Ch12 - Strange request

When everyone went down the mountain in the afternoon, Cheng Yu came back and stayed by Jian Mei’s side. He took the initiative to help Jian Mei with his school bag and asked with concern, “Do you have any injuries?”

“I don’t,” said Jian Mei. 

Cheng Yu had the standard brother next door appearance. When he looked at you with eyes full of concern, there would be a ‘you are the center of the world’ feeling. He said, “That’s great. Wasn’t it scary to be alone? Why didn’t you wait for us in the original place to find you?”

Jian Mei answered, “Fortunately, I wasn’t particularly scared.”

Cheng Yu bowed his head to look at him. Jian Mei was wearing a small yellow hat and was usually quiet and well-behaved. He would always look directly at the other person when talking. He was a child raised by his family with a very good upbringing. At this time, being stared at by those big black eyes, everything was the same, but there was something different.

Jian Mei’s steps were very light and lively, his voice sounded clean and pleasant, “I waited, but then I found the way by myself. Fortunately, you are not far away.” 

The ‘waited’ he mentioned was actually an afternoon, which was a few hours. Although it was skimmed over, Cheng Yu felt his face was hot. He tried to explain, “A little girl was injured and sprained her ankle, I asked someone to take her to the ambulance station to administer first aid. After the matter was dealt with, I went to look for you right away.”

He thought, if Jian Mei blamed their group, or cried, it would be easier to deal with.

But he didn’t.

Lu Xingwang taught him very well. As a result, what Cheng Yu saw wasn’t a sniveling child.

A distance was gradually pulled open between the two of them. Jian Mei turned his face to look at him, and smiled, “Well, I know. Everyone must have their own problems and difficulties, right?”

As he looked at his smile, Cheng Yi felt there was something stuck in his heart, “No……”

Jian Mei shook his head lightly. He took out a small bottle from his backpack and handed it to Cheng Yu, “Here.”

Cheng Yu looked down. There was a bottle about the size of an inch, and an emerald green potion was contained inside. The bottle was exquisite and beautiful, and it looked extremely beautiful in Jian Mei’s pale and delicate palm. He asked, “What is this?” 

“For avoiding heatstroke. When the summer heat is hard to get rid of, just drop a little on your forehead or smell it and it will be much better. This is our family’s unique folk remedy and it’s very easy to use.” Jian Mei stood on the forest path and patiently explained, “I’m not in very good health. My mother had packed it for me to bring for today. This is an extra bottle. She said that it’s not easy for friends to invite me out to play. She’s afraid that I won’t be able to get along with others because of my dull temperament, so I brought it as a small gift.”

“I originally brought something else, but I used it on the way.” Jian Mei said with some regret. He smiled softly, “This bottle is the only one left.”

Cheng Yu looked at his somewhat awkward smile. For some reason, a strange feeling surged in his heart.

Jian Mei said, “I heard them say that you went to find me. Although we missed each other, but still thank you.” 

The sunset dyed the sky a red-orange color, and warm yellow and bright light fell through the gaps in the leaves. Jian Mei stood there, bowed politely to him, then passed him and walked down the mountain. Cheng Yu still saw Jian Mei’s back. It was the same scene as in the morning, but this time it was different. Although he received a gift, yet at the same time, he lost more. What they missed was far more than just a road.

……

When he returned home, he had a low fever.

It might be because he had walked in the mountains for too long. He sweated and the cold air was blown on him, or it might be because he was simply tired. For ordinary people, a low fever was just a trivial matter, but in the Jian Family, it was the top priority. Leukemia patients had low white blood cells and poor immunity and even a simple cold might flare up his illness and lead to serious consequences. 

Shen Meina took him to the hospital that night. She originally wanted to say a few words, but when she saw her child’s wilted appearance, she couldn’t continue to speak again. She knew that Jian Mei hated going to the hospital the most, so she said, “We are going to A Hospital. Your friend Xiao Peng was transferred to A Hospital not long ago.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“Efjiis.”

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However, Shen Meina’s complexion didn’t look good.

Jian Mei softly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Meina said, “Xiao Peng’s mother just went to ask the attending doctor. Half a month ago, there was a tumor found in Xiaopeng’s stomach and he had surgery to remove it.”

Jian Mei had a bad premonition in his heart, “Then now……” 

“It has spread.” Shen Meina tried her best to speak calmly, “Xiaopeng’s parents will pick him up and go home tomorrow.”

The night in A City wasn’t cold, and the even conditioner in the hospital wasn’t even that low. But as he stood in the corridor and smelled the medicine, Jian Mei felt like he fell in an ice cave at that moment. He stood in place for a long time and couldn’t say anything.

Slowly, Shen Meina couldn’t contain herself. Her eyes were red but she tried her best to stay calm in front of her child, “Are you going to see him?”

Jian Mei lowered his head so people wouldn’t see the expression on his face. He only softly nodded and said, “Okay.” 

It was a tranquil night. When he entered the ward, he heard the sound of laughter inside. He stood by the door and the little boy wearing a hat on the hospital bed was smiling at his parents. He was very thin, but his eyes were very bright.

Xiao Peng was surprised when he saw him, “Meimei!”

Jian Mei’s nose was sore, yet he smiled, walked over, and softly said to him, “Xiaopeng.”

The boy wearing a hospital gown on the bed had very delicate facial features. He looked at Jian Mei and said, “Are you here to see me?” 

Jian Mei nodded, “I’m here for a check-up. I heard that you’re also in this hospital, so I came to see you.”

“You don’t have to come to see me in the future.” Xiaopeng leaned over and said to him. Jian Mei’s heart trembled, then he heard him say with a smile, “I’m going to be discharged from the hospital, so we can play outside after that.”

His parents stood next to him. His mother’s eyes reddened and looked away while his father took his wife out of the ward for fear that his child would see something and let the two children play first.

Xiao Peng was very happy to meet his friend and couldn’t help but show his things to Jian Mei: 

“Look, these are my new clothes. Isn’t it very handsome? I will wear it when I get out of the hospital tomorrow.”

“Have you been to junior high school? I should start reading from the first day of junior high school in the future.”

“I don’t know if I can keep up. Are the textbooks difficult?”

Jian Mei sat on the bedside and looked at him with gentle eyes, and smiled, “It’s a bit difficult, but you are so smart, you will be fine.” 

Not far away was a cupboard, there were damaged basic sixth-grade textbooks. Xiaopeng was originally the class monitor and had excellent grades in all subjects. Every day, except for the time for his chemotherapy, he would always hold a book to read when he was idle. He said that it would be bad if he couldn’t keep up with the progress. Originally, he would often take Jian Mei along to read books together. He was very smart, Jian Mei couldn’t solve many problems, but Xiao Peng could learn it quickly.

He often spoke to Jian Mei about what he would study once he was admitted to a good university in the future, and how he could make money so his parents could live a good life. His parents were both migrant workers and they work very hard. He wanted to make more money in the future so he could give his mother an electric bicycle, and so his father no longer had to carry heavy cement every day.

Xiao Peng took Jian Mei’s hand and said, “I will give you the address of my house, so you can come and play with me in the future.”

Jian Mei felt that his hand was cold, but he didn’t break free. Instead, he held Xiao Peng’s hand tighter, as if he could keep something, “Okay, I will go to look for you.” 

“That’s right!”

Xiao Peng seemed to recall something, then he took out a somewhat old robot from the drawer. The mecha warrior was well-maintained and it was obvious that the owner put great care to keep it. The young boy put the toy in Jian Mei’s hand, “Here.”

Jian Mei was slightly surprised.

“My mother bought this for me when I was eight years old and I kept it with me since then, but now it was a bit broken. It’s such a pity, it used to glow and sing.” Xiao Peng was sitting next to him and the ward was very quiet. The thin young boy looked at Jian Mei beside him tenderly, and said, “I feel you are in a bad mood today. When I was in pain due to the chemotherapy, I would ask the mecha warrior to give me some strength, so that it wouldn’t hurt so much. Now, I am about to be discharged from the hospital, I will give it to you. My parents might go to work in a foreign country next year and we won’t be able to see each other again.  You have to learn to take care of yourself……” 

Tears slid across his cheeks and fell drop by drop on the mecha warrior.

On the way back, Jian Mei sat in the backseat as he held the toy and shrank to a ball. He persisted for a long time before he cried in front of Xiao Peng.

“Mom……” Jian Mei looked out the window, and softly asked, “Will Xiao Peng die?”

Shen Meina, who was driving, paused. Her eyes turned dark and said, “It has already spread, and his attending doctor can’t do anything about it anymore. They delayed a lot of time from staying too long in a small county-level hospital. On top of that, there were several wrong medications. Now, there’s no way back.” 

Jian Mei sat frozen in place for a long time and didn’t speak. When they came out, they met Xiao Peng’s parents again. It was as if the middle-aged man who was less than 40 years old got several years older. The grief in their eyes made Jian Mei unable to look directly at them. This was the look that Xiao Peng’s parents dared not show in front of their child. Jian Mei’s thoughts drifted during the years when he was in a precarious situation, were his parents also like this?

When they returned home, Jian Mei lay down on the bed after washing up, but he couldn’t sleep. There was a mecha warrior in his arms. This Mecha warrior was a bit broken and the internal parts were damaged. In the end, he couldn’t help touching his phone. He opened the WeChat skillfully, clicked on the avatar, and sent a message, “Are you there?”

The reply was very quick this time.

Lu Xingwang said: [Down the mountain?] 

“En……” Jian Mei rubbed the head of the mecha warrior. It might be because everything that happened today hit him a bit hard. After thinking about it, he asked a somewhat stupid question, “Do you think death is scary?

When he asked this question, he regretted it a little.

But Lu Xingwang didn’t give him time to regret it. Just when Jian Mei was hesitating, he received a reply: [Is it useful to be afraid?]

Jian Mei pursed his lips. He took a deep breath and said, “I just think……some people leave too early.” 

The glorious life had just begun but it had also come to an end. Day after day, what he ultimately awaited to arrive was still death. Perhaps Jian Mei had low expectations, so he cherished everyone around him very much. Of course, he knew that people would eventually die, but the grief came abruptly and was too much for him to handle.

‘Ding’

When the tone for the message sounded, Jian Mei clicked on it and saw Lu Xingwang’s words:

[Life and death cannot be forced, everyone will die] His tone was very calm [so will I] 

It was like a heavy punch that fell on his heart. When he saw these words, Jian Mei’s pupils dilated and his hands holding the phone trembled. He was very sensitive to these kinds of things and he immediately asked, “Are you ill?”

There was no reply there.

He waited for a long time, but he panicked even more. In the end, he couldn’t help but call Lu Xingwang. Even if he might be hated and hung up, he still did it. The grief of losing a friend had already caught him unprepared. If there was one more, he wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore. The phone call icon kept flashing, and just as when Jian Mei was in despair, the phone call was connected.

Lu Xingwang was low and raspy, “Hey.” 

For some reason, Jian Mei breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he was worried. He cautiously asked, “Are you ill?”

The person on the other side was silent for a long time.

After a long time, Lu Xingwang said in response, “En.”

Jian Mei said, “Is it serious?” 

“En.”

“Then……then are you going to die?”

Lu Xingwang’s gaze deepened, and his hand kept on tapping the tabletop. He would unconsciously do this if he was in deep thought. In fact, he could tell ‘no’ to Jian Mei, but after thinking for a while, he still said it, “Yes.”

This time, it was Jian Mei, who was on the other end of the call who was silent. 

There was a light sound of gasping that came from that side that could be clearly heard in the silent night. Lu Xingwang knew that this crybaby must have cried again. Strangely enough, he had fallen to this point. His good elder brother who said that he would take care of him didn’t cry, and his biological father didn’t cry, but the child who he hadn’t known for a long time and he hadn’t even met, cried.

[What are you crying for?] He sighed in helplessness. Lu Xingwang said, [Didn’t I tell you, people will die.]

The truth was the truth, but the child on the other end of the phone obviously turned deaf ear to this. He was headstrong and refused to listen and said, “But, I don’t want you to die.”

Even though he knew it was unreasonable, he still suppressed his sobs and his voice even trembled when he spoke, “Can…can you not die?”