Chapter 223
After all, Zhou Ling'er had suffered painful torture for seven years, and now he still wanted to trap her and let her endure more pain.
Ouyang couldn't help but start reflecting on his own behavior. Suddenly, he felt that he seemed to have become a little selfish.
Meanwhile, Xia Ruoan was already eight and a half months pregnant. Fortunately, she had already successfully submitted her graduation thesis.
As for the final defense session, it can be conducted directly online. You just need to wait patiently for the graduation certificate to be issued.
However, due to concerns about possible emergencies such as premature birth, Leng Zexi was extremely anxious and wanted to have Xia Ruoan admitted to the hospital immediately.
Everyone was worried, fearing that any unexpected incident might happen.
At first, Xia Ruoan appeared to be quite calm and composed, but perhaps affected by the nervousness of the people around her, she gradually became nervous every day.
In order to be able to reach the hospital as quickly as possible in an emergency, everyone even moved their homes to a place closer to the hospital.
In this way, if there is any disturbance, we can respond quickly to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
When Xia Ruoan and Leng Zexi came to see Zhou Ling'er together, they saw a heart-wrenching scene inside the house from outside the door.
Ouyang was holding Zhou Ling'er's slender hand tightly, tears flowing uncontrollably.
After looking at each other tacitly, the two did not rush in rashly, but walked quietly to the chairs on the corridor outside the door and sat down.
"I heard from my eldest brother that I might only have one or two months left... Before that, in order to ensure that she would not pass out during the wedding, Zhou Ling'er took an excessive amount of drugs at the risk of death."
"However, it caused serious problems afterwards, causing her physical condition to deteriorate rapidly. If she continued to deteriorate at this rate, she could have survived for at least another half a year if she had been recuperating as my eldest brother had hoped."
Leng Zexi spoke softly while turning his gaze to Xia Ruoan beside him.
Xia Ruoan nodded silently, indicating that he understood the matter.
In fact, she knew very well in her heart that if time could go back and everything could happen again, Sister Ling'er would still make the same choice without hesitation.
At this moment, Xia Ruoan inadvertently raised his head and found Qiao Xin walking slowly towards him.
She couldn't help but widen her eyes, her face full of surprise: How could she suddenly appear here?
Leng Zexi on the side obviously also noticed Qiao Xin's arrival. He frowned slightly and thought worriedly that Zhou Ling'er's body was so weak now that she couldn't withstand even the slightest stimulation!
Seeing Qiao Xin getting closer, Xia Ruoan quickly stood up, walked quickly to the door of the ward, and gently closed the door.
Seeing this, Qiao Xin showed a bitter smile on her face. She bent down and said to Xia Ruoan sincerely, "I'm sorry."
I'm sorry. I'm really sorry to disappoint you.
And...actually, from the beginning I deliberately approached Xia Ruoan with some purpose.
Xia Ruoan looked at Qiao Xin in surprise, who used to have long flowing hair but now had short hair, and her heart was full of surprise and confusion.
"Senior, why did your hair become like this?" Xia Ruoan couldn't help but ask.
Qiao Xin smiled and replied easily: "This is my new hairstyle, and it's what I've always liked!"
"So, don't be too nervous. By the way, the main reason I came to see you today is to say goodbye to everyone, including you, Ouyang, and Zhou Ling'er."
At this moment, Qiao Xin seemed to have let go of everything in the past, and she looked particularly free and easy.
Hearing the word "goodbye", Xia Ruo'an's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "Goodbye? Where are you going?"
After all, it has been nearly four months since the last time I saw Qiao Xin. Who would have thought that she would show up again just to say goodbye.
Qiao Xin took a deep breath, slowly raised her head, looked at Xia Ruo'an with a firm gaze, and said softly: "Zhao Han applied for a mission to go to the desert area to plant crops, and I decided to go with him."
Xia Ruoan had heard of this before, but it was said that most of the people involved in this task were from the Botany Department because they had the relevant professional knowledge and skills.
But Qiao Xin and Zhao Han are not from the botany department, so why did they choose to go to the desert?
"Have you really made up your mind? What exactly prompted you to make such a choice? Is it just because you are in love with Brother Zhao, or do you just want to escape from here as soon as possible?"
Xia Ruoan stared at the person in front of him intently, hoping that she would think carefully before making a decision.
Qiao Xin met her concerned gaze, raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and revealed a slightly self-deprecating smile: "It's both."
"Now that I think back to my extremely foolish suicide, it's really ridiculous! I'm sure even you, Ruo'an, despise my ridiculous behavior deep down in your heart."
Hearing this, Xia Ruo'an hurriedly shook his head vigorously, took a step forward, held Qiao Xin's hand, and said softly: "No, I have never had the slightest intention of despising you. Instead, I cherish you more."
"When you were in such a desperate situation, the deep despair must have overwhelmed you like a tide."
"In fact, I often regret it. If I could have woken you up earlier and made you realize it in time, maybe you wouldn't be so heartbroken." Xia Ruoan frowned slightly, his eyes full of self-blame and regret.
After listening to these sincere words, Qiao Xin looked at Xia Ruoan with gratitude and couldn't help but stretch out her arms, as if she wanted to give her a warm hug.
However, when her eyes fell on Xia Ruoan's bulging belly, her movements suddenly stopped.
She slowly raised her right hand and gently stroked Xia Ruo'an's belly, her tone full of regret and reluctance: "I originally wanted to wait until I saw your baby born safely before leaving, but I'm afraid it won't be possible now."
Xia Ruoan sensed Qiao Xin's disappointment and quickly smiled and comforted her, "Even if you're not around, I'll take some photos and send them to you as soon as the baby is born."
"That's great. Thank you, Ruoan." A smile finally appeared on Qiao Xin's face again.
Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, her expression became a little solemn, and she lowered her voice and said, "Oh, and about Sister Ling'er's condition..."
"She is currently in a coma most of the time, so it is not convenient for her to meet you. This is true."
"Is her condition really that bad?" Qiao Xin looked worried, but she did not doubt Bai Shuang and Xia Ruoan's words at all.
After all, she had learned part of the truth from Bai Shuang before.
"Well, he is in a coma most of the time." Leng Zexi responded softly, raised his hand and gently knocked on the door, then stepped into the room and talked a few words with Ouyang inside.
Not long after, Ouyang walked out quickly. His eyes first fell on Qiao Xin, and he nodded slightly. Then he turned to Xia Ruoan and said slowly, "Ruoan, please go in and help me accompany Ling'er. I really don't want her to wake up without seeing someone by her side."
"Okay." Xia Ruoan paused, then nodded slightly in response, then turned and walked into the room.
Ouyang did not go far away, he just walked to the end of the corridor and stopped.
After a moment, he seemed to suddenly remember something, turned his head to look at Qiao Xin, and slowly asked: "I heard that you and Zhao Han took on the arduous task of planting in the desert together."
Obviously, even Ouyang himself was quite surprised about this matter.
"Yes, this mission is expected to last five years. As for whether you will need to stay on in the future, it depends on the specific circumstances." Qiao Xin replied calmly.
After a moment of silence, she took a deep breath, as if mustering up her courage, and spoke again solemnly, "I want to apologize to you for what happened back then."
"And from now on, perhaps I will gradually let go of my feelings for you, and slowly no longer like you as much as before." After saying this, she looked at Ouyang seriously and earnestly.
Upon hearing this, Ouyang couldn't help but smile slightly. That smile was filled with relief, but also seemed to be mixed with a bit of helplessness.
He shook his head and said softly, "You have done nothing wrong to me. Besides, you can choose to forget the past and stop clinging to your feelings for me. This is actually the right choice."
"Because there is no way I can respond to you. I can't give you what you want." Ouyang was genuinely happy with her choice.
Qiao Xin looked at him and couldn't help asking, "Will you regret it? Never plant roses again. I can see that you like roses."
"I won't ask you to give me roses anymore, and I won't pursue you anymore, so you should just continue planting roses." Qiao Xin said guiltily.
"I like roses because Ling'er likes them. Now that Ling'er is gone, there's no point in me growing them. My grandfather should be enjoying his retirement now. I've planned to quit scientific research and take over the company's affairs." Ouyang told her his plan.
"Is that so?" Qiao Xin had not expected this to happen. She had originally thought that he liked roses, which was why she followed him to cultivate roses.
He didn't expect that in the end it was all because of Zhou Ling'er. He liked it because Zhou Ling'er liked it.
"I should have thought of it earlier." Qiao Xin whispered.
"Ouyang, I don't regret having liked you." Qiao Xin looked at him and said.
"Thank you for your love, but I'm sorry, I don't like you." Ouyang looked at her and said.
When Qiao Xin heard it again now, she was no longer as sad. Matters of the heart really should not be forced and cannot be forced.
"Ouyang. Can you hug me?" Qiao Xin looked at him and said, "We may not have the chance to meet again in the future?"
"Sorry." Ouyang did not step forward.
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