When I groggily woke up, my body felt as light as a wisp of smoke. Gradually, the white ceiling came into view, the air filled with the scent of disinfectant, making my nose itch. Above my head, the oxygen tank was bubbling away, and a monitor connected to my fingers was beeping rhythmically. How dramatic! I turned my head to see Xiang Tong. She was propping her cheek, staring blankly at me.
“Have I fallen ill?” I asked.
“Yeah! You were sick. I came home to find you lying on the floor, completely drenched. You scared me to death.”
“Oh!”
“How do you feel now?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“What do you mean ‘okay’? Can you tell me why you were soaking wet? Were you trying to scare your aunt to death?” Xiang Tong’s expression was quite exaggerated.
“I got wet by accident.”
“Really?” I looked at her, not answering.
“Xiaowu, are you missing your mom again?” Xiang Tong stared at me, her gaze filled with an indescribable sadness, mixed with sympathy and pity. “Didn’t I tell you, she’ll come to see you after she’s done with her work? Stop blaming her, okay?”
“I’m not.”
“Sigh!” She sighed heavily, speaking earnestly, “Xiaowu, you can’t keep torturing yourself like this. Look at the state you’re in.”
I looked at her; she was quite the busybody.
“I really don’t understand you two. You’re mother and daughter; why do you have to make things this complicated?” She frowned, seemingly trying to control her emotions. When she looked up again, her eyes were red.
“In the name of love…” I asked, “Did you call her?” Huh, what’s wrong with me? My speech was as slow as an old lady’s.
She seemed hesitant, patting my head, “Don’t overthink things, Xiaowu. Right now, the most important thing is to rest and recover. I’ll ask for leave from your teacher, and your aunt will take good care of you, don’t worry, my little Xiaowu.” How cheesy. But, I actually liked how she called me ‘my little Xiaowu’ in such a cheesy way, it was the tone only a mother would use.
“She doesn’t want to see me, right? She thinks I’m blackmailing her, doesn’t she?” I cut her off.
“Xiaowu, don’t talk about your mother like that.” Xiang Tong fell silent after saying this, just staring at me.
Isn’t that the truth? Isn’t that what Xiang Tong is thinking? I turned my head away, tears falling onto the pillow. – Xiang Tong, since when did we become like this? Can’t we have understanding, empathy, love, and respect between us? I’ll never forget the resolve in your eyes when you slammed the door three years ago; that day, I watched you from behind the curtain, hoping you’d look back, even just once! But you didn’t. Did you ever think about how desperate I felt when the taxi disappeared around the corner? I knelt on the floor from morning till night, so heartbroken I could hear my heart shattering. Since then, I’ve never dared to ask anything from you in the name of love. Now, I’m not the same Xiaowu who would do anything to see you; she’s grown up, matured, become sensible. Have you ever thought about that? My tears fell in large drops. Xiang Tong, how long has it been since you’ve seen me? Do you still remember what I look like? Please… please think kindly of me, even if it’s just the lowly, laughable, childish me in your heart.
A nurse walked in, not sensing the atmosphere, and said cheerfully, “Finally awake after sleeping for so long, feeling better, Xiaowu?” As she spoke, she began to remove the oxygen tank and the monitor.
“Much better,” Xiang Tong answered for me.
I discreetly wiped away the tears from my cheeks and took the thermometer from the nurse, placing it in my mouth. I stared at the ceiling, looking incredibly silly. Not long after, a doctor in a white coat entered, took out the thermometer, and handed it to the nurse without expression, then placed the stethoscope on my chest, listened for a while, and asked, “Still having headaches?”
“Much better.”
“Before you fainted, were you soaking in cold water for a long time?”
“Yes.” Xiang Tong, why are you staring at me? Isn’t it you who told me to cooperate with the doctor? Should I lie?
“Still feeling discomfort in your chest?”
“Yes.”
“Are your muscles sore?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm! I suggest you eat more liquid foods, keep it light, and don’t overeat.”
“Understood, thank you, doctor.” Xiang Tong nodded repeatedly.
Xiang Tong’s expression was as if she wanted to eat me alive! (^__^) Hehe… I’m not scared; I’m the patient, hitting a patient is the least humane thing to do.
The doctor, probably in his forties, wore glasses identical to Wen Qinghua’s high myopia ones. He put away the stethoscope and wrote something in the medical record with an ink pen. Xiang Tong asked, “Doctor, how is her condition? Is it serious?”
“Viral pneumonia, she needs to stay in the hospital for observation and treatment. Please go to the payment counter and prepay a deposit.”
Viral pneumonia (^_^) Hehe… Sounds pretty NB! Now I don’t have to go to school, don’t have to see those idiots holding banners and shouting at Sheng Siwei. I, Xiaowu, don’t have to face the person who stole my first kiss. Just thinking about it makes me angry! My poor first kiss, how tragically it became the past. Sheng Siwei, you really are a waste of resources. %><%
For the next two days, I stayed in the hospital. I didn’t bring my phone, so no one contacted me, not even Xia Wei temporarily disappeared. I’m too lazy to explain to you the endless IV drips from morning till night, doctors and nurses passing by like a carousel, the needle repeatedly inserted into my veins, numbing my nerves… I felt no pain at all; you might not believe it, but that’s the truth; even when the new intern nurse, in Xiang Tong’s absence, pricked me five times before getting it right, I saw the blood spreading under my skin, making my hand look ugly and bruised, but I didn’t mind at all; she gave me an apologetic smile, and I remained expressionless. Xiaowu is just so cool!
The hospital was very quiet. Several times when I woke up, there was no one around, so I imagined it as heaven and the IV drip as little angels with wings. I talked to the little angels in heaven. It was late May, and I felt cold as ice.
Many times, I sit on my bed, quietly sipping water and watching TV, and suddenly, I think of Sheng Sicun. When I think of him, I remember his kiss, and it really hurts, hurts like hell. I grab a tissue beside me and start wiping my mouth vigorously. Sometimes I wonder, if I were Sheng Bang, would I die happily? I don’t want Xiang Tong to know about these thoughts. Once she asked why my lips were swollen, and I told her there were mosquitoes in the hospital. She didn’t believe me, but that night, she secretly bought a box of mosquito coils. I know she loves me; she might be the only person in this world who does. Thinking about this, my tears start to flow uncontrollably.
By the third day, I felt much better. My phone was still missing, and I was still alone in the hospital, feeling forgotten by the whole world. However, I was glad I could now bicker with Xiang Tong. At noon, she brought me a bowl of millet porridge with two buns, threw them at me, and commanded, “Xiang Xiaowu, this is your lunch. Hurry up and eat it.” Ever since I got sick, she’s been using this tone to make me eat; I guess she thinks I’m sick because I wanted to commit suicide. OMG! Does she have any sense? Xiang Tong, do you have a problem? Well, think whatever you want, I’m too lazy to explain.
