My Straight Childhood Friend Successfully Pursued Me After The Breakup - Chapter 37.1

The ambulance arrived very quickly, and they didn’t waste much time on the road, taking Tao Ran to the nearest hospital.

According to the doctor, she was very lucky. Although the small knife was lodged in her back near her heart, it didn’t damage any internal organs or major arteries much. The wound on her wrist, though deep, would not cause long-term complications.

She was out of danger, only needing a period of recuperation. With careful medication, the scars wouldn’t even be too obvious.

This was truly a blessing in disguise.

After emergency treatment, Tao Ran was safely moved to a private rehabilitation hospital arranged by Jiang Ningxiu, where she was admitted to a single VIP room.

Public hospitals are short on beds, after all, and are not ideal for patient recovery.

Zuo Zhimi and Jiang Ningxiu were chatting in the hospital corridor, mainly about the perpetrator of the incident, Jiang Yuhai.

Jiang Ningxiu had just rushed over from the Jiang family home, still wearing casual homewear and silver-rimmed glasses with a delicate chain.

The lenses did not diminish the sharpness of her gaze; on the contrary, they made her look even colder and sterner.

“I won’t let him off easily. Anyone who dares to touch my child will pay a hundredfold.”

Zuo Zhimi nodded. “This whole thing started because of me. If you need any help, I…”

“No need.” Jiang Ningxiu glanced at Zuo Zhimi, her expression somewhat complex. “This matter is not as simple as you think, A Min. Try not to let you and Xianzai get involved.”

Zuo Zhimi paused, then nodded. “Understood. But as for Xianzai…”

She sighed. The two stood outside the door, looking into the room through the transparent glass.

The frail Tao Ran lay unconscious in bed, while Zuo Xian sat in a chair by her side.

Afraid to touch the girl who was as fragile as porcelain at the moment, she lowered her head and gently leaned her forehead against the back of the girl’s right hand, as if in repentance.

Boundless remorse entangled Zuo Xian’s heart. She couldn’t forget Tao Ran’s figure shielding her like a mountain, nor could she forget the sudden look of pain on her face and the blood dripping onto her own cheek.

If it weren’t for her, Tao Ran wouldn’t have been hurt. The person who should have been lying here unconscious should have been her.

It should have been her.

Late at night, the hospital was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The light from the corridor shone into the room through the glass window on the door.

The girl on the hospital bed moved slightly. The minimal movement immediately woke Zuo Xian, who was dozing off on the edge of the bed.

She abruptly opened her eyes, sat up straight, and her gaze met Tao Ran’s eyes.

Zuo Xian was pleasantly surprised, feeling a bit choked up. “Ranran, you’re finally awake.”

Tao Ran looked at her quietly, moved slightly, and suddenly frowned as she pulled at her wound.

“Don’t move!” Zuo Xian said nervously. “Ranran, your wound hasn’t healed yet. What do you want to do? I’ll help you. Do you want water? Or are you hungry?”

Using the faint light from the corridor, Tao Ran looked intently at the girl in front of her. After a moment, she smiled.

“You’re okay. That’s good.”

Zuo Xian was already fighting back tears, and Tao Ran’s one sentence brought the repressed emotions to the surface again. Before the tears could fall, Zuo Xian quickly turned her back.

Wiping away her tears, she turned back, forcing a bright yet heart-wrenching smile.

“I’m perfectly fine. Not a thing wrong.”

Tao Ran frowned. Seeing this expression was more unbearable than seeing her cry.

“Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.” Zuo Xian squatted down, resting her chin on the bed, looking at Tao Ran with watery eyes and curling her lips. “I’m smiling.”

Tao Ran raised her hand and gently touched an inconspicuous little scratch on Zuo Xian’s cheek, which must have been left when Jiang Yuhai hit her face with the knife.

“Ranran…” Zuo Xian held her hand, gently rubbed it against her cheek, and said hoarsely, “I’m sorry.”

Tao Ran looked at her and didn’t immediately tell her not to apologize. Her gaze was as clear and accepting as a mountain spring.

She asked, “Why are you apologizing?”

“I dragged you into this and got you hurt.” Zuo Xian couldn’t help but frown, her eyes welling up with tears. She bit her lip. “You got such a serious injury just to save me. It’s all my fault, all my mistake.”

“It’s Jiang Yuhai’s fault,” Tao Ran said, gently scratching her earlobe with her index finger. “A Xian is a victim, just like me.”

“But…”

“If you feel guilty,” Tao Ran smiled, a tired tenderness in her eyes. “Then repay me, repay my life-saving grace. A life-saving grace…”

Should be repaid with a lifetime.

Zuo Xian’s heart suddenly raced. She tightened her grip on Tao Ran’s hand, ready to nod.

Tao Ran said softly, word by word, “You have to work like an ox or a horse to repay me. A Xian, just take care of me until I’m discharged.”

“…You did that on purpose,” Zuo Xian complained instinctively, but felt somewhat relieved.

“I didn’t. What were you thinking of, A Xian?”

Tao Ran chuckled twice. The exhaustion from the severe injury welled up, and she blinked, looking around, spotting the narrow bedside couch for the companion.

“A Xian, you can sleep there tonight…” Tao Ran stopped halfway through her sentence.

She remembered that when she woke up, Zuo Xian wasn’t sleeping on the companion’s bed but was slumped over the edge of her bed, and she still had red marks pressed onto her face.

“I’ll go to sleep after you fall asleep,” Zuo Xian said.

Tao Ran frowned, trying to move over to one side. She pulled at her wound and involuntarily gasped.

Zuo Xian quickly stepped forward, holding her shoulder and saying anxiously, “Ranran, don’t move around.”

“There,” Tao Ran managed to move over, leaving half the bed empty. “A Xian, sleep with me.”

“Huh?” Zuo Xian stood up and took two steps back. “No way. You’re injured; how can I squeeze into the same hospital bed with you?”

“I want you to sleep with me,” Tao Ran insisted.

“I… I can sit by your side and keep you company.”

Seeing Zuo Xian stick to her guns, Tao Ran felt a little frustrated and decided to pull out the big guns.

She frowned slightly, looking pitifully at Zuo Xian. “A Xian, you said you’d repay me, but you won’t even grant my small wish?”

“That’s different!”

Tao Ran turned her head, sounding unhappy. “I get it, you just think my medicine smell is too strong and don’t want to be close to me.”

Although Zuo Xian knew Tao Ran was deliberately trying to provoke her, seeing her look secretly sad, Zuo Xian could only surrender.

“I’ll sleep with you, alright?”

Tao Ran turned her head back, smiling with squinted eyes. “How will you sleep?”

Zuo Xian’s face felt hot. She mumbled, “How else? Just lie next to you and sleep.”

“That’s good. It’s more comfortable lying down. Don’t fall asleep slumped on the bedside next time.”

Zuo Xian deliberately ignored her, turned her back to take off her shoes, got onto the bed, and lay down, still facing away from Tao Ran.

Even in a VIP room, the hospital bed wasn’t very big, only slightly wider than a standard single bed.

Tao Ran was lying on her stomach, and Zuo Xian was on her side, leaving a small gap in between.

Zuo Xian closed her eyes, ready to drift off, when Tao Ran’s voice came from behind her again.

“A Xian, why are you so far away from me? Do you think the smell of blood on me is too strong?”

Zuo Xian pursed her lips, turned around, and met Tao Ran’s smiling eyes. “Aren’t you tired? Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Tao Ran sighed. “You’re too far away from me.”

“Where is it far?” Zuo Xian looked at the gap between them. It was a narrow strip that couldn’t be called far from any perspective.

“It’s not far now,” Tao Ran smiled, tugged the blanket with her right hand, and pulled it over Zuo Xian.

“Cover up properly.”

“I have my own blanket; I’ll go get it.”

Tao Ran insisted, “Share mine.”

The injured Tao Ran seemed a bit childish. Zuo Xian couldn’t do anything about it, so she pulled the blanket up and covered herself.

After a while, she couldn’t help but whisper.

“The nurse is definitely going to scold us tomorrow.”

This time, the room fell silent, and no one replied. Zuo Xian looked up to see that Tao Ran had already closed her eyes and was peacefully asleep.

She curled her lips and whispered, “Sleeping so fast.”

“Good night.”

The next morning.

There were soft voices nearby. Zuo Xian was slowly pulled out of her sleep, half-awake and half-asleep. She habitually wanted to stay in bed, burying her head under the blanket.

The smell when she breathed in wasn’t familiar, and Zuo Xian’s mind instantly cleared.

Where was she?

As the word “hospital” flashed through her mind, Zuo Xian abruptly opened her eyes and sat up.

Tao Ran, who was sitting on a chair talking to the nurse, paused and smiled sweetly. “You’re awake? Did you sleep well?”

Zuo Xian was too embarrassed to speak.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but she felt the nurse’s gaze was full of teasing. Zuo Xian hesitated for a moment, then quietly lay back down and pulled the blanket over her head.

A soft laugh echoed in the air. Zuo Xian, under the blanket, closed her eyes, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

“Eat bland food, get enough rest, try to move as little as possible so the wound can heal, and press the nurse call button if you feel uncomfortable.”

The nurse left after giving some instructions.

Tao Ran sat on the chair, watching the slightly bulging blanket on the bed with a look of amusement.

“A Xian, the nurse is gone. Aren’t you coming out?”

After a long while, Zuo Xian’s voice came muffled from inside the blanket. “I’m not coming out. I’m never coming out in this lifetime.”

Tao Ran laughed again. With the nurse’s instructions still fresh in her mind, Zuo Xian pulled down the blanket and looked at Tao Ran. “Stop laughing, or you’ll rip your stitches.”

As she spoke, she sat up and looked at Tao Ran in the striped hospital gown. “Why didn’t you wake me up? How can the patient be sitting in a chair while the companion sleeps in the hospital bed?”

Tao Ran chuckled. “I saw you were sleeping soundly and didn’t want to wake you up. Anyway, you have to sit up when they change the dressing, so I just let you sleep a little longer.”

Zuo Xian felt a warmth in her heart, but she secretly resolved to wake up early tomorrow to take care of Tao Ran.

She got up, quickly washed up, and then sat next to Tao Ran, helping her with tea and water, although Tao Ran wasn’t thirsty.

“Are you hungry, then?” Zuo Xian checked the time. It was just past seven in the morning. “I’ll go buy you some breakfast.”

Tao Ran shook her head. “My auntie will bring food later.”

Zuo Xian felt a bit down, feeling like she couldn’t help much.

Soon, the auntie delivered breakfast, which had quite a variety, all the types Tao Ran liked.

Tao Ran’s left hand was injured, so her daily life wasn’t too affected, but it would be a bit unstable without her left hand to hold things.

Zuo Xian’s eyes lit up. She sat next to Tao Ran, grabbed the utensils before her, and picked up the warm millet porridge.

“Ranran, I’ll feed you.”