Chapter 7 Darkness Swallows Dawn 04
For more than a week after the quarrel, I didn't see Ning Qiyuan, and we didn't make a phone call or send a text message. Every day when I came home from class and saw the empty apartment, I felt indescribably sad. I wanted to call him and send him a message, but when I picked up the phone, I didn't know what to say.
It was not until I was in class that afternoon that I received a text message from Ning Qiyuan. The text message was very short, with only one sentence:
"Shuchen, let's have dinner together tonight."
There were no extra words, but when I saw it, my eyes almost turned red, and I quickly replied to him: "Okay, I'll cook for you myself."
As soon as the class was over, I went directly to the supermarket near the school to buy vegetables. I went too late, and the remaining vegetables might not be fresh. Ning Qiyuan is a bit picky about food. If the vegetables are not fresh, he will not eat a second bite no matter how delicious they are.
What I didn’t expect was that when I was picking vegetables in the vegetable area, I would receive a call from Jiang Sijin. She hadn’t called me for a long time. I didn’t hesitate and picked up the phone immediately.
Jiang Sijin's voice was a little panicked: "Shuchen, my dad is in trouble. Please help me go to the hospital to see if he is okay. I'm still at the airport and I'm about to go back."
"Okay." I answered without thinking, and after asking about the hospital his father was in, I consoled her a few more times and hung up the phone. I looked at the food in my hand and hesitated for a moment, but I finally made up my mind, went back to the apartment to put down my things, and ran straight to the hospital.
On the way there, I called Ning Qiyuan, but the call didn't go through, so I could only send him a text message to tell him what happened.
Uncle Jiang was sentenced to life imprisonment and has been kept in prison in Li City ever since. If he had not been seriously ill, he would not have come to the hospital for treatment.
I rushed to the hospital and went outside the emergency room after asking the nurse. Uncle Jiang was still receiving first aid. There were two policemen guarding the door of the emergency room. When they saw me running over, they reached out to stop me.
I hurriedly explained my identity and purpose, but the police still refused to tell me a word, only saying that if I was not a family member, I had no right to know the patient's condition.
I had no choice but to sit outside the emergency room and wait. I called Jiang Sijin but couldn't get through. I thought she had probably already boarded the plane.
The weather was still a little cold at the beginning of spring, and the temperature in the hospital was always several degrees lower than outside. As I sat there, I felt cold all over.
The light at the door of the emergency room is still on. I don’t know how long I have to wait for it to end, but at least until Jiang Sijin comes, I will stay here for her.
I didn't know whether Ning Qiyuan had seen the text message I sent him. We had agreed to have dinner together in the evening, but now I was in the hospital. I could guess that Ning Qiyuan was angry. I thought about it, looked at the ring on my finger, and called Ning Qiyuan again.
A familiar cell phone ringtone suddenly came into my ears. I looked up in the direction of the sound and saw Ning Qiyuan walking towards me under the bright white light, holding a cell phone.
I stood up immediately, but before I could even ask "Why are you here?" I was stunned by the coldness that filled his body.
He walked up to me and stood still, then asked me in a calm voice, "Why are you meddling in other people's business?"
"Sijin's father is sick, I came to see him on her behalf, isn't this..."
"Come back with me." Before I could finish my words, he grabbed my hand and turned to leave.
I struggled: "I can't leave yet, I have to wait for Sijin to come."
Ning Qiyuan stopped and looked back at me, holding my wrist tightly. He said, "You can't do anything here. There are doctors and police watching, and Jiang Sijin will be back soon."
"Qiyuan, I'm Sijin's only friend." I frowned and looked at him, "She called and begged me to come and see her, how could I leave without waiting for her to come?"
"What about me?" Ning Qiyuan let go of my hand, a mocking smile on his face, "I haven't even come back yet, and I saw a message like that from you. Do you know how disappointed I am? In your eyes, friends are more important than me?"
"No." Why did he suddenly bring up this? I explained to him, "I'm sorry, Qi Yuan, I know I disappointed you, but I couldn't not come!"
"What are you doing here? Are you here to see a criminal?" Ning Qiyuan's voice became even colder, piercing my heart with pain. "Why are you so saintly?"
"Ning Qiyuan!" I called his name, wanting him to stop saying such things.
"Tong Shuchen." Ning Qiyuan also called my name, "I only ask you one question, will you come back with me?"
"I'm not……"
"I see."
He no longer looked at me, and left silently with quick steps.
"Ning Qiyuan!" I hurriedly chased him for a few steps, feeling a little pain in my heart. I didn't understand why he was like this. I just wanted to help Jiang Sijin. Was this wrong?
I feel like I don't quite understand him, or maybe I've never understood him.
Near the early hours of the morning, Jiang Sijin arrived at the hospital. Seeing her exhausted and vulnerable appearance, I hurried forward to hug her. I said, "Uncle Jiang is in the ward now. There are police guarding the door. I am not a family member, so I am not allowed to go into the ward to see him."
"Thank you, Shuchen." Jiang Sijin gently pushed me away, "It's late now, you should go back first."
"But……"
"I'll be fine on my own, don't worry."
After not seeing her for several months, there was a firmness in Jiang Sijin's eyes and brows that was not there before. Her whole aura seemed to have changed, and she was not as sharp as before. I suddenly felt so sorry for her.
People will transform as they grow up, but transformation is often accompanied by pain.
If we had a choice, we probably wouldn't want to grow up this way.
I didn't ask Jiang Sijin to send me off. I told her to call me if anything happened, and then I left the hospital alone.
It was already midnight and there were few . I took out my cell phone, only to find that it had run out of battery and turned off automatically.
I shrank back in the cold evening wind, and when I thought of Ning Qiyuan's back as he turned around without hesitation, I felt a little aggrieved.
Doesn't he worry about me at all?
I stood on the deserted street, feeling like an abandoned child. I suddenly wanted to go home, back to the home that belonged to Ning Qiyuan and me.
At this moment, the sound of a car horn suddenly rang out, almost breaking the sky. At the same time, a strong light shone into my eyes, making it difficult for me to open my eyes.
By the time I got used to the light in front of me, a black car stopped by the roadside. The person in the car was none other than Ning Qiyuan who had left me.
