STT – Chapter 78

Winter’s snow on the Three Dong River, resolute plum blossoms shine bright. A solitary lifetime devoted to tossing gentleness

In the evening, Mother Jiang learned everything from Jiang Huaichuan. She was both moved and heartbroken. She hastily prepared dinner and couldn’t wait to rush to the hospital to see Lu Zizheng.

However, when she arrived at the hospital in a hurry and pushed open the door, she found that neither Lu Zizheng nor Jiang Huaixi were in the hospital room. After a moment of thought, she set the food aside and walked to the window to look down. As expected, she immediately recognized Jiang Huaixi and Lu Zizheng coming back from the hospital garden, walking side by side.

Jiang Huaixi and Lu Zizheng were walking together along the flowerbed, with Lu Zizheng on the outside, tilting her head slightly and smiling at Jiang Huaixi. She carefully held the drainage bag for Jiang Huaixi with one hand and waved the other hand in the air, as if gesturing something.

Mother Jiang noticed that Jiang Huaixi was holding onto Lu Zizheng’s arm. Jiang Huaixi was tilting her head slightly, listening to Lu Zizheng talk, and she had a joyful smile on her face that she hadn’t seen in nearly a month. As Mother Jiang watched, her eyes welled up, and she couldn’t help but smile.

Before long, Mother Jiang heard Jiang Huaixi’s familiar and chilly voice outside the door. She said to Lu Zizheng in a light tone, “Based on your performance today, I dare not let you walk on the outside to protect me the next time we go out.”

The two of them were strolling in the garden, and somehow, Lu Zizheng brought up something she had read before about what a boyfriend does that is touching when in love. One of the items mentioned was always walking on the outside when crossing the street. Lu Zizheng then looked at Jiang Huaixi, who habitually walked on the outside, with bright eyes and said with a playful smile, “I’ve noticed that when we’re together, you always walk on the outside.”

Jiang Huaixi looked at her, slightly puzzled, with a faint smile on his lips, and asked, “So what?”

Lu Zizheng blinked her eyes, laughing, and said, “There’s no ‘so what,’ I just suddenly thought of it. Oh, how about this, starting from now, let’s switch positions, and I’ll protect you.” With that, she eagerly tried to switch places with Jiang Huaixi. Jiang Huaixi found her spontaneous idea amusing but reluctantly went along with it.

However, to their surprise, the journey back to the hospital building, which was only a short distance of a hundred meters, turned out to be quite eventful. It was the peak time for food deliveries in the evening, and there were many small electric bikes shuttling back and forth. Lu Zizheng was carrying Jiang Huaixi’s drainage bag and directing Jiang Huaixi’s path. When a bike went left, Lu Zizheng would pull Jiang Huaixi to the left, and when it went right, Lu Zizheng always managed to pull Jiang Huaixi to the right. In the end, Jiang Huaixi couldn’t help but laugh and reluctantly grabbed Lu Zizheng’s arm, leading her along.

As Lu Zizheng heard Jiang Huaixi’s dissatisfaction, she pushed open the door to their hospital room and apologized with a sheepish smile, “Today was unexpected. Who knew they would all be so attuned to me? It’s not entirely my fault…”

Jiang Huaixi was about to retort, but Lu Zizheng spoke up first, calling out, “Auntie…”

It was then that Jiang Huaixi realized that Mother Jiang was waiting for them in the hospital room.

Mother Jiang took a few steps forward, gently took Lu Zizheng’s hand, and affectionately caressed her head with her other hand, saying, “Good child, as long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters. Please don’t act so impulsively next time.” She had heard about the incident from Jiang Huaichuan in the morning and felt a wave of relief wash over her, knowing that Jiang Huaichuan had been reprimanded severely for his inadequate advice.

Lu Zizheng nodded apologetically and said, “Auntie, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Mother Jiang shook her head and sighed, “No, it’s Auntie who should apologize to you for making you suffer. Zizheng, Auntie speaks on behalf of our entire family and apologizes to you…”

Lu Zizheng quickly responded, “Auntie, you’re being too harsh. It’s all in the past, and everything is fine now.” Afterward, she noticed the food container on the table and swiftly changed the subject with a playful tone, “Auntie, is there some dinner for me? I’m a bit hungry…”

Mother Jiang, seeing Lu Zizheng acting like she was genuinely hungry and craving food, couldn’t help but smile warmly. She led Lu Zizheng to the table, opened the food container, and while serving Lu Zizheng, she affectionately said, “Of course, I’ve prepared a dessert for you too. Take a look and see if you like it…”

Jiang Huaixi stood by, listening to Mother Jiang’s apology. She lowered her gaze and seemed lost in thought.

In the evening, after dinner, Lu Zizheng wanted to meet Jiang Huaixi’s attending physician to understand her condition. Mother Jiang accompanied her to the doctor’s office.

The doctor candidly explained Jiang Huaixi’s condition to Lu Zizheng, stating that Jiang Huaixi had been fortunate to be diagnosed relatively early, and there hadn’t been any infection in the lung so far. This meant there was no immediate concern about contagiousness, which had been a significant worry for Jiang Huaixi. However, the doctor pointed out that the lingering pneumothorax in her chest was the main issue. If they could resolve this issue and eliminate the residual cavity, everything would be on a much smoother path.

Lu Zizheng nervously asked the doctor if there was any good way to help the pneumothorax disappear. The doctor sighed and said, “With the current treatment options, we can only observe the situation for now. Well, you can encourage her to do more chest-expanding exercises and deep breathing, and maybe even blow up a few balloons.”

That evening, when they returned to the hospital, Lu Zizheng had a bed moved from the adjacent room to Jiang Huaixi’s ward, placing it beside Jiang Huaixi’s bed. Jiang Huaixi frowned and insisted that Lu Zizheng shouldn’t stay with her at night in the hospital. Lu Zizheng, looking on the verge of tears, asked her in a quivering voice, “Didn’t you promise me? The moment I turn around, you want to send me away?”

Jiang Huaixi looked at Lu Zizheng’s delicate face, squinted her eyes slightly, and coldly replied, “Let’s talk nicely. We’re still friends.”

Lu Zizheng was momentarily surprised, then brushed off her previous distress, laughed, and sat down on the bed with a raised eyebrow, saying, “Well, in that case, I’ll talk nicely to you. Anyway, the bed is already here. If you agree, I’ll sleep here. If you don’t, I’ll still sleep here. What can you do?” Her words were filled with a smug sense of satisfaction.

Jiang Huaixi gave a light snort, daring, wasn’t she? However, after watching Lu Zizheng’s triumphant expression for a while, she finally pursed her lips, smiled slightly, and silently indulged her.

Around eight in the evening, Lu Zizheng produced a large bunch of balloons seemingly out of nowhere and placed half of them on Jiang Huaixi’s bed, urging her to blow up twenty balloons, saying, “The doctor said blowing up balloons is good for recovery.”

However, Jiang Huaixi merely gave her a cold glance and refused, saying, “Not doing it.”

Lu Zizheng, dissatisfied, asked, “Why not?”

Jiang Huaixi replied with a stern expression, “It’s too foolish.”

Hearing this, Lu Zizheng looked at Jiang Huaixi’s cold demeanor and imagined the scene of her sitting on the bed with crossed legs, puffing her cheeks and glaring while blowing up balloons. She couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing and burst into laughter.

Jiang Huaixi’s expression turned even darker in the midst of Lu Zizheng’s laughter, growing colder. As a result, no matter how hard Lu Zizheng tried to persuade or coax her, Jiang Huaixi refused to agree. It wasn’t until Lu Zizheng couldn’t resist pleading, asking, “Your Majesty, what would it take for you to agree?”

Jiang Huaixi looked at Lu Zizheng, who appeared genuinely distressed, and finally managed to suppress the urge to laugh. She had initially been teasing Lu Zizheng, intending to playfully mess with her. Little did she know that before she even began blowing up the balloons, Lu Zizheng would openly mock her. She had no choice but to play along a bit more. Raising an eyebrow, she contemplated for a moment before calmly proposing a condition, “I’ll blow up one balloon, and for one night, I’ll be in charge, and you won’t resist. Two balloons, and it extends to two nights. How about that?”

Lu Zizheng was taken aback, completely unprepared for Jiang Huaixi to make such a condition, and she let out a surprised “Ah.”

Jiang Huaixi’s beautiful eyebrows raised slightly as she asked, “Don’t agree?”

With a pained look, Lu Zizheng stared at Jiang Huaixi, and after a while, she reluctantly nodded, agreeing to this dominant condition.

Jiang Huaixi instantly broke into a radiant smile, and the delight in her eyes and the brilliance of her smile left Lu Zizheng momentarily mesmerized. She watched as Jiang Huaixi took the balloons one by one and started blowing them up in earnest, a smirk forming on her own lips, unable to contain her own laughter.

Well, whether it was a matter of who was the aggressor or the receiver, who was on top or on the bottom, it was all part of the fun. Lu Zizheng indulgently observed Jiang Huaixi, who was blowing up the balloons with a serious and adorable childlike expression, and secretly applauded her own cleverness in her heart.

At nine o’clock, Lu Zizheng warmed some milk for Jiang Huaixi. Thirty minutes later, she turned off the light and supervised Jiang Huaixi as she went to sleep.

Due to the drainage tube in her back, Jiang Huaixi couldn’t lie flat to sleep, so she slept on her side. Lu Zizheng, in order to keep an eye on her, also turned to her side. As it was still a bit early, both of them had trouble falling asleep and, without coordination, opened their eyes, quietly gazing at each other in the darkness.

After exchanging glances for a while, Lu Zizheng couldn’t hold back a soft laugh. She extended her arm and playfully hooked her pinky finger toward Jiang Huaixi.

Jiang Huaixi lightly mocked her, saying, “Childish.” However, her hand obediently extended, crossing the small gap between their beds, and gently hooked her pinky finger with Lu Zizheng’s.

The night was serene, providing a sense of comfort.

After a while, Lu Zizheng suddenly heard Jiang Huaixi’s voice, soft but solemn, saying, “Zizheng, I’m sorry.”

This “I’m sorry” had been held back for a long, long time, so long that it was on the verge of crushing her with guilt. She had long understood that all the reasons she had hidden things from Lu Zizheng ultimately stemmed from her own selfishness and weakness. But she had been timid, afraid to face it. Just because Lu Zizheng didn’t blame her didn’t mean she wasn’t in the wrong, that she didn’t owe her.

Lu Zizheng gently shook the pinky finger hooked with Jiang Huaixi’s and responded softly, “Huaixi, I haven’t blamed you.” Pausing for a moment, she added, “If you truly feel sorry, then make amends with the guilt in your heart, promise me that you’ll spend the rest of your life making it up to me with every day of your companionship. Promise me, try to be with me for a long, long time, okay…”

Lu Zizheng felt Jiang Huaixi’s pinky finger hooked with hers tighten ever so slightly. After a while, she heard Jiang Huaixi’s clear, cold voice in the darkness, firm yet gentle, saying, “I will never disappoint your heart…”

Lu Zizheng and Jiang Huaixi locked gazes for a long time, and when she saw the gentle starlight in Jiang Huaixi’s eyes, a sweet smile involuntarily spread across Lu Zizheng’s lips, circling and radiating wave after wave of tenderness.

One week later, the chest X-ray showed that Jiang Huaixi’s pneumothorax had decreased, and her condition had improved. Considering the extended placement of the drainage tube, after consultation with a surgical specialist, the decision was made to remove Jiang Huaixi’s drainage tube and allow her to return home for rest. A follow-up examination would be scheduled one month later, and if the pneumothorax persisted, surgery would be considered.

Fortunately, one month later, a CT scan revealed that Jiang Huaixi’s pneumothorax had completely disappeared, leaving only pleural adhesion issues, rendering surgery unnecessary. Grandmother Jiang, Father Jiang, and Mother Jiang all witnessed Lu Zizheng’s diligent care and earnest supervision of Jiang Huaixi during this month. They were immensely grateful to Lu Zizheng and treated her like a granddaughter and daughter from the bottom of their hearts. Their level of affection for her far surpassed that of Jiang Huaichuan and Qiao Xin. Through their month-long companionship, Lu Zizheng eliminated the initial unfamiliarity and barriers with the Jiang family and truly became a part of their family.

Xu Baihan and Jiang Wang, after Jiang Huaixi was discharged from the hospital, came to visit her. A month later, Jiang Huaixi’s follow-up examination showed a full recovery, finally putting Jiang Wang and Xu Baihan’s worries to rest. Three days later, Jiang Wang took Xu Baihan to the United States for leg treatment with no set return date. Jiang Huaixi and Lu Zizheng accompanied them to the airport.

One year later, Jiang Huaixi fully recovered, and on Lu Zizheng’s birthday, she proposed to her. One month later, on New Year’s Day, they had a grand wedding ceremony in China. After that, they went on a honeymoon to the United States and registered their marriage. This news made headlines in the financial and entertainment reports, causing quite a sensation. However, the people involved, including the Jiang family, simply shrugged off the public’s opinions.

Two years later, on Lu Zizheng’s thirty-first birthday, she received the most significant gift of her life from Jiang Huaixi – the birth of their daughter, Lu Xinmian. Xinmian’s appearance resembled Lu Zizheng, but her calm and reserved personality was much like Jiang Huaixi.

In the same year, Lian Xuan’s grandfather fell seriously ill, and amidst internal conflicts within the Shang Corporation, Lian Xuan, who had been wandering outside for a while, was urgently called back. After her grandfather’s passing, she inherited his dying wish and took over the now struggling company. Two months later, she registered her marriage with Zhou Zhong’an, whom she had previously broken off the engagement with. With the support of the Zhou family, she obtained ten percent of the company’s shares that Zhou Zhong’an held. Under her leadership, she gradually stabilized the company, which had been in chaos, and started a comprehensive restructuring, finally standing firmly in the company.

The following year, Xu Baihan’s leg was successfully treated, and she returned to China with her accomplished studies alongside Jiang Wang. With Xu Baihan’s strong support, Jiang Wang did not join the Xu family’s company but instead became a leading doctor at the Xu family’s hospital.

In the same year, Lian Xuan gave birth to a pair of twins. They named their daughter Lian Xiao, and her nickname was Nian Nian. Their son was named Zhou Yao, and his nickname was Zheng Zheng.

One year later, Xu Baihan and Jiang Wang welcomed a daughter.

Five years later, Lian Xuan and Zhou Zhong’an peacefully divorced. She obtained custody of their daughter and never remarried, dedicating herself to her company and her daughter’s education.

Fifteen years later, Lu Zizheng, with her arm draped in a black veil and tears in her eyes, sat alone in a quiet bedroom. She opened a diary left behind by Jiang Huaixi, filled with years of memories.

She saw that on the night they got together, on that very day, Jiang Huaixi had written, “Zizheng, I’m sorry. I love you.”

She saw that in the days that followed, Jiang Huaixi had repeated, “Zizheng, I’m sorry.” She recalled that even on her last day, Jiang Huaixi had said, “I’m sorry” to her. At that time, Jiang Huaixi had leaned weakly into her arms and whispered softly, “Zizheng, I’m sorry, I’ve broken our promise. But you have to promise me that you’ll enjoy the scenery of the next thirty years before coming to find me, or else I won’t see you.”

Tears began to well up in Lu Zizheng’s eyes once again.

She saw that despite her objections, Jiang Huaixi insisted on having their child, leading to a heated argument they had never experienced before. On that day, Jiang Huaixi had written in her diary, “Zizheng, I’m sorry. You’re right; I’m still so arrogant in my love for you. But, my fool, it’s because I love you. I just want there to be one more person in this world who loves you unconditionally, just like me. I hope that one day, even if I’m not here anymore, in this world, you’ll still have someone to rely on and something to cherish.”

Lu Zizheng’s tears finally spilled from her eyes, sparkling like crystals, as they fell and dampened Jiang Huaixi’s elegant handwriting.

At that time, she had worried about Jiang Huaixi’s health and had a heated argument with her. They had cold-shouldered each other for a while before finally compromising and agreeing. However, the moment she saw Jiang Huaixi taking their daughter, Xinxian, from her hands, holding her and making fun of how ugly the newborn Xinxian looked while affectionately kissing her, Lu Zizheng completely surrendered. In that moment, Lu Zizheng felt that her life was fulfilled.

On the day Xinxian was born, Jiang Huaixi had said, “Zizheng, in this world, there’s one more person who loves you, just like me. You have to believe that you’re never alone.”

Lu Zizheng couldn’t hold back her sobs any longer and collapsed onto the table, covering her mouth with her hand.

20 year old Lu Xinxian, like Jiang Huaixi, was tall with long hair and an elegant demeanor. She wore black clothes, her eyes were red, and she held several sheets of paper. As she walked closer while her voice trembled from crying, she said, “Mom, these are the eulogies Auntie Xu wrote. She wanted me to show them to you.” Her voice trailed off when she saw her mother, Lu Zizheng, crying inconsolably. She took a few steps forward, placed the articles on the table, and gently reached out to embrace her grieving mother, offering silent comfort.

Lu Zizheng stifled her sobs, wiped away her tears, and put on a brave smile in front of her daughter. She kept saying, “I’m fine,” while picking up the eulogy written by Xu Baihan for Jiang Huaixi to read.

Lu Xinxian, following her mother’s gaze, saw the eulogy written by Xu Bohan for Jiang Huaixi. The final sentence was a lament for Jiang Huaixi:

“In the third winter, the Jiang River’s snow proudly competes with the Mei blossoms, a lifetime dedicated to gentle devotion.”

Thinking about the deep love between her mothers, she couldn’t help but feel tears welling up in her eyes. She bit her lip tightly, hugged Lu Zizheng tightly, and after a while, she hoarsely whispered, “Mom, please don’t cry. She must be watching us, and it would hurt her to see us cry. She must have always been with us, just in a different form, continuing to love us.”

Lu Zizheng’s heart trembled, and tears flowed uncontrollably. She held Xinxian close to her and nestled in her embrace. Her voice was choked with emotion, tears at the corners of her eyes, but her lips carried a smile. She gently and resolutely replied, “Yes, I know. She has been with us all along.”

Many years ago, she had asked Jiang Huaixi, “If it can’t last forever, why should we have anything at all? To have something briefly is just to leave a lasting regret.”

Many years later, she came to understand because of Jiang Huaixi:

“When the golden wind and jade dew meet once, it surpasses countless encounters in the world. To have someone love her so wholeheartedly in this lifetime, she had long been without regrets. Even if she had to spend the rest of her life cherishing memories, she would embrace it with contentment.”

TL The next chapter would be the last one 🙂