regret

"Dad, Xiaoyu said you're off work, could you stop by and bring me some cold medicine?"

"Niuniu, you have a cold?!" Jiang Chengping became anxious when he heard it, "Are you too tired from studying recently..."

"No," Jiang Qing said quickly, "My classmate is sick."

"She's a boarding student and can't go out freely, and she has classes at night. I thought we might have some medicine at home, so I could just send it over so I can prepare some."

Jiang Chengping was relieved when he heard this and sighed with emotion, "As expected, good schools have tight curriculums and are very motivated. They don't even have time to buy medicine."

"You can't imitate them. Your health is the most important thing, you know?"

"I know." Jiang Qing's throat was dry and itchy, and he spoke faster unconsciously. "Dad, just leave it with the guard. I'll ask her to pick it up after evening study."

"Okay," Jiang Chengping was about to say something else, but when he looked down, he saw that his daughter had hung up the phone.

Jiang Qing put down his phone, covered his mouth with one hand, bent over and coughed until tears came out and his throat was extremely painful.

After a long while, she wiped her tears, touched her forehead, and felt dizzy. She pushed open the door and found herself alone in the dormitory again.

Jiang Qing climbed onto the bed feeling dizzy and shivering all over. She wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and set the alarm for half an hour. Math class would be starting soon and the teacher would review the test papers. She was already a little weak in one subject and couldn't miss any more classes.

Before going to bed, Jiang Qing suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to explain.

She dialed the number again, "Dad, remember to get the powder. That brand works quickly."

"I know," Jiang Chengping frowned. He had a vague premonition when his daughter suddenly hung up the phone. "Niuniu, tell Dad the truth, is it you..."

A loud "bang" sound exploded beside Jiang Qing's ears.

Jiang Qing's mind went blank, "Dad——"

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" Her hands trembled uncontrollably, and her voice was tinged with tears. "Call me back, Dad—"

At the end of the alley, the clean cement road was littered with broken car parts. Two cars were parked in the middle, emitting thick black smoke.

The blood flowed down from the corner of his forehead, blurring Jiang Chengping's vision.

He moved his fingers and opened his mouth to say something, but the blood blocked his throat and he could only make a gurgling sound.

“Niuniu…”

The light in his eyes gradually faded, and Jiang Chengping's last consciousness fell into darkness. "Don't... don't be afraid."

"dad--"

——

There were few people in the convenience store, and the cashier couldn't help but yawn while sitting.

In his hazy vision, he looked at the two girls sitting by the window, then at the boy standing waiting at the corner outside the door, and couldn't help but lower his head and chirp in the group.

"Brother, I think I saw a bloody drama."

"The drama of two women fighting for one man is also something I can watch for free. Both girls are now in tears. I think they are just about to hug each other and cry, and then join forces to beat up the scumbag."

"I bet you fifty cents on spicy noodles, this scumbag will definitely get hammered today!"

As he spoke, he glanced outside and accidentally met the boy's casual and cold glance.

He immediately sat up straight and gave a standard business smile.

Lin Nanyan paused, nodded, then looked away and looked at the two girls by the window.

The cashier drummed his hands. "Oh no! This guy is not only handsome, but also very polite. I feel like I might have misunderstood something."

A friend commented sharply, "The level is quite high."

The cashier agreed.

Look up, both girls are hugging each other.

Jiang Qing took out a tissue and handed it to Jiang Qing.

Jiang Qing's voice was hoarse, "My dad guessed it."

"He knew which medicine would work for me, so he went to the nearest pharmacy to buy it and came to see me, and then rushed to complete the task assigned to him."

The girl's tears seemed to have no end, washing away everything wantonly, "He wanted to come and see me."

"He wanted to finish the work quickly, get his salary early, and buy me better quality paint..."

"But I just want him to be alive," Jiang Qing raised her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I just want him to stand in front of me alive and call me 'Niuniu' again."

Zhang Yuexuan's hair was blown into a mess by the wind and fluttered in front of her eyes, so that she didn't notice Li Qingyun's emotions for a moment.

"Is it because of this?" Li Qingyun spoke slowly, bloodshot eyes spreading. "So you blame her? You had to invite her here to repent?"

"Not only that," Zhang Yuexuan took off the rubber band, bit it in her mouth, and quickly tied her hair back up, "it's also because of you."

Li Qingyun was stunned.

Zhang Yuexuan stared straight into Li Qingyun's eyes and said, "I was planning to invite you over tomorrow too."

"Li Qingyun," she said, "you should repent there too."

Li Qingyun's voice was hoarse: "What do I need to confess?"

"Confess that you fell in love with someone you shouldn't have," Zhang Yuexuan said calmly, but her words became increasingly pointed. "Confess that damn, inappropriate love you had."

"I didn't!" Li Qingyun flatly denied.

Zhang Yuexuan grabbed Li Qingyun's collar and pulled his face in. She stared at this extremely familiar face from close range.

"Do you think you hid it well?"

Zhang Yuexuan approached and whispered, "Do you think Mom found what's under your bed?"

Li Qingyun's face turned pale instantly.

The cold wind penetrated his brain, and he turned his head away for a long time.

"Li Liang told you so much," he spread Zhang Yuexuan's fingers apart, avoiding the questioning face, "but did he tell you why Dad showed up at the end of the alley that day?"

Zhang Yuexuan's eyebrows were frozen.

The drizzle stopped completely, and the air was filled with the fishy smell of earth. Jiang Qing wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Uncle Jiang did it for you, and Grandpa did it for me. Those who left have left, and those who stayed seem to have left behind only sadness."

"But," she shook her head, "it's not."

"I believe that grandpa left that day with longing and blessings. He just didn't have time to say goodbye or tell us to live a good life."

"Uncle Jiang must be like this too."

Jiang Qing nodded vigorously, "Yeah."

She wiped the wet marks off Jiang Qing's face and said, "I believe it."

The two sat in front of the window, shoulder to shoulder, looking out at the night. The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the stars were dim, but they were finally beginning to emerge.

In the silence, the cell phone rang, and Jiang Qing looked over.

Jiang Qing stared eagerly.

Jiang Qing smiled, "My brother is urging me to go home."

Jiang Qing: "Then you should go back quickly. It's getting late."

"Okay." Jiang Qing took a few steps, turned back, and looked at her deeply. "Thank you, Jiang Jiang."

"You're welcome," Jiang Qing said softly, "Jiang Qing."

The footsteps gradually faded away, and someone pushed the door closer.

Jiang Qing took the heat pack handed to her by Lin Nanyan, lifted up her coat, and put it on her stomach. The small area of ​​skin there gradually became filled with heat.

"Let's go."

The two walked out of the supermarket side by side.

The cashier watched the two leave with a smile. The moment their backs disappeared, he lowered his head and typed quickly, "Latest battle report, this guy is top-tier, bought a heating pad with a cold face, and finally got the girl."

Friend: “Give me the spicy noodles!”

Cashier: ...

Spicy strips, spicy strips, how can they not kill you, a single dog!

"How is it?" Lin Nanyan lowered his head and looked at the girl beside him.

"It's okay, it's already the third day," Jiang Qing looked up, "I only felt a little uncomfortable on the first day."

Lin Nanyan: "You got caught in the rain today."

"It's summer now, and I drank hot milk."

Lin Nanyan stopped and said, "Jiang Jiang."

Jiang Qing: "Hmm?"

Lin Nanyan lowered his eyes to look at the girl, "There are some things you can leave to me."

"But there are some things I can do better." Jiang Qing replied.

Lin Nanyan stopped talking.

Jiang Qing turned around, faced Lin Nanyan, and stretched out her arms.

Lin Nanyan looked into the girl's eyes quietly, and as he moved closer, he leaned over, hugged her, and put his head on her shoulder.

His voice was muffled, "Are you tired?"

Jiang Qing blinked and pushed back the tears in her eyes, "A little."

"Well," Lin Nanyan responded softly and asked, "Do you want to eat cake? It's already prepared."

Jiang Qing: "Okay."

She reached out and ruffled the boy's hair, "Carry me back, I don't want to leave."

Lin Nanyan turned around and bent down, with his back to the girl. Jiang Qing put her hand on the boy and circled his neck.

Amid the quiet footsteps, Jiang Qing's eyes were wide open, her head was empty, and she was thinking of nothing.

Smelling the familiar scent, feeling the warmth of the person under her, she half-closed her eyes and felt drowsy.

Half asleep and half awake, she suddenly started and took out her cell phone.

In the taxi, Lin Nanyan took back his hand that was covering the girl with clothes and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Qing pressed the button without even looking up. "I haven't contacted Chen Heng yet, and I don't know how Chen Xu is doing."

Lin Nan reached out and snatched the phone from the girl's hand. "Chen Xu is fine, he just needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days."

Jiang Qing: "Have you asked?"

Lin Nanyan nodded: "Yeah."

Chen Xu was taken to the hospital for examination, and Chen Heng and Qian Ying sat outside the door waiting for the test results.

The air was silent, filled with anxiety and uneasiness, until the doctor pushed the door open and walked out.

Qian Ying hurried over and asked, "How is Xiaoxu?"

"After a preliminary inspection with instruments, there is no major problem."

Qian Ying finally let go of the worry in her heart. "It's good that everything is fine, it's good that everything is fine."

Doctor: "The patient suffers from aplastic anemia and is bleeding profusely, but fortunately, he was treated promptly and his condition is not serious. The more troublesome thing now is that there are small blood vessels ruptured in his chest cavity, and he needs to be hospitalized for follow-up observation."

Thoracic cavity...

Qian Ying looked at Chen Heng silently. Chen Heng's expression had returned to normal. Seeing Qian Ying looking at him, he shrugged.

Under the circumstances at the time, he was considered rational enough not to fracture his ribs.

Qian Ying: ...

She turned around and said, "Okay, thank you doctor, we got it."

After watching the doctor leave, Chen Heng stepped forward and asked, "Can I treat your arm now?"

Qian Ying: "...Lead the way!"

Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in the ward with her left arm in a cast and a grim expression on her face.

"What about the matching report you mentioned earlier?"

"Just now," Chen Heng touched his nose, "I saw it in my dad's office. The cross-matching of donor-306 and recipient-566 lymphocytes came back negative."

"Though I don't know why the report, which should have been kept by the transplant team, ended up on my dad's desk."

"But—" He looked up.

At the moment of the car accident, the moment Chen Xu rushed over, Chen Heng had already made up his mind.

“I’m willing to donate a kidney.”

"Chen Xu is ill, and you don't have to hide it from me anymore," he emphasized seriously, "I agree."