When Xie Tao woke up again, she found herself being carried on someone’s back.
A thick scarf wrapped most of her face, and she only felt a severe headache, her mind was foggy and somewhat slow to respond.
Perhaps because she moved a bit, the young man carrying her through the snowy morning turned his head, “Are you awake?”
Xie Tao recognized the voice as Xie Lan’s.
“You…” As soon as she opened her mouth, her throat felt painfully raw, her voice hoarse.
“I was nearby handling some errands today, brought you breakfast on the way, but you didn’t answer the door or your phone, so I had to go in myself…”
“You’re running a fever, I need to take you to the hospital.”
Xie Lan carried her quickly towards the roadside, trying to hail a taxi.
In broad daylight, it wasn’t appropriate for him to use magic, otherwise, he could have been faster.
When Xie Tao was helped by Xie Lan to sit in the taxi, she turned her head to look at Xie Lan sitting beside her, her expression a bit dazed.
“Sir, to the hospital,” Xie Lan closed the car door and told the driver.
During the drive, Xie Tao heard Xie Lan muttering beside her ear, “What exactly did you do yesterday? How did you manage to get yourself sick? Do you know you’re quite heavy? It was tiring for me…”
“You could have just ignored me.”
Xie Tao coughed, her voice dry and weak.
“How could I do that? If I didn’t care about you, would you have just slept through it?” Xie Lan glanced at her, then pulled down the woolen hat on her head, covering her line of sight.
“…”
Silently, Xie Tao reached up to lift the hat a little.
But at that moment, as she turned her head to look at the snowflakes fluttering outside the window, a warmth suddenly surged in her heart.
She fell asleep in the car without realizing it.
It was only when Xie Lan nudged her that she opened her eyes, still groggy, just in time to meet the smiling eyes of the driver.
Only then did Xie Tao realize she was in the car.
“Come on out,” Xie Lan extended his hand to her.
In such cold weather, opening the car door, the young man standing slightly bent outside was only wearing a black hoodie and a pair of thin, ripped jeans, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
He stood there, reaching out to Xie Tao.
His naturally prominent eyebrows and eyes, at that moment, carried a hint of indescribable softness.
After getting out of the car, Xie Lan initially wanted to carry Xie Tao, but she refused.
From registration to waiting for consultation, Xie Lan was busy running back and forth for her, and when it was time to see the doctor, he was the one who supported Xie Tao inside.
The doctor prescribed some medicine and recommended an IV drip, directing them to the outpatient department.
Although Xie Lan seemed carefree, he was sometimes meticulous. He helped Xie Tao into the ward and had her lie down on the bed, then covered her with a blanket.
When the nurse came to administer Xie Tao’s IV drip, Xie Lan watched as the needle was slowly inserted into Xie Tao’s vein, his brows furrowing as if he were the one being pricked.
After the nurse left, he went to the bedside and said to Xie Tao, “I’ll go get your medicine and be right back.”
Xie Tao looked at him and nodded.
Besides her, there were four or five other beds in the ward, each with a patient receiving an IV drip, and each patient had someone sitting beside them, chatting about household matters to pass the time.
Xie Tao watched them for a long while until Xie Lan appeared again at the door of the ward.
He was already carrying a bag of medicine.
Pulling up a stool next to Xie Tao’s bed, Xie Lan placed the bag of medicine on the bedside table next to her and then asked her, “Do you want to eat something?”
Xie Tao half-opened her eyes and shook her head.
She stared at Xie Lan for a long time, and just as her consciousness began to blur, she suddenly called out to him, “Xie Lan.”
“What is it?” Xie Lan asked her.
“Why are you so good to me?”
This question had been on Xie Tao’s mind for a long time without being asked.
But at that moment, looking at the young man with disheveled hair sitting in front of her, many hesitations suddenly vanished.
Whether it was Xie Lan or Old Xi.
They were both so good to her.
And in that small tavern that always opened late at night, when she was eating with them, even though she never got to eat meat, she actually felt quite happy.
Eating together with three people was always better than eating alone.
Just like the meat she could never snatch from under their chopsticks, that was the delicacy she longed for the most.
But why did they, strangers met by chance, treat her so kindly?
Xie Tao couldn’t understand.
Yet, Xie Tao was still very grateful.
“You’re not willing to accept kindness?” Xie Lan clicked his tongue, pulling up the blanket for her.
Perhaps catching the serious look in her eyes as she sought his answer, Xie Lan paused, then suddenly chuckled with a somewhat lazy voice, “Maybe it’s because I’ve called you ‘Tao Tao sister’ too much,”
“So, I couldn’t help but start to see you as a younger sister.”
The young man’s voice was clear, and his eyebrows and eyes still carried a hint of unrestrained boldness. When he looked at her, his eyes seemed to hide a faint light.
What he said seemed casual, but also carried a bit of seriousness.
Xie Tao had thought of countless reasons, but she never expected to hear such words from him.
What she didn’t know was,
The young man in front of her, who always appeared carefree and seemingly without a worry in the world, was in fact, a person who had been lonely for many years.
If he hadn’t found that seemingly ordinary but uniquely made bottle, releasing Old Xi who had been trapped inside for hundreds of years, he might still be a junk collector now.
The former Xie Lan, had always resisted the world.
At the age of fourteen, he left the orphanage alone, living a hand-to-mouth existence by collecting junk.
Many people wanted to help him, to get him back to school.
But Xie Lan found it pointless.
Even living seemed like a rather pointless thing.
Until he met Old Xi, and his aimless life seemed to finally let in a bit of light.
Although he always resisted becoming the temporary boss of the small tavern, he couldn’t deny that the years he spent at the tavern indeed made him happier.
“Sleep now, you’ll feel better when you wake up.”
Seeing Xie Tao’s stunned look, Xie Lan patted her blanket, saying.
It was unclear whether it was his gentle voice or the effect of the IV that had a sedative effect, but Xie Tao gradually closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
In her dream, she seemed to dream of Wei Yun again.
Just like in yesterday’s snowstorm, he was wearing a dark cloak and an indigo robe with silver threads, extending his hand towards her, the indigo sleeves flapping in the wind.
Xie Tao tried hard to reach for his hand, but she could never touch his fingertips.
Later, he gradually disappeared with that mysterious light screen.
No matter how much she called out, she could not hear his echo.
When she woke up again, the IV needle on the back of her hand had been removed at some point. It took her a while to realize, and when she turned her head, she saw Old Xi’s face.
“You’re awake.” Old Xi smiled at her and then pointed to the thermos on the bedside table, “Just in time, I’ve made some porridge for you. You’ve missed two meals; are you hungry?”
Perhaps it was the word “hungry” she heard from his mouth that made her stomach react, making a slight noise.
Xie Tao touched her stomach and pursed her lips a bit embarrassedly, “Thank you, Uncle Xi…”
Xie Lan hummed beside her, “If you hadn’t gotten sick, we could have been eating beef hot pot…”
“…I’ll make it up to you when I’m better,” Xie Tao said, holding a bowl of porridge that Old Xi had handed her.
“There’s no need for you to make it up; let Old Xi treat us once you’re better!” Xie Lan pointed at Old Xi.
Old Xi also laughed, “I’ll treat.”
As Xie Tao spooned porridge into her mouth, she didn’t know if it was because it was too hot or something else, but her eyes suddenly felt warm.
She had never imagined that when she was sick, there would be two people running around for her, even making porridge for her…
Xie Tao pressed her lips together, and after a long while, she looked at them and said, “Xie Lan, Uncle Xi,”
“Thank you… really, thank you.”
No matter what, Xie Tao was always such a person.
She was grateful for everyone in the world who showed her kindness and warmth.
Because they deserved it.
And at that moment, Xie Lan and Old Xi made Xie Tao feel a sense of family that she had not felt in a long time.
“It’s the friendship built over many meals, what’s there to thank?” Xie Lan tugged at the pompom hanging from her hat.
Just then, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.
Xie Tao instinctively looked over, and her expression changed.
It was Su Linghua.
She was wearing a light-colored dress with a woolen coat over it and long boots on her feet, making her legs look even slimmer. Her already beautiful face was made up delicately, making her whole person exude an elegant temperament.
But standing there with her bag, facing Xie Tao’s eyes, she seemed particularly hesitant.
The atmosphere in the ward changed for a moment.
Old Xi, being the savvy immortal he was, caught the hint at a glance and then said to Xie Lan, “Let’s go out.”
Xie Lan didn’t understand, “Go out for what?”
“…”
Old Xi simply didn’t explain and dragged Xie Lan out of the ward.
“Old Xi, what are you doing? Who is that woman?” Xie Lan released his hand, utterly puzzled.
“Xie Tao’s mother.”
Old Xi held two transparent beads in his hand, calmly responding.
“Tao Tao’s mom?”
Xie Lan hissed, rubbing his chin, “Then why do I feel something off about the atmosphere between them?”
Old Xi had investigated Xie Tao, so he was pretty clear about her matters, including her past.
Thus, outside the sickroom, Old Xi started to tell Xie Lan about Xie Tao’s story.
Meanwhile, inside the sickroom, the other patients on the beds had mostly left, leaving only two people lying in bed receiving IV drips, eyes closed, sleeping.
The sickroom was particularly quiet.
“Tao Tao…” Su Linghua walked up to Xie Tao’s sickbed and finally called out to her.
Xie Tao remained silent for a long while before asking:
“What are you doing here?”
Su Linghua appeared very uneasy, hurriedly responding to Xie Tao’s question, “This morning, your homeroom teacher called home, saying you hadn’t gone to school…”
“Later, I heard from the homeroom teacher that you were ill, someone had requested leave for you, I… I was worried about you, so I asked your homeroom teacher for the hospital address and came over.”
Listening to Su Linghua’s voice, Xie Tao, holding a bowl of hot porridge, looked down, and after a moment, said, “I’m fine, you… should go.”
“You’re sick, I came to take care of you.”
Su Linghua put her bag on the bedside cabinet, softly saying.
Take care?
Hearing this, Xie Tao’s lips were tightly pressed, her fingers holding the bowl of porridge gradually tightened.
“No need.” Her eyelashes trembled, she tried to appear calm enough.
“Tao Tao, can you not reject me every time?”
Su Linghua frowned, seemingly unable to contain her emotions, her voice suddenly became louder.
Even a bit sharp.
After a pause, she stiffened, her expression softened again, and her voice lowered, “You’re sick, you need my care.”
Xie Tao kept her eyes down, not looking at her, and upon hearing this, she shook her head, softly saying, “I don’t need care.”
For a moment, her voice became especially faint:
“Really… no need.”
In fact, it had not been needed for a long time.
So let what has passed, pass.
“Tao Tao…”
Su Linghua seemed to be stirred by her appearance, recalling many past events, and her eyes welled up with tears.
And then Xie Tao suddenly looked up, staring at Su Linghua, who was covering her mouth and shedding tears, for a while before she suddenly said,
“Mom, look, every time you see me, you can’t help but cry,”
She paused, “I feel the same when I see you.”
“You can’t forget many things from the past, and neither can I. If that’s the case, why do you insist on seeing me?”
“Seeing me makes you upset, and seeing you makes me feel the same.”
Xie Tao looked at her, her eyes gradually filling with a layer of light moisture,
“Mom, let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
Like this, maintaining the distance that should exist, locking all matters in the chest of our hearts, there’s no need to see each other again, nor to torment ourselves by shedding more tears when facing each other.
Blood ties will always be blood ties.
Su Linghua had been good to her, and bad to her, so everything can only be like it is now, staying apart from each other is the best solution.
Just as Xie Tao can’t forget those painful years, neither can Su Linghua.
Xie Tao is Su Linghua’s regret, and also a witness to her chaotic years and troubled self.
How much she can’t face that hysterical, completely irrational version of herself, is how much she can’t face the daughter who was tormented because of her past self.
Her love for Xie Tao was real, so was the harm, and now, her full heart of guilt is also real.
But those are scars that time can never heal, an affliction she can never rid from her body, no matter what.
“Xie Tao, you’re my daughter, you say you don’t need my care? Look at what you’ve become all by yourself?”
Perhaps out of desperation, her emotions started to become agitated, somewhat resembling the way she was back when Xie Tao was still at the Zheng family’s home, before she realized how much she owed Xie Tao.
She seemed to want to say more, but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
