Ping Jiapeng made a phone call outside the ward. The girl accompanying him stood by the door, brows furrowed in thought, glancing alternately at Ping Jiapeng outside and Xia Xia inside, before finally resting her gaze on the unconscious Xie Huai.

The hospital corridor was quiet at night, occasionally broken by Ping Jiapeng’s impatient voice despite his efforts to keep it low.

“…Stop asking so many questions, isn’t it annoying? I told you I need the money urgently, transfer it first and I’ll explain later.”

“I’m not going to waste it, my friend needs surgery and lacks money…”

The other end said something unknown, but Xia Xia guessed it wasn’t pleasant.

Ping Jiapeng’s already irritated mood worsened. His shoe sole kicked the hospital wall, leaving a clear gray mark on the white tiles.

“Yes!” the young man shouted, “I owe someone money outside! Give it or not, if you don’t, I’ll get beaten tonight and return home tomorrow with broken arms and legs!”

Xia Xia came out, and Ping Jiapeng hung up the phone.

“Keep your voice down,” Xia Xia reminded him. “You can’t make loud noises in the hospital, the nurses will scold you.”

Ping Jiapeng looked at her: “I know.”

“I’m sorry,” Xia Xia said softly. “Made you argue with your family again.”

Ping Jiapeng stiffened: “Don’t say ‘again,’ what happened before was clearly my fault. I haven’t even apologized to you yet, how did it become your turn?”

When he mentioned the past, Xia Xia fell silent. He laughed awkwardly, waving his phone: “Don’t worry, I’ll ask some friends. I’ll help you borrow the money somehow.”

Xia Xia remained silent. When she pressed her lips together without speaking, she looked pure and innocent, momentarily making Ping Jiapeng feel like he’d returned to that summer long ago.

The young girl, shy yet timid, obediently stood before him tugging at his sleeve: “Don’t go to the internet cafe, stay with me for evening self-study.”

Back then, Ping Jiapeng didn’t understand how fragile young love could be, thinking the girl who foolishly followed him was naturally gentle and understanding.

—She seemed like she would never get angry.

He perfunctorily coaxed her: “Next time, I’ll stay with you for self-study. They’re waiting for me, I have to go. If the teacher comes, just say I went home sick.”

Xia Xia never got angry with him over such small things. Years later, when Ping Jiapeng recalled this, he wanted to slap himself several times. Though they were together for almost two years, the time he spent with her was minimal. With the intense high school coursework, besides daily classes and meals, their time together was scarce.

Young and ignorant, he always thought the future road was long. Only after growing up did he realize that time truly was, as books said, like sand slipping through fingers – gone in the blink of an eye, leaving only a few fine grains at the bottom of the bottle.

Looking at the girl before him now, time had taken away some of her childishness and gifted her with unique qualities.

—Confidence, determination, sharp-tongued in a way that made people both love and hate…

All these layers combined made her so captivating he couldn’t look away.

But he knew clearly that even if her exterior remained unchanged from before, the person in her heart now was worlds apart from him.

Ping Jiapeng snapped out of his daze at the sound of a text message notification.

The bank sent a message – his card had received a transfer of eighty thousand yuan.

Xia Xia went into the ward, took out a paper bag from the cabinet, wiped the dust and blood stains off Xie Huai’s shoes with a wet tissue, and put them in the bag.

Ping Jiapeng’s companion watched and couldn’t help but frown: “These shoes cost eighty thousand?”

“Even limited edition shoes shouldn’t be this expensive, right? Besides, when people sell limited editions at high prices, they’re well-maintained. These are so dirty, nobody would want them even at the original price.”

The shoes Xie Zhisheng gave to Xie Huai had been worn constantly and were badly worn.

For Xie Huai, their value wasn’t in their cost, but in the fact that they were from Xie Zhisheng.

“These shoes were given to Big Brother Huai by Uncle, he would never sell them. I’ll return them when I pay you back,” Xia Xia removed the Bodhi bracelet Xie Huai had given her. “If you think it’s not worth it, take this too.”

Ping Jiapeng didn’t accept it, putting the shoe bag back on the ground: “No need, I trust you.”

Xia Xia said nothing.

The girl left the ward, the sound of the closing door revealing her poor mood.

Ping Jiapeng gazed at Xia Xia’s face, slightly blurred in the moonlight.

“It’s not that kind of relationship between us,” he explained awkwardly. “Our parents are friends, we’ve met a few times at dinner. My mom asked me to bring her to Zhangshi for New Year’s sightseeing. I don’t know what she thinks, but I don’t have any other intentions.”

Xia Xia said softly: “You don’t need to tell me these things.”

“I know,” Ping Jiapeng said dejectedly. “I know you don’t care about these things anymore, but I still don’t want you to misunderstand.”

“Get some rest,” he smiled, turning his face away and pretending to be casual. “I won’t disturb you anymore. The money came from my mom, she won’t miss those few tens of thousands, don’t rush to pay it back.”

He turned to push the door after speaking, not willing to linger for a moment.

“Ping Jiapeng,” Xia Xia called out to him.

He turned back to see the girl’s beautiful face, tears dried, wearing a faint smile.

“I’ve never blamed you, don’t feel like you owe me anything,” Xia Xia said. “If it weren’t for you tonight, I really wouldn’t have known what to do. Thank you.”

Ping Jiapeng smiled slightly and left.

Xie Huai woke up the next night.

At the time, Xia Xia was eating when she saw Xie Huai’s arm move. She gasped, excitedly knocking over her porridge bowl, and ran out to call the nurse.

When she returned, Xie Huai had opened his eyes.

Xia Xia grabbed the nurse’s arm: “He’s awake, he’s awake—”

The nurse, dizzy from being shaken, scolded her: “Can you stop making noise? It’s not like you’ve never seen a patient wake up before. Move aside, I’m calling the doctor for examination.”

Xie Huai had just woken up to hear Xia Xia being scolded, and the girl pitifully leaned against the window, not daring to speak again.

After the doctor finished a long examination and left, Xie Huai’s consciousness became fully clear.

He had lost a lot of blood and was still pale, weakly raising his arm: “Got scolded? Come here, let Big Brother Huai comfort you.”

Xia Xia approached him, carefully lifting the blanket to check the stitched wound under his hospital gown.

At first, she just stared, but as she looked longer, her eyes reddened, and even her breathing became moist.

“Why are you crying?” Xie Huai’s voice was hoarse from not drinking water for so long.

Xia Xia poured him a glass of water. Following the nurse’s instructions, she first moistened his lips with a wet tissue and then inserted a straw for him to drink slowly.

“Don’t be so troublesome,” Xie Huai peeled off the wet tissue from his lips. “Just kiss me, that’s much faster.”

He could see Xia Xia was upset and said this deliberately to tease her.

But not only did Xia Xia not laugh, her eyes grew redder, and large teardrops fell one after another as she began to cry outright.

Xie Huai held her with his arm, laughing carelessly: “Your crying makes my heart ache.”

Xia Xia didn’t speak or make a sound, just silently crying as if the tears would never end. Her silent crying was worse than if she had wailed or scolded him to release her emotions. Xie Huai tried to comfort her, wiping her tears but was at a loss for what to do with her.

“Auntie is still in ICU, she just got out of danger this morning, but the doctor says they need to observe for a few more days.” Xia Xia told him about everything that had happened these past few days.

…

When Xie Huai heard about Zhao Jinsong, his eyes darkened slightly, and he pressed his hand against the back of her head, making her lower it close to him.

“Sorry for making you worry,” he wiped away her tears. “It’s my fault, this won’t ever happen again.”

“I’ll figure out the money, I’ll handle Zhao Jinsong’s matter, you don’t need to worry about anything.” Xie Huai raised his sharp brows, handsome and unrestrained, his words showing traces of his never-fading youthful boldness.

“Big Brother Huai promises, you won’t suffer any grievances in the future.”

His weak features couldn’t hide his joy, eager to fulfill his promises right away.

He let Xia Xia rest her head on his chest, his heartbeat vivid and strong, making thumping sounds with each rise and fall of his chest.

The girl in his arms was soft and delicate, her breathing gentle.

Xie Huai held her like a docile little rabbit, cherishing her, unwilling to let go.

Xia Xia hadn’t said much, just mentioning things briefly, but he could easily imagine her crying alone after failing to find help.

His heart nearly burst with pain, but even more with tenderness.

—Incomparable, indescribable tenderness.

Xie Huai called to her softly: “Xia Xia, when will you marry me?”

He asked this question right after waking up, startling Xia Xia before he held her tight and whispered in her ear: “You will marry me, won’t you?”

Xie Huai smiled: “Half of the future I promised you has already come true, you won’t have to wait too long for the other half.”

“Big Brother Huai will have money, then I’ll marry you and bring you home as my wife. You won’t need to do anything, just watch Korean dramas and play mahjong, get beauty treatments when tired, sleep when sleepy, use Yu Mei Jing cream on the floor, soak your feet in miracle water…”

“You’re not allowed to say no,” he was domineering yet gentle. “Big Brother Huai really can’t live without you anymore.”

“If you’re not by my side for even one day, I’ll go crazy.”

Xie Huai said many things, but Xia Xia didn’t respond to a single word.

She obediently lay at his side, so quiet she seemed asleep.

Xie Huai was young and his wound healed quickly. After a few days, he could get up and walk normally.

Qiao Ru’s condition stabilized and she was transferred from ICU to a regular ward, waking up a few days later. Her knife wound wasn’t deep; the most serious injury was the blow to the back of her head, causing a mild concussion. Due to aftereffects, she had a gap in her memory of being injured after waking up, forgetting how she got to the hospital.

As Xie Huai’s wound gradually healed, he became restless in the hospital, but the staff wouldn’t let him leave.

Every day, besides going to Qiao Ru’s ward to bother her, his most frequent activity was lying in his bed acting helpless to make Xia Xia help him to the bathroom.

Xie Huai lay flat on his back facing the ceiling, as this was the only position he could maintain while his wound wasn’t fully healed.

“Xia Xia,” he called.

Xia Xia had just entered with food when she saw him smiling at her from the bed.

He reached out his hand, looking completely shameless: “Carry me.”

“Your stomach is injured, not your feet,” Xia Xia casually placed the food on the bedside table. “Besides, the doctor said you can leave next week, stop pretending.”

Xie Huai wasn’t embarrassed at being exposed, his expression bright as he looked at her: “So will you marry me?”

Xia Xia didn’t dare carry him for fear of pressing against his stomach. She sat on the bed’s edge, helping him stand up by supporting himself against her.

Xie Huai put most of his weight on her, and for the short ten-meter distance from the bed to the bathroom, he constantly complained of pain in her ear.

After resolving Hu Shurong’s matter, he was in very good spirits. In all the time they’d known each other, this was the first time Xia Xia had seen Xie Huai smile so freely.

His hot breath tickled her ear, and Xia Xia turned her head away. Xie Huai held her waist with strength that didn’t seem to belong to a weak patient at all.

“Don’t move around,” Xia Xia said. “Just use the bathroom properly.”

“Help me hold it,” Xie Huai said. “I’m in pain, I can’t move.”

Xia Xia glared at him but helped him hold it.

Nothing happened for a while.

Xie Huai lowered his head, his lips barely brushing against her hair: “I don’t want to use the bathroom anymore.”

“Xie Huai, have some shame!” Xia Xia looked up at his playful smile, her face instantly turning tomato-red.

She turned to leave, but Xie Huai wouldn’t let her. With his arm around her neck, he leaned against her and whined: “Baby, I feel terrible.”

His eyes were bright and clear, showing undisguised, obvious desire: “Please, help me out.”

Xia Xia sneezed, and Xie Huai stopped fooling around, reaching to touch her forehead: “Are you sick?”

Xia Xia sniffled: “A bit of a cold.”

Xie Huai carefully helped her back to the bed: “I’ll call a doctor to check.”

“No need,” Xia Xia curled up on his bed, her voice low. “Just a small problem, I’ll be fine after some sleep.”