"Are you alright?! Waaah, Chang Nian, I thought I'd never see you again!"
Jian Changnian was afraid the porridge would spill, so she quickly put it aside and helped the person up.
"Well, we've seen it now."
"I knew Sun Qian was up to no good and would definitely try to harm you. This is too vicious! Is this something a human being would do?"
As she chattered on and on with her little mouth, everyone else in the ward cast disapproving glances at her.
Jian Changnian sighed, "Alright, alright, keep your voice down. We're at the hospital. I'm really fine. Look, I'm perfectly alright. By the way, if you go home this weekend, don't go around saying anything."
Zhou Mu wiped away the two tears that had just welled up in her eyes: "I know, I won't tell Grandma. Look, I bought you some food, bread and milk, all of which are good for your health!"
Zhou Mu is a student and doesn't have much living expenses, so Jian Changnian was already very happy that he could squeeze out time to visit her.
"No, no, you take it back and eat it yourself."
"I brought it all the way from school!" Zhou Mu pouted, expressing her dissatisfaction. But seeing that she still looked haggard, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and her eyes reddened slightly.
"If I had been there, I would have given her a good beating, beaten her until she was black and blue and couldn't take care of herself. Why, why did she bully you like that?"
In Zhou Mu's mind, drugging someone was something only a vicious villain in a novel could do.
Seeing Jian Changnian sitting in the hospital wearing a hospital gown, she felt a wave of fear. If the dosage of the medicine had been a little higher, or if she hadn't been brought to the hospital in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Jian Changnian patted her hand to comfort her: "Okay, it's really okay now. Look, I'm still as lively as ever."
She had barely finished speaking when there was a knock on the door.
Qiao Yuchu walked in, followed by Cheng Zhen.
Everyone in the room knew perfectly well what Cheng Zhen's feelings were for Sun Qian, and at that moment they all froze, staring at him.
The atmosphere was slightly tense.
It was Qiao Yuchu who broke the silence.
"Chengzhi'er happened to be passing by the hospital on her way home, so she said she wanted to come and see you, since you're a friend after all."
Cheng Zhen piled all the nutritional supplements she had brought over on the bedside table, her expression somewhat restrained and uneasy.
"Yes, I... I was just passing by, and I heard... I heard you were sick, so..."
Who would carry so much stuff when passing by a hospital? He's probably just pretending to visit Jian Changnian; he really wants to apologize on behalf of Sun Qian.
Zhou Mu was also annoyed with him at this moment, and snorted coldly, saying, "I've seen it. Thanks to Sun Qian, he's not dead, he's still alive. You should be happy now."
Jian Changnian tugged at her sleeve, signaling her not to talk nonsense, then turned and smiled at Cheng Zhen.
"I'm really fine. The doctor said I can be discharged next week."
"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. Then I won't disturb your rest any longer. Remember to take your nutritional supplements." For the first time, the usually cheerful young man showed an embarrassed expression. He knew that no one in the room liked him, so he lowered his head slightly and slunk out of the room.
In the corridor, Xie Shi'an stood against the wall with his hands in his pockets, having taken off his headphones.
"Want to grab a drink together?"
Cheng Zhen stopped in her tracks.
***
Inside the bar, a singer on stage was holding a guitar and softly singing an unknown English song.
A pile of empty wine bottles lay scattered haphazardly in front of Cheng Zhen.
He kept calling out to the bartender for another bottle while muttering to himself.
"She...she wasn't like this before..."
Xie Shi'an peeled peanuts and took a sip of his cocktail.
People change.
Cheng Zhen collapsed onto the table, waving her hand: "You have no idea... how beautiful she was the day I saw her at the bubble tea shop! I... I spilled... the bubble tea I just bought... she... she offered to... make me a new cup."
"She...she's really hardworking...and...she really loves playing badminton..."
After listening to him recount so many stories over and over again, it was as if he had told the whole story of how he met Sun Qian three times over.
Xie Shi'an put down the peanuts in his hand, turned to look at him seriously: "If you still consider me a friend, then break up with her."
The person, who was already completely drunk, suddenly raised his head. Perhaps it was Xie Shi'an's imagination, or perhaps it was the lighting.
Tears welled up in Cheng Zhen's eyes.
He knew Xie Shi'an even before Qiao Yuchu. The two had been classmates since kindergarten, like childhood friends. They played house together, fought together, shared secrets, and even took the blame for each other.
Even though he and Xie Shi'an have very different personalities, the only consensus they reached was that they both placed each other in the softest corner of their hearts as friends.
Cheng Zhen understands Xie Shi'an perhaps better than he understands himself. He knows what kind of person she is—serious, two-faced, but who values her friends immensely.
If Sun Qian hadn't actually done such a thing, she would never have said something like breaking off all ties with him.
Cheng Zhen's expression was conflicted and pained.
Xie Shi'an swirled the liquid in the cup.
“I don’t mean to force you to make a choice. We’ve been friends for so many years, and I want you to be happy more than anyone else. But you also need to think about whether this person is worth it for you to treat her this way.”
Cheng Zhen forced a smile, but it looked more like a grimace.
He was very drunk; he grabbed her sleeve and mumbled incoherently.
"Shi'an, have you ever liked someone? Do you know what that feeling is? The feeling of being completely disappointed in someone..."
Xie Shi'an got annoyed by his tugging and slapped him away. Cheng Zhen fell onto the bar counter, groaning.
This time he was truly unconscious.
Xie Shi'an raised his glass, lightly clinked it against the glass in front of him, and then drank it all in one gulp: "Yes, I hope she won't disappoint me."
My phone, which was on the table, vibrated.
She opened Zhou Mu's chat window and replied to his message.
Where are you?
"Memory Bar".
In less than fifteen minutes, the person arrived.
Zhou Mu helped the person into a taxi. Xie Shi'an gave Cheng Zhen's home address, and Zhou Mu clung to the car door, asking, "How are you going to get back? Why don't we go together?"
Xie Shi'an shook his head: "It's not on my way, you guys go ahead."
After saying that, he closed the car door for the person and instructed the driver to start the car.
She had been drinking and felt a little dizzy. She wanted to take a walk along the riverbank to feel the breeze when her phone suddenly rang. She took it out and saw that it was Qiao Yuchu.
"What happened? You drank alcohol? Don't you know the training team has a rule against drinking outside? How much did you drink? Where are you? I'm coming to find you."
A barrage of concern.
A smile appeared on Xie Shi'an's lips as he turned and leaned against the railing of the bridge over the river.
"I didn't drink much. I'll just go to the riverbank, get some fresh air to sober up, and then head back."
"Xie Shi'an! You drank and went to such a dangerous place! You just wait, you're not allowed to go anywhere!"
Qiao Yuchu finished shouting and slammed the phone down.
Xie Shi'an was somewhat dumbfounded, then a faint smile appeared on his lips. As she had said, he stopped moving and sat down obediently on the steps of the sidewalk.
When Qiao Yuchu found her, she was drowsy with her head down. She parked her bicycle on the side of the road and gently walked over to shake her arm.
"Shi'an?"
Xie Shi'an raised his head. Because he had been drinking, his pale face was flushed, and his eyes were somewhat unfocused.
She smiled at her and said, "You're here."
Qiao Yuchu helped the person up and complained, "How much did you drink?"
"Just one glass, orange juice... but that's more than I drink."
"Alright, alright, you don't even drink, how can you compare to him? Come on, I'll take you home. Can we go upstairs?"
She helped Xie Shi'an to the bicycle. Xie Shi'an tried to jump onto the back seat but couldn't. Helpless, Qiao Yuchu had to put her arm around Xie Shi'an's side and gently lift her up.
A uniquely feminine fragrance wafted over.
It smells like her shampoo.
Xie Shi'an sniffed, partly due to drunkenness and partly because he didn't want to let go, and hugged her back, burying his head in her arms.
When they were little, the two of them often had some intimate actions. Back then, Xie Shi'an was a tiny little ball of fluff, which was quite amusing.
As Xie Shi'an grew older, he became less clingy to her, and this hug made Qiao Yu Chu nostalgic for the past.
She lowered her voice and stroked her soft hair.
"What's wrong, hmm?"
Xie Shi'an just shook his head, not uttering a single word.
Qiao Yuchu gently massaged her temples: "Does your head hurt? How old are you? Why are you still so clingy?"
Xie Shi'an didn't know what reason she could use to prolong the hug. She remained silent, hoping that this moment could last a little longer, and then a little longer still.
The river water beneath the bridge rushes on without knowing anything, just like everything in the world, everything has an end.
Qiao Yuchu patted her head: "Okay, let's go home."
Xie Shi'an knew it was time to end the hug, so she gently nodded and released her embrace.
Qiao Yuchu got on her bike and weaved through the traffic, afraid that she would fall off.
Hold me in your arms.
Xie Shi'an did as she was told and pressed his head against her back.
Feeling the warmth coming from behind her, Qiao Yuchu smiled.
"Do you remember, it used to be like this, I drove you to class?"
After her grandfather passed away, she was left all alone and was often bullied by the children in the neighborhood.
Around that time, Qiao Yuchu's family moved in. It all seemed like destiny. When God closes a door, he opens a window. Qiao Yuchu was the only light in those darkest days.