Chapter Forty-One: Return

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My Fiery Girlfriend
Chapter Forty-One: Return
Volume Two: Snow Flying Across a Clear Sky
Chapter Forty-One: Return

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Chapter Forty-One: Return

Author:
Updated: November 9, 2015, 9:08
Word Count: 3,568

Sitting together in the crowded carriage, Su Xuefei and I leaned against each other. Feeling a little guilty, I said, “I’m sorry. This trip turned out to be a failure.”

“No, don’t think that way.” Su Xuefei gently reached out and smoothed my somewhat disheveled hair, smiling. “It’s not as though we’ll never come again. Listen, I’ll be coming here often from now on!”

“Whenever the goddess wishes to visit, she’ll always be welcome!” My heart warmed. If there was such a thing as a warm-hearted man in this world, then Su Xuefei was surely the finest example of a warm-hearted woman. Being with her made me feel completely at ease, as though perhaps sorrow and disappointment had never existed in this world.

As the train rolled on, I gazed at the scenery flashing past the window. Su Xuefei carefully combed Li Xiaoya’s hair, then nibbled at the snacks we had just bought.

“Yang Chen, sing for me when we get back. It’s been a long time since I last heard you sing.” Su Xuefei turned her exquisite profile toward me. Her waist-length hair fell over her shoulder and draped across her chest, making her look like a fairy from an ancient myth, pure and breathtaking, yet so beautiful that no one could hope to approach her.

I nodded. It had indeed been a while since I had sung, and I had no idea how much my ability had declined. But since Su Xuefei wanted to hear me, I would sing.

“And another thing—since you left without saying goodbye, shouldn’t you have told your childhood sweetheart?”

Su Xuefei gave a furtive little laugh, then gazed at me with her lovely eyes, clearly waiting for my answer.

“Damn it, I forgot about that!”

I slapped my forehead. I had been so caught up in what happened there that I had forgotten I was supposed to have dinner with Nao Nao that evening. Seeing the goddess Su’s faintly amused expression, I even wondered whether she had done it on purpose—whether she had thought of this problem from the beginning but deliberately waited until later to tell me. Could she still be blaming me for what had happened with her friends?

I hurriedly took out my phone and called Nao Nao. Her end of the line was quiet, as though she had deliberately chosen a place where no one would disturb her. After I explained what had happened, her mood sank a little, and she complained, “Yang Chen, then we’ll have to arrange it for next time. You can’t stand me up again!”

“Of course. I promise!”

After hanging up, I leaned over the little table by the window. An endless weariness was relentlessly devouring my spirit. Perhaps this was the aftereffect of suddenly relaxing after being tense for so long. My eyelids kept drooping. Turning my head toward the seemingly energetic goddess beside me, I whispered, “Feifei, I’m going to sleep for a while. I can’t keep going.”

“All right. I’ll wake you if anything happens.” Su Xuefei placed her bag on the table and pushed it toward me. “Use it as a pillow. It’ll be more comfortable.”

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I did not stand on ceremony. I tilted my head onto Su Xuefei’s little bag. It was soft, and apparently did not contain much. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. Before long, I drifted into sleep.

I felt as light as a feather. After getting off the train, I took a taxi straight to the hospital, but when I turned around, I did not know when Su Xuefei and Li Xiaoya had left. I gave it no thought and hurried into the hospital first.

The hospital entrance looked strangely familiar, as though I had seen it somewhere before, yet I could not remember where. I did not think I had ever visited this hospital in Yichun...

When I entered, I saw people rushing everywhere. Suddenly, I felt lost. Amid the din, anxious people hurried in and out, and I quickly began searching for Luo Qing’s ward.

The first floor, the second, the third... I no longer knew where I was going. Every floor of the hospital looked exactly the same: people constantly coming and going, wax-yellow tiled floors, white walls, bright lights. It seemed to stretch on without end.

I had no idea how many flights of stairs I had climbed or which floor I had reached. I crouched down, bracing both hands against my knees as I gasped for breath. Confusion overwhelmed me. Where was Luo Qing? Why did my heart feel so panicked and uneasy?

Just as I stood there, lost and uncertain where to go, I raised my head and suddenly saw a group of people pushing a gurney out. A nurse in pale work clothes, a doctor slowly removing his mask and shaking his head with a sigh... Then wave after wave of weeping echoed through the corridor.

My heart pounded violently. I had a terrible premonition.

The person lying on that gurney...

At the sight of it, I ran toward the crowd like a madman. I seemed to glimpse a strand of golden hair protruding from beneath the blanket tightly covering the person on the bed.

“Luo Qing... no... Luo Qing!”

I shouted and threw myself toward the gurney. The doctors and nurses around me seemed not to notice me. They simply stopped and watched in silence.

I could no longer hear anything around me—the sobbing, the grief, the murmured prayers. Nothing reached my ears. My eyes were fixed on the familiar curls peeking from beneath the blanket.

Why had this happened? Why did it have to happen?

I did not have the courage to lift that impossibly heavy blanket. Instead, I sank to my knees beside the bed and wept aloud.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry...

Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes, blurring my vision.

“Yang Chen?”

A voice suddenly reached my ears. I hurriedly raised my head, but I could not see anything clearly. Everything before me was blurred. Only vaguely could I make out a figure beside me, calling my name.

My vision gradually cleared, and the face that entered my sight was Su Xuefei’s, filled with astonishment. I struggled upright and rubbed my tear-stained eyes before saying, “Weren’t you going home?”

“What?” Su Xuefei seemed caught completely off guard. She stared at me in confusion, apparently unable to understand what I was talking about.

I shook my head hard, and only then did my awareness slowly return to reality.

I had fallen asleep just now. Had everything that happened been a dream?

Without explaining anything to Su Xuefei, I immediately took out my phone and called Angel Fish. After waiting for a long while, I finally heard Yang Xiaoyu’s drowsy voice on the other end.

“Boss Yang, are you causing trouble in the middle of the night?”

“I’m in no mood for jokes. How is Luo Qing?”

“She’s lying in the hospital, but the doctor said it wasn’t serious, so I came home. After all, she brought it on herself. If she really wants to hurt herself, there’s nothing I can do to stop her, is there?”

“Is someone staying with her now?”

“I’m not sure. When I left, she was alone. I didn’t see anyone come by. Her parents probably don’t know yet. Otherwise, they would have come.”

“Angel Fish, this is when you should show your little angel side and stay with her...” I glanced at the time on my phone and realized that it was already well into the night. Without realizing it, I had slept for so long. “Hospitals are frightening at this hour. It isn’t safe for a girl to stay there alone.”

“I don’t care. Once she was out of danger, it had nothing to do with me anymore. If you want to stay with her, go yourself. I’m not going... Besides, she’s a girl, but aren’t I a girl too?”

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I did not want to argue with her over something so trivial, and had just decided to end the call when Yang Xiaoyu’s yawning voice came through again.

“Don’t worry. I left my number with the hospital. They’ll notify me immediately if anything happens.”

After hanging up, I could not help smiling.

That girl...

I leaned back in my seat and took several deep breaths before finally freeing myself from the dream. Fortunately, it had only been a dream. Otherwise, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

“Yang Chen, were you crying?” Su Xuefei looked at me with confusion. “Did you have a sad dream?”

“I wasn’t crying. I was sweating.” I offered the excuse weakly. Men were not supposed to shed tears so easily, and crying in my sleep was simply too embarrassing.

“Big Brother, your eyes were sweating?” Li Xiaoya blinked her adorable, wide eyes in astonishment and said timidly, “Big Sister’s eyes were sweating that day too!”

“Xiaoya!”

Su Xuefei suddenly reached out and covered Li Xiaoya’s mouth. Her face flushed crimson as she lowered her head and fell silent.

“Really? Su Xuefei cried too? When did that happen...?”

“Mmph...” With Su Xuefei’s hand over her mouth, Li Xiaoya mumbled indistinctly and could not finish.

“Goddess Su, that kind of violence isn’t very ladylike!” I smiled and gestured for her not to get so worked up. “We’re all friends. Tell me who bullied you. If I get the chance, I’ll avenge you!”

“I don’t want to.”

With that, Su Xuefei lowered her head and whispered a few words into Li Xiaoya’s ear. Only after Xiaoya nodded did she slowly withdraw her slender hand.

I tried coaxing Li Xiaoya again, but I had no idea what kind of spell the goddess Su had cast over her. No matter how much I persuaded or pleaded, the little girl refused to tell me. In the end, I stopped pressing her. After all, a gentleman did not force others to do what they were unwilling to do...

The problem was that I was no gentleman. I genuinely wanted to know when the noble, lotuslike goddess Su had cried.

After sitting idly for a while longer, I noticed that Su Xuefei seemed tired as well. She rarely stayed up late, and she had probably managed to remain awake this long because of me. I silently cursed myself for being such a wretch, then pushed her bag toward her and whispered, “Feifei, get some sleep. We still have a long way to go, and you’re tired too.”

Su Xuefei nodded. She turned her head toward me, rested it on the bag, and closed her eyes. Before long, her breathing became slow and even. She seemed to have fallen deeply asleep.

I leaned slightly to one side and let Li Xiaoya lie across my legs for a nap. Children truly did have more energy than adults. Although she obediently rested against my legs, she continued eating her little snacks, her lively eyes shifting between me and Su Xuefei as though she was not sleepy at all.

At last, the long night passed in what felt like endless torment. With the rising sun before us, the train finally arrived at the station.

Though I was reluctant to do so, I still had to wake the sleeping goddess Su. After gathering our luggage, we lined up and filed out of the carriage.

Looking at the familiar Chengnan Railway Station, I was seized by an inexplicable panic. I had sworn never to return, yet I had not even lasted three days before coming back to this city that had wounded me—a city of glittering lights, where all the warmth and cruelty of human life mingled together.

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