Chapter 43 Pain

Yu Bai and Chi Qinghe went to the hospital to visit Ms. Yu. Because her illness was discovered early and her symptoms were mild, Ms. Yu is currently in good condition. The two of them chatted with Ms. Yu in the ward to keep her company. In the evening, Yu Bai didn't want to eat the bland food at the hospital, so they went out to eat.

Having not returned to Lincheng for a long time, Yu Bai felt a sense of déjà vu as he walked with Chi Qinghe on the familiar streets.

Chi Qinghe asked Yu Bai, "What do you want to eat?"

As Yu Bai was pondering, she caught sight of a familiar alley. This alley was very close to her junior high school. She used to often eat wontons at the entrance of the alley, a shop run by an old lady. The old lady had been very kind to Yu Bai. She never expected that after so many years, the shop would still be open.

"Let's eat wontons. I saw a shop I used to frequent." Yu Bai's eyes unconsciously lit up with a smile as she walked towards the wonton shop, with Chi Qinghe following beside her.

"I've eaten here before," Chi Qinghe said thoughtfully to Yu Bai.

Yu Bai raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

“Yes, I was in junior high school at Lincheng No. 1 Middle School back then, and I would occasionally come here for breakfast,” Chi Qinghe said with a faint smile.

“I’m also from Lincheng No.1 High School,” Yu Bai smiled at him.

However, Yu Bai did not know Chi Qinghe at all when he was in junior high school, and he never remembered ever having met Chi Qinghe.

"What a coincidence." Chi Qinghe just smiled meaningfully.

Yu Bai smiled and looked at the shop, which was exactly the same as he remembered. He went inside and found that the interior decoration was still the same as before. An old lady with white hair but who looked hale and hearty was sitting at the table peeling garlic.

Seeing the guests come in, she looked up at Yu Bai and Chi Qinghe with a kind and warm smile, "What would you like to eat?"

Looking at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar old man before him, Yu Bai felt a surge of emotion. "Do you still remember me?"

"You are..." The old lady looked at Yu Bai, her brows furrowed as she pondered. After a long while, her brows relaxed, but the wrinkles around her lips deepened with her smile. "You are Bai Bai."

Yu Bai covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears. She hadn't expected that the old lady would actually remember her. Back then, she would come to eat a bowl of wontons every morning without fail. The old lady ran the small shop by herself, as her children were all working in other places. So she was very kind to Yu Bai and gave her delicious food. Yu Bai had no friends, so she would often come to the shop to do her homework and play, relieving the old lady's loneliness. The two kept each other company and kept each other warm.

"She's grown into a beautiful young woman," the old lady remarked with emotion.

Yu Bai smiled and nodded.

The old lady looked at Chi Qinghe beside her and said, "Qinghe is here too. You wouldn't let me introduce you to anyone, so Bai Bai is the girl you were talking about who you like?"

The old lady's smile deepened as she spoke.

Yu Bai frowned slightly, turning her head to look at Chi Qinghe, "You two know each other too?"

"Yes." Chi Qinghe looked at Yu Bai gently.

"Good, good, good, they're a perfect match." The old lady was very satisfied. She looked at Yu Bai and said very seriously, "Bai Bai, you must cherish Qinghe, he's a good man."

“I…” Yu Bai wanted to object, but she nodded in a moment, “I will.”

Her words made Chi Qinghe's eyes flash. He lowered his eyes, and the ice and snow in his heart seemed to be brushed by the spring breeze, sprouting new buds.

Chi Qinghe smiled slightly, "It is I who should cherish Bai Bai."

"Hahaha." The old lady laughed and gestured for them to sit down. "Sit down, have some wontons, I'll cook them myself."

Yu Bai and Chi Qinghe sat facing each other. Yu Bai's face was a little red. She lowered her head and did not dare to look directly at Chi Qinghe, while Chi Qinghe stared at Yu Bai with deep affection in his eyes.

When the wontons were served, they emitted a rich aroma. Yu Bai took a deep breath; it was a familiar smell.

The old lady remembered that Yu Bai loved cilantro, so she put a lot of cilantro in her bowl. Yu Bai lowered her head and tasted a bite of wonton. There was no vinegar in it, and the corners of her lips turned up.

Looking up, I noticed that there was no cilantro in Chi Qinghe's bowl.

Don't you like cilantro?

Chi Qinghe smiled and said, "Yes, I don't like this taste."

"Hmph, tasteless," Yu Bai joked.

Chi Qinghe simply looked at Yu Bai with doting smiles.

Yu Bai picked up a wonton with cilantro and put it in his mouth. Suddenly, he remembered that there was someone who also didn't like cilantro, and they had talked like that before.

"I don't like cilantro."

"Cilantro is so delicious, you tasteless fellow."

But the next second, the boy took a bite out of the biscuit she had just bitten.

"What? Don't you not eat cilantro?"

"Didn't you say it was delicious?"

He grinned mischievously and kissed the corner of her lips, suddenly finding the cilantro taste delicious.

Yu Bai swallowed the wonton, pulling himself out of his memories. He still had a faint smile on his face. Although a long time had passed, the fragmented details between him and Jiang Jizhou could still surface in his mind as if they were branded into his blood. However, Yu Bai was now indifferent and would no longer be hurt to the point of being bloodied by memories like he used to be.

After eating wontons, Yu Bai and Chi Qinghe leisurely returned to the hospital.

The sky was clear, the stars were everywhere, and a thin layer of clouds shrouded the moon, half-hidden, as if it wanted to say something but couldn't.

Yu Bai said to Chi Qinghe, "You should go back. I'll stay at the hospital tonight to take care of my mother."

Chi Qinghe smiled faintly, "Okay, I'll come to the hospital again tomorrow."

Yu Bai nodded. "Mm."

The autumn wind blew rustling, bringing a chill. The two fell silent for a moment. Yu Bai walked along, glancing at the dazzling array of shops beside her, a habit she always had.

Chi Qinghe looked up at the moon in the sky. The wind blew and the clouds drifted away, and the moon gradually revealed its face. The moonlight was really beautiful tonight. He felt a spring breeze in his heart. As he looked at the moon, it transformed into the person beside him.

"Bai Bai." Chi Qinghe turned his head and looked at Yu Bai tenderly.

Yu Bai snapped out of her daze. "What's wrong?"

Chi Qinghe took a deep breath and stared at Yu Bai's fair and beautiful face. He, who was usually calm and composed, was now pounding his heart like a young man.

"Bai Bai, I want to take care of you and your aunt."

He didn't confess his feelings directly, but instead made a solemn promise.

Yu Bai's eyelids twitched. She slowly curled her lips into a smile and quietly gazed at Chi Qinghe.

"We can try getting to know each other first." This was the biggest promise Yu Bai could give Chi Qinghe.

Unlike the passionate love of youth, it is a gentle and long-lasting companionship. Yu Bai does not love Chi Qinghe, but he may be the right person to support each other through the rest of their lives.

Her words were worth a thousand pieces of gold, and Chi Qinghe felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

This is what it means to wait for the clouds to part and the moon to shine.

For the rest of the journey, Chi Qinghe was somewhat dazed and didn't even know how he got to the hospital.

She smiled and said goodbye to him, telling him to go home and get some rest. He blankly agreed, but how could he possibly fall asleep? That night, he immediately called his longtime friend to tell him the good news.

A friend invited Chi Qinghe out for drinks, and Chi Qinghe gladly accepted.

In the past, Chi Qinghe would drown his sorrows in alcohol, but this time he was all smiles.

"Qinghe, you've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel."

Several close friends knew that Chi Qinghe had a crush on Yu Bai for many years, starting in junior high school, so they all sincerely wished Chi Qinghe well and were happy for him.

Chi Qinghe was extremely excited. He kept drinking until he was completely drunk, then kept laughing like an idiot, his dizzy mind filled with images of Yu Bai.

“Ah Yuan, you don’t know, after she said those words, I felt like the whole world lit up.”

Chi Qinghe leaned back on the sofa, smiling, and tilted his head back to pour himself a drink.

He was really drunk; his eyelids were almost closed, but he was extremely excited. He didn't want to sleep; he just wanted it to get light so he could go to the hospital to see Yu Bai.

-

Yu Bai did not stay at the hospital to take care of Ms. Yu overnight. Ms. Yu felt that the hospital was unlucky, and that Yu Bai was weak and easily attracted unclean things, so she strongly ordered Yu Bai to go home.

Yu Bai couldn't refuse her, so he stayed with Ms. Yu at the hospital until around 11 o'clock before taking a taxi home.

Their home is in an old neighborhood. Ms. Yu has a high salary and has enough savings to buy a large apartment in a high-end neighborhood, but she doesn't like living there. She says she is more comfortable living in the neighborhood where she has lived for 10 or 20 years, so she hasn't moved.

The old residential area has many infrastructure problems, and the property management is also lazy. The light in the stairwell has been broken for half a month and has not been repaired. It flickers and is a bit scary.

Yu Bai turned on his phone's flashlight and walked forward, only to see a tall, upright figure standing in front of the door.

Yu Bai was startled, thinking it was a criminal, and immediately turned to run away. The man noticed her and called her name, "Bai Bai, it's me."

The familiar voice belonged to Jiang Jizhou.

Yu Bai stopped and turned to look at Jiang Jizhou. The dim light fell on his face, making him look sharp and rugged, with a somewhat dejected expression.

She frowned. How could Jiang Jizhou have come to Lincheng? And she had never told Jiang Jizhou where she lived.

Yu Bai's voice was distant and cold, tinged with anger, "Jiang Jizhou, what are you doing here?"

Jiang Jizhou grabbed a handful of hair, his voice filled with anguish, "Why are you back so late?"

Yu Bai walked to the door and shooed Jiang Jizhou away, saying, "Mind your own business, Jiang Jizhou. Can you stay away from me? I don't want to see you."

"I'm sorry." Jiang Jizhou lowered his head, his voice hoarse and restrained. "I just miss you so much."

Yu Bai scoffed, "Can you please stop disgusting me?"

She inserted the key, opened the door, and went inside. She tried to close the door, but Jiang Jizhou held the door frame down, and Yu Bai couldn't close it no matter how hard she tried. She was furious. "Jiang Jizhou, can't you have some self-awareness? Don't provoke me anymore."

Jiang Jizhou looked down at her, his expression filled with unspeakable pain. "Bai Bai, what can I do to make you forgive me?"

Yu Bai said calmly, "Don't appear in my world."

"impossible."

"Then get lost."

Yu Bai slammed the door shut.

Jiang Jizhou's voice came through the door, "Bai Bai, I've already checked. You don't have a boyfriend. Chi Qinghe is just your friend. You don't like him, so why did you lie to me?"

Yu Bai clenched her fists. How could he be so despicable? She gritted her teeth and said, "Isn't President Jiang well-informed enough? He's my boyfriend now."

After a long silence, Jiang Jizhou spoke, "Because he takes care of your mother? Bai Bai, I can give you a hundred times more than he gave you."

Yu Bai leaned against the door frame, closed his eyes, and Jiang Jizhou still couldn't understand that when he treated him that way back then, it was already impossible for them to be together.

Yu Bai said, word by word, "You are not worthy to be compared to him."

These words were like a thousand arrows piercing Jiang Jizhou's heart, drawing blood. He leaned against the door frame, slid down helplessly, and collapsed to the ground, utterly disheveled.

“Bai Bai…” he murmured to himself, overwhelmed with pain.

Yu Bai left to wash up and go to bed, completely ignoring Jiang Jizhou outside the door.

The night was deep, the dew was heavy, and the cold wind was biting. Jiang Jizhou stayed outside all night.