Chapter 187: , Words in the Ear (Seeking subscriptions!)

A potato stewed with beef brisket, a spicy diced chicken, and a small bok choy.

This meal was already top-tier; in this day and age, many rural families didn't even have the conditions to eat like this during the New Year.

Li Heng chatted with the music teacher and the cousin while eating.

As for the English teacher, ho! Her conscience was already badly corrupted; she was busy reading the manuscript and had no time to pay attention to him.

In the middle, the music teacher asked Wang Runwen curiously: "Runwen, what are you reading? Why are you so engrossed?"

Wang Runwen acted as if she didn't hear.

The music teacher leaned over to take a look.

This—it would have been fine not to look, but once she looked, she saw the problem.

The music teacher said hesitantly: "Why does this style look familiar? Is it similar to the 'Cultural Bitter Travel' that my husband often reads?"

Wang Runwen looked up at Li Heng, thought for a moment, and said: "It is exactly 'Cultural Bitter Travel'."

"What? What did you say?"

The music teacher was stunned, her eyeballs almost falling to the ground: "This is the sequel to 'Cultural Bitter Travel'?"

Wang Runwen's chin was slightly proud: "It is."

"Such a valuable thing, where did you get it?" As she spoke, the music teacher subconsciously looked at Li Heng. These manuscripts hadn't been there before; they appeared as soon as he arrived, so she couldn't help but be suspicious.

Wang Runwen said calmly: "Of course, Li Heng gave it to me."

The music teacher's mouth felt a bit dry; she had vaguely realized something: "He—how did he give it to you? Where did he get it?"

Wang Runwen asked: "Haven't you heard the rumor that the writer 'December' is from our First Middle School?"

"Clang," a sound rang out; the spoon fell to the ground.

"Clang," another sound rang out; the aluminum lunch box fell to the ground.

The music teacher stared blankly at Li Heng, and it took a long time before she squeezed out a sentence: "Runwen, don't joke with me. Don't tell me that Li Heng—Li Heng is that hidden big writer?"

Wang Runwen leaned over to look at the spoon and lunch box on the ground, very satisfied with her friend's foolish performance: "It's him."

Hearing this, the ward was silent, and you could hear a pin drop.

Only the music teacher's coarse breathing remained, her two eyes staring at Li Heng as if they were about to spark.

The cousin also reacted a bit at this time.

Could she not react?

Even though the cousin didn't have much contact with literature and wasn't very interested in it because it was too far away, a person's name is like a tree's shadow. A person as awesome as this had appeared locally in Shao City; newspapers reported it every day, and the gossip-loving masses spread it by word of mouth. Even the illiterate in the village had heard the name of the writer "December."

Staring foolishly at Li Heng for a long time, the music teacher finally blurted out a sentence: "Li Heng, how about my Peipei? How about you take her as your wife?"

Peipei was her eldest daughter, 17 years old this year, just starting her third year of high school.

"Cough, cough!" Hearing such a fierce statement, Li Heng was almost choked by his food. He coughed for a long time, tears almost coming out.

The English teacher frowned and mocked the music teacher: "Look at how you're calculating. Your daughter is at least flesh and blood from your own body; is she really so worthless that you're selling her off?"

"You don't have a daughter, you don't understand." The music teacher found Li Heng more and more pleasing to the eye, her two eyes glowing green.

The English teacher glanced at her friend, then at Li Heng, and put the manuscript under her pillow: "I want to rest. If there's nothing else, you go back to the hostel."

"Ah? I haven't finished my meal yet." Li Heng had food in his mouth.

"I'm a patient!" The English teacher began to drive people away in a domineering manner.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're right."

Li Heng had no choice but to stand up: "Then Teacher, you rest well, I'll come to see you again in the afternoon."

The English teacher nodded and said to the cousin: "Cousin, please take Li Heng over."

The music teacher stood up as well: "I'll do it. I handled the check-in procedures, and I'm familiar with the boss."

As she spoke, the music teacher helped carry the luggage and took Li Heng out the door.

Once people were gone, the cousin asked suspiciously: "Runwen, don't you feel quite well? Why do you want to sleep?"

Wang Runwen closed her eyes, and after a while, said: "I don't know why, I'm just suddenly a bit tired."

"You, you're just missing a man. If you had a man by your side, you wouldn't be like this even if you were sick... Sigh."

Halfway through her sentence, the cousin stopped, afraid of further hurting her cousin's heart, and then asked again: "Surgery is tomorrow, are you really not going to notify Uncle?"

The "Uncle" she spoke of was the English teacher's father, who was currently teaching as a leader at Yali Middle School.

Wang Runwen said: "No need. If I don't make it through tomorrow, you can notify him to come and collect the corpse."

"Pah! Pah, pah, pah! May the Bodhisattva and ancestors bless you. The child is ignorant and speaking nonsense. You must bless her to be safe and sound." The cousin reached out and pushed hard on her forehead three times, driving away the foul language just now.

Listening to the cousin's angry and anxious nagging, Wang Runwen slowly opened her eyes: "Cousin, among all the relatives in the family, you are the best to me. When I was little, you always saved the good things for me to eat, and when I grew up, you sent me chicken and meat from time to time. I haven't even repaid you yet..."

The cousin directly sealed her mouth with her hand: "Say good things, say auspicious things. We are sisters who grew up together; what repayment or no repayment? Rest well, and don't let your imagination run wild."

Wang Runwen sighed and truly closed her mouth.

After waiting for a while, the cousin asked in a low voice: "Is Li Heng really that big writer in the news? That 'December'?"

Wang Runwen nodded: "Authentic and genuine."

"So amazing! So incredible!" The cousin was, after all, from the town's family planning office; she had consumed ink and seen the world, and she knew the huge gold content of this "December."

Wang Runwen said: "Indeed incredible."

The cousin asked further: "How is your relationship?"

Wang Runwen said: "Quite good."

After a while, the cousin asked: "You've been running all over the country this summer vacation; did you go out with him?"

Wang Runwen didn't deny it.

Although this matter was secret, the cousin vaguely knew her whereabouts. After all, every time she went to a place, she would take photos and buy some special souvenirs.

The cousin thought for a moment and whispered something in her ear.

Wang Runwen was silent, and after a while, said: "He has a fiancée, don't talk nonsense."

The cousin also felt that what she had just said was too absurd: "I was reckless. Sigh, if you were eight or nine years younger, it would be about right."

Wang Runwen didn't want to mention these things and closed her eyes again: "I'll nap for a while, don't leave, stay with me."

"You sleep, I won't leave, I'll knit a sweater." If it weren't for the illness, the cousin wouldn't have known that her cousin was also afraid of loneliness.

After Li Heng checked in, he was stunned by the music teacher asking him questions for more than ten minutes before he could finally be quiet.

This feeling, it really was! Indescribable.

After a simple wash, Li Heng seized the time to read and write.

Past 4 o'clock in the afternoon, he suddenly felt mentally exhausted, so he put down his pen, turned over, and fell onto the bed, starting to catch up on sleep and conserve his energy. Last night was too damn exhausting; he had played almost every trick in the book. Zijin must be exhausted too, right?

Sigh! Thinking of Zijin begging for mercy repeatedly last night, he felt that one woman simply couldn't satisfy him. Damn, he really had the capital.

"Dong, dong, dong!"

"Dong, dong, dong!"

"Li Heng! Li Heng! Are you still sleeping?"

Around 7:30 in the evening, the music teacher called him from outside the door.

Li Heng opened his eyes: "Teacher, wait a moment."

Getting dressed and rising, he opened the door and yawned: "I fell asleep, sorry."

The music teacher urged: "Your Yu Laoshi has arrived. Wash up quickly, let's go out to eat."

"Go out to eat?" Li Heng asked.

"Yes, Runwen requested it, saying Yu Laoshi can eat some chili, so we're taking her to eat local food," the music teacher replied.

"Eh, I'll go wash my face."

Li Heng responded, ducked into the room to wash up thoroughly, and then went out with his bag on his back.

At the hospital entrance, Li Heng saw Yu Shuheng and quickly greeted her: "Teacher, you're here."

Yu Shuheng smiled slightly at him: "I heard you were writing this afternoon?"

"Mm, the inspiration was good, so I wrote for a while," Li Heng replied.

Including the cousin, the four of them chose a Yongzhou restaurant nearby.

Actually, there weren't many restaurants to choose from in this day and age, but fortunately, it was at the hospital entrance, so there was relatively more food.

Li Heng ordered a famous Yongzhou dish, blood duck, and then watched the three women discuss.

The music teacher asked: "Yu Laoshi, did you come alone?"

Yu Shuheng smiled and shook her head: "A friend saw me off."

The music teacher looked around, and seeing that Yu Laoshi didn't want to talk much about it, she tactfully didn't ask further.

This meal was eaten quite dully. Yu Shuheng's aura was too strong; every word and action interpreted what is called ultimate elegance. Her every gesture was full of nobility, and at a glance, one could tell her family background was extraordinary, making the usually talkative music teacher and cousin feel a bit restrained.

Li Heng similarly didn't know much about Yu Shuheng, and coupled with the other party's teacher status, he was starving and only focused on eating, rarely participating in the topic.

After the meal, the four of them came to the ward together.

The English teacher, who had napped in the afternoon, was full of energy and pulled Yu Shuheng to talk about family matters, as if they had endless topics.

And Yu Shuheng changed from the cold and aloof appearance she had in the restaurant, sitting at the head of the bed very affably, accompanying Wang Runwen with lowered eyebrows and soft whispers.

Past 9 o'clock, the English teacher asked the cousin and the music teacher, who had been busy all day, to go rest first. The room was suddenly left with only three people.

Li Heng, who had been a wooden person on the side, tried to ask: "Teacher, do you want me to clear some space?"

The English teacher didn't have kind words: "If you want to get out, get out!"

Yu Shuheng spoke almost at the same time: "You stay."

After the two women finished speaking, they looked at each other, their eyes full of deep meaning.

After staring at each other for a long time, the English teacher was displeased: "If you're here to watch a show, go back tomorrow morning!"

Yu Shuheng smiled, stood up to pour herself a cup of tea. At 172cm tall, she just stood there, looking down at Wang Runwen on the bed, and suddenly, her warm smile grew even wider.

Seeing this, Li Heng didn't interject, sitting on the side, observing his nose and heart, watching the two women play their Zen game.

After a long stalemate, the English teacher patted the head of the bed: "Don't just stand there, come over and accompany me for a while. If the surgery fails tomorrow, this will be our last night."

Feeling her best friend's mood suddenly drop, Yu Shuheng sat over: "Don't think too much, I've consulted the doctor, the risk isn't big."

Actually, the doctor said the tumor was in a relatively sensitive area, so the risk was relatively large. But Yu Shuheng felt that this was the other party's habitual method, with a suspicion of exaggeration.

"Not big still means there is one."

The English teacher said, then said to Li Heng: "If I leave tomorrow, you are not allowed to look at my remains."

Li Heng's mentality was actually quite good, but hearing this, he felt an inexplicable sadness and hurriedly waved his hand: "Don't, let's be smooth and successful. Next time I write a book, I still want to drink the tea you brew."

"Did you hear that? You must have motivation." Yu Shuheng restrained her expression and said seriously.

Recalling accompanying him all over China during the summer vacation, the English teacher was silent for a long, long time. Finally, she turned her head to look at the bouquet at the head of the bed and asked: "Why did you buy me so many flowers today?"

Li Heng touched his forehead: "Uh, I forgot to tell you, Teacher. I bought this bunch for Carnation Song Yu, this bunch for Zijin, and this bunch for Seeing Mai Sui. They are all very concerned about your health, but unfortunately, they don't have my freedom and couldn't come to visit you in person."

The English teacher asked: "No Xiao Han?"

Yu Shuheng had a faint smile on her face as she looked at him.

Li Heng's face collapsed: "You're not Xiao Han's teacher, and she doesn't know you're sick and hospitalized."

The English teacher sneered repeatedly: "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Next time she sees me, she'll have to follow you and call me Teacher."

"Yes, yes, yes, stop that fighting-cock tone. I surrender." A good man doesn't fight with women. Perhaps because of the surgery tomorrow, he felt that the English teacher was particularly fond of verbal disputes tonight.

Seeing him surrender, the English teacher turned to Yu Shuheng: "Did you bring the ocarina?"

Yu Shuheng shook her head.

The English teacher asked Li Heng: "Where is your flute?"

Li Heng replied: "In a public place like a hospital, it's not suitable. I didn't bring it either."

The English teacher's anger deflated: "That's true."

This night, the English teacher was full of energy, keeping the two of them company and talking. If the nurse hadn't come over later to urge her to rest, she probably could have talked all night.

Li Heng could vaguely feel that the English teacher was still a bit afraid of the surgery failing tomorrow, so she interspersed a few words about arranging her affairs from time to time during the chat.

Neither he nor Yu Shuheng left, staying in the ward. She dozed off in the first half of the night, and Li Heng kept watch. Around four o'clock in the second half of the night, she woke up to take over.

Yu Shuheng whispered: "Overslept, you nap for a while."

Li Heng said alright, but sat on the chair without moving.

Seeing that he was in good spirits, Yu Shuheng looked at the sleeping Wang Runwen, pointed quietly at the door with her right hand, and walked out first.

Li Heng followed her to the corridor on tiptoe.

Yu Shuheng came to the window and looked at the night sky in the distance: "When do you plan to return to school? I'll buy you a plane ticket."

Li Heng looked at her back and asked in return: "When is Teacher leaving?"

Yu Shuheng said: "It's rare for me to come once, I'll stay for a week."

Not waiting for his reply, she continued: "You're only a freshman, and you've already missed four days of class in less than 10 days. Many tutors are reporting you to the school. You should go back this Sunday."

If he went back on Sunday, he could only stay for three days. Li Heng hesitated: "I want to see how Teacher Wang's surgery goes tomorrow before saying."

Yu Shuheng turned her head to look him over and nodded slightly.

The next morning, amidst tension and busyness, the English teacher was pushed into the operating room.

Before parting, the English teacher signaled for Li Heng to bend down.

Li Heng bent down and leaned into her ear.

She said in a voice only the two of them could hear: "If an accident happens, burn every book you write in the future for me. I will bless you. Teacher wishes you well."

Li Heng almost burst into tears.

Time was limited; the English teacher turned to Yu Shuheng.

Yu Shuheng took Li Heng's place and bent down.

The English teacher said: "You are my best sister. I have no marriage and no children, and I have no attachments. I only worry about you and him. He is still young and easily envied by others. Help me keep an eye on him."

Yu Shuheng reached out and grabbed Wang Runwen's hand, squeezing it hard, and nodded twice.

The English teacher entered the ward.

The moment the door closed, Yu Shuheng, who had been expressionless just a moment ago, had eyes full of tears, which she held back from falling.

PS: Seeking subscriptions! Seeking monthly tickets!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 188 =====