During class, Wang Wei announced that Zhang Shu had safely woken up, and the class atmosphere immediately lightened.

Hou Junqi pretended to cry in the back row: “But why isn’t he responding to my messages!”

Someone shouted: “Maybe because he’s so embarrassed by his Weibo posts that he’ll never look at his phone again!”

The class erupted in quiet laughter.

Everyone secretly glanced at Sheng Xia.

Sheng Xia also remembered those tree-hole posts of his, like “How can she be so cute?” It was truly mortifying.

“Can we go visit him?” Qi Xiulei called out.

Wang Wei: “Wait a few days. He still can’t eat normally right now, he’s just getting nutrients through IV and doesn’t even have the strength to talk. Don’t disturb him. When the time comes, don’t go in large groups – three or four representatives will be enough.”

Still can’t eat…

Sheng Xia silently cursed herself for being so careless.

He was injured in the abdomen, how could she not have asked about it?

That day he had talked so much with her too.

Tonight when she visits, she must make sure he talks less, better yet not at all.

As soon as afternoon classes ended, Sheng Xia was packing her bag to leave when Chen Mengyao came running to stop her.

The hallway was busy with people coming and going, everyone curiously watching them.

Chen Mengyao pulled Sheng Xia to a quiet spot in the corridor and got straight to the point: “You know which hospital he’s in, right? You must know?”

Sheng Xia was stunned, “Why would I know…”

“Isn’t your father, isn’t he like, the biggest figure at Nanli?”

Uh, that description.

“Can you tell me?” Chen Mengyao asked urgently, “I was in Dongzhou recently, in closed training, and just saw the news. How did this happen? Is he okay?”

Sheng Xia: “He’s not in danger anymore, don’t worry. He’s just recovering now, not suitable for visitors.”

Chen Mengyao suddenly stared straight into Sheng Xia’s eyes: “You’re lying to me.”

Sheng Xia:?

Chen Mengyao: “You told me you weren’t together. I said before, if you got together, you had to tell me.”

“We aren’t together…”

Chen Mengyao: “Really? You promise.”

Sheng Xia: “Mm.”

Chen Mengyao: “But everyone’s saying he rushed in to save that girl because he thought it was you in the bookstore.”

“No,” Sheng Xia shook her head firmly, “He… was there because of me, but no matter who was sitting inside, he would have rushed in.”

Chen Mengyao paused slightly, her gaze dimming, “I saw his Weibo.”

Sheng Xia pressed her lips together, not responding.

“But aren’t you going abroad?” Chen Mengyao said, “Only if you two aren’t together, I’ll maintain my previous stance. If you have any news, could you let me know?”

Sheng Xia: “That I can do.”

She could understand another person who worried about him.

Chen Mengyao: “Then let’s add each other on WeChat?”

“Okay…” Sheng Xia took out her phone and pulled up her WeChat QR code. When she heard the “ding” sound, Sheng Xia remembered the letters from the girls to Zhang Shu in her backpack and hesitated: “Then you might have a hard time.”

“Added you, accept it,” Chen Mengyao pointed at her phone before processing what was said, “Hm?”

“He probably likes me right now, it might be hard for you…” Sheng Xia mumbled, repeating herself.

Seeing Sheng Xia’s WeChat appear in her friend’s list, Chen Mengyao looked up to see the girl’s very sincere expression and was stunned—

How could there be such a silly person?

This made for a rather unsatisfying love rival.

Chen Mengyao suddenly smiled: “That’s my problem.”

Then she turned and left abruptly without saying goodbye, appearing somewhat impolite.

Sheng Xia was used to it. She looked at her newly added friend – Chen Mengyao’s profile picture was of herself, and her Moments cover was also of herself, confidently radiant, truly beautiful.

…

When Sheng Xia arrived at the hospital, a duty police officer escorted her to the ward.

She heard there were reporters downstairs but couldn’t tell who they were.

The girl who was saved that day was hearing impaired, and this news suddenly attracted a lot of media attention. Since there was a police station just two kilometers from where the incident occurred, many disreputable media outlets were insinuating and trying to guide the narrative in that direction. With too many flowery and confusing reports recently, it could trigger public opinion if not handled well, so everything was being treated with extreme caution.

Sheng Mingfeng said the city would give commendations once things died down.

It was dinner time now, and you could smell food from other wards, but Zhang Shu’s room was ice cold, with faint sounds of pain coming from inside.

Sheng Xia’s whole body went numb. Looking through the small window, the bed curtains were drawn tight, blocking everything from view.

His low, restrained groans came intermittently. Sheng Xia frowned tightly and asked the police officer beside her: “What are they doing?”

“Probably changing bandages or examining…”

Sheng Xia’s hand gripping the door also tightened.

After a while, the doctor pulled back the curtain, gave some instructions, and left.

In the ward, Zhang Shu’s forehead was covered in a fine sheen of cold sweat.

He was breathing heavily, slowly calming down.

After all the doctors left, Sheng Xia entered the ward. A nurse was hanging an IV for Zhang Shu and upon seeing Sheng Xia, teased: “Hey campus hunk, your ‘prosperity’ is here?”

Sheng Xia remembered classmates saying Zhang Shu had suffered social death online. Well, it seemed he had, a bit.

She had a deep impression of that line “I want you to be successful in everything and prosperous forever.”

If she hadn’t read it several times, she wouldn’t have known the suffix “-ity” could be translated phonetically like that.

It was indeed a bit… eccentric.

Zhang Shu gave the nurse a sideways glance and said weakly but forcefully: “That’s enough…”

The nurse chuckled and stopped teasing him, positioned his hand properly, and left.

Passing by Sheng Xia, she said: “Someone’s been asking since noon if a very pretty girl had come!”

Sheng Xia shyly looked away.

Campus hunk.

It seemed he’d gotten along well with the nurses these past few days.

He was always like this – the atmosphere was never awkward wherever he went, even though he wasn’t particularly outgoing.

This magical charm was probably innate.

“Sit…” Seeing her standing there blankly without coming over, he called out.

Sheng Xia sat in the same chair as last night but suddenly didn’t know what to say.

She just wanted to see him, but always ended up speechless.

“Does it hurt?” She had nothing new to say.

Zhang Shu guessed she had heard earlier and this time simply nodded frankly.

“Then what can we do?” Sheng Xia remembered when she was injured, how attentive he was, even going to find the doctor, “Can you get pain medication?”

“Already got it.” His voice was so low it was barely audible.

Sheng Xia looked up at bag after bag of medicine.

“Are they all nutrients?” she asked, looking down, “Don’t talk, just nod or shake your head.”

Zhang Shu suddenly smiled.

A teeth-showing smile.

Though he looked ill, Sheng Xia still felt sunshine spreading everywhere.

He shook his head.

The question “Then what are they” came to Sheng Xia’s lips but she swallowed it back. He couldn’t answer too many questions, so she shouldn’t ask too many either.

The two just quietly looked at each other.

“Where’s Sister Su Jin, did she go home?”

Zhang Shu nodded, “Coming tonight.”

“Oh, then who’s taking care of you? A caregiver?”

Zhang Shu nodded.

Silence fell again.

Zhang Shu gazed intently at the girl, finding it amusing how she wracked her brains trying to find topics.

She had no choice – usually, he was the talkative one. When he wasn’t talking, there was the even more talkative Hou Junqi.

“Does it still hurt a lot even with the pain medication?” She returned to her initial question, probably what she cared about most.

Zhang Shu thought for a moment, frowning: “Very painful.”

Sheng Xia asked reflexively: “Then what would help?”

Zhang Shu closed his eyes briefly, seeming to seriously consider, “If you praise me a few times, it’ll be better…”

He opened his eyes, full of expectation.

Sheng Xia was dumbfounded: “Praise… you?”

“Ten times…” he was almost whispering.

Sheng Xia couldn’t quite hear and moved her ear closer to his head. His warm breath brushed against her ear and neck, suddenly making her shiver.

He said: “Ten good points about me…”

Sheng Xia straightened up and looked at him somewhat bewildered and helpless, her earlobes starting to turn red…

How could someone so brazenly ask others to praise them?

“You’re… good at studying.”

Zhang Shu’s lips twitched slightly as he nodded, accepting this.

“Um…”

She was a bit troubled – praising someone face-to-face felt strange.

But this brief hesitation made Zhang Shu’s pleased expression turn cold—

Was he that hard to praise?

Did he have so few good points that it was this difficult, huh?

Sheng Xia: “Smart!”

Zhang Shu’s expression grew even less pleased.

“How is that… any different?” His voice got a bit louder, “You’re just going through the motions!”

“No no,” Sheng Xia waved her hands, looking very sincere, “Being smart and being good at studying are different. Being good at studying is just an external manifestation, being smart applies to all aspects, it means having great wisdom…”

Zhang Shu could barely control the smile at the corners of his mouth.

“Mm, what else?”

Sheng Xia: “That’s two, are you feeling better?”

Zhang Shu nodded. Better his foot, his abdomen felt like it was being torn apart.

Sheng Xia continued thinking: “Attentive.”

“Mm.”

“Has vision.”

“Mm.” Isn’t this the same as smart? Oh well, she had a lot of sophisticated reasoning as an intellectual.

“Kind.”

Zhang Shu: “Mm.” Why were they all about character? Couldn’t she be a bit more superficial?

“Brave.”

Zhang Shu couldn’t even be bothered to say “mm” anymore.

Sheng Xia counted on her fingers, “That’s 6…”

She felt a bit embarrassed to continue, glancing at his now impatient face, she lowered her head and quickly listed: “Tall, handsome, strong, good at singing and playing the drums!”

Oh? That made 11.

She still wanted to say he was good at basketball and volleyball too.

Better stop.

Makes one’s ears burn.

The girl lowered her head, wanting to bury herself in the blanket in front of her.

Ugh, saying things like handsome and strong, she seemed like such a crazy admirer…

Zhang Shu was completely stunned, the wild joy in his heart truly dulling the pain.

Good at singing? Plays the drums?

For a long while, she didn’t raise her head.

Zhang Shu reached out to tug at the bed sheet in front of her, “Where did you hear me sing?”

“Weibo… ah…” she looked up, answering softly.

The smile on Zhang Shu’s face suddenly froze, stuck in awkwardness.

Right, his Weibo had been seen by everyone online, how could she not have seen it?

Zhang Shu: “You like hearing me sing?”

Sheng Xia nodded: “Mm… everyone does…”

Zhang Shu: “Am I handsome?”

Sheng Xia: …

“Yes, handsome.” Still looking down, burying her head like an ostrich in the sand.

After a while, she suddenly realized – how did it turn into him questioning her? He wasn’t supposed to talk so much.

So she looked up again, getting to business: “I brought your mock exam papers and the answer explanations. But since you can only lie down now, you probably can’t look at them. I’ll leave them here, you can check them when you can sit up.”

The papers were neatly folded in a folder. After placing them down, she pulled out a stack of envelopes from her backpack.

Zhang Shu looked at her questioningly.

Sheng Xia: “These are all… letters from classmates…”

“Classmates?”

Zhang Shu glanced at the fancy letter paper, easily guessing which classmates had written them.

They were love letters.

Love letters others wrote to him, and she so calmly collected them to show him?

What was going on in her head?

Zhang Shu: “Do you know what’s written inside?”

Sheng Xia shook her head. She hadn’t looked, how would she know?

But she could guess some of it.

Zhang Shu: “You dare show them to me without knowing?”

Zhang Shu’s mood instantly plummeted.

So, she was being so accommodating just because he’d just returned from death’s door?

Sheng Xia hadn’t noticed his change, continuing to dig through her bag while asking: “Do you want to read them now or later? I’ll leave them here for you.”

Zhang Shu: …

When Sheng Xia looked up again, she met a pair of extremely exasperated eyes.

It was easy to see he wasn’t happy.

She instinctively felt it was related to the envelopes, so she stacked them on the bedside table and stopped discussing the topic.

She should go now – she couldn’t disturb him for too long, and she still had class at Hengxin Building.

“Um…” she felt quite unsuccessful, managing to upset someone while visiting them in the hospital, “I need to go now, I have class tonight.”

What class? He didn’t need to ask.

He’d followed her for several days, how could he not know?

Sheng Xia saw the light in his eyes completely fade and naturally knew that studying abroad was the most unspeakable topic between them.

However, the final review hadn’t passed yet, so she couldn’t give him uncertain information. If she failed, she would still have to go abroad, and their previous pain would have to be relieved.

At least wait for the final review to pass.

Looking at his dejected eyes, she couldn’t say a word of comfort.

Sheng Xia stood up, “I probably won’t be able to come see you these few days. I’ll come back when you’re better.”

“Sheng Xia.”

She stopped at his call, hearing him seemingly say: “Are you pitying me?”

“What?” She doubted she heard correctly.

“Nothing,” he turned his head slightly, his gaze lacking its usual dominance due to lying flat, saying weakly, “Goodbye.”

Sheng Xia left hesitantly.

Looking back three times with each step.

…

To prevent Sheng Xia from constantly running to the hospital, Wang Lianhua resumed daily pick-ups and drop-offs.

And with Sheng Xia having evening classes at the institute, naturally, it couldn’t be hidden anymore.

Wang Lianhua remained silent for half an hour before finally being unable to contain herself, angrily saying: “So I, as your mother, am not qualified to have any say in your future? You and your father doing such big things, hiding it from me – don’t think I don’t know about all the lies you’ve told! Where did that formal dress hidden under your bed come from? Didn’t you say the school rented it? Why wasn’t it returned? That style, that price range – I don’t even need to look to know it was Zou Weiping’s doing!”

“And Zhang Shu, have his parents already agreed you two can date now, huh? The daughter I raised, and they get to play the good guys! You must be so grateful! Only I’m constantly controlling you, I’m the evil stepmother breaking up the lovebirds, right!”

“Every single thing you do is deceiving me! You three are the real family, right, conspiring together to hide things from this outsider! For so long, I kept quiet seeing how hard you studied, how difficult it was for you. Ha, and now this – the path is already paved, you don’t need me as your mother anymore now or in the future, is that it?”

Sheng Xia stood stiffly from the sofa.

Mother and daughter were both in tears.

“Mom, it’s not like that, it’s not…” Sheng Xia explained, “I wanted to wait until I could be sure about getting into a good domestic university before telling you.”

Wang Lianhua: “Then what if you can’t stay?”

Sheng Xia fell silent.

In reality, she had no solution.

If she couldn’t get into Heqing University in the end, Sheng Mingfeng would inevitably have a terrible fight with Wang Lianhua.

She was also confused. She didn’t know either.

Why was it so hard to find balance?

Why did she just want everyone to be a little happier, but ended up making everyone so miserable?

Had she overestimated herself?

She really couldn’t solve anything.

Just like with Zhang Shu, she really couldn’t make him truly happy.

How did she end up in this situation?

Where exactly did things start going wrong?

Sheng Xia felt like she was non-Newtonian fluid, without a core, hard to define, tangled in a mess when pulled, spreading flat when let go.

“Mom, I don’t know what to do either, Mom…” she finally let out a complaint.

Why did no one remember she was only seventeen?

Wang Lianhua’s emotional agitation subsided somewhat at Sheng Xia’s sobbing.

How could she not understand – Sheng Xia was the most sensible child, and the current situation was already the result of her utmost efforts.

Wang Lianhua finally truly admitted: she had always been the selfish one.

Her suffering should never have been transferred to her child.

Wang Lianhua collapsed onto the sofa, asking: “Sheng Xia, would you be willing… to go live with your father? Mom’s not saying this out of anger, just feeling he could give you more.”

“No!” Sheng Xia fell onto her mother’s lap, burying herself completely in her mother’s embrace, “I don’t want to, Mom, I just want to stay with you, I still want to graduate properly and find a good job, take good care of you, Mom, I didn’t mean to, I’ll tell Dad right now I won’t go abroad, Mom please don’t abandon me…”

“No, good child,” Wang Lianhua pulled Sheng Xia up, “Mom was wrong, I shouldn’t have said those things. Going abroad is the best choice for you – Mom was being selfish. Your father always opposes me, I got emotional and wasn’t thinking straight. Let’s both calm down and think this through properly, don’t act on impulse.”

Other than faint sobbing, there wasn’t a single other sound in the house.

At night, lying in her bed, Sheng Xia could hear muffled shouting from her mother’s room next door.

She knew they were fighting.

She couldn’t make out the words, but every pause and syllable struck her fragile heart.

When would all this finally end?

…

Less than two minutes after the arguing stopped, Sheng Xia received a call from Sheng Mingfeng.

“Dad…”

“I said before we should have told your mom earlier,” Sheng Mingfeng sighed, “Don’t blame her, she’s just stubborn. Once she calms down she’ll know what’s best for you.”

“Mm.”

Sheng Mingfeng: “Why don’t you want to go abroad?”

“I want to study Chinese…” She was tired, just wanting to keep it brief.

Sheng Mingfeng sighed: “Have you thought about the future? After studying Chinese, then what?”

Then what?

“Dad is a man but doesn’t want to defend men. Males mature later, perhaps even later than they imagine…” Sheng Mingfeng was still sighing, “Just like your mom and me – we met in university, both felt no one else could be more suitable than the other, but what happened? You’ve seen…”

“On this point, I agree with your mom – you’re too young. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. Any decision you make must be for yourself.”

“I owe your mom, I understand she wants you to stay by her side, but education is life’s most important choice, even more than marriage. Dad hopes you can be prudent. Choosing a university, choosing a major, isn’t just about fame and fortune, but you also can’t completely disregard it…”

“Studying Chinese isn’t bad, but you want to study Classical Chinese – I don’t know much about this area, can you tell Dad about it?”

“Classical Chinese…” Sheng Xia slowly sat up straight, “is the most beautiful language in the world. I don’t know what use it will be to me in the future, but if I can be of use to it, that would be my achievement. If I can use my pen, my research, to help more people encounter it and fall in love with it, I would feel that’s the most fulfilling thing.”

Silence on the other end of the phone, Sheng Mingfeng seemed to be contemplating.

After a while, he said gently: “Dad will learn more about it. Don’t rush to make decisions, and keep focusing on the study abroad preparations – the exam is in May…”

Sheng Xia stared dejectedly at the ceiling.

Compared to Wang Lianhua’s emotional outburst, Sheng Mingfeng’s gentle knife was more disorienting.

Gentle, yet leaving no room for argument.

“Go to bed early…”

“Dad.” Sheng Xia called out to her father.

“Anything else?”

Sheng Xia: “Dad, can I… make one decision for myself?”

A long silence.

Sheng Mingfeng’s voice remained gentle and patient: “Don’t be hasty, think everything through carefully.”

That meant no chance.

“Good night.”

…

The battle finally settled, though the gunsmoke still lingered.

Wang Lianhua watched Sheng Xia very closely, not allowing her to frequently visit the hospital.

Sheng Xia hadn’t gone for almost a week.

When she left messages for Zhang Shu on QQ asking about his condition, she received no replies.

Was it really because he never wanted to look at his phone again after “social death”?

But she could understand – after such a major event, his phone must be filled with greetings. With only one hand usable, replying one by one would be exhausting, and showing favoritism wouldn’t be right, so he treated everyone equally.

Everyone understood.

But after several more days, even Zhang Sujin had returned to work at the store, yet there was still no word from him.

Sheng Xia thought, well, maybe she could secretly skip PE class this afternoon to see him. Then sneak back – her mother wouldn’t find out.

Having made this decision, her appetite improved noticeably at meals.

Across from her, Hou Junqi looking at his phone suddenly cried out: “Holy shit!”

Sheng Xia looked at him puzzled.

Hou Junqi’s joy overflowed: “Hey, Shu-ge said I can go see him now!”

Sheng Xia was also happy: “Really? How is he, can he sit up?”

“He didn’t say, don’t know, listen to the voice message—”

Hou Junqi played it on speaker, and Zhang Shu’s voice came through: “Not coming to see daddy? Being unfilial? What about Han Xiao and the others? Don’t care if grandpa lives or dies anymore?”

Sheng Xia was speechless – the generational hierarchy between boys was really strange.

The good news was his voice no longer sounded weak. Though not loud, it had strength again.

Hou Junqi asked: “Should I call them to go together now? Are you coming?”

“Of course…” Sheng Xia’s words caught in her throat. Glancing at her quiet phone and the chat window with no responses, the light in her eyes dimmed, “You guys go first?”

The last time she went, he seemed unhappy afterward.

He could reply to Hou Junqi’s messages but didn’t reply to hers.

He probably didn’t want her to go…

Never mind.

Hou Junqi thought Sheng Xia was concerned about her mother and comforted her: “We’ll take videos for you.”

Sheng Xia: …

“Okay.”