Chapter 13 Longevity Lock
In the chaos, the smell of disinfectant entered the nose before consciousness, with a cold and penetrating power, piercing the drowsiness.
Then, the person on the bed moved his fingertips slightly, and the sharp pain on the side of his head instantly dispelled the remaining drowsiness.
Jiang Le's eyelids felt heavy, as if they were glued shut. With all her might, she managed to pry them open a crack, but her blurred vision revealed only a pale ceiling.
A dull pain shot through her right wrist. She tried to move her fingers, and immediately felt a cold sensation. It was the IV tube. A clear liquid dripped slowly down the slender tube, drop by drop.
She struggled to move her eyes, her gaze fixed on the ECG monitor standing quietly beside the bed. The green waveform line rose and fell regularly and steadily on the screen, following her weak breathing.
When she regained consciousness, she was in the hospital.
Her throat was so dry that it felt like it was about to split. She opened her mouth, but only a weak breath came out.
At this moment, a vague and hoarse female voice came from the side, with a heavy nasal tone and undisguised surprise: "You...you are awake?"
Jiang Le turned his head with great effort, and it took a long time for his vision to focus. What he saw was Li Yan's eyes, red and swollen like peaches, and tears still lingering on his face.
To be honest, it's a bit ugly and a bit funny.
Jiang Le suppressed his laughter weakly but reluctantly.
The sky outside the window was gray. I couldn't tell whether it was early morning or evening. Only a few rays of dim light squeezed in through the gaps in the curtains.
An annoying itch emanated from the needle prick on the back of his hand. Jiang Le subconsciously raised his hand to scratch it, but just as his fingertips moved, Li Yan held them down.
"Don't move!" Li Yan's voice was tense with fear, "Don't touch the needle that was just inserted!"
With this shout, all the memories flooded into his mind like a tide: the deafening cheers, the meteors streaking across the night sky, the back of Li Yan running towards Chen Ting... and then endless darkness.
Jiang Le's pale lips moved slightly, forming an extremely weak and apologetic arc: "I'm sorry, I messed it up..."
Before she finished speaking, Li Yan's eyes, already filled with tears, suddenly burst open, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She tightly grasped Jiang Le's hand that wasn't receiving the injection, her voice choked with sobs and breaking, "What nonsense! You really are! The most important thing is that you're okay..."
She couldn't continue, just shook her head vigorously. If Jiang Congyue hadn't been worried about them getting into trouble on the mountain, and hadn't arrived in time with that terrifying intuition and means, the consequences... she didn't even dare to think about it.
As the two were talking in low voices, the door of the ward was gently pushed open. Xiao Kexin and several other classmates filed in, each carrying some fruits, flowers, or nutritional supplements.
"Oh! Little ancestor, you're finally awake!" Xiao Kexin patted his chest exaggeratedly, took a long breath, and his face showed an undisguised look of relief.
"How does it feel?"
"We were scared to death!"
"Fortunately, everything is fine..." The small ward was instantly filled with chattering of concern.
Jiang Le tried to pull the corners of her mouth together, revealing a reassuring smile. Her gaze roamed through the crowd before turning to Li Yan, her voice carrying a subtle hint of inquiry: "She... didn't come?"
Li Yan was blowing his red nose with a tissue. His brain, confused from crying, took a moment to realize who this "she" was referring to.
"She's coming! She's coming! She said she was going to get something very important and will be back soon... Lele, you've been in a coma for almost a week! Aunt Jiang has been guarding your bedside every day, and she really scared us to death..." Li Yan spoke incoherently.
"A...week?" Jiang Le couldn't make much of an expression, but his eyes were filled with immense confusion and disbelief. Wasn't it heatstroke? How could he have been in a coma for a week?
"Yeah!" the girl who was peeling an apple next to her chimed in, her tone tinged with heartache and fear. "Why didn't you tell us you had a brain tumor? That way we could have been mentally prepared. But thankfully, the surgery was a success. The doctors said it went smoothly."
Brain tumor, surgery.
Jiang Le's pupils shrank slightly. Healed? The chasm that had once been unbridgeable was now healed so easily.
She subconsciously clenched the white sheets beneath her, her knuckles turning white from the force. She lowered her eyelashes and spoke in a voice so low it was almost inaudible: "So... did it... cost a lot of money?"
The guilty and helpless face of the old lady in my memory appeared before my eyes, and the words "Even if I sell your longevity lock, it won't be enough to make a difference" are still ringing in my ears.
"Money is not as important as your life!" Li Yan squeezed her hand hard, his voice rising, "Besides, this little money is nothing compared to your family! Boss Jiang didn't even blink!"
An indescribable heat suddenly rushed to his eyes. Jiang Le quickly turned his head away. It felt like a piece of soaked cotton was blocking his throat, and it was so painful that he couldn't breathe.
"Okay, she just woke up and needs some quiet rest." Chen Ting, who had been standing quietly in the corner, spoke at the right moment. Her voice was cold but carried an undeniable strength. She walked forward and gently took Li Yan's hand. "Let's go first and let her get some good sleep."
Li Yan then remembered the doctor's repeated instructions and nodded quickly: "Oh! Yes, yes, yes! Jiang Le, we're leaving first! You have a good rest! Be sure to call me if anything happens!" She shook Jiang Le's hand vigorously again, and then was taken away by Chen Ting and others, looking back every few steps.
The noise receded like a tide, and the ward instantly fell into a dead silence. Jiang Le stared blankly at the gray sky outside the window, as if he wanted to see through it.
Truly, your kindness is as heavy as a mountain.
Jiang Congyue has done her enough favors, and now if you count it all, she may not be able to repay him anymore.
Relatives, if Jiang Congyue was really her blood relative, how wonderful it would be. Then she could accept everything with peace of mind, and they would be closer and more natural than they are now.
"Squeak--" The heavy iron door was pushed open again, making a slight friction sound.
Jiang Le turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound. Speak of Cao Cao and he appeared.
At the door, Jiang Congyue's figure was unusually hurried. Her usually meticulously kept silver hair was now slightly disheveled, her breathing was a little unsteady, and her cheeks were tinged with a faint red, as if she had just been through a hurried journey.
Jiang Le looked at her face and wondered what could be so worthy of her, who was always calm, to rush to get it.
"You're awake." Jiang Congyue walked closer with a smile.
Jiang Le nodded.
After a brief and silent eye contact, Jiang Congyue sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully took out something wrapped in a red velvet bag from his pocket.
She held the cloth bag in front of Jiang Le with great care, her eyes filled with gentle encouragement and expectation: "Come, take it out and let me see it."
Jiang Le, who had been awake for a while, gathered up a lot of strength and untied the rope of the red cloth bag with trembling hands. She seemed to have already known the answer in her heart as to what was inside.
Perhaps she was too weak, or perhaps she was too excited, but the moment she untied the knot, her hand softened and a heavy, golden object slipped out of the bag unexpectedly and fell straight towards her face.
Jiang Le subconsciously closed his eyes, but the expected collision did not happen.
At the critical moment, a warm and steady hand caught it firmly.
"Ding-ling——" The clear and pleasant sound of the bell rang in the silent ward.
Jiang Le suddenly opened his eyes. The ingot-shaped lock gleamed brightly under the pale light, and eight ancient seal characters "Long life, good fortune and peace" were clearly engraved on the front.
The lock shook and turned, the bell rang slightly, and the word "乐" written in strong strokes on the back burned into her eyes like a red-hot iron.
Immediately, a huge roar drowned out all senses. A strong sense of bitterness rushed from Jiang Le's nose to his eyes, and his vision instantly blurred. "You..."
"I'll give you another one," Jiang Congyue's voice was as gentle as spring water. She gently placed the longevity lock on Jiang Le's open palm, "Exactly the same one."
Jiang Le took the longevity lock, but the cold touch burned her palm like fire. She muttered softly, "How do you know it's exactly the same?"
Jiang Congyue said with absolute certainty, "It must be exactly the same."
Coaxing her again.
Jiang Le clutched the longevity lock tightly, not wanting her to see her tears. She raised her hands to cover her face, but her trembling voice betrayed the truth, "How can I repay you?"
"What's the point of repaying or not repaying, silly girl? Isn't this what I should do? You are my baby." Jiang Congyue leaned over with a smile and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
Jiang Le's hand was pulled away, and her fragility, shyness, and childish grievance were completely exposed in front of Jiang Congyue. She slapped Jiang Congyue's hand away in embarrassment, like a kitten with its fur standing on end.
"Ouch!" Jiang Congyue covered the back of his hand in an exaggerated manner, but a smile could not be hidden on his face. "You are so strong even though you are sick?"
Jiang Le simply turned his face away, pulled up the quilt with his free hand, covered his head tightly, and refused to face the face with the teasing smile again.
But how could Jiang Congyue let her have her wish?
"Oh, don't suffocate our baby!" She deliberately raised her voice and pulled the quilt with a smile.
Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Le suddenly threw back the quilt, revealing a face that was flushed red, even the tips of his ears were stained crimson, and he stammered in protest: "You...you don't call me that!"
It would have been fine if he ignored her, but if he did, Jiang Congyue would become more excited. She shamelessly leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Then why do you call me that? People always call their children 'baby'. Isn't that what Li Yan's mother calls Li Yan?"
Jiang Le could only let out a deep breath and said coldly, "Whatever you want."
Jiang Congyue was afraid of making her angry, so he stopped while he was ahead. "Le Le, are you hungry? I asked Aunt He to make some light porridge and some side dishes, and they will be brought up soon."
The person lying flat on his back nodded indifferently.
With the meticulous and loving feeding from Jiang Congyue, Li Yan and others, Jiang Le's body recovered quickly and his weight increased noticeably.
The day finally arrived to remove the heavy gauze from his head. The doctor gently untied the restraints, and Jiang Le couldn't help but raise his hand to touch the surgical site.
When my fingertips touched my scalp, I felt a distinct depression, it was a hole!
A feeling of sadness instantly swept over her body, her expression froze instantly, and her eyes were filled with despair of "my perfect skull is gone".
This expression also caught the eyes of several onlookers.
"Pfft - hahaha!" Li Yan, who was watching the whole thing nearby, was the first one who couldn't help but burst into laughter, pounding the table.
Jiang Congyue couldn't help but burst out laughing, then quickly comforted him, "It's necessary for the surgery, and the surgeon is really very careful. Considering that you are still a student and your image is very important, he deliberately didn't shave your head, but only shaved a small area in the surgical area."
Then, Jiang Congyue pushed her a few times and said, "Look, this can also be covered."
For Jiang Le, who always loved to show off, this was like a bolt from the blue. She sighed to the sky, her mind already rapidly calculating how many different hats she needed to buy to cover up this blemish.
This little episode was quickly drowned out by the hectic life of senior year. Although he missed a few days of classes, for Jiang Le, a natural "learning perpetual motion machine", it was just a little extra fuel.
She plunged into the sea of books and questions, almost working herself to death, as if she wanted to make up for the time she had been unconscious twice.
"Oh my god, Jiang Le!" Li Yan exclaimed exaggeratedly as he looked at the draft paper Jiang Le was writing on, which was about to spark. "You're already number one in the grade! Are you still going to be so stubborn? Leave us some room for improvement!"
Jiang Le didn't even raise his head, the pen still moving rapidly across the paper. He just raised a finger to his lips and said, "Shh, recommended student, shut up."
Li Yan scratched his head and chuckled twice, then leaned forward and asked, "Speaking of which, you clearly had the qualifications to be recommended for admission, so why didn't you go? It would have saved you a lot of trouble."
The tip of the pen suddenly stopped.
Jiang Le raised his head, his eyes calm and unwavering, and uttered only four words: "Not famous enough."
It goes without saying which one, an ordinary recommended student or a brilliant top scorer in the college entrance examination, can make more headlines and bring more glory to the Jiang family.
She'd already won countless awards over the years, but those were just icing on the cake. For her, the path to admission wasn't challenging enough; the future title of "top scorer" was a far more significant draw, the most direct way for her to repay Jiang Congyue and prove her worth.
Li Yan's family didn't have billions of inheritance, so he didn't understand the point of this. He just thought about being able to leisurely touch Chen Ting and tease Jiang Le every day, and he felt happy.
"Chen Ting is going to study abroad." Jiang Le closed a workbook and suddenly spoke lightly.
Li Yan was humming a song while shaking his head, but when he heard the words, his movements froze instantly and the smile on his face froze.
"Ah? Oh, is that so?" Her voice lowered, with a hint of imperceptible loss.
Seeing her expression, Jiang Le knew Chen Ting hadn't told her the news yet. "What are your plans? A long-distance relationship is going to be very difficult," she stated bluntly.
Li Yan was silent for a few seconds, then she shook her head vigorously as if to cheer herself up, and put on a slightly forced smile again: "Hey, it's no big deal! Airplanes are so convenient now, and video calls are just like face-to-face meetings! It's just the price of a plane ticket, can't I afford it?" She tried to make her tone sound relaxed.
Jiang Le nodded and said no more. She always believed in stopping when it was enough and never interfered with other people's love lives.
The hectic days flew by with the rustling of pens and the turning of pages. For high school seniors, the short winter break was a precious window of respite.
They didn't have many relatives to visit. Jiang Congyue was worried that Jiang Le was studying too hard and had become a problem-solving machine, so she suggested that during the New Year holiday, everyone should reunite with the six people from the previous camping trip and go out together to relax and make up for the regrets of the previous time.
The night before departure, Jiang Le was methodically folding clothes into the suitcase when his cell phone on the table suddenly started vibrating like crazy.
She paused, picked up her phone and unlocked it.
The WeChat group of the six-member group has exploded, and messages are posted at a rapid pace.
Wenlin: [@Chen Ting??? What do you mean? Come out and explain clearly!]
Xiao Kexin: [@陈听If you have any misunderstandings, please share them and let everyone judge! Don't hold them in!]
(Followed by a series of anxious questions and emoticons)
Broke up?
Jiang Le frowned and quickly swiped the screen upwards, trying to find the remarks of the two parties involved, but he only saw a chaotic stream of questions and concerns. Li Yan and Chen Ting seemed to have disappeared without any response.
"Le Le, are you not packing up yet?" Jiang Congyue walked in with a plate of cut fruit. Seeing Jiang Le staring blankly at his phone, he asked with concern.
Jiang Le raised his head, a rare look of bewilderment and confusion on his face, as if he had encountered an incomprehensible problem. He answered honestly, "Chen Ting and Li Yan broke up."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Congyue held her forehead helplessly and said, "Oh, it seems I have to refund one person's ticket quickly." Her tone was a little teasing, trying to ease the atmosphere.
But Jiang Le had no intention of responding to her joke at the moment. She repeatedly clicked on Li Yan's chat window, but it was empty, with no new messages.
This is too abnormal. With Li Yan's personality, he would nag her for a long time even if he got a mosquito bite. What's more, a breakup is such a big deal to her, which is like the sky falling?
She frowned, no longer hesitated, and directly clicked on Li Yan's number and pressed the call button.
——
Jiang Congyue:22
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