Mei Yeqin's words left Su Qing stunned for a moment.
"I've already met him..."
Su Qing stammered, a dazed look in her eyes as she watched Mei Yeqin's retreating figure.
Mei Yeqin's words brought back memories of the pain of that night.
For half an hour, Su Qing pursed her lips, her hands clenched into fists. She seemed to understand what Mei Yeqin had said.
Jiang Sui he, isn't he healed yet?
Su Qing had initially speculated, but when she arrived at Jiang Sui's ward, she found the young man sitting by the bed, his back to the door.
"I told you, I don't want to eat. Get out."
His refusal, regardless of the reason, still left Su Qing with an inexplicable wave of discomfort.
Su Qing stood by the door. She had initially suspected Jiang Sui's recovery, but now she was certain he hadn't.
"Jiang Sui."
Su Qing's voice jarred Jiang Sui's body, but he forced himself to remain calm. "What are you doing here? Get out."
Su Qing was still deeply uncomfortable by his order to leave.
"I'm an intern here. You're the patient, and I'm the doctor."
Su Qing's voice was devoid of emotion, but Jiang Sui was straining to control himself, his fingers clenched into fists.
"I'm fine. I just accidentally took the wrong medicine."
"So, you drank the whole bottle of sleeping pills?"
After Su Qing finished speaking, the air gradually darkened.
Jiang Sui pursed his lips, never turning around.
"None of my business is your business."
His indifference made Su Qing curl her fingers slightly, and she smiled slightly.
"Jiang Sui, I certainly won't intervene in your affairs, but doctors do take care of patients' affairs."
"Then I don't need your care. I have my own doctor."
Jiang Sui lowered his eyes, and his mood plummeted as soon as he said that.
"Jiang Sui, do you really want to be strangers to me?"
Su Qing stared at Jiang Sui's lonely figure, biting her lip as she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
For a long moment, Su Qing didn't hear Jiang Sui's reply.
"Okay, then you should just be alone and think quietly. Think about the answer. I'll come see you tomorrow."
The sound of Su Qing closing the door made Jiang Sui drop all his pretense in that moment. He slumped to the ground, gazing out the window at the scenery. It looked like snow, a blanket of white. His heart felt cold.
The man, pursing his lips, leaned against the bed, his voice low and hoarse as he sobbed.
He don't know how much time had passed.
"Jiang Sui, why are you crying? Why did you insist on sending me away? Do you think I'm more grateful to you than I love you?"
After Su Qing's words left her mouth, Jiang Sui was completely stunned. His eyelashes were still stained with moisture. For a moment, he didn't even know how to control his expression or emotions.
His face was so grim, his handsome features tinged with paleness, his lips almost devoid of color.
He looked at Su Qing, as if startled, pursing his lips.
Su Qing, whom Jiang Sui had thought had left, now stood in front him.
Su Qing half-knelt. In her memory, Jiang Sui's favorite scene was half-kneeling in front of her.
Jiang Sui lowered his eyes.
"Go."
His voice was low and hoarse.
"Jiang Sui, I'm telling you, if you dare tell me to leave again, I'll leave right now and find someone to get a marriage certificate."
The determination in Su Qing's eyes, the resoluteness in her words, made Jiang Sui look up in surprise. The sadness in his eyes threatened to drown Su Qing.
Jiang Sui thought he could drag his battered body and say, "Okay, you go."
But too many emotions choked his throat, and no matter what, Jiang Sui couldn't speak.
He finally held out her hand.
"Don't."
Grabbing her sleeve, he looked like a child, even though he was a grown man.
Su Qing pursed her lips and glared at Jiang Sui fiercely.
"Didn't you tell me to leave?"
Jiang Sui pursed his lips. Su Qing looked at his grim expression. When she stood up to go to the bathroom for a towel, Jiang Sui grabbed her hand.
"Don't go, Qing Qing. I know I was wrong."
Jiang Sui's voice trembled slightly.
It had been a long time since they'd held hands. Su Qing could feel the coldness of Jiang Sui's fingers. She pursed her lips and looked down at him.
"I'm not leaving. I'm going to the bathroom."
Jiang Sui's eyes kept on Su Qing, as if to confirm. Only after Su Qing actually entered the bathroom did Jiang Sui's tense nerves finally relax.
When Su Qing emerged from the bathroom, Jiang Sui was still staring blankly at the door.
She washed his towel and came out, pulling Jiang Sui to sit on the edge of the bed. Jiang Sui refused to sit.
"I just sat on the floor. It was too dirty."
Su Qing looked at Jiang Sui.
"You're still thinking you're a germaphobe at this moment? Why didn't you tell me you were sitting on the floor just now?"
Su Qing's voice was a little high, as if she was scolding him. Jiang Sui lowered his head. Even with his head lowered, he still looked much taller than Su Qing.
"Have you got a change of clothes? If you do, go to the bathroom and change, then come sit down."
Jiang Sui wasn't wearing a hospital gown, but his own clothes. He shook his head.
"Then you're wearing something underneath too. Just off it. I'll go buy you some clothes."
Jiang Sui looked at Su Qing, incredulous. Su Qing had actually asked him to take off his clothes.
"It doesn't matter if you not wearing it. I've seen countless cadavers in medical school. Isn't that how the human body is structured?"
As Su Qing finished speaking, a cold, disappointed look crossed Jiang Sui's eyes.
"So, I'm no different from them, am I?"
Su Qing pursed her lips, watching Jiang Sui's temper. She didn't let up, and she wouldn't offer him an explanation.
"Don't you insist on letting me go? You insist on rejecting me?"
But Jiang Sui seemed frightened by Su Qing's words about getting the marriage certificate. Having just woken up, Jiang Sui wasn't in the best mental state, still in a state of disorientation.
"No, it's you who don't like me."
Jiang Sui stared at Su Qing.
As Su Qing tried to defend herself, she heard the man say,
"You said I'm no different from those corpses."
?!
He was being nitpicky. Su Qing pursed her lips and looked at Jiang Sui.
"Lower your head."
Jiang Sui obediently lowered his head, and Su Qing wiped his face.
"Jiang Sui, I'm telling you, don't think I can't do anything to you just because you're sick. I'm telling you, I'm still angry."
Su Qing knew that somewhere in her heart, she had always given Jiang Sui the impression of being soft-hearted.
She couldn't bear to see Jiang Sui sad, suffering, or even endure any hardship.
She couldn't help but feel heartbroken, and she couldn't express her happiness at the moment.
After so much time without each other, there was always some resentment and traces.
Jiang Sui hadn't been awake long; the effects of his medication had taken effect quickly. So, under Su Qing's care, he blushed, tugged off his coat, and went to sleep on the hospital bed.
Because Su Qing was there, Jiang Sui unexpectedly fell asleep immediately.
Just as Su Qing was about to go to the bathroom to put away the towel, Jiang Sui, standing beside her, grabbed her wrist in his sleep.
This gave Su Qing a chance to observe Jiang Sui closely.
He had matured considerably, but his handsomeness and charm remained undiminished; he was still as good-looking as ever.
However, there were large bruises below his eyes.
Su Qing looked at Jiang Sui's hospital stay and figured that if it was up, he must have taken the medicine after she left his house.
He didn't take such good care of his body, which made Su Qing want to...
Released Jiang Sui's wrist, Su Qing placed the towel in the bathroom. As she left the ward, she saw Mei Yeqin still sitting on the bench, seemingly waiting for her.
"Qing Qing, come and sit."
Mei Yeqin waved at Su Qing, who sat down on the bench nearby, looking at her.
"Auntie Mei, Jiang Sui's illness hasn't healed, has it?"
Mei Yeqin nodded.
"Yes, he hasn't healed."
"So he's been deceiving himself, pretending to be well?"
Su Qing had seen many medical cases, but she knew clearly beforehand, especially since they lived together at the time, so she could tell that Jiang Sui was fine.
"Qing Qing, you might not believe this, but Jiang Sui appears fine in front of you, but the rest of the time, he's not so fine. He's just pretending to be fine to avoid worrying people."
Su Qing understood Mei Yeqin's words. Such a phenomenon existed in medicine, but it was extremely rare.
Su Qing found it hard to imagine such a thing happening around her.
"Back when you left the country, Jiang Sui felt his love might have troubled you. And since you know about his illness, he didn't think you loved him that much, and he was completely focused on helping you complete your studies."
"I don't know about all this either. When you left, Jiang Sui was in so much pain that I had no choice but to hypnotize him."
Su Qing stared at Mei Yeqin with wide eyes, his fingers trembling.
If hypnosis didn't work, Jiang Sui might never wake up, become a fool, or suffer memory loss, becoming mentally unable to cope.
Su Qing only knew that Jiang Sui had insisted on letting her go, completely oblivious to all this. She pursed her lips.
The two of them had missed so much time together, each suffering immensely.
"For so many years, he's always been by your side. Regarding your host family, and even at school, there are many times, Su Qing, if you're willing to pay attention, you'll know he's always there for you."
Hearing Mei Yeqin's words, Su Qing couldn't help but recall a time when, while abroad, the elderly woman at her host family had gone out for a party, leaving her alone at home. There was also a power outage and a water leak.
The woman had found someone to fix the pipes.
Normally, in a place like foreign countries where labor is incredibly expensive, you wouldn't find anyone reliable in the middle of the night. But that time, it happened incredibly quickly. Su Qing clearly remembers the person being very strange: wearing a hat, tattered clothes, and refusing to drink water or take off his gloves. He was quite peculiar.
It wasn't until Mrs. Mary came back and said it was a friend she knew that Su Qing finally dispelled her doubts.
Also, in the library, Su Qing occasionally felt like someone was looking at her, but every time she turned around, there was nothing. Good Chinese food is hard to come by abroad.
But there was one place she always loved, but she couldn't always get the same flavor every time she went.
Thinking about it now, Su Qing pursed her lips, naturally understanding the reason.
Mei Yeqin looked at Su Qing.
"Qing Qing, you two have missed so much time. I don't know if you both can still be together, but I hope you both can untie the knot in hearts and not let one of you become closed off while the other retreats."
"Life, in just a few short decades, is gone."
"Don't regret it. I wanted to talk to Jiang Sui about it, to comfort him, but he thinks too highly of you and won't let anyone bring it up."
"You thought he didn't go to the dinner that day? He did. He was downstairs, watching you go home."
Mei Yeqin spoke a lot, leaving Su Qing's mind both confused and clear.
When Su Qing returned to the ward, Jiang Sui had already woken up, staring blankly at her.
"Qing Qing, I'm sorry."
Jiang Sui was now noticeably clearer than before, having slept for about four or five hours.
"Why apologize?"
Su Qing pursed her lips and sat down beside Jiang Sui's bed.
Although Jiang Sui was a little dazed, he wasn't completely amnesiac, so he still remembered everything that had happened that afternoon. He looked at Su Qing.
"Qing Qing, I can't let you get married. I know you're not in a relationship and don't have a boyfriend, and I'm both happy and sad. But when you said you wanted to get married, I felt like I would do anything wrong."
Jiang Sui blinked his eyelashes. Su Qing noticed that his eyelashes were longer than a girl's, long, dense, and black. They were beautiful, like a palm-leaf fan.
"What wrong thing?"
Su Qing looked at Jiang Sui, seemingly unconcerned with what he said.
Jiang Sui pursed his lips and looked at Su Qing.
"Qing Qing, you can't get married with someone else. You are my fiancée."
Jiang Sui's voice was extremely low as he spoke, his entire body brimming with irritability. In fact, despite Jiang Sui's illnesses over the years, Su Qing had never seen Jiang Sui suffer from any of the same conditions described in clinical medicine. Now, however, she felt a certain similarity.
"You don't want your fiancée anymore, do you?"
"Who said I don't want her anymore?!"
Jiang Sui suppressed his emotions, reached out and grasped Su Qing's fingers, interlocking them.
"Qing Qing, I just want you to like me a little more."
"So, you're pushing me away? Aren't you afraid I'll never come back?"
Su Qing's words left Jiang Sui feeling gloomy.
Emotions swirled. "Qing Qing, I didn't push you. I just wanted to go with you."
Su Qing recalled that Jiang Sui had actually gone abroad at the time.
"So, you'd give up everything for me?"