HomeFalling In LoveZhui Luo - Chapter 49

Zhui Luo – Chapter 49

The most chaotic and painful day of Zhou Wan’s youth ended with the urgent wail of police sirens and the arrival of Lu’s grandfather.

The group from Luo He was taken away and Lu Xixiao was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Zhou Wan hurried to the hospital with them. Lu’s grandfather could no longer maintain his previously benevolent facade toward her. When he saw Lu Xixiao lying in a pool of blood, he nearly fainted.

“Zhou Wan,” Lu’s grandfather said softly, “don’t forget what you promised me before.”

Zhou Wan’s footsteps faltered as she lowered her head and bit her lower lip. “I haven’t forgotten, but… could we wait until after he wakes up?”

Lu’s grandfather didn’t answer, simply walking past her.

At the entrance to the operating room, he suddenly stopped and turned back.

“When Xiao went to find you alone, he called me first. That’s why I came with the police,” Lu’s grandfather said. “I was worried something would happen to him and didn’t want him to go, but he wouldn’t listen no matter what I said, so I told him you were Guo Xiangling’s daughter.”

Zhou Wan froze, looking up in shock.

“Do you know what he said?”

Lu’s grandfather’s eyes were deep and penetrating as he gazed at her silently, carrying the weight of a thousand pounds. “He said he had known for a long time, and he didn’t care.”

He had known all along…

Something snapped in Zhou Wan’s mind.

She had been so afraid of Lu Xixiao finding out, afraid he would hate her. She wanted to tell him the truth but could never bring herself to speak, like drinking poisoned wine to quench her thirst, hiding it day after day.

She thought she had hidden it well, that Lu Xixiao never knew.

But Zhou Wan wished he truly hadn’t known anything.

Then she wouldn’t feel such guilt and self-reproach as she did now.

Lu Xixiao had known early on, yet he had never truly been angry with her.

He still pretended not to know, continuing to stay by her side.

Such a good young man – why did he have to suffer all this because of her?

She still had Lu Xixiao’s blood on her; all of this was her doing.

She was the one who had hurt Lu Xixiao like this.

The proud young man had bent his knee; the spirited young man had shed his blood.

She couldn’t continue making mistakes.

She couldn’t let Lu Xixiao endure those accusations anymore, just as his grandfather had said – disgusting, perverted, improper, filthy…

These words could not be allowed to taint her young man.

Her young man should have remained pure and clean, open and sincere.

That night, Zhou Wan waited outside the operating room the entire time.

Many members of the Lu family arrived one after another – Lu Zhongyue, Lu Qilan’s family, and many other relatives. Everyone looked anxious as they comforted each other.

Zhou Wan stood to the side, ignored by everyone.

She stood there like an outsider, quiet and transparent, waiting as people came and went, waiting until the operating room light finally went dark.

The nurse didn’t tell her about Lu Xixiao’s condition, since she wasn’t considered anyone to Lu Xixiao. They called Lu’s grandfather directly instead.

Zhou Wan overheard their conversation and learned that Lu Xixiao’s injuries were very serious. The knife had struck near his heart, and he would need to remain under observation in the ICU for some time.

Unable to enter the room, Zhou Wan sat on the floor in the hallway outside, waiting until daybreak.

Perhaps from catching a chill during the night, her nose was stuffed up and her head ached slightly.

After the nursing shift change, one came over, seemingly just noticing Zhou Wan, and asked, “Are you a family member of the patient?”

Zhou Wan hurriedly stood up. “I’m…” she paused, then said, “I’m his classmate.”

Teenage romance wasn’t uncommon these days. The nurse nodded in understanding and said, “You should go home and change your clothes first. The patient probably won’t wake up for a while.”

“Is his injury very serious?” Zhou Wan’s eyelashes trembled. “When will he wake up?”

“The knife almost reached his heart – how is that not serious? But he’s unconscious now because of the pain pump, which has a sedative effect. He probably won’t wake up until later today.”

Zhou Wan nodded and thanked the nurse.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face. Looking up at herself in the mirror, she saw her pale complexion, dark circles under her eyes, and dried blood stains spattered across her face and clothes in a dark brown pattern.

She took off her outer jacket and left the hospital to go home.

In the end, the black hemp cloth she had bought to protect the flowers from rain went unused.

Last night’s downpour had washed away the soil. The flowers were scattered everywhere, completely beaten down, with several plants uprooted entirely, their roots exposed.

She still couldn’t keep them alive.

Even though they were such easy flowers to grow, they still failed in the end.

Zhou Wan took a hot shower, watching the blood stains flow down with the water into the drain.

Then she pulled out a suitcase from the cabinet – the one she had brought when her grandmother passed away.

Back then, one suitcase had been enough to pack all her belongings, and it was the same this time.

Many clothes remained in the wardrobe, mostly ones Lu Xixiao had bought her on various pretexts over this period. Bit by bit, until now most of the clothes in the wardrobe were ones he had bought her.

She didn’t take them.

Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, sniffed hard, and closed the suitcase latch.

After packing her luggage, she set the suitcase aside and took out a bag to go to Lu Xixiao’s room. He would probably need to stay in the hospital for some time, so Zhou Wan packed some changes of clothes and toiletries for him.

While getting his phone charger, Zhou Wan noticed a photo frame by his bed.

It was her birthday gift to him on his 18th birthday.

The frame contained a photo of her.

The arcade’s lighting had been dim, and the flash had gone off automatically, capturing her startled expression, eyes wide and round like plump black grapes.

It was the photo he had casually taken that day.

This was Zhou Wan’s first time seeing this photo.

This wasn’t Lu Xixiao’s usual style. Although he had taken the photo, it was probably just on impulse – he wouldn’t have had the patience to get it developed at a photoshop.

Zhou Wan didn’t know when he had developed the photo, or when he had put it in his bedroom.

A tear fell, blurring on the frame’s glass.

Zhou Wan pressed her palm against her eyes, trying to control herself but only managing sharp, rapid breaths.

After a long while, she finally stood up again and took out a sachet from an inner pocket of her clothes – this was the one her grandmother had gotten blessed for her, the one her grandmother had clutched tightly even in death.

She unzipped Lu Xixiao’s pillowcase and placed the sachet inside.

She hoped that in the days to come, this sachet would bless him with continued good fortune.

No more injuries, no more sadness.

Sweet dreams every night.

Lu Xixiao woke up the next evening, but Zhou Wan never saw him again.

ICU visiting hours were restricted, and it wasn’t her turn to go in. Lu Xixiao also drifted in and out of consciousness, not fully awake for several days.

As for Luo He’s group, they had all been detained. With Lu’s grandfather handling the matter, it certainly wouldn’t be resolved easily.

Three days later, he finally recovered enough to be transferred out of the ICU.

When he woke up that night, Zhou Wan was alone in the room.

He opened his eyes and saw a slender figure in the darkness, sitting ramrod straight without turning on the lights, lost in thought.

“Zhou Wan,” he called out hoarsely.

This was the first time in many days that Zhou Wan had heard Lu Xixiao’s voice again.

She jumped to her feet, somewhat flustered. “Lu Xixiao, you’re awake. How… does anything still hurt?”

“I’m fine,” he smiled, reaching out to hook his fingers with hers. “What time is it?”

Zhou Wan checked the time. “Just past midnight.”

“Why aren’t you home sleeping?” Lu Xixiao said. “Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

Zhou Wan hadn’t been to school these past few days.

She hadn’t contacted anyone or seen anyone, just staying at the hospital even though she couldn’t see Lu Xixiao. She cradled his hand carefully, as if afraid of hurting him, and said softly, “I took leave.”

“Taking leave again? Be careful or you won’t get second place next time.”

Even now, Lu Xixiao still had the spirit to joke with her.

Zhou Wan paused, then said quietly, “Jiang Yan got early admission, he won’t be taking exams anymore.”

She lowered her eyes and sniffled, but still couldn’t hold back her tears.

She hadn’t been a crybaby before, but since meeting Lu Xixiao, it seemed her threshold for tears had lowered considerably.

“I’m sorry,” Zhou Wan said.

“Sorry for what?”

“I only went there because Jiang Yan called me,” Zhou Wan said, head bowed and choking up. “If I had been more careful, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

“Luo He targeted you because of me, it had nothing to do with you.”

Lu Xixiao said softly, his voice deep and gentle. “It was my fault, but I won’t apologize to you.”

Lu Xixiao lifted her chin. In the moonlight filtering through the window lattice, he said earnestly, “Neither of us needs to apologize to the other, not now, not ever.”

For the next few days, Zhou Wan didn’t go to school, staying at the hospital every day to keep him company.

Sometimes Lu family relatives would come to visit, but in such a large family even visits were mere formalities and calculations, lacking sincerity. Lu Xixiao dealt with them perfunctorily, and eventually, they stopped coming.

Lu’s grandfather did come often.

He didn’t say anything to Zhou Wan, but she knew clearly that time was counting down.

News of the Luo He incident was suppressed, and no one else knew about it. A week later, Jiang Fan finally contacted Lu Xixiao, joking right away about where he’d been playing all these days that no one had seen him.

Jiang Fan had a loud voice. Zhou Wan was sitting by the bed peeling an apple when she heard this and looked up.

Lu Xixiao smiled carelessly. “What?”

“You disappearing is one thing, but Zhou Wan disappeared too,” Jiang Fan said. “What have you two been doing together all these days? I’m starting to suspect you went abroad to get married.”

Jiang Fan was talking nonsense, his imagination running wild.

Lu Xixiao played along: “Yeah, we got married. We’ll treat you all to drinks when we get back.”

Zhou Wan’s hands faltered.

The continuous apple peel broke.

After hanging up, Lu Xixiao reached out to tip Zhou Wan’s chin up. “Three more years,” he said.

“What?”

“Until you reach legal marriage age.”

Zhou Wan lowered her head, her thick black lashes hiding the emotion in her eyes. She pretended to be casual: “Oh, you know about that?”

“Looked it up before.”

Zhou Wan’s heart felt like it had been pricked by a needle again, the sourness unbearable.

She turned away, finished peeling the last bit of apple skin, and handed it to Lu Xixiao.

When May arrived, Lu Xixiao could finally get out of bed and move around freely.

The weather was getting warmer. Lu Xixiao initially wanted to change into a short-sleeved shirt before going out for a walk, but Zhou Wan wouldn’t let him, worried that his weakened body would catch cold easily, so he gave up the idea.

The private hospital had excellent landscaping.

There was a dedicated area behind it for patients to walk and rest.

Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao walked together for a while, then found a bench to sit on.

An elderly man sat across from them, using an electric razor to shave his head.

Lu Xixiao ran his hand through his hair and said, “I need a haircut too.”

“Hold off a bit longer,” Zhou Wan said. “Wait until you’re fully recovered.”

The bangs in front had grown long enough to get in his eyes, and he pushed them all back. “By the time I’m recovered, I’ll have long hair.”

Zhou Wan laughed, imagining it. “You’d probably look good with long hair too.”

“No way,” he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Ugly.”

Zhou Wan thought for a moment. “Then what should we do? Maybe we could ask a barber to come in and cut your hair? Though I’m not sure if that’s allowed.”

“You can cut it for me,” Lu Xixiao suddenly said.

Zhou Wan was startled. “Huh?”

“It’s fine, just cut it, however,” Lu Xixiao said. “With your boyfriend’s face, I’d look handsome even if you shaved me bald.”

“…”

Lu Xixiao seemed very interested in this idea. He immediately got up to borrow the razor from the elderly man across from them, thanked him, and walked back to hand it to Zhou Wan.

Zhou Wan was still hesitant. “But I don’t know how to use it.”

“It’s very simple, young lady,” the elderly man said. “Just adjust the length setting and you’ll be fine.”

Although Lu Xixiao said to cut it however she wanted, Zhou Wan didn’t dare experiment freely with his hair. She trimmed very carefully, in the end only shortening the overgrown parts slightly and then trimming the sides.

It should be enough to last until he was discharged.

Zhou Wan washed the razor clean and returned it to the elderly man.

They sat side by side on the bench. The sun was especially nice today, the best weather they’d had in days. There were many people outside, including children in hospital gowns running around.

Zhou Wan turned to look at him.

The young man had lost quite a bit of weight from his serious illness, but he was still as radiant as ever. The lines of his face had become sharper, yet not as harsh as before.

“Lu Xixiao,” Zhou Wan suddenly said.

He turned to face her.

Almost instantly, Lu Xixiao vaguely sensed something.

Just moments ago she had been helping him cut his hair, but in the next second, seeing her expression, Lu Xixiao could guess what she was about to say.

“I know that you already know everything,” Zhou Wan said, eyes downcast. “These days, I’m grateful to you. You’ve given me beautiful memories I never dared to dream of before. Contentment brings happiness, and I should be content.”

“Your injury is almost healed, and after this, I probably won’t come anymore. Lu Xixiao, I’m sorry, all of this was my—”

“Zhou Wan.”

Lu Xixiao cut off her words. His breathing was somewhat rapid, whether from fear or anger. “I don’t care. I don’t care about any of it.”

Zhou Wan clenched her jaw.

For this final goodbye, she didn’t want to cry again.

He reached out and gripped her wrist tightly. “Don’t go, please?”

But these weren’t words Lu Xixiao would normally say.

He was so proud, the type who would never look back once he left, not like now—being deceived yet still holding onto her hand, asking her to stay.

Zhou Wan thought again of that day when he had knelt, silent but determined.

Her chest tightened again with heartache and guilt.

Like a dead end, cycling back again and again into these same emotions.

“Lu Xixiao, on my birthday, you still owed me one wish. Will you grant it for me now?” Zhou Wan said softly.

He gritted his teeth, saying nothing.

“From now on, be well, just like I said that day. Go see the vast world, walk the path of prosperity, be happy every day, and stay safe year after year. You can hate me, or forget me.”

“Let’s break up.”

Zhou Wan stood up and said softly, “Brother.”

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