I Promise to Walk With You for Half of my Life’s Journey - Chapter 4

At 9:00 AM, the nurse arrived to change the dressing. The wound on the back of Cheng Sutong’s hand needed to be re-disinfected and bandaged. When the alcohol swab touched her skin, she flinched instinctively.

“Bear with it,” the nurse said.

Cheng Sutong bit her lower lip. At that moment, a hand suddenly reached over and grasped her wrist.

It was An Chuxin. She held her wrist with a grip that was not heavy, but firm. There were thin calluses on her palm, which were marks left behind by years of holding chalk.

This simple touch was more effective than any painkiller. Cheng Sutong slowly relaxed, feeling the warmth of An Chuxin’s palm and the pulse throbbing through her skin.

Once the nurse finished the bandaging and left, An Chuxin immediately let go.

“Are you hungry?” she asked calmly.

Cheng Sutong shook her head, then she nodded.

An Chuxin glanced at her without saying anything, picked up her phone, and stepped out. Ten minutes later, she returned carrying a plastic bag containing a bowl of white porridge and two vegetable buns.

“Eat,” she said, placing the food on the nightstand. She was concise as always.

Looking at the steaming bowl of porridge, Cheng Sutong’s nose suddenly felt an ache of emotion. She quickly lowered her head, picked up the spoon, and took small sips. The porridge was boiled until soft, carrying the natural sweetness of the rice. The warmth slid from her throat all the way to her stomach.

An Chuxin sat back in her chair, opened her bag, and took out a stack of test papers to begin grading. The rustling sound of the red pen moving across the paper filled the room.

Cheng Sutong stole glances at her while sipping the porridge. An Chuxin was very focused while grading, her brow slightly furrowed, and she occasionally jotted down brief annotations next to an answer. The sunlight hit her profile, casting a faint golden glow over her eyelashes.

In this moment, she did not look like the strict teacher on the podium, nor did she look like the person who had frantically held her in the forest. She was just an ordinary person. She was an ordinary person who could get tired, get nervous, and awkwardly care for others.

She set down the empty bowl and said softly, “Teacher An, did you perhaps also skip breakfast?”

An Chuxin’s grading motion paused for a second. “I am not hungry.”

“Well,” Cheng Sutong pointed to the remaining bun in the plastic bag, “please eat this. I have had enough.”

An Chuxin looked up. Her gaze lingered on Cheng Sutong’s face for a few seconds before falling on the bun. She remained silent for a while, but eventually, she picked up the bun, tore open the plastic, and began to eat in small bites.

She ate slowly and quietly, and her back remained straight. However, Cheng Sutong noticed that her tense shoulders relaxed just a fraction in that moment. It was only a tiny bit.

At noon, the doctor came for rounds and said her condition was stable. She could be discharged tomorrow morning. An Chuxin nodded and asked about several precautions, carefully recording them in her phone’s memo app.

After the doctor left, the two of them were alone in the ward once again.

“I need to head back to the city this afternoon,” An Chuxin said suddenly, her eyes fixed on her phone screen.

“Go ahead,” Cheng Sutong said immediately. “I can manage on my own.”

An Chuxin looked at her with a complex expression. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Cheng Sutong nodded, trying her best to look reliable. “I promise not to run around. I will take my medicine on time and call the nurse if I need anything.”

An Chuxin stared at her for a moment, but ultimately, she simply nodded.

“I will come to pick you up tomorrow morning,” she said. Then, she began packing her things. Her movements were quick and efficient. It was the kind of efficiency born from being used to handling everything alone.

As she reached the door, she stopped and turned back.

“Cheng Sutong.”

“Yes?”

“If you feel any discomfort at all, even the slightest thing, call me immediately. My number is…”

“I have it,” Cheng Sutong interrupted softly. “You wrote it on the blackboard during the first week of school.”

An Chuxin blinked in surprise and then nodded. “Alright.”

She pushed open the door and her figure disappeared around the corner of the hallway. Her footsteps gradually faded until they were completely swallowed by the hospital noise.

Cheng Sutong lay on the hospital bed, staring at a water stain in the corner of the ceiling. The sunlight had shifted away, leaving the room in a hazy light. She raised her right hand and looked at the neatly wrapped gauze on her knuckles. Then, she slowly clenched that hand, as if she could still feel the warmth of An Chuxin’s fingers and that brief, steady touch.

Outside the window, the county town remained boisterous.

Cheng Sutong closed her eyes while the scent of disinfectant filled her nose. In the moment before her consciousness drifted into a light sleep, she remembered the look in An Chuxin’s eyes when she said, “But since I am the one who brought you here, I will take responsibility until the very end.”

Take responsibility until the very end.

She did not know what those words meant to An Chuxin. But she knew that for her, in this unfamiliar year of 2018, it was the first and only rope she could hold onto.

After An Chuxin left, Sutong suddenly remembered she had not paid her medical expenses for this trip. With an anxious heart, she opened her mobile banking app. She hoped that her savings from before she traveled through time had followed her. When she opened the app and looked closely, the balance read 80,000.

She hugged her phone and her heart bloomed with joy. She thought to herself, “Heaven, you have finally treated me well for once. You were even thoughtful enough to let my money come with me.”

This money was what she had saved from her living expenses by the age of 23. It was combined with part-time jobs, internships, scholarships, and money from relatives over the years. By living frugally, she had amassed about 80,000. For her current 17-year-old self, this was a massive fortune. She decided she should find a time to treat Teacher An to a meal.

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