Incapable de respirer

Chapitre 2

Upon hearing the eight characters, the wandering Taoist pondered for a long time before finally saying, "The water is too shallow; it cannot accommodate a dragon and a phoenix coexisting."

Without offering any further explanation, he simply drifted away. Lanpu's father listened to this without understanding what had happened.

After discussing it with his family at home, they still couldn't reach a conclusion. They even considered sending Lanpu...

The idea of taking the child out to be raised was considered, but Lanpu suffered from severe acclimatization problems, becoming ill as soon as she left the city.

Red rashes appeared on her body, she vomited and had diarrhea, and would faint from fever at the slightest provocation. After several such episodes, her mother was heartbroken.

He wanted to die, so he slowly let the thought fade. Seeing that Lanpu doted on his younger brother and guarded him all day...

Protecting her younger brother, the parents often heard the two children giggling together, still completely oblivious.

The baby would smile at Lanpu all day long. It seemed the two children had a unique way of communicating.

Gradually, the family stopped mentioning it.

Lan Pu started school early; by the time her younger brother Lan Ruo was five, Lan Pu was already in the third grade of elementary school.

The two brothers were exceptionally close. The first thing Lan Pu did after school was to look for her brother. Lan Ruo also often went to the building...

They waited at the crossroads for Lan Pu's return. Often, before others even knew, Lan Ruo would start calling out, "Sister is back!"

Within minutes, Lan Pu's footsteps would echo in the corridor. Lan Ruo rushed to open the door, Yin...

Qindi took her older sister's schoolbag and shoes. Seeing the two children getting along so well, the parents were quite moved.

I feel relieved, but occasionally, when I recall the words of the wandering Taoist, a slight unease creeps into my heart, like a gentle breeze.

The ripples on the water were barely felt before they were gone. Both children were equally bright and clever, except for Lan...

Pu is rather quiet. She doesn't like talking to outsiders, but she has endless things to say in front of Lan Ruo.

Indeed, she chattered and laughed all day long, sometimes making her parents think...

Thinking back to when she was two years old and still didn't speak, it felt like something from a past life. The days passed uneventfully.

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, Lanpu was sixteen, and Lanruo was thirteen.

The summer Lanpu was sixteen was the time for her college entrance exams. Lanpu was already living at school at that time.

She hadn't been home for over a month. Lan Ruo was starting to feel anxious and restless at home. Having grown up like this, two...

The children had never been separated for so long. Lanpu was also quite restless at school. At that time, Wan'er...

She was Lanpu's deskmate. The two girls often walked through the campus together, carrying their books, after evening self-study.

Go back to the dormitory. Wan'er always tries to cheer Lan Pu up, but Lan Pu has a vague feeling of unease.

But that unease was quickly forgotten amidst the intense studying. In the three days leading up to the college entrance exam...

As usual, Wan'er and Lan Pu walked back to their dormitory across the campus after evening self-study. When they passed Tuanjiehu Lake...

Then, Wan'er casually remarked, "The day before yesterday, someone threw a dead baby into the lake..."

"The umbilical cord is still connected." Lan Pu couldn't help but shudder. "Don't say anymore." Lan Pu was very reluctant.

"Comfortably," she said. "What's wrong?" Wan'er turned to look at Lan Pu, puzzled. Lan Pu frowned.

A frown appeared on her face. "I don't know, I'm a little cold." They were walking through a grove of trees.

A gentle breeze blew by, and Wan'er excitedly ran a few steps forward. "Ah, it feels so good!" Wan'er hugged her arms.

She twirled around, textbook in hand. The summer breeze still carried a stifling, damp air into the night, but...

The wind, however, was chillingly cold. Then, Lan Pu called out in a strange voice from behind, "Wan'er—"

Wan'er turned her head and saw Lan Pu leaning against a tree as if she were about to lose her balance. Wan'er hurriedly went over to support Lan Pu, asking repeatedly, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" "Nothing, I just felt like that gust of wind just now really chilled me to the bone... I feel so cold..."

Wan'er reached out and touched Lan Pu's forehead, discovering that Lan Pu had developed a high fever again.

Lan Pu had a fever for three days straight, and no one expected her to suddenly fall into a coma at such a crucial moment. On the first day, she insisted on attending classes, but couldn't manage more than half a period. At noon, her classmates rushed her to the hospital, where the doctor frowned and only prescribed an IV drip. Teachers and classmates were all worried for Lan Pu, with only three days left until the college entrance exam. Her homeroom teacher, who always doted on Lan Pu, burst into tears upon seeing her delirious state. "Failing the exam this year is a minor matter," she said as she left the hospital room. "I've never seen such a dangerous fever; I'm afraid…"

She didn't dare to say anything more.

---janeadam

Reply [5]: Lan Pu, who was ill, had nightmares. One night, she dreamed that she was wearing a plain white veil.

Standing on the platform of a pavilion in a courtyard, the wind gently rustled the leaves of the chinaberry trees.

For a moment she clearly saw a squirrel dart past overhead, and she stared fixedly at the opposite side.

The room. The window frames were covered with pale purple gauze, and through the gauze she could see a woman dressed in white.

She swayed precariously in the air, a fallen stool beneath her feet. She could even clearly see those white...

A tiny, exquisitely delicate pink lotus flower was embroidered on the satin shoe; it belonged to the woman in white.

The only part of a person's body that wasn't pure white. For a moment, she seemed to have entered a dark shrine again.

Scattered spiderwebs, the grotesque characters on the overturned memorial tablets—all vanished in an instant.

Several hands were trying to grasp something. There was a large pool of blood on the ground, the stains black… A moment later she…

They arrived at another bridge when a fierce-looking middle-aged woman reached out to grab her hand. She panicked.

She was dodging when suddenly a group of people walked towards her. She noticed, somewhat strangely, that they were dressed in black.

The colored clothes had no stitches, so they looked like a piece of black cloth wrapped around her body. A man reached out to her...

Suddenly, she calmly placed her hand in his. He led her by the hand and walked...

In the middle of the stone arch bridge, suddenly the fierce-looking middle-aged woman next to him rushed up and viciously attacked.

With a push, she fell into the dark water below the bridge. In that instant of falling, she panicked...

I looked up, trying to call out, but no sound came out. I could only vaguely make out two characters carved on the bridgehead.

"What can I do?" She struggled and woke up instantly, a gasp choking her throat.

It pierced the tranquility of the ward with a sharp sound.

"You're awake! You're awake!" Someone shook her shoulders vigorously, and she wearily opened her eyes.

Then I saw my father standing guard by my bedside. "What time is it? Dad, how long have you been here?" "You have..."

He's been in a coma for three days, and tomorrow is the college entrance exam. "It's alright," the father said, weeping with joy.

"If you can't take the exam this year, there's always next year. You should rest well..." "No, I'll still go take the exam."

"I can do it." Lanpu said, getting out of bed. Her father looked at her in surprise; it was the same old story.

After a high fever, I suddenly and inexplicably recovered. Last night, the hospital issued a critical condition notice.

The doctor shook his head and said, "We can't find the cause of the fever." Everyone thought Lan Pu...

It seems it's not going to work. Lanpu's mother, after waiting for two days, heard the news and cried all the way home.

I took Lan Ruo with me, thinking it would be the only time Lan Ruo could see her sister one last time, but unexpectedly Lan Pu gave birth to a dragon again.

He sat up abruptly.

Lan Pu was discharged from the hospital that evening, and the next day, Lan Pu was like any other ordinary student.

Lan Pu quietly entered the college entrance examination hall. After giving a few instructions, Lan Pu's father hurriedly rushed home.

Lanpu's mother went home at noon to take care of Lanruo, but hadn't returned by evening, nor had she heard from her.

This worried him greatly. Lan Pu said to his father, "Don't call Mom and Lan Ruo over, anyway, I..."

Okay, I'll go home after the exams are over these few days. Let them wait at home. Coming here to see me is actually...

"You're distracted." Lanpu's homeroom teacher affectionately stroked Lanpu's hair and said to her father, "Yes, that's right."

"I'll take care of this child for the next few days, so don't worry." Lan Pu's father went back home for the college entrance exam.

They didn't reappear for the next three days.

Back then, the college entrance exam consisted of seven subjects, with two subjects taken on the last afternoon. Lan Pu remained calm.

I managed to pass the first five exams, but on the last afternoon, I suddenly felt anxious.

Death. Wan'er noticed her anxiety and was quite surprised. Lan Pu had always been very composed, though...

Although she was sick for a few days, it wouldn't affect her performance, so there was no reason for her to be nervous. Only Lanpu herself...

She knew that the panic was unfounded; she felt as if something was leaving her.

She clearly felt that it was something very important to her, but she didn't know what it was.

That afternoon, for the first time ever, she didn't hand in her exam paper early, and she didn't even know what she had written on it.

She only realized the exam was over when the proctor took the paper from her. She was completely bewildered.

Stumbling out of the exam hall in a daze, she saw Wan'er and the homeroom teacher standing together talking. She stared straight ahead...

She walked over. "Wan'er," she called softly, and Wan'er seemed struck dumb as if by lightning.

She shuddered, turned around, and for a moment she clearly caught the panic in her eyes. She

She looked up at her homeroom teacher with a puzzled expression, but the teacher also looked away. "You've finished your exams,"

"How did the exam go?" Wan'er forced a smile. She didn't want to answer the question, she just said lightly...

She said softly, "I want to go home."

"No!" Wan'er cried out instinctively, as if burned by something, then realized...

He realized he had lost his composure. "It's my last night at school, why the rush? With my classmates..."

"Let's get together and chat, or come stay at my place for a few days before going home," Wan'er said with a smile.

Lan Pu clearly understood the forced smile, but she didn't want to think about it. At that moment, she...

She felt extremely tired. "I want to go home. I miss Lanruo," Lanpu said softly.

He turned and left. Wan'er hesitated for a moment and followed. "I'll go back with you."

---janeadam

Reply [6]: The family obviously didn't expect Lanpu to come home right after the exam. So, when Lanpu pushed away

When the door opened, everyone froze. In the silent silence, they watched as Lanpu calmly walked step by step...