She couldn't discern anything from his face, only weariness and impatience.
Perhaps he found Shen Yue unreasonable at the moment.
Jiang Wei didn't ask a single word about Bai Qingzhen's situation. It wasn't out of trust, but rather a conviction that Shen Yue was in the wrong and Bai Qingzhen was the victim. His silence didn't signify he wasn't bothered; it felt more like indifference.
It was unclear who this indifference was directed towards.
Seeing his expression, Shen Yue paused and softly asked, "Bai Qingzhen is lying in the hospital. I hurt her. Don't you blame me?"
It was a simple question, devoid of any strong emotion.
She just wanted an answer.
Jiang Wei's gloomy expression froze. He knitted his brows slightly, an inexplicable restlessness emanating from him, yet his eyes revealed confusion and bewilderment.
"You..."
Shen Yue waited for a moment, but only heard this single word. She didn't know how to feel; perhaps it was disappointment.
The persistent girl simply wanted an answer, to know if Jiang Wei truly believed her. But his hesitant attitude extinguished the courage she had finally mustered.
She shouldn't place expectations on anyone.
"Do you like me?" Shen Yue asked again, this time with a hint of seriousness.
Jiang Wei stared blankly at the girl, his face expressionless, but his ears inexplicably flushed.
He opened his lips, but ultimately said nothing.
The answer was as expected. Shen Yue didn't feel sad, for she hadn't harbored any hope.
Shen Yue smiled, her eyes curving prettily and cleanly.
Looking at the smile on the girl's face, Jiang Wei felt a sudden surge of irritation. The fingers at his side twitched, but remained still.
After a long pause, Jiang Wei's gaze flickered, and he subtly averted his eyes from hers.
In this stalemate, Shen Yue was the first to step back, widening the distance between them.
Jiang Wei's gaze, however, was involuntarily drawn back to her. Seeing the girl retreat, his brows furrowed even tighter.
The girl lowered her head. Her long, thick eyelashes cast a deep shadow beneath her pale eyelids. The mole on her nose appeared somewhat vibrant. She pursed her lips, not quite smiling.
"I understand."
She said this.
Jiang Wei's eyelids trembled. He looked at the girl with uncertainty.
He wasn't sure what she understood.
"You can go back," the girl said when she looked up, her expression unchanged, a faint smile on her face.
Jiang Wei seemed to pause for a moment, then gave a very soft "Mm."
Shen Yue turned away first. Her back was straight, but Jiang Wei noticed her body trembling slightly.
Like a magnolia flower weathered by the frost.
Fragile, delicate.
He thought he saw a glimmer of tears, but it was gone in an instant, perhaps just an illusion.
---
Shen Yue went to the hospital to see Shen Jiayi. When she arrived, Shen Jiayi was asleep. She was scheduled for surgery in a few days, and the possibility of recurrence would be very small after a successful operation.
After a short while, Shen Jiayi woke up. Seeing the girl by her bedside, she instinctively smiled.
"You're here."
Shen Jiayi was indeed simple-minded, but she also knew her illness was likely not ordinary.
Shen Yue nodded and smiled back, "You'll be able to leave the hospital soon."
Seeing the girl's smile, Shen Jiayi blinked, overwhelmed with emotion. For some reason, her eyes welled up. She took the girl's hand, choked with emotion, and tears of joy streamed down her face, "Good, good, Yueyue, I'm sorry for what I did to you over the past years."
Shen Yue's body stiffened, but she ultimately didn't pull her hand away. She lowered her gaze, "It's all in the past. We just need to live well from now on."
A corner of the iceberg had melted. There were no overnight grudges within a family.
Shen Yue's heart finally softened towards such a woman.
Shen Jiayi wanted to smile, but tears flowed instead. She frantically wiped them away, "I... I'm just so happy. Yueyue, do you know how long I've waited to hear you say that?"
The woman, a mother, cried like a child, sobbing and appearing utterly distressed.
Shen Yue found it amusing. She reached out and wiped away the tears at the corner of the woman's eyes.
Late at night, the moon was obscured by dark clouds. Winter was approaching, and the night temperature was very low.
A ringing phone broke the evening's tranquility.
Shen Yue startled awake from her dream and answered the call.
She doubted if she was still dreaming, as her vision seemed blurred.
Without even changing her clothes, she threw on a coat and rushed to the hospital, only to be faced with a cold, lifeless body.
The woman who had been crying and laughing just that morning lay on the hospital bed, her face as pale as paper, appearing as if she were merely sleeping.
"...The patient committed suicide by wrist-slitting. By the time we arrived, she had no pulse..."
The doctor's voice was chaotic and distant. Shen Yue forced herself to concentrate, but only caught fragmented, unclear words.
She understood each word individually, but when pieced together, she couldn't quite grasp the meaning.
The doctors and nurses had left at some point, leaving her alone in the room. The medical equipment still beeped incessantly, a stark contrast in the deathly silence. The air seemed to carry a faint scent of blood.
The woman's eyes were tightly shut, her face ashen and lifeless, not a hint of vitality remaining.
Shen Yue took a step forward, her legs trembling. She lifted the white sheet and saw the deep gash on Shen Jiayi's wrist, her bone almost visible.
She had been so ruthless to herself, someone who feared pain so much.
Shen Yue reached out and gently grasped the wrist. There was no warmth to her touch, only a bone-chilling cold.
That piercing chill shot from her fingertips throughout her body.
Like a child lost in the middle of the night, the girl grasped her hand, her gaze fixed on the cold face. Her eyes were so red they looked as if they might bleed, "Why?"
As if deeply confused, she softly asked again.
"Why?"
But in the silent room, besides the rhythmic beeping of the machines, there was nothing.
Her vision grew increasingly blurry, she could see nothing clearly. Her lips trembled uncontrollably, "Didn't you say we would live well? Why did you break your promise?"
Hadn't they just agreed this morning? Why the change of heart by nightfall?
Everything was almost better, almost healed...
Why suddenly, suddenly she was dead?
She thought Shen Jiayi had changed, but now she realized Shen Jiayi hadn't changed at all. She was still as wicked and malicious as she was in childhood, repeatedly disappointing her expectations.
How could someone be so detestable?
Truly, utterly bad.
The entire world seemed to shatter into four distorted, broken pieces. The girl didn't shed a single tear, her eyes bloodshot, her voice hoarse, "I won't believe you again. Never again."