But what should I do next?
The medical conditions in China are no comparison to those in Paris, and Jian Yan’s sudden arrival in Rongcheng was something she understood clearly by now. What she needed to do was to send Jian Yan back to Paris for recuperation and treatment.
It wasn’t until Xiaomei came out of the room with eyes red from crying, that Qin Mu went in again.
The bed had been raised. He lay there, bloodshot eyes staring at her as if he could see through all the twists and turns in her heart without her saying a word. She was silent to an extreme, but her face bore the word "stubborn."
"I won’t die, don’t worry," he soothed gently.
Qin Mu didn’t even lift her eyes, but stubbornness persisted in her gaze beneath her long eyelashes.
He said he wouldn’t die, but back when he suddenly collapsed in the office, she truly thought he was dying.
"Why don’t you say something? Aren’t you usually good at talking back to me?"
Although weak, Jian Yan was somewhat worried to see Qin Mu so obstinate. She was used to keeping things bottled up inside for too long. At this moment, she should have a lot of grievances to vent against him.
"Now there are three people in this world whose calling me Mumu is most warming to my heart. The first is Mu Yichen, the second is Helian Hao, and the third is you. You three are more precious to me than anyone else, and yet you, being so precious, you actually..."
Qin Mu couldn’t go on, just biting her teeth hard, her eyes filled with anger as she looked at the man on the hospital bed.
"So I’m one of your most precious people, you should have told me sooner,"
Jian Yan said, laughing softly.
Qin Mu saw that he could still laugh and was even more angry, "Wait until you’re a bit better and then go back to Paris for treatment. Promise me!"
Jian Yan laughed again at her stubborn appearance, "The reason I came to Rongcheng was to give you one last bit of help as your mentor, your ’father’."
When he said the word "father," he looked at her with particular intensity, his gaze not one of reprimand, but of indulgence.
Qin Mu knew that he hated being made to feel old by her, given that he was actually quite young. Realizing this, she looked down again, "You’re alive, you can help me for many more years, and although it’s getting worse, as long as treatment is timely and we prevent the cancer cells from spreading..."
"Mumu, my father died from gastric cancer on the operating table. The doctors said it was benign, that there was a good chance, but what happened? He was a corpse when he came out."
"So what? You won’t accept treatment? You have a disease that could clearly be cured, but you want to drag it out until you die?"
Qin Mu was finally angered, though she hadn’t wanted to quarrel with him so soon.
Hearing him talk about his father pained her as well, and she could understand how he felt at the time. But there are some things that simply must be done.
Jian Yan didn’t say anything more, looking at her as tears nearly fell. He suddenly felt that nothing else mattered.
"I know all surgeries come with risks, like when I gave birth to Huanhuan, wasn’t there also talk of a risk to life? But Jian Yan—, we must accept treatment. You won’t have any problems."
She knelt in front of his hospital bed, clutching his hand forcefully. Just a few hours had passed, and her eyes had become deeply sunken and red.
Jian Yan just watched her, this girl he had known and understood in only a few years, but now as she stood by his hospital bed, he felt a sense of solidity he had never known before.
One could say that in forty years of life, this was the first time he felt a sense of belonging, as if he wasn’t alone anymore.
Her hand was soft, warm, and even though she didn’t love him, she was the person he loved most.
He felt the palm holding his own was moist with sweat.
Qin Mu’s phone suddenly rang, piercing the silence of the hospital room.
When she finally realized what was happening, she still reluctantly didn’t want to answer it until Jian Yan urged her, "Answer it first, what if it’s an emergency?"
Qin Mu unwillingly lowered her head to take out her phone from her backpack, her dark apricot eyes trembling as she looked at the number on the screen. She answered with a feeble greeting, "Teacher Han, hello!"
"Qin Mu, as you expected, what do you plan to do next?"