Chapter 124: Volume 1 Chapter 124 Tenant (12)

In the hospital corridor the light was somewhat dim, several lamps old and broken; under the gloomy light the boy's thin frame looked like an oil lamp, its bright and dark patches cutting into mottled shadows.

Jiang Zhi noticed his stiffness and nervousness.

She smiled to break the awkwardness: "You don't welcome me coming to see you?"

Shi Xuan's head bobbed like a rattle drum, his gaunt profile hidden beneath dark bangs, his hoarse voice trembling: "No, it's not that."

He simply didn't want her to see his miserable situation.

Jiang Zhi held the fruit she had bought along the way and handed it to him: "This is for your mother."

Shi Xuan refused to take it; his speech was never fluent, and now he was so nervous he couldn't speak: "No, I don't need it."

Jiang Zhi forced the bag of fruit onto him, placing it in the bucket beneath the hospital bed.

"This fruit isn't for you; it's for your mother."

Shi Xuan froze in place, fingers gripping his hem, and whispered:

"Thank you."

Since his mother fell ill, no one had ever come to visit.

This was the first time.

Jiang Zhi glanced around and saw the corridor filled with hospital beds, while many rooms stood empty.

Why were there so many empty beds?

She had a rough idea of the reason.

Families who come to this hospital for treatment are poor; being able to see a doctor is already difficult, let alone being hospitalized. They can only crowd into such corridors to save some expenses.

Given Shi Xuan's character, even if she wanted to help him, he would not agree.

From the moment she first saw him, Jiang Zhi knew he was not the type to bother others, nor did he like to owe favors.

Jiang Zhi suddenly asked: "Have you eaten?"

Shi Xuan replied instinctively.

Jiang Zhi earnestly glanced at his complexion; it didn't look like he had eaten at all—he looked like he'd gone several meals without food.

"You've started lying to me."

Shi Xuan's face turned pale instantly, and he couldn't utter a word.

"Alright, I knew you hadn't eaten; I bought you a jianbing when I came over." She took the jianbing from her bag and shoved it into his hand, fearing he would refuse.

"I already ate at noon; this was specially bought for you."

Shi Xuan stared blankly at the still-warm jianbing, and the question he wanted to ask slipped out unintentionally.

"Why are you so good to me?"

His voice was muffled and soft, but Jiang Zhi, standing close, heard it clearly.

"I don't know either." She smiled, then said: "It's probably because you look very much like someone I once knew."

Shi Xuan suddenly lifted his forehead, his dark pupils reflecting light that flickered, and asked: "Former... person?"

Jiang Zhi hummed, not wanting to mention that person again, and changed the subject: "Hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold."

Shi Xuan ate the jianbing slowly, head lowered, his bangs hiding the change in his eyes.

Before he could finish the jianbing, the monitor on the bedside emitted a sharp alarm.

Shi Mu's chest, lying on the bed, suddenly heaved violently like a broken bellows, squeezing out the last vestige of strength.

Several doctors rushed out, pushing the bed toward the emergency room.

Shi Xuan followed all the way to the emergency room door, staring blankly at the bright red three characters above, as if blood seeping through with unease.

"Auntie will be fine." Jiang Zhi lowered her voice, unable to bear it, her lips pressed tight.

Shi Xuan withdrew his gaze, looking down at the cold floor:

"I know."

"His mother will eventually have a day of departure."

"He knows that."

"When she was conscious, she tried to end her life several times, just so as not to burden him."

"Even if she was unconscious, she had no will to live, allowing life to drain from her body completely."

"She has lived this life too exhaustively; if death could release her, how could it not be a good ending?"

"Sister Jiang Zhi, you may go back." He spoke calmly, telling her: "Thank you for coming to see my mother."

Jiang Zhi couldn't rest easy leaving him alone here; if Shi Mu really passed, how sorrowful he would be.

"Okay."

But she still walked out of the waiting room and sat on the outside bench.

After three or four hours, the emergency room door finally opened.

"Sorry, your mother has passed." The doctor's words broke the silence of the waiting room.

The bed was pushed out of the emergency room, covered with a white cloth; the person lying on it had no breath.

Jiang Zhi followed him to the crematorium, watching him emerge holding the ashes box.

Having slept none the night and eaten nothing, the boy's body swayed and he collapsed.

…

When Shi Xuan woke up, he opened his eyes to find himself back at home.

He thought it was a dream, but upon fully waking he realized it was reality.

"Awake?" Jiang Zhi entered his bedroom holding a bowl of plain congee, set it on the bedside table, and said: "You must be hungry; have something to eat."

Shi Xuan's face filled with astonishment; he hadn't expected her to be here.

He obediently took the porridge bowl, his throat dry and hoarse: "Jiang, Jiang Zhi older sister."

Jiang Zhi answered his question: "You fainted; I had someone send you back."

"I'm not at ease leaving you; I wanted to wait until you woke up before leaving."

Shi Xuan tightly gripped the porridge bowl in his palm, its heat seeping through his palm into his flesh.

Seeing his state, Jiang Zhi knew what he was thinking, sat on the chair beside the bed, and helplessly said: "Shi Xuan, you took care of me before; this time I'll take care of you, so we're even—don't feel like you owe me anything."

Shi Xuan's voice was hoarse and indistinct.

"Jiang Zhi older sister, you, don't come again, don't come look for me again."

She startled at his words: "What?"

Shi Xuan lowered his head, his back slightly bent, the bangs covering half his face hiding any expression.

"Don't, don't come look for me! Don't ever appear before me again!"

As he spoke, his emotions surged violently, and he smashed the porridge bowl in his hand onto the floor.

"Bang!"

The porcelain bowl shattered, sending sharp glass fragments flying.

Jiang Zhi was frightened by him, rose from the chair, her body slightly trembling, eyes wide in disbelief as she looked at the youth on the sickbed emanating hostility.

He was a complete contrast to his usual self, his whole body filled with negative emotions, dark and dangerous, wrapped in thorn-like sharpness, driving away anyone who dared to approach him.

Jiang Zhi's fingertips pressed to her lips turned white, her eye sockets slightly reddened, and she spoke softly.

"Then… then I'm leaving."

Having said that, she turned, stepped over the porcelain shards, and left the room.

Hearing the living-room door close, Shi Xuan remained motionless for a moment, then got out of bed, squatted down, and reached out to pick up the shards piece by piece.

When he picked up the last piece, pinching it in his palm, the pain stimulated his mind to clear; bright red blood dripped onto the floor, each drop staining his skin red.

As Jiang Zhi stepped out of Shi Xuan's house, she literally ran into Le Zhou, who was just heading out.

"Jiang Zhi."

He called softly.

Jiang Zhi recalled the surveillance she had checked two days earlier in the security room, her heart tightened, she couldn't move her feet, watching him approach, she said: "Sorry, I had something to do that day; I couldn't make it back."