Chapter 657: Extra Chapter: Xu (1)

He was in a daze and seemed to have difficulty concentrating.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

The sound of the instrument rang in her ears, and Qiao Xi slowly opened her heavy eyelids. Her vision was a little blurry, as if she had slept for a long time. She relaxed, and the snow-white ceiling in front of her gradually became clearer.

A memory emerged from my mind.

She was the daughter of a wealthy family and suffered from Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, making her extremely sleepy. Qiao Xi's symptoms were much more severe than those of other cases.

When the disease flared up, she would sleep for several months.

Ordinary patients wake up when they eat or go to the toilet, and sleep the rest of the time.

But she is not like that. She will not wake up to eat normally when she falls asleep and can only survive by relying on intravenous drips.

Therefore, Qiao Xi had to be hospitalized.

Whenever she has an attack, she will immediately faint and fall asleep. Her condition is very dangerous and she cannot live a normal life at all.

Staying here is her only choice.

When Qiao Xi opened her eyes and saw the ceiling, she was stunned.

Her concept of time is chaotic. Sometimes she sleeps too long and can't even distinguish between dreams and reality.

It took a while to get used to it.

Qiao Xicai finally recovered. She barely supported her weak body and unplugged the equipment connected to her body. The girl's skillful movements made it seem like this was not the first time she had done this.

She is in a separate ward.

Normally no one comes to visit her, but every day while she is asleep an aunt hired by her family comes to massage her muscles to prevent her from being unable to move freely after waking up.

Qiao Xi opened the drawer of the bedside table.

Her phone lay quietly inside. She took it out and turned it on. The latest message was from home a week ago, telling her to text them when she woke up and they would send someone to take care of her.

Qiao Xi's family members are all abroad.

She was the only one who had been hospitalized in the country. She slept for such a long time this time that she would have a corresponding period of wakefulness after waking up, but she still had to stay in the hospital for examination.

only……

The usually quiet hospital was a bit noisy at this moment.

This hospital belongs to her family and specializes in accepting children with special medical conditions whose families are unable to afford the fees. However, the number of children they can accept is limited, and because special cases require rest and recuperation, each patient has a separate room.

Therefore, this hospital is very small.

It is usually very quiet. Apart from the footsteps of doctors and nurses and the occasional conversation outside the door, there is basically no other sound.

And now.

There were chaotic footsteps and anxious shouts coming from the corridor outside. They seemed to be looking for someone. Occasionally, someone passed by Qiao Xi's door, and she could see the anxious looks on their faces.

It feels a little strange.

Qiao Xi got out of bed and touched her empty stomach. She also wanted to go to the cafeteria to find something to eat, so she opened the door and quietly peeked outside to look around.

No one noticed her.

Qiao Xi came out.

She is very thin.

Her petite body was clad in a thin hospital gown, reeking of disinfectant. Her long, smooth, raven-colored hair cascaded down her shoulders, accentuating her fair skin.

She walked straight towards the cafeteria.

On the way, some medical staff who knew her were also slightly stunned when they saw her.

"Xiao Xi."

The beautiful nurse was waving at her. Qiao Xi looked over with some confusion, but still stood still, blinking and looking at her anxiously.

"What's wrong?"

She was afraid the nurse would want her to be examined at this time, as she was hungry.

"Did you just wake up? Don't forget to check."

"Oh well."

What was said was indeed what she didn't want to hear. The girl looked a little lost, but the nurse still smiled at her.

"If you're hungry, go eat something first. We'll check it out tomorrow."

The following sentence quickly made the girl's eyes light up.

"OK."

The little girl agreed cheerfully and was about to continue walking towards the cafeteria when the nurse's voice came from behind her again.

"By the way, if you see Zero, remember to bring him back."

"good."

Qiao Xi agreed without even looking back.

Their hospital gowns were numbered, arranged in the order they arrived. Qiao Xi was number one, and before her, there was a boy numbered zero.

The other party was there when the hospital was just built.

Admitted as the first patient.

Qiao Xi came to the hospital two days after it was built. However, she had a different illness from Zero, so she wouldn't run into him.

I heard that the boy is frail and sickly.

He basically spent his life in the hospital. He longed for the outside world very much, but his physical condition simply did not allow it and he could not see the light.

I heard.

If Zero sees the sun, the sunlight will burn his skin and cause him to get wounds.

If that were all, it would be fine.

But he also has other diseases. Once one of them is triggered, the other diseases will follow one after another.

Very scary.

I really don't know how he is still alive.

Qiao Xi was different. She would stay in the hospital while she was asleep. She was in good health, and after waking up and having no problems with the examination, she would be allowed to go out.

Her family will send someone to follow her.

Keep her safe.

So compared to Zero, who had no freedom at all, she was still quite happy. However, compared to other children who could be cured and discharged from the hospital, she was unfortunate.

Come to the cafeteria.

It was past lunch time and there were not many people, but the food was still being served.

Qiao Xi just woke up.

The stomach and intestines are still very fragile, so you can't eat anything too irritating. You can only eat liquid food, and you can't eat too much at one time.

She found a seat with her plate in hand.

He sat there eating in silence, playing with his phone and sending messages to his family far away abroad.

There was the sound of a spoon hitting the bottom of a bowl.

It was particularly clear in the empty cafeteria. Qiao Xi ate her meal silently, completely unaware that behind her, a young man was looking at her back with his hands on his chin, looking bored.

The girl's hair is very long and falls to her waist.

While drinking millet porridge, she used her slender hands to tuck her long hair behind her ears. However, a few strands of hair would still playfully slide across her delicate cheeks.

At this time.

The girl looked helpless, but she had no choice but to put it back on.

Observed for a while.

The boy stood up with some boredom. He walked straight behind the girl and grabbed her cold hair with one hand when Qiao Xi didn't notice him.

The boy's fingertips accidentally brushed against the girl's warm neck.

And this change.

This also made Qiao Xi, who was drinking porridge, stunned. The spoon in her hand stopped in mid-air, and her tense body was obviously stiff.

Then.

The girl turned around nervously and saw a boy standing behind her, holding her hair with one hand, with the word "bored" written all over his face.

but……

Qiao Xi's attention first fell on the other person's hospital gown and the number on his chest.

"Uh…Zero?"

The girl's timid voice came, with a hint of surprise and confusion. However, there was no fear in her voice.

Zero is in the hospital.

It was also an existence that was feared by other children.

Most of the people around them were boys and girls around their age, though there were also some younger. When they had free time, they would gather together to play games, mostly hide-and-seek in the small garden.

Or some treasure hunting adventure or something like that.

The girls loved playing hopscotch or tumbling rope, while the boys loved playing with the ball and running around in the small garden.

And here.

There are still some outliers who do not participate in the game.

For example, Zero. Others more or less knew about his illness. He could not see the light and was just like a vampire. In the private rumors among the children, he seemed very scary.

So, no one played with him.

There is also number one, Qiao Xi.

She often slept and her room was always closed. Occasionally, a child would pass by her ward, become curious, and quietly open the door to peek inside.

Qiao Xi's room was pure white.

She lay quietly on the bed, with only the sound of instruments in the room.

Aside from the flowers by her bed, which were regularly changed, there were no extra decorations. Unlike their ward, which had many toys, theirs was filled with toys.

The children thought she was a vegetable.

This is also scary.

However, they were also surprised that Qiao Xi would wake up at irregular intervals and be discharged from the hospital after examination.

The remaining few outliers.

They are people with autism, or are rather withdrawn, or are in poor health and don't want to play with others.

Almost everyone in the hospital knows each other.

"Thank you." Qiao Xi smiled at the young man who helped her pick up her hair, and didn't seem to care why he suddenly appeared here.

"You're welcome."

The boy seemed to be a little interested in her words, and his clear eyes were looking at her unscrupulously and curiously at this moment.

Also in the hospital.

Zero was also very thin. He always wore long-sleeved hospital gowns and never wore short-sleeved shirts. However, judging by the paleness of his exposed hands and his complexion, it was clear that he was in poor health.

The boy's fingertips just touched her neck accidentally.

It is also cold.

Qiao Xi hurried to finish the remaining millet porridge, then picked up the tissue next to her to wipe her mouth, stood up and looked at the boy behind her.

Zero also let go.

He let her hair fall down and turned away.

"Everyone is looking for you, go back." Seeing this, Qiao Xi reached out and grabbed the corner of Zero's clothes when the boy turned and walked to the other side.

The boy paused.

Then, the lazy boy lowered his head slightly, and his eyes inadvertently glanced at Qiao Xi's hand holding the corner of his clothes.

When I looked up again.

His pair of empty pupils were once again filled with a lifeless and dejected mood.

"No, I've finished my routine checkup for today."

He also wants some free time.

However, he was only allowed to move around during the day, so he couldn't go out. He was only allowed to walk around the hospital. Moreover, he couldn't go to the windows or the doors where there was light.

After the routine check-up is completed and the results are out.

If the index is normal, the situation is stable.

Then, they can go out and move around. Their fun usually takes place in the small garden of the hospital.

"Are the results out?"

Qiao Xi looked at him.

Zero probably didn't know why she suddenly asked such a question, but the boy raised his hand and stroked his chin: "I did it this morning, so it might be out."

Now the midday nap time is over.

The results must be out.

"Then let's go and see the result." Qiao Xi tugged at the corner of his clothes again. There was obvious reluctance in the boy's eyes. He knew that everyone was looking for him, but he didn't want to go back.

It feels like being treated as some kind of rare protected animal.

Everyone treats him like this.

"I don't want to..." Before he could finish his refusal, he suddenly felt a warmth on Zero's hand.

When I looked down again.

He seemed a little stunned, and a warm and soft little hand took his hand. It belonged to a teenage girl.

Fair and clean.

Still very small.

They were all in their teens, entering puberty, and the boys' physiques began to change. Although Zero was sick and not in good health, his nutrition was not falling behind.

so.

He was taller than Qiao Xi, so his hands were naturally bigger than the girl in front of him.

The serious-looking girl in front of him was holding his hand.

The warm and soft hands, as if to convey their warmth to him, gradually made his cold hands also become stained with the girl's body temperature.

"If you don't stay well, your condition will get worse."

Qiao Xi's words were extremely serious.

She led the boy outside with a resolute attitude. Zero pouted reluctantly, but he knew that even if he could hide for an hour, he couldn't hide for the next one.

so.

He didn't struggle anymore, but let Qiao Xi lead him and go around in circles back.

"Xiao Xu!"

A nervous and surprised voice was heard, and the nurses who had been searching for him desperately finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the young man led by Qiao Xi.

"Really? Where did you run off to again? Don't run around next time. It's very dangerous!"

"knew."

After being scolded like this, Xu glanced at the girl who was holding his hand and pulled his hand back.

Maybe it's because I've just gotten used to it.

The young man pulled his hand back suddenly, and Qiao Xi's palm suddenly felt empty. The warmth and touch still remained, but she was a little dazed.

"Thank you, Xiaoxi. You're so good. You brought Zero back."

I heard the nurse's praise.

Looking at the candy handed to her, Qiao Xi nodded and took it subconsciously: "Thank you."

The nurse saw this.

He couldn't help but raise his hand and rub her head.

Perhaps it was because Qiao Xi had little contact with the outside world and spent a lot of time in a coma, so she looked like a blank sheet of paper, and occasionally a little dazed.

but.

During her waking hours, Qiao Xi would study normally. She loved reading and had learned a lot, which kept her from being too out of touch with the outside world.

"Here, Xiaoxu has a share too."

The nurse handed Xu a candy, and the boy took it. After giving him some more instructions, the nurse left.

but.

When Xu saw the pink peach-flavored packaging, his brows slightly frowned.

It's too sweet for his taste.

His eyes subconsciously fell on Qiao Xi next to him. He noticed that the girl was holding a lemon-flavored candy in her hand, and Qiao Xi was staring at the candy with a distressed expression. He quickly came up with an idea.

"for you."

He handed over his peach flavored one.

Qiao Xi was obviously still a little confused and looked at him in confusion.

"Let's switch."

Not caring about the girl's daze at the moment, Xu took away her lemon-flavored candy and gave her his peach instead.

"Um...thank you."

Qiao Xi's heart was touched. After she came to her senses, she smiled at him with her eyes curved.

Lemon-flavored candy.

She doesn't like the sour and sweet taste very much because she only wants to eat pure sweet food, and the sweet taste can make people feel good.

"It's not a big deal."

The boy felt slightly uncomfortable after seeing her defenseless smile, but he quickly waved his hand and ignored it.

Maybe he wanted to repay the favor of the candy.

Qiao Xi seemed to remember something and looked at him sideways.

"Your test results are normal. You have activity time. Do you want to play together?"

She has almost no experience playing with others.

Xu had never played with others before, so Qiao Xi thought that they didn't know what others usually played when they got together. However, the nurse's praise just now made her very happy.

Xu has no friends.

She had no friends either, so she thought maybe they could become friends.

Maybe the boy also saw what she was thinking.

"Okay." He casually put the lemon-flavored candy into his mouth, still looking nonchalant, and agreed nonchalantly.

Didn't seem to care too much.

However, the slightly rising tone at the end of his voice actually shows that the boy is happy at this moment.

"Okay, let's go read a book."

"Reading?"

Xu looked at her strangely. What was she talking about? She suddenly wanted to read a book. Didn’t they say they wanted to play together?

What kind of entertainment is reading?

"I like reading. What do you like? Isn't playing together about doing something that both of us like?"

Qiao Xi didn't realize anything was wrong.

She said this so naturally that Xu, who wanted to play games, suddenly wondered if he had misunderstood the concept of playing.

but.

Seeing that the girl in front of him was obviously clueless, he had an idea.

"Me? I like sneaking out. As long as I'm not in the hospital, I'm happy."

As expected.

As soon as he said this, he saw the girl's face was troubled, her brows were furrowed, and she looked very conflicted and distressed.

She looks like this.

This also made Xu in a good mood, but Qiao Xi was troubled by his preference: "But...but we can't leave the hospital."

For no reason, he wanted to continue teasing the other person.

The young man came over mysteriously, leaned over and whispered in her ear: "If you don't tell me and I don't tell anyone, who will know if we run away quietly?"

There was cunning in the deliberately lowered voice.

But as the warm breath of the words fell, accompanied by the boy's somewhat low voice falling into her ears, it aroused a strange and subtle feeling, and soon made Qiao Xi's face flush.

"You can't do that."

The girl still shook her head firmly, not wanting to be misled by his evil ideas.

Xu looked at her blushing face, and felt an inexplicable itch in his heart, as if some bad thoughts had been aroused. He wanted to tease Qiao Xi even more, and he actually did so.

"It's okay, just follow me, we won't be discovered."

this time.

It was Xu's turn to hold her hand.

The young man had just let go of her hand, but now he took it back and held her warm little hand. After only a moment of separation, the temperature in his palm quickly cooled down, returning to a cold state.

Qiao Xi noticed it.

I couldn't help but hold his hand tighter with more force, wanting to make him warm too.

Noticing the girl's actions.

Xu also raised an eyebrow and looked at her in surprise: "Why? Are you still afraid that I will run away by myself?"

"No, your hands are too cold. Let me warm them up."

Qiao Xi explained seriously.

"...Who asked you to warm me up?" Xu turned his head away when she said this, not even looking at her. The lemon-flavored candy flowed between his lips and teeth, with a sour and sweet taste, just like his current delicate mood.

I noticed that the boy was distracted for a moment.

Qiao Xi also turned from passive to active.

She couldn't let Xu sneak out of the hospital, not to mention it was broad daylight now, and going out would definitely cause harm to his body.

so.

The little girl took great pains to bring him to her ward.

Xu cooperated perfunctorily as she dragged him away.

"Why is there nothing in your room?"

The boy had just come in when he scanned her ward. He didn't find anything interesting and couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

"Because I'm basically sleeping, I don't need it."

Qiao Xi also sat down beside her bed and explained to him. In her ward, there was only a chair besides a few books in the drawer and flowers on the bedside table.

This chair was where she sat when her family sent someone to take care of her.

There's really nothing superfluous.

I can't even feel the breath of life.

Xu sat on the chair, looked around, and finally watched Qiao Xi open the drawer of her cabinet and take out a thick book.

"Do you want to see it?"

She handed it over with an uneasy look on her face, as if she was worried Xu would refuse.

After all, teenagers are not very interested in reading.

That's how it should be.

However, after seeing the title, Xu suddenly became interested. The book Qiao Xi was holding was a collection of fairy tales.

Boast about the books you usually read.

They are basically books related to his studies. Although he is in the hospital, he cannot fall behind in his studies and is always assigned to learn this and that.

You can't read extracurricular books at all.

Even if there was anything he could read, it was world classics. He had only heard a few girls discuss fairy tales.

Most of the people were talking about princesses or something like that.

Therefore, he was a little resistant to reading and had no interest in it.

"Do you like fairy tales?"

The boy took the thick fairy tale book from her hand and flipped through a few pages.

The boy's pale hand fell on the paper.

The knuckles were distinct and beautiful, a pair of elegant hands with beautiful bone structure. Qiao Xi's eyes involuntarily fell on the fingertips of his hand that paused on the book, and she nodded.

"I like it."

She likes to read all kinds of books.

But my favorite is still fairy tales. I put such a thick book here for myself to read.

Read a story every day before turning off the lights and going to bed.

It has become her habit.

"Then I'll read it to you. Where did you see it?" The young man's clear voice came from in front of him. Qiao Xi looked at him in surprise.

"I only read it before I go to bed, so just read it."

"I'm reading this, what are you reading?"

Xu glanced at her, and Qiao Xi also picked up another book beside her: "I'm reading this."

This is a classic book she bought, but she hasn't finished reading it yet.

"That's fine." Xu withdrew his gaze. He had already read the book in Qiao Xi's hand.

The girl noticed that he had stopped talking.

Instead, she concentrated on reading the fairy tale book she had read before going to bed. She felt strangely relieved. If Xu really wanted to read to her, she would accidentally fall asleep and would not know if she suddenly fell ill.

Her illness usually occurs when she is sleeping.

After a long sleep.

I can wake up normally the next day and return to my normal life. However, there are times when I go to bed at night and the symptoms recur without me noticing, and I fall into a long sleep again.

"I hate sleeping the most..."

The girl's unconscious muttering reached Xu's ears, causing the boy's hand, which was turning the pages of the book, to pause slightly. However, he did not move his eyes away from the book in front of him, thinking that it was just a careless remark from the little girl.

Qiao Xi is number one.

Xu didn't know much about Patient No. 1. Like everyone else, he knew Qiao Xi had been sleeping for a long time, lying there quietly.

A peaceful sleeping face and outstanding appearance.

In her sleep, her lips were red and her teeth were white, and even her snow-white skin looked so fragile. She lay there quietly, not moving a muscle.

This wasn't the first time Xu had sneaked out.

It wasn't the first time he entered her room.

When he came here accidentally once, he opened the door with the number 01 and saw her lying on the bed with an instrument connected to the back of her hand.

The girl's hands are slender and small.

Place it on your side.

The cold needle pierced her tiny blue blood vessels, continuously infusing her body with fluids. She was very beautiful, with picturesque eyes and eyebrows that exuded endless tenderness, and one glance at her was almost enough to make one addicted.

She was shrouded in the cold silver light of the moon in the darkness.

Pure and holy, as if it never belonged to this world.

Found this place by accident.

Xu would occasionally sneak in to see her when he had nothing to do. And sometimes, there would be some brave ones who followed him and wanted to sneak in to see the so-called vegetative person.

but.

Those who came to join in the fun and had blasphemous thoughts about her pure temperament were basically driven out by him.

Vegetative state?

How could he be a vegetable? Xu suddenly thought of the fairy tales he had overheard those sick girls discussing.

A word quickly came to mind.

She is not a vegetable, she is Sleeping Beauty, the only Sleeping Beauty in the world. In romantic fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty will be awakened by the prince's kiss and walk towards a happy ending together.

only.

He was not a prince and he could not kiss her.

If anything, Xu thought, he was probably the dragon that cursed the princess and coveted her. The only ones who could save the princess were warriors and princes.

However, this is impossible in this hospital.

And now, the princess is trapped in a cage with the dragon.