“But we can’t be together, we can’t,” Xiao Xiao shook her head painfully. “Yes,” she said, “I’m looking for an excuse to break up. Ever since I realized I’ve fallen in love with you, I’ve been looking for this excuse. It’s not because of your family background, it’s not because of your rigidity and dullness, it’s all just an excuse.”
Jiang Sicheng was getting anxious. He shook Xiao Xiao's shoulder and asked, "Why? What are you afraid of? What exactly are you afraid of?"
Xiao Xiao smiled bitterly: "Fine, I'll tell you why I broke up with you. It's because I... have cancer, leukemia. Even if you count by the days, I only have 365 more days to live. What can I offer you then? Hmm? They didn't give me any time..."
Jiang Sicheng froze, staring blankly at Xiao Xiao.
It took Jiang Sicheng a full minute to react. His hand, which was gripping Xiao Xiao's shoulder, trembled slightly, and the trembling seemed to be getting more and more pronounced. "You're lying to me, aren't you?" he asked in a trembling voice.
Xiao Xiao didn't speak, but just looked at him calmly, a bitter smile curving her lips.
Jiang Sicheng stared intently at Xiao Xiao, as if he had suddenly understood everything. He felt a sharp emptiness in his chest, as if his heart had disappeared. He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to control his trembling hands. He was a man, and no matter what happened, he would give her someone to rely on…
After a long while, he finally managed a forced smile, pulled Xiao Xiao into his arms, and said, "I'm not afraid. Let's get married. Let's get married."
Xiao Xiao pushed him away, "Since we are destined to part, I choose to be separated by life rather than by death..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Sicheng roared hoarsely, his eyes reddening despite his anger. "I won't allow you to talk nonsense again! I won't allow you to talk nonsense again! I don't believe our fate is only for a year! Leukemia can be cured! It definitely can, I will definitely cure you! I'll let you live a healthy life, marry me, have my children, and then we'll live together...until we grow old! You believe me..."
Xiao Xiao gazed at him for a long time, then smiled slightly: "I believe you, and I also believe I can live to be a hundred years old." Xiao Xiao smiled and snapped her fingers coolly. "Alright, an eye for an eye, we're even!"
Turning around, she shrugged and shivered, muttering under her breath, "Ugh, the dialogue in Korean dramas is really disgusting!"
Jiang Sicheng froze completely, and after a long while, he turned Xiao Xiao's shoulder and asked softly, "Are you lying to me?"
Xiao Xiao saw that although his voice was soft, his face looked terrible, and she felt a little guilty. She dared not joke around anymore, but wanted to use her invincible trick. She tiptoed to kiss his lips.
Jiang Sicheng gently pushed Xiao Xiao away, but looked straight at her and asked seriously, "Are you lying to me?"
Xiao Xiao nodded, unable to forget to argue: "You lied to me first, you have no right to criticize me!"
"Just this once!" Jiang Sicheng said softly. "Just this once. You can never joke about yourself again. I was wrong. You can punish me however you want, but you can't joke about your own body. Do you understand?"
Xiao Xiao nodded, but couldn't help feeling a little annoyed. He had tricked her first, so why was she acting like she was in the wrong? Oh well, seeing that he had bumped his head, he must be confused, so she decided not to argue with him for now.
"You really mean it when you say you love me, don't you?" he asked again.
Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and readily nodded, "Well, I wasn't sure before tonight, but now that I am, I choose to face reality and continue dating!"
Jiang Sicheng didn't say a word, but slowly pulled Xiao Xiao into his arms, rested his head on her shoulder, and remained motionless for a long time.
As time passed, Xiao Xiao felt something was wrong and tried to push him away, but he held her tightly.
"Hey, Jiang Sicheng, what's wrong?"
Jiang Sicheng remained silent, stubbornly resting his head on her shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"My head hurts, don't move, let me lean against you for a while," Jiang Sicheng said through his nose, acting like a spoiled child.
Xiao Xiao was both amused and exasperated. "Let me tell you, Jiang Sicheng, this trench coat belongs to Zhang Jingzhi! If you get it dirty, you'll have to pay for a new one. It's her most expensive piece of clothing! She's not like me; she's very stingy!"
Jiang Sicheng remained unmoved.
"Hello--"
“I love you,” Jiang Sicheng suddenly said, his voice a little muffled, “Xiao Xiao, I love you.”
Zhang Jingzhi
“I love you,” Jiang Sicheng suddenly said, his voice a little muffled, “Xiao Xiao, I love you.”
Xiao Xiao stood there, speechless. The damp warmth on her shoulder traveled to her heart, warming it as well. Although he was childish, she knew he loved her, regardless of the past or the future. As long as he loved her now, that was enough…
After a sleepless night, Xiao Xiao and Jiang Sicheng enjoyed a beautiful night together, while Zhang Jingzhi was honorably hospitalized.
Zhang Jingzhi was terrified of running. Back in school, she would catch a heatstroke after running 800 meters. This time, she was already suffering from a cold, fever, and weak legs. Then, she ran more than one 800-meter race in her pajamas. She was so shocked and frightened that she completely collapsed.
She had just finished running around in the evening and was covered in sweat when the wind blew it away, but her fever spiked again, almost reaching 41 degrees Celsius. Everyone knows that even if a child has a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, it may not seem like much, but adults can't stand it. So Zhang Jingzhi's face was as red as a warmed sweet potato. She was delirious with fever and was smiling at everyone she saw. She was so radiant!
It was convenient, though. I just took off my pajamas, changed into a hospital gown, and was admitted to the hospital right there. There was no need to bother with an ambulance.
Xiao Xiao felt somewhat sorry for Zhang Jingzhi, Jiang Sicheng felt very sorry for Zhang Jingzhi, and Zhang Jingzhi, of course, felt even more sorry for them! So, when they were in the hospital, their eyes and gestures were like those of the Empress Dowager Cixi on TV. Even if they couldn't quite match her, they weren't far off!
After being on an IV drip for more than a day, Zhang Jingzhi finally regained some vitality. She stopped pretending and immediately perked up, ordering Xiao Xiao around like she was her adopted daughter-in-law. As for Jiang Sicheng, he was such an honest and simple boy, always waiting outside with his tail between his legs. When he saw Zhang Jingzhi, he was practically begging for her attention and shouting "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Even so, Zhang Jingzhi's resentment remained unabated. She squinted at everyone with a 45-degree angle, and spoke in a high-pitched voice, even using the Tangshan accent.
The nurse had just finished taking Zhang Jingzhi's temperature and left when Zhang Jingzhi, half-leaning on the bed, craned her neck and shouted sarcastically into the outer room, "Hey Xiao Xiao, why don't you have any temper at all? They played you like that, and you just let it go? If it were me, I would have slapped them across the face long ago. But you, you're actually making up with them. How embarrassing!"
I've lost count of how many times I've said that.
Xiao Xiao sat on the edge of the bed, peeling oranges for her with her head down, pretending not to hear.
Jiang Sicheng sat on the sofa in the outer room, his lips twitching slightly, his hands clenched tightly together, and he kept repeating to himself: Endure, endure, I will endure.
Xiao Xiao peeled the orange and handed it to Zhang Jingzhi, who glanced at it and said, "I have a sore throat, and you're still peeling oranges for me? No, I want to eat tangerines!"
Xiao Xiao had no temper. She put down the tangerine and peeled an orange for her, casually asking, "You're so old and still have such a high fever. Should we go and collect your soul?"
Zhang Jingzhi was a little stunned and asked, "What kind of soul are you collecting?"
Xiao Xiao laughed and said, "I think you were scared by a rat that night, which is why you have such a high fever. Maybe I should take some millet to the school lecture hall to have your soul collected, and maybe you'll get better."
"Can you collect souls?"
"Won't."
Zhang Jingzhi rolled her eyes. "If you don't know anything, why did you even bother collecting that fart?!"
Xiao Xiao chuckled and nodded, "Okay, I'll go collect it!"
Jiang Sicheng's muffled laughter came from the outer room.
Zhang Jingzhi froze for a moment, then realized that Xiao Xiao was indirectly insulting her. She was so angry her mouth twisted in anger. Immediately forgetting her resentment towards Yang Lei, she pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Xiao: "You, you, you—"
Xiao Xiao laughed, reached out and pressed Zhang Jingzhi's hand down, stuffed a peeled orange into her mouth, and said with a smile, "Remember, to be a lady, don't use foul language, not even vulgar words! Learn from me, little sister."
Zhang Jingzhi immediately jumped off the bed, knowing that she would never be a match for Xiao Xiao.
When Jiang Sicheng saw Xiao Xiao come out, he gave her a thumbs up, his expression full of admiration and pride. He reached out and pulled Xiao Xiao into his arms, about to kiss her on the lips.
Zhang Jingzhi suddenly shouted from inside the house, "Stop! Jiang Sicheng, don't you dare steal food!"
Jiang Sicheng was startled and hurriedly let go of her hand. He even took a step back guiltily and glanced awkwardly into the inner room. He then looked back at Xiao Xiao, the honest girl with a look of confusion in her eyes: How could she know what they were doing outside?
Zhang Jingzhi lay on the bed with her eyes half-closed. Hearing the noise from the outer room, she raised the corners of her mouth triumphantly, feeling that she had finally won back the game.
In the outer room, Xiao Xiao chuckled softly, tiptoed and kissed Jiang Sicheng's lips, saying gently, "You should go back first. You can tell from her confident tone that everything is fine now. I can manage on my own here."
Jiang Sicheng was indeed somewhat intimidated by Zhang Jingzhi and couldn't wait to get away from this "lady." He wanted to leave, but he was worried about Xiao Xiao. Xiao Xiao saw through his thoughts and smiled as she pushed him towards the door.
Jiang Sicheng looked back at Xiao Xiao with reluctance: "Take care of yourself too."
"Yes, I know, don't worry."
After seeing Jiang Sicheng off, Xiao Xiao returned to the inner room and sat down by Zhang Jingzhi's bed. She glanced at Zhang Jingzhi with her almond-shaped eyes, put her hand on Zhang Jingzhi's waist, and said with a half-smile, "Alright, Jiang Sicheng is gone, now it's just the two of us sisters. Let's have a good chat."
Zhang Jingzhi quickly moved away from Xiao Xiao's hand, a fawning smile on her face. "Hehe, sister, good sister, don't hit me! I'm still a patient! I was only saying those things to Officer Jiang! I was doing it for your own good, to make him feel guilty, otherwise what if he tries this again?"
“This wasn’t his idea; it was Ah Song’s.”
“Yes, yes,” Zhang Jingzhi nodded quickly, “But it’s also related to him, isn’t it?”
"I'll let you off this time because of your loyalty to your sister. But if you dare to do this again, I—" Xiao Xiao said, putting her hand to her mouth, breathing out two breaths, and smiling charmingly at Zhang Jingzhi with her eyes narrowed.
Zhang Jingzhi quickly raised her hands and shouted, "Oh! Sister, I would never do it again, even if you killed me! I promise, I promise, I swear on my life!"
After a while, Zhang Jingzhi couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Xiao, are we just going to let him off so easily?"
"Um!"
Zhang Jingzhi clicked her tongue twice, tilted her head to look at Xiao Xiao, and said, "I really don't understand you. Any woman would be furious after making such a fuss, but you didn't react at all? Are you even a woman?"
Xiao Xiao glanced at Zhang Jingzhi and asked, "How should a woman react?"
“Well, for example, just walk away, for example, um—” Zhang Jingzhi didn’t know how to continue. To put it bluntly, lying about a car accident was a bit like playing tricks on people. Although the idea wasn’t Jiang Sicheng’s, it was still approved by him, wasn’t it? His feelings at the time were understandable, but his actions were definitely not right.
When there are such melodramatic plots on TV, doesn't the female lead usually just turn around and leave? And that's considered gentle; if she encountered someone with a bit of personality, she'd probably slap them.
"Do you think I love him?" Xiao Xiao asked.
Zhang Jing thought to herself, "Do you need to ask me whether you love him or not?" But seeing Xiao Xiao asking her, she honestly replied, "I think you love him."
Xiao Xiao smiled, picked up an apple and slowly peeled it, "So you can tell I love him too?"
Zhang Jingzhi nodded, thinking to herself, "If you don't love him, why are you running around like that?"
"That settles it. After all this commotion, I'm sure I love him. Since I love him, why should we keep torturing each other with this stubbornness?" Xiao Xiao said. "Life is short. A third of it is spent sleeping, and more than a third is spent working. Then there's that period of confusion. Now that I've finally made up my mind, why should I let something as pointless as being stubborn take up my precious time?"
Zhang Jingzhi stared blankly at Xiao Xiao for a long while before leaning closer to her, exclaiming with an exaggerated expression, "Xiao Xiao, you really are a philosopher!"
Xiao Xiao ignored her, cut off a piece of apple, and Zhang Jingzhi reached out to take it, but Xiao Xiao put it in her own mouth instead.
"Hello, hello, who's the patient?"
Xiao Xiao laughed and stuffed the remaining apple into her hand. "Alright, enough nonsense. I have an important meeting this afternoon and have to go back to the company. What are you going to do here?"
Zhang Jingzhi pouted, looking aggrieved: "Go ahead, leave me here to fend for myself. Anyway, I'm unwanted by my parents, nobody cares about me!"
Seeing that Zhang Jingzhi was about to use the self-inflicted injury trick again, Xiao Xiao rolled her eyes helplessly.
Zhang Jingzhi asked again, "Xiao Xiao, do you think people are especially vulnerable when they're sick? Why do I suddenly feel so pathetic?"
"Zhang Jingzhi, have you ever been strong?" Xiao Xiao took out her phone. "Tell me, which one should I notify?"
Which one?
Xiao Xiao laughed and said, "Yang Lei or Wang Yuhan, give me a straight answer and I'll grant your wish."
Zhang Jingzhi fell silent, shrank further under the covers, and after a long while said in a muffled voice, "Don't tell anyone!"
Seeing Zhang Jingzhi's pitiful state, Xiao Xiao sighed and reached out to pull back her blanket. "Zhang Jingzhi, you'll have to face this sooner or later. This is a good opportunity. At least you still have a choice now. Don't wait until you become an older single woman, then you won't have any more ambiguous relationships!"
“What choice? I’ve completely offended Wang Yuhan. What would it mean if I went back now? Would I make him pity me or laugh at me? Yang Lei is someone I have to chase after. I’ve been sick for three days and he hasn’t even called. How am I supposed to notify him? Tell him I’m sick? Would I be so pathetic as to do that?”
People are prone to being unreasonable when they are sick, let alone someone like Zhang Jingzhi who is not fond of reason. Although Xiao Xiao doesn't think highly of Yang Lei, she honestly feels that Yang Lei was a bit wronged this time, since he didn't know she was sick.
Xiao Xiao rarely spoke up with a fair and reasonable statement: "He didn't know you were sick."
Chu Yang