Jiang Yuan left without looking back, trotting straight to the first floor of the hospital. She bent over, gasping for breath.
People were coming and going at the hospital entrance. There were couples supporting each other and lovers accompanying their partners for medical check - ups. Despite their ailments, their faces were brimming with happiness.
Jiang Yuan came to her senses, propped herself against the wall and slowly stood up. She looked around in a daze and helplessness.
She had told herself in her heart that she must ask clearly and stop dwelling on his leaving without saying goodbye.
But her emotions were like the coldest wind in winter, blowing through her viscera chillingly, and her blood seemed to freeze into ice cubes.
The phone in her pocket vibrated. Jiang Yuan picked it up and saw a message from Chi Xu.
[forikyy: Why did you leave suddenly? Is there something wrong?]
forikyy.
Always loving Yuanyuan.
The WeChat name composed of English words was like a sharp sword, piercing her heart bloodily.
Jiang Yuan had an urge to go back and question Chi Xu. Yes, even if Chi Xu had his own reasons, she must ask clearly.
The joint promise to get into Jingda University, the carefully - planned confession, the dejection after the confession was rejected, the photo albums in her room, and even the video Jia Fang gave her.
Just now, she was impulsive and emotional. She must ask clearly.
She and Chi Xu couldn't just go on like this without any clarity.
Was the engagement with Song Xiangyi real?
Why didn't he tell her when he left with his own difficulties back then?
What had happened in the past three years that made him unable to contact her?
One by one, the doubts emerged in her mind. Jiang Yuan clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She silently counted every single thing she needed to ask Chi Xu.
She turned back and took the elevator to the fourth floor of the hospital.
It was here that Jia Fang gave her a video. Chi Xu's sincere feelings in it could never be fake.
How could a Song Xiangyi so easily destroy the relationship between her and Chi Xu?
Jiang Yuan lowered her eyes and tightened her lips. She could only blame herself for not trusting Chi Xu enough.
The way to Chi Xu's ward was not long. It only took two or three minutes to walk there. But at this moment, Jiang Yuan felt it was extremely long. Thousands of words were stuck in her throat, waiting for her to open the door and ask everything clearly.
Standing in front of the ward door again, Jiang Yuan took a deep breath to cheer herself up. After opening her eyes again, her eyes were full of determination.
She slightly raised her hand, and it hovered in the air. Chi Xu's voice drifted over lightly.
"Lin Suye, has Jiang Yuan been in a bad mood recently? I feel something is wrong."
Jiang Yuan was stunned. Her eyes were filled with shock. The relationship between Lin Suye and Chi Xu was better than she had imagined.
Lin Suye's carefree voice came through the phone line.
"No, I've been with her in class these days. I haven't noticed any problems."
"But..." Chi Xu thought for a while, recalled carefully, and then paused for a long time before saying, "Anyway, could you please pay more attention to Yuanyuan usually? She came to see me just now and left suddenly."
"Do you think she's still dwelling on my leaving back then? After we reunited, she didn't even want to have any contact with me."
"Recently, I've been thinking. If there had never been this plan to seduce me from the very beginning, would the situation between Yuanyuan and me be much better than it is now?"
It was like a thunderbolt exploding beside Jiang Yuan's ear. Her body instantly froze. Her head was buzzing. That sentence seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, hitting her heart directly and making her dizzy.
So from the very beginning, Chi Xu knew that she wanted to seduce him. And when he liked her the most, he just abandoned her mercilessly?
And Lin Suye, whom she had always regarded as a good friend and sister, was Chi Xu's accomplice?
Jiang Yuan's breathing became disordered. Her chest heaved violently. Her once - lively eyes were now wide open, full of disbelief.
"Chi Xu, Lin Suye, you've been playing with me, haven't you?"
Jiang Yuan slightly opened her mouth and murmured in a low voice, but it was as if the mute button had been pressed. She couldn't make any sound, only moving her lips.
The day she reunited with Chi Xu at Jingda University was still vivid in her memory. The scorching heat of late summer still seemed to be there. In the flickering light, Chi Xu stole her take - out.
The second encounter was in the cafeteria. She witnessed someone confessing to Chi Xu with her own eyes. The third time was during the evening self - study that day when Chi Xu came for recruitment.
It was also at that time that Lin Suye came up with this stupid idea.
Had Lin Suye and Chi Xu colluded long before that?
Those happy and beautiful moments turned into fragile bubbles like reflections in a mirror and moon in the water.
Jiang Yuan was in great pain. She covered her head with both hands and slowly squatted down.
Those words were like one sharp blade after another, stabbing at her heart and causing excruciating pain.
"If from the very beginning, I hadn't been so timid, but directly told Yuanyuan that I like her, that I've liked her since primary school and hope to have her in the future, would Yuanyuan and I not have ended up like this?"
Love makes people brave and also makes people timid.
Chi Xu thought he belonged to the latter.
After three years of separation, he didn't know what to do. Facing a familiar yet strange Jiang Yuan, Chi Xu walked on thin ice, being extremely careful, for fear that all their past feelings would disappear.
"Yuanyuan has indeed been dwelling on your leaving back then." There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Lin Suye's ethereal voice landed in the ward.
"It's also my fault that I came up with that stupid idea for you back then. Chi Xu, anyway, Yuanyuan likes you. She's just been saying the opposite of what she means all along, still dwelling on your leaving back then."
"Have you never explained? I think this is the biggest problem between you two. Yuanyuan has a knot in her heart, and you need to untie it yourself."
Chi Xu remembered that not long ago, Jiang Yuan had vaguely repeated his words about leaving back then and also questioned him about why he had left.
But he had been evasive and didn't dare to show his true feelings.
He must have broken her heart.
Chi Xu was silent for a while and then said with difficulty, "It should be."
They had promised to get into Jingda University together, accompany each other, and they had already included each other in their future plans.
Unexpectedly, one of them broke the promise and disappeared for three whole years.
He thought that if he were in Jiang Yuan's position, he would surely resent her too.
But vaguely, Chi Xu felt that something was wrong.
He had left a note when he left in a hurry back then. Jiang Yuan's reaction shouldn't be so extreme.
At least after the reunion, she shouldn't have said that she didn't want to have any relationship with him.
Something must have gone wrong.
"Lin Suye, do you know anything else? Logically speaking, Yuanyuan shouldn't have said that she didn't want to have any relationship with me just because of my leaving."
As the voice faded, there came the sound of soft footsteps outside the ward.
Song Xiangyi was carrying a bag of fruits. Seeing Jiang Yuan squatting on the ground with her shoulders trembling slightly, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and exclaimed in surprise.
"Jiang Yuan, why are you back?"