My Upperclassman Wants me to confess my feelings - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Companionship

After getting dressed, Cheng Wu walked over to Xia Xiaohan, picked up a sweater, and helped her put it on, saying, “I know everything. You will get better slowly.”

Xia Xiaohan turned her head to look at the desk, where there was a photo frame containing a picture of a sunrise.

With a shua sound, the curtains were pulled open, and the sunlight made Xia Xiaohan squint her eyes.

Turning back to look forward, she saw her xuejie (senior) standing before her against the light, smiling as she reached out a hand: “Let’s go brush our teeth together.”

That smile was like a beam of light shining into Xia Xiaohan’s heart.

She slowly opened her eyes and grasped her xuejie’s hand to stand up: “Okay.”

The two of them wrapped themselves up tightly. As soon as they stepped out the door, their exhaled breath turned into white mist.

Fortunately, the sun was very strong today, feeling warm against their bodies.

Xia Xiaohan took Cheng Wu to the breakfast shop she frequently visited.

Looking at the various breakfast items before her—noodles, rice noodles, doupi, fried dough sticks, and more—she asked Cheng Wu: “What would xuejie like to eat?”

“What do you like to eat?” Cheng Wu usually ate eggs and fruit in the morning, but seeing that Xiaohan had regained a bit of spirit, she decided to properly accompany Xiaohan for a breakfast meal.

Xia Xiaohan glanced at the deep fryer: For xuejie, the sticky rice chicken would definitely be too oily.

She turned to look at the noodle section; the hot dry noodles here were delicious, but xuejie would surely worry about too many carbohydrates.

After thinking it over, Xia Xiaohan’s gaze settled on the last two servings of doupi: “How about xuejie trying this doupi? Paired with piping hot egg wine, it’s especially delicious.”

“Okay,” Cheng Wu agreed with a smile.

Xia Xiaohan had Cheng Wu sit down while she went to order and pay. She soon brought the doupi over, and immediately followed up by bringing two bowls of egg wine.

The rich, clear fragrance of rice wine instantly wafted to their noses. Cheng Wu asked curiously, “Why doesn’t the school sell this?”

Xia Xiaohan took a spoon and placed it in Cheng Wu’s bowl: “This is only good when it’s freshly made. There are too many people at school; they probably wouldn’t have enough time.”

On top of the sauce-colored square glutinous rice was a thin layer of golden doupi, shimmering with a faint oily sheen, garnished with a small pinch of emerald-green scallions. It was both fragrant and beautiful.

Cheng Wu picked up a piece and took a bite. Dried tofu and pickled tubers were mixed into the soft, sticky glutinous rice. After a few chews, it was actually a bit tastier than the version at school.

“The flavor is a bit special.” Cheng Wu had eaten doupi several times before, but this time was different.

Xia Xiaohan picked up her spoon and glanced around the small shop: “The delicious food in Jiangcheng is always in these kinds of small shops; you just have to find them. The large chain stores taste very average; locals don’t go to them.”

Cheng Wu tried a sip of the egg wine, and her eyes instantly lit up: “This is delicious.”

The egg ribbons were tender and smooth, and the rice wine was clear and sweet, which perfectly cut through the greasiness of the doupi she just had.

“Right? I like it a lot too.” Seeing that Cheng Wu liked it, Xia Xiaohan felt happy as well.

…

After finishing their meal, the two took the subway to the hospital to relieve Zhou Rui.

Since it was currently the holidays, the subway was crowded.

Xia Xiaohan led Cheng Wu to wait at the very end of the subway carriage doors.

This time when they boarded, they were lucky enough to find seats.

After a while, two high school girls stood in front of them, chatting the whole way.

They talked about everything from exam papers to their favorite idols. The topics jumped around significantly; as soon as one person mentioned something, the other could quickly pick up the thread.

Xia Xiaohan suddenly looked down and thought: If A-Jing were still here, they would certainly be as close as these two students.

“Xiaohan.” Cheng Wu took hold of Xiaohan’s hand.

Sensing her nervousness, Xia Xiaohan looked up and managed a smile: “Xuejie, I’m okay.”

After a moment of hesitation, Cheng Wu couldn’t help but ask: “Are you thinking about her?”

Xia Xiaohan tilted her head to rest on her xuejie’s shoulder and said in a low voice: “Yes, thinking about her.”

…

When the two arrived at the hospital, Chen Lan was talking with the doctor.

Seeing Xia Xiaohan arrive, the doctor turned to ask her: “Have you made up your mind?”

As the doctor spoke, he glanced at Chen Lan, meaning he hoped she could help persuade her.

Xia Xiaohan replied directly: “I’ve made up my mind. I will sign.”

As soon as the doctor left, tears welled up in Chen Lan’s eyes: “I should have persuaded your mother earlier. If she hadn’t worked so desperately, things definitely wouldn’t be like this now.”

Xia Xiaohan walked up and held Chen Lan’s hand, comforting her: “Auntie, my mom was already very lucky to have met you. She worked so hard because she hoped to become as excellent as you and be with you; you should be happy.”

“Yes, I should be happy for Feitian.” Chen Lan tried to steady her emotions. Seeing a nurse approach, she made a way: “Let’s go inside to see your mother.”

Cheng Wu was originally going to go in as well, but Zhou Rui happened to arrive.

She had some things she wanted to ask him, so she stayed outside.

Zhou Rui came over carrying a bag of medicine. At a glance, he saw the inescapable dark circles under Cheng Wu’s eyes and couldn’t help but worry: “Did you both stay awake all night?”

Cheng Wu nodded and pointed to the chairs nearby, signaling for him to sit and talk.

“No, but Xiaohan’s emotions are relatively stable.”

Zhou Rui looked toward the ward; Xiaohan was currently washing Xia Yu’s face.

After sitting down, he leaned back against the chair exhaustion and explained: “If Xiaohan had known before that Auntie’s condition was getting worse, she wouldn’t have been able to attend school properly.”

Cheng Wu was also very tired, but she was more worried about Xiaohan’s situation: “Have you tried seeing a psychologist?”

“We did, it was no use. The doctor said the source of the problem is Li Jing, but Li Jing has already passed away, and we don’t know how to help her.” Zhou Rui stared blankly at the medicine bag in his hand, seemingly lost in memory.

Regarding the matter of Li Jing, Zhou Rui had already told Cheng Wu last time.

Li Jing was Xiaohan’s only friend during middle school, but because of a family inheritance, she got cancer.

After the high school entrance exams ended, Li Jing’s condition worsened, and she was in the hospital for chemotherapy.

Xiaohan visited her often, until the day before Li Jing passed away, when she made an appointment with Xiaohan to watch the sunrise together.

But when she arrived at the hospital early the next morning, Li Jing had already passed away during the night.

Later, when Xiaohan’s mother was diagnosed with early-stage stomach cancer, Xiaohan’s abnormality surfaced; she was completely unable to sleep. She endured for three days and two nights until her heart stopped during a PE class and she was rushed to the hospital.

It wasn’t until Xiaohan’s mother’s health improved that she slowly returned to normal.

But once Xiaohan’s mother’s health had any issues, Xiaohan would be unable to sleep all night.

Gradually, the situation became so serious that Xiaohan had to take sleeping pills to fall asleep.

As the treatment progressed and Xiaohan’s mother’s health gradually improved, and once the doctor gave a definitive word, Xiaohan completely stopped suffering from insomnia.

Until this year, when the situation changed again.

They chose to keep it hidden.

…

The ward door opened, and Cheng Wu immediately stood up.

Chen Lan looked at them with heartache: “You two go back and rest. I can take care of A-Yu here.”

“Auntie, you and Brother go back to rest. I will take care of my mom.” Xia Xiaohan immediately refused, insisting on staying.

Chen Lan seemed to want to persuade her further, but was stopped by Cheng Wu.

During the day they stayed at the hospital, Xia Yu was not conscious for very long.

However, when she was awake, her spirits seemed very good, which put Xiaohan a bit more at ease.

Now that the responsibility form was signed, Xia Xiaohan focused on taking care of Xia Yu. Cheng Wu stayed with her the whole time, helping by Xiaohan’s side.

The doctors at Tongqi Hospital were very good.

However, Cheng Wu was still worried. She took a moment to find the doctor to scan the medical records and wrote an email to send to a friend.

About half an hour later, Cheng Wu received a phone call from abroad.

“A-Wu.”

“Yes, it’s me. Did you read the email?”

“I read it, and I showed it to my uncle. He said this lady’s condition isn’t too terrible. As long as there are no problems with the next surgery, she will only need to slowly recover her body afterward.”

“Then I can breathe a sigh of relief.” Cheng Wu turned to look at the person in the ward, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment before the person asked: “I don’t know this lady. Is she the mother of the person you like?”

Looking at Xiaohan’s profile, Cheng Wu smiled: “Yes, I am at the hospital with her now taking care of her mother.”

“That’s good.” The person on the other end was very happy and soon spoke about Christmas gifts: “I’ve already received your gift; I like it very much. Regarding the gift for you, I checked and it’s held up at customs; it might take a few more days to arrive.”

“As long as you like it. Your sentiment arrived first, so it’s fine. Thank you for your help this time.” Cheng Wu was truly grateful. Originally, the two had agreed not to contact each other.

But her friend’s uncle was a famous medical doctor abroad, specifically in internal medicine, and had done research on cancer.

Cheng Wu still chose to contact her.

The two chatted briefly. Before hanging up, the person on the other end suddenly said: “A-Wu, I broke up.”

Cheng Wu was stunned for a moment, then made a joke: “Then your mother is going to set you up on blind dates again.”

This was the first time she felt she had set down her burden.

“Exactly.” The other end followed with a laugh, but soon the laughter faded: “In the end, I am still not as brave as you. I couldn’t persist in staying by your side.”

Cheng Wu let out a sigh and comforted her: “You and I are different. You have to carry your family’s future. But I still have my cousin; I am not the most important one. My dad is also preparing to get married; he might give me younger brothers or sisters.”

In the ward, Xia Xiaohan was about to come out, so Cheng Wu thanked her again and hung up the phone.

Checking the time, she and Xiaohan had been without sleep for nearly thirty-six hours.

Cheng Wu felt very tired and sleepy, but as soon as she saw Xiaohan, she immediately pulled herself together.

Closing the door, Cheng Wu took a thermos of water and handed it to Xiaohan: “Drink more water. Look, your lips are dry and peeling.”

Xia Xiaohan took it and suddenly remembered that xuejie hadn’t slept all night either. She asked with concern: “Should xuejie go back and sleep for a bit? Your complexion looks very poor.”

“What about you?” Cheng Wu didn’t answer, but asked her back instead.

“I… I want to sleep too.” Xia Xiaohan gripped the thermos, her voice a bit unsteady: “I’m just afraid… afraid that as soon as I wake up, Mom will…”

Cheng Wu held Xiaohan’s arms, making her look up at her: “She won’t! The doctor said the success rate for this surgery is over eighty percent. Your mother will be fine. She still wants to see you get married!”

“Married?” Xia Xiaohan was stunned, her heart suddenly skipping a beat.

Cheng Wu let go with a smile and pulled her down to sit: “Yes, don’t tell me you don’t want to?”

Xia Xiaohan gave a microscopic nod, responding with a voice that was almost non-existent: “I do.”