Hospital
Half a month passed like a thin veil, gently covering those thrilling past events. Gu Hanzhi gradually sat by the window reading as she used to. When the sunlight shone over the pages, even her fingertips felt warm, as if the storms before were just a long dream.
Until this bright and dazzling noon.
She had just finished a bowl of clear porridge, a millet porridge Gu Songyi had specially cooked, claiming it nourished the spleen and stomach. Before she could settle back into her room, she felt a sudden, frantic, cat-like sensation in her stomach, sending a sharp, cramping pain shooting up her throat. She instinctively covered her mouth, but it couldn't block out the fishy-sweet taste—a mouthful of dark red blood suddenly spat onto her snow-white handkerchief, resembling a red plum blossom blooming in the snow, its brilliance so dazzling it could make your heart stop.
The handkerchief slipped from her fingers. She bent over the edge of the dressing table, her forehead pressed against the cold mirror, and could clearly see her pale face. The cicadas outside the window were still chirping, the sun was still shining, but in that instant, her world had once again turned dizzy and darkened.
Then, Gu Hanzhi felt dizzy again. That familiar feeling of vertigo washed over her like a tide, and the scenery before her swirled and swirled, with a hint of double vision. Her heart tightened, and without time to think, she subconsciously reached out to hold onto the nearby lamppost. Her fingertips touched the cool metal, and only then did she manage to steady herself.
I can't collapse here. She bit her lower lip, forcing herself to focus, and hurriedly trotted towards the nearest hospital. The wind blew into her collar, bringing the chill of the beginning of autumn, but a fine layer of cold sweat seeped from her forehead, sticking to her hair. With every step, her head felt like a string trembling, a dull pain.
The smell of disinfectant in the clinic was like an invisible film, tightly enveloping Gu Hanzhi's breath. Her fingertips clutched the freshly printed checklist, the edges wrinkled from the pinch, her fingertips white from the pressure. When the female doctor adjusted her glasses and spoke with a barely perceptible heaviness in her voice, Gu Hanzhi felt the world around her suddenly buzz.
"Doctor, what's wrong with me?" Her voice was like sandpaper, trembling unnoticed. Her gaze was fixed on the doctor's face, desperate to find a different answer in those calm eyes. The dull pain in her stomach had been rising and falling like the tide these days. She had thought it was just an old ailment, but the regret in the doctor's eyes was like a needle, piercing her heart unexpectedly.
The female doctor sighed softly, her fingertips pausing on the medical record before she spoke slowly. Her tone was professionally restrained, but it couldn't hide the regret: "What a pity, you have stomach cancer, and it's already in the late stage."
"Gastric cancer...late-stage..." Gu Hanzhi repeated these words subconsciously, as if confirming some unfamiliar vocabulary. Blood seemed to rush to her head in an instant, then drain away completely the next second, leaving her hands and feet cold. She saw the doctor's lips moving, and the medical terms about cancer cell spread and organ infiltration pierced her ears like broken glass.
The air in the clinic seemed to freeze. Gu Hanzhi's fingertips clutched the edge of her clothes, her knuckles turning white. Her voice trembled, a tremor she didn't even notice. "Really... is there no other way?"
The female doctor opposite took off her glasses and tapped her fingertips lightly on the medical record. Her tone was professionally restrained, yet a hint of regret could not be hidden: "If we do surgery, the success rate is less than 30%. And there is a high probability of damage to the spleen and stomach after the operation. The days ahead will probably be even more difficult than they are now."
She looked up at Gu Hanzhi's pale face, paused for a few seconds before continuing, "My personal suggestion is... cherish your last three months."
The last few words were like fine needles, gently piercing Gu Hanzhi's forced calm. The sunlight from outside the window shone in through the blinds, casting flickering spots of light on her face, but it could not warm the chill that suddenly came over her.
Gu Hanzhi's steps were unsteady, as if she were treading on balls of cotton as she emerged from the glass doors of the hospital's outpatient building. The late summer sun was a bit glaring, and she raised her hand to block it. The light that filtered through her fingers fell on the medical record, which was wrinkled from being gripped by her fingertips. The line of the diagnosis was like a red-hot iron, burning her heart.
She didn't remember how she got on the bus, nor how she instinctively walked the familiar route. It was not until the courtyard with blue bricks and gray tiles appeared before her eyes and the wooden door with mottled vermilion paint creaked in the wind that she realized she was standing at the door of her home.
Pushing open the half-open courtyard door, she saw a few leaves of the potted plants in the corridor had wilted. She hadn't bothered to take care of them for several days. She walked towards her east wing. Just as she climbed two steps, she heard hurried footsteps overhead. Gu Songyi was coming down from the second floor. The moment he bumped into her, his clear voice was filled with obvious anxiety: "Sister, where have you been? I haven't seen you all morning. What are you holding in your hand?"
Gu Hanzhi froze. Looking down, she realized she was still clutching the medical record tightly in her hand, the black words glaring in the afternoon light. Almost instinctively, she put her hands behind her back, her knuckles turning white from the strain. But she managed a smile, uglier than tears. "Nothing. Just some scrap paper I found on the ground and was about to throw away."
She avoided Gu Songyi's inquiring gaze and quickly walked up the stairs. When she stood shoulder to shoulder with him in the corridor, she took a deep breath and said with a barely perceptible tremor in her voice: "Songyi, I suddenly feel like going out for a walk. Isn't Dad going on a business trip for a month? Can you... accompany me to Country A?"
Gu Songyi was stunned, his eyes wide open, as if he couldn't believe his ears. He looked at his sister in front of him. Her hair was a little messy from the wind, and her forehead still had a hint of hospital disinfectant. But in her eyes, there was a tiny light flashing - it was a brilliance that he hadn't seen in a long time.
In the past, Gu Hanzhi was like a thorn bush growing in the shadows of a wall, always drooping and covered in sharp thorns that kept strangers away, as if ready to hurt anyone who came close. But now, the light in her eyes was like a spark ignited by the wind, weak, but with the momentum to set the whole field ablaze.
The boy's Adam's apple moved, and the questions he wanted to ask, "Why?" and "Are you going suddenly?" were stuck in his throat. In the end, he could only forcefully answer with a slightly cracking voice, "Okay, I promise you."
Gu Hanzhi's heart suddenly relaxed, and her hands, which were clasped behind her back, slowly loosened. The edge of the medical record left a faint mark on her palm. She looked at the old locust tree in the yard. The sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell to the ground, making her eyes sore. Perhaps this was the last time, she thought. At least she had to carry the light with her, and walk once.
Gu Hanzhi pushed open the door to her room. Just as her fingertips touched the coolness of the doorknob, the phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated. The moment the screen lit up, Shen Zhihe's name jumped into view. The message was concise but contained a subtle joy: "Now that I have completely defeated Xu Huanxi, if it's convenient for you, can we have dinner together tomorrow night at the new restaurant near the school?"
Her fingertip hovered above the screen, pausing for a moment. Moonlight streamed into the room, casting dappled shadows of trees across the floor, a stark reflection of her current thoughts. Finding an excuse to part ways with him—the thought had been lingering in her mind for a long time, and now it seemed like the perfect opportunity had arrived.
Gu Hanzhi took a deep breath and typed a word on the keyboard with his fingertips. The moment he sent the message, even the air seemed to be lighter.
"good."
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