Qi Rui's eyelids twitched, and he let out a soft hum.
Shen Yue took a breath, pretending to be calm, and slowly lowered her eyes. "Then I'll... take my leave."
His complexion seemed a little pale, his thin lips pressed together stubbornly, refusing to speak. He could only watch helplessly as the woman brushed past him.
A great sense of unease surged into his mind. He turned his head and hurriedly called out the woman's name.
"Shen Yue!"
She didn't turn around, her slender figure appearing exceptionally frail.
Qi Rui clenched his fists at his sides, his voice hoarse, "I, I'm getting engaged soon."
Silence.
The man's usually placid eyes were turbulent with emotion.
Shen Yue was tall and slender, her thin shoulders seeming to sway precariously.
After a long while, the woman's voice, as calm as ever, reached him.
"That's wonderful."
Qi Rui stared intently at her retreating back, his eyes dark. He stubbornly asked, "Will you come?"
She lowered her head with a slight delay, her eyelashes drooping. The lines of her profile were soft, her cheeks a little gaunt, her dark pupils dim.
Her eyes couldn't help but feel swollen and sore, tears streaming down. Her lashes were wet, and though she suppressed it, her voice still trembled as she spoke, her shoulders shaking. "Yes, I'll come."
How could she not come?
She would be happy to see Qi Rui happy.
It was like watching a distant sail, perhaps battling strong headwinds and going against the current, but ultimately returning to the right course.
Qi Rui's voice was incredibly gentle, like a knife twisting in her heart.
"Good. I'll send you the invitation when the time comes."
Perhaps it was a numbness born of pain, but Shen Yue could even manage a smile at this moment, pinching her palm to endure.
She lowered her eyes, a smile on her face.
Very gentle.
"Okay."
With resignation, with doting affection.
I love you so much, how could I possibly refuse?
She left, taking with her the little that remained of her heart. Her retreating figure was so resolute, she didn't look back.
Qi Rui's heart gave a violent jolt. For some reason, as he watched Shen Yue walk away, he felt an unsettling sense of losing something.
The area around his heart issued a fierce warning. He pressed a hand to it, his face turning cold.
Unbeknownst to him, tears were streaming down his face.
---
In the evening, Shen Yue was groggy, feeling a burning fever all over her body. Her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, and she seemed to be having a nightmare.
In the middle of the night, she was woken up.
Someone was calling her name by her ear, but her mind felt like it was on fire, unable to comprehend anything.
The rough texture of thin calluses sent a shiver through her, causing a slight sting and an itch. The delicate skin was lightly grazed by the rough calluses, leaving red marks on her fair flesh.
"Yueyue, does anything still feel uncomfortable?" the man's voice was hoarse, filled with urgency and concern.
She felt very hot, yet very cold.
Half-opening her eyes in a daze, she mumbled, "Cold."
Zhang Cong turned the air conditioning up even higher, making it feel like summer, thick with heat.
But Shen Yue still said she was cold. Zhang Cong climbed into the bed himself and held her in his arms to warm her. He was already sweating profusely from the heat, like a human furnace.
Shen Yue's body was burning hot, a temperature that almost sent Qi Rui's heart into a frenzy.
Why was she still burning so intensely after being given medicine?
He leaned against the headboard, holding Shen Yue, one hand helping her to change the towel on her forehead.
Zhang Cong dared not close his eyes, touching Shen Yue's burning cheek every few minutes.
The night was already deep. Shen Yue, who had been calling out her coldness, began to cough again with increasing urgency. The cough grew more rapid, mixed with gasping for breath as she struggled to inhale.
Zhang Cong was startled and quickly reached out to pat her back.
Her whole body trembled, her shoulders shaking with the cough. She covered her mouth, her pale face flushed with a sickly redness, her long black hair swaying.
Bright red blood dripped from between her fingers. The coughing continued relentlessly, as if she were trying to cough out her lungs.
Zhang Cong's eyes were reddened by the sight of the fresh blood. His hands hung in mid-air, helpless and uneasy. The fear and panic in his heart could not be contained, and he didn't even notice his own trembling lips.
"...Shen Yue?!"
---
As dawn broke, the earth was shrouded in a hazy, silvery-gray veil. The world was silent.
Footsteps echoed back and forth in the hospital corridor. The strong smell of disinfectant stung the nerves, and the snow-white walls reflected a cold light.
The red light of the emergency room went out.
Several nurses in surgical gowns pushed a hospital bed out.
The woman lying on the bed was almost transparently pale.
Zhang Cong rushed forward. He was still in his pajamas, stained with blood, his eyes bloodshot. "Doctor, how is she?"
The doctor removed his mask, carefully choosing his words. "Acute myeloid leukemia, abdominal infection with high fever. The patient is severely anemic. Her body is too weak for major surgery."
As he spoke, even the doctor couldn't help but shake his head. After all, it was such a young life, yet her organs were all failing.
In fact, if she had received treatment earlier, there might have been some hope.
But now, it was too late.
Zhang Cong looked at the doctor, feeling a moment of bewilderment. His insides churned with a suffocating pain. He was so stunned by the news that his legs felt weak.
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he frantically grabbed the doctor's shoulders, his eyes crimson, his expression contorted, veins bulging on his forehead. "So, so, is there still a way? She's still so young, there must be a way, right?"
His shoulders felt as if they were about to be crushed. Those nearby immediately moved to pull the man away, but he clung on like a drowning man to the last straw, almost driven to madness.
"Sir, we will do our best, but I still need to tell you to be prepared for the worst." The doctor, seeing the man's face turn instantly pale, paused, not wanting to deliver the final blow.
---
The hospital room was brightly lit, the clean white curtains billowing inwards.
When Shen Yue woke up, the room was empty.
She was thirsty and struggled to sit up in bed. Just as she settled on the edge of the bed, the door to the room was pushed open.
It was Zhang Cong.
The man looked disheveled, carrying breakfast in his hand. His hair fell messily over his forehead, his expression unreadable.
He walked straight to Shen Yue's bedside and sat down, opening the tray. The breakfast was a bowl of vegetable congee, still steaming. She also noticed the unmelted snow on his shoulder.
His expression was normal, his tone calm and natural. His rough, warm hand touched her face. "Does your body still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Shen Yue shook her head. She had no appetite for the congee, but she forced herself to eat a little.
She was wearing a new blue and white striped hospital gown, open at the front. Her exposed wrist was slender, like a white magnolia, pale and fragile.
Her face was very white, her eyelashes long. Just awakened, she seemed a little sleepy.
"Yueyue, it's time for your medicine," the man coaxed gently.
Shen Yue roused a bit of consciousness from her drowsiness and sat up to take the medicine. It was very bitter, and her face turned even paler.
But immediately, a piece of candy was placed in her mouth, sweet and cloying, washing away the bitterness.
"Are you feeling sleepy again?"
Her vision slowly blurred. The man's voice by her ear grew increasingly gentle and careful, as if he were afraid that even a slight increase in volume would disturb her peace.
Shen Yue was so sleepy. She wanted to say something, but she lacked the strength even to open her mouth. In the blur, she thought she saw the man's eyes turn red.
It seemed as though he was crying.
*Brother, don't cry...*
The unspoken words vanished into the air.
Zhang Cong remained by her side, caring for her. Every time she opened or closed her eyes, the last face she saw was his.
He had become much thinner. Perhaps he himself didn't realize how forced his smiles were.
Shen Yue ate a little dinner, very little. She said to the man, "Brother, I need to go to the bathroom."
Zhang Cong said, "Okay." He helped Shen Yue up. This time, he noticed that Shen Yue had become so thin she was just skin and bones, her protruding bones making it uncomfortable to touch.
At the bathroom door, Shen Yue pushed him away, asking him to wait outside.
The man stood ramrod straight at the bathroom door. The door was frosted glass, the pale light outside having a deathly hue.
His back was tensed to the extreme. He couldn't stand steadily and had to lean against the wall to remain upright. His lips trembled. First came the sounds of retching, then coughing. He stood outside the door, forced to listen for nearly ten minutes.
Shen Yue was falling asleep more and more. She was conscious for very little time.