Wen Qing stared at Ji Yanjun without moving. For a moment, she thought she had returned to her past life, when she was sick and Ji Yanjun was by her bedside.

"Qingqing, you're awake?" Ji Yanjun asked gently.

Wen Qing didn't speak, but turned her eyes to look at his hand. Ji Yanjun quickly withdrew his hand, though reluctantly.

Wen Qing didn't say anything.

Ji Yanjun pulled over a stool and sat down. After a moment, he spoke, asking, "When did you get sick?"

"I'm not quite sure," Wen Qing said, her voice slightly hoarse.

Ji Yanjun quickly got up.

Wen Qing said, "I don't drink water."

Ji Yanjun turned to look at Wen Qing. Wen Qing stopped talking, slowly closed her eyes, and looked very tired. She was extremely quiet, so quiet that it seemed as if a gentle breeze from outside the window could blow her away.

"Qingqing," Ji Yanjun called out anxiously.

Wen Qing opened her eyes again and looked at him. Her gaze was focused, but she seemed to have lost her spirit.

Ji Yanjun turned his face to the side, blinked hard to push away his heartache and sadness, and sat down again in front of Wen Qing.

Wen Qing looked at him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Look at you."

"And then what?"

"I'll stay with you."

Wen Qing forced a pale smile: "No need, my mother will always be with me."

Ji Yanjun pursed his lips and didn't respond.

Wen Qing didn't say anything either.

The ward was quiet.

Ji Yanjun sat on the stool by the bed, his head down.

Wen Qing lay on the hospital bed, looking at him.

"Ji Yanjun, it's getting dark, you should go back," Wen Qing said.

Ji Yanjun looked up at her and said, "Okay."

"Goodbye," Wen Qing said.

Ji Yanjun stood up and said, "I'll come back tomorrow."

Wen Qing did not respond.

Ji Yanjun went out for a while, and Yao Shiling came in. She reached out and touched Wen Qing's forehead, which was still slightly hot.

Yao Shiling lied to herself and deceived Wen Qing, saying, "The fever has gone down a bit, it's gone down a bit."

Wen Qing smiled.

Yao Shiling took a handful of medicine and handed it to Wen Qing, saying, "Take this medicine and your fever will go down tomorrow."

"Mmm." Wen Qing ate and slept. She had started feeling tired two days ago; she would get tired after walking a few steps or saying a few words.

She increasingly felt that July 19th would be the end. At first, she was afraid, panicked, reluctant, and sad, but after these two days, she has become very calm.

She's gained something from this rebirth.

She created wealth for her family, her village, and the people of Wangcheng County, and she also made money.

In short, we made a profit.

Thinking this way, Wen Qing slowly accepted that God had so quickly taken back this chance to be reborn. She lay in bed, her mind swirling with memories of her past life, and then slowly fell asleep.

The next day, Wen Qing woke up at a moderate time, and her fever had subsided.

"The fever's gone down! The fever's gone down!" Yao Shiling happily went to find the doctor.

Wen Qing smiled too.

Ji Yanjun stood by the door, looking at Wen Qing quietly.

A short while later, the old doctor came over, took Wen Qing's temperature, and confirmed that her fever had indeed subsided.

"Doctor, has your fever gone down?" Yao Shiling hoped the old doctor would agree.

The old doctor nodded: "Yes."

"Then the surgery can be done soon, right?" Yao Shiling asked. In her mind, as long as Wen Qing had the surgery, everything would be fine.

"Not yet. To be on the safe side, we need to stabilize the patient. If she doesn't have a fever tonight, we can perform the surgery tomorrow," the old doctor said.

Yao Shiling nodded: "Okay, okay, the surgery will be tomorrow."

"Pay attention to your diet today. Keep it light and nutritious, preferably something like porridge that's easy to digest," the old doctor instructed.

"Okay, okay, okay." Yao Shiling nodded repeatedly.

Seeing Yao Shiling like this, Wen Qing felt a warmth in her heart and almost cried: "Mom."

"Wen Qing, I'll cook dinner for you outside," Yao Shiling said.

"Okay." Wen Qing nodded.

Yao Shiling was too happy to care about Ji Yanjun, who was a thorn in her side.

After Yao Shiling left, Ji Yanjun remained standing by the door.

Wen Qing looked up at him but didn't say anything.

Ji Yanjun didn't say anything either.

Wen Qing lifted the covers to get out of bed, and Ji Yanjun quickly stepped forward, bent down, and handed her slippers to her feet.

Wen Qing was taken aback.

Ji Yanjun held her ankle, put her slippers on, and asked, "Do you need to use the restroom?"

"Um."

"I'll help you."

"No need, I'll find a nurse."

"I'll be your nurse." As soon as Ji Yanjun finished speaking, the nurse came over and took Wen Qing from Ji Yanjun's arms. Although Ji Yanjun did not support Wen Qing, Wen Qing's fever had subsided, and she even ate half a bowl of egg porridge at noon. Wen Qing did not have a fever in the afternoon.

This gave Ji Yanjun hope for a cure.

However, his joy was short-lived. In the evening, he saw Wen Qing sitting on the bed, coughing lightly, and coughing up a mouthful of blood. The blood was extremely bright and glaring, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Wen Qing! Wen Qing!" Yao Shiling cried out in a trembling voice, "Doctor, doctor, I'll go get the doctor!"

Yao Shiling rushed out of the ward and bumped into Ji Yanjun, who took several steps back and leaned against the wall. He stared intently at Wen Qing, noticing the trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

In her dream, there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth as she smiled and said to him, "Yanjun, I can finally, finally let you go."

In her dream, she lay in his arms and said, "Yanjun, I regret it, I regret it. I won't like you in the next life, and I certainly won't marry you."

"..."

With a "bang," it seemed as if something exploded in his mind, and fragments of memory surged up, swirling and piecing together in his brain to form a complete memory line.

That day, he married her. Under everyone's gaze, he carried her out of the car. Amidst the cheers of Gangzi and his friends, he carried her to the main room and then to the bridal chamber. She nestled shyly in his arms, not daring to lift her head. After Gangzi and the others finished their commotion, she smiled happily and said, "Comrade Ji Yanjun, from today onwards, Comrade Wen Qing is your wife!"

She jumped into his arms and bit his chin, and they both burst into laughter; her smile was absolutely radiant.

Then, her smile gradually faded.

She said, "Yanjun, your mother doesn't like me."

He said, "That's our mom."

She was unhappy.

Later, she smashed flower cups and vases, broke the television, and then squatted on the ground, crying with her hands covering her face.

He, however, slipped out through the door.

When he returned, she was lying on the bed, pale-faced, crying, "My baby is gone, it's gone, it doesn't want me anymore, I'm in so much pain..."

Finally, her condition became incurable. She vomited blood and lay in his arms, saying, "Yanjun, I'm so tired. I miss my second uncle, I miss my mother, I miss Liangliang, I miss Pengpeng. Please call them all over so I can see them, okay?"

He hugged her tightly and said, "Okay, okay, I'll have someone bring them over right now."

"But my second uncle is gone, he's been gone for a long time. My mom, Liangliang, Pengpeng, I can't wait any longer, I won't see them again, I'm leaving."

"Qingqing, no, no."

She looked up at him and said, "Yanjun, I regret it, I regret it so much. I won't like you in the next life, and I certainly won't marry you..."

"Qingqing!" Ji Yanjun suddenly called out, and his scattered gaze finally focused. He looked at Wen Qing with love, pain, resentment, guilt, and a deep longing.

Wen Qing clutched her chest, raised her pale face, and stared blankly at Ji Yanjun. She finally realized that her fever subsided and her good mental state during the day were not truly good, but rather what is commonly known as a final burst of energy before death.

It seems she really can't get over this hurdle.

"Qingqing!" Ji Yanjun walked over and hugged her tightly, as if he had missed her for lifetimes.

Wen Qing didn't move. Perhaps she knew she was about to die, so she stopped holding on, stopped constantly reminding herself to stay away from Ji Yanjun and not to fall in love with him again. Instead, she leaned against him indulgingly. Even though she had suffered so much in her past life and made a solemn vow, the place in her heart was still reserved for him. No one else could enter. He was the first man she loved, and he would be the last.

"Qingqing, Qingqing, live well, live well." Ji Yanjun hugged her, tears streaming down his face.

Wen Qing leaned against his chest, inhaling his familiar scent, and whispered, "It's too late, I can't do it anymore..."

"Wen Qing, Wen Qing!" Yao Shiling pushed open the door and entered, followed by the old doctor and several young doctors.

"Don't touch my daughter!" Yao Shiling shoved Ji Yanjun away, and Ji Yanjun was pushed behind the crowd, stunned in place.

Yao Shiling grabbed the old doctor and said, "Doctor, my daughter is vomiting blood! She's vomiting blood! Please save her! Please save her!" Yao Shiling started crying as she spoke.

However, after studying the situation for a few moments, the old doctor and his team all shook their heads.

“You are doctors!” Yao Shiling said.

"Mom, Mom," Wen Qing called out, leaning against the headboard. She tried to call out, but the voice that came out wasn't loud: "Mom, Mom."

Yao Shiling leaned closer and whispered to comfort Wen Qing, and also to comfort herself: "Wen Qing, it's okay, you're so young, you'll be fine."

"Mom, listen to me." Wen Qing reached out to wipe away Yao Shiling's tears and said softly, "Mom, don't cry. You still have Liangliang and Pengpeng. They need you to take care of them. And you'll have a chubby grandson in the future." Yao Shiling didn't cry when Wen Qing's father passed away because she felt it was useless. Wen Qing, Wen Liang, and Wen Peng still needed her care. So now Wen Qing hoped she wouldn't cry either, and that she should put her hopes and feelings on the living.

"You are my daughter whom I carried for ten months!" Yao Shiling couldn't help but let her tears fall.

Wen Qing kept wiping away her tears: "Mom, you have three children. You can't be so selfish and keep them all to yourself. You should give one to Dad. I'll go down to the underworld to be with Dad. Dad and I will work hard down there. After you pass away, you can come find us."

Wen Qing's words brought tears to everyone present, but no one could save this young life.

Yao Shiling covered her mouth and sobbed.

"Mom, I miss Liangliang and Pengpeng. Can you have someone bring them over? I want to see them," Wen Qing said.

"Okay, okay." Yao Shiling nodded, crying, and hurried out of the hospital to make a phone call.

Wen Qing looked up at the clock on the wall. The clock ticked away, and there were still ten minutes left until July 19th.