"Well, see you next time." Nan Youxi walked out the door.
At this moment, a white hand grabbed the hem of his clothes.
Before he could ask, the hand slipped away, and Nakajima Reina took back her hand. She lowered her head and said to Minami Yuki:
"Safe travels."
"Um."
He walked out of the ward and went to the lobby on the first floor. It was about to get dark and the nurses were busy delivering dinner.
Reina Nakajima sat on the hospital bed. She used her right hand to hold the fingers that were holding onto the hem of Minami Yuki's clothes.
What she wanted to say at that moment was not "be careful on your journey".
There was a knock on the door. Looking at the sky outside the window, it should be the nurse who came to deliver dinner. She answered and felt disappointed when she saw that it was indeed a nurse.
The hospital provided two sets of meals for every meal. The nurse asked her which one she liked, said a few words to her, and then put down her plate.
No matter how exquisite the dishes are, after eating them for more than ten years, you will get tired of them. In the past, Nakajima Reina had long since gotten rid of the feeling of boredom from her heart, so she never felt bored. Now, when she put a piece of meat into her mouth, she felt bitterness on the tip of her tongue.
Bitterness is also a kind of taste. She moved her chopsticks quickly and put piece after piece of bitterness into her mouth. The bitterness on the tip of her tongue intensified, and the bitterness in her heart faded away.
When she put the empty plate on the bedside table, she saw the hydrangea ball.
A hint of sweetness arose in my heart, and the bitterness on my tongue became even stronger.
The knock on the door sounded again, and Nakajima Reina answered again. She thought it was the nurse who came to collect the food trays. This time, she did not hold out hope, and fate gave her an unexpected gift.
The person who pushed the door open was Nan Youxi. The boy was holding a folding wheelchair in his left arm and a plastic bag in his right arm. He had just returned from a convenience store.
Unfolding the folding wheelchair, Minami Youxi invited the girl on the bed: "Would you like to go downstairs and see the garden?"
"Yes!" Nakajima Reina steadily caught the gift of fate. The bitterness in her heart completely disappeared, and sweetness filled her chest.
She threw back the quilt, put on blue slippers, and sat in the wheelchair pushed by the boy.
The boy took out a box of Pocky from the plastic bag, took out a strawberry-flavored chocolate bar, and stuffed it into her mouth.
Now, the bitterness on the tip of the tongue was also dispelled by the sweetness of chocolate.
The sunlight completely disappeared, and the street lamps replaced the sun, emitting a dim light.
Nakajima Yoping was lying on the sofa in the smoking room, sleeping soundly, and was woken up by the nurse who came over and turned on the light.
"What time is it?" He asked in confusion when he saw it was dark outside the window.
"A little after six," the nurse told him.
Nakajima Yohei calculated the time and found that two hours had passed, so he hurried out.
When he arrived at his daughter's ward, he eavesdropped by pressing his lips against the door. There was no sound, so he knocked on the door, but no one answered.
Pushing open the door, he looked at the empty ward and fell into chaos.
Where is my daughter? Where is my daughter, who is so big and lying in bed
My daughter had never disappeared before, so there was only one possibility.
Damn you! Where did you take my daughter
He ran to the first floor and asked the nurse on duty, who told him that the two had gone to the garden.
Nakajima Yohei ran to the garden angrily. He thought, his daughter didn't like to go out, and it must be Nan Youxi who coerced her. He wanted to teach this inconsiderate boy a lesson!
Walking through the hydrangea bushes, he saw two figures standing in the pavilion in the center of the garden in the light of the street lamps.
Minami Yuki was the first to spot him, and then Nakajima Reina also saw her father.
"Dad." Her voice was cheerful.
Nakajima Yohei walked up to them and couldn't help asking, "Why did you think of coming to the garden? Reina, didn't you say before that you didn't want to see the garden?"
Facing her father's confused look, Nakajima Reina turned her face away and said shyly, "I didn't really want to see it before."
Nakajima Yohei heard the euphemism in his daughter's words. He took a step back, feeling sad. It turned out that what Minami Yuki said was true! It was the problem of the person who sent the invitation!
He said he wanted to bring his daughter out many times, but his daughter never agreed. It was only the first time Nan Youxi came over that she agreed!
His eyes swept over the bag of snacks on his daughter's legs. He had said before that he wanted to buy snacks, but his daughter said no. It turned out that it was the person who bought the snacks who had the problem!
Holding onto the pillar of the pavilion, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad. It turned out that his daughter wanted to go out and play, and it turned out that his daughter wanted to eat snacks, but his daughter didn't want to go out and play with him, and she didn't want to eat the snacks he bought.
Is there anything more cruel than this truth
"Dad, you haven't had dinner yet, go and eat something!" Rena Nakajima urged.
Nakajima Yohei's heart was broken. He was careless. Even more cruel than the truth just now was his daughter's words. Was she urging him to eat? She was urging him, the light bulb, to leave quickly!
"Someone at home is waiting for me to have dinner, so let's stop here today." Nan Youxi took the opportunity to end the conversation.
"Oh." Nakajima Reina lowered her head in frustration.
Minami Yuxi pushed Reina upstairs. Nakajima Youhei was smoking in the pavilion. When the boy came out, he walked beside him.
He opened his mouth and wanted to ask something, but when he thought of his daughter's smile, he swallowed his words back.
What else is there to ask? As long as Reina is happy, that's enough.
Nan Youxi was about to tease Nakajima Yohei, but when she saw him suddenly look melancholy, she realized that he was thinking about Nakajima Reina, and her mood also became depressed.
There is no problem getting along with Reina, there is no problem with Reina's illness, the problem is him.
In the ward, Reina Nakajima didn't ask anything. She threw down the chips in her hand. Facing the battlefield of love, she chose to take off her weapons and armor and leave everything to her opponent, no matter whether her opponent gave her a rose or a sword.
If it were Yuko, although she would not use this bargaining chip to coerce him, she would definitely take advantage of his guilt to hold hands, kiss, be affectionate, and do happy things with him.
Yuko Ibuki seems to be the daughter of a samurai family, while Reina Nakajima is a girl from an aristocratic family.
After parting with Nakajima Yohei at the transfer station, Minami Yuki took three more stops back to Tsukimisato Station and walked quickly to Asano's house.
"You're back." Nao Asano got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Looking at her graceful back, Minami Youxi wondered, if it was Asano Nao who discovered the clues from her dream, what would she choose
It’s really hard to guess.
After dinner, Nan Youxi kept her promise and took her to Xiaodou Mountain.
The street lights on the mountain road were dim. Under the blowing of the wind, the forest looked like a huge, wriggling shadow. On the steps, Nao Asano held the boy's hand tightly.
When she reached the top of the mountain, the vast night sky was overhead and the lights of the distant city formed a bright ocean. Her heart was thrilled by the scenery.
"So beautiful." Nao Asano held the railing and looked at the boy beside her, her eyes full of joy.
"Yeah." Minami Yuxi leaned her arms on the railing and looked in the direction of Chigusa University Hospital.
(End of this chapter)