"You're really giving us no peace these days," Sister Chen chided her while feeling sorry for her. "It takes a hundred days to recover from a bone injury. Let's see where you can run wild."
Xiaoye looked smug, showing no sign of relief after the near - death experience. Instead, she grinned and said, "I was taking the fall for Sister Jiang Li."
"This information was supposed to be picked up by Sister Jiang Li. Fortunately, I went. Otherwise, given her physical condition, she definitely wouldn't have just suffered a minor injury like me."
Something seemed off, but Jiang Li didn't pay much attention.
After chatting for a while, they started discussing who would take turns to take care of Xiaoye.
Jiang Li said, "Sister Chen, you and Jingyi go back and rest first. I don't have any rehearsal schedule tomorrow morning, so I'll take care of Xiaoye tonight."
After making the arrangement, she added, "Be careful on the way."
After seeing Sister Chen and Jingyi off, Jiang Li sat by the bedside and asked Xiaoye what she wanted for dinner. She said she would go downstairs in the hospital to buy some.
Xiaoye said she was already full from the snacks and told her to just buy her own dinner.
After confirming that she would be okay alone, Jiang Li went around the hospital and bought a sandwich from a convenience store.
When the elevator reached the floor where Xiaoye's ward was, Jiang Li walked in the corridor. As she passed by a ward, she accidentally heard a heated argument inside.
She took a few steps closer. The voice inside sounded familiar. It seemed to be... Xiao Yuanfeng?
Why was Xiao Yuanfeng in Huacheng?
Suddenly, the argument in the ward stopped abruptly, followed by the sound of footsteps quickly approaching the door.
Jiang Li had a bad feeling. She quickly turned around, trying to escape before being discovered. But the door was already yanked open. The man paused for a moment when he saw Jiang Li.
The two stared at each other, and the atmosphere was extremely awkward.
Xiao Yanzhi looked at her for a while and then closed the ward door.
He was dressed in white and black, with his suit jacket hanging on his arm. Now he crossed his arms and said in a casual tone, "Eavesdropping?"
The answer was obvious.
Jiang Li knew she was in the wrong. Her face flushed, and she subconsciously argued, "I was just passing by. I wasn't eavesdropping."
"Oh? Then why are you in the hospital?" He leaned closer, looking at her as if amused. "You just happened to pass by the hospital?"
Jiang Li pinched the sandwich in her hand, and the plastic bag made a rustling sound. She still explained, "Xiaoye had a car accident. I'm taking care of her tonight."
With that, she was about to leave.
Xiao Yanzhi didn't doubt the truth of her words. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, his voice sounding extremely tired. "Have supper with me, okay?"
It was a rare soft tone.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Jiang Li could sense that the man was in a low mood. She hesitated for a moment but still refused. "No, Xiaoye is still waiting for me in the ward. I can't leave."
She tried to shake off his hand, but the man held onto her wrist tightly.
The two were in a stalemate. Xiao Yanzhi looked down at her for a long time and finally chose to compromise. He let go of her hand and said in a deep voice, "Forget it."
Jiang Li didn't say a word. She just took a deep breath and quickly walked towards the ward.
...
Back in the ward, she was very absent - minded.
Thinking of Xiao Yanzhi's look and tone just now, her heart skipped a beat.
"Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!" Xiaoye's hand shook from the hot water cup Jiang Li handed her. She almost spilled it all on the quilt and complained pitifully, "Sister Jiang Li, the water is so hot!"
Xiaoye's cry brought Jiang Li back to her senses. She quickly took the cup and put it on the table. "Sorry, Xiaoye."
Xiaoye waved her hand indifferently, but her carefree nature also noticed something. "Sister Jiang Li, are you thinking about something?"
"No," she replied simply.
Just then, someone knocked on the ward door twice and then pushed it open.
It was Xue An.
"Assistant Xue, are you here to visit me?" Xiaoye was a bit stunned when she saw Xue An. "You're also in Huacheng. Then Mr. Xiao..."
"Mr. Xiao asked me to come and visit you," he said, holding a gift box for visiting patients in his hand, looking very serious.
Xiaoye responded blankly a couple of times but always felt something was wrong.
She just had a minor car accident. Making such a big fuss and even alerting Mr. Xiao?
Xue An walked over with a smile. When he got close to Jiang Li, he whispered, "Mr. Xiao asked me to ask you if you can go for supper now?"
...
Jiang Li walked out of the inpatient department. She saw the man standing at the bottom of the steps. She paused for a second and then walked towards him.
As if sensing the movement behind him, Xiao Yanzhi turned around.
His face was handsome, and his features became even more sharp in the moonlight. But there was an extra hint of softness in his eyes when he looked at her.
He motioned for her to come over. "Come here."
Jiang Li walked over and stood in front of him. Her eyebrows and eyes were cold and calm, showing no emotional fluctuations.
He asked her to come, so she came.
Although it was said to be for supper, they walked around the neighborhood but couldn't find any street stalls. The streets were empty.
Finally, Xiao Yanzhi went into a convenience store and bought two packs of cigarettes and two bottles of Coke.
He handed a bottle of Coke to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li took it and then looked at the two packs of cigarettes in his other hand. "Aren't you going to give me a pack?"
"Can you smoke?" Xiao Yanzhi looked at her with a half - smile.
"No."
After saying that, Jiang Li also laughed.
If she couldn't smoke, why would she want cigarettes?
The two returned to the downstairs of the inpatient building and sat on the steps, with a short distance between them.
There was no wind at night.
For the convenience of rehearsal, Jiang Li was wearing a loose elastic T - shirt today, and her hair was tied up and coiled at the back of her head, revealing her fair neck and collarbone.
The Coke can made a "pop" sound when it was opened, which was especially prominent in the quiet night sky.
Jiang Li took a sip. It was very cold.
After sitting for a while, Xiao Yanzhi slowly spoke, his eyes looking into the distance of the night. "The patient in that room just now is Xiao Yuanfeng's mistress."
His topic started so suddenly and his tone was so casual that Jiang Li thought she had misheard.
Xiao Yuanfeng's mistress? But didn't he have Su Jialan?
Could it be... a mistress?
She tried hard to control her expression so as not to look too strange.
Fortunately, Xiao Yanzhi didn't look at her. He just lowered his head and took a sip of Coke and then continued, "It's been more than ten years. That woman has been here. Her health is not very good."
His voice was soft. "They were first loves but couldn't be together. This is Xiao Yuanfeng's regret in life."
Jiang Li didn't know why Xiao Yanzhi was telling her these things, but she could hear the loneliness in his words.
"She was diagnosed with liver cancer at the end of last year. The doctor said she has at most six months left," he said, and the sound of the crushed Coke can was crisp.
His attitude was so calm that it felt like he was telling someone else's story. "She's currently staying here and will spend the rest of her life in pain."