Chapter 56

September 1st was no longer a school opening day for Bai Kou, the training camp student; it was just an ordinary Sunday.

She had barely slept or eaten properly for a full week.

The previous afternoon, she had stubbornly battled a painting. After getting her phone back, she told Pei Yue, and the two hung on video call. Pei Yue quietly accompanied her from six in the evening until two in the morning.

On Bai Kou’s side, the background barely changed, only her occasionally frowning, leaning forward or backward.

On Pei Yue’s side, she went from drowsily lying sideways on the bed yawning at six, to getting up, washing up, changing clothes, and heading out to the study room.

In the afternoon, when Pei Yue sat on the grass outside the study room munching a sandwich, she finally heard Bai Kou’s voice in the video: “Ah—done!”

Pei Yue’s afternoon became Bai Kou’s early morning.

Then the scene shifted: Pei Yue sat silently munching lunch in a still environment, while Bai Kou hunched over in the brightly lit studio packing up.

Because of the hours-long video call where Bai Kou was busy painting, they hadn’t chatted much.

After descending from the classroom, she felt very apologetic. Though her body was exhausted, she forced a smile and told Pei Yue, “No, you’re seeing things—I’m full of energy,” and insisted on heading to the basketball court at dawn, a spot where no one would disturb her.

Sitting on the green base under the basketball hoop, Bai Kou propped her left elbow on her knee, hand against her cheek, held her phone in her right hand, and slightly lowered her gaze to continue chatting idly with Pei Yue.

They kept talking from two in the morning until four.

Pei Yue had to go meet her teacher on time and had no choice but to end the call. Bai Kou then grinned and waved at the camera.

“Okay! Bye-bye!”

Back at the dorm, she simply washed up and collapsed onto the bed.

Bai Kou felt her heart pounding “thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump” like a rocket launching. Strangely, though her body was utterly exhausted, she couldn’t fall asleep for the longest time.

She didn’t know what time she finally passed out completely, only that not long after, she suddenly heard a “thud!”—the sound of a cardboard box dropping to the floor.

Her temples throbbed sharply.

Bai Kou rolled over, trying to fall back asleep, but she couldn’t.

She checked her phone—it was just past seven in the morning.

Her roommates knew she was sleeping. Aside from the initial accidental box drop, they kept all other movements to a minimum and had all left by before eight.

“…”

With the bed curtain drawn, it was pitch black. The phone light was glaring. Bai Kou half-opened her eyes and casually scrolled through the group chat…!

There was a teacher on duty in their classroom today! She could rush over to discuss last night’s homework!

Bai Kou snapped awake in an instant. She sat up, threw off the blanket, ignored her pounding nerves, and clambered down the bunk ladder in two or three moves.

She washed up, changed clothes, grabbed a pack of soda crackers and a 150ml bottle of orange juice from their communal snack shelf.

She jogged all the way, dropped her bag in the studio, stood outside the classroom and wolfed down the crackers in two bites, tossed the trash, and hurried back into the classroom.

With this burst of excitement and busyness, time approached eleven-thirty at noon.

Qiu Miaoran came to the door and called for Bai Kou, asking if she wanted to go to the cafeteria together for lunch.

Bai Kou quickly agreed: “Sure, wait for me to pack up!”

She stood up.

Bai Kou suddenly felt something off. Her head felt heavy and dizzy, her body burning hot, and vague noise buzzed in her ears.

She shook her head, but the sensation persisted… though aside from her feet feeling leaden, it didn’t seem to affect her other movements much.

Click.

She snapped shut the paint box. From her palms to her soles, her body felt strangely hot.

Walking out of the classroom, Bai Kou even had the leisure to joke with Qiu Miaoran: “I think I got way too into painting today. Feel my arm—isn’t it super hot?”

Qiu Miaoran pressed the back of her hand against it: “No, is it? I feel it’s cool.”

They went downstairs.

Bai Kou floated with every step, like stepping on clouds. She even uncontrollably leaned her weight on the stair railing.

—Am I about to faint?

—Faint here? With so many people around?

After these two thoughts drifted through Bai Kou’s mind, she truly couldn’t walk anymore. She buried her head and stopped at the last step, weakly calling out: “Ranran…”

“Hm?” Qiu Miaoran, who was walking ahead while looking at her phone, turned back.

“I… I’m probably not going to make it…” Bai Kou dropped this terrifying line. “Help me call an ambulance, then trouble the dorm teacher to call my sister…”

“Ah… what?!!!”

In the ambulance, Bai Kou didn’t know whose body she leaned against. She only felt darkness, growing darker, like the curtain slowly closing on a play.

Just before completely losing consciousness, she fiercely grabbed the arm of the person beside her and mumbled—

“She can’t speak… please help her…”

“Wahhh, Bai Kou’s head just lolled with a thud and she collapsed onto me! I thought she was gone, wahhh!”

After the emergency treatment ended, the person on the hospital bed wore an oxygen mask, eyes closed, breathing slowly and steadily.

Qiu Miaoran had been at a loss in the hospital alone for a while but finally waited for the other two roommates. She nearly knelt before Tang Baini.

Tang Baini frowned, gently patted the wailing person for a bit, then turned to find a doctor for an update. But seeing the white coats all rushing about, she sighed, hauled up Qiu Miaoran: “Cry later. What’s up with Little Kou now? Why isn’t she awake? Where are the teachers?”

“She… when she arrived, her blood pressure was in the thirties, so… the doctors said she needs to be hospitalized…”

“In the thirties?” Tang Baini turned to Jin. “What’s normal for us?”

Jin shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

“In the thirties?!” Yang Wanxi, upon hearing this, unconsciously gripped Bai Yuqiao beside her tightly, her voice trembling. “Really… bloo-blood pressure in the thirties?”

Bai Yuqiao’s face was ashen too, her clenched fists shaking similarly.

In short.

Bai Kou had gone into severe shock; her little life had nearly been handed over to King Yama.

Bai Kou’s phone was handed to Bai Yuqiao.

The doctor said she was out of danger now. She wasn’t awake probably because she was too exhausted and still sleeping.

The two sisters stood one on each side of Bai Kou’s bed, their faces both extremely grim.

At that moment, Bai Kou’s phone lit up in Bai Yuqiao’s hand.

An incoming video call.

Bai Yuqiao held the phone and stared for a moment, lips pressed tight. Finally, she raised the screen to Yang Wanxi, signaling her to answer.

“She’s in the hospital?” In the video, Pei Yue wore pajamas, her hair damp like it hadn’t been blow-dried yet.

“Mm.” Yang Wanxi sat in the corridor. “She fainted today. They brought her over from the studio just now.”

“…” Pei Yue was silent for a long while before asking, “How is she now?”

Yang Wanxi originally wanted to say of course not well, but seeing Pei Yue’s tightly furrowed brows on screen, she softened.

“She’s fine now. Don’t worry.” She told Pei Yue. “She’s still sleeping. Once she’s rested up, I’ll have her message you back.”

“…Okay, thanks, Little Xi-jie.”

Yang Wanxi barely managed a smile: “No problem. It must be pretty late there too, right? Don’t copy Bai Kou—get some rest early.”

Pei Yue pursed her lips and nodded.

Everything seemed fine up to here.

But after the video ended, the screen automatically jumped back to the chat interface.

Yang Wanxi immediately noticed the call with Pei Yue from last night that had lasted over ten hours.

It only ended at 04:39 a.m.

Truly not valuing her life.

Bai Kou stayed in the hospital for a full four days.

She was nearly driven mad with anxiety.

That first evening, she clutched Bai Yuqiao’s hand and pleaded: “Sis, I’m really fine now. Don’t I know my own body? Just let me go back!”

Bai Yuqiao quietly looked into her eyes, unmoving.

The second day, Bai Xiaochu also rushed to the hospital. Seeing persuasion fail with her sister, Bai Kou turned to pester her mom: “Mom, I don’t need five days of observation, right? Look, my blood pressure and all that are back up. I promise I’ll eat and sleep properly from now on!”

Bai Xiaochu knocked her head: “You promise! You have zero credibility right now! You scared us to death, you know that!”

The third day, Yang Wanxi came. Bai Kou hadn’t seen Yang Wanxi in a long time, so when she turned and saw the person pushing open the ward door, she was momentarily stunned.

Yang Wanxi carried a bag of fruit and strode in nonchalantly: “Yuqiao-jie, want an apple? I’ll peel one for you.”

Bai Kou immediately waved her hand: “Shouldn’t you greet me first? Aren’t you worried about me at all?”

Yang Wanxi “hehe”d, pulled the stool by her bed as far away as possible to sit by Bai Yuqiao, and impassively peeled the apple.

The fourth day…

Bai Kou suspected Yang Wanxi was giving her the silent treatment, and she had ample evidence!

Because Yang Wanxi talked to her sister, talked to her mom, but barely acknowledged her.

She shoved the peeled apple right at her mouth, and Bai Kou stubbornly kept it shut in defiance. Yang Wanxi glared: “Open!”

“…Crunch crunch.” Bai Kou obediently opened and ate it.

That fourth afternoon, Bai Kou lay curled diagonally on the hospital bed, feeling like she was about to be pickled by the disinfectant smell. She raised her arm toward the sunlight outside the window, opening and closing her fingers.

She felt only frustration in her heart—heavens, delayed this long, could she still paint properly when she got back to the studio?

Ding-dong.

Someone’s phone rang.

…Phone?

Bai Kou blinked, suddenly remembering—right, where’s my phone?

Probably from getting used to no phone for six out of seven days a week at the training base, plus people constantly coming and going since she woke up, Bai Kou hadn’t even thought about her phone.

She sat up. The ward held only one person napping on the adjacent bed right now.

Yang Wanxi seemed to have dragged Bai Yuqiao out.

Bai Kou looked around from the bed and reached for the drawer—empty.

…Did I even bring my phone? Bai Kou couldn’t help pondering.

Whoosh—

The ward door slid open then.

Bai Kou turned to look, first stunned, then her mouth slightly agape, as if seeing the most shocking sight in the world.

Lu Tongtong felt extremely embarrassed under her gaze.

She wore a baseball cap, the short-sleeved school uniform and pants from Experimental Middle School, with what looked like the school’s jacket draped over her arm.

She had learned of Bai Kou’s hospitalization by chance, desperately took leave, rushed over nonstop wanting to see her friend as fast as possible. But when Lu Tongtong actually arrived at the ward and truly saw her long-separated best friend…

She…

She averted Bai Kou’s gaze and silently walked in, gently closed the door behind her, then because she didn’t know what to say, hesitated to turn around.

In this awkward silence.

Lu Tongtong felt sweat break out all over her. “Cough,” she cleared her throat, but no sound came out.

Still facing the door rigidly with her back to the person on the bed, she stood frozen at the entrance.

“The weather’s really nice today.”

After a moment, Bai Kou’s light, cheerful voice suddenly sounded behind her.

Lu Tongtong’s back stiffened. Her mouth opened and closed, but still no words came out.

“I used to think I’d lost my best friend forever.” Bai Kou slowly circled around in front of Lu Tongtong, startling her into stumbling back half a step, face full of embarrassment.

Seeing this, Bai Kou smiled. “Turns out not.”

With that, she stepped forward and hugged Lu Tongtong proactively. “…Stingy ghost.” She buried her face by Lu Tongtong’s ear and whispered.

“Bai Doudou! It was you! Who! Ignored me first!” Once the floodgates opened, Lu Tongtong sat by Bai Kou’s bed and pounded her leg through the blanket. “You’re so great being at the same school as Pei Yue! Hmph!”

Oh! So I was wrong too! Great!

Bai Kou laughed inwardly, but hit back with her hand while saying: “It was clearly you! You and Zhang Yang are all at the same school! I was the one abandoned by you guys!”

“You dodged me every time you saw me! As if I didn’t notice!” Lu Tongtong added. “Can’t you dodge better? Ah! That period really pissed me off!”

“Ah, you actually saw?!” Bai Kou covered her mouth, her voice echoing hollowly. “Oh my god, I thought I was so sneaky!”

“With those little short legs of yours!”

“My legs are short?!”

“Mm-hmm!” Lu Tongtong cupped Bai Kou’s face. “Aiya, but you’ve made it big! You actually came to Beijing to study painting! So all those paintings you gave me before—can they sell for tens of millions now?”

“That’s a bit of a dream.” Bai Kou laughed.

Then she turned her head and saw that at some point, her sister and Yang Kuikui had returned, standing quietly at the door watching them.

Bai Kou immediately waved: “Sis! Yang Kuikui! Quick, look who came!”

The two approached. Yang Wanxi spoke first: “Silly or not? Who do you think picked up Tongtong?”

Bai Yuqiao had her hands clasped behind her back, smiling mildly.

“Ah—” Bai Kou suddenly realized, “That makes sense. Oh right, did I have my phone when I came? Did you see it?”

Bai Kou had just asked casually. Her memory before passing out was a bit fuzzy, but she figured her two sisters wouldn’t take her phone, so… she must have left it at school?

Just as Bai Kou was thinking this.

Yang Wanxi suddenly smiled. “Your phone? We’ve confiscated it for now.”

Then she turned to Bai Yuqiao. “Sis, show it to her for a bit, so she stops fretting over it.”

‘…What? Confiscated?’

Bai Kou didn’t react at all and stared blankly at her sister.

Bai Yuqiao’s expression remained calm and indifferent as she brought her hands from behind her back to the front—

Bai Kou’s phone was gripped firmly in her palm.