends.

"Don't know but I think he gets scared easily due to all that he went through," Xin Yi looked sad.

"All that he went through?" Mu Chen asked with a baffled expression.

"That Wei Chen Gege told us that their father used to-" 

Before Xin Yi could complete his sentence the door of the room was opened.

Yi Xuan came inside, "Here is the prescription and list of the food he should eat for the first month, later we will add more to his diet, if he shows any reaction to this food immediately bring him to the hospital, ok?"

Mu Chen nodded and took the prescription.

"Then, I will be leaving. If he gets his consciousness back, call me," Yi Xuan patted Mu Chen's shoulder and left the room.

"You both come with me, I will take you back to the dorms," Wang Mu Chen said.

"What, no. Then who will take care of him if we leave?" Shen Yu objected.

"We need clothes for him and you both must have been tired too. Tomorrow is your first day, you have to take some rest to attend the classes. I will bring him to the dorm tomorrow morning, so do as I say," Mu Chen suggested.

"But-" Xin Yi was about to refuse but Mu Chen didn't let him.

Both couldn't go against Mu Chen so they just sat in the car as he drove to the University.

After dropping them in their dorms, Xin Yi quickly ran to his room and brought the clothes from Xiao Bo's wardrobe.

He frowned seeing it, "Are all his clothes oversized?"

"Yes, Gege. All his clothes are baggy," Xin Yi replied.

Mu Chen just nodded and drove back to the hospital. He sat on the couch staring at Xiao Bo.

>>>Why...

*****