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墨書 Inktalez
Lin Xi smiled lightly, but there seemed to be a hint of sadness.
"Ah, Lanlan, you still let me be with him. Look at him; in his heart, besides you and Beautiful, who else is there? All his calculations and plans are for you and Beautiful. I don't know what you're still holding back for."
In the few days after returning to Liu Family Village, Lin Xi felt as if time had come to a standstill. Everything before her seemed to evoke a sense of nostalgia, like a black-and-white photograph. She had visited her Old House alone several times. Pushing the door of the Old House open produced a heavy creaking sound, making her feel as if the passage of time had made the door as heavy as it was now. In her memory, that wooden door had not been this heavy; when she was little, even with little strength, she could easily push it open. But now, it required great effort, and all she could hear was the difficult creaking sound instead of the cheerful clanging she remembered.
Had childhood memories also become heavy? The whispers that once filled the mountains, fields, and rooms seemed to have turned into a heavy creak.
The few Plum Trees behind the house were still there, lush with leaves.
Now, Liu Family Village was already filled with sprawling orchards, but only the few Plum Trees behind their house stood alone, neither forming a grove nor being cut down. It must have been Qinglan who deliberately left them.
Memories resurfaced bit by bit while also fading away...
At the Provincial Hospital.
It was already late summer, but the sunlight outside was still scorching.
That day was just around noon.
Qingmei had fallen asleep while Qinglan dozed off in the chair beside her. She felt very tired and sleepy but dared not fall into a deep sleep since Qingmei was still on an IV drip; she feared that when it finished, she would need to call the nurse to remove it.
The ward was quiet, and the entire hospital was also very calm, with only faint footsteps and voices echoing in the corridor.
The ward door was slightly ajar.
Earlier that morning, Xu Wen had called to say he would return from Beijing today and estimated he would arrive at the Provincial Capital around noon. He planned to visit Beautiful at the hospital.
Under his management, the company had slowly begun shifting operations toward Beijing. For half a year, he had been running between Beijing, Provincial Capital, and Liu Family Village. He had lost weight from exhaustion, but no matter how tired he was, he always made time to visit Beautiful at the hospital.
Whether traveling from Liu Family Village to Beijing or returning from Beijing, he insisted on visiting the hospital. Qinglan had advised him several times that it was unnecessary to take such a detour just to see Beautiful after enduring a bumpy train ride. She suggested that if he was tired, he should go home first to rest instead of coming to the hospital every time he returned from Beijing. However, he remained steadfast in his routine.
Thinking back to earlier times when he traveled from Beijing to Provincial Capital by plane without ever taking a train; since Beautiful fell ill, he had switched to trains to save money and only bought hard seat tickets each time. Sitting on a train for an entire day and night—when had he ever endured such hardship?
Half-awake and half-asleep, Qinglan sensed that someone carefully pushed open the ward door.
Aside from him, who else would be so attentive, arriving quietly each time, afraid of waking her and Beautiful? There were a few times when she had fallen into a deeper sleep, and after he came, he washed all of Beautiful's clothes without her knowing.
This time, she was in a light sleep and heard the sound, so without turning her head, she said, "I told you not to come; you never listen."
The footsteps behind her seemed to stop.
"Lanlan." A faint voice came from behind.
Qinglan was startled, her back stiffening as she slowly turned around.
"Your Highness... why are you here..." Looking at Bai Cuifang, who was sweating and appeared overheated, Qinglan couldn't help but stand up from her chair and took her hand to guide her to sit in front of the fan.
"I should have come to see Beautiful earlier, but I was busy with farm work at home. Just now, I finished my tasks in the fields and found a moment to come." She accepted the drink that Qinglan poured for her and lowered her voice.
She kept her head down, carefully placing the bag of fruit she brought on the bedside table.
"At your age, coming all this way to see her and bringing fruit? It's so hot outside; how heavy is that?" Qinglan chided.
"Sister Shaomin and Jian Ming have visited several times; why do you need to go through the trouble?" Qinglan continued.
"Sister Shaomin is married; their visits are out of kindness. My visit is out of my own feelings," Bai Cuifang said softly.
"How did you find this place?" Qinglan asked curiously. Although she knew Bai Cuifang could read, she had rarely left home except for visiting Shaw Min. It was surprising that she could find this hospital on her first trip to the Provincial Capital. Most importantly, how did she get the hospital address and room number?
She replied, "Some time ago, Lin Xi's Grandmother returned to Liu Family Village to see Lin Xi; I came along with her."
"Oh, Mother went back to Liu Family Village? Sigh, Beautiful's illness has burdened so many of you. Lin Xi probably hasn't been back to see Mama and Dad for a long time."
"It has been quite a while since I've been back to the Provincial Capital," Bai Cuifang continued. "Originally, your Mother was supposed to come with me to see Beautiful, but I wanted to talk to you alone, so after she dropped me off at the hospital, she left."
"Oh?" Qinglan's hand trembled slightly while peeling an apple, nearly cutting herself.
Seeing that Qinglan remained silent, Bai Cuifang didn't know how to continue the conversation, and for a moment the room fell silent.
"Your Highness, if you have something to say to me, just say it," Qinglan finally composed herself after a long pause.
“Lanlan..” Bai Cuifang stood up from the chair and approached Qinglan, asking, “Beautiful has Leukemia, right?”
“Yeah.” Qinglan continued to slice the apple.
“I heard that Leukemia requires a bone marrow... transplant, right?” Bai Cuifang asked cautiously.
“Yeah, that's correct.” Qinglan replied.
“Then... why don’t you give her a transplant?” Bai Cuifang still carefully chose her words.
“It’s not time yet.” Qinglan handed the apple to Bai Cuifang, saying, “The hospital has a treatment plan, and currently, we are doing conservative treatment.”
“Oh! Is that so?” Bai Cuifang nodded thoughtfully. “Then if... Beautiful needs a Bone Marrow Transplant, Bai Cuifang asked with a flattering smile, “What do you think... can my bone marrow be donated to her?”
Qinglan looked at her.
“Hey! I don’t understand anything... I was thinking, since I’m getting old, my bone marrow is of no use anyway. If Beautiful needs it, I can give it to her...” By the end of her sentence, Bai Cuifang spoke more firmly and quickly than before.
“Oh.” Qinglan smiled, “Your Highness, eat the apple.”
“Yeah.” Bai Cuifang replied, taking a big bite of the apple.
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