"I don't know why this happened... You really... really shouldn't have saved me..."
Xie Shi'an curled her lips in a mocking smile. She had imagined countless ways to confess her feelings, but she never expected to blurt it out under these circumstances.
She closed her eyes and said, disregarding everything.
"When I came to my senses, I realized that I had liked you for a very long time... I wanted to control my heart... but I... really couldn't... Qiao Yuchu... I love you... I want... I want to be with you forever and ever."
Xie Shi'an waited for a long time, and finally she walked back to her side step by step.
She opened her eyes, her smile not yet fully showing on her face.
After listening to her say so much, Qiao Yuchu felt it was all absurd.
"Don't you find it ridiculous? At your age, you talk about love, but do you even know what love is? You love me, but what can you give me? Is it belated concern, or throwing tantrums at me?"
When she asked him that, Xie Shi'an became somewhat incoherent.
"I...I don't have any money right now...but...but I can work hard to earn it...I've already won the World Championships...I have a lot of commercial endorsements coming my way...I know I have a bad temper...but I really will try my best to change...Please...please don't leave me...okay?"
"Enough!" Qiao Yuchu raised her voice, stopping her from speaking.
"Xie Shi'an! I'm not gay! I've always treated you like a younger sister, don't you understand?!"
Seeing that she was about to leave again, Xie Shi'an grabbed her wrist in desperation, holding on tightly as if it were a lifeline, unwilling and afraid to let go.
"I don't understand! If you don't like me, why are you so good to me! Taking care of me, caring for me! Tolerating all my shortcomings and bad temper, and when the whole world is speaking ill of me, you are the only one standing by my side!"
"Qiao Yuchu, do you dare say you don't have even a shred of affection for me?"
As she finished speaking, her voice lowered again, as if she were pleading.
Even just a little...
Qiao Yuchu looked at her deeply, her eyes slowly reddening, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips.
"Are you trying to drag our years of relationship into a romantic one? Don't you know how I feel about you? Can't you feel whether I love you or not? Stop deceiving yourself."
She turned to leave, but Xie Shi'an didn't let go, chasing after her for several steps: "Yu Chu, it's not... I... I know you're good to me... You're the best person in the world to me... I... I don't expect you to like me anymore... Let... let me stay by your side... Don't send me away..."
Before she could finish speaking, perhaps truly annoyed by her persistence, Qiao Yuchu raised her hand and flung her away, watching her fall to the ground.
"Enough, Xie Shi'an! Don't you think your persistent pestering is ugly? Don't you think what you're saying is disgusting? If I had known you had such filthy thoughts about me, I wouldn't have given you a second glance!"
"Just consider all the kindness I've shown you as a result of my goodness, but that kindness will end today."
After she finished speaking, she resolutely turned and left, giving her no further chance to pester her.
Xie Shi'an was caught off guard and pushed to the ground. Whether it was due to physical pain or something else, his face turned deathly pale instantly.
A thunderclap flashed across the horizon.
The rain poured down.
Qiao Yuchu didn't look back even once from beginning to end.
***
"The team has decided on how to handle Qiao Yuchu. Our opinion is that, considering she is a veteran member, we will not expel her and will let her leave the team on her own."
Yan Xinyuan was called to a meeting early in the morning, and upon hearing this, he immediately stood up.
"No, I disagree! She wasn't the driver who caused the accident. Is it worth giving up on a promising athlete over such a trivial matter?!"
The team leader slammed his fist on the table with tremendous force.
"Can't you think about our Binhai provincial team for once?! Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. They've already blocked the gate of our training base, and it's been on the news several times. Athletes must keep their integrity, keep their integrity! Her actions have had an extremely negative social impact. Not expelling her is already more than enough!"
"I find this really strange. We've been reforming and opening up for so many years, why are you still using the old system of collective punishment? You keep saying it's for the reputation of our Binhai provincial team, but I think you're just afraid that the sponsors' money won't end up in your pockets!"
"Old Yan! I don't like hearing you say that. What do you mean by saying the sponsors' money isn't going into our pockets? Well, it's a fact that they withdrew their funding because of this! As the head coach, you say she has potential, fine, then tell me, what results has she achieved in the past year or so?!"
"I..." Yan Xinyuan choked.
When the other person saw that he couldn't answer, they gave him a sarcastic smile.
“We’re all in this line of work, and we both know that if an athlete hasn’t participated in any major international competitions by the age of 25, their career is pretty much over. You’d be better off using that energy to train Xie Shi’an.”
“Looking at the world of sports, there are plenty of late bloomers. Since she wants to play, we should give her the opportunity. Besides, she is currently the most suitable doubles player for Xie Shi’an. The Olympics are about to start, and you can’t do this now…”
Yan Xinyuan swallowed hard and patiently argued on her behalf.
"Come on, are you really not able to see it or are you pretending not to? Xie Shi'an's skill in singles is far greater than her skill in doubles. Doubles will only hold her back. Since you are Xie Shi'an's head coach, you should think about it for her!"
Yan Xinyuan's gaze swept over the faces of everyone else in the conference room. Even Coach Liang remained silent. He sat down and said dejectedly.
"Give me some more time to talk to her properly before deciding whether she should stay or leave."
***
Xie Shi'an woke up again, still in the hospital.
She opened her eyes and stared at the snow-white ceiling, as if she had just woken from a long dream, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
Until a familiar voice came from beside me.
Jian Changnian handed her the peeled apple.
"You're awake. The doctor just changed your dressing; they said your surgical incision is a bit infected..."
Xie Shi'an turned his head and glanced at her, then his gaze fell from the apple in her hand to the nutritional supplements on the bedside table.
"Has anyone been here?"
"Um."
Is it Yu Chu?
She grabbed her wrist and asked urgently.
Jian Changnian lowered her eyes, somewhat reluctant to tell her that it wasn't Qiao Yuchu who had come, but Jin Shunqi.
Xie Shi'an took her silence as tacit agreement, and struggled to sit up in bed, his rusty brain finally able to slowly start thinking.
Where is she now?
"She went back to her mother's."
"Then how did you..."
Xie Shi'an looked cautious, afraid that she had come at the wrong time last night and happened to witness that scene.
Jian Changnian placed the apple on the table, her tone calm and composed.
“I was still a little worried after I got back, so I went to your house to look for you. When I got there, you were already lying on the ground.”
Xie Shi'an breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, he didn't see it.
The IV drip had finished, and she got out of bed by herself.
"Thank you. Which ward is Yu Chu in? I'll go find her."
This time, Jian Changnian did not stop her.
"orthopedics."
As soon as his feet touched the ground, a sharp pain shot through the stitches in his abdomen. Xie Shi'an gritted his teeth, held onto the door frame, and slowly made his way out.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator on the orthopedic floor, she saw someone she least wanted to see enter the ward carrying a thermos of hot water.
She gritted her teeth and walked over, supporting herself against the wall. Through the glass door of the ward, she saw Qiao's mother lying in bed, and Jin Shunqi sitting on the edge of the bed with his arm around Qiao Yuchu's shoulder, talking to them.
"I've already made arrangements with a hospital in the US. Once Auntie's condition stabilizes, she can be transferred there."
Mrs. Qiao turned her head to look at them, a rare smile appearing in her eyes.
"Still calling her 'Auntie'? Shouldn't you change how you address her?"
Jin Shunqi readily accepted the advice.
"mom."
"Hey." The old man chuckled as he lay in bed.
Qiao Yuchu punched his shoulder a little embarrassedly.
"You're not even married yet, why are you calling me so early?"
Mrs. Qiao turned her gaze back to the ceiling and said.
"I don't know how much longer I have to live. Please get the marriage certificate done as soon as possible. It will fulfill one of my wishes."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuchu's eyes reddened slightly, and she gripped her hand tightly.
"Mom, don't say such discouraging things. You'll still be with us for a long, long time. We'll need your help taking care of the kids then."
"Oh, that's great."
With tears in her eyes and a smile on her face, Mrs. Qiao took their hands together and patted them gently.
"As long as you are all well, Mom is willing to do anything."
The family of three lived in harmony.
What does she mean by standing here?
Xie Shi'an smiled self-deprecatingly, feeling as if a hole had been torn in her chest, with wind rushing in and making her internal organs ache.
Qiao Yuchu was right. She was deceiving herself. She was only nice to her because she was kind. She would help up even a cat or dog that had fallen to the ground, let alone a person.
She loves everyone.
He just doesn't love her.
What's more, she was the culprit who caused her mother to become like this.
How could she possibly like me? I'd avoid her like the plague.
Xie Shi'an laughed and then tears fell. She turned around, leaned against the wall, and left the place in a daze. When she returned to the payment counter on the first floor, she stopped in her tracks.
She passed her bank card through the narrow window.
"Hello, payment is due."
"Which department, bed number, please show your ID card."
Xie Shi'an handed over his ID card.
"Orthopedics, bed 1203, for my friend to pay."