Chapter 33 Misunderstanding Cleared Up "To you, Zhu Qingting, my love has been unwavering..."
"Sister Qingting!"
A familiar call rang out in the emergency room lobby. Fang Xiaoya finally found Zhu Qingting curled up in a ball on an inconspicuous corner bench. She looked like a wounded little animal, hugging herself tightly with her arms, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Because of Chai Yundu's accidental injury, Fang Xiaoya had been handling various emergencies with her agent, Deng Jie, so busy that she didn't even have time to drink water. Finally, after a brief respite, she opened Weibo to check public opinion, only to find many pictures and videos of Zhu Qingting at the hospital in Chai Yundu's fan page.
Xiaoya glanced at the time when the earliest photos taken by fans were posted. More than two hours had passed. Why hadn't Sister Qingting come to see them even though she was at the hospital?
She showed Zhu Qingting's photo to the security guards standing outside the corridor, but they said they had never seen the girl before.
At this moment, the staff member wearing a crew vest came over, glanced at the photo on the phone, and said in a strange tone, "This girl... stopped me in the lobby on the first floor earlier and insisted that I contact you. She was dressed strangely, I thought she was a crazy stalker."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoya immediately explained the situation to Deng Jie and then rushed downstairs to find someone.
At this moment, when she finally found and saw Zhu Qingting, she was still shocked. The girl before her was completely different from the composed, calm, and poised principal dancer she usually was. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts, her hair was disheveled and stuck to her tear-streaked face, and her mismatched practice clothes and flat shoes made her look even more disheveled and vulnerable. Although she was still beautiful, it was a broken beauty, like a butterfly in a storm, its wings soaked, unable to fly anymore.
"Xiaoya!" Zhu Qingting cried out as if grasping at a lifeline, suddenly standing up and throwing herself into Xiaoya's arms. The tears she thought she had cried all out burst forth again, and she choked up, unable to utter a complete sentence, only able to hold tightly to this only person who could give her hope at this moment.
Xiaoya patted her back gently, comforting her, "It's alright, it's alright. Brother Du's surgery went smoothly, and he's out of danger. Apart from a fractured left shinbone and some abrasions, he's fine. The doctor is inside doing the final treatment. Come on, I'll take you upstairs."
Upon hearing that she could finally wait in his operating room, Zhu Qingting immediately wiped away her tears and followed Xiaoya closely.
The moment they returned to the operating room, the red "Operating" light went out and turned a reassuring green. At that moment, Zhu Qingting felt her heartbeat finally return to a normal rhythm.
The door slowly opened, and the expert who had come from Hangzhou took off his mask and said to Deng Jie, who came forward, "The surgery was very successful, the internal fixation was done very well, and he can be sent back to the ward soon. He will wake up after the anesthesia wears off."
Deng Jie anxiously pressed, "Doctor, what will happen to this leg in the future...?"
"Don't worry," the doctor said with a reassuring smile, "as long as the follow-up rehabilitation training is done well, there will be absolutely no impact, and you will have no problem practicing martial arts and boxing."
Hearing these words from afar, Zhu Qingting's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally began to settle down. She let out a long sigh of relief.
Soon, a nurse wheeled out a hospital bed. Chai Yundu lay quietly on it, his eyes closed, his face pale, his left leg in a thick cast, looking exceptionally fragile. His usual spirited demeanor contrasted sharply with his current stillness, causing Zhu Qingting's heart to ache once more.
Deng Jie followed the nurse as she pushed the mobile hospital bed out, and only then did he notice Xiao Ya and Zhu Qingting standing at the entrance.
This was the first time he had seen Zhu Qingting in person, and she was completely different from the elegant and graceful image he had seen on variety shows. At this moment, her hair was disheveled, her clothes were in disarray, and her tear-streaked face was full of exhaustion, but her eyes were fixed on the person on the hospital bed, her gaze filled with heartache and love that was about to overflow.
Looking at Zhu Qingting like this, Deng Jie sighed softly to himself. Thinking about the misunderstanding between the two of them before, he now felt that Chai Yundu's unexpected injury might actually be a blessing in disguise.
After settling Chai Yundu, who was still unconscious, back in the ward, Deng Jie considerately said to Xiaoya, "Why don't you go with Teacher Zhu to the hotel to pack up? Adu won't wake up for a while. I'll stay here with him."
Zhu Qingting was about to say no, but Deng Jie continued to persuade her, "When Adu wakes up, he'll be heartbroken to see you like this. We can't let him suffer both leg pain and heartache."
Upon hearing Deng Jie's words, Zhu Qingting finally nodded gently. She took one last deep look at Chai Yundu, who was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, before leaving temporarily with Xiaoya.
On the way back to the hotel, she passed a women's clothing store. Remembering that she was still wearing her training clothes and hadn't brought any change of clothes, Zhu Qingting went in and casually picked out two comfortable outfits. Her mind was completely focused on Chai Yundu, and she had no time to carefully choose.
Upon arriving at the hotel, she saw herself in the mirror and finally understood why Deng Jie had insisted she return to the hotel to tidy up. She did indeed look disheveled; no wonder the staff member mistook her for a stalker. She truly lacked any semblance of elegance at that moment.
She quickly took a shower, changed into the clothes she had just bought, and while blow-drying her hair in front of the mirror, she looked at her red and swollen eyes with distress, wondering if she should buy an ice pack to put on them.
Xiaoya returned with packed food and saw Zhu Qingting studying her eyes in the mirror. She understood and took out an ice ball from her bag to apply to her eyes.
"Sister Qingting, this is really effective at reducing swelling! Brother Du uses it to relieve swelling after filming crying scenes."
Upon hearing her voice, Zhu Qingting stopped drying her hair, stood up, and pulled Xiaoya out the door, saying, "Let's hurry back to the hospital now that we've bought the food."
"Sister Qingting, your hair isn't dry yet!" Fang Xiaoya exclaimed in surprise.
"It's okay, it's hot now, I'll dry it off after a walk outside." Zhu Qingting couldn't wait to get back to the hospital.
When the two returned to the VIP ward, Chai Yundu was still unconscious. Deng Jie was working on his computer at the round table. The two quietly invited Deng Jie to eat.
During the meal, a slight noise came from the hospital bed. Chai Yundu had woken up.
The anesthesia hadn't completely worn off, and the pain hadn't fully subsided. He first noticed that his left leg was in a cast and slinged to the foot of the bed, and his left arm was wrapped in bandages. He turned his head to look around and saw people eating over there.
“Brother Deng…” Chai Yundu called out in a particularly hoarse voice, as if sandpaper had been rubbing against his throat.
Upon hearing the noise, Deng Jie and Xiao Ya immediately put down their chopsticks and walked towards the hospital bed.
"Adu! You're awake!" Deng Jie exclaimed excitedly, the worry on his face finally disappearing.
Sitting in the chair, Zhu Qingting felt somewhat lost, a kind of apprehension mixed with the fear of returning home. She had spoken so confidently about breaking up, but was it really okay to go back now? Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, her mind in turmoil.
Chai Yundu stared at her for a few moments, then turned to Deng Jie and asked in a weak voice, "Brother Deng, how are my injuries?"
Deng Jie replied, "It's nothing serious, just a fracture in my left shinbone. The doctor said it will heal completely, and there are some abrasions. Don't worry, just take good care of yourself."
"Is there something wrong with my brain or my eyes?" Chai Yundu looked at him with confusion in his eyes.
"What do you mean, Adu? Are you feeling unwell? I'll call the doctor right away!" He said, about to press the call bell by the bedside.
"I don't feel unwell, but I think I'm hallucinating. I think I see Zhu Zhu sitting over there."
"Haha, Brother Du, you're not sick, this isn't a hallucination, Sister Qingting is really here! Sister Qingting, come over here quickly!" Fang Xiaoya called out to Zhu Qingting, her tone filled with a mischievous smile.
Zhu Qingting then moved over somewhat hesitantly, feeling embarrassed.
Chai Yundu stared intently at her, as if afraid she would disappear in the blink of an eye. His gaze was greedy, moving from her disheveled but half-dry hair to her still red and swollen eyes, and then to the clothes that didn't suit her at all.
"Brother Du, you don't know, Sister Qingting drove straight from Shanghai as soon as she saw the news about your accident! She couldn't contact us, so she sat outside the hospital for two hours. Luckily, a fan posted it online and I saw it, which is how I found her!" Xiaoya really wanted Chai Yundu to know how much Zhu Qingting cared about him, and her tone was full of emotion.
Deng Jie suddenly made an excuse to ask the doctor about precautions, and pulled Xiao Ya away from the ward, giving the two of them some alone time.
Before leaving, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Chai Yundu strained to sit up, his hand wrapped in gauze. Zhu Qingting quickly told him not to move, then turned the rocker arm at the head of the bed, slowly raising the headboard. Her movements were slow, as if she were afraid of hurting him.
A brief silence fell between them, neither knowing how to begin. The only sound in the ward was the rhythmic ticking of the medical equipment.
"You must have worried me terribly," Chai Yundu couldn't help but speak first. "Your eyes are so swollen, you don't look good at all."
Zhu Qingting kept her eyes down and didn't speak. Finally, she raised her head, as if she had made up her mind, and looked directly at Chai Yundu. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
"Chai Yundu, I've figured it out."
"I don't care anymore."
Chai Yundu was slightly taken aback, his eyes filled with questioning and a hint of nervousness.
“I don’t care if I look like someone or if I’m someone’s substitute.” She said each word carefully, her eyes slightly red, but she tried hard not to let the tears fall. “If… if it weren’t for that resemblance, you might never have noticed me, you might never have been willing to take the time to get to know me, to get closer to me. Then, I might never have had the chance to… like you like I do now.”
Her voice trembled slightly, "Your unexpected injury makes me afraid to imagine what I would do without you. I want to be your number one emergency contact. I don't want to not even know where the operating room is when you need surgery."
This confession had exhausted all her courage. She held her breath, waiting for his response.
Chai Yundu was deeply moved. He quickly used his uninjured hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen unnoticed. "Baby, don't cry anymore. It breaks my heart. It's my fault for making you worry so much. From now on, you'll be my first emergency contact. I'll even need your signature for my life or death, okay?"
Zhu Qingting angrily covered his mouth, her voice trembling with tears, "Don't say such things! I won't sign that!"
Taking the opportunity, Chai Yundu grabbed her hand, kissed it lightly, and then began to explain what he was finally able to say.
“Indeed, I have a kind of inexplicable fondness and attention to dance, and even to red and yellow dance costumes.” He said slowly, deciding to reveal his secret, “This probably stems from when I was fourteen years old, the first time I collaborated with a girl on a program.”
Zhu Qingting's heart skipped a beat! She felt her palms were slightly sweaty.
“Back then, I was learning martial arts at a sports school, and she was the lead dancer of the dance team from the middle school next door. Once, we rehearsed together for a long time for a performance. On a large red drum, there was a duet of martial arts and dance. The way she danced was very focused and beautiful. That feeling... was very special. I still remember it for many years afterward.”
"So, when I saw you at the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal, saw 'The Vermilion Bird Breaks at Dawn,' saw that stunning red and yellow costume, that familiar feeling... instantly struck me. It made me want to get to know you, to get closer to you."
He continued candidly, his eyes clear and unwavering, “That’s the whole reason. It has nothing to do with He Tiantian. It’s just that your performance on the Spring Festival Gala awakened a pure and beautiful memory of dance from my childhood. But you are you, Zhu Qingting, unique and irreplaceable.”
Zhu Qingting was completely stunned, her mind went blank.
Fourteen years old... Red drum... Duet dance...
It turns out that the white moonlight that made her jealous and tormented for so long was actually herself when she was thirteen!
Instead of confessing immediately, she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and continued to press, "Do you still have feelings for that girl? If she appeared in front of you again, would you be attracted to her?"
"No!" Chai Yundu replied decisively this time, afraid that even a moment's pause would give Zhu Qingting the wrong idea. His eyes were sincere. "My feelings for her were just a mutual appreciation. We both poured our hearts into our studies, a resonance born from that focused dedication. Besides, I was only fourteen back then, what did I know about love? It was just a beautiful memory from my youth. But you," he looked deeply into her eyes, "you are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"Then... what if I told him that girl was me?" Zhu Qingting decided to give him a surprise.
Chai Yundu's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at her!
“We rehearsed for so long back then, Chai Yundu, and you don’t even know my name!” Zhu Qingting finally couldn’t help but laugh, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. “I gave you my QQ number and you didn’t add it. Do you know how heartbroken I was back then? I even went to your school gate on Fridays and Sundays to look for you, but you never came out.”
Everything made sense! Those hazy fragments of memory suddenly became clear. The little girl who encouraged herself in the practice room—her features did indeed bear a striking resemblance to Zhu Qingting before her.
"So it turns out that from beginning to end, from age 14 to 27, I've always loved you!" Chai Yundu murmured softly, his eyes sparkling with unbelievable joy.
"You just said that a 14-year-old doesn't understand love!" Zhu Qingting glared at him reproachfully, but couldn't help but smile.
“Yes, yes, I misspoke. I admired Tingting, who was strong and cute at the age of 13, but I loved Zhuzhu, who was 26.” Chai Yundu quickly corrected himself, his eyes so tender they could drown a person. “For you, Zhu Qingting, I have been faithful to you to the end.”
All misunderstandings were cleared up, and the two smiled at each other, a sweet atmosphere filling the air. They then continued chatting, waiting for Shi Yufan to come and keep them company in bed.
When asked about not remembering her former name, Chai Yundu explained with a touch of grievance, "Because the teachers always called you 'Tingtingting,' I never knew your full name. If I had known earlier that it was such a unique name as 'Zhu Qingting,' I definitely would have remembered it."
When asked why he didn't add you on QQ, Chai Yundu said helplessly, "The senior who teased you about your dance costume came to my dorm on the night of the performance and accidentally knocked over his water cup on my backpack. The paper with your QQ number on it was all soaked and the numbers were illegible. I thought maybe we were just destined to be apart, given my family background... so I didn't think about going to your school to find you."
Then Zhu Qingting opened her cloud drive photo album, where she had archived all her dance photos.
After all, they are all her beautiful memories, a testament to her journey, and important moments in her life.
She showed Chai Yundu the group photo from "Dance Rhythm and Martial Spirit". In those days, there was no such thing as vying for the center position. The two stood on opposite sides, but they were still easily recognizable.
Zhu Qingting also has several photos of them dancing together on a red drum. The two young people in the photos are still innocent and naive, but they are already able to perform extremely difficult moves.
Chai Yundu playfully begged for the digital copies of the photos. "I will cherish these for the rest of my life," he said earnestly. "This is the beginning of our destiny."
After chatting for a while, Shi Yufan came to relieve her. Even though Zhu Qingting still had a lot to say to Chai Yundu and wanted to stay with him at the hospital, Chai Yundu insisted that she go back to rest.
"You drove for more than three hours to get here today, you must be tired. Go back to the hotel and rest. I can't rest well with you here, I just want to see you."
Zhu Qingting had no choice but to obediently return to the hotel with Deng Jie and Xiao Ya. Before leaving, she carefully adjusted Chai Yundu's hospital bed and left a gentle kiss on his dry lips.
"I'll come see you first thing tomorrow morning," she promised softly.
Chai Yundu watched her leave until the ward door closed gently, then he breathed a sigh of satisfaction.
The anesthesia had worn off, and the pain from the incision on his leg became more pronounced, but the sense of happiness he felt made it all worthwhile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com