During the weekend, Xie Ning met Song Qingqing.
He has been in the hospital for food and lodging these past few days, and he has hardly stepped out of the ward except for going down the building once to buy daily necessities.
The single room in the V area has a large space, and an extra camp bed is provided for sleeping at night. Uncle Zhong slept in the past, but recently it has completely turned into Xie Ning's bed.
The camp bed was so narrow and small that a big man would fill it up when he lay down. If he turned over, his elbows would easily hit the railings next to him.
"This bed is too hard to sleep well." Uncle Zhong wanted to move another bed for Xie Ning.
Shane didn't agree.
As many people came in and out, he was afraid of disturbing Mr. Xie.
And to an insomniac, no bed makes a difference.
When Zhuang Yan was away, Xie Ning's insomnia relapsed. At night, he always had trouble falling asleep. He looked at the sky outside the window alone, feeling inexplicably lost.
Sometimes he would hold Mr. Xie's hand, whisper something, and stare at Mr. Xie's sleeping appearance in a daze.
After watching for a while, he took out his mobile phone and opened the message Zhuang Yan sent him. At the bottom were two words "Good night".
One sentence from Zhuang Yan and one from him.
But he sent good night, but did not fall asleep.
The light on the phone screen dimmed because it was not used for a long time, and Xie Ning was lost for a moment.
He really wanted to talk to Zhuang Yan, but he didn't want to disturb him.
Zhuang Yan should have fallen asleep by now, he thought.
Xie Ning hadn't slept well for several days, but he ate three meals a day on time. Every time he ate, he would take a picture of Zhuang Yan.
But nine times out of ten, after eating, I couldn't help but vomit.
Uncle Zhong frowned, but there was nothing he could do. He could only comfort himself that he was still willing to eat and could absorb a little.
Song Qingqing was startled when she saw him.
His face was pale, he lost weight, his eyes were light blue, and Song Qingqing almost didn't recognize him at first glance.
But his expression was calm again, as if there were no waves, and when he saw Song Qingqing, he gently nodded to her.
Song Qingqing was brought by Xia Wan. As usual, Xie Ning would have to give Xia Wan a cold face.
There was no response today, and when his eyes crossed Xia Wan's face, it was also light.
However, Xia Wan felt that Xie Ning was more unfamiliar and more uncomfortable.
During the day, everyone has business to do. Brother Xie Zun and Xie Jing discussed it and decided to visit the hospital the next night.
Only Xie Ning was an exception. He took root in the hospital and refused to move a step. No one persuaded him.
The aunt Su Jinyan whispered again in private, but Xie Ning didn't even give her a look this time.
She really wanted her son to be a dutiful son and grandson in front of the hospital bed like Xie Ning, but she didn't want to: "I have my own affairs to be busy with, so how can I get so much time. Unlike him, I don't need to worry about the company's affairs, just sit Just eat the bonus."
All these trivial matters have been unable to make waves in Xie Ning's heart.
He seems to have gone back to the past, hiding himself in a sealed transparent bottle, separated from everyone by a thick layer of glass.
He now has nothing to ask for, nothing to wish for, except that Mr. Xie can wake up safely.
"What are you..." Song Qingqing just opened her mouth, then paused again, frowning and retracting her words.
Fortunately, Xie Ning did not reject her, she pointed to the chair next to her, and motioned Song Qingqing to sit down.
The two sat quietly for a while, and Song Qingqing whispered, "Aunt Xia Wan asked me to persuade you. She was a little worried. You're like this... Are you alright?"
Xie Ning paused for a while, but just shook his head and said, "It's okay."
Song Qingqing was still thinking about how to open the topic, Xie Ning added: "Thank you."
"What?" Song Qingqing was taken aback.
Xie Ning said, "Thank you for visiting my grandpa, and thank you for caring about me."
Song Qingqing looked at him and smiled with her eyes bent: "Can I tell you about Zhuang Yan?"
Xie Ning's eyes subconsciously turned to Song Qingqing.
Song Qingqing said, "You should know, I have studied abroad, and Zhuang Yan is my senior."
Xie Ning responded, "I know."
Song Qingqing said, "Then are you interested in his experience abroad? I can tell you."
Xie Ning's eyes slowly lit up and said, "I'm interested."
Song Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief quietly and began to recall the past.
"We Chinese international students are more or less excluded from abroad, so we also have a small group. I met Senior Zhuang Yan there. Speaking of which, when my friend introduced me, he said, don't look at his seniority. He's handsome, but in fact he has a bad temper and a cold personality. He doesn't like to talk to people, saying that they usually rarely invite him."
"Then someone laughed next to him, indicating that he was invited and ignored."
Xie Ning thought for a while: "It's something he will do."
"I found out later that although many Chinese people said they didn't like him, every time there was a party, someone would call him over. On the contrary, some foreign students were vaguely afraid of him." Song Qingqing then recalled, "I asked. Only later did I find out that it was because he had fought with foreign students and was helping an introverted schoolgirl who was often bullied. Those foreign students were tall and tall, but they didn’t get any part of the fight. It's cheap, and I dare not bully it too much later."
"So he was actually very popular with Chinese compatriots at school. Many people expressed their admiration for him either explicitly or implicitly, and even foreign students - in fact, they were the most enthusiastic, but he never looked at anyone differently. We also gossip in private who can successfully attack him, and even made a bet on it, but unfortunately everyone lost in the end."
Xie Ning couldn't help but interjected: "All lost?"
"Yes." Song Qingqing glanced at him, "Until graduation, he never accepted anyone. Girls were rejected a lot, and some people suspected that he liked men, but the boys who confessed also failed."
She said this with a shrug and a joke: "No one survived."
Shane was a little stunned.
"So when I saw you at the art exhibition, I quickly realized your relationship." Song Qingqing said, "That was the first time I saw him take care of people so carefully and seriously, and care so much about the feelings of another person. How do you say it... He looked at you with palpable love."
Xie Ning smiled embarrassedly and didn't turn his head away.
Aware of his shyness, Song Qingqing also smiled, and then the topic changed again, continuing to talk about Zhuang Yan's study abroad.
"Although he always disliked the poor place where we meet, he would not hesitate to take the lead whenever any Chinese encountered difficulties. So when I was deceived, the first thing I thought of was Ask him for help."
Xie Ning asked, "Then he helped you?"
Song Qingqing said: "He mocked me first, saying why I was so stupid, I can be deceived."
Xie Ning: "… "
"But after he was ridiculed, he made me another sum of money a few days later, and the amount was exactly the amount I was deceived from." Song Qingqing smiled, "The transfer is still anonymous, but I quickly guessed it was He, ran to ask if he turned."
Shainin: "Then what? Did he admit it?"
Song Qingqing: "I admitted it. As soon as I asked, he said very naturally: 'Yes, it was me who made the switch.' At that time, I was wondering how he admitted it so quickly. Then he said that he didn't do good deeds without leaving his name. idiot."
Song Qingqing said all trivial things without any story or interest, but Xie Ning listened carefully.
It seems that as long as it is related to the word "Zhuang Yan", it can affect his mind bit by bit.
Unconsciously, the corners of his lips slowly twitched, and expressions gradually appeared on his face.
Song Qingqing's tone was gentle, and her voice was soft, which made people unconsciously relax and let go of their defenses.
Her mouth was dry, so she got up and poured herself a glass of water. When she looked back, she found that Xie Ning had closed his eyes and fell asleep while sitting.
Song Qingqing lightly brought a blanket over and covered him.
When he got closer, he happened to see his beautiful profile, and the corners of his lips curved into a shallow arc, as if falling asleep with a smile.
Song Qingqing didn't know if he followed her words and imagined Zhuang Yan's interesting things about studying abroad, or if he just mentioned Zhuang Yan, it would make him come alive.
She took out her mobile phone and sent a message to Zhuang Yan: finally let him fall asleep.
It seemed to be very busy over there. After a long time, Zhuang Yan replied: Thank you.