friend

When Chu Yiran's eyes met Su Jing's, he was somewhat stunned.

Su Jing stared at Chu Yiran with longing eyes. Sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting a soft glow on his pale face. For a moment, Chu Yiran was momentarily dazed, superimposing his face on Su Jing's from his previous life...

"Ran Di, you're here!" Lin Wanxing took the fruit basket from his hands and introduced, "These two are Su Jing's parents, uncle and aunt. This is Chu Yiran, our colleague from filming together."

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt," Chu Yiran nodded, somewhat awkwardly, "I've come to see how Teacher Su is doing."

Su's mother was helping Su Jing clear the table. She wore a light purple silk cheongsam with a pearl brooch at the collar, and her black hair was loosely tied up, making her look gentle and kind. Su's father sat on the sofa, his light gray cashmere sweater making him look refined and slender. The eyebrows and eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses bore a striking resemblance to Su Jing's. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Hello, Xiao Chu, thank you for visiting Xiao Jing."

Chu Yiran pursed her lips, thinking to herself, "This warm family scene is what Su Jing dreamed of in her previous life, isn't it?"

Su Jing sat on the hospital bed, still frowning and clutching the cast on her right hand. Out of politeness, Chu Yiran took the initiative to ask, "Teacher Su, how are you? Is your right hand... badly injured?"

“It’s alright,” Su Jing said, looking down. “It’s just that I can’t lift heavy things anymore.”

Lin Wanxing sighed and added, "When the chandelier fell, he tried to block it with his hand, but the steel bar pierced his tendon..."

Fate had a strange overlap with his previous life, and Chu Yiran felt a sudden pang in his heart. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he hurriedly said goodbye.

After Chu Yiran left, Su's mother gently closed the door. From outside came her gentle words: "Xiao Jing, get some rest. Mom will make you bird's nest soup tonight."

In the instant the ward fell silent, Su Jing suddenly straightened up and said to Zhao Wei, "Get me another bowl of rice."

Fortunately, they had ordered a lot of food at the hospital in advance. Zhao Wei handed over a new bowl of porridge and stared in disbelief as Su Jing scooped the porridge smoothly with her left hand and even picked up the slippery shrimp with chopsticks.

"Brother Jing...aren't you not used to your left hand?"

“I learn quickly.” Su Jing swallowed his porridge and looked up at Lin Wanxing. “Can you come tomorrow? It’s so boring being sick. Could you bring me a Switch?”

Lin Wanxing hesitated, "I have to fly to Hengdian tomorrow morning! The new movie is about to start filming."

“It’s alright,” Su Jing said casually. “Isn’t Teacher Chu filming on the other side? Let’s ask him for a favor.”

Zhao Wei quickly interjected, "Brother Jing, why don't I go?"

"You can't choose the right model."

"Then let Uncle and Auntie—"

“They don’t understand games,” Su Jing said firmly.

——

Su Jing's ward is on the VIP floor, with a floor-to-ceiling window facing the private hospital across the street. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Chu Yiran was filming a scene downstairs where he was receiving a patient from an ambulance.

"Tsk—" Su Jing leaned against the headboard, shaking his head as he held up binoculars in his left hand, "The 37th NG..."

Zhao Wei, who was standing by, felt a chill run down his spine: "Brother Jing, why are you counting the number of times Chu Yiran made mistakes... and even using binoculars to spy on him."

Su Jing didn't speak, still watching with great interest while squinting her eyes. Zhao Wei swallowed hard and stood up from the sofa without making a sound.

"Stop," Su Jing said quietly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. "What are you going to do, Wei Zi?"

Zhao Wei slid down to Su Jing's bedside, touched his bandaged head, and said, "Brother Jing, should we call a doctor to take a look? Maybe he hit his head and damaged it..."

Su Jing disgustedly brushed his hand away: "Move aside, you're blocking my view."

"Brother Jing, I know you hate that kid Chu Yiran, but you don't need to keep an eye on him every day!" Zhao Wei earnestly advised. "Don't worry, Brother Jing, even though you still have to rehabilitate for another six months, that kid still won't surpass you. He's far from being a top star! Our achievements are nowhere near his! If all else fails, I can contact a few producers I know to sabotage him. You don't need to get involved yourself, Brother Jing, your health is the most important thing—"

"What do you know?" Su Jing shoved him away, then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, do me a favor."

"What's wrong?"

"Regarding the script for 'Autumn Wind', go and talk to the director's team. If they want me to take the role, there's a condition—"

"What's the premise..." Zhao Wei had a bad feeling.

"The second male lead must be Chu Yiran."

Zhao Wei's face flushed red, and after a long while, he said, "I'd better go and call the doctor first."

——

When Chu Yiran arrived at the hospital with the game console, Su Jing was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed. His hospital gown was slightly open, and his bare chest rose and fell with his breathing.

Chu Yiran gently placed the game console on the TV cabinet. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she heard a voice calling from behind, "Teacher Chu is here..."

He turned around and, seeing Su Jing's sleepy appearance, explained, "Sister Xing asked me to deliver a game console, so I won't disturb Teacher Su's rest any longer—"

"Teacher Chu, could you help me unpack this?" Su Jing asked helplessly, raising her right hand, which was in a cast. "Life in the hospital is so boring; I can only pass the time by playing games."

Chu Yiran nodded, stepped forward to unpack the package, and even helped him install the handle. The ward was silent, and he could feel Su Jing's gaze fixed on his hand.

Chu Yiran handed him the handle, and Su Jing took it, saying, "How do I hold this? I'm not used to it with my left hand."

As he spoke, Su Jing's fingers clumsily covered Chu Yiran's hand, which he hadn't had time to release, his fingertips lightly brushing against the web of Chu's hand. The touch was very light, but it made Chu Yiran pull his hand back sharply, as if he had been burned by something.

The handle fell onto the snow-white blanket with a thud.

"I'm sorry," Su Jing lowered his eyelashes, his voice lowered, "I was too hasty." He fumbled for the controller on his own, his fingers moving hesitantly over the buttons.

Chu Yiran gripped the hand Su Jing had touched, her voice cold: "What do you mean, Teacher Su? Didn't we agree to be strangers? My agent called during the day and said you contacted the 'Autumn Wind Chant' production team. I heard you told them that you would accept the role if I accepted it, is that right?"

"Teacher Chu, after this experience, I've made up my mind. The past is gone, why don't we let it go and start over?" Su Jing said sincerely. "How about we become friends again?"

Chu Yiran frowned: "Teacher Su, as I mentioned before, I once had a dream—"

“That’s not important.” Su Jing shook his head. “No matter what you think, I’m truly your friend, A-Ran.”

Chu Yiran was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Even after leaving the ward, Chu Yiran still felt something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

Zhao Wei, who was waiting outside the ward, saw Chu Yiran come out and quickly went to greet him, tentatively asking, "Teacher Chu, don't you think Brother Jing's condition is a bit delicate...?"

Chu Yiran murmured, "...How so?"

Zhao Wei carefully chose his words: "Anyway, the doctor said that brain injuries are generally difficult to cure completely, and there will always be some sequelae, such as amnesia, forgetfulness, nerve sensitivity, slow reaction, and mood disorders."

A huge silence engulfed him. After a long while, Chu Yiran finally said, "Then you should have a doctor examine him again."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Meanwhile, things were also turbulent online. Not long after Chu Yiran left, the Weibo hashtag #ChuYiranVisitsSuJingInTheSickness# went viral and became a trending topic.

An account with the ID "Entertainment Gossip Girl" posted a secretly filmed video. The video was very blurry, seemingly taken from a distance through a window. In the video, Su Jing, with his back to the camera, is holding Chu Yiran's hand. Chu Yiran frowns, avoids eye contact, and abruptly pulls his hand away. The video's title is also quite intriguing: "[Chu Yiran Appears in Su Jing's Hospital Room, Serious Expression Suspected of Argument!]"

After this video was released, fans of Su Jing and Chu Yiran started fighting in the comments section again.

"That nobody's here to freeload again! Did he come all this way to mock Jingbao because he was injured?"

"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious! The two have never worked together before, so is some unknown celebrity trying to create a publicity stunt?"

"@Su Jing Studio, can you please take some responsibility for the safety of your artists? My husband was injured not long ago, and now you're sending unrelated people to disturb his rest?!"

...

Chu Yiran's fans also retaliated without mercy—

"Is this top celebrity addicted to playing the victim? Is he afraid of fading into obscurity during his single period, so he hired paparazzi to take pictures of him?"

"A kind visit to someone in the hospital has been maliciously misinterpreted like this! It's like a dog biting Lü Dongbin!"

"Is Su Jing's team directing and starring in this project? Is 'Autumn Wind Chant' about to start filming and they need to generate buzz?"

...

Looking at the heated debate in the comments section, Zhao Wei suddenly realized something and excitedly asked Su Jing, "Brother Jing, so you did it on purpose! You invited Chu Yiran over while simultaneously putting him on the trending topics for negative reasons. You're a master, a true master..."

Su Jing: "..."