Chapter 57 The Fog of Ireland "Are you Senior Jiang, Shi, or Yu?..."
The feeling after the anesthesia wore off was unpleasant. Jiang Shiyu struggled to open his eyes, a piercing pain coursing through his body, as if a million ants were crawling in his mind, and even his fingers trembled slightly.
Shen Cen was a light sleeper to begin with, and even when she was asleep, she was still thinking about Jiang Shiyu. She woke up immediately at the slightest sound.
"Jiang Shiyu, you're awake!"
Shen Cen jumped up from the stool, momentarily forgetting to control her volume in her excitement. But realizing that she might disturb Jiang Shiyu, who had just woken up, she suppressed her excitement and lowered her voice, "Wait for me, I'll go call the doctor."
Jiang Shiyu's blurry vision finally focused, and he saw that the woman's face was much thinner than before. Shen Cen was already on the thin side, and now all the weight he had painstakingly gained by feeding her with all sorts of delicious food had been lost.
He reached out and stopped Shen Cen, who was about to leave. He stared at her for a while before slowly saying, "Xiao Cen, you've lost weight."
Jiang Shiyu hadn't recovered his strength yet, and speaking was difficult; his voice sounded weak and light. These words, reaching Chen Cen's ears, were like flipping a switch on her tears. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, which streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She had been holding back her tears for the past two days, but now that she had found an outlet, she cried out all the tears she had been holding back.
Seeing Shen Cen cry, Jiang Shiyu felt a pang of heartache. He gently pulled Shen Cen into his arms and reached out to wipe her tears, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed. The icy tears dripped onto Jiang Shiyu's palm, and his heart ached as if it were being sliced by a knife.
"Xiao Cen, don't cry." He patted Shen Cen's back comfortingly, then kissed her cheek to wipe away her tears.
It is said that tears shed when a person is sad taste bitter, and at this moment, Shen Cen's tears were both bitter and astringent, making Jiang Shiyu feel even worse.
"Jiang Shiyu, what time is it? You're still only concerned about whether I've lost weight. Have you even seen how badly you're injured?" Shen Cen finally stopped sobbing and reached out to wrap her arms around the man's arm.
Jiang Shiyu had actually lost a lot of weight. Her thick arms, which used to require two hands to lift, could now be lifted up with ease.
"Xiao Cen, there's nothing we can do."
Jiang Shiyu propped himself up and sat up. Perhaps he aggravated his wound, because he hissed in pain. But fearing that Shen Cen would worry, he immediately hid his pained expression. "Maybe I can only see you."
"But……"
Shen Cen originally wanted to say that she hoped Jiang Shiyu could love himself more before loving her.
However, she thought of what Jiang Shiyu said on the day he proposed, that perhaps he was born to love her, and she felt that Jiang Shiyu would definitely not listen.
Then, she will make up for the love that Jiang Shiyu has neglected in her.
She would love him a little more.
"Jiang Shiyu, you've lost weight too. I'll make sure you get it back before the wedding."
Jiang Shiyu raised his dry lips and revealed his usual nonchalant smile, but he looked very weak at the moment, so he didn't have his usual arrogant temperament, and instead had a sickly beauty. "Great, it's really nice to experience being taken care of by our Teacher Shen."
Shen Cen noticed that Jiang Shiyu's lips were chapped, so she got up and picked up a cup from the table. "Would you like some water to moisturize them?"
Jiang Shiyu nodded, took the cup, and with his other hand grabbed Shen Cen's wrist. Before Shen Cen could react, she fell into the man's arms again.
The man's hand moved from her wrist to the back of her head and gently pressed her head down.
Their lips met, and the man gently held her lips in his mouth, sucking them little by little. She responded in kind, rubbing her lips against his repeatedly until they were moistened and glistening.
In the past two days, the void in Shen Cen's heart has slowly begun to fill.
She nestled in Jiang Shiyu's arms for a long time, feeling the warmth of his body and his pounding heart. It felt so good; Jiang Shiyu was back.
She reached out and touched the wounds on Jiang Shiyu's body. "You must have been in a lot of pain back then, right?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"Jiang Shiyu, you lied to me. You hesitated for a second before you spoke." Shen Cen looked up, her eyes wide, pouting with a mixture of anger and heartache.
"Okay, nothing can fool our Xiao Cen." Jiang Shiyu took the woman's hand and held it in his palm like a treasure. "It hurts a little, but compared to the pain, I'm probably more afraid of never seeing you again."
“Jiang Shiyu…”
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."
For a long time to come, the topic of life and death, and whether they would ever meet again, could no longer be mentioned in front of the two of them.
"Xiao Cen, I'm sorry, I lost the gift I bought for you." Jiang Shiyu remembered the kitten doll he bought for Shen Cen the night he had the accident. Although he had been protecting it tightly before he lost consciousness, the scene was chaotic at the time, with ambulances and police cars coming one after another. No one could have guessed where the kitten doll would be.
“It’s not lost.” Shen Cen picked up the kitten plush toy from the sofa next to her; she had already washed off the bloodstains. “I really like this gift.”
Jiang Shiyu saw the white kitten in Shen Cen's hand and his eyes curved into a smile. "That's good. Doesn't this kitten look a lot like you?"
Shen Cen examined the item in his hand carefully again. The little cat, Kabudo, had amber eyes and a faint, almost imperceptible smile on its lips, almost identical to Shen Cen's usual expressionless demeanor.
Looking at the kitten plush toy, Shen Cen remembered that Jiang Shiyu had his accident on his way to buy her a gift, and that feeling of guilt welled up again. She hugged the kitten plush toy and leaned against Jiang Shiyu's chest.
"Jiang Shiyu, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing for no reason?" He reached out and stroked the back of Shen Cen's hand, his thumb gently caressing the side of her palm.
"If you hadn't bought me a gift, this wouldn't have happened..."
Before Shen Cen could finish speaking, Jiang Shiyu kissed her again, silencing her, "Don't say that."
“Xiao Cen, many things happen in this world every day, including natural disasters and man-made calamities. These are things we can't foresee and can't avoid. Even if I hadn't gone to give you the gift that night, I might have encountered some other accident the next morning. So, you bear no responsibility for this. If we have to blame someone, we can only blame the gunman for being too brazen, and blame myself for being too careless and not paying enough attention to safety in a dangerous area. Besides, didn't you remind me to be careful on the phone that day? Xiao Cen, don't think like that again. Hearing you put all the blame on yourself makes me very sad, and my wound is starting to hurt again.”
After saying that, Jiang Shiyu pretended to cover his wound and looked like he was in pain. Shen Cen was so scared that she hurriedly touched Jiang Shiyu's wound and agreed, "Okay, Jiang Shiyu, I won't think like that anymore, and you don't have to be sad."
Seeing this, Jiang Shiyu was finally satisfied and put his arm around Chen Cen's shoulder, saying, "Our baby is so obedient."
And then he just kept looking at her. He couldn't get enough of looking at her; he wished he could have his eyes glued to Shen Cen. He wanted to see Shen Cen every moment and be with her forever.
"Ding ding—"
Shen Cen's phone rang; it was a video call from Fu Meihua. Fu Meihua had been worried about Jiang Shiyu's condition these past few days, and also concerned that Shen Cen was overworking himself, so she called several times a day.
Because of the time difference between the two countries, Fu Meihua often called late at night in China to accommodate Shen Cen's schedule. Shen Cen had told her several times to get some rest and just send a text message, as she had to go to the hospital the next day. But Fu Meihua disagreed; she needed to see Shen Cen in person to feel at ease.
She was worried that Shen Cen would be upset if she stayed in the ward all the time, so she chatted with her to cheer her up and kept comforting her, saying that Jiang Shiyu would wake up soon and that she shouldn't worry.
The call connected, and Shen Cen pointed the screen at Jiang Shiyu. "Mom, just in time, Shiyu has woken up."
Jiang Shiyu waved to Fu Meihua, "Mom, thank you for always thinking of me. I'm much better now."
Fu Meihua gave Jiang Shiyu many more instructions before letting him hand the phone to Shen Cen, saying that she had some things to say to Shen Cen privately.
Shen Cen left the ward with her phone. Fu Meihua told her that people shouldn't fall asleep immediately after experiencing a major event, otherwise these terrifying scenes will keep replaying in their dreams, and it can also cause post-traumatic stress disorder. She asked Shen Cen to pay close attention to Jiang Shiyu's mental state during this period.
So, after hanging up the phone, Shen Cen casually asked, "By the way, how did you feel while you were unconscious?"
Jiang Shiyu thought for a moment, "During the days I was in a coma, I had a very long dream."
"What dream?"
Could it be a nightmare? Shen Cen's brows furrowed involuntarily.
Jiang Shiyu noticed the worry in Shen Cen's expression and immediately explained, "Don't worry, they are all fragments related to you. Some are from a small town in southern Beijing, and some are from the affiliated high school of Beijing-Jiaxing High School. It's a very beautiful dream."
In his dream, he first returned to Jingnan Town. Unlike in reality, Shen Cen didn't leave without saying goodbye. Instead, she would skip and hop to his window every day, calling his name: "Jiang Shiyu, come and play with me!!"
In his dream, he always liked to pull Shen Cen's pigtails, deliberately making Shen Cen angry, then buying lots of delicious food and running up to Shen Cen to apologize. When he saw Shen Cen's eyes shining like little stars, chewing and humming a few harsh words, "Jiang Shiyu, don't think I'll forgive you so easily," his heart softened completely.
The dream suddenly returned to the first day of his second year of high school. In this dream, Shen Cen seemed not to recognize him again. She was anxiously looking around, clearly lost.
Suddenly, Shen Cen saw him and ran over as if he had grasped a lifeline: "Senior, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know where Class 6 of Grade 1 is? I can't find my way."
Jiang Shiyu appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he was so flustered that his tongue was practically slurring.
He took a deep breath, pretending to be nonchalant. Just as he was about to point it out to Shen Cen, he suddenly remembered something, and the corners of his beautiful peach blossom eyes lifted slightly. "Junior, it's hard to explain in a few words. Let me take you there."
Shen Cen quickly thanked him. Before entering the classroom, she asked herself, "Senior, thank you so much for today. I'll treat you to dinner later."
Jiang Shiyu narrowed his eyes slightly and curled the corners of his mouth. "Then, let's exchange contact information first."
After school that day, Jiang Shiyu waited early at the door of Shen Cen's classroom. The international department did not have evening self-study sessions, but the regular high school department did. Dinner time was less than an hour, so most students chose to have dinner nearby.
When Shen Cen saw Jiang Shiyu appear at the back door of the classroom, he was taken aback. Jiang Shiyu nodded and pointed to the outside of the school gate, "Didn't you say you would treat me to dinner? Let's go."
Shen Cen was a beat slow to react before finally responding with an "Oh" and asking, "What's your name, senior?"
"Jiang Shiyu." After a three-second pause, he said, "Read it once and see if you can remember it."
"Huh?" Although Shen Cen didn't know what Jiang Shiyu meant, she still did as he said, "Jiang Shiyu."
"Very good, I've got it." Jiang Shiyu looked very satisfied, and even smiled.
"Senior, what's so hard about remembering a name?" Shen Cen was still puzzled.
"It's not difficult, so please make sure you remember it well, Junior Sister Shen Cen."
"Okay... Hey, how did you know my name is Shen Cen?"
"Oh," Jiang Shiyu drawled, his hands in his pockets giving him a completely arrogant look, "I just asked around in your class."
The scene shifts again, and Jiang Shiyu's dream returns to the time when he acted in "Thunderstorm" during his high school years.
International students have never been interested in such large-scale campus events, and Jiang Shiyu is no exception.
So when Cheng Jingyan ran up to him, panting, and said, "Brother Yu, hurry up, go sign up to act in 'Thunderstorm'," Jiang Shiyu had absolutely no interest.
Do I look like the kind of person who would participate in this kind of activity?
"No, Brother Yu," Cheng Jingyan explained gently, "These past two days I've noticed you haven't gone home after school at night, and you've been running laps around the playground instead. I thought you were bored, so I had you sign up."
"I'm not going."
Jiang Shiyu didn't hesitate for a moment. He ran laps on the track just to accompany Chen Cen in her 5,000-meter training. He even bribed the class's sports committee member for it; he wasn't just bored.
"Alright then." Seeing that Jiang Shiyu was determined not to go, Cheng Jingyan did not force him. "But I'm going to go and take a look. I heard that the general high school department wants that pretty school beauty from the first year to play the female lead. I haven't seen her yet, so I'll take this opportunity to see her."
"The one from Class 6 of Grade 1?" Jiang Shiyu suddenly looked up.
"Yes, I heard she has a great temperament and is also a top student."
Cheng Jingyan was always at the forefront of any gossip, and he started chattering to Jiang Shiyu about how the forums and online communities were praising the school beauty, how the boys from the regular high school and international high school were always lurking around the door of Class 6 to peek at her, and how this morning, the art student from the international high school who played the guitar so well had sent her a love letter, though he didn't know if she accepted it or not.
Jiang Shiyu's originally good mood was now ruined by Cheng Jingyan. Seeing that Cheng Jingyan was getting more and more excited, he finally couldn't hold back and blurted out: "You're paying so much attention to her, you like her."
Cheng Jingyan's pupils dilated in shock: "Brother Yu, did you take shelter in that building? What the hell?"
Jiang Shiyu ignored him and said to himself, "I'm going to register."
Cheng Jingyan's jaw dropped in shock again: "No? Brother Yu, you change your mind faster than flipping through a book! Didn't you just say you weren't going?"
She then received another eye roll from Jiang Shiyu: "Oh, I just suddenly felt quite bored lately and wanted to give it a try."
Cheng Jingyan thought Jiang Shiyu had just acted on a whim after taking the wrong medicine, but she didn't expect that Jiang Shiyu would not only audition but also get the role of Zhou Ping.
Similarly, the role of Lu Sifeng was undoubtedly given to Shen Cen from Class 6 of the first year of high school. Shen Cen not only has an outstanding appearance, but also recites his lines exceptionally well and has a deep understanding of the play "Thunderstorm".
The two first went over the script on a beautiful evening with a stunning sunset. Shen Cen was sitting alone in the activity room, studying the script. Everyone looks beautiful in the sunset, but Jiang Shiyu felt that Shen Cen's beauty was particularly striking, so much so that his heart almost stopped beating.
He stood blankly at the door for a long time, and it wasn't until Shen Cen turned around unintentionally that she noticed him.
Are you senior Jiang Shiyu?
Shen Cen looked at the cast list on the script and read his name aloud, though he sounded rather unfamiliar with it.
"Yes." Jiang Shiyu finally composed himself and walked into the classroom.
Shen Cen politely extended his hand: "Hello, senior. My name is Shen Cen. I hope we can work together happily in the future."
"Hello." Jiang Shiyu also reached out and shook hands with Chen Cen. The girl's palm was warm and damp with sweat. Jiang Shiyu held the girl's hand for a moment and forgot to let go.
Shen Cen's ears turned red. "Senior? Senior?"
"Excuse me." Jiang Shiyu withdrew his hand somewhat flusteredly. "Let's go over the script."
During that period, the two of them would go over the script together every day from dinner until the second class. Sometimes they would go over it with other actors, but most of the time it was just the two of them.
...
Jiang Shiyu discovered that each fragmented dream was actually a moment of regret he had felt in the past. And the dreams were like parallel universes, making up for all his regrets.
"Xiao Cen, because of you, my dreams are so beautiful." Jiang Shiyu cupped the woman's face and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for appearing in my life."
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Author's Note: The three dreams can be seen as three "what if" scenarios; perhaps they would reunite sooner in parallel universes. [Lower-eared rabbit head]
In the next chapter, our little couple will be having their wedding! [doge head with rose in hand] Two more chapters to go until the end of the main story!
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