Chapter 41: Goodbye
The next morning, Xia Qian Ge’s complexion had improved significantly. Although she still had a soft and gentle demeanor, her eyes were much brighter, no longer as dark and lifeless as when Su Yu first arrived.
Xu Dan and the rest of the dorm had all come. The four girls were chattering away, making Su Yu feel a bit out of place.
“Well… since she can be discharged, I’ll be going now?”
“Oh, okay. Thanks so much for taking care of Qian Ge this time. Our dorm will treat you to dinner next time.”
Xu Dan was very enthusiastic, a constant smile on her face. She patted Su Yu’s shoulder heartily, as if he were one of them.
“Alright, I’m leaving.”
Su Yu was very tired. After waking up in the middle of the night, he hadn’t been able to fall back asleep, staying up for several hours until Xu Dan and the others arrived.
“Su Yu.”
He opened the door, about to leave, when Xia Qian Ge’s voice called out from behind him.
“Goodbye.”
“Yeah, goodbye.”
Su Yu turned and replied, then left the hospital room.
After Su Yu left, the hospital room suddenly became eerily quiet. Xu Dan peeked her head out and looked down the empty corridor, as if to confirm that Su Yu had completely left.
“Is he gone?”
“He’s gone, he’s gone.”
Xu Dan closed the door and immediately pounced on Xia Qian Ge’s bed. The girls instantly shed their reserved demeanor, their chattering voices all focused on the same topic.
“What’s the situation between you two?” Xu Dan’s eyes were filled with gossip. “I was just asking Su Yu for a favor, and he agreed right away. Are you two really just high school classmates?”
“I knew… he would come. You guys must have secretly told him something, you little rascals.” Xia Qian Ge’s voice was soft, her smile pure and innocent.
“My dear, you’ve wronged me! I didn’t say anything strange. And… I did it all for you, I specifically asked him to come.” Xu Dan deliberately dragged out her words, the smile on her lips almost uncontrollable. Finally, under everyone’s expectant gazes, she revealed the truth.
“Someone was calling Su Yu’s name in their sleep. Do you think I could not help?”
“He and I… are really just classmates.”
“Then why were you calling his name in your dream…”
There was no expected panic. Xia Qian Ge just smoothed her messy bangs, a faint smile in her eyes. But her pupils were black holes, and staring at them for too long was unsettling.
She didn’t answer the question in the end, as if in silent agreement, and was teased by the other girls for a long time.
None of this mattered. She had gotten what she wanted.
After all… if she hadn’t called his name in her dream, why would the boy have so easily agreed to come here?
…
After Su Yu returned, he didn’t shower and slept until the afternoon. He had forgotten everything that had happened in between. He only remembered that the sky was still bright when he lay down, and when he opened his eyes, it was almost dark.
He hadn’t expected to sleep for so long. He was probably just too tired, physically and mentally. It seemed that anything related to the past always exhausted him. He began to wonder if this was a side effect of his rebirth.
The dorm was still noisy. Gu Chuan and the others were sitting on a foam mat, playing cards, the cards slapping against the floor with a crisp sound.
Gu Chuan was the loudest, popping open a beer bottle. “Drink, Lu Siyuan, you little punk who hooked up with my high school classmate. I’m going to get you so drunk tonight.”
“We’re in love, what do you mean hooking up with your classmate?”
Lu Siyuan argued back, taking a long gulp of beer, his voice booming. “Let’s see who goes down first today.”
“Chu Feng, you should stop drinking. You’ll pass out again.”
“I need to build up my tolerance.”
“That’s a talent, you can’t train for it.”
Su Yu lay in bed listening, suddenly feeling less tired.
But perhaps it was time for a new beginning. New faces, new friends, a new life. Maybe he could even find a girlfriend…
He suddenly thought of Xia Qian Ge’s frail appearance in the hospital. He shook his head. Forget it… he’ll think about that later.
Su Yu sniffed the air and smelled fried rice, the egg fried rice from the cafeteria. He suddenly felt hungry and called out, “Is there anything to eat? I’m starving.”
“Yo, you’re awake.” Gu Chuan shuffled his cards. “Come down and eat, I saved you some fried rice.”
“Okay, I’ll be right down.”
Perhaps the fried rice was just too fragrant. Su Yu immediately got up from bed.
There was indeed a bowl of egg fried rice on his desk, a large one. Su Yu swallowed and went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth. He was about to open the container when someone pressed his hand down.
“What are you doing?”
“Cough cough, you were gone all day. We were all worried about you.” Gu Chuan grinned, revealing his neat teeth.
“Uh…” Su Yu turned his head and saw Lu Siyuan and Chu Feng standing beside him. He swallowed, his face calm. “Nothing much. A friend from school was sick, so I went to the hospital to take care of her.”
“A classmate? A female classmate?”
“It’s Xia Qian Ge.” Su Yu answered directly. “She was sick, and her roommates weren’t free, so I stayed with her for the night.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Tsk tsk.” Gu Chuan pouted, probably disappointed that Su Yu wasn’t being more forthcoming. “It seems Mr. Su is going to focus on his studies. I’ve already picked up your books for you. You have class tomorrow.”
“Class starts tomorrow?”
Su Yu was a bit dazed. Time was flying by. The seemingly endless military training had just ended. How long had he been in Qingchuan… it had gone by so fast.
He shoveled a large spoonful of fried rice into his mouth and washed it down with the Coke Lu Siyuan had tossed him. He wouldn’t overthink things when he was full. But his phone, in his pocket, suddenly rang. He looked at it. It was Xia Qian Ge.
Su Yu quickly put down his spoon and went to the balcony to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“I’m back at the dorm.”
“Oh, okay. Get some rest then. Class starts tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I just wanted to thank you again.”
“It’s nothing. And… don’t push yourself too hard. Your health is more important.”
“I know. See you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye.”
…
A late evening breeze blew, stained crimson by the setting sun. Xia Qian Ge stood on the balcony in a thin slip dress, the wind lifting the hem of her skirt, her long hair flying, obscuring her eyes.
The faint light from her phone screen illuminated her pale face. She silently looked at the ended call log, her transparent nails scratching the screen, leaving a faint white mark.
Goodbye… she really hated that word.
