The most chaotic and painful day of Zhou Wan's youth ended with the piercing sound of police sirens, accompanied by Old Mr. Lu.
Luo He and his group were taken away, while Lu Xixiao was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Zhou Wan followed them to the hospital. Old Mr. Lu could no longer maintain his facade of kindness toward her. The moment he saw Lu Xixiao lying in a pool of blood, he nearly fainted.
"Zhou Wan," Old Mr. Lu said calmly, "don't forget what you promised me before."
Zhou Wan paused mid-step, lowered her head, and bit her lower lip. "I haven't forgotten, but... could we wait until he wakes up?"
Old Mr. Lu didn't respond and walked past her directly.
As he reached the door of the operating room, he suddenly stopped and turned back.
"A Xiao called me before he went to find you alone, which is why I came with the police," Old Mr. Lu said. "I was worried something might happen to him and didn't want him to go. But no matter how much I tried to dissuade him, he wouldn't listen. So I told him you were Guo Xiangling's daughter."
Zhou Wan froze abruptly, her eyes widening in shock.
"Do you know what he said?"
Old Mr. Lu's gaze was profound, quietly watching her, yet carrying an overwhelming pressure. "He said he had known all along, and he didn't care."
He had known... all along...
The last thread of composure in Zhou Wan's mind snapped instantly.
She had been terrified of Lu Xixiao finding out, terrified that he would hate her. She had wanted to tell him the truth but could never bring herself to speak, like drinking poison to quench thirst, hiding the truth day after day.
She thought she had hidden it well, that Lu Xixiao had never known.
But Zhou Wan would rather he truly knew nothing at all.
Then she wouldn't have to feel as guilty and self-reproachful as she did now.
Lu Xixiao had known all along, yet he had never truly been angry with her.
He had continued to act as if he knew nothing, staying by her side.
How could such a wonderful young man suffer all of that because of her?
She was still stained with Lu Xixiao's blood. All of this was her fault.
She was the one who had brought Lu Xixiao to this state.
The proud young man had been brought to his knees; the spirited young man had shed blood.
She could no longer continue down this wrong path.
She could no longer let Lu Xixiao endure those insults—disgusting, perverted, immoral, filthy...
Such words must not taint her young man.
Her young man should have remained pure, honest, and sincere.
...
That night, Zhou Wan waited outside the operating room.
Many members of the Lu family arrived one after another—Lu Zhongyue, Lu Qilan and their family, along with many relatives. Everyone looked anxious, comforting one another.
Zhou Wan stood to the side, ignored by everyone.
She was like an outsider, standing there quietly and invisibly, waiting as people came and went, waiting until the light in the operating room finally went out.
The nurse didn't update her on Lu Xixiao's condition—after all, she was no one to him—and instead called Old Mr. Lu directly.
Only by overhearing the nurse's words did Zhou Wan learn that Lu Xixiao was severely injured. The stab wound was close to his heart, and he would need to be observed in the ICU for some time.
Unable to enter the ward, Zhou Wan sat on the floor in the hallway outside, waiting until dawn.
Perhaps she had caught a chill during the night; her nose was stuffy, and her head ached slightly.
After the nurses changed shifts, one approached her, seemingly noticing Zhou Wan for the first time, and asked, "Are you a family member of the patient?"Zhou Wan hurriedly stood up. "I'm..." She paused, then said, "I'm his classmate."
These days, puppy love was common. The nurse nodded understandingly and said, "You should go home and change your clothes first. The patient probably won't wake up for a while."
"Is he badly injured?" Zhou Wan's eyelashes fluttered. "When will he wake up?"
"The knife nearly reached his heart—of course it's serious. But he's not waking up now because of the pain relief pump; it has a sedative effect. He probably won't wake until later today."
Zhou Wan nodded and thanked the nurse.
She went to the restroom to wash her face. Lifting her head, she saw her reflection in the mirror—pale complexion, dark circles under her eyes, and dried, mottled dark brown stains of blood on her face and clothes.
She took off her jacket and left the hospital for home.
...
In the end, the black burlap she had intended to use to shield the flowers from the rain never served its purpose.
There had been a heavy rainstorm the previous night. The soil had been washed away, and the flowers were all scattered and broken, completely beaten to the ground. Several plants had even been uprooted by the wind, left exposed.
She still hadn’t managed to keep them alive.
Even flowers so easy to care for had ultimately withered.
Zhou Wan took a hot shower. The bloodstains washed away with the water, flowing down the drain.
Then, she pulled a suitcase out from the closet—the same one she had brought after Grandma passed away.
Back then, that single suitcase had held all her belongings. This time was no different.
Many clothes remained in the wardrobe, all bought by Lu Xixiao over this period under various pretexts. Gradually, most of the clothes in the wardrobe now were gifts from him.
She didn’t take any of them.
Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, took a sharp breath, and snapped the suitcase shut.
After packing, she set the suitcase aside and fetched a bag to go into Lu Xixiao’s room. He would likely be staying in the hospital for some time, so she packed changes of clothes and toiletries for him.
While fetching his phone charger, she noticed a photo frame on his bedside table.
It was a birthday gift she had given him for his 18th birthday.
Inside the frame was a photo of her.
Taken in the dim light of the arcade, the flash had automatically gone off. In that captured moment, her expression was one of surprise, eyes wide and round like plump black grapes.
It was from that day—a casual shot he had taken.
This was the first time Zhou Wan had seen this photo.
It wasn’t Lu Xixiao’s usual style. Although he had taken the photo, it was probably just a whim, and he wouldn’t have had the patience to actually get it developed at a photo studio.
Zhou Wan didn’t know when he had developed the photo or when he had placed it in his bedroom.
A tear fell, smudging the glass of the frame.
Zhou Wan pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, trying to hold back but only managing sharp, ragged breaths.
A long time later, she finally stood up again and took out a sachet from an inner pocket of her clothes—this was something Grandma had sought for her, and it was still clutched tightly in Grandma’s hand when she passed away.
She unzipped Lu Xixiao’s pillow and tucked the sachet inside.
She hoped that in the days to come, this sachet would bless him with smooth sailing.
May he never be hurt again, never be sad again.
May he have sweet dreams every night.
Lu Xixiao woke up on the evening of the second day, but Zhou Wan never saw him again.Visiting hours in the ICU were limited, and it wasn’t her turn to go in. Lu Xixiao drifted in and out of consciousness, never fully awake for several days.
Luo He and his group had reportedly been detained as well. With Old Mr. Lu handling the matter, it was clear things wouldn’t be resolved easily.
It wasn’t until three days later that Lu Xixiao finally stabilized enough to be transferred out of the ICU.
He woke up late at night, with only Zhou Wan in the room.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a slender figure sitting upright in the darkness, lost in thought with the lights off.
“Zhou Wan,” he called out hoarsely.
It was the first time in days that Zhou Wan had heard his voice.
She sprang to her feet, flustered. “Lu Xixiao, you’re awake! How are you feeling? Does anything still hurt?”
“I’m fine,” he replied with a faint smile, hooking his fingers around hers. “What time is it?”
Zhou Wan checked the clock. “Just past midnight.”
“Why aren’t you back home sleeping?” Lu Xixiao asked. “Don’t you have school tomorrow?”
Zhou Wan hadn’t attended school for days.
She hadn’t contacted or met anyone, staying at the hospital even when she couldn’t see him.
Holding his hand gently, as if afraid of hurting him, she whispered, “I took time off.”
“Taking more leave? Be careful or you might lose your second-place ranking.”
Even now, Lu Xixiao still had the energy to tease her.
Zhou Wan paused, then said softly, “Jiang Yan got early admission. He won’t be taking exams anymore.”
She lowered her head, sniffled, but couldn’t hold back her tears.
She had never been one to cry easily, but since meeting Lu Xixiao, it seemed her threshold for tears had lowered considerably.
“I’m sorry,” Zhou Wan said.
“What are you sorry for?”
“I only went because Jiang Yan called me,” she murmured, voice choked with emotion. “If I’d been more careful, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
“Luo He targeted you because of me. It’s not your fault.”
Lu Xixiao’s voice was low, magnetic, and gentle. “It’s my responsibility, but I won’t apologize to you.”
He lifted her chin, his expression earnest under the moonlight streaming through the window. “We don’t need to say sorry to each other—not now, not ever.”
…
In the days that followed, Zhou Wan continued to skip school, staying by his side in the hospital.
Occasionally, relatives from the Lu family came to visit, but in such a large family, even visits were often driven by formality and calculation rather than sincerity. Lu Xixiao brushed them off casually, and eventually, they stopped coming.
Old Mr. Lu, however, visited frequently.
He never spoke directly to Zhou Wan, but she understood clearly—their time together was on a countdown.
News of the incident with Luo He was suppressed, and no one else found out. It wasn’t until another week later that Jiang Fan finally contacted Lu Xixiao, joking right away about where he’d disappeared to for so long.
Jiang Fan’s voice was loud, and Zhou Wan, who was sitting by the bed peeling an apple, glanced up at the sound.
Lu Xixiao replied casually, “What’s up?”
“You disappearing is one thing, but Zhou Wan’s gone too,” Jiang Fan said. “What have you two been up to all these days? I’m starting to think you went abroad to get married.”
Jiang Fan was just rambling, his imagination running wild.
Lu Xixiao played along, “Yeah, we got a certificate. We’ll treat you to drinks when we’re back.”
Zhou Wan’s hands stilled.The continuous apple peel broke.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Xixiao reached out and lifted Zhou Wan's chin, saying, "Three more years."
"What?"
"Until you reach the legal marriage age."
Zhou Wan lowered her head, her thick black lashes concealing the emotions in her eyes. She pretended to be casual: "You even know about that?"
"I looked it up last time."
Zhou Wan's heart felt as if pierced by a needle again, aching unbearably.
She turned her head away, finished peeling the last section of the apple, and handed it to Lu Xixiao.
...
When May arrived, Lu Xixiao was finally able to get out of bed and move around freely.
The weather was gradually getting warmer. Lu Xixiao originally wanted to change into a short-sleeved shirt before going out for a walk, but Zhou Wan wouldn't allow it, fearing his weakened body might catch a chill, so he gave up the idea.
The private hospital had excellent landscaping.
There was a special area in the back for patients to walk and rest.
Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao walked together for a while before finding a bench to sit on.
An elderly man sat across from them, using electric clippers to shave his head.
Lu Xixiao ran his hand through his hair and said, "I need a haircut too."
"Hold on a bit longer," Zhou Wan said. "Wait until you're fully recovered before getting a haircut."
The strands of hair in front of his forehead had grown long enough to obscure his vision, so he swept them all back: "By the time I'm fully recovered, my hair will be long."
Zhou Wan laughed, imagining it: "You'd probably look good with long hair too."
"No way." He curled his lip in distaste. "It'd be ugly."
Zhou Wan thought for a moment: "Then what should we do? Should we hire a barber to come in and cut your hair? I'm just not sure if that's allowed."
"You shave it for me," Lu Xixiao suddenly said.
Zhou Wan was startled: "Huh?"
"It's fine, just do it however," Lu Xixiao said. "With a face like your boyfriend's, even if you shave me bald, I'll still be handsome."
"..."
Lu Xixiao seemed quite interested in the idea. He immediately stood up, borrowed the clippers from the elderly man across from them, thanked him, and walked back to hand them to Zhou Wan.
Zhou Wan was still hesitant: "But I don't know how to use these."
"It's simple, young lady," the elderly man across from them said. "You just need to adjust the length."
Although Lu Xixiao had said she could shave it however she wanted, Zhou Wan didn't dare to experiment freely on his head. She cut with extreme care, only trimming the overly long hair slightly shorter and then shaving the hair at his temples shorter.
But it should be enough to last until he was discharged from the hospital.
Zhou Wan cleaned the clippers and returned them to the elderly man.
The two sat side by side on the bench. The sun was exceptionally bright today—the best weather they'd had in days. Many people were outside, including children in hospital gowns running around.
Zhou Wan turned her head to look at him.
The young man had lost a lot of weight after his serious illness, but he was still as dazzling as ever. The lines of his face had become sharper, yet not as severe as before.
"Lu Xixiao," Zhou Wan suddenly said.
He turned his head toward her.
Almost instantly, Lu Xixiao vaguely sensed something.
Just moments ago, she had been helping him cut his hair, but in the next second, seeing the look on her face, Lu Xixiao could guess what she was about to say.
"I know you already know everything," Zhou Wan said with downcast eyes. "These past days, I've been truly grateful to you. You've given me memories so beautiful I never even dared to imagine them before. Contentment brings happiness, and I should be content now."
"Your injuries are almost healed. From now on, I probably won't be coming anymore. Lu Xixiao, I'm sorry. All of this is my..."
"Zhou Wan."Lu Xixiao interrupted her, his breathing slightly ragged—whether from fear or anger, it was unclear. "I don't care. I don't care about anything."
Zhou Wan clenched her jaw.
For this final farewell, she didn't want to shed any more tears.
He reached out, gripping her wrist tightly. "Don't go. Please."
But these weren't words Lu Xixiao should have spoken.
He was so proud—once gone, he would never look back. Not like this, deceived yet still clutching her hand in plea.
Zhou Wan remembered again his silent, resolute kneeling that day.
Her chest ached once more with heartache and guilt.
It felt like a dead end, an endless loop, sinking into these emotions again and again.
"Lu Xixiao, on my birthday, you still owe me a wish. Fulfill it for me now," Zhou Wan said softly.
He gritted his teeth, silent.
"From now on, live well. Just like I said that day—go see the vastness of the world, walk the broad and bright path, find joy in every day, peace in every year. You can hate me, or you can forget me."
"Let's break up."
Zhou Wan stood up, her voice barely a whisper. "Ge."
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