On the short walk back to the hospital, Li Zhen could clearly sense Meng Jiuyi's distraught state. She tried to focus her gaze on a certain point, and when she saw the stairs, she came to help Li Zhen, but she didn't respond to most of the conversation.
Li Zhen asked, "Did something happen to you just now?"
Meng Jiuyi shook his head listlessly, not wanting to say anything more.
"The books all say that you shouldn't keep your thoughts to yourself; you should know how to express them—"
Before she could finish speaking, Meng Jiuyi interrupted her, "I'm really fine!"
Her tone was harsh, and she was stunned after speaking. The words she wanted to use to soften the situation were stuck in her mouth with bitterness, and her face, which had dried from her tears, was so tense that it hurt to even speak.
"Let's go back first."
They walked along the park from behind the hospital. As the reputation of the Fourth Hospital gradually increased, more and more buildings were being built. The two of them walked around the building under construction, deliberately avoiding the construction site, but when a nurse pushed a hospital bed past, Li Zhen and Meng Jiuyi separated.
Suddenly, a loud roar came from ahead, and someone waved to them repeatedly.
"Get out of the way!"
Meng Jiuyi was somewhat confused. She looked up and was suddenly pushed away by a force. She stumbled and fell to the ground, half of her palm scraping against the ground. A deafening slamming sound came from her ears. She turned her head and saw that the liquid tank that should have hit her was smashing straight into Li Zhen. The huge impact even cracked the ground. Blood instantly stained her face and the back of her head.
"Li Zhen...Li Zhen..."
Meng Jiuyi scrambled to her side and desperately tried to pry open the liquid tank pressing down on her, but it wouldn't budge.
"Is anyone here to help? Is anyone here?!"
The entire back garden was filled with her hoarse wails, and more and more people came to help. Zhou Ting hadn't seen her return for so long, so she came down to look for her. When she saw this scene, she immediately ran over.
The liquid tank was moved aside, and even more blood spilled from Li Zhen's mouth.
"It's okay...it's okay, the doctor will be here soon..."
Tears splattered onto Li Zhen's face, and Meng Jiuyi let out a hoarse moan as he helplessly wiped the blood from her face.
Her wrist was gripped tightly, and blood gushed from Li Zhen's mouth as she asked, word by word.
"If... we could do it all over again..."
I will still be your friend!
Meng Jiuyi held her hand, his throat choked with a hoarse sob, "I will still protect you. Be brave this time, and don't give up on me again, okay?"
A slow smile spread across Li Zhen's lips.
"good."
After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, and her hand slid to the ground. Meng Jiuyi felt a sense of emptiness.
"Li Zhen...Li Zhen, are you kidding me...?"
No one responded to her.
I picked her up and tried to talk to her, but she didn't respond. All I could hear was a cacophony of voices and the shrill, grating sound of the hospital bed wheels rolling across the concrete floor.
In an instant, a steel knife pierced Meng Jiuyi's heart.
She hugged her tightly, the pain so intense that she was numb and made no sound, only tears streaming down her face.
Those around them were heartbroken. Who would have thought such a thing would happen in broad daylight? The doctors and nurses who rushed over with various emergency equipment knew that there was nothing they could do to save Li Zhen after examining her.
Her heart had stopped beating; it was likely that her internal organs had been nearly crushed.
More and more onlookers gathered around the road. Some advised the girl to accept her fate, while others wiped away tears. Meng Jiuyi's eyes were empty and numb as he held Li Zhen tightly, ignoring everyone's attempts to comfort him.
Her phone kept ringing, but she didn't respond or answer. The other person kept calling relentlessly until half an hour or more later. When she finally answered, she heard a low laugh on the other end.
"You're lucky this time, someone took the fall for you. Tell me, will God still be on your side next time?"
Meng Jiuyi's voice was hoarse, "...Gao Xianyue?"
Her eyes were sharp, like a crazed little wolf, her gaze sweeping around to the sides.
Across the street from where the railings were erected, the Bentley lowered its rear window, and Gao Xian Yue smiled and waved.
"You think you can act with impunity just because you have something on me? Do you know why I've never taken you seriously? Because you really can't handle me. Did you like the big gift I gave you this time? I can't wait to think about what to give you next time. See you later."
The car window rolled up, and the Bentley slowly drove away.
Meng Jiuyi's teeth chattered, and an overwhelming hatred erupted from her body. She frantically searched around, and Zhou Ting, unaware of what she was looking for, saw her grab a syringe and scalpel from the side and run out.
The doctor and nurses were completely stunned and had no time to stop her. Zhou Ting immediately chased after her and stopped her.
"Meng Jiuyi, what are you going to do with that knife?!"
Meng Jiuyi pushed her away forcefully, "Get out of my way! Don't worry about me!"
She's going to kill Gao Xian Yue; all her schemes are utter nonsense, even if it means mutual destruction. Meng Jiu Yi is going to send her to meet the King of Hell today.
Suddenly, she was slapped hard across the face; Zhou Ting was trying to wake her up.
"You think you can kill someone just by grabbing a knife? You won't even know how you died if you just go like that?"
Meng Jiuyi's face was swollen on one side, and she couldn't hear anything. She just wanted to chase after the car, but Zhou Ting held her tightly. Unable to break free, Meng Jiuyi bit her arm, and the whimper she made sounded like a small animal.
"Calm down! Calm down! You won't get revenge this way, and you'll only hurt yourself."
Zhou Ting said, "I'll help you. Let's discuss this further, okay? Li Zhen is already dead. She wouldn't be able to rest in peace if she saw you like this."
Her numb eyes finally flickered, and a hissing sob escaped her throat before she burst into loud wails.
--
Li Zhen's parents passed away many years ago, and her uncles only treated her as a tool to make money. Meng Jiuyi took on all the responsibility of arranging her marriage and buried Li Zhen in the Sui Sui Cemetery.
Meng Jiuyi placed the flowers on her tomb and said softly, "If you feel lonely down there, go find Sui Sui. You two have similar personalities in some ways, and you can definitely become good friends."
"Please tell her that I miss her too."
"Should I have told you sooner that all my hatred for you stemmed from having expectations back then, not just simple dislike? If I had let go of these things sooner and let you know, would I be much happier?"
A bitter feeling welled up in Meng Jiuyi's eyes, and she gazed into a certain direction until it slowly dissipated. When she descended the mountain, Meng Jiuyi turned on her phone. She hadn't paid attention to it while dealing with Li Zhen's funeral arrangements these past two days, even though it had been off, and there were dozens of missed calls.
She completely ignored Tan Yuchen's message. Meng Jiuyi stared coldly at Xu Yanzhi's missed call. Before she could even dial the number, the other party called back.
She answered the call through her ear.
Why has my phone been off for the past two days?
His tone was calm, and what Meng Jiuyi thought of most was his cold eyes on the LEd screen. Her lips moved slightly.
"...My friend has passed away."
Xu Yanzhi paused for a moment, then asked, "Where are you?"
Meng Jiuyi told her a place, and she sat on a bus stop bench at the foot of the mountain. He arrived in less than an hour. This place was already outside of Kyushu City; she didn't know how he got here so quickly.
When Xu Yan got out of the car, he saw her sitting alone on the bench. It was almost the end of October, and she was wearing a trench coat. It looked like she could disappear in the wind.
He took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Aren't you afraid of catching a cold wearing so little?"
A warm breath enveloped the back of Meng Jiuyi's neck. She looked up at him, and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Xu Yanzhi's palms were almost burned. He didn't tell her not to cry, but instead pulled his coat up and picked her up.
When did your friend leave?
Meng Jiuyi said softly, "Yesterday."
She buried herself in his arms, and the man naturally did not notice the chilling coldness beneath her tear-filled eyes.
Xu Yanzhi said gently, "It's because I haven't done enough, I haven't earned your trust, that's why I wasn't told about such a big thing."
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