Qiao Xiaren followed a group of people to the military camp. The further they walked, the louder the discussions became. When Qiao Xiaren saw Si Zhilan, she was lying on the bed, pale and thin, almost skeletal, her eyes dim and lifeless.
As if sensing someone's approach, Si Zhilan looked up. She saw a 17-year-old girl, but her eyes were as cool and detached as if she were surveying humanity from a distance, distinctly chilly, unlike girls her age.
Si Zhilan didn't know that her brother had brought a doctor. She didn't want to leave Shanshui Town or the man she loved, even though they couldn't be together.
If possible, it would be good to die , at least she could die where he resided, without enduring more torment.
"Your illness is very serious,"
Qiao Xiaren sat down, casting a glance at her. Not only was her body ill, but a sickness was clearly plaguing her heart too.
Perhaps due to being isolated for too long, Si Zhilan felt an unexpected sense of ease facing this stranger girl.
This girl's words carried a sense of cool relief, a comfort that Si Zhilan couldn't comprehend - why...
Qiao Xiaren took her pulse, trying to diagnose the issue. Caught off guard, Si Zhilan yanked her hand away, accusingly asking, "Why are you touching me?"
"I'm the doctor your brother asked for,"
"I don't need a doctor."
Si Zhilan stubbornly pulled away her hand. She had already resigned herself to death, especially after she lost the child. She would have rather died with him promptly.
"Suit yourself," Qiao Xiaren spat out indifferently. Si Zhilan was stunned for a moment, looking at this unconventional girl in shock.
Anyone else would have tried to persuade her relentlessly.
Qiao Xiaren seemed not to care how she was perceived, nonchalantly leaning to the side, a medical book in her hand, leisurely browsing through, propping her head with the other hand. Her relaxed posture seemed more fitting for a library instead of here.
"You... aren't you afraid my brother will punish you?" gasped the slack-jawed woman.
Everybody was afraid of Zhilan's brother, Limo, even though he rarely lost his temper. Many dreaded him still.
Was this young girl really not afraid of death?
"Medicine can cure the body, but not the heart," Qiao Xiaren turned a page indifferently, "Miss Si, when you can't control even your own life and death, don't meddle with others,"
Again, Si Zhilan was left speechless.
For a long moment, silence.
Si Zhilan still lay on the bed, but instead of seeming like a stagnant pool as before, she now turned and tossed frequently.
Qiao Xiaren didn't care what she was doing, she continued reading her book. Si Zhilan stole glances at the slender and delicate fingers that flipped through pages, yet Qiao Xiaren remained calm and composed.
"Child, have you told me, you've come of age?"
She was incredibly curious.
Exactly as she had anticipated.
In the following days, Qiao Xiaren stayed by Si Zhilan's side, but she neither initiated conversations nor did she entice her to accept treatment.
She ate and drank as necessary and slept when tired.
Si Zhilan was curious as to why a 17-year-old girl could always maintain such a calm and detached demeanour.
Limo's men came repeatedly to rush Qiao Xiaren, but she was never in a hurry, spending her time reading medical books, brewing tea when free.
Si Zhilan sat up at the smell of the tea. Somehow, she felt a strong desire to drink it. She reached over to take the cup from the young girl's hands.
"A bit bitter, but sweet afterwards,"
Qiao Xiaren smiled at her, raising her cup in a toast, "Then speak less and drink more tea,"
Si Zhilan had assumed that Qiao Xiaren would seize this opportunity to give a passionate speech on the importance of cherishing life, dispensing customary wisdom on the topic, but Qiao Xiaren simply told her to drink more tea.