"I've been sending you messages for ages, but not a single reply from you."
"Auntie got so anxious. She called you and sent you messages, but you didn't respond at all. Then she came to me and asked me to come and check what was going on."
"Brother Chi Xu, why are you in the hospital all of a sudden? Did you catch the recent flu? You should take better care of yourself."
"Xiangyi, how did you find out I was in the hospital?" Behind the door, Chi Xu coughed. His voice was weak, fading in and out, and even speaking seemed to take all his strength.
"Jia Fang told me. I went straight to your class to look for you. This way, at least Auntie can stop worrying." The girl replied coquettishly, her voice clear. "Tell me, what's going on with you? How could you ignore Auntie's messages?"
Chi Xu felt a bit guilty. He touched his just - charged and turned - on phone. As soon as he opened it, a multitude of messages popped up like cotton wadding, most of them from his family.
"I had a fever and was all muddled. My phone was out of battery. I forgot to charge it last night. That's why I just turned it on. You can see for yourself."
"Don't you ever tell my mom that I had a fever. I'm afraid she'll worry."
"Then what should I say?" Song Xiangyi smiled with her eyes curved, deliberately teasing him. "Brother, I'm not kidding. You've done this so unfairly."
"Say my phone is lost and I'm still looking for it. Don't say anything else, got it?"
Chi Xu emphasized his words and frowned, pretending to be fierce.
Song Xiangyi rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Don't let it happen again. You made me come all the way here to find you."
"..."
Jiang Yuan stood at the door, her head down, her eyes fixed on her hand on the doorknob. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Xiangyi? Brother Chi Xu?
She remembered that Chi Xu had never mentioned that he had a younger sister.
Judging from their tone, they were very familiar with each other.
Jiang Yuan slowly withdrew her gaze, knocked on the door a few times. The voices inside suddenly stopped. She pushed the door open and walked in with a smile.
As if just noticing the extra person inside, she said in surprise, "Chi Xu, who is this?"
Just as Chi Xu was about to introduce, Song Xiangyi immediately stood up and generously stretched out her hand. "Hello, I'm Song Xiangyi. I'm a friend of Brother Chi Xu."
"Hello, I'm Jiang Yuan. I'm a classmate of Chi Xu." Jiang Yuan reached out and shook her hand. Then they quickly let go.
Song Xiangyi moved a stool and placed it beside Jiang Yuan. "Guests are welcome. Since Brother Chi Xu is not in a convenient situation, I'll have to take care of things."
Her words and actions were full of intimacy and familiarity with Chi Xu.
It made Jiang Yuan seem like an outsider, intruding on their relationship.
Jiang Yuan concealed the subtle emotions in her heart and calmly sat down. She looked up and sized up Song Xiangyi.
Song Xiangyi had the typical appearance of a woman from the southern water towns. She had a petite face, willow - like eyebrows and almond - shaped eyes, and fair skin. She was beautiful without being intimidating.
While Jiang Yuan was sizing up Song Xiangyi, Song Xiangyi was also looking at her. She stared at her thoughtfully for a few seconds, then withdrew her gaze and smiled.
"Sister Jiang Yuan, have I seen you somewhere before?"
"Xiangyi, if you say you've seen her, could it be that you saw her in my photos before?" Chi Xu said with a faint smile. He was dissatisfied that Jiang Yuan only introduced herself as his college classmate, so he added some details.
"Jiang Yuan and I have known each other since childhood, since the first grade of primary school until now. It's natural that I have photos of Jiang Yuan in my phone. You must have sneaked a peek at them."
"No way!" Song Xiangyi pouted and retorted angrily. She turned her head and stared at Jiang Yuan seriously, smiling half - heartedly. "Really, Sister Jiang Yuan. I seem to have seen you when I was coming here."
I saw you with another boy.
I also saw Brother Chi Xu's lonely back as he left.
How could it be such a coincidence that I saw it all.
"Really? Maybe. I just came back from downstairs." Jiang Yuan felt a pang in her heart. She paused for a moment and answered nonchalantly.
She should not have seen her with Lu Zhen. It couldn't be such a coincidence. Chi Xu was already sick, and he didn't like Lu Zhen anyway. It was better not to stimulate him.
She and Lu Zhen just happened to meet by chance.
Even if she really saw it, why didn't she mention it?
Jiang Yuan breathed a little easier and continued to ask, "Chi Xu, how come I've never heard you mention that you have such a beautiful younger sister?"
"Brother Chi Xu and I met in high school." Song Xiangyi jumped in again. Chi Xu playfully slapped her on the arm and told her not to talk nonsense.
Then he coughed lightly and honestly explained, "My parents got to know Xiangyi's parents in high school. That's how I met Xiangyi. Since she's younger than me, I reluctantly became her older brother."
"What do you mean reluctantly? You were actually eager to do so!" Song Xiangyi frowned, put her hands on her hips, and said indignantly. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell Uncle and Auntie on you."
"Okay, okay. I'm willing." Chi Xu laughed out loud, his eyes filled with laughter.
Seeing the glaring scene of Jiang Yuan and Lu Zhen, the gloom in his heart finally dissipated a great deal.
Out of the corner of his eye, he carefully glanced at Jiang Yuan. He saw her sitting quietly on the chair, bathed in the cold white light reflected from the window. She looked like a distant and untouchable illusion.
His heart felt like it was stabbed by something, and it ached sharply.
Did Jiang Yuan really not care? Did she really not get jealous?
When she said she cared about him last night, was it just to make him recover quickly?
"Sister Jiang Yuan, since you're Brother Chi Xu's classmate, you must have never seen such a shameless side of him! He's really shameless!" Song Xiangyi complained to Jiang Yuan angrily.
"I have. We've known each other since childhood." Jiang Yuan carefully corrected her, with a gentle expression. Her long eyelashes covered the true emotions in her eyes.
In this small, narrow room, Jiang Yuan felt like an outsider, someone who couldn't fit in. She was looking at them from afar through a glass window.
During the three years they were apart, someone had taken her place.
Him and Song Xiangyi.
Her and Lu Zhen.
They had all, to some extent, replaced each other's positions.
Who could blame who for being wrong?
Oh, no. Jiang Yuan remembered the photo album that Chi Xu had placed on the corner of the table. It recorded every bit of her life.
Chi Xu must have her in his heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have always kept that photo album and even carried it with him.
The dim light in her eyes rekindled. Jiang Yuan slightly raised her head and looked at the person half - lying on the hospital bed.
Song Xiangyi and herself were different in Chi Xu's heart.
One was his childhood sweetheart, and the other was like a younger sister.
Even though they had been separated for three years, they had left indelible marks in each other's lives. These marks couldn't be easily wiped away or forgotten.
At most, they had just faded a little.