Lai Jielun lifted his head from his arm. It was only then that Liu Chen noticed that in just a few minutes, Lai Jielun was already sweating profusely and his face was as pale as if he had just undergone surgery.
Mi Zhuzhu was so frightened by Lai Jielun's state that she didn't know what to do and just sat stunned on the chair.
"Zhuzhu, go call Teacher Lai and tell her that Lai Jielun is sick and needs to be taken to the hospital."
"Oh, okay! Okay!"
Upon hearing Liu Chen's words, Mi Zhuzhu stood up from her chair reflexively and ran towards the office.
"Ren Mo, carry Lai Jielun downstairs. He looks like he can't walk like this." After speaking, Liu Chen took Lai Jielun's ID card from his schoolbag, stuffed it into his hand, and then moved Mi Zhuzhu's chair. He asked Ren Mo to squat in Mi Zhuzhu's position, with his back to Lai Jielun, and carry him on his back.
At this moment, the classmates in the classroom were also attracted by the commotion. Seeing Lai Jielun's pale face and sweat, a few boys who were closer quickly came over to help Ren Mo.
As soon as they reached the podium, they saw Teacher Lai, no longer her usual composed self, rushing to the classroom door with an anxious look.
Seeing everyone's actions, she quickly said:
"I'll go drive. Children, please help Jielun to the first-floor stairs and wait for me."
After a flurry of activity, Lai Jielun was finally helped into the car. Ren Mo also got in to go along, as someone would need to help carry Lai Jielun out of the car at the hospital.
After Teacher Lai left, the classmates finally breathed a sigh of relief and started discussing what had happened to Lai Jielun in a flurry of chatter.
"It must be appendicitis. I saw Lai Jielun holding his stomach just now!"
"Is appendicitis felt there?"
"Probably enteritis?"
When it was time for the noon break, Teacher Lai had not yet returned, but Ren Mo came back first.
As the person who went to the hospital with Teacher Lai, Ren Mo was surrounded by everyone as soon as he entered the classroom.
However, this time, Ren Mo spoke before anyone could ask.
"Acute appendicitis. They said it was caused by recent stress and overeating. He was still on an IV drip when I came back. He'll have surgery this afternoon."
Stress?
Overeating?
Hearing this, Liu Chen was stunned in her seat. The four of them ate lunch and dinner together. When on earth did Lai Jielun overeat?
With a myriad of questions in his mind, after the evening self-study class, the three of them agreed to take Ren Mo's family car to the Second People's Hospital to visit Lai Jielun.
Sitting in the back seat, watching the orange-yellow streetlights speed past the window, the warm air conditioning in the car made them drowsy, but none of the three felt sleepy at all.
The three of them shared a common question.
What was Lai Jielun's stress?
Lying on the hospital bed, facing his mother's question, Lai Jielun, who usually loved to chatter, was now silent.
Mother and son sat in the single room until the door was knocked on again.
Lai Jing got up from her chair and went to open the door. She thought it was a nurse, but when she opened the door and saw Liu Chen and the other two, she was stunned. She quickly raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes and then stepped aside to let them in.
Since they were visiting a patient, they naturally couldn't come empty-handed. The three of them bought a few study guides at the stationery store near the school, along with a bouquet of flowers and two boxes of milk.
At this time, an open fruit basket was placed on the head of the hospital bed, with a half-peeled orange placed beside it.
"I'll go wash some fruit. You guys talk first," Lai Jing said, taking a few bunches of grapes from the fruit basket and going out.
Lai Jielun, lying on the bed, opened his mouth to make a joke, but found his friends standing by the bed with serious expressions.
"Lai Jielun, we've been chatting and joking every day. I thought I was the person who knew you best in the world, but you ended up with appendicitis just like that! Damn it!" Ren Mo became more and more agitated as he spoke, and in the end, he couldn't help but punch the wall next to him. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
Liu Chen sat down on the chair where Teacher Lai had just been sitting, looking intently at Lai Jielun, who was on an IV drip and couldn't move on the hospital bed.
"Lai Jielun, you didn't tell us yesterday which major you want to apply for."
Mi Zhuzhu blinked in confusion when she heard this, clearly not understanding why Chen Chen was suddenly bringing up yesterday's topic when Lai Jielun was having surgery and was hospitalized.
But then, Mi Zhuzhu's mouth fell open, and she suddenly remembered.
Yesterday, Lai Jielun didn't answer the question!
Having figured this out, Mi Zhuzhu looked at Lai Jielun again, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Is the major you want to apply for, Lai Jielun, very competitive?"
Lai Jielun smiled and opened his mouth, intending to blabber something to fool Mi Zhuzhu as he had done yesterday. However, he saw Liu Chen with a stern face.
Although they were all the same age, Lai Jielun always felt that Sister Chen was like those serious adults.
Finally, Lai Jielun lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on the white hospital blanket. "No, the major I want to apply for is not very competitive."
Liu Chen remained silent, continuing to look at him.
Lai Jielun's voice became even lower. "I want to apply to the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy."
"Huh?" Ren Mo suddenly turned around from facing the hospital wall and looked at Lai Jielun lying on the hospital bed. "Your scores are definitely enough to get into the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy, right? Are you worried about failing the professional exam?"
"My dad won't allow it. He wants me to get into a normal normal university and then join the education bureau in C City after graduation."
Upon hearing this, Mi Zhuzhu and Ren Mo didn't know what to say. Their parents were quite open-minded. As long as they could get into university, it was good enough, let alone picking a major?
Liu Chen looked at the dejected Lai Jielun lying on the hospital bed. In her previous life, she really hadn't heard of Lai Jielun, a name so easy to remember, having any development in the entertainment industry.
However, dreams and reality, these two choices, even if a seventy-year-old person were reborn to choose, everyone's choice would be different.
"Have you discussed this with Teacher Lai?" Liu Chen felt that Teacher Lai was more likely to support Lai Jielun in pursuing his dreams. "I think Teacher Lai would support you."
Lai Jielun didn't respond when he heard this. After a long while, just when Liu Chen thought Lai Jielun didn't want to say anything, he spoke.
"My dad and my mom, I take my mother's surname, you all know that, but in fact, my dad is very irresponsible. He's relied on my grandpa's care his whole life and barely managed to get a small leadership position. He and my mom haven't saved much money in their lives. If I go for art exams, university tuition will be twice that of ordinary schools.
Not to mention, so many students graduate from acting programs every year, and not everyone can become famous. For actors who are not famous, you might not even remember their names. They might reach thirty, when others have started families and careers, and I might not even be able to afford my own rent.
Perhaps my dad is right. For ordinary families like ours, honestly applying to university and becoming a civil servant is the most correct path."
Liu Chen thought for a moment and was about to say that Lai Jielun shouldn't worry about money when the hospital room door was suddenly opened from the outside.
"What bullshit! Jielun! If you want to study, we'll study! Your dad is a coward. He can't earn money himself, yet he dares to criticize your future! Damn him!"