As expected, I fell seriously ill.
My fever was almost 40 degrees, and no matter how much antipyretic medicine I took, it was useless. I wanted to get up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital, but I didn't have the strength , so I fainted right in front of his door. When I woke up the next day, I was already lying in the hospital ward.
It's a VIP ward with all the necessary facilities, except for the lack of human touch.
I opened my swollen eyelids and saw the IV drip on the back of my hand. The transparent liquid trickled into my veins. The nanny sat by the bed and was helping me peel fruit. Suddenly, my eyes started to ache for no apparent reason, and something wet flowed down the corners of my eyes. I had a severe fever, and the person who stayed by my side was an aunt who was not related to me by blood.
"Xiao An, Xiao An, are you awake?" Auntie stopped what she was doing, came over happily, and quickly touched my head. "Well, it really has subsided a lot. You don't know. We were scared to death this morning."
She said we, not me.
Hearing her description, I actually grinned and smiled, and then the wet area at the corner of my eye was covered with water vapor again.
At this moment, I really, really felt pitiful.
Even the slightest bit of care would make me cry.
I am not a hypocritical girl, probably because I am too unpretentious. I have wrapped myself in steel and concrete for so many years, but the little care given by others is enough to make me lose my armor. Of course I know that Su Yuan does not really care about me, so I pity myself even more.
I turned over and faced away from my aunt.
She kept talking and I kept silent, but my tears kept flowing.
Sick people are always particularly vulnerable, and when I think of what happened last night, I still feel my heart is being torn. The scary thing is that before I can fully digest these emotions, Lin Fang and Ai Qing came to the hospital in a hurry.
When Ai Qing put a big bag of fruit on the bedside table, I was so shocked that I almost jumped out of the bed.
I don't remember the last time I saw these two people together. I just felt a constant pain in my head. Auntie helped me sit up. Lin Fang sat beside me with a happy face, holding my hand and stroking my pale face with her other hand.
"How did you get burned like this? Your dad called me this morning and asked me to come over to see you. I was so scared."
She looked full of pity, but I remembered the fear in her eyes when she saw me the last time we met.
I suddenly felt that she was extremely strange.
What made me even more unfamiliar was Ai Qing, who usually dressed strangely, but she obediently let her hair fall on her shoulders and wore a very ladylike dress. She smiled at me cheekily and asked me all the time - Sister, are you feeling better? I'll wash some fruit for you.
"Auntie, you go home first. My mom will take care of me here." I whispered to the stunned aunt who was standing beside me. She glanced at the two of us hesitantly, then nodded silently.
I don't like to air my dirty laundry in public, and I don't want my aunt to see me with a hideous face later.
After my aunt packed up and left, there were only three of us left in the ward.
I leaned against the bed, with a cold face, and kept looking at their faces. Ai Qing couldn't pretend anymore, and Lin Fang was a little embarrassed. She hurriedly asked Ai Qing to wash some fruit for me, but I stopped her at my command.
"You don't have to wash the fruit. I don't want to eat it either." I said hoarsely, with a sarcastic look on my face, "Are you two really here to visit me?"
"Didn't I buy so many fruits for you?" Lin Fang looked at me complainingly, "We are all family, you shouldn't always be like this. Ai Qing was supposed to go on a trip with her classmates today, but when she heard you were sick, she rushed over. After all, we are still sisters. Look how much she cares about you!"
"Yeah, I didn't even have time to travel."
Ai Qing put on that hypocritical face.
"I don't need you to worry about me." I was too lazy to talk nonsense. "Mom, I know you came to see me because Qiao Nuo and I are officially in love. Don't pretend that you really care about me."
"Jing'an, how did you talk to your mother?" She couldn't hold back her pride. "You're in love, and you've found such a good partner. As your mother, I'm happy for you. Isn't that normal? "
"Really? Aren't you worried that I didn't take my medicine today?" I sneered at her, my eyes full of disappointment.
"Su Jing'an, you are sick. Your mother has come a long way to see you. Please don't look so ungrateful!" Ai Qing stood up at this time as if speaking fair words. She also held Lin Fang 's shoulders, showing the deep love between mother and daughter.
Come on, I'm an outsider.
I took a deep breath and couldn't stop coughing. Lin Fang wanted to hand me some water, but I pushed her away mercilessly.
I was really fed up with these two people singing the same tune, so I raised my head and yelled at Ai Qing: "What qualifications do you have to criticize me? You don't even have the qualifications to stand here. If I hadn't pleaded for you, do you think you can stand here and pretend now?"
"I'm telling you, Ai Qing, if you dare to do something bad and hurt my friends again, do you think I can handle you?" It seemed that she didn't expect that I would react so excitedly. Ai Qing was so angry that her eyes widened and she clenched her fists.
Seeing that the atmosphere between her and me was tense, Lin Fang quickly came out to act as a peacemaker. She patted my back to calm me down and winked at Ai Qing.
"Hurry up and apologize to your sister. If it weren't for your sister, you really don't know what kind of punishment you would have received from the Guan family now!"
"Who is her sister? Stop acting like an idiot!" I was so angry that I tried to push Lin Fang hard, but because I was sick, I couldn't push her away.
Ai Qing suppressed her anger, bit her lip, came to me, and said with a trembling voice: "Jing'an, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I won't do such a thing again in the future."
Just looking at her, I suddenly sneered.
Although she was speaking in a humble and pleasing manner, her eyes were full of provocation. This was taught to her by Ai He. She tried to please me and cling to me countless times, and even went to Guan Yue's apartment to send an invitation. It was all Ai He's instructions. If she had such a brain, she would not have behaved like this in front of me.
I looked at Lin Fang, who was exhausted, and really wanted to ask her who her biological child was.
Who is related to you by blood?
Who do you want to rely on to live the rest of your life?
I just looked at her, hoping she would understand, but she started to plead for Ai Qing: "Look, Ai Qing has already apologized, and things haven't gotten that bad, so just forgive her. She won't do it again, and your Uncle Ai and I will definitely discipline her."
She used her nagging skills to try to brainwash me.
But she has no idea how stupid she is in my eyes.
She was not so stupid before. It was Ai and his daughter who changed her, making her more accustomed to relying on others, more indecisive, and more ignoring of my existence.
She was afraid of me when I was sick, but she also needed me who seemed to have everything.
She showed up when I needed her, and left when I needed her. I should have accumulated enough disappointment in her, but because she is my mother, even though I have seen her miserable life with my own eyes, I still can't help wanting to use all my strength to drag her out of the mud.
"Jing'an, if you keep that posture, you'll get the needle rolled over."
Just when I was arguing with the two of them, I saw Qiao Nuo, wearing a windbreaker, carrying a bag of food, walk in.
I sat there feeling wronged, and when I saw him, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. There was no other moment that could make me throw away all my armor and be willing to be the weak me like I am now.
Seeing me crying, Qiao Nuo laughed out loud. He strode over to me, completely ignoring the two people next to him, and directly took me into his arms, wiping my tears with his slender and clean fingers.
He didn't know that even my own mother had never treated me like this since I was a child. I leaned on his shoulder like a loser and cried even more sadly.
While I was crying, I scolded myself in my heart for being pretentious. I was clearly scolding others, but I still felt as aggrieved as Meng Jiangnu.
After wiping, he leaned over to my ear and whispered softly, "Be good, don't cry, I'm here."
It would have been fine if he hadn't said it, but after he said that, I wanted to pull out the IV drip and rely entirely on him.
"Oh, it's Qiao Nuo, hello, I'm Jing'an's mother." Lin Fang didn't expect Qiao Nuo to come, and she began to introduce herself awkwardly while pulling the dumbfounded Ai Qing, "Come on, call me brother-in-law, no no, call me brother!"
"Auntie, I think you are mistaken."
Qiao Nuo spoke to Lin Fang in a voice so cold that it seemed like it could freeze someone to death. Not only his voice, but also his expression when he looked at Lin Fang was completely different from when he looked at me. One was so gentle that flowers could bloom from the clouds, and the other could freeze rocks.
"I'm Jing'an's boyfriend, so I call you auntie, but I don't accept the title of brother or brother-in-law."
Seeing Qiao Nuo say this word by word, I wanted to applaud him to show my praise. He is much better than me. When he said this, Ai Qing almost cried. In fact, Qiao Nuo and I both knew that Lin Fang brought Ai Qing here to strengthen the relationship between her and us, so that we could become relatives in the future. But no matter Qiao Nuo or I, we were so disgusted by this big trouble that we almost swept her out with a broom.
"Ah, I was so abrupt!"
Even though Lin Fang was already extremely embarrassed, she still chose to hold on. For a moment, I felt sorry for her, but looking back, I was more blaming her.
"Jing'an hasn't forgiven this little sister yet, so naturally she can't call him brother-in-law or brother."
Ai Qing was about to cry. She kept pulling Lin Fang to leave, but Lin Fang still wanted to explain. Her eyes kept lingering on me, obviously hoping that I would say something to give her a way out. But I didn't say anything. I was talking to Qiao Nuo.
"Ai Qing, I hope you won't bother Su Jing'an again in the future. It's best to pretend that you don't know her, and don't try to cause trouble for her and her friends. If you don't listen, I will make your life miserable."
"I mean what I say."
He didn't even blink, as if he had memorized the lines beforehand, and said these words without any expression. The moment the words fell, I heard Ai Qing burst into tears, then shook off Lin Fang and ran out of the ward.
I froze in his arms, and suddenly realized that with a boyfriend like this, my future life would not be easy.
"You're not having a good time? Forget it! I think the one who's having a bad time is my cousin." Guan Yue ate French fries with ketchup while looking at me with contempt.
Since I started dating Qiao Nuo, Guan Yue and I have gone from being together almost every day to seeing each other once a week. Guan Yue was indignant about this, but the person she criticized was me.
I was deeply dissatisfied with this, but Guan Yue, who was an expert at handling all kinds of dissatisfaction, argued with me from all aspects and came to the conclusion that I valued women over friendship.
"Look at you. You used to come and accompany me and go shopping with me whenever you had nothing to do. But now, you're with Qiao Nuo every day!" She pouted, and only I could see this little girl look on her face.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm busy with exams recently. What if I fail?"
"You're such a good student, are you afraid of failing the exam?" She poured most of the hot cocoa into my cup to maintain her daily calorie intake. "In my opinion, you're just making excuses!"
I was speechless. Indeed, I have been enjoying spending time with Jonno recently.
Sometimes I go to their house to read and write with him, sometimes I go to concerts with him. When he is bored, I take him to the movies, the kind of movies that make people laugh easily. I laugh so hard that I slap my thighs, and he can't help but cover his mouth with his hands, and his body shakes.
After every date, he would walk me home. Even when he walked me to the doorstep, he was not in a hurry to leave. He held my hand and walked me around in the nearby park. It was actually quite boring, but because I was with him, I didn't feel bored at all. He would take the initiative to tell me about his childhood, and I was also willing to talk to him about things around me.
I originally thought that after all, Qiao Nuo is a handsome man admired by everyone, rich and handsome, and dating him must be different. But now when I really stand next to him, I realized that even the most high-ranking people desire the same kind of relationship that ordinary people expect. He is not a romantic person, but every minute and every second he accompanies you, you can feel that he really cares about you.
He treats you very differently from others. His indifferent eyes can only accommodate your shadow. He doesn't know that every time he holds my hand, I get so nervous that I want to die. He is like a sweet breeze that unexpectedly blows into my world. I am terrified and feel lucky.
I really do like him.
That night, when his kiss fell, I heard a firm voice in my heart.
Maybe I was attracted to him from the beginning, so I, who likes to show off, classified these as scheming. Because of this, when I faced failure, I had an excuse to walk away in style - see, I don't like him, I'm just using him.
I don’t know if it’s too late to start liking someone at the age of eighteen, but I know that he is the first person I am willing to give my heart to.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop acting like you're in love, it hurts my eyes!" She exaggeratedly made a "blinding my eyes" gesture with her fingers, and immediately pulled me back from my distracted state.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong, isn't that enough? Miss, how can I compensate you?" I gave in patiently.
"Why don't you take me to find Dong Mingyang!" She came over excitedly. My smile froze on my face and I said nothing. Last time I found Guan Yue in Dong Mingyang's coffee shop, Guan Yue asked me how I knew that place. I lied and said that a neighbor happened to know him and I got his whereabouts from him. Guan Yue believed it, so now she is targeting me.
"He seems to have been in trouble recently. He used to tolerate me going to see him, but now he doesn't want to see me anymore. I just wanted to give him a sweater I knitted myself." She sighed deeply, "My self-esteem is shattered."
"You're still looking for it even though your self-esteem is shattered." I took a big sip of hot cocoa with an expressionless face.
I really didn't want to get involved in the affairs of these two people. But I underestimated my indulgence of Guan Yue. When she saw that I didn't say anything, she stared at me with the pitiful eyes of a pug looking at its owner.
He stared at me like this for about five minutes, and then I resigned myself to my fate and surrendered.
Half an hour later, I took Guan Yue to the billiard hall that Dong Mingyang often went to. As expected, he was there.
Because of my relationship with him and the previous incident, I didn't go over and just chose a corner to stay. This was Guan Yue's own business, she should solve it herself. However, as soon as Guan Yue went upstairs, I heard a loud quarrel. I had a bad feeling, so I rushed upstairs right after them .
Sure enough, a fight had already started inside.
The curse words continued to be heard, and Guan Yue screamed, "Stop hitting me, stop hitting me, or I'll call the police." She held up her phone, her face full of panic, but she was as brave as a Saint Seiya. The men stopped and looked at Guan Yue with unfriendly faces. Dong Mingyang, who was beaten, turned around, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes paused when he saw me.
But he and I still acted like we didn't know each other.
I walked silently behind Guan Yue, put down her shaking hand, and looked at the gangsters with a cold expression. The gangsters recognized me.
In fact, those guys had troubled me a few months ago, when Dong Mingyang was not around. I slapped one of them and quickly ran back home. Later , I used my pocket money and connections to find someone to give those hooligans some warnings and lessons.
After being stared at by me for a long time, the leader of the group snorted coldly and then left with the others. Guan Yue took a deep breath, her eyebrows raised with joy, thinking she was so powerful. Of course I would not tell her what I had experienced, I did not want her to know my fierce side.
Guan Yue rushed to Dong Mingyang's side quickly, and was about to cry with heartache. She kept asking him how he was and why he didn't fight back. Dong Mingyang said nothing and pushed her away. Of course Dong Mingyang wouldn't fight back, because he had promised me that he would never fight with anyone again. Thinking of this, my heart felt like it was pierced by a row of fine needles, and it hurt constantly.
I couldn't bear to see Guan Yue disappointed, so I turned away. Guan Yue approached him undeterred, wanting to see his wound, but he still didn't even say a word to her, and walked away around her, ignoring me standing beside him, and went straight downstairs.
I didn't say anything as I watched him leaving, but Guan Yue couldn't hold back her tears and they fell down.
In fact, Guan Yue and Dong Mingyang are the same kind of people.
They always chase after people who don't love them, and will not turn back even if they hit a wall and get beaten to a bloody pulp.
That night, Guan Yue cried so hard that she wanted to go to the bar to get drunk, but I stopped her. I went to the supermarket to buy a dozen beers, dragged her back to the apartment, and drank with her until midnight. Fortunately, she was the one with the worst alcohol tolerance, and after three bottles, she fell asleep.
I was a little confused, but fortunately I was still conscious. At this time, Dong Mingyang called me and I was stunned. I didn't know how to face him, and I didn't know if he would scold me.
After thinking for a while, I finally got up, ran to the balcony, and pressed the answer button.
"Jing'an." A familiar voice came over, and I felt like crying for a moment.
"Yeah," I whispered back, and he asked quietly, "You're not asleep yet."
"Well, I haven't slept yet. Guan Yue drank too much, so I accompanied her."
Hearing the word "Guan Yue", his voice paused: "She is a good girl, I am sorry for her."
"When it comes to love, there's no right or wrong." I was embarrassed and at a loss for words.
"Yes, you are right, I thought so too, that's why I called you. I want to tell you that I am not angry with you for ignoring you during the day. I am still your best brother." His voice carried a reassuring power, and I almost cried.
In fact, I am not as cruel as I imagined. My heart is fragile as hell. I am afraid of losing him, losing Guan Yue, and losing anyone I love.
"Don't have any pressure or burden. I don't want you to be unhappy." At this time, he was still comforting me.
"How is your injury?" I suddenly remembered what happened during the day. "You are so stupid. People are bullying you, can't you just give them a hand?"
Hearing my trembling voice, he finally smiled: "Hey, I promised you something. Besides, I'm such a good fighter. If I fight back, I'll be the one in trouble."
"So how are you now? Are you still in pain?"
"It's just a minor injury, it's okay. When you came here today and stood there with such a domineering air, I knew those grandsons would be scared." He laughed continuously.
"You are the one with the domineering spirit!" I was also amused by him.
"Okay, I won't say any more. I'll contact you later. You should also go to bed early. Well, take good care of Guan Yue and don't let her drink next time." There was a hint of concern in his voice.
"Okay, okay." I responded, turned around, looked at Guan Yue who was sleeping soundly , and suddenly felt happy for her. Dong Mingyang was a very slow person. If he didn't like her, it would take a long time to get into his heart. Although this didn't mean anything, at least Guan Yue had made progress now.
This is a good thing for both of them.
Sometimes letting yourself go is the best way to solve a problem.