Chapter 48
Lu Jiyu's town didn't have an airport, so Chen Tingzhe drove him two hours to the nearest airport. However, flights to the airport were sparse, with only a few scheduled routes year-round. Lu Jiyu was lucky enough to buy the last available ticket to Nanyuan, connecting in Linshi.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 11pm, with a three-hour layover in a nearby city before heading to Nanyuan. If all went well and there were no delays, it would arrive at Nanyuan around 3 or 4am.
The small-town airport was small, but it had everything it needed. After security, it was the terminal. Lu Jiyu sat in front of the glass curtain wall, gazing out at the night, lost in thought.
The phone on the chair next to him vibrated. It was Chen Tingzhe who had just brought him here.
The two had just parted in a hurry and didn't have time to say a few words.
"Ji Yu, I'll pack your luggage for you and ask someone to send it back to Nanyuan. Should I write your aunt's house as the specific address?" Chen Tingzhe knew that Lu Ji Yu and Lu Lin had a small conflict not long ago and he moved out.
"Yeah." Lu Jiyu felt very sleepy, but he didn't have any desire to fall asleep. He picked up the instant coffee that was almost cold and drank it all in one gulp.
Chen Tingzhe could tell that Lu Jiyu was a little distracted, and he couldn't think of any specific words of comfort. "I just called the hospital over there, and they said it was a mild concussion, nothing serious. You don't have to worry too much."
"Well, I'm not in a hurry."
Lu Jiyu couldn't tell what he was feeling right now.
From the time Shan Ming sent him a WeChat message telling him that Jiang Wan had an accident while skiing to the time he contacted Zhou Zifang later, it was finally confirmed that the person was not seriously injured and just needed to be hospitalized for observation for a period of time.
In fact, it was only five minutes, but in these five minutes, he felt as if he was being suffocated underwater by a pair of hands for nearly five centuries.
Some fears are very familiar and very cunning. For so many years, it has been lurking in the shadows of your emotions, just looking for an opportunity to plunder it again.
Finally, Chen Tingzhe explained a few other things before hanging up the phone.
The plane landed at Nanyuan International Airport at exactly 3:30 AM. After landing, the signal was restored and several messages came in. Lu Jiyu opened Zhou Zifang's chat box.
Zhou Bajie: Jiang Wanren is fine, you really don’t need to worry too much.
Zhou Bajie: By the way, you are coming back on a flight tomorrow, right? What time exactly should I pick you up at the airport?
Even in the early morning, Nanyuan Airport wasn't deserted. Planes bearing the logos of foreign airlines took off from the runway one after another. Lu Jiyu had returned with no luggage, save for the painting, which he brought with him, as he felt he couldn't leave it with anyone else. He exited the terminal with his bag on his back, and the ride-hailing service he'd just called on his phone arrived at the gate.
After getting in the car, Lu Jiyu reported the name of the hospital and then started calling Zhou Zifang.
He knew that this person had excellent sleep quality and once he fell asleep, he would not be awakened.
I dialed the fourth number before a weak "Hello" finally came from the other end of the phone.
Lu Jiyu didn't exchange pleasantries with him and asked directly, "Do you know which ward Jiang Wan is in?"
Zhou Zifang was able to answer the phone only because he woke up from the urge to pee. Half asleep, he heard his phone vibrating, so he picked it up without even seeing the caller clearly.
Jinglu Jiyu asked this question.
Zhou Zifang belatedly glanced at the caller ID on his phone: Lu Beibei.
"What do you mean? Why are you calling me in the middle of the night to ask for my ward number?" Then a possibility flashed through Zhou Zifang's mind: "You haven't already returned to Nanyuan, have you?"
Lu Jiyu hummed a frank "hmm," rubbing his forehead. The fever, which had subsided during the day, had returned with a vengeance. He'd left in such a hurry, he'd forgotten his medicine, and he wasn't in the mood to go to the pharmacy. The fever was intense, and to feel more comfortable, Lu Jiyu took off his coat and rolled down most of the car windows, letting in a cool breeze, finally bringing a moment's relief from his searing thoughts.
"What's wrong with your throat? Is it hoarse?" Zhou Zifang became more and more clear-headed as he asked.
"It's okay, just tell me her ward number."
Zhou Zifang kindly reminded him, "Chen Meiyun said her father will be staying with her today. Are you afraid you'll get beaten up if you go now?"
Lu Jiyu had considered this matter before.
but.
"I don't have any other ideas, I just want to take a look."
"Her accident was ultimately my fault."
Lu Jiyu blamed himself. After all, Jiang Wan's sudden skiing trip was because of him. He began to regret not stopping her. Perhaps he had taken it for granted that someone like Jiang Wan could do anything, so he didn't delve too deeply into the hidden dangers of skiing.
Zhou Zifang took a moment to check the time on his phone. "Chen Meiyun and I will go to the hospital tomorrow. Why don't you come with us? You can't get into the hospital now. It's past visiting hours."
Lu Jiyu seemed to ponder for a moment on the other end of the phone before finally saying "OK".
Jiang Wan never told Jiang Huainan about his skiing, but he also wanted to prevent him from asking, so he could only say that he had signed up for a street dance training class outside and would give his new classmates some intensity during the freshmen's cultural performance.
Jiang Huainan did not doubt Jiang Wan's words at all. To be honest, he always felt that Jiang Wan's long arms and legs were particularly suitable for dancing. If Li Wan had not stopped him, he would have sent Jiang Wan to practice dancing when she was young.
This strong belief led to the fact that on the fourth day of Jiang Wan's skiing, when he returned home with injuries all over his body to have dinner and was about to lie down on the bed, he was dragged from the bedroom to the living room by Jiang Huainan.
He sat on the sofa and watched Jiang Wan standing in front of the TV with interest.
"Is there something wrong?" Jiang Wan rubbed his waist, not realizing that something was wrong.
"Wanzi, you've been learning for several days now. Why don't you dance for me, your dad, to see what you've learned?"
Jiang Wan was speechless for a moment.
"Dad, I've only been learning for a few days. You must understand that you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."
Jiang Huainan quickly comforted her: "Show off what you've learned. Be open and honest. Don't be shy. By the way, didn't you say the tuition is 2888 for a month? Now that you've studied for four days, how about you dance for 288?"
It’s still 288. Jiang Wan now has difficulty stretching his legs and can’t even jump 28 cents.
But if she didn't dance, Jiang Huainan would definitely pester her again. Jiang Wan knew a little bit that Jiang Huainan had always had a fantasy of training her to be a dancer.
So, Jiang Wan enthusiastically performed a quadrilateral lock dance for him.
To sum it up, the hand is not a hand, and the foot is not a foot. The hand can be a foot, and the foot can be a hand.
It was transformed into a giant four-legged reptile that cannot even be found in the Amazon rainforest.
"How about it?"
The more constipated the expression on Jiang Huainan's face, the happier Jiang Wan danced.
Jiang Huainan: ...Luckily Li Wan stopped me at the beginning, otherwise I would have lost a lot of money in vain.
Actually, it’s not Jiang Wan’s fault that she fell while skiing and was sent to the hospital.
The instructor Zhou Zifang's friend found for her was honestly quite professional, except for his frequent trips to the bathroom. Jiang Wan had been training with him for three or four days and was already getting the hang of it. She practiced with him for a bit that morning, but then the instructor came back and went to the bathroom. Jiang Wan was left skating slowly on the beginner's track, when a torpedo suddenly appeared and knocked her off her feet.
It was just a moment, but she could still remember what Lu Jiyu had told her about the experience of being tackled while skiing abroad. Then she thought, this is what it felt like, like being out of the grip of gravity, and then she fainted and lost all feeling.
When I woke up, Jiang Huainan and Chen Meiyu were sitting on either side of the bed, staring at Jiang Wan with red eyes, crying.
The scene was a bit scary from Jiang Wan's perspective. She paused for a few seconds before making sure that she was still alive and had not gone to heaven.
"Comrade Jiang Huainan, could you please not look so stern? From yesterday until now, the lines on your face haven't changed. If someone didn't know you, they'd think you had facial paralysis because of a failed plastic surgery."
Jiang Wan was drinking the chicken soup that Jiang Huainan packed for her from Li Ji. She looked lively and seemed to be fine.
But Jiang Huainan was still too frightened to recover completely.
"Jiang Wan, I'm telling you, if you do this to your father again, I will - I will -" Jiang Huainan had lived an honest life for most of his life, and he couldn't even speak threatening words clearly.
"How about you just go streaking?" Jiang Wan kindly added the second half of the sentence for him.
"Jiang Wan!"
Seeing that Jiang Huainan was about to go crazy, Jiang Wan immediately raised his finger to his lips, showing his sense of morality: "Old Jiang, this is a hospital, no noise allowed."
Jiang Huainan had classes in the studio that afternoon. After watching Jiang Wan finish a bowl of chicken soup, he checked the time on his phone and asked, "When will Chen Meiyun come?"
"She said twelve o'clock, so it must be almost here."
"Then I'll wait until she comes before leaving."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Meiyu's impatient voice came from the door.
"Zhou Zifang, are you crazy? You just grabbed me for the elevator, and now you're grabbing me for the door. Don't you know how big you are?"
Zhou Zifang's counterattack was also resounding: "Why don't you say that your legs are short and you walk slowly? You blame others for squeezing you."
"Damn it, Zhou Zifang, you're itching for trouble again after not seeing you for a few days, aren't you? Hey, uncle, why are you still here~"
Chen Meiyu was halfway through scolding when she saw Jiang Huainan sitting upright at the head of Jiang Wan's bed, so she quickly stopped talking and pretended to be obedient.
Jiang Huainan really liked Chen Meiyun's personality as a child who likes to hang out with people. He stood up with a smile and said, "We'll leave right away. These two..." His eyes fell on the two boys following behind Chen Meiyun: "Are you Jiang Wan's classmates?"
Zhou Zifang waved his hand: "No, uncle, we are her friends." When meeting the parents, everyone was inevitably a little shy.
But the other one who was at the end of the three remained silent for a long time without saying a word.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Jiang Huainan thought he had taken the wrong path and was about to ask him who he was looking for.
Someone over there suddenly spoke.
"Teacher Jiang, long time no see."
Jiang Huainan was startled by the name "Teacher Jiang". No wonder the boy in front of him looked more and more familiar to him. He asked hesitantly, "Are you Xiaolu?"
After Lu Jiyu traveled to the northwest, he came back thinner and a little darker, but not ugly. He looked more mature with a bit of vicissitudes of life.
Jiang Huainan was in a hurry to go to the painting studio for class and didn't have time to say a few words to Lu Jiyu. He just turned around and gave a warning look to Jiang Wan who was lying on the hospital bed pretending to be unconscious, and left in a hurry.
Chen Meiyu placed the fruit Zhou Zifang brought on the bedside table. Just as she was about to sit down and carefully dig into the orange to eat, someone grabbed her arm and dragged her out.
"What are you doing? Don't you know that there is no room for carelessness between men and women?" Ever since Chen Meiyu had been with Wei Lin, she had returned to her previous annoyed attitude towards Zhou Zifang.
Zhou Zifang was accustomed to this man's adaptable personality: "I have something to ask you, please come out for a moment."
"What problem still needs to be discussed outside?"
"Alright, let's just talk about the emotional issues!" Zhou Zifang really admired what this man saw in his eyes. There was nothing wrong with that at all.
In the blink of an eye, everyone had left, leaving only Lu Jiyu standing in front of the bed.
Jiang Wan had no intention of greeting her. She got up from the bed, took the fruit basket that Chen Meiyu had just opened, and continued to take out oranges to eat.
A shadow fell beside her. When she looked up, Lu Jiyu had dragged a chair and sat beside her bed. He folded his arms, leaned against the wall, and just watched her digging, without any intention of helping her.
Good.
Jiang Wan stopped digging halfway and stared at him with a half-truthful look in his eyes: "Hello, who are you looking for?"
The expression on Lu Jiyu's face froze for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses.
"Is it fun?" He had a stern face, and the edges and corners on his face suddenly became sharp, as if he could stare at someone and cut him into pieces.
The oranges were too difficult to dig, so she simply gave up, spread her hands and lay back on the bed.
"I'm not playing with you."
"When I woke up in the hospital bed, I didn't even recognize my dad. The doctor said I had temporary amnesia. But luckily, I was strong and recovered soon."
"But I was thinking at the time, if I really forgot about you because of a head injury, would you feel sorry for me, Lu Jiyu?"
She didn't seem to expect the other party's answer: "Anyway, I would feel a little bit sorry."
Jiang Wan was lying on the hospital bed, her black hair covering the pillow, and her small face looked even paler against it. Lu Jiyu noticed that she seemed to have lost some weight recently.
"I think you feel sorry that I bumped into Teacher Jiang today." Lu Jiyu stood up, picked up the fruit basket, and pushed in through the hole that Jiang Wan had just dug out. Finally, he fished out the big golden Sunkist oranges.
What's the difference between success based on the labor of others and getting something for nothing?
"Jiang Wan." He lowered his head, slowly peeling the orange with his hands, which had been wiped with a wet towel. Jiang Wan kept her eyes on him, a little worried that he would poison her at some point.
"You said you approached me with ulterior motives, didn't you?"
Things have come to this point, and Jiang Wan feels that there is nothing to hide.
"When you confronted my mom, I felt great for a long time, but I never had the chance to thank you."
"When I ran into you again later, you didn't recognize me. I thought you were studying at German University, which I thought was a pity. I thought I could help you with your studies, but then I realized you didn't need any help at all."
"I didn't hide this from you on purpose. I was just afraid of hurting your self-esteem."
"I look so vulnerable in your eyes."
"You know Chen Wulin, right? He's also from No. 3 Middle School. He has a very strong sense of self-esteem. I've given him a bit of PTSD."
Mentioned him again.
Lu Jiyu stopped what he was doing and raised his head impatiently: "Is it interesting to always compare him with me?"
Jiang Wan looked at him without saying anything, but the meaning in his eyes was clear: Look at this man, his self-esteem is so fragile.
Lu Jiyu was speechless after being stared at and continued to peel the orange with his head down.
"Lu Jiyu, what should I do? I don't think I can fulfill our bet."
"Did I agree to bet with you? You're playing with that person."
"You didn't say you didn't want to."
"How about, considering that I'm injured, let's have one last bet?"
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