Chapter 36 Illusion "How did you get here?"

After she told Yu Lingling about the situation, Yu Lingling laughed: "So it seems that you are the first big thing after your mother and grandmother broke the ice. This is something that must be done."

Cheng Sijie nodded. "My dad has been worried about the conflict between my mother-in-law and me for so many years. Now that I've become a stepping stone, I have to support him no matter what."

As she spoke, Cheng Sijie slapped her forehead: "Oh right, could you get my phone for me?"

Yu Lingling asked, "What's up?"

Cheng Sijie said, "I'm ordering coffee for my roommates. They're taking exams recently..."

Yu Lingling handed her her phone. "Oh, you should order. We owe them a lot this time. You and your roommates get along well."

Cheng Sijie said, "Yeah, they're all pretty good people. It's just good luck that they didn't encounter any weirdos."

The two chatted for a while, and seeing that Cheng Sijie was still quite weak, Yu Lingling said, "Okay, stop chatting and go to sleep. Just rest, and I'll find you a TV series you want to watch when you wake up."

Seeing her leaning against the other end of the hospital bed, looking quite uncomfortable, Cheng Sijie was worried and asked, "Do you want to...?"

Yu Lingling said, "Hey, don't say anything nonsense. When I traveled on a budget before, I stayed in hostels, and the conditions were much harsher than here. Don't say anything mushy to your sister. If I'm really tired, there are hotels nearby. I can just go and book a room for an hour, take a shower, and sleep for a while. That would be quite comfortable."

Cheng Sijie smiled and shook his head.

She checked her phone. Jiang Hui had sent her a message earlier but hadn't replied. She later explained that she was in evening class and fell asleep after washing up in her dorm because she was too tired, so she hadn't seen her resting.

The next day, unable to bear the physical pain any longer, she complained to him in a spoiled manner, "I'm having my period during finals week, and I feel so awful, I really don't want to live anymore!"

When Yu Lingling heard her making a voice call, she said that she was being cheesy and that her coquettish tone sounded like it was mixed with half a pound of saccharin.

Cheng Sijie said that you were just as assertive when you were on the phone with Gu Mo.

only……

Cheng Sijie thought: How wonderful it would be if we weren't in a long-distance relationship.

However, twenty-four hours had passed since she nearly died from vomiting and diarrhea, and her life had been saved, so mentioning it again would be a bit dramatic.

She carefully concealed this little bit of emotion and didn't tell anyone.

Half an hour later, I checked my phone and saw that my roommates had already received their coffee. They were showing her pictures in their WeChat group, typing a bunch of "Boss is so generous," and asking how her recovery was going.

Cheng Sijie replied with a smile, "It's much better now."

In the past few days, some of her fans have been urging her to start broadcasting. Since starting university, she has more free time than before. Cheng Sijie rented an apartment and also kept a dormitory bed. C University is relatively lenient in this regard, so it is still possible to balance both.

Moreover, she has a good relationship with her roommates, and she doesn't feel awkward about occasionally doing a live stream in the dorm.

Seeing that someone in the fan group asked again, she replied that it was nearing the end of the semester and she would broadcast again in a few days. She saw familiar IDs, [Strawberry9sauce] and [CJ02ss], who also left comments saying that they thought she had been kidnapped to Shennongjia by wild men and why she had been missing for so long without popping up in the group.

Strawberry and CJ are both longtime fans. Strawberry is younger and is in high school, while CJ is already in college.

Back then, there hadn't been any trouble with asking for contact information yet. CJ acted all respectable, even posting things like "666, I'm also in finals week," and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Seeing the smile on Cheng Sijie's face, Yu Lingling asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Cheng Sijie said, "I'll check the fan groups."

Yu Lingling said, "Wow, you really are... Anchor, you really seem to find this part-time job fulfilling."

Cheng Sijie: "Of course!"

The two chatted whenever they had free time, which was actually quite nice. Cheng Sijie would probably need to be hospitalized for five days. Their school was in the suburbs, too far from top-tier hospitals, and the infirmaries and clinics were unreliable. As for the school hospital—except for medical universities and universities that pay special attention to this, every university's school hospital had the feeling of just getting by without a care in the world, and C University was no exception.

While the university hospital at C University is quite good at serving retired faculty and professors, with high efficiency in providing services such as MRI scans and full-body checkups, its basic medical treatments are unreliable, and appointments often require long waits.

It's more reliable to stay in the hospital.

She's already applied for a make-up exam anyway. Taking leave to make up an exam under special circumstances isn't a big deal. There are fewer courses with exams this semester, and she can still catch up on the last exam when she gets back.

The problem is that it's not very convenient for Yu Lingling. Cheng Sijie thought that since she's a student, she might have some complaints if she stays out for too long.

Although Yu Lingling herself said that she was fine, Cheng Sijie still thought that she had recovered quite well and could take care of herself normally, so she should let her go back quickly.

As they were talking, Yu Lingling noticed that Cheng Sijie's eyelids were already drooping, so she smiled, said nothing, and went back to playing on her phone.

Cheng Sijie didn't know when she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

I don't know how long I slept; my dreams were a jumbled mess.

Ultimately, illness is torturous. Although it wasn't a serious illness that required surgery, I vomited and had diarrhea all night. I finally recovered a little, and my body regained some of its senses, not only appetite and mood, but also the ability to perceive pain.

It's as if they finally have the energy to process all this overload of information.

Her whole body ached, and in her dream, she was back in high school, in PE class, running the endless 800 meters. Yu Lingling kept running ahead of her, feeling extremely tired. Her calves ached, and her heavy breathing caused pain in her collarbone.

In her hazy state, she must have been sweating. With gentle force, the blanket was lifted and the face was wiped clean.

Cheng Sijie finally couldn't hold back in her sleep: "Teacher, is 800 meters really that long?!"

The PE teacher laughed and said, "Hey, Sijie, you've already graduated, why are you still running the 800 meters?"

Cheng Sijie pointed to her nose: "Me? Graduated? But I'm only a freshman in high school this year."

All the students around her looked at her and said, "Senior, you've already graduated."

Cheng Sijie was slightly conscious in her dream, thinking, "My God, I really made trouble for myself. Why did I have to go back and run 800 meters?" She wanted to rub her eyes, but for a moment she forgot that she was still receiving an IV drip. Her other hand was gently held to prevent her from moving around.

It must be Yu Lingling. She felt a surge of relief. "Yu Lingling..."

etc!

This looks like a boy's hand.

She was startled and weakly opened her eyes, only to see a familiar face.

A high, straight nose and a face with a slightly mixed-race appearance.

Cheng Sijie's eyelashes trembled; surprise caused her brain to freeze, rendering her unable to think—

She opened her mouth and looked into the other person's tired eyes, gray-green pupils, so deep and bright, reminding her of some peacock feathers, or the scales of some ornamental fish.

It is Jiang Hui.

But how did he get here?!

Damn it, is this some kind of dream within a dream?

Jiang Hui gently coaxed her, "Didn't you say you were feeling terrible? Why did you suddenly wake up?"

Emotions took effect before reason. Cheng Sijie heard her own voice, not "What are you doing here?", but rather, "Why are you taking so long to get here?"

The pent-up frustrations about the long-distance relationship that had been building up over the past few days made her realize that if something really happened, she wouldn't want to be in a relationship that was so far apart. Or rather, if the relationship wasn't even established yet, and there were mountains and seas separating them, wouldn't that be even more tragic?

She felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, revealing her vulnerability, which made her feel incredibly weak. But on the other hand, her soul seemed to be floating in the air, witnessing this scene.

Jiang Hui gently hugged her. "I'm sorry, I'm too late, aren't I?"

Ah, okay, Cheng Sijie thought: To hell with his damn weakness and affectation, whatever, I want to date him!

What's a little bit of fuss about being in a relationship?

The other person had broad shoulders, and their clothes smelled pleasantly of laundry detergent and fabric softener, probably lavender and rosemary. Jiang Hui had told her that these products from abroad had particularly strong scents, and it was true. However, it smelled very nice, and the clothes were very soft. Their strong arms were around her shoulders, and they patted her back like an elder to comfort her.

She couldn't hear what Jiang Hui was whispering in her ear, but it was probably something like "feeling sorry" and "comforting," soft and gentle, unlike the static and mechanical sound of their previous WeChat chats. It felt real and tangible, right beside her.

If you didn't have a clear feeling before, now, time makes you realize it later. Even if you see each other often during holidays and keep in touch every day through the internet, it is still different.

Is it because the relationship isn't defined, or is it because they haven't adapted to a life where they can't see each other's faces every day and can't reliably accept any subtle changes in each other?

Looking at her slightly pale face and watery eyes, Jiang Hui couldn't help but clench his fingers. He just stared at her quietly without offering any explanation as to why he was there.

After crying for a while, Cheng Sijie asked with a nasal voice, "What are you doing here? Where is Yu Lingling?"

Her mind started working again, but she couldn't figure it out.

Jiang Hui remained calm, wiping away her tears. The two were very in sync; they had never acted so intimately before, but now, there was no need for explanation, and they both accepted it well. He took an apple, slowly peeled it, and then ate it himself. "You can't eat anything so cold right now. I've soaked one in hot water for you, and I'll peel it for you later. I've sent Yu Lingling back to school."

Cheng Sijie said, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Hui wiped his hands clean with a wet wipe. His fingers were very beautiful, probably because he minored in music, so his fingers were well-maintained, his nails were neatly trimmed, and he wore two rings on his ring and middle fingers, which had a certain flamboyant yet sexually apathetic feel to them.

Cheng Sijie suddenly wondered: Could wearing these two fingers be to help her maintain her chastity?

She kept a close eye on his every move. They hadn't seen each other for more than two months. Although it was a long-distance relationship, they hadn't officially defined their relationship. He would fly over to see her during any free holiday to have a meal or chat.

Cheng Sijie and Jiang Hui both enjoyed this measured pace of their relationship, at least until the beginning when they both felt they were in control.

But now, it is clear that some unexpected development has caused the relationship to get out of control. Whether you are the hunter or the prey, once you fall in love, who can still distinguish their role?

Jiang Hui said, "I feel like the message you sent me is strange, and there was no live broadcast. I guess you're sick."

He said, "Have you forgotten that I have special abilities?"

Cheng Sijie had a bad feeling, but she took the already peeled apple and said nothing.

Would he fly back to China without knowing the situation, and even come to the hospital without asking for her address?

That's ridiculous, she's not stupid.