Chapter 198 Illusion and Reality

With her eyes closed, Ruan Mianmian choked back tears as she repeated the system's words, "I only showed you the scene of Xia Zhen and Mu Zhijing walking together. From beginning to end, I never defined this as betrayal. Isn't betrayal the word you've been using all along?"

Song Heng felt a tightness in his throat and fell silent.

It's already autumn, yet the sound of cicadas can still be heard.

Lu Jin stood in the white room, still in a daze for a moment, until the smell of disinfectant reached his nose. He came back to his senses and recognized that he was in a hospital room.

Strangely, he saw himself.

The white-haired boy lay on the hospital bed, looking emaciated. He was very thin, and his face was deathly pale. The hospital gown looked especially large on him.

He looked like he didn't have much strength left, but he still managed to sit up on the bed with difficulty, reaching out to grab the water glass on the bedside table.

He's probably about to die.

Looking at the person on the hospital bed, Lu Jin surprisingly calmly came up with this thought.

A girl's voice came from the doorway: "Do you need any help?"

He was all too familiar with that voice.

When Lu Jin saw the girl standing at the door, he blurted out, "Zhenzhen."

He tried to reach out and touch her, but his hand passed right through her body and he grasped nothing.

The girl was dressed beautifully in a green floral dress, holding a bouquet of yellow carnations. In this white room, whether it was the girl or the flowers, a touch of bright color was added.

It stimulates people's eyes.

The boy on the hospital bed watched the person who appeared at the door quietly, without saying a word.

She smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I was just passing by when I saw the door was open and I happened to see you. If you feel I'm bothering you, I'm sorry, but I still wanted to ask if you need any help?"

He glanced at his hands; they were thin and weak, and even their paleness exuded a lifeless, deathly aura.

Compared to the youthful and energetic girl standing at the door, he could probably be considered a dead man by now.

For reasons unknown, he withdrew his hand and hid it under the blanket. Then, with his eyes lowered, he said softly, "No need."

Lu Jin, however, knew exactly what he was thinking.

It's nothing more than feeling inferior.

The girl didn't insist. She smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll be going now. I'm really sorry to have bothered you."

She turned and left, closing the door to the ward behind her.

As the door closed, the white room lost its brightness and became even quieter, almost deathly still.

The boy on the bed couldn't help but raise his eyes, only to see the closed door. After a while, he lowered his gaze again, staring at the hand that was reaching out from under the covers, as if lost in thought.

Soon after, the door was opened again.

A nurse walked in, muttering to herself, "I thought you'd have someone stay at home to keep you company, but it seems they're all gone..."

But seeing the boy's lonely figure, she couldn't help but suppress her feelings of吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to criticize or complain).

I heard that this child hasn't even turned eighteen yet, and he's already this sick.

It's quite pitiful.

The nurse softened her tone, "If you need anything, you can press the call button to call us. Don't worry about the hassle."

She handed him the water glass and placed a yellow carnation on the bedside table.

He was slightly taken aback, then asked, "What is this?"

"Flowers."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Why are there flowers?"

The nurse replied, "I just met a young girl who said she was visiting someone in the hospital. She thought the flowers were very pretty, so she bought a few extra. The girl was very kind and gave me several flowers, saying that I could put them in the patient's room and that if they made me feel better, I might recover faster."

The nurse admired the flowers for a while, remarking, "These flowers are really quite beautiful."

Especially in his hospital room, there was nothing but hospital stuff, so this flower seemed to be the perfect embellishment.

The nurse gave a few more instructions and then left.

He slowly reached out and touched the petals of the flower. After a moment, he picked up the flower and put the stem into a glass that was still half full of water.

He stared at it for a long time.

He lay back down on the bed, his body unable to support him any longer, but he was still staring at that bright color from his side.

The white-haired boy blinked, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and a bright yellow light fell into his pale eyes, as if they were filled with light.

Silence filled the room.

Lu Jin left the room. Everything here seemed unreal to him. He could pass through walls directly, and he felt no sensation when he touched anything.

No one can see him.

It's as if he's an outcast, or perhaps you could say he doesn't belong to this world.

He walked down the corridor and finally saw the girl in the green floral dress.

She walked into a hospital room carrying the bouquet of flowers that was missing a few blossoms.

Lu Jin followed.

The girl placed the flowers on the bedside table and asked the person lying in the hospital bed with concern, "Auntie, are you feeling better?"

She was a haggard-looking woman. She looked at the girl and forced a smile. "Zhenzhen, I'm much better now."

It was unclear how the woman had been injured. Her arm was wrapped in bandages, her forehead was bandaged, and she had abrasions on her face that hadn't healed. It seemed she had been in an accident not long ago.

The girl sat in the chair and said with a smile, "That's good. If you ask me, you need to rest well so you can recover quickly."

But the woman wasn't so optimistic. She finally couldn't hold back anymore and sobbed softly, "Zhenzhen, I've caused you trouble... I didn't want to be a burden, but I just can't take it anymore. Back then, when I saw Song Sheng kick Xiao Heng out, the only reason I stayed was so I could have a chance to personally kill Song Sheng... I only thought of dying with him, but I failed. Song Sheng and Mu Zhijing, who knows how they'll use me to blackmail Xiao Heng..."

The girl quickly handed her a tissue to wipe her tears and said gently, "Don't worry, I'll take care of those things. Auntie, Song Heng has been thinking about you a lot too. Please take good care of yourself."

The woman said anxiously, "Zhenzhen, you didn't tell him I was injured, did you?"

She shook her head. "No."

"That's good...that's good..." the woman murmured to herself. "His life is already so hard, I can't let him worry about me. If Song Sheng and Mu Zhijing really want to use me to threaten him...I won't give them that chance..."

She grasped the woman's trembling hand. "Auntie, Song Heng won't be defeated so easily, so don't be so pessimistic. There's Xiaozhu, her, and you. Right now, we're the only ones standing by his side. As long as we don't give up, Song Heng will come back sooner or later and trample those villains under his feet."

The woman couldn't help but smile. "Zhenzhen, it's so good to have you by Xiaoheng's side."

She wasn't modest at all; her expression even held a hint of smugness. "That's right. Song Heng getting engaged to me is the smartest thing he's ever done."

Why does she keep mentioning that person's name?

Lu Jin looked tense. Perhaps he was being too petty; he felt uncomfortable even when a girl mentioned another man's name.

"Lu Jin."

Someone is calling his name.

Lu Jin felt dizzy and his vision blurred, as if something was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

“Lu Jin…”

The sound gradually became clearer, as if it were coming from right next to his ear.

"Lu Jin!"

He opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling.

The girl on top of him kept cupping his face, calling his name and kissing him. When he opened his eyes, she said with a grin, "Don't sleep in! You have to go to class!"

Her long hair was loose, and she was wearing a thin nightgown, which he had put on her. The dress did not cover any areas, and his marks were still visible on her delicate collarbone and rounded shoulders.

Every Monday morning, her favorite thing to do is to jump on him like this to wake him up.

I don't know why I have so much energy on Monday, even though I usually sleep in late on weekends.

Xia Zhen was still chattering on and on, "Get up quickly, let's go have breakfast together. You have to attend Teacher Xu's class, you can't be late. By the way, are you going to the library after class today? Take me with you... um!"

The positions were reversed, and she became the one on the bottom. Without warning, the boy covered her mouth with his, and his warmth rushed in, desperately stealing her breath.

The hand gripping her waist tightened, the intense passion causing her pain—not just in her waist, but also in her tongue.

In the unbearable heat, she and he both lost their breath.

He stepped back slightly, finally giving her a chance to speak, "Zhenzhen, call my name."

"Lu Jin..." He suddenly moved forward, causing her voice to break, "Lu...Lu Jin!"

He kissed her again, saying, "Call my name again."

Xia Zhen got angry and huffed, refusing to call him.

Lu Jin reached out and pulled her up to sit, half coaxing, half pleading, "Zhenzhen, call my name..."

Xia Zhen couldn't take it anymore. She opened her mouth and bit his shoulder. "Lu Jin, you jerk!"

He chuckled softly, pressing the back of her head with one hand to make it easier for her to bite. He whispered contentedly in her ear, "I'm your darling, not your annoying brat."

In that strange dream, the white-haired boy didn't even have the courage to keep her.

He will not become that boy.

Seeing that the girl had opened her mouth, Lu Jin lifted her chin with one hand, coaxed her to open her mouth, and then lowered his head to kiss her.

Look, he and she are such a perfect match.

This is reality.