Suddenly waking up from a nightmare, Fu Xueli abruptly opened her eyes, greeted by a blinding whiteness. Confused for a few seconds, she rubbed her eyes, feeling sore all over her body.
Her dirty, blood-stained clothes had been changed, and her body had been cleaned. Fu Xueli tried to move slightly but couldn’t muster any strength.
Beside her, Xixi saw that she was awake and pounced on her like seeing a savior, holding her with tears in her eyes, “Oh my god! Sister Xueli, you’re finally awake. You scared me to death!”
“Ouch, be gentle,” Fu Xueli winced, pulling her arm away and speaking in a hoarse voice, slowly reacting, “Am I in the hospital?”
“Yes, yes,” Xixi nodded quickly.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Not long. Sister Tang Xin just left. Many reporters are outside but weren’t allowed in. I just checked Weibo, and there’s a lot of discussion online. Everyone’s worried about you.”
In just one night, news of Fu Xueli’s kidnapping had spread. The outside world was shocked, concerned, and gossiping. Her fans were in an uproar, causing quite a commotion.
As Xixi was speaking, Fu Xueli suddenly threw off her blanket and got out of bed. Her knees were weak, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She reached out to support herself against the nearby wall, “Where’s Xu Xingchun? Where is he?”
Seeing Xixi open her mouth but unable to say anything for a while, Fu Xueli sensed something was wrong.
The chaotic memories from before she fainted returned to her mind—
When Zhu Xia pressed the detonator in her hand, Xu Xingchun had flipped over and pressed Fu Xueli down, rolling several times with her. Not far away, a sky full of sparks exploded with a rumbling sound, a sea of crimson…
Xixi kept her head down, silent. Fu Xueli grew anxious and pushed her aside, trying to walk outside, “Can’t you hear what I’m saying?!”
“It’s not that…” Xixi now didn’t dare say anything that might upset her, “The doctor said you need to rest well now and can’t run around. That… that police officer who was brought in with you, he’s also…”
“Did something happen to him?” Fu Xueli took two deep breaths and asked calmly.
“Huh?” Xixi frowned, speaking softly and hesitantly, holding Fu Xueli’s arm, “He’s still in the ICU.”
When Xu Xingchun was first brought in for emergency treatment, his condition was very bad. He had been shot twice, in the right shoulder and left knee joint. Fortunately, they were through-and-through wounds, and the bullets hadn’t remained in his body to cause secondary damage. However, there were many small fragments embedded in his back due to the explosion, causing deep wounds.
Excessive blood loss had led to shock, and he had fallen into a deep coma with very weak vital signs. He was immediately taken for emergency treatment.
“When… when will he wake up?”
The doctor looked troubled, “It’s hard to say. His injuries are quite severe.”
Even though she was mentally prepared, Fu Xueli’s heart still clenched when she heard this. She nodded, pretending to be calm. She stood outside the eerily quiet intensive care unit, where only the beeping of medical equipment could be heard. Xu Xingchun looked fragile and pale, with tubes inserted all over his body, his eyes tightly closed, and his lips as white as snow. It seemed as if he might die at any moment.
She stood in a daze for several seconds.
She had never seen Xu Xingchun like this before — lying helplessly in front of her, wrapped in white bandages from head to toe, unable to move at all. So weak that he couldn’t even wake up.
Even though he had been so severely injured at the time, he hadn’t made a sound. Whatever grievances or sorrows he had, he never mentioned them in front of her, never actively reaching out to ask for anything.
Fu Xueli turned her head away, her eyes reddening, feeling a bit heartbroken. Past events suddenly flooded her mind, and she thought about how she and Xu Xingchun had gone through so many twists and turns over the years, feeling as if it was all from a very long time ago.
People are always nostalgic. No matter how much they deny it verbally or try to avoid it, Fu Xueli couldn’t deny that she still harbored an indescribable feeling for Xu Xingchun.
That night at her home, Xu Xingchun’s final gaze lingered in her mind from time to time.
Although no feelings in this world are completely pure and fair, she had abused the rights Xu Xingchun had given her, constantly hurting him willfully. She had been so cruel to him, making him suffer so much, and in the end, he couldn’t even get justice.
Fu Xueli suddenly became afraid, realizing that she might not love herself as much as she thought, and that freedom and independence might not be as important to her as she believed. Her feelings for Xu Xingchun had unknowingly accumulated over time.
If Xu Xingchun really couldn’t pull through and died, what would she do in the future? Without even saying a proper goodbye, they would be separated by life and death.
The city would still be bustling with traffic, the nights would still be brilliantly lit, and people would still come and go on the streets. It seemed like nothing would change, but no matter when she called Xu Xingchun’s number, it would always be unreachable.
Wanting to send him a message, it would take a while to realize that this person was no longer there.
She would never hear his voice again.
Whether gentle, cold, or sweet, she would never hear any of it again.
Without having had a proper conversation, this person would be gone forever.
The melodramas on TV were all fake. Fu Xueli stood in the cold, quiet corridor for several hours, waiting until the next day. But there was no sign of Xu Xingchun waking up.
In the acting profession, no matter how miserable one feels behind the scenes, one must maintain a glamorous appearance in front of others. No matter how tired and weak one feels, when the camera is pointed at their face, they must smile.
Fu Xueli had only been shocked, with no other major issues, so Tang Xin had arranged for her discharge that day. As soon as they left the hospital’s main entrance, they saw several young police officers in uniform getting out of a car in the distance.
The sunlight outside was dazzling. Fu Xueli, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, wore sunglasses that covered half her face and was surrounded by a large group of people. The company had hired several bodyguards to accompany her.
Tang Xin grabbed her arm and warned her earnestly, “The situation outside is in chaos now. Your fans and He Lu’s fans have all gone crazy. Don’t go running around for a while. The new drama starts filming next month. I’ve helped you cancel some promotional events. I understand you’re not in a good mood… that Xu Xingchun, right? But don’t feel too burdened. Pull yourself together for work and focus on filming. I’ll let you know if there’s any news.”
Fu Xueli felt uneasy but nodded to show she had heard.
“There’s been too much gossip about you and He Lu recently. The other team is trying to suppress this incident as much as possible with money…” Tang Xin rambled on.
Fu Xueli turned her head and glanced far off in the direction of a certain part of the hospital, then bent down and got into the car.
Bad moods can’t be tidied up. No matter how busy one is or how many times one tries to convince oneself mentally, it always feels like a dark cloud hanging overhead that can’t be chased away.
These past few days, Fu Xueli often woke up startled in the middle of the night. As soon as she opened her eyes, surrounded by darkness, she felt a sense of confusion and fear, not knowing where she was.
Sitting still in the dead of night, she would repeatedly recall that nightmare. A dying Xu Xingchun, finally closing her tear-filled eyes. Just thinking about this scene would make her break out in a cold sweat.
When the heavy feeling in her chest became too much to sleep, she would go outside to get some air and smoke. She would smoke until her head started to spin, then pick up her phone and call Xu Xingchun.
No answer.
She would call again, still no answer.
She made several calls in a few minutes, her call log filled with Xu Xingchun’s name.
Fu Chenglin, having heard about Fu Xueli’s incident, flew to Shanghai to see her after a few days. They had agreed on a time and were now eating at a Western restaurant near the hospital.
After discussing work and finishing a magazine photo shoot in the afternoon, she hadn’t eaten or rested much all day. But Fu Xueli still couldn’t eat much. She put down her chopsticks and urged, “Hurry up and eat. I need to go back to the hospital later.”
Fu Chenglin raised an eyebrow, poking at the caviar on his plate, and said leisurely, “I feel like you two are acting out a melodrama.”
“Get lost. I’m not in the mood to hear your sarcasm.”
Seeing her expression of near-death anguish, Fu Chenglin leaned back calmly, with a look of having foreseen it all, “Little sister, I told you long ago to commit fewer sins when you’re young. You’ll have to pay for them sooner or later.”
Fu Xueli didn’t have the energy to joke with him and sat there in a daze.
Searching through his memories, when it came to Xu Xingchun, Fu Chenglin’s impression was of a very depressed and cold person, somewhat handsome, with excellent grades. They had been in the same school for both junior and senior high, and even Fu Chenglin had heard of him—
He was extremely popular among the girls at their school, outshining all types of senior and junior girls.
Because hot topics often popped up on the school forum, such as:
[How to date that super handsome, super smart first-year student called Xu Xingchun]
[Does Xu Xingchun have a girlfriend?]
[There’s a really handsome science class genius, I heard his name is Xu Xingchun. Anyone know how to contact him?]
[Was that guy on duty at the school gate this morning Xu Xingchun?]
[How are the boys in Class 9 of the first year so good-looking? Besides Xie Ci, what’s the name of that class monitor?]
Even Fu Chenglin was often puzzled. For a boy receiving so much admiration at this age, wouldn’t it be easy to date girls left and right? How could he possibly be a devoted lover? And to his willful and arrogant sister, no less.
To be honest, Fu Xueli wasn’t very likable. Even Fu Chenglin, as her brother, was often driven to the point of coughing blood by her.
He still remembered when Fu Xueli was hospitalized for the flu in high school, Xu Xingchun visited the hospital more often than he did as her brother.
What was even more terrifying was that Fu Chenglin could never have imagined that someone as cold and indifferent as Xu Xingchun could be so utterly devoted to Fu Xueli, without principle or limits. He had caught Xu Xingchun half-squatting on the ground helping Fu Xueli change her shoes a few times…
Good times don’t last forever, good days don’t come often. What goes around comes around, ah. But it’s not too late to come to one’s senses. It seems Xu Xingchun’s good days are coming.
Fu Chenglin sighed silently, fiddling with his lighter, “I can understand you, you know. When your sister-in-law had that car accident, I was just like you are now. I wanted to stay by her side 24/7, not leaving for a moment. I even wished it was me lying there instead…”
“Stop talking.” These were just clichés that didn’t address the core of the issue. They couldn’t alleviate Fu Xueli’s worries at all. As Fu Chenglin was calling the waiter to pay the bill, Fu Xueli suddenly received a call from the hospital.
The other end had just said a few words.
“Really?!” Fu Xueli instantly jumped up from her chair. Under Fu Chenglin’s bewildered gaze, she hurriedly grabbed her bag and made a gesture indicating she was leaving.
The news of Xu Xingchun waking up was so sudden. So sudden that Fu Xueli stopped in her tracks as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.
She couldn’t describe the feeling, but she suddenly remembered the things she had said to Xu Xingchun before. Even though she was used to being thick-skinned, she really didn’t have the face to confront him now.
Seeing him, she didn’t know what to say.
Xu Xingchun’s attending physician recognized Fu Xueli. He had just come out of the regular ward and turned to see her, exclaiming in surprise, “Oh, you came so quickly?”
“Ah?” Fu Xueli’s forehead was slightly damp with sweat, and she was still breathing lightly, “I was… just downstairs at the hospital.”
The doctor smiled, “What a coincidence. Go on in then.”
Fu Xueli’s heart was racing, “He… he really woke up?”
“I don’t know. He might be asleep again,” the doctor laughed and walked away with the nurse.
Gently placing her hand on the doorknob, she carefully turned it halfway, opening a small crack. A slightly dim light shone through from inside.
Fu Xueli’s heart tightened. She steeled herself and slowly, very slowly, sidled in. Not making a sound.
It had been a while, and Xu Xingchun seemed to have fallen back into sleep. She stood by the curtain, watching him.
After a few minutes, she couldn’t resist anymore and placed her finger on Xu Xingchun’s cold, soft cheek.
He was sleeping peacefully on the clean, soft pillow. His finger suddenly moved slightly, and Fu Xueli’s heart clenched. She quickly withdrew her hand.
She watched as he slowly emerged from his coma.
Fu Xueli sensed that his eyes were slightly open, looking at her. Her voice was very low, trembling slightly. After holding back for a long time, she managed to say, somewhat at a loss, “Xu Xingchun, are you awake?”
She could hear Xu Xingchun trying to breathe, but struggling to catch his breath.
Emotions were suddenly magnified infinitely at this moment. Her eyes couldn’t hide her secrets. She had tried hard not to cry, but Fu Xueli couldn’t hold back anymore. She turned her head away silently, crying despite herself.
Xu Xingchun looked at her and reached out his hand. Tears fell on the back of his hand.
Fu Xueli didn’t know what he wanted to do. She held his hand and said hoarsely, “Put your hand back in.”
Seeing him like this made her whole body ache. She crouched down, took out her phone, and typed a line with one hand:
“You can’t speak, right? Blink once if that’s true.”
The entire ward was silent.
Xu Xingchun slowly nodded once.
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