Chapter 22

So that meant she was coming to see her?

Yan Can: Here.

Yan Can: [address]

Secretary Cen came out of the side room carrying a freshly washed fruit platter. Hearing the movement, Yan Can looked over and asked, “When can I be discharged?”

It was just the wound on her forehead splitting open after the stitches had been removed; it wasn’t anything serious. But her cheap parents insisted that she stay in the hospital for observation.

Secretary Cen set the fruit platter on her bedside table, placed the fork and spoon on the edge, and pushed it closer so Yan Can could reach it easily before dutifully relaying the master and madam’s instructions: “A week of rest and recovery.”

Yan Can nearly choked on her own saliva. The aunt looking after her beside the bed immediately handed her a cup of warm water. Yan Can took two sips through the straw and, once she caught her breath, asked helplessly, “Is it really necessary to stay this long?”

Secretary Cen didn’t answer. She only looked at her, and the meaning was clear.

This time, she would stay in the hospital and recover properly.

Halfway through the fruit platter, Secretary Cen answered a call. After reminding the aunt about the precautions and speaking with the doctor and nurse as well, she left.

Once Secretary Cen was gone, only Yan Can and the aunt remained. Yan Can immediately let loose. With the hand that already had an IV in it, she started scrolling on her phone, her fingers moving so fast they blurred.

The aunt watched in alarm. “Miss, wait until the drip is finished before using your phone. It’s easy to miss the vein like this.”

Yan Can glanced at the IV in the back of her hand, then at the hanging bag, and said with a smile, “It’s fine. The indwelling needle is okay.”

When the IV was only halfway finished, Yu Ting and Xia Xia arrived.

Zhang Ru had wanted to come too, but her birthday was approaching and a lot of relatives had come to the house, so she had to stay home and keep them company.

The two of them came in carrying a fruit basket and a huge bouquet of flowers.

Seeing that Yan Can was the only one in the room, Yu Ting blinked in surprise. “Why isn’t anyone here taking care of you?”

Even if Secretary Cen wasn’t here, someone should have stayed behind to look after Yan Can.

“Oh, Secretary Cen went out for something, and the aunt will be back in a little while,” Yan Can said. Then, seeing Xia Xia standing stiffly to the side, she smiled at her. “You’re here.”

Her smile was bright and unrestrained, soft and warm like the early spring sun; it scattered the tension in Xia Xia’s heart.

Xia Xia gave a quiet mm-hm and walked to the bedside. She glanced at the IV bag above Yan Can’s head, then at the medical dressing wrapped around her forehead, and the sympathy in her eyes was almost overflowing.

“Senior, does it still hurt?”

“It’s fine as long as I don’t touch it,” Yan Can said with a smile.

The few of them chatted for a while before a nurse came in to ask whether they wanted to order a meal. The hospital had nutritious meals, but they had to be reserved in advance. Yan Can shook her head; she wasn’t hungry and didn’t want hospital food.

She was just craving ice cream. After the nurse left, Yan Can blinked at Yu Ting, and the other girl’s brow jumped. “What is it?”

“I want ice cream,” Yan Can said.

Yu Ting hesitated. “Th-that... can you even eat that?”

Of course not. Her diet was being controlled very strictly right now, even down to how much protein she took in.

Her cheap parents’ love for her was a little suffocating.

“Secretly. How about you buy me an ice cream?” she asked again, blinking twice and holding up one slender white finger. “Just once, okay?”

Her voice was soft, like she was coaxing someone.

Yu Ting was still hesitant.

“Please!” Yan Can pleaded.

She didn’t dare eat it when Secretary Cen was around. When Secretary Cen wasn’t there, the aunt was watching her, and she didn’t want to make things difficult for the aunt, so she still hadn’t eaten any. But she was craving it so badly. The more unwell she felt, the more she wanted something sweet; the more she wanted to eat.

Yu Ting...

Yu Ting was still wavering, but Xia Xia was very willing to run the errand. Just as she opened her mouth to offer, Yu Ting let out a long breath, looking like she had finally given in. “Fine.”

After Yu Ting left, only Yan Can and Xia Xia remained in the room.

The room was quiet. The curtains were half drawn, letting in a soft wash of light.

Yan Can yawned. Seeing that Xia Xia was still standing there awkwardly, she smiled and told her to sit.

Xia Xia glanced around and sat on the leather sofa opposite the bed. She sat very properly, her back straight as a pine tree.

Looking at her, Yan Can suddenly thought of Su Ci. That person sat just like Xia Xia.

Thinking of that, she tapped her phone screen twice and checked the time.

It had been almost an hour; she still hadn’t arrived...

Was it really that far? Yan Can opened the map on her phone and entered the hospital address and the neighborhood near Su Ci’s home to check the distance.

By car, it was less than twenty minutes. By bus or subway, it would be slower, probably around half an hour.

She’d wait a little longer; maybe she was still on the way.

Sitting on the sofa, Xia Xia felt an inexplicable nervousness. She didn’t know what to do or what to say, so she could only help keep an eye on the IV bottle. In truth, she didn’t even need to watch; there was an alarm on the drip line, and it would sound when the infusion was finished.

But Xia Xia was too nervous and really didn’t know what to do. She had come to visit her senior, so she definitely couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. But what should she do for her senior? Washing fruit or peeling fruit didn’t need her help, because there was already a fruit platter on the bedside table. And it didn’t look like the senior wanted fruit, either.

In the end, all she could do was help watch the IV bottle. But as she watched, her gaze unconsciously dropped to the person leaning against the head of the bed.

Her senior’s waterfall-like long hair hung naturally down her back, with a few strands draped over her slender shoulders. When she lowered her head, her bangs fell forward; she blew them up in one breath, the strands lifting into the air before settling back over her smooth forehead and covering those beautiful eyes.

Was the senior bothered by her hair getting in the way?

“Senior, do you want me to... tie your hair up for you?” Xia Xia walked to her side and, gathering her courage, asked.

Yan Can looked up. She hadn’t noticed when the girl had come to her bedside; her voice was so small it sounded afraid of being rejected.

Ever since her right hand had been fractured, she hadn’t tied up her hair. Usually at school, when it got too hot, Zhang Ru would tie it up for her.

With her phone resting on the blanket, she had to keep lowering her head to use it, and her hair kept falling forward; she had to keep tucking it back. It really was troublesome.

“Then I’ll trouble you,” Yan Can said, gesturing that the hair tie was in the drawer.

To make it easier for her, she even sat up straight and turned her back to her.

The strands were smooth and silky, like the finest satin; as Xia Xia’s fingers threaded through them, a faint fragrance lingered in the air.

Xia Xia couldn’t help but feel her face heat up again.

“Can you tie it into a bun for me?” Yan Can’s voice came from in front of her. “And try to sweep my bangs up too; they’re in the way.”

-

Su Ci came over carrying a fruit basket, following the address Yan Can had given her. After stepping out of the elevator, she saw the nurses’ station at a glance. She asked the nurse how to get to the VIP ward, and soon she was at the door.

But before she went in, she looked through the transparent window on the door and saw Yan Can and another girl in an embrace. More accurately, Yan Can was being held from behind by that girl, drawn into the girl’s arms.

As if stung, Su Ci lowered her eyelashes, steadied herself, and took a deep breath. Just as she was about to knock, the girl’s voice inside reached her ears; the tone was familiar. Su Ci narrowed her eyes and looked again. She had seen that girl before.

“Senior, wait a little longer, it still won’t do..."

Her gaze darkened. Su Ci withdrew her hand, turned around, and left without looking back.

Inside the room.

“I really think it’s okay now,” Yan Can said, looking at Xia Xia’s hand pressed against the back of hers. Two minutes earlier, Xia Xia had been helping her tie her hair when the drip finished. When the nurse came over to seal the line, she had only injected half the sealing fluid before discovering that the vein had been missed. They had no choice but to remove the indwelling needle.

Without anything to press on the puncture, Xia Xia had kept one hand in place, holding Yan Can’s hair, and used the other to press on the needle hole.

“It should stop bleeding soon.” Yan Can was impatient by nature; with her hand held down like this, she could feel Xia Xia almost right behind her, her breath practically brushing her neck, which made her extremely uncomfortable.

Guessing that enough time had passed, the pressure on the back of her hand eased. Xia Xia finished tidying up the end of her bun and pulled away from her.

With her hair fully tied up, her forehead and neck were revealed, instantly feeling much cooler.

Yan Can smiled. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Xia Xia said, her face red. Her fingertips had just brushed through the hair, and it seemed as if that silky texture was still lingering there.

Yan Can didn’t notice her expression.

Not long after, Yu Ting and the aunt came back one after the other.

Yan Can saw the ice cream in Yu Ting’s hand, along with the fruit basket, and asked, “Why did you go and buy fruit again?”

Over the past few days, whenever someone came to visit, they brought a fruit basket. The room was practically turning into a fruit shop.

Yu Ting shook her head and explained, “I ran into Su Ci just now. This is what she brought for you.”

“Su Ci?” Yan Can straightened at once. “She came?”

Wait, if she came, why hadn’t she seen her?

Yu Ting opened the ice cream wrapper for her; the top had melted a little. “She said she suddenly had something urgent to take care of and left first.”

“Something urgent?” Yan Can was a little uneasy. She called Su Ci, but no one answered; she sent a message, and no one replied.

Yu Ting watched her as the ice cream sat there, the cream already melting all over her hand and about to drip onto the floor. She said helplessly, “Do you even still want this ice cream?”

Xia Xia pulled out a tissue and handed it to Yu Ting.

“Thanks.” Yu Ting wiped her sticky fingers, feeling utterly speechless. If Yan Can weren’t a patient, she would really want to hit her.

Su Ci didn’t reply; maybe she really was busy with something.

Yan Can stopped insisting and looked at the ice cream in Yu Ting’s hand. More than half of it had already melted, and the cream was all over Yu Ting’s hand. It looked so unappetizing. “Forget it, I won’t eat it.”

Yu Ting...

The two of them stayed in Yan Can’s room the whole afternoon. During that time, Zhang Ru called and showed them the room she had decorated herself. When she saw Xia Xia, she invited her too, then expressed regret that Yan Can couldn’t come to her party.

After the two of them left in the afternoon, the ward became quiet again.

After taking the medicine fed to her by the aunt and just finishing a video call with her cheap parents, Yan Can’s phone lit up with a greeting from Zhou Yang.

Yan Can had no memory of who had taken her to the hospital. Her two best friends said it was Zhou Yang. Later, she had also checked the forum and seen those so-called candid photos. She was grateful to Zhou Yang, but she had no feelings for him beyond friendship.

She wouldn’t now, she wouldn’t in the future, and she certainly wouldn’t later on. She hadn’t been from this world to begin with; she could never fall for anyone here.

So she would never let herself do anything that might be seen as going beyond friendship, nor say anything others could misunderstand. As a result, her reply to Zhou Yang was very polite and official: Thank you. It’s nothing serious. Thanks for helping me last time.

Zhou Yang replied very quickly: You’re welcome; that’s what classmates are for.

Zhou Yang: When are you coming back to school?

Yan Can: Not sure.

Zhou Yang: No rush. Take care of your injury. I have a habit of taking notes in class; I can lend them to you then.

Yan Can didn’t reply.

She exited the chat with Zhou Yang and opened her conversation history with Su Ci.

Very good. The other person still hadn’t replied.

What urgent thing could still be unresolved at night?

Yan Can was so agitated she could scratch a wall. She sent Su Ci another message.

It was only when the nurse came for the midnight ward round that she woke up, checked her phone again, and still found no reply.

Yan Can was getting irritable.

Su Ci, you’d better really be busy!

The next day, Yan Can still hadn’t gotten a reply from Su Ci.

After the drip finished, she called Su Ci.

No one answered.

She sent another message. Still no reply.

Yan Can...

-

When Chen Shu picked her up, he was full of trepidation. “Miss, does Secretary Cen know you’re being discharged?”

“Who said I’m being discharged?” Yan Can said, staring at the location on her phone as she recited an address. Seeing his mournful face, she sighed. “Don’t worry, I already reported it. Today is Zhang Ru’s birthday, so I’m going to celebrate with her. I’ll be back later.”

At that, Chen Shu let out a breath of relief. It was fine as long as she had reported it.

The car stopped in an underground parking lot beneath a shopping mall.

Yan Can said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

She opened the car door and glanced at her phone. That person was on the second floor.

She zoomed in on the store name with two fingers, and her pretty brows slowly drew together. She had seen this place online before. It was a very famous couples’ restaurant.