Returning to High School to Save My Wife - Chapter 19

“Worried…”

These two words touched Jiang Yuan slightly, and she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

“How is your mother doing?” Liang Qi asked.

“She’s fine for now. But how did you know…” Jiang Yuan’s sentence trailed off as she realized it must have been that brat Jiang Mu’s doing. When on earth did he and Liang Qi exchange contact information?

“I have my ways~” Liang Qi noticed she was preparing to leave the hospital. “Are you heading out?”

“My mom needs to be admitted, so I’m going back to pack some things for her.” Since Liang Qi had already found her way here, she likely knew everything, so Jiang Yuan didn’t bother explaining further.

For some reason, she suddenly felt very uneasy facing Liang Qi’s concern and wanted to leave her presence as quickly as possible.

However, Liang Qi took the initiative to suggest, “Then I’ll go with you. It’s starting to get dark out; it’s safer for two people to walk together.”

Jiang Yuan stopped in her tracks.

Outside the hospital, the night surged like the tide of fate. Accompanied by a chilly wind, it seemed to be trying to seep into the young girl’s slender frame.

Suddenly, she asked: “Liang Qi, why are you helping me?”

Her voice was quiet, even cooler than the night air.

Liang Qi’s answer was perfectly natural: “What do you mean ‘why’? We’re desk-mates and friends, aren’t we? Shouldn’t friends help each other out?”

Though her goals went far beyond mere friendship, Liang Qi didn’t dare say that aloud.

Jiang Yuan repeated the word silently in her mind.

Friends?

Liu Jiayao and Mu Zhizhi were also her friends. But she rarely troubled them. Because they were friends, she never wanted to bring them trouble; she wanted them to see only her best side.

This was the first time someone had actively taken on burdens that had nothing to do with them just because they wanted to be her friend.

“Thank you,” Jiang Yuan said calmly. “But this is a family matter. There’s no reason for you to…”

“But you called me today.”

Jiang Yuan was speechless. True. She had called Liang Qi today to ask her to request leave; how could she now claim she wasn’t “troubling” her?

But she wasn’t the type to receive favors without returning them. Just as Liang Qi had helped her vent her frustrations, she would buy things for Liang Qi. Debts of gratitude are the hardest things in the world to repay; she only feared that as they accumulated, she would never be able to clear them.

“Just let me help you,” Liang Qi said, catching her expression and guessing what she was thinking. She tried to find a reason to dispel her concerns. “You know my health isn’t great. There will be plenty of times I’ll need you to look after me at school in the future…”

This reason proved effective. Jiang Yuan finally nodded in agreement. “Alright then, come back with me.”

It was already 10:00 PM when they reached the house.

Jiang Yuan pushed the door open and immediately turned on the lights. “Liang Qi, wait for me in the living room. I might need a bit of time, so you can do some homework while you wait.”

Knowing that Jiang Yuan didn’t want to bother her, Liang Qi waved her hand. “No need. I’ve mostly finished my homework. But what about you? You haven’t written a single word yet, have you?”

“I can do the homework tomorrow. I’m just sorry for troubling you to help me request leave.”

“It’s no trouble. I like it when you trouble me,” Liang Qi thought for a moment, then added, “Why don’t you use my homework for reference tonight? Tomorrow the teachers will start new lessons and there will be more assignments. You have to care for your mom, so you might not have time to finish everything.”

“This…” Jiang Yuan hesitated.

Though her grades were good enough that she didn’t usually worry about homework, Liang Qi was right. Assignments took time. With Xu Chengyu still unconscious, two days’ worth of accumulated work might be impossible to finish.

However… she had never “referenced” someone else’s work before.

“It’s just for reference, I’m not asking you to copy,” Liang Qi said, setting her bag down and pulling out her notebook. She knew a top student like Jiang Yuan would be sensitive about copying. “Use it if you need it, and if not, that’s fine too. I’ll just come to the hospital tomorrow morning to pick it up.”

“But that will make you late for class.” High school morning study started at 7:00 AM. The hospital was far from both Liang Qi’s home and the school. If she came to the hospital first, she would have to wake up incredibly early.

“It’s fine, I’ll just call a taxi.”

“No, that’s too much trouble,” Jiang Yuan declined, though she didn’t entirely reject the kindness. “How about this: just take photos of it for me. That way you won’t have to get up so early.”

“Oh right! I can just take photos. Why didn’t I think of that? Okay, I’ll send them to you!”

“Mhm. I’m going to pack now,” Jiang Yuan noticed the bag of oranges on the table. Her tone became slightly unnatural. “If you’re hungry… you can have the oranges on the table.”

Liang Qi finally noticed the bag; it looked brand new. “Huh? Did you just buy these?”

“I bought them for you,” Jiang Yuan answered honestly. “Thank you for helping me out.”

Liang Qi was stunned. She hadn’t expected Jiang Yuan to keep such a small thing in mind. But she quickly remembered their past life; Jiang Yuan always loved saying “thank you,” as if missing a single one meant she owed something. If Liang Qi cut her a piece of cake in the morning, Jiang Yuan would peel a pear for her in the evening. If Liang Qi drove her to work, Jiang Yuan would wait for her to get off.

She hadn’t realized that the high school version of Jiang Yuan already had this habit. She accepted them happily. “Okay, I’ll take them then.”

While Jiang Yuan was in the bedroom packing, Liang Qi peeled an orange. The juice was plentiful and the taste was sweet, a very high-quality jelly orange.

She ate while taking photos of her homework. When she finished, she had nothing to do, so she took a walk around the living room. Passing the kitchen, she saw the glass shards on the floor and the cold, half-cooked meal on the stove.

Did Jiang Yuan not eat today?

She suddenly remembered that Jiang Yuan had suffered from stomach problems in their past life. It had started in high school. When they first met, it wasn’t serious, but due to irregular eating habits at work, it worsened significantly after they married. Jiang Yuan would often be in so much pain she’d have to scramble for medicine.

Jiang Yuan was someone who was extremely stoic by nature, so whenever she showed vulnerability, it made Liang Qi’s heart ache.

I should order her a meal.

Liang Qi opened a delivery app and found a place with lighter flavors that would likely suit the family’s taste. Since the kitchen was full of shards and the food wasn’t cooked, delivery was the most convenient option. Guessing that neither Xu Chengyu nor Jiang Mu had eaten, she ordered three portions and sent a text to Jiang Mu.

Cookie Biscuit: Your sister had me order delivery for you all. When she gets back to the hospital, make sure you remind her to eat.

Exceedingly Handsome: Got it! Don’t worry, Sister Liang.

Estimating that Jiang Yuan would be packing for a while, Liang Qi went into the kitchen to clean up the porcelain shards. Liang Qi had rarely done housework; even when she studied in the US, her friends usually handled the cleaning. She was quite unskilled at it.

By the time she finished, her back felt like it was breaking. As she rinsed the cloth, a sharp shard she had missed sliced into her long, fair finger. Tiny beads of blood instantly pooled into a red streak.

Liang Qi quickly turned off the tap and wiped it with a paper towel. Just then, Jiang Yuan finished packing and came out with a suitcase. “Liang Qi, I’m ready, you…”

She stopped when she realized Liang Qi was in the kitchen. The kitchen floor was clean, and the unfinished food on the stove had been moved to the fridge.

She let go of the suitcase and rushed into the kitchen. “Liang Qi, why did you clean the kitchen? There were shards everywhere; you could have easily cut yourself.”

Hearing her voice, Liang Qi hurriedly hid her injury and smiled. “I had nothing to do, so I figured I’d tidy up.”

“I’m so sorry for making you clean too,” Jiang Yuan said apologetically. “Did you hurt your hand?”

“No, I’m fine,” Liang Qi said. “Don’t underestimate me; it was just a kitchen.”

Relieved, Jiang Yuan nodded. “I’ve finished packing. We can go now.”

“Okay, one second.”

Liang Qi returned to the living room to grab her bag and the oranges. Her finger brushed against the bag, irritating the cut. The sharp sting made her suck in a breath.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yuan asked, noticing something was off.

“Nothing… just a bit of a stitch in my side. I might have walked too fast earlier.” Liang Qi quickly made up an excuse and left the room.

At the door, Jiang Yuan stopped. “Liang Qi, it’s late. You should go home. I’ll go to the hospital by myself.”

Liang Qi wouldn’t hear of it. “How can I do that? It’s so dark; it’s dangerous for a girl to walk alone. Let me walk you there.”

Jiang Yuan said calmly: “But if you walk me there, then you will have to walk back alone.”

This logic stumped Liang Qi. “I… it’s okay. I’ll just take a taxi back.”

“You should head home early before it gets completely dark,” Jiang Yuan insisted. “Liang Qi, don’t walk me.”

Knowing Jiang Yuan could be very stubborn, Liang Qi finally compromised. “Alright then, I’ll go home. But… send me a WeChat message when you get to the hospital. And let me know immediately if anything happens.”

“Okay,” Jiang Yuan smiled warmly. “Hurry home now.”

“Mhm, goodbye!”

The summer night breeze blew a strand of hair across her face. Jiang Yuan watched Liang Qi’s back disappear into the curtain of night. It felt as if a small, unassuming candle had been lit in her heart, providing a lingering warmth.

After a long moment, she picked up her phone and sent a message to a contact.

Yuan: Sister Yan, can you lend me some money? My mom is in the hospital and I need it urgently. I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.

After sending it, she gripped her suitcase and headed toward the hospital, in the opposite direction of Liang Qi.

The sky grew darker, and the streetlights flickered on one by one, illuminating the girl’s lonely silhouette. The world seemed shrouded in a mystery of the unknown. The wind began to wail, carrying with it the cold indifference of fate as it descended quietly into the silence.

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