[Memo Updated on December 13th]
[I've decided to abandon these plans. I don't want to like him anymore, nor am I willing to. Loving someone is truly exhausting.]
[From now on, I won't have any connection with him. Let the past be the past. Two intersecting lines will eventually return to their original positions.]
Outside, the heavy snow was swirling, merging the sky and the earth into a vast expanse of whiteness. The cold wind, laden with chill, seeped into every bone.
Gazing at this extreme whiteness, Chi Xu's heart was as dead as ashes, and his face took on an unnatural flush.
The faint light on the old phone screen went out. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, showing a stiff smile that was as cold as his body, rigid and unyielding.
He murmured softly, "Jiang Yuan, are you really not willing to have any contact with me anymore? Not even willing to take revenge on me for leaving back then?"
"Or is it that the 'him' in this memo isn't me, but Lu Zhen?"
The time when he and Lu Zhen confessed their feelings was only a few days apart.
The only response to his question was the howling cold wind.
...
Chi Xu suddenly woke up from his dream. The blinding light pierced through his thin eyelids like a sharp sword. He instinctively raised his hand to block it, and his heart was pounding violently in his chest.
It was not until he smelled the familiar odor of disinfectant that he came to his senses and realized he was in the hospital ward.
It was Jiang Yuan who suddenly returned to the apartment yesterday afternoon. She called Jia Fang and rushed him to the hospital in a hurry. In the evening, Jia Fang had something to attend to at school and left early. Jiang Yuan asked for sick leave from her counselor.
Since there was an extra bed in this ward, Jiang Yuan managed to rest here for the night. She was afraid that his fever might not have completely subsided and might come back in the middle of the night.
His pounding heart gradually calmed down. Chi Xu lowered his arm and tried hard to adapt to the sudden brightness.
Right, where was Jiang Yuan?
Chi Xu squinted and turned his head to the adjacent bed. The quilt was neatly folded, and the bed was empty.
Where was Jiang Yuan? Chi Xu immediately panicked. He picked up his phone and saw that it was not yet eight o'clock. Had Jiang Yuan left so early? He clearly remembered that she didn't have any classes this morning.
Last night, Jiang Yuan said that she cared about him. At first, he was overjoyed, but as time passed, he gradually calmed down.
Maybe, out of consideration for his illness, Jiang Yuan just wanted him to recover quickly and said those words to comfort him.
Anyway, the relationship between him and Jiang Yuan had improved a lot compared to some time ago.
Take it one step at a time.
Chi Xu sent a message to Jiang Yuan asking where she was, but there was no reply.
He suppressed his impatience and waited for a few minutes.
Finally, Chi Xu chose to call her directly, but no one answered.
Early in the morning and without any classes, where could Jiang Yuan have gone?
Chi Xu coughed softly against his lips and walked out in his cotton slippers. He saw the nurses outside and described Jiang Yuan's appearance. After asking several of them, he finally found someone who knew where she had gone.
They said that she had walked towards the payment counter downstairs and might still be there paying the fees.
After thanking them, Chi Xu went straight to the payment counter on the first floor.
Only when he saw Jiang Yuan could his restless heart truly settle down.
On the first floor payment counter.
Jiang Yuan woke up early. Seeing Chi Xu sleeping quietly, she tiptoed out of the ward, intending to pay the ward fees for these few days on his behalf.
Chi Xu's illness this time was mostly caused by her. Jiang Yuan could only try her best to accompany him more and help pay the medical fees for these days.
Early in the morning, there were few people, and Chi Xu was still sleeping and knew nothing. By the time he found out, a long time would have passed.
There were few people on the first floor of the hospital. Jiang Yuan quickly paid the fees. When she lowered her head to look at the receipt, a familiar voice came from in front of her: "Jiang Yuan?"
Jiang Yuan was surprised. Looking up, she saw it was Lu Zhen: "What a coincidence."
Counting from the last time Lu Zhen confessed his feelings, they hadn't seen each other for more than half a month. Naturally, they rarely chatted on WeChat or QQ.
They both knew well enough not to disturb each other's lives.
"Why are you here?" Jiang Yuan looked up and noticed that he was holding a small bag of medicine. "Are you also having a cold?"
"Also?" Lu Zhen raised his eyebrows and smiled softly. "Jiang Yuan, are you the same as me? Infected with the recent flu?"
"No, it's Chi Xu who has a fever." Jiang Yuan said straightforwardly, mercilessly extinguishing a glimmer of hope in Lu Zhen's heart. "I'm here to accompany him."
Lu Zhen was silent for a while, then casually changed the topic: "It's been a while since we last saw each other. Do you want to sit down and have a chat?"
Seeing that Jiang Yuan was about to refuse, Lu Zhen quickly interrupted: "Just for a while, a few minutes. Jiang Yuan, we've known each other for so long. We've been friends for two years in high school. Are we really going to break off our friendship just because of Chi Xu?"
No, it's not because of Chi Xu, but because you like me, crossing the boundary of friendship.
Jiang Yuan sighed silently. Looking at the time, it was still early. Chi Xu should still be sleeping at this time. She reluctantly agreed: "Okay, just five minutes. I'll leave as soon as the time's up. The timer starts now."
"Five minutes is enough. Let's go over there and sit down to chat." A bright smile appeared on Lu Zhen's face, so dazzling that it almost stabbed into Chi Xu's eyes who was standing at the corner of the stairs on the first floor.
The hand hanging by his waist clenched into a fist, with the veins bulging. Chi Xu had no trace of a smile. He pursed his lips tightly and stared dully at Jiang Yuan with her back to him and Lu Zhen, who was smiling extremely brightly.
After watching for a while, Chi Xu turned around and left in his thin hospital gown.
After chatting with Lu Zhen for a couple of sentences, Jiang Yuan lowered her head to glance at the time. The smile on Lu Zhen's lips could hardly be maintained.
Didn't Jiang Yuan even want to spare him just five minutes?
"Jiang Yuan, are you in such a hurry?" Lu Zhen called out softly, unable to hide the hurt in his eyes. He looked at her helplessly with his head down.
Three minutes had passed, and Jiang Yuan had looked at the time on her phone five or six times.
Jiang Yuan suddenly stood up and apologized: "I just remembered that Chi Xu slept for a long time yesterday afternoon. He might wake up earlier this morning."
"You may not know that when I found him yesterday afternoon, he was almost delirious from the fever. It really scared me. I'm really worried about leaving him alone in the ward." Jiang Yuan lowered her head to explain.
Lu Zhen forced out a stiff smile and said softly, "It's okay. I understand. Since you're in a hurry, go up and check on him quickly."
Actually, you don't have to tell me so much. I don't want to hear about your every detail with Chi Xu.
Lu Zhen thought to himself.
Jiang Yuan quickly apologized to Lu Zhen, took the elevator, and came to the door of Chi Xu's ward.
She tidied up her clothes a bit. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard a clear and unfamiliar female voice.
"Brother Chi Xu, why didn't you tell me that you had a fever?"