Chapter 63 I'm Definitely Going to Die

Knowing that Xia Zhen had lost track of time because she was studying so hard, Lu Jin said, "I can tutor you."

Xia Zhen hugged him excitedly, "Lu Jin, you're so great!"

He lowered his head and smiled faintly, "Zhenzhen, these are the words I should be saying to you."

He knew very well why Xia Zhen needed to work hard in her studies. Her life should be carefree, and countless people would rush to plan out what she wanted and didn't want for her in advance.

But as a woman of privilege, she was willing to become an ordinary person for him.

Lu Jin slowly tightened his arms around the girl's body. He bent down and buried his head in her neck, his breath filled with her scent.

But that wasn't enough; he greedily wanted more.

The little white cat, which had been ignored for too long, slowly approached. It wanted to rest against the girl's feet for a while, but it met a dark gaze.

The little white cat's fur stood on end. Its animal instincts told it that the situation was dangerous, so it silently ran away, the farther away from the girl the better.

Lu Jin calmly withdrew his gaze, and in a hoarse voice, he called her name in her ear, "Zhenzhen."

"Yes, I'm here." Xia Zhen gently stroked his soft white head, as if petting a cat.

He indeed half-closed his eyes comfortably and said in a low voice, "I want to stand up quickly."

Xia Zhen nodded, "Okay, then let's train a little longer today. You can help me with my studies during the day, and I'll help you with your rehabilitation exercises in the evening, hmm..."

She lifted his face, fed him a piece of soufflé, and then smiled brightly, "Very fair!"

The soufflé was very sweet, but it didn't bring him to a joyful smile. However, the moment he saw her smile, the corners of his lips curled up, and his eyes sparkled with starlight.

That evening, Lu Jin didn't get home until after nine o'clock.

It's a done deal that Lu Ci is in trouble. Lu Huiming and Hao Hui can't stay at the hospital with her every day. They still have to work. Although Lu Huiming has been "promoted and given a raise," the company is going to send him to be stationed in another city.

Lu Huiming certainly didn't want to go, but the company made it very clear that if he didn't want to go, someone else would be willing to go. The implication was that if he didn't want this job, someone else would take his place.

Lu Huiming couldn't afford to lose his job, so he specifically told Hao Hui to treat Lu Jin well. It's unclear how much Hao Hui listened, but he put on another show of filial piety with Lu Jin and went to the neighboring city this morning.

As for Hao Hui, over the past few days, she seemed to have realized that Lu Ci couldn't wake up so quickly. Every day, besides going to work, she would go to the hospital to see Lu Ci, and she didn't spend much time at home.

Even if Lu Jin comes back late, Hao Hui won't say much, just like now.

Hao Hui was busy in the kitchen preparing lunch for her to take to work tomorrow. In some ways, she was indeed a good wife and a good mother. To save money on food, she would get up early and work late every day to prepare the meals she needed to take.

Even though she heard Lu Jin return, Hao Hui didn't even raise her head, let alone say another word.

But the wheelchair stopped as it passed the kitchen door.

Lu Jin said, "The doctor said I need to eat something light, you should remember that, right?"

Hao Hui paused slightly as she chopped the vegetables.

He said, "I want to eat boiled broccoli."

Hao Hui bought broccoli this morning and put it in the refrigerator without touching it.

This was the first time he had put forward his own idea.

For some reason, Hao Hui's hand holding the kitchen knife was trembling.

Lu Jin didn't say another word. He went into his room, and the little white cat followed him in.

The room was dark, with only the moonlight streaming through the window providing a faint glow.

In the dim light, he looked down at the little thing lying on the ground, his eyes slightly upturned, "She's mine."

The kitten meowed.

"So you can't touch it."

The little white kitten lay down and whimpered softly a few times in a very docile manner.

It suddenly felt that its owner was terrifying!

Hao Hui couldn't sleep all night.

Since Lu Ci's accident, Hao Hui has not had a good night's sleep. She always wakes up from nightmares, and today is no exception.

She got up before four o'clock and mechanically went to the kitchen to get busy.

After she realized she had actually made a dish of blanched broccoli, she stood in the kitchen for a long time without moving.

As dawn broke, she came to her senses and realized that she had been standing there blankly for an hour.

Hao Hui's dazed expression slowly hardened as she pulled a white medicine bottle from her pocket.

At 5:30 a.m. sharp, Lu Jin came out of his room.

Hao Hui was already sitting at the dining table eating breakfast. She didn't look at Lu Jin, but simply said, "The lunchbox is on the table."

Lu Jin politely said, "Thank you."

When he was ready to leave and picked up his lunchbox to put it in his schoolbag, he suddenly stopped.

For some reason, Hao Hui was so nervous that she almost couldn't breathe.

Lu Jin said, "I've been thinking about this question: would you be happier if I weren't in this family?"

Hao Hui looked over and asked, "Why are you bringing this up?"

Lu Jin said calmly, "Lu Ci is still lying in a hospital bed, not even as good as me who is in a wheelchair. I still have hope of standing up. To be honest, I feel a lot of pressure to accept that my father has placed all his hopes on me."

Hearing him mention Lu Ci, Hao Hui gripped her chopsticks tightly.

Lu Jin continued, "Suddenly becoming the only hope in this family, I was flattered and overwhelmed. But I know you hate me, so sometimes I wonder, if I died, would you be happy?"

Hao Hui replied hesitantly, "What nonsense are you spouting?"

Lu Jin didn't respond to Hao Hui's words. His eyes were calm and his emotions were flat. "But I can't die for you and my brother. If I die, the family that Lu Ci is holding together will definitely fall apart. Maybe Dad will take his anger out on you and want to divorce you. If you divorce, what will happen to Lu Ci?"

Hao Hui opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

“In a better scenario, Dad will pay child support. In a worse scenario, after Dad remarries, he will lose contact with you, and you will have to work while taking care of Lu Ci. Perhaps you still have some savings now, so taking care of him is not difficult, but what about ten years later, twenty years later, thirty years later, when you can no longer move?”

Hao Hui's eyes were blank.

Lu Jin sat upright and said gently, "Perhaps you can choose to leave this world with him before you can no longer move."

"Impossible!" Hao Hui screamed as she stood up. "I won't let Xiao Ci die!"

Lu Jin's eyes were indifferent. "Don't get agitated. I was just saying a few words casually."

Hao Hui was emotionally agitated and unable to calm down.

Lu Jin put the lunchbox into his backpack. "Thank you for preparing the food for me. I will enjoy it at noon."

Suddenly, Hao Hui snatched the lunchbox from his schoolbag.

Lu Jin looked at her quietly.

Hao Hui held the lunchbox as if it were a hot potato. She was breathing rapidly and trembling all over. It took her a long time to calm down a little. She tried to look at Lu Jin with a forced smile and said, "I think I forgot to put salt in it. There's still time. I'll make you another one."

Lu Jin was good-tempered, so he had no objections. His dark eyes curved slightly as he said, "Then I'll trouble you."

The boy was clearly easy to talk to, but Hao Hui inexplicably felt as if there were thorns in her back, as if there was a poisonous snake watching her from behind, ready to bite her to death at any moment.

Once inside the kitchen, she was so panicked that she lost her balance and fell to the ground while trying to hold onto the wall.

The commotion reached the outside, but the people outside seemed not to hear anything, and didn't even ask any questions.

But she knew he was watching her.

Hao Hui hurriedly and awkwardly got up, dumped the contents of the lunchbox into the trash can, and then forced herself to calmly start chopping vegetables and cooking again.

Lu Jin left home twenty minutes later than usual, but just as he stepped out, the girl across the street also came out at that exact moment.

Xia Zhen's eyes lit up when she saw him. Once they were in the elevator, she eagerly grabbed his hand and asked, "Why were you so sure you wanted me to wait for you to come out at this time?"

"She's not feeling well, and she needs to spend more time cooking lately."

Xia Zhen wanted to say something unpleasant, but that person was, after all, his mother, so she held back. Instead, she bent down and smiled, "Teacher Wen said that you will be able to speak as a representative at the flag-raising ceremony this time. Lu Jin, that's great. You got a good score, and Lu Ci is now in the hospital. Otherwise, he might still be talking about you behind your back."

Lu Jin tightened his grip on her hand, looked at her, and slowly said, "Zhenzhen, why did you bring him up?"

Xia Zhen tilted her head, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's nothing, I just wanted to say that he's lying down just right, don't you think?"

He remained silent for a while, his throat growing increasingly dry. After a long pause, he nodded, "Mm."

We arrived at the first floor, the elevator doors opened, and the light from outside shone in.

Xia Zhen pushed his wheelchair and led him out of the elevator in a few steps. Full of energy and with a touch of childish eccentricity, she exaggeratedly said to the person who seemed to be in a low mood, "Lu Jin, we should set off towards the stars and the sea. You need to cheer up!"

He looked up and saw the girl's bright smile.

What did she guess?

Suddenly it became unimportant.

Lu Jin suddenly burst out laughing.

Xia Zhen looked at him in surprise, because she had never seen him laugh so happily before.

He held her hand tightly, so tightly that it felt like a shackle.

The boy's gaze was focused and intense, to an almost eerie degree. He whispered, "Zhenzhen."

"Um?"

"If you ever leave me, I will definitely die."