Chapter 8 When the sky gets dark enough, the stars will shine brightly 2
After a drift brake, a car stopped in front of the hospital.
The driver was Liu Jiaran, who was wearing large-framed sunglasses, and her eyes behind the sunglasses were red with anger. Zhong Jialiang told her that Qiu Zhuoping and Chen Yiying were both in the hospital, and they were taking care of Qiu's father like a family.
"Why, why do you get all the good things! I have paid so much, why do I only get the cold eyes of Brother Zhuo Ping! It's not fair, it's not fair!" Liu Jiaran slammed the car door, took off her sunglasses, and threw them directly into the unlocked car. She stepped on high heels, brushed her curly hair, and walked towards the direction indicated by the nurse.
The well-greened yard was covered in sunlight. The yard was as big as a football field. The mottled shadows of the trees trembled on the ground, like layers of waves blown by the wind. The shadows of the flying birds fell on the ground and on people. The managers in the yard were watering the flowers, plants and trees, and many people in hospital gowns were walking in the yard.
Liu Jiaran searched the yard with her eyes, and after confirming the target, she walked straight over.
"Zhuo Ping, look at that flower. It's so beautiful. If you pick it and give it to your mother, it will look very beautiful." Father Qiu, who was sitting in a wheelchair, said, pointing to the big red flower in the bush.
Qiu Zhuoping bent down slightly to pick the flower, then stood up and inserted the fresh flower into Chen Yiying's hair near her ear.
The red flowers with water droplets on them look even more beautiful in the sun, like hairpins on a bride's head.
"Qiu Zhuoping, you are so heartless. How did I treat you when your family was in trouble? Now that you are living a good life, you have turned against me, right?" Liu Jiaran stepped forward and pushed Qiu Zhuoping, wishing to vent all her grievances and dissatisfaction on him.
"Liu Jiaran, this is a hospital. We can talk alone later if there is anything." Qiu Zhuoping frowned slightly. While remaining calm, he hoped that Liu Jiaran could also calm down.
"I know that you have always resented me because of your mother. Qiu Zhuoping, aging, illness and death are inevitable! Back then, I didn't know that you would miss the last time you saw your mother because of that phone call. I have always blamed myself for this. I have been trying to help you, but why do you still hate me? Why do you only remember my bad side, but not my good side!"
Liu Jiaran's words touched Qiu's father. His expression seemed very complicated, and Yiying seemed to see him trembling.
"Let's go for a walk over there." Yiying hurriedly turned the wheelchair and pushed Father Qiu to another place full of flowers.
"I don't blame you anymore, and you don't have to blame yourself anymore. I know you have been helping us, and I know you have been very good to me. I will remember what I said." Qiu Zhuoping watched Yiying and his father go away before speaking slowly.
"Okay, since my brother Zhuo Ping is a man of his word, can you promise me that next week..."
"When Zhuoping was twelve years old, Yueju was hospitalized for acute meningitis. At that time, he and Jiaran were participating in a large-scale badminton competition at school." Qiu's father suddenly recalled very clearly what happened more than ten years ago. "Yueju was lying in bed twice. Once was when Qiu Zhuoping had a difficult labor, and once was when she had surgery for meningitis. The first time, she opened her eyes and smiled at me. The second time, she could not get up from the bed again."
"Uncle Qiu, are you awake?" Yiying was a little surprised.
Father Qiu smiled and continued, "When Yueju was dying, I called Zhuoping and asked him to come over quickly . But Zhuoping was in the middle of a game, and it was Jiaran who answered the phone. In order to help Zhuoping win the game, she didn't tell him that Yueju was in the hospital in time. When Zhuoping returned home, Yueju was already in the morgue."
No wonder Qiu Zhuoping was so resistant when she invited him to join the badminton team before. It turned out that it was because of such an experience.
"Zhuoping blamed himself, and Jiaran also blamed himself. Since then, whenever there was a little trouble in our family, Jiaran would ask her parents to help us - to make up for the past mistakes. But Zhuoping has hated Jiaran since then." Father Qiu took a deep breath and looked at the old couple supporting each other in the distance. If Yueju was still alive, they would be like that now, right?
"I know that Jia Ran likes Zhuoping, and I've seen it. But feelings can't be forced or compromised. Zhuoping is used to covering himself up with indifference, and doesn't know how to express his emotions. But I know that his heart is more easily broken than anyone else, and he is more afraid of being hurt than anyone else. He will keep the people he cares about in his heart silently, but he won't express it."
So Qiu Zhuoping always pretends to be indifferent in front of her. Is it for self-protection?
"Zhuoping likes you, I can see that. But I have no right to interfere with the decision he makes. Yiying, sometimes you need to fight for happiness yourself, and sometimes you need to feel it with your heart." Father Qiu sighed, "I'm old, and I've let go of many things. People only live for a few decades, so it's important to choose the right person. It's just that Zhuoping is still young, and there are some things that he may not be able to let go of."
"Uncle Qiu, can you tell me about two years ago..."
"Dad, are you tired? Let's go back." Qiu Zhuoping's voice interrupted the conversation between Qiu's father and Yiying.
Father Qiu nodded and followed them back to the ward to rest.
During this period, the hospital and nurses came to give Qiu's father a physical examination. Qiu's father was not seriously ill and could be discharged at any time. However, the doctor suggested that in Qiu's case, it would be best for him to stay in a nursing home first. After all, Qiu Zhuoping could not always be with his father, and the nursing home would provide professional care. Qiu Zhuoping was somewhat resistant, but Qiu's father happily agreed, saying that he also wanted to meet more friends of similar age and talk about life.
"You young people should do young people's things. I'm old now, and I should make some friends of the same age as me. I'm not disabled, so I don't need you two to take turns to look after me like this." Father Qiu smiled naively and urged them to go through the procedures for discharge from the hospital and admission to a nursing home.
Qiu Zhuoping couldn't persuade his father, so he had to go out to handle the formalities.
After Qiu Zhuoping left, Zhong Jialiang also came to visit Qiu's father with flowers.
"Uncle Qiu, how have you been recently? I heard that you were sick, so I took the time to come and see you." Zhong Jialiang knocked on the open door and walked in with a smile.
He put the bouquet into the vase on the table, glanced at Qiu's father, then looked at Yiying, and said with a funny smile: "Every time I went to the company, I didn't see you. I thought you resigned. Later I found out that Qiu Zhuoping gave you half a month's leave."
Yiying smiled awkwardly. She hadn't seen Zhong Jialiang since the party. Although Zhong Jialiang would call and send text messages to greet her, she was too busy taking care of Qiu's father to respond. Thinking about it now, she felt a little guilty.
"You guys chat, I'm going to the bathroom." Yiying left the ward awkwardly and hurriedly, leaving Zhong Jialiang and Qiu's father behind. When she turned to the right corridor, she bumped into Qiu Zhuoping.
Because she was tall, she didn't bump into Qiu Zhuoping's arms, but instead hit Qiu Zhuoping's front teeth. Qiu Zhuoping staggered back a few steps, covering his mouth, as if he was hit by a shot put, and soon his upper lip was bleeding.
Chen Yiying rubbed his forehead and looked up to see Qiu Zhuoping's mouth full of blood.
"Ah, you're bleeding, let me help you wipe it." Yiying fumbled in her pockets, only to find that she was wearing a skirt today and had no pockets to hold tissues.
Afterwards, Qiu Zhuoping walked around her and went to the drinking machine to wash the blood off his lips.
Yiying stood by and watched him bend over and wash his upper lip with water from the drinking machine.
"Qiu Zhuoping, why don't we start over? Just think of it as me pursuing you, just be my boyfriend!" Yiying's mind echoed with Qiu's father's words. Happiness needs to be fought for by oneself. People must muster up courage and not always be afraid.
Qiu Zhuoping paused, as if thinking about something. He shook the water off his hands and said lightly: "Zhong Jialiang is very good to you, you might as well consider accepting him."
"Qiu Zhuoping! What on earth are you afraid to tell me? You obviously like me, but you are so cowardly that you can't even say that you like me. Now that I have taken a step back, you still put on this attitude. Are you really not going to make peace with me?"
"I like you for your emotional life, but I need to live a rational life." Qiu Zhuoping turned and walked to another corridor. "By the way, Liu Jiaran and I are planning to get married next week. If you want to come, you can come."
"Qiu Zhuoping, I agree to date Zhong Jialiang now, go live your rational life!" Yiying shouted at Qiu Zhuoping's back in a rage. What she didn't expect was that Zhong Jialiang was standing one meter behind her. After she finished her harsh words, she turned around and saw him, and she wished she had no hole to hide in.
"Are you really willing to be my girlfriend?" Zhong Jialiang put his hands in the pockets of his suit pants, raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders in a playful manner, as if he saw through Yiying's embarrassment, and then said, "I'm just kidding, don't be nervous."
"Who are you kidding? From today on, I am your girlfriend. I'm hungry now, take me to eat something delicious." Yiying heard Qiu Zhuoping's footsteps stopped not far away, so she deliberately raised her voice and took the initiative to walk in front of Zhong Jialiang. The two left the hospital one after the other.
Qiu Zhuoping, who was standing not far away, clenched his fists tightly. It was a long time before he loosened his fists and continued walking forward.
