Chapter 123: Proud White Moonlight 16: Peace and Safety

The next morning, Ali changed into clean hospital gown and sat by the bed, waiting quietly.

The old woman reached out and held her cold hand: "Don't be afraid, grandma is here."

Ah Li looked up and saw that his grandmother's eyes were red and she looked a little older. He couldn't help but hug her and act like a spoiled child, "Yeah, I know. Don't worry, grandma. Everything will go smoothly."

Grandma wiped her tears, hugged her tighter, and brought up what she had said before: "Are you really not going to tell your parents about this?"

Ali shook his head, his tone still firm: "I didn't say it before, and I don't want to say it now, so as not to make them anxious."

She didn't like everyone seeing her illness, nor did she want her illness to seem too heavy. No matter how sad it was, she could endure it alone.

The grandmother felt deeply saddened, but she also respected her granddaughter's wishes. She caressed her head lovingly and said in a choked voice, "Grandma, let me braid your hair. You loved braiding your hair when you were a kid."

"Okay." Ali smiled lightly and turned around.

Grandma's warm fingers shuttled through her hair, and Ali's eyes became inexplicably hot. She lowered her head and felt something soft in the pocket of her hospital gown with her right hand.

That was the amulet Jiang Ye gave her last night. He said it was a lucky charm he had specially obtained from the temple, and it would protect her from misfortune and keep her safe.

Ali took out the small amulet, rubbed it in his palm, and thought, Jiang Ye and the others should have entered the examination room.

After a while, a nurse pushed a mobile bed over and asked Ali to lie on it.

The wheels of the mobile hospital bed rubbed against the smooth ground, making a uniform and slight humming sound. Ali was lying in the white sheets, his face almost the same color as the sheets.

She looked at the ceiling lights that flashed across the ceiling, feeling like she was walking through a strange tunnel.

In front of the operating room, the nurse pushing the bed stopped, picked up the medical record folder in her hand, and performed the final check of the patient's information in a gentle tone. The sound caused a slight echo in the empty corridor.

After hearing this, Ali blinked slightly and said, "Yes."

The nurse nodded and continued, "The family member needs to sign the final consent form for the surgery. You are Ruan Liqiu's grandmother, Ms. Wang Suqin, correct?"

"Yes, I am." Grandma quickly loosened her hands that had been tightly gripping the bed rails, took it with a slight trembling, and signed her name.

The nurse took the signed consent form, carefully checked the name and date, and then nodded to the doctor outside the operating room.

"Okay, let's go to the operating room," said the doctor.

The mobile bed was pushed again towards the tightly closed heavy automatic door.

Grandma had to let go of her hand. She followed the bed a few steps in vain, watching the door open and close.

The red light "In Surgery" came on.

On the other side, Jiang Ye found his examination room and handed his admission ticket and ID card to the invigilator at the door, waiting for him to verify his identity.

After checking, the invigilator picked up the metal detector and conducted a security check on him. The instrument scanned his entire body, making a harsh beeping sound, which sounded like the sound of an electrocardiogram monitor in an operating room.

Jiang Ye paused and forgot to move forward for a moment, and was urged by the teacher to sit in his seat.

He lowered his eyes, with lingering worry in them, and it was obvious that he was distracted.

He didn't know how much time had passed until the invigilator's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"The exam has begun. Please start answering the questions."

Jiang Ye came back to his senses, remembered what Ali had said to him last night, refocused his attention, and picked up the pen.

At this moment, the collision of metal instruments in the operating room and the rustling sound of pencils scratching across the answer sheet seemed to be intertwined.

After a few hours, they both stopped again.

*

Ali's operation was successful.

After Jiang Ye finished his last exam, he struggled to squeeze out of the crowded and excited crowd and rushed to the hospital on his bike, but found that someone had already arrived outside the intensive care unit before him.

Sun Huiyue was originally sitting on a bench. Seeing him rush over, she gently reminded him, "She hasn't woken up yet."

Jiang Ye stopped abruptly, his chest heaving violently, and slowed down his movements: "How was the operation?"

Sun Huiyue stood up and walked with him to the door of the intensive care unit: "I asked my grandmother, and she said the operation went smoothly and there were no dangerous situations."

Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, leaned against the wall, wiped the sweat off his face, and then thought of something: "Where's grandma?"

"I let grandma go to rest. I'll keep an eye on her for a while," Sun Huiyue pointed to the window above the door. "She's in there, but she hasn't woken up yet."

Jiang Ye looked over when he heard that.

Ali was seen lying quietly on the white hospital bed, with a breathing mask on his face. The mist he exhaled appeared and disappeared on the transparent mask again and again. He was surrounded by all kinds of large and complex instruments.

She closed her eyes, her eyelashes casting a light shadow on her pale skin, and her cheeks were an almost transparent white, without a trace of blood.

Jiang Ye gently rested his forehead against the cold glass, trying to get closer to her, but the heavy door blocked out all sounds. He could not hear the sound of the instruments, let alone her breathing.

Ali's name rolled in his throat countless times. He opened his lips, but no sound came out.

Sun Huiyue glanced at him, her tone still blunt: "The doctor said it will take several days for him to wake up, so don't stand here."

She didn't have a good impression of Jiang Ye, but during the time when Ali was sick, every time she came to the hospital when she had time, she could almost always see Jiang Ye busying around.

Seeing how attentive he was, Sun Huiyue's opinion of him changed a little, but not much.

In order to let grandma rest more, the two agreed to take turns guarding outside the intensive care unit and call each other as soon as they had any news, no matter how late it was.

Three days later, Ali was transferred back to the general ward from the intensive care unit.

She had woken up, but was still very weak, with her eyes half-closed and looking listless.

From that day on, Jiang Ye almost lived in the ward, doing everything by himself. Under the care of his grandmother, him, and Sun Huiyue, Ali gradually recovered and was able to get up on his own.

That day, Jiang Ye and Sun Huiyue did not come to the hospital, and only her grandmother was with her in the ward.

While sorting Ali's clothes, grandma said, "Hey, why didn't those two kids come today?"

Ali looked at the date and said silently, "It seems like today is the day when the scores will be released."

Just as he finished speaking, a bicycle stopped downstairs of the inpatient department. The security guard at the door was already familiar with Jiang Ye and let him in without asking any questions.

The summer sun was blindingly bright, cicadas were chirping at the top of their lungs in the trees, and the air was filled with a restless warmth.

Jiang Ye's mood was just like the atmosphere around him, irritable and anxious.

His test scores were even better than he expected, good enough to get into several top programs at Huazhong University.

But, Hua City is meaningless without Ali.

The mobile phone was flooded with congratulatory messages, and the class group was in an uproar. Some were ecstatic, some were lamenting, numbers and names scrolled by, and everyone was excited.

Jiang Ye hung up the call from his parents and looked at the beautiful score on the screen, but there was no ripple of joy in his heart.

It felt like holding a piece of candy in the palm of your hand, which hurt, but you didn't dare take it out and lick it, for fear that the sweetness would burn the person lying on the hospital bed.

Jiang Ye stood expressionlessly in front of the vending machine on the first floor. He bought a bottle of soda and drank it in a few gulps. It took him a long time to calm down.

He threw the crushed soda bottle into the trash can, went upstairs, and deliberately stood in the corridor outside the ward for a while before taking a deep breath and pushing open the ward door.

The smell of disinfectant in the ward was lighter, and there was more of the fragrance of fruits and flowers.

At this moment, Ali was half leaning on the rocking hospital bed, his face still pale, but his eyes had a spirit, and he was staring at the lush camphor tree outside the window in a trance.

Hearing the door open, she turned around and her eyes lit up: "You're here."

"Well," Jiang Ye walked over and naturally picked up the cup of water on the bedside table, tested the temperature, and handed it to her, "How do you feel today?"

"Much better." Ali took the cup and took a sip, but his eyes fell on him silently, carefully exploring every subtle expression on his face.

Today is the day when the results are released. She has been nervous since early morning, nervous for him.

She had imagined countless times how wonderful it would be if he rushed in and told her the good news with a beaming face.

But he didn't.

He looked so calm when he walked in, and his whole body seemed shrouded in gloom.

Ah Li's heart sank little by little. The fingertips of the hands holding the cup felt slightly cold.

He didn't do well in the exam.

How could that be? His scores on the mock exams were consistently high. Did he just slump?

Or was it because he was distracted during the surgery?

Ali wanted to ask for clarification, but he couldn't open his mouth, for fear that his words would become a knife and pierce his invisible wound.

So, she tried to curl the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile that was even brighter than usual, and tried to dispel the inexplicable low pressure with a light tone: "The doctor said that I'm recovering very quickly. In a few days, I'll be able to walk around."

Jiang Ye looked at her forced smile, and the stone in his heart became heavier.

She had just escaped from danger, but she still had to force herself to comfort him. The more understanding she was, the more difficult it was for him to say that "good result".

Jiang Ye lowered his eyelashes to hide the complex emotions in his eyes, and whispered, "That's good. I will come and walk with you every day from now on."

The suppressed dullness in his voice completely confirmed Ali's guess that he had failed the exam.

Her heart tightened instantly, and the ward fell into a strange silence.

Both of them were trying hard to find some irrelevant topics, and no one dared to mention the college entrance examination.

Ali looked at his face that was trying hard to suppress the "disappointment", and her heart ached. She took a deep breath and comforted him, "It's okay, Jiang Ye."

Jiang Ye finally raised his head, with a hint of confusion and panic in his eyes, fearing that she had seen through his deliberate concealment.

Ali gave him an extremely gentle smile and continued, "It really doesn't matter. It's just a test. It doesn't mean anything."

Her voice trembled slightly, but she was remarkably firm. "Besides, look at me, I'm fine even though I'm in this state. The sky hasn't fallen yet. There are still many opportunities in life, and there are still many roads to take."

As he spoke, Ali's eyes turned slightly red.

Jiang Ye was completely confused.

He looked at her, who seemed to be on the verge of tears but was still trying to comfort him, and then looked at the apple in his hand that was peeled with holes in it. An absurd and shocking idea came to his mind.

She...couldn't she have thought...

He suddenly put down the apple and knife, and the things made a soft "clang" on the table, interrupting her words.

Jiang Ye leaned forward and almost blurted out: "No! Do you think I didn't do well in the exam?"

Ah Li was startled by his sudden action and question. Blinking his slightly moist eyes, he nodded subconsciously and whispered, "You, you've been unhappy since you came in, and you didn't mention it. I thought..."

Jiang Ye's eyes widened instantly, and an indescribable feeling of sourness suddenly rushed into his heart.

He suddenly let out a low laugh, a laugh choked with relief.

Jiang Ye couldn't help but stretch out his hand, as if he wanted to touch her face, but felt it was too abrupt, so he just gently placed it on the quilt, covering her hands that were grabbing the sheets.

His voice was a little hoarse, and he said in a low voice: "I didn't do badly on the exam."

Now it was Ali's turn to be stunned: "Huh?"

Jiang Ye looked at her dazed expression, his heart softening. "I scored over 700 points, which is more than 20 points higher than the admission score of Hua University last year."

After he finished speaking, he stared closely at her reaction, feeling extremely nervous.

Ali was stunned at first, and after a few seconds, shock appeared in his big eyes.

Then, great joy, like sunshine, instantly dispelled all the haze and illuminated her entire face.

"Really?!" Ali's voice suddenly rose, then quickly dropped due to weakness, but it was filled with excitement and trembling. "You really got so many points in the exam? Oh my God! Jiang Ye! That's great! That's great!"

She was so excited that she forgot about her wound and almost wanted to sit up, but Jiang Ye quickly held her down gently.

"Be careful!" he said with a straight face, almost jumping out of fright at her sudden movement.

"But why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ali laughed and got angry at the same time, and couldn't help but punch the quilt lightly. "When you came in like that, I thought... you scared me to death, you know!"

Jiang Ye held her hand that was pounding the quilt, his palm warm and dry.

He looked at her and finally chose to confess: "You are still here, I can't say it, I don't want to make you sad."

He didn't say the rest, but Ali understood it all.

I was afraid that she would feel sad compared to my situation, and that my joy would hurt her.

Ali was stunned for a moment, and finally couldn't hold back his tears, which rolled down his face.

She held his hand tightly and cried, "Are you stupid? How could I think like that? Of course I will be happy if you do well in the exam!"

When he drove her home that day, she told him about her dreams and direction. Besides simply wanting to share them with him, she actually had a small wish in her heart that no one knew about.

They walked side by side for three entire years of high school. They were the most evenly matched opponents and also the companions who understood each other best.

Ali couldn't help but think that if he could have someone like this to accompany him on his journey in the future, it would be... nice.

Even though she knew she would never realize her dream again, she sincerely prayed for Jiang Ye and was happy for him.

Jiang Ye looked straight into her eyes, as if he had understood all her thoughts. He reached out and gently wiped away the tears on Ali's face, and he couldn't help but shed tears himself.

How lucky he was to meet her.

How could God let such a wonderful person like her suffer so much?

Ali and Jiang Ye looked at each other with tears in their eyes, wiped each other's tears, cried and couldn't help but laugh at each other, hugged each other tightly like children, and buried their heads in each other's shoulders.

Amidst unstoppable tears, this hot and unusual summer finally came to an end.