Her consciousness was like flickering stars, rising and falling unsteadily. She seemed to have fallen into a bottomless abyss, struggling helplessly.
All the pent - up self - abasement of those days suddenly exploded in her ears, gushing out.
Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking!
Those arrogant and mocking voices rushed in like a tide, surging over her chest. Lin Jinran felt breathless and gasped for air.
"You are the lotus in the night rain by my lips."
The last lyrics of the song "The Dream of Immortality" slowly faded away. Su Qinian faced Lin Jinran, smiling slightly. His deep voice came to her ears through the microphone, sonorous and powerful.
"Lin Jinran, when filling out the college application forms, let's apply to the same university."
Like a bolt of lightning across the sky, Lin Jinran broke free from the fog. She stared blankly at the boy in front of her and murmured in a low voice, "Apply to the same university?"
"Do you still fantasize about going to Tsinghua University or Peking University with Su Qinian? Look at your current grades. Can you still solve those problems? Oh no, I was wrong. Can you even understand the questions on those test papers?"
"The same university. What if he scores better than you and is qualified to get into Tsinghua or Peking University? What about you? If you can't get in, do you expect him to accompany you to the school you can get into?"
"Lin Jinran, stop having wild fantasies. You were a burden to your family when you were a child. Do you want to become a burden to Su Qinian when you grow up? Do you want to hear Su Qinian complain years later that he gave up Tsinghua or Peking University because of you?"
The demonic voices lingered in her ears again and again.
No, no. She didn't want that. She didn't want the two of them to quarrel, separate, and break up because of this in the future.
The moonlight was like a silvery ribbon. Lin Jinran's face was as pale as frost. Her delicate body bent slightly. She put down all her pride, as if surrendering to fate.
The microphone in her hand suddenly fell to the ground. Lin Jinran trembled as she stared directly at Su Qinian. Her throat seemed to be blocked and she couldn't say a word.
"Su Qinian... I..." Her lips twitched slightly, but no sound came out.
Her thoughts were churning and drifting further and further away. Everything in front of her became blurred and distant. Lin Jinran tried to stand up straight, but found herself floating limply in the endless void.
The huge mockery oppressed her. Lin Jinran was on the verge of collapse. Without warning, the whole world instantly became blurred in her eyes. Then it plunged into darkness, and her body slumped forward weakly.
"Lin Jinran!"
"Sis!"
Exclamations came from all directions. Su Qinian, who was standing on the stage, was the first to react. He strode over and supported Lin Jinran who was about to fall to the ground.
At this time, the grade director and Song Langqing also leaped onto the stage. The grade director checked her breathing and immediately called an ambulance, while Song Langqing anxiously called Lin Jinran's name beside her.
The graduation party ended in a hurry.
When Lin Jinran woke up, only two or three hours had passed. Her head was still groggy. She seemed to hear the voices of Su Qinian talking to the doctor.
"You should remember to supervise her to eat on time and have a good rest. She just didn't sleep well and didn't eat well, which led to a hypoglycemic attack."
"Okay, thank you, doctor. I'll see you out."
The rustling sound of footsteps faded away. There was the sound of the door closing and then opening again, and the sound of one person's footsteps.
Lin Jinran slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was Su Qinian, who was turning sideways to look for a stool.
At this critical moment, she had caused him more trouble again. Lin Jinran let out a bitter smile and reached for the pillow to lean on.
The slight rustling sound was heard by Su Qinian. He turned around and saw Lin Jinran who had woken up. A look of joy flashed across his face. He strode over to help her adjust the pillow.
He affectionately tapped her on the forehead, with a bit of complaint, "Ranran, why did you suddenly have a hypoglycemic attack? The doctor said you didn't eat well. Or did you just eat all kinds of junk food?"
No, she had no appetite. She felt nauseous and didn't want to eat anything.
"Maybe it's because the weather has gotten hot. I often don't feel like eating." Lin Jinran explained euphemistically. She glanced at the time. It was just the end of the evening self - study. "When are you going home?"
"What, do you want to drive me away now?!" Su Qinian said angrily. "I'm telling you, it's absolutely impossible. I'll supervise you to eat on time and eat well until the college entrance examination."
The examination rooms for the two of them had already been assigned. Su Qinian would take the exam in No. 1 Middle School, their own school, while Lin Jinran would be in No. 2 Middle School. It meant that they would rarely have a chance to see each other during the three - day college entrance examination.
Lin Jinran was silent for a while and then softly replied with an okay.
"When can I be discharged from the hospital? You said it yourself that it's just a hypoglycemic attack. I don't need to lie in the hospital all the time, right?"
"No. You're not going anywhere tonight. Just lie here and have a good rest. Tomorrow morning, you can go back to school after the doctor's examination." Su Qinian's tone was tough, leaving no room for rejection.
"Okay, I'll stay in the hospital and won't go anywhere. What about you? You have to go home to sleep at night, right?" Lin Jinran had long guessed that Su Qinian would be like this. She lowered her eyes and stared intently at the white bedsheet, throwing out a question he couldn't refuse.
Su Qinian hesitated. He looked sideways at the quiet girl on the hospital bed, "Yes, I'll go home to sleep later. You have a good rest here."
Suddenly, his tone changed, and he said, "But I'll come back tomorrow morning. I'll go to school with you after the doctor confirms again."
Lin Jinran tugged at the corner of her mouth and smiled indifferently.
After that, Su Qinian really stayed there for an hour. After an hour, he left the ward. Lin Jinran looked at the clothes she was wearing. They were still her own clothes and hadn't been changed.
Maybe it was because there was no suitable person to help her change into a hospital gown.
She heaved a sigh of relief. The newly formed scar on the inside of her arm was itchy. Lin Jinran bent down to turn off all the lights in the room and was once again plunged into darkness.
The next day, Su Qinian came to the hospital on time. After the doctor's repeated confirmation, Lin Jinran was allowed to be discharged. However, Su Qinian brought a bowl of steaming white porridge.
Lin Jinran stared blankly at the bowl of white porridge.
"You can go to school only after you finish this. I don't care if you're late or not. The grade director didn't say anything to me last night. He won't say anything about a little lateness." Su Qinian said firmly. He sat opposite her and supervised, "I said I'll supervise your three meals a day until the college entrance examination."
Ah, but she didn't feel hungry. She really didn't feel hungry.
Under Su Qinian's watchful eye, Lin Jinran stared at the white porridge for a while. Finally, she picked up her chopsticks. The warm white porridge slid down her throat, warming her limbs.
She forced herself to finish it all. Her stomach was full, but Lin Jinran felt very uncomfortable. She was bloated and felt nauseous.
But she pretended nothing was wrong and followed Su Qinian out.
As soon as she stepped out of the ward, she opened her mouth and vomited all over the place.