The cramped two-bed room had one vacant bed. At this moment, Duan Jiaxu was alone in the ward. The room was excessively quiet, feeling empty and lonely. He lay flat on the bed, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, but he didn't speak.
His lips were set in a straight line, his face devoid of expression. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Not hearing his consent, Sang Zhi didn't dare enter and could only ask again, "Is it okay?"
Only then did Duan Jiaxu speak up, asking softly, "Have you eaten?"
"I just bought a bread nearby," Sang Zhi blinked, hesitantly walking over to his side and showing him the bag. "And I got a box of oolong tea."
"Can that fill you up?" Duan Jiaxu glanced at it. "Order some takeout."
Sang Zhi shook her head. "I'm not very hungry."
Duan Jiaxu: "You haven't eaten anything yet. How can you not be hungry?"
"I'm just not hungry." Sang Zhi placed the bag on the nearby table, turned around, and slowly moved the chair from the foot of the bed to the bedside. "If I want to eat, I will. I'm old enough not to starve myself."
Duan Jiaxu stared at her, suddenly chuckled softly, and said nothing more.
Sang Zhi sat on the chair, took out the bread, and murmured, "I just asked the nurse. You have to lie flat for six hours and can't get out of bed until twelve hours later."
"Mm."
Sang Zhi took a bite of the bread and mumbled, "And you can't eat anything right now. You'll have to have liquid food for the whole week. The IV drip seems to need three days."
Duan Jiaxu listened absentmindedly and responded again, "Mm."
After that, the room fell silent.
Only the faint rustling sounds of Sang Zhi eating remained.
The ward had heating, and Sang Zhi started feeling warm after sitting for a while. She stood up, took off her coat, folded it a few times, and hung it on the chair.
Noticing her movement, Duan Jiaxu glanced over, his gaze lingering for a few seconds before he said flatly, "Why are you wearing a skirt in the middle of winter?"
The silence was suddenly broken.
Sang Zhi looked up blankly, meeting his slightly upturned eyes.
His tone was just like her mom catching her not wearing thermal pants in autumn.
In some ways, he was like a combination of her dad, her mom, and her brother. Back home, she was always being nagged about her clothing, and Sang Zhi didn't want to be controlled here too.
"This is a long skirt." Sang Zhi lowered her head and continued nibbling on the bread. "You can wear one too if you want."
"..."
Duan Jiaxu turned his head to look at her.
The way she ate was exactly the same as before, her cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish. He felt like laughing but was afraid of pulling his wound, so he spoke softly, "It's colder here than in Nanwu. Just take care of yourself. It's no fun getting sick."
Hearing this, Sang Zhi inexplicably remembered her last visit to Yihe. The food in her mouth suddenly became hard to swallow. Without looking at him, she took a sip of the oolong tea and nodded.
After barely finishing the bread, Sang Zhi checked the time. "Brother Jiaxu, do you want to sleep?"
"What time is it?"
"Almost eleven."
Duan Jiaxu: "How are you going to sleep?"
Sang Zhi thought for a moment. "I'll rent a caregiver chair. It's not expensive."
"A caregiver chair? Won't that be uncomfortable for you?" Duan Jiaxu frowned, clearly disapproving. "The bed next to me is empty. Go rent that one."
"No need." Sang Zhi muttered, "I'm not here for a comfortable life."
"..."Without waiting for him to say anything else, Sang Zhi stood up and walked out: "Then, Brother Ji Xu, you can try to get some sleep first. I'll go out and ask."
The rental for a companion chair was only about ten yuan per day.
After paying, Sang Zhi took the opportunity to buy two sets of toiletries nearby. When she returned to the ward, Duan Jiaxu was looking at his phone, as if sending a message to someone.
Sang Zhi glanced at him but said nothing.
"Why did it take so long?" Duan Jiaxu put down his phone and asked, "What did you buy?"
"Toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a towel." Sang Zhi pulled out the items. "I want to go freshen up."
Duan Jiaxu: "Mm, go ahead."
After taking two steps, Sang Zhi suddenly remembered something and hesitated before turning back: "Brother Ji Xu, would you like to wipe your face? Brushing your teeth probably isn't possible yet."
There were quite a few items, so Sang Zhi simply took the entire bag with her.
The restroom was empty. She placed the items on the counter, took a deep breath, and slowly began her routine, her mind already considering what to do next.
She had asked on impulse.
Because she felt that if she didn't take the initiative to ask, he wouldn't bring it up himself.
But it wasn't a big deal.
When she had fallen before, he had helped treat her wounds.
He hadn't minded the dirt.
He had also wiped her face for her.
Besides, he was a patient now and couldn't do anything on his own.
She was here to take care of him, after all.
It would be too petty to suggest something and then regret it afterward.
Sang Zhi stopped dawdling, took the towel from the bag, and rinsed it with hot water in the shower area.
Then she returned to the ward.
Sang Zhi found a spot to put the items away and walked over to Duan Jiaxu, informing him in advance: "Brother Ji Xu, I'm going to wipe your face."
"No need." Duan Jiaxu didn't seem inclined to let her do it. "Just hand it over. I can wipe it myself."
"How are you going to do it yourself?" Already feeling embarrassed, Sang Zhi inexplicably grew irritated at his refusal. She frowned, sat on the edge of the bed, and said stiffly and coldly, "If you pull your wound, you'll have to stay in the hospital for a few more days."
Duan Jiaxu paused, then laughed instead: "Why are you always getting angry with me today?"
"..." Sang Zhi avoided his gaze, folded the towel smaller, and began wiping from his forehead downward. "I'm not angry. I always talk like this."
She stopped hesitating and went straight to work.
The towel moved from his forehead to his eyes.
Duan Jiaxu instinctively closed his eyes.
She didn't get too close to him, her movements careful and gentle, and she didn't touch him with her hands.
Duan Jiaxu had rarely been taken care of like this.
Nor had he ever imagined he would be cared for in this way. He disliked troubling others, especially this one—even though she was already an adult, he still felt she hadn't fully grown up and needed to be protected and cared for by many.
Then, the warm touch of the towel moved to the bridge of his nose, then to his cheeks and chin.
Duan Jiaxu opened his eyes.
His gaze met Sang Zhi's.
Her eyes were large and bright, with distinct double eyelids and curled, upturned eyelashes like two tiny brushes. The corners of her eyes naturally drooped, giving them a shape somewhat reminiscent of puppy eyes.
They looked clean and pure.
They held eye contact for a few seconds.
Duan Jiaxu's gaze drifted downward slightly as he said lazily, "Finished wiping?""All done." Sang Zhi averted her gaze, withdrawing her hand as well. Soon after, she stood up. "I'll go rinse the towel."
Then, Sang Zhi left the hospital room. Her forced composure immediately crumbled, and her spine relaxed instantly. She slowly steadied her breathing, trying to suppress her racing heartbeat.
No way.
His eyes were perfectly closed—how could they suddenly open?
Couldn't he have given a heads-up?
—"I'm about to open my eyes."
—"Get ready."
Was that so hard?
Was that so hard???
Scared me to death.
Scared! Me! To! Death!
Sang Zhi recalled her reaction just now.
It should have been fairly normal, right?
It seemed like she hadn't overreacted, treating it as something completely ordinary.
Her attitude was neither submissive nor arrogant.
Sang Zhi gradually relaxed.
In the end, only one thought remained in her mind.
This was the first time in her life she had wiped his face—and it would be the last.
Returning to the hospital room, Sang Zhi unfolded the visitor's chair and sat on it. After a moment's thought, she decided to use her coat as a blanket and make do for the night.
Duan Jiaxu wasn't asleep yet. Seeing this, he called out, "Sang Zhi."
Sang Zhi looked up. "What is it?"
Duan Jiaxu said, "Use my coat as a cushion to sleep on."
Sang Zhi paused. "Oh."
The long coat he wore today, when spread out, was larger than her entire body. Sang Zhi laid it on the visitor's chair, tidied it up a bit, then got up to turn off the light.
Duan Jiaxu didn't speak again.
Sang Zhi fished her phone out from her own coat, turned the brightness to the lowest setting, and noticed that Ning Wei had called her several times. She froze for a moment, suddenly remembering that she hadn't told her roommate she wouldn't be back tonight.
She immediately opened WeChat and typed in the dorm group chat: [I'm not coming back tonight. A sister I know—]
Sang Zhi thought for a moment, changed "sister" to "brother," and continued typing: [—is sick, so I'm taking care of him at the hospital.]
Sang Zhi: [I wasn't checking my phone earlier.]
Ning Wei: [Ah, as long as you're okay. I was worried when you didn't come back so late and didn't answer your phone for so long.]
Ning Wei: [Also, Jiang Ming seems to have something to discuss with you. He said you weren't replying to his messages, so I told him you were out with friends and hadn't returned yet.]
Sang Zhi: [Okay.]
Sang Zhi exited the chat window and scrolled down.
Since Ning Wei's birthday last time, Sang Zhi had rarely seen this person. He hadn't asked her out, only occasionally chatted with her, and not too frequently at that.
She tapped open the chat window with Jiang Ming.
She saw that he had only sent her a few funny jokes, followed by a few voice messages a few seconds long. She meant to convert them to text, but her hand slipped, and she accidentally played one.
The boy's clear, bright voice instantly filled the small room, echoing around them.
"Sang Zhi, are you free—"
Startled, Sang Zhi immediately pressed the power button.
The message was forcibly cut off.
Sang Zhi couldn't help but glance at Duan Jiaxu, holding her breath unconsciously. But the room was too dark for her to tell if he was asleep or not.
After waiting for a long time and hearing no response from him, Sang Zhi relaxed, quietly turning over.
She checked her phone again.
Not daring to play the remaining voice messages, she decided to listen to them tomorrow and reply then. She checked her class schedule for the next day, unsure if she could make it back in time for the first class, so she sent Ning Wei a message: [I might skip Political Education class tomorrow. Can you cover for me during roll call?]
Ning Wei: [Ok.]Sang Zhi turned off her screen, placed her phone aside, and curled up inside the jacket. She sniffled—it was Duan Jiaxu’s jacket underneath her. It felt as though his presence had completely enveloped her.
A faint scent of tobacco mingled with the crisp aroma of lime.
Like a mature yet boyish young man.
Somehow, it gave her a sense of security.
Perhaps it was the unfamiliar environment, but Sang Zhi found herself unable to fall asleep. Even after lying still with her eyes closed for a while, drowsiness eluded her. Unable to resist, she turned over, thinking she might play with her phone a little longer.
Carefully, she reached out, feeling around on the table.
Just then, Duan Jiaxu suddenly spoke: "Can’t sleep?"
Sang Zhi froze mid-motion and nodded. "Mm."
"Because you didn’t finish listening to the voice message?"
"…" Sang Zhi shot him a look, suddenly feeling as though her earlier emotional rollercoaster had been nothing but a joke. A bit aggrieved, she muttered, "You heard it and still pretended to be asleep."
"What do you mean, pretended to be asleep?" He chuckled. "I just didn’t say anything."
"That’s pretending to be asleep," Sang Zhi grumbled. "Why do you like eavesdropping so much?"
"Hmm?" Duan Jiaxu’s tone lifted teasingly. "Didn’t you play it out loud yourself? And now you’re trying to pin it on me at such a young age?"
Unable to argue with him, Sang Zhi pulled the jacket over her head. "I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going to sleep."
Duan Jiaxu: "But you said you couldn’t sleep?"
Sang Zhi: "Even if I can’t, I have to try."
Duan Jiaxu: "How about chatting with your big brother for a bit?"
Sang Zhi peeked out from under the jacket, glancing at him. "About what?"
"Do you want to finish listening to that voice message?" His voice carried a hint of amusement. "Let your big brother hear who’s trying to ask our little Sang Zhi out."
Sang Zhi pouted. "You wouldn’t know them anyway."
Duan Jiaxu: "Tell me about them, and I will. Describe them—let your big brother vet them for you."
Ugh.
First, he said she looked like Li Ping when she wore a dress in winter.
Now he was acting like Sang Rong.
Sang Zhi: "You need to vet someone just for asking me out to eat?"
Duan Jiaxu: "It’s only because I’m worried you might get tricked at your age."
Sang Zhi replied dismissively, "Oh, fine then."
Before Duan Jiaxu could say anything else, she rubbed her eyes and added, "There are quite a few of them. It’d take me all night to list them all—"
"…"
"You’d better grab a notebook and start writing them down."
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