On the terrace at the end of the hospital corridor, the summer ivy remained lush green, yet the wind blowing in carried the cool edge of early autumn.
“I apologize for visiting Xiao Cheng so late. I tried to find you… and I called you, too… but your phone was never on.”
Luo Xi’s voice was as calm as the threads of rain drifting from the sky, only betraying a slight hint of emotion on the last sentence.
“……” Her eyelashes slowly veiled Yin Xia Mo’s eyes. She gazed at the wet streaks left by the rain on the terrace floor before finally speaking after a long moment: “The hospital requires quiet, so I turned my phone off.”
“Is that so…” “Mm.”
Silence descended upon this corner of the hospital.
Luo Xi looked at the woman beside him.
Through the swirling mist of rain, Yin Xia Mo’s eyes were serene and transparent, as if he were an old friend she hadn't seen in ages—a faint memory, devoid of any emotional surge.
Luo Xi retracted his gaze almost instantly. That indifferent expression caused an agonizing wrench in his heart, leaving him almost without the courage to remain there.
Just now, when he first saw her in the ward, her stunned, lost eyes and the sudden pallor of her lips had almost made him believe that a part of her still held him in her heart… Had he seen things wrongly…? He gathered his drifting thoughts and spoke again, “Then, how is Xiao Cheng’s condition?” “…His health has always been rather delicate. This hospitalization is for a good period of rest. We’ll bring him home once he’s fully recovered.”
She managed a smile, doing her best.
“Is that so?” He frowned, sensing that something was not quite right.
“……Mm.”
Her smile seemed brittle.
“I… I might visit Xiao Cheng often,” Luo Xi said slowly, “…I hope it won't disturb you.”
“It’s unnecessary.”
Yin Xia Mo replied quickly, her gaze dropping instantly.
Luo Xi’s deliberately relaxed body froze solid! He stared at her fixedly, a chill beginning to seep slowly through his bloodstream.
The hundreds of arguments he had rehearsed on the way over vanished in that instant, scattered by her three brief, icy words. Amidst the cold pain in his chest, he could barely control himself and asked, “What? Are you afraid I’ll run into Ou Chen at the hospital? Are you afraid I’ll bring you trouble?” Yin Xia Mo silently watched the rain marks on the terrace. The exhaustion of the past few days left her with no energy to argue anything. She quietly responded, “If that’s what you believe, then yes, that’s it.”
A sudden, sharp heartache! Now, she didn’t even deign to deny or defend herself? What was he still doing here?! Luo Xi clenched his fingers, unwilling to stay a moment longer, almost wanting to turn and leave immediately! Yet, his last vestiges of reason rooted his feet to the spot. Despite the pain of being stabbed, he knew this was the final chance; if he walked away now, he truly would never win her back…
“I’m sorry.”
Luo Xi apologized with difficulty.
The mocking words hadn't changed Yin Xia Mo’s expression, but these short three words, seeming to carry endless pain, made her lift her head sharply! Looking at his bleak, wounded face, the numbness in her own heart seemed to slowly awaken. Her lips moved; she tried to say something, but what could she possibly say…? Having agreed to Ou Chen’s terms, what right did she have left to explain… For a moment.
Neither of them spoke.
“Yesterday, I actually ran into a host from the old super-star days. He still remembers us.”
After a long pause, Luo Xi broke the silence.
Summer of Foam III