Jing Xin had peeled an orange and was about to say goodbye when Jiang’s mother pulled her back. “Jing Xin, it’s late, and it’s not safe outside. Stay tonight and keep me company. Just seeing you makes me feel better. I’ll have Xiang Yang go home.”
Jiang’s mother was in a simple hospital room, which had a bed for accompanying personnel.
Jing Xin looked helplessly at Jiang Xiang Yang, who casually said, “Whatever you want. If you want to go back, I’ll send you.” He then walked to the sofa by the window to read the newspaper. Jiang’s mother sighed, feeling helpless with her son.
Jiang’s mother held Jing Xin’s hand, preventing her from leaving.
Seeing the expectation on her face, Jing Xin couldn’t bring herself to disappoint the seriously ill woman. Smoothing her wrinkled clothes, Jing Xin sat back down to chat with Jiang’s mother.
However, with Jiang Xiang Yang nearby, she felt uncomfortable and tried to suppress her emotions, deciding to act as if he didn’t exist.
Patting her cheeks to relax, Jing Xin leaned closer to Jiang’s mother with a mysterious expression, “Auntie, I want to tell you something that really happened to me. But you can’t laugh at me, okay?”
Delighted, Jiang’s mother encouraged her, “Okay, okay. I love hearing about your stories!”
Clearing her throat, Jing Xin recounted an amusing incident: “During my senior year of high school, one day after class, I saw a classmate buying a large pancake outside the school gate. You know how you get hungry when you study too much. I ran up, slapped her shoulder, snatched the pancake, and took a bite, complaining that she didn’t get one for me. Before I could swallow, I realized I had mistaken her. I apologized while shoving the bitten pancake back into her hand and ran away. It all happened in one breath!”
I remember looking back at the school gate and seeing the girl still standing at the stall, holding the pancake with a bite taken out, looking dazed. Sometimes, I want to hit myself for that memory!
Before she could finish, Jiang’s mother laughed uncontrollably, and Jing Xin, leaning on Jiang’s mother’s bed, tried to suppress her laughter. Every time she remembered this incident, she felt both embarrassed and amused.
