"Want to sleep a little longer?" Qi Hui asked Le Xi softly from behind, his hands clenched into fists behind his back, resisting the urge to shove Shi Lu away. "If you don't want to sleep, you can go to the living room and watch TV."
After busying themselves with putting up Spring Festival couplets and window decorations, evening arrived. The cleaning lady went home after preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. Qi Hui and Shi Lu set the table, and after dinner, Le Xi and Shi's mother enjoyed the privilege of sitting in the middle of the "sofa bed" to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Shi Lu sat diagonally next to Shi's mother, Qi Hui sat next to Le Xi, and Xiang Xiang enjoyed the privilege of sitting in the very center, though he was thoroughly tormented by Shi's mother. Shi Lu and Qi Hui occasionally peeled fruit for Shi's mother and Le Xi, and served them tea and water. The whole family laughed heartily at the skits on TV. Le Xi clung to Shi's mother like a spoiled child, watching for a while before resting her head on Shi's mother's lap, repeatedly calling "Shi's mother... Shi's mother..." Finally, she simply dropped the "Shi" and called her "Mama."
Around midnight, firecrackers went off outside, and Qi Hui and Shi Lu quickly jumped up to make dumplings. They made a little of every kind of dumpling, but the dumplings, which were clearly very pretty, turned out strangely shaped when they were served, which made Shi's mother laugh at them.
"Come on, Lexi, try these wontons." Qi Hui placed a small bowl of wontons and a small bowl of dumplings in front of Lexi. "You must eat the dumplings. Some of them have peanuts inside! Eating peanuts will help you live a long and healthy life."
"Okay! I'm starting!" Lexi looked excitedly at the bright red wontons, picked up her chopsticks, put one in her mouth, smacked her lips, looked up at the ceiling, and pursed her lips. "The taste... uh... is okay. But it's not as good as my mom's."
She took another bite of the dumpling, blinked happily, and said, "Mmm, it has peanuts! Auntie, you should try some too!"
Lexi and Shi's mother each ate eight peanuts from a plate of dumplings, and they were so happy they couldn't stop smiling. Little did they know that Qi Hui and Shi Lu had already instructed the cleaning lady to mark the dumplings with peanuts, and that more than half of them were filled with peanuts when they were cooked. The dumplings they gave to Lexi and Shi's mother were also mostly filled with peanuts.
After a hearty meal, everyone gets sleepy. Shi's mother and Xiangxiang couldn't stay awake for long and went inside to sleep. Lexi, half-lying on the sofa, quickly started dozing off. Qi Hui told him to go to sleep, but he looked out the window with resentment, saying they hadn't set off firecrackers or built a snowman. Qi Hui sighed, exchanged a glance with Shi Lu, and said, "Alright then, your brother and Teacher Shi will build you a snowman, and we'll write your name on it. How about that?"
Lexi thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright then! Let's make do with this for now. If there's another chance next year, I'll do it myself."
The snowman was built amidst a silent competition between the two. When it was almost finished, Qi Hui went inside, dressed Le Xi, and pushed him out in a wheelchair, asking him to add chestnut eyes, a carrot nose, and an eggplant-peel mouth to the snowman. On the snowman's back, Le Xi drew his name with a twig and cheerfully said, "Brother, Aru, let's take a picture with the snowman!"
Children ran around in the snow, some curiously approaching to see the enormous snowman. It was so tall, more than two heads taller than a ten-year-old. The children surrounded the snowman, teasing him, while Lexi, like a protective mother hen, chased away children who tried to pull the snow shovel from the snowman's hands.
They took many photos, mostly with Le Xi standing in the middle, supported by Qi Hui and Shi Lu on either side. The last photo showed Le Xi sitting, but they couldn't get a good shot no matter how many times they tried.
The young man who was helping take the photos said, "Hey, can't you three be a little happier? Smile! What are you doing during the New Year?"
"No, no, don't make that tearful joy face! Hey, don't cry!"
"..."
The photographer was so anxious he was jumping up and down. Little did he know how much inner turmoil the two people, who were being held tightly by Le Xi's hand in front of them and had to put their hands on her shoulders behind her, were actually going through inside. They were willingly squatting down next to Le Xi and even putting on friendly and intimate expressions.
Dilemma
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Qi Hui and Shi Lu got up together as if they had made an appointment. Actually, the two of them were also feeling aggrieved. Le Xi had taken over Shi Lu's room, so the two tall and strong men had to make do with sleeping on a corner of the sofa.
"I'll go wake Lexi up." Qi Hui smiled at Shi Lu to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"Okay, I'll go steam the rice cakes." Shi Lu smiled.
"Um... Happy New Year..." they both said at the same time. Then they paused, looked at each other, and seemed even more embarrassed.
When Qi Hui entered Shi Lu's room, Le Xi was still fast asleep on the bed. Qi Hui tiptoed over and knelt by the bedside, lingeringly watching him. Le Xi's breathing was shallow, and coupled with his long-term illness, his complexion was not good. Qi Hui suddenly felt a little dazed. He hesitated and reached out to check Le Xi's breath. His hand trembled, like a patient with terminal Parkinson's disease. He finally managed to reach out, but then froze in mid-air, unwilling to get close to Le Xi's face.
Those beautiful eyes narrowed, and her brows furrowed. Le Xi suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Qi Hui, calling out to him somewhat strangely, "Brother?"
Qi Hui was stunned for a moment, then lowered his arm and laughed, trying his best to hide his panic: "Awake?"
"Hmm, what's wrong with your eyes? They're all red."
"Oh, I stayed up late last night." Qi Hui rubbed his face and smiled brightly again. "Are you going to sleep or not? If not, get up. Yan Shuang and the others are coming to wish us a Happy New Year this morning!"
Just as I finished dressing Lexi, I heard Yan Shuang knocking on the door. Soon, this chattering woman burst into the room, grabbed Lexi, and wished him a Happy New Year. She then pulled a red envelope from her bag and stuffed it into his hand: "Lucky money! You, Xiangxiang, and Xiaoxiao all get some!"
"Sister, I'm already Xiangxiang's father, why are you still giving me New Year's money!" Lexi complained.
"You've already been ignored." Yan Shuang laughed heartily, glancing at Qi Hui beside her. "I don't believe you didn't get any New Year's money."
"Hmph!" Le Xi glared at Qi Hui angrily. Although Shi's mother initiated the distribution of New Year's money yesterday, it was Qi Hui who successfully stuffed New Year's money into Le Xi's hand. So Shi's mother and Shi Lu joined in the fun, insisting on stuffing New Year's money into his hand as well.
Yan Shuang's arrival was like a clown's arrival; her few words had everyone laughing out loud. Midway through, Le Xi said she needed to use the restroom. Qi Hui offered to help her, but Le Xi blushed, glanced at Yan Shuang, and said shyly that it wasn't necessary. So, after Qi Hui helped her in, Le Xi shooed him out.
The group was laughing and joking in the living room when they heard the sound of things being overturned in the bathroom. Qi Hui and Shi Lu jumped up almost simultaneously and rushed towards the bathroom. The two of them were so close to the door that they could barely get in. In the end, Qi Hui shoved Shi Lu and managed to get in first to help the unconscious Le Xi up.
"Lele, baby... baby, can you hear me?" Qi Hui lifted his head so that he could look at him. Lele was not very clear-headed, and it took him a long time to meet Qi Hui's gaze. He opened his mouth but could not say a word.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get him out!" Shi Lu pushed Qi Hui, reminding him to carry Le Xi out of the bathroom and put him on the sofa. Le Xi was breathing rapidly. As Qi Hui had instructed, Shi Lu took out the medicine the doctor had prescribed from his bag and gave it to him. He then frantically rummaged through his bag and found a home oxygen mask to put on him. They had already called 120 for emergency help, but seeing Le Xi's condition worsening, Qi Hui finally decided to drive Le Xi directly to the hospital.
Yan Shuang stayed behind to keep Shi's mother and Xiangxiang company, while Qi Hui wrapped Le Xi in a thick blanket and carried him out. Shi Lu sat in the back seat, holding Le Xi and letting him lie back on his lap, one hand supporting the oxygen mask and the other holding his hand, constantly talking to him. Fortunately, the hospital wasn't too far from the Shi family's house, and Qi Hui had kept in touch with the hospital along the way to monitor Le Xi's condition, so as soon as they arrived at the hospital, a doctor was waiting outside, and Le Xi was quickly taken to the emergency room for treatment.
The results came back quickly: his condition had worsened because he had caught a cold and fever after being exposed to the cold wind outside on New Year's Eve. Kuaile Xi was quickly returned to his ward, the sight of the large dose of IV fluids sending chills down everyone's spine. Qi Hui and Shi Lu stayed by his side constantly, ensuring he could see both of them the moment he opened his eyes.
Lexi was wearing an oxygen mask, with an IV drip in one hand and a blood oxygen monitor clip in the other. Both of his hands were being held by two people. Although he couldn't speak or move, he couldn't help but feel like crying when he saw the two people's haggard, stubble-covered faces.
If I were to die like this, would the two of us stop being so easily startled? Would we stop being so stubborn and jealous?
But death is too heavy a burden; I want to live!
He slowly tightened his grip on those two hands, using all his strength, yet it was almost imperceptible. Qi Hui and Shi Lu, feeling the pressure in Le Xi's hands, immediately sat up straight and leaned closer, heads touching, asking him in unison:
"Lexi/Baby, what do you want?"
I want you to get along peacefully and don't want you to worry too much, okay?
Lexi smiled bitterly to herself.
Zijie and Chen Song returned from City C on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. They had originally planned to stay in City C for a few more days, but upon hearing that Lexi's condition had worsened, they didn't hesitate and bought tickets to return to City L that same day. By the time Zijie rushed directly from the airport to the hospital, Lexi had already been taken off the ventilator and blood oxygen monitoring equipment, but she still had a persistent fever.
Zijie noticed that something was different.
For example, Le Xi has become increasingly fond of taking photos. He spends all day taking pictures of himself from different angles with his phone, and also taking photos with different people. He then selects the best ones and saves them to his laptop, secretly storing them in two folders named "Le Xi's Album" and "Baby's Album" without telling Shi Lu and Qi Hui. He then instructs Zi Jie to remember the location of those two albums on the computer.
For example, he asked Zijie, "I'll give you my shares in Shuangcheng, and I'll also entrust you with the management of that shop in the city, okay? You should study clothing knowledge carefully!"
For example, he said to Yang Jingyu, "My brother is actually a really nice guy. How about I pack him up and send him to you?"
For example, he joked with Zijie, "Do you have any good potential partners to introduce to Shilu?" I'm really annoyed by him now; he's like a leech.
For example, he became increasingly indifferent to Qi Hui and Shi Lu, and would often lose his temper with them. When they were receiving treatment or IV fluids, he would always push them out of the ward and resolutely not let them come near him, which was completely different from the obedient child he used to be.
Zijie dared not make any more connections. It felt like a huge piece of his heart had been emptied. He could only watch with worry as Lexi took photos with a silly, self-destructive grin all day long.
The thought that building a snowman together on New Year's Eve and taking a photo hand-in-hand would be enough to reconcile their differences was just wishful thinking. If they truly couldn't overcome the resentment, would they continue living with that animosity?
Please don't do that.
It's all my fault.
Can someone tell me what I should do?
I'm just a petty man
After the New Year, Shi Lu quickly found a new job as an editor at a magazine known for its documentary literature. The job was easy, much easier than when she was a teacher at the school. She had to report to the office at nine o'clock every morning, and if there was nothing to do at noon, she could go home, giving her more time to take care of her mother.
After working for a few days, Shi Lu received a call from Qi Hui, who said he wanted to talk to him privately.
When Shi Lu arrived at Qi Hui's company, Qi Hui was in a meeting. His secretary led him into Qi Hui's office to wait, and half an hour later, Qi Hui finally came in.
After sitting for a while without much small talk, Qi Hui slowly took out a stack of magazines from the drawer and placed them in front of Shi Lu, whose expression immediately changed.
"What do you mean?" Shi Lu asked with difficulty.
"This magazine is very famous, especially for its documentary literature," Qi Hui said.
"...What...are you trying to say?"
“One day, I saw it by chance, so I bought it. It’s called ‘Twin Cities Story.’ This article is really touching. I wonder what Lexi will think after reading it.” Qi Hui sighed, a worried expression appearing on his face.
“I…” Shi Lu wanted to explain, but found it difficult.
"Teacher Shi, no, now you're the great writer Shi, the boy in your article is actually Le Xi, right? But did you ask Le Xi if he was willing to be the protagonist of this documentary literature?" Qi Hui emphasized the words "documentary literature," his voice sounding fierce.
How do I explain this? Should I tell him I accepted the magazine's offer because I needed money for my mother's medical treatment? But the first draft of this article was actually completed in October. How do I say it? How do I tell Lexi?
“Teacher Shi… I beg you, please don’t hurt Lexi… I’ve always been reluctant to see him sad, so anyone who hurts him must pay the price,” Qi Hui said slowly.
“As you know, Lexi’s condition has only just started to improve, and I think he might not be able to handle this shock…” Qi Hui began to analyze the pros and cons. “During his treatment, we’ve spent over a million yuan before his condition slowly started to improve. Every day, the best domestic and international medicines are injected into his body like a flowing stream, and he’s taking more medicine than he’s eating. He’s already suffered enough.”
"Mr. Qi, what exactly are you trying to say?" Shi Lu asked with a wry smile.
"I think...please...let Lexi go."
Qi Hui returned to the hospital. Before entering, he heard Xiangxiang calling for his second father. He opened the door and saw Le Xi leaning against the headboard, coughing incessantly. Xiangxiang tugged at his sleeve and called out to his second father with concern.
Le Xi had been running a low-grade fever since the New Year, his throat was hoarse from the heat, and he had coughed intermittently, but never as badly as today. Qi Hui rushed over to support him and saw that his face was flushed red, and he was coughing so hard he could barely breathe. When he saw Qi Hui coming over, he covered his mouth and whispered reassuringly that he was alright. Qi Hui grabbed his hand covering his mouth and opened it, seeing pinkish, foamy blood streaks in his palm. He roared, "It's alright! All you ever say is 'it's alright'!"
"Cough cough... Brother, don't be angry..." Le Xi weakly leaned into his arms, his head gently burrowing in like a spoiled child. At first, he babbled incoherently, but his voice gradually lowered, and his breathing became weaker and weaker until he slumped against Qi Hui's lap. Qi Hui pulled Le Xi into his arms and gently shook him, patting his face. The small, grayish-white head tilted to one side, drooping to the other after a shake, already unconscious. Qi Hui held his hand and gently bit his fingers. He released his grip, and the small hand slid down with a "snap," resting lifelessly on the edge of the bed.
Xiangxiang kept crying beside him. Qi Hui held Le Xi's unresponsive body blankly, staring like a fool at his tightly closed eyes and his withered arm draped over the bed. The person in his arms, who had once been so beautiful, was now emaciated by illness, skin and bones, barely clinging to life.
It felt like the sky had fallen.
It seems like they've already given up entirely.
What should we do?
It's too difficult to keep going.
Over and over again.
Back and forth.
Let's just give up.
Where is the hope?
That day, Lexi was admitted to the ICU again. After several days and nights of emergency treatment and consultations with experts from home and abroad, she was finally out of danger, but she never woke up again.
Qi Hui looked at Le Xi lying quietly on the bed, ignoring the people around him who were trying to comfort him. Since Le Xi fell into a coma, Qi Hui had become like a wooden doll, neglecting to groom himself or comb his hair. The once confident and elegant man now looked like a wild man.
Yang Jingyu couldn't stand him anymore and punched him, cursing him for misjudging him. He thought Qi Hui was a rational person, but it turned out he was so cowardly. Qi Hui sat on the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Looking at the faint bloodstains on his palm, he muttered repeatedly in a low voice, "If he's gone, what's the point of my life? What's the point of all this?"