âWhat do you mean, âmy mother will be fine tooâ?â Ji Zeqiuâs gaze fixed intently on her.
âIs there a possibility that she didnât die?â Lin Xu said.
âNot deadâ¦â Ji Zeqiuâs throat tightened, his heart clenched suddenly, and he said in a daze, âHow is that possible? Theyâve all been buried⦠If she really didnât die, why didnât she come to find us when we were struggling so much in the past?â
âMaybe she wasnât able to find you at that time, but now she can,â Lin Xu explained.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The volume of Ji Zeqiuâs voice suddenly rose, his throat so dry it hurt, âWhen we needed her the most before, she wasnât there, and now that I donât need her anymore, why should she show up!â
The hand at his side clenched into a fist, the nails digging fiercely into his palm, piercing the fragile skin and letting blood seep out.
Once, as a child, his longing for his mother would uncontrollably burst forth, his nightly dreams filled with her figure, taking him to amusement parks, teaching him to read, sleeping beside him, telling him bedtime storiesâ¦
As if she had never left.
But upon waking, he would realize it was all his fantasy, the dull ache at his heart becoming a sharp hilt that kept churning, so painful he couldnât catch his breath, collapsed on the ground dry heaving incessantly.
Late.r, he found a method.
As long as he stopped loving her, started hating her, forgot about her⦠he wouldnât hurt so much again.
Yes, he hated her.
He didnât need her.
So even if she truly never showed up in the end, his emotions wouldnât fluctuate at all.
âI hate herâ¦â Ji Zeqiu murmured hoarsely, as if to remind himself.
Lin Xu, standing close by, held herself back after hearing his words, a sour emotion churning in her chest, the corners of her eyes turning red.
âDonât shout or argue in the hospital.â It seemed they had disturbed someone, and a nurse nearby shouted, interrupting their conversation,
There was a moment of silence.
Both of their emotions cooled down.
âAlright, go check on Shen Qingtang. She even donated blood for you, but you donât even think of keeping her company,â Lin Xu urged.
Although sheâd rather have stopped the blood donation, Ji Zeqiu would definitely not agree, and she didnât want to continue making him dislike her.
Ji Zeqiu pursed his lips, âI want to stay here to watch over Wen Li.â
âShe wonât die if you leave for a moment. Go and accompany Shen Qingtang right now, immediately!â Lin Xu glared at him with fierce eyes.
The authority bursting from her made Ji Zeqiuâs body shudder, just as he feared his father Ji Tingyangâs harsh scoldings when he was a disobedient child, his body instinctively obeyed her command to go find Shen Qingtang.
Naturally, Lin Xu followed him there.
A larger needle punctured Shen Qingtangâs arm. She gritted her teeth, enduring the fear, but as soon as she saw Ji Zeqiu, the fear and discomfort all vanished, leaving only joy.
âBeing alone and donating so much blood must be scary. Hurry and hold her hand, comfort her,â Lin Xu urged.
Ji Zeqiu did as told.
âWhat do you say when someone helps you?â Lin Xu said.
Ji Zeqiuâs expression was awkward: âThank you.â
Shen Qingtangâs eyes widened in disbelief.
Why was Ji Zeqiu so obedient to Lin Xuâs instructions?!
â-
After the blood transfusion, Wen Li woke up groggily on the hospital bed, staring at the white ceiling, feeling a throbbing pain on her forehead.
She recalled for a moment why she was in the hospital.
She was hit by a car while crossing the street.
She was taken to the hospital; at that time, she hadnât lost consciousness yet and her mind retained a last shred of clarity. The doctors said they couldnât get in touch with her family and asked her if she had any other relatives or friends they could contact.
Her first thought was of Xiao Yu, but afraid to make him worry, she changed her words at the last moment and gave them Ji Zeqiuâs phone number.
What happened next, she had no memory of it anymore.
Wen Li turned her head, looking around the ward; it was empty, save for the ticking of machines, eerily quiet.
Where was Ji Zeqiu?
Just as she was wondering, she heard some noisy commotion outside the door, growing closer to the ward.
âDidnât the doctor say that sheâs out of danger now? Canât her family be notified to take care of her? Why do you neglect Shen Qingtang to come here?â Lin Xu was somewhat dissatisfied with her sonâs eagerness.
âI just wanted to come and see if she had woken up. Iâll leave after checking on her.â
As they spoke, they walked in.
âWen Li! You finally woke up. How do you feel? Is there anything thatâs still uncomfortable?â Ji Zeqiu nearly threw himself on the hospital bed.
âIâm fine, donât worry.â Wen Liâs pale cheeks lifted into a faint smile, like a tough little white flower, heartrendingly fragile.
âDo you have any idea how scared I was when you were taken into the operating room? Luckily youâre alright, or I wouldnât know what to doâ¦â Ji Zeqiu gripped her other hand tightly, feeling a wave of fear in retrospect.
Lin Xu wanted to persuade him to leave, but Ji Zeqiu refused to go, holding Wen Liâs hand and saying a bunch of things that showed his concern for her.
A little while later.
Shen Qingtang also came in, her cheeks deprived of their usual rosiness due to donating too much blood.
When she saw the two holding hands, she averted her gaze and smiled, âLady Wen, Iâm so glad youâre alright.â
âThank you.â Wen Li nodded at her, but continued talking to Ji Zeqiu.
Feeling neglected like no one was attending to her, Shen Qingtang stood awkwardly in place.
Lin Xu stepped forward and kicked Ji Zeqiu, âGo wash some dates and cherries.â
Ji Zeqiu yelped in pain. He wanted to resist but was also afraid sheâd twist his ear and so he reluctantly took some fruit from the table to wash.
These were all things to replenish blood.
Wen Li thought they were for her, so when Ji Zeqiu returned with the fruit, she instinctively reached out to take some.
But she saw him give all the fruit to Shen Qingtang.
Over the past couple of days, Lin Xu had been nagging Ji Zeqiu non-stop, telling him to buy some thank-you gifts for Shen Qingtang, and to bring her some chicken soup and other things to replenish her blood.
He had done as told, bringing her many things.
Since dates and cherries were somewhat nourishing and good for replenishing blood, Ji Zeqiu habitually gave them to Shen Qingtang.
Both Wen Li and Shen Qingtang were taken aback, their expressions one of surprise.
âThank you.â Shen Qingtang took them, a hint of color returning to her pallid cheeks.
Wen Li withdrew her hand, her complexion turning a bit unsightly.
Ji Zeqiu immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly tried to make amends, âWen Li, Iâll go wash some more for you!â
Having said this, he rushed out with the fruit basket.
Wen Li looked at Shen Qingtang in front of her, cheeks flushed and eating cherries, and suddenly spoke, âThank you, Miss Shen. I heard from Zeqiu that it was you who donated blood for me. If it hadnât been for you, I would surely still be lying in the emergency room now.â
âDonât mention it.â Shen Qingtang said with a light smile.
âYou know, Miss Shen and I seem to have quite a fate. We look a little alike, and even our blood types are the same.â Wen Li said.
In an instant, Shen Qingtangâs complexion turned awkward.