STT – Chapter 68

We promised three lifetimes, agreed on a hundred years, missing even one day, it won’t count.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Lu Zizheng accompanied Jiang Huaixi to the hospital for a medical check-up.

Although Mother Jiang found it somewhat strange for Jiang Huaixi to have a check-up at such a critical moment, Jiang Huaixi was tight-lipped and insisted that nothing was wrong. Additionally, because of Jiang Huaichuan’s engagement the next day, she had no time to pursue it closely and didn’t ask much, only secretly noting it in her heart, planning to think it over carefully after the busy time.

At the hospital, Jiang Huaixi followed the arrangement made with Director Wang over the phone in the morning, and went to find him to have Lu Zizheng undergo the body check she had done yesterday, to confirm whether Lu Zizheng was infected. To prevent Lu Zizheng from becoming suspicious, Jiang Huaixi returned to the director’s office first, only telling Lu Zizheng that they would be checked separately to save time. She instructed her to meet back at the director’s office after the check-up.

Director Wang completed the lung function test with Lu Zizheng, then handed her over to other doctors, returning first with the test results to inform Jiang Huaixi. As he entered, he saw Jiang Huaixi sitting at his office desk, hands clasped, thumbs supporting her chin, and her eyebrows tightly furrowed in anxiety.

He closed the door, a comforting smile appearing on his face.

Jiang Huaixi now somewhat has the appearance of a young person.

He had a close friendship with Jiang Huaixi’s father and watched Jiang Huaixi grow up. He often saw Jiang Huaixi, from a young age, with an old-fashioned, detached demeanor. Although most people praised Jiang Huaixi for being sensible, he did not agree. Children should be like children; with such heavy thoughts, how can they be happy? Without concerns or fears, how can one insist on taking root in this world?

In earlier years, he was always worried, afraid that one day, Jiang Huaixi would simply be gone. Unexpectedly, in recent years, Jiang Huaixi has improved year by year, becoming more vibrant each year. Things seem to be developing in a positive direction, and the key to this change should be the girl brought in the morning, right?

Just as Director Wang closed the door, Jiang Huaixi suddenly snapped out of her worries, pushed herself up from the table with her left hand, and stood up, her expression showing some unease and anticipation as she turned to look at Director Wang.

Director Wang gave her a reassuring smile, raised his hand and gently pressed down, indicating that she should sit down with confidence. Only then did Jiang Huaixi breathe a slight sigh of relief and slowly sat back down on the chair.

Director Wang explained that from the current examination, everything is normal with Lu Zizheng. Her lungs show no abnormalities, and there are no issues in her blood tests.

This result allowed Jiang Huaixi to feel slightly relieved.

However, Director Wang added, “To completely rule out infection, we still need to wait and see the size of the induration 72 hours after the PPD test.”

Jiang Huaixi recalled the needle that was injected into her left arm yesterday. Today, there was a small red bump at the needle site. She unconsciously held her left wrist gently with her right hand and gave a slight shake. Then, she pondered for a moment and replied, “Can you teach me the method and standard for measurement? If possible, I don’t want Zizheng to come to the hospital again.” Hospitals are not good places, especially since she knows Lu Zizheng doesn’t like them.

Her brows slightly furrowed, and her expression was one of persistence and seriousness, which Director Wang clearly noticed. This wasn’t a difficult request, and although Director Wang was curious, he didn’t ask further and nodded in agreement. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he smiled and said, “Miss Lu just asked me if dietary therapy is really beneficial for health, and also what you should pay attention to in your diet.” At this point, he paused and sighed lightly, speaking earnestly, “She’s really a thoughtful child. Huaixi, you must take good care of yourself, get better quickly, and live well with her.”

Jiang Huaixi, upon hearing the words, had a gentleness in her expression that Director Wang had never seen before. She felt both pleased and sad, and finally, it turned into a soft hum at the corner of her lips: “En…”

On the way back to the Jiang family after the check-up, Lu Zizheng sat beside Jiang Huaixi, frowning and seriously chattering, “Director Wang said your heart and lung functions aren’t particularly good, so you need to pay special attention to your diet.”

“Director Wang also mentioned that although you can’t do strenuous exercise, if possible, you should still engage in some appropriate physical activities, as they are beneficial for enhancing heart and lung function.”

“I also asked Director Wang, and he said dietary therapy is beneficial for your health. I plan to sign up for a class to learn about it after some time. What do you think?”

Jiang Huaixi, with a faint smile, quietly observed Lu Zizheng as she chattered on about her health for a long time, feeling both a warmth and an ache in her heart. She felt that if she continued listening, she might not be able to hold back tears. So, she gently took a breath to steady herself, then reached out, gently pinching Lu Zizheng’s lips with her index finger and thumb as she continued to speak, teasing, “After talking for so long, aren’t you thirsty?”

Lu Zizheng frowned in dissatisfaction, angrily glared at Jiang Huaixi, and gently bit Jiang Huaixi’s index finger as a form of punishment, saying, “Hmph, do you think I’m talking too much?”

Jiang Huaixi blinked and smiled, saying, “I wouldn’t dare.”

Lu Zizheng let out a light hum, displeased, and said, “You don’t recognize a good heart!” She intended to pretend to be angry and ignore Jiang Huaixi for a while, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Huaixi’s gentle gaze softly fixed on her, and she couldn’t help but soften. After a moment, she sighed and assertively said, “Anyway, I don’t care, whether you want to listen or not, you have to listen.” She looked into Jiang Huaixi’s eyes seriously and said, “Anyway, you must listen to me and take good care of your health. We promised three lifetimes, agreed on a hundred years, not one day, one minute, or one second less will do; you can’t lie.”

Jiang Huaixi looked at Lu Zizheng, her eyes deep, and her throat moved slightly. After a while, she gently asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, “What if I accidentally can’t manage it?”

Lu Zizheng was startled, her expression slightly dimmed, and then she gave a sorrowful smile and calmly said, “I will accompany you.”

As their eyes met, Jiang Huaixi saw sincerity and determination in Lu Zizheng’s gaze, and her hands unconsciously clenched tightly. After a moment, she averted her eyes, lowered her head, and forced a calm smile, saying, “Always saying such silly things. Fine, I’ll listen to you from now on.”

Lu Zizheng gave a faint smile and didn’t pursue the topic further, instead continuing, “We were just talking about dietary therapy, right? Let me continue. En…”

Jiang Huaixi tilted her head, appearing to listen seriously to Lu Zizheng, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two, but her mind gradually began to wander.

A certain idea in her heart slowly became more resolute.

On the day of Jiang Huaichuan’s engagement, they first solemnly followed the simplest customs at home to go through the ceremony. Then, they invited close relatives from Qiao Xin’s family and had a lively lunch with family at the Jiang home. Finally, they all moved together to the hotel.

Jiang Huaixi found it inconvenient to wear a mask on such an occasion, so she excused herself by saying she felt somewhat unwell. Jiang Huaichuan was worried and also didn’t want Jiang Huaixi to tire herself, so he suggested she go to the hotel room prepared for guests to rest, assuring her she didn’t need to attend the banquet hall, and he would have food brought up to her. Jiang Huaixi gladly agreed.

Lu Zizheng was concerned about Jiang Huaixi, so before the banquet officially began, she stayed in the upstairs room with Jiang Huaixi.

After entering the room, Lu Zizheng noticed an instant-boil kettle on the table and decided to heat some warm water for Jiang Huaixi to soothe her throat. She poured two bottles of mineral water in, connected the power, and started heating it.

Jiang Huaixi leaned back on the bed, took a specially placed photo frame from the bedside table, containing a small wedding photo of Jiang Huaichuan and Qiao Xin, her eyes showing a faint joy. She looked up at Lu Zizheng, who was busying herself, put the photo frame back on the bedside table, got off the bed, and pulled Lu Zizheng to sit beside her.

She hesitated slightly, then asked for Lu Zizheng’s opinion, saying, “Zizheng, Huaichuan’s matter is complete as of today, so now, we can prepare for our own matters. I have contacted the school, and if we go in three days, we can first audit some classes to familiarize ourselves with the environment. Do you think that’s okay?”

Lu Zizheng was somewhat surprised and furrowed her brows, uneasily saying, “Will it be too rushed? Uncle and Aunt still don’t know at all.”

Jiang Huaixi curved her lips into a smile and said, “They are not a problem. I just want to know, do you have a problem? Do you think this timing is okay for you?”

Lu Zizheng furrowed her brows and carefully examined Jiang Huaixi. Seeing her very serious expression, she hesitated slightly, then smiled with relief and said, “I can. Wherever you are, I will be there.”

Jiang Huaixi was slightly stunned, opened her mouth, but then still said nothing, lowered her head, and softly said, “Then it’s settled…”

As they spoke, Lu Zizheng’s phone rang; it was Mother Jiang calling to remind Lu Zizheng that she could go downstairs as the meal was ready to begin.

Jiang Huaixi had already heard from Lu Zizheng’s response that it was her mother calling Lu Zizheng downstairs for dinner. Seeing Lu Zizheng looking slightly worried at her, she nodded and calmly reassured her, saying, “I’m fine, you go down quickly.”

Lu Zizheng actually never liked such occasions, and coupled with her worry for Jiang Huaixi, she would prefer to stay in the room with her if she could. But she was helpless because, clearly, Father Jiang and Jiang Huaichuan hoped she would join them. Even though she couldn’t openly introduce herself, sitting at the main table with their family allowed observant people to perceive her status, silently introducing herself to outsiders. Such goodwill she couldn’t bear to refuse, nor could she refuse.

So, despite her reluctance, Lu Zizheng nodded toward Jiang Huaixi, sighed lightly in her heart, and left the room to go downstairs.

However, Lu Zizheng did not expect that as she went downstairs and the elevator door opened, just as she was about to step out, she looked up and saw Lian Xuan outside the elevator, who also happened to look up, ready to enter.

Caught off guard, their eyes met, and both were stunned, momentarily unable to react.

As the elevator door was about to close again because no one exited or pressed a button, and as their field of vision narrowed, Lu Zizheng and Lian Xuan finally reacted simultaneously, quickly reaching out to press the “open door” button.

Lu Zizheng slowly walked out of the elevator and stood beside Lian Xuan, politely and courteously greeting her, “President Lian, what a coincidence, long time no see.” Then, she steadily walked towards the banquet hall step by step.

Lian Xuan followed behind Lu Zizheng, and upon hearing this, her exquisitely made-up face full of surprise showed a hint of sadness. She bit her lip, suddenly reached out to grab Lu Zizheng’s arm, stopping her. When Lu Zizheng turned her head to look at her in confusion, Lian Xuan gave a slight, sweet smile, speaking gently and earnestly, “Zizheng, tonight I will be in room 1314 waiting for you. I have some things I want to discuss with you. When you have time, could you come and see me?”

Lu Zizheng faintly observed the beautiful, sweet woman in front of her, as if trying to discern whether her seriousness was genuine or feigned. After a long pause, she turned back, faintly refusing, “Sorry, I might be very busy tonight.” She lightly shook her arm, attempting to free herself from Lian Xuan’s grasp.

Lian Xuan, however, refused to let go, and with added strength, held onto Lu Zizheng, her voice full of sorrow, pleading, “Zizheng, just give me a little bit of time, okay? It won’t take too long…”

Her eyes were full of expectation and plea as she timidly looked at Lu Zizheng, her hand gripping Lu Zizheng’s arm, never daring to relax.

The two of them stood at the elevator entrance in a stalemate, and as another elevator arrived, passing guests couldn’t help but cast curious glances at them.

Lu Zizheng disliked being the center of attention like this and couldn’t resist Lian Xuan’s pleading and persistence. Finally, she gently and slowly nodded her head, agreeing to Lian Xuan.

LP: Re-translated on October 06, 2024