Pitch black surrounded him. Not knowing how long had passed, a smell of disinfectant hit his nose, and Su Chen forced his eyelids open.
"Damn, old Su, you're finally awake. You scared the hell out of me!"
"You've got some nerve, driving out alone at a time like this!"
"If I hadn't picked up that phone fast, you damn well would have rotted in that car before anyone noticed!"
Peng Jian let loose a torrent of words the moment Su Chen cracked his eyes.
His tone was harsh, and his eyes were locked onto Su Chen.
A flash of guilt crossed Su Chen's eyes as he managed a difficult, strained smile.
"Not done yet? I haven't even died of sickness, and you're going to scold me to death."
"Being scolded to death by me beats getting killed in a car crash. Tell me, where on earth did you get such nerve? Have you got a death wish?"
When Peng Jian had arrived, the car was parked by the roadside with its hazard lights flashing.
Inside.
Su Chen had already passed out, with a large patch of blood staining his arm.
Peng Jian immediately dragged Su Chen out of the car, hauled him into the backseat of his own vehicle, and headed straight for the hospital.
In Peng Jian's own words.
At that moment, his heart had been stuck in his throat; one more jolt of tension and it surely would have popped right out!
Before Su Chen could even catch his breath, Peng Jian rattled off a list of several major offenses.
First, knowing he suffered from unpredictable dizzy spells, he never carried his medication with him.
Second, knowing his physical condition was poor, he still went out in the dead of night.
Third, and most importantly, he didn't notify anyone when he went out, only calling for help once things went wrong.
"What if I hadn't gotten out there? Or what if my phone hadn't gone through? Were you just planning to wait there and die?"
Faced with Peng Jian's interrogation, Su Chen offered no rebuttal this time.
Back then, he had truly used almost every ounce of his strength just to make his situation clear.
Another minute or two later, and he wouldn't have been able to speak at all.
"Stop nagging. My clothes are at Lin Shiya's place, and the medicine is in my jacket pocket. It's just a coincidence."
Hearing Lin Shiya's name mentioned again, Su Chen felt as though something had tugged sharply at his heart. Aside from a dull, numb ache, he scarcely felt that piercing, heart-wrenching agony anymore.
"Fine, I'll stop yelling at you. Catch another couple of hours of sleep. Once it gets light, I'll go buy some food. I'll just sit right here, so tell me if you need anything."
Su Chen nodded.
The dizzy spell had passed by now, but his head still felt heavy.
Just as he wanted to close his eyes, his gaze suddenly fixed on a certain spot.
Peng Jian wasn't wearing socks.
A bitter smile crossed Su Chen's face.
He must have been in such a rush after receiving his call that he even forgot to put on socks.
Otherwise, given Peng Jian's meticulous personality, he would never have looked this slovenly.
A flicker of curiosity stirred within him, washing away much of his previous exhaustion.
Su Chen rolled over to find a more comfortable position, tilting his head to look at Peng Jian.
"Where are your socks?"
"Huh?" Peng Jian looked down and glanced at his feet. "Forgot to wear them. Forget about the damn socks—believe it or not, I didn't even put on my underpants!"
"Get lost!"
"Believe it or not, I couldn't care less."
Before the rest of the words could leave his mouth, the image of a woman flashed across Peng Jian's mind.
Whatever.
As long as Su Chen was fine, that was all that mattered.
Apologies and amends could wait for later.
Thinking back to how things were just a moment ago, Peng Jian still felt a lingering chill in his chest.
Even though the doctor had said he would wake up soon, looking at Su Chen's pale face left Peng Jian feeling uneasy.
"Jianzi, we can't sleep anyway, let's talk about something."
"I've been in touch with Doctor Lin. We can lock down the surgery date in a day or two. If anything really happens... I'm going to need you to do me a favor."
Su Chen's voice was raspy.
Across from him.
Peng Jian's body jerked violently.
He raised his head to speak, but Su Chen cut him off.
"Let me finish. The only thing I can't let go of is my grandmother. When you have time in the future, I'd be grateful if you could check in on her and look after her."
"As for this debt of gratitude, I don't think I can repay it in this lifetime. My friend, I'll make sure to pay you back in the next."
"After covering the hospital expenses, there shouldn't be much money left. I'm leaving it for you, don't turn your nose up at it."
Dead silence filled the room.
The oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.
Peng Jian clenched his fists, tightening his grip until his thumb joints gave a sharp "crack."
That habitual gesture made Su Chen's heart ache.
Every time they hit a tricky problem, Peng Jian would do that.
Though his face didn't show much, when Peng Jian raised his head again, his eyes were already red.
"Old Su, what the hell are you spouting this nonsense for? Don't dump this mess on me, I'm not taking it!"
"Your grandma isn't my grandma—if you can't let go of her, then stay alive and take care of her yourself, don't give me extra trouble!"
"Don't you always brag about having a tough constitution? You weren't even scared of walking through a crossroads at midnight, so why are you handing out final instructions now?"
"Get some sleep! I'm going out to buy you some soup dumplings in a bit!"
Fumbling to pull out a cigarette, Peng Jian clicked his lighter several times, but failed to produce a flame.
"Damn it! Even the damn lighter is going against me!"
He got up and tossed the lighter into the trash can behind the door.
Peng Jian bit down hard on his lower lip, fighting back the tears threatening to fall.
He knew about Su Chen's condition.
Yet hearing him say those words, Peng Jian still couldn't accept it.
The fire raging in his chest kept leaping, as if it would scorch his very ribs, yet he had no way to vent it.
All Peng Jian could do was grip his fists tightly, letting his arms shake uncontrollably.
...
Lin Shiya did not sleep all night.
The east grew pale.
The first ray of dawn appeared.
The cheerful chirping of birds grew louder and louder.
Then, her alarm went off.
Only then did Lin Shiya slowly rise to her feet.
Last night.
Lin Zhiheng had said a great deal, and Lin Shiya hadn't retorted even once.
Until Lin Zhiheng left, Lin Shiya remained frozen in the exact same posture.
Yet for the entire night, she couldn't figure out why Su Chen had been so adamant this time.
Could it be that she really had gone too far?
Surely Su Chen understood that her concern for Xu Lang was purely that of a good friend, and nothing more.
Of course, Xu Lang sometimes said ambiguous things, but she had never taken them to heart.
She had tolerated things before—why couldn't she tolerate them now?
Besides, Su Chen's temper had been growing shorter lately; he would resort to action over a mere disagreement. He had never behaved like that in the past.
Lin Shiya felt weak all over, her legs wobbly as she walked.
Her gaze swept across the pot of cyclamen, and she froze for a moment.
Zhou Mubai had loved purple cyclamen.
And so, quite naturally, she had developed a deep fondness for purple cyclamen herself.
Yet Zhou Mubai was a scar upon her heart, a presence no one dared to bring up.
Su Chen was different.
He was the one she was supposed to walk hand in hand with for the rest of her life!
Precisely because of that, Lin Shiya was utterly baffled by Su Chen's behavior.
"We already talked everything through, why won't you believe me? Xiao Lang really is just my male best friend, there's nothing between us!"
Repeating the words she had said before, Lin Shiya frowned deeply.
How many times had she said this, yet Su Chen simply wouldn't listen.
Which meant.
There was currently no solution whatsoever to this terrible mess.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Shiya smoothed back her hair.
At that moment.
Her phone screen lit up once more.
The flashing light signaled to Lin Shiya that another call was coming in.