Chapter 468: Meeting Huanzhu Again
"Thanks for everything you’ve done." These were the first words Wu Sheng spoke to Tang Yuanxiao.
"There’s nothing to thank me for." Tang Yuanxiao paused. "I heard you were awake, so I came to see you."
"Yeah, I know." Wu Sheng nodded. "Aside from feeling a bit weak, everything else is fine."
"That’s good, then." After just a couple of exchanges, Tang Yuanxiao found he had nothing more to say.
Su Li poured a cup of hot water and handed it to Tang Yuanxiao.
"Drink some hot water to warm up. It’s pretty cold outside."
Tang Yuanxiao glanced at Su Li and took the water. "Thanks."
It was indeed quite cold outside. It was already winter, and the temperature had started to drop today. It looked like it would snow soon.
His hands, which had grown stiff and cold on the way over, gradually warmed up from the hot water.
Tang Yuanxiao sipped the hot water, and the tension around his eyes and brow slowly eased from the warmth.
Silence fell in the hospital room. Wu Sheng took the water Su Li poured for him and obediently drank it as well.
He took a couple of sips and was about to speak to Tang Yuanxiao when he noticed the other man was lost in thought, his mind wandering.
Wu Sheng swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He watched Tang Yuanxiao as he continued to drink his water.
Su Li stood to the side, watching them, not saying a word either.
Wu Sheng had drunk half a cup of water before Tang Yuanxiao abruptly snapped out of his daze, only to be met with Wu Sheng’s probing gaze.
"What were you thinking about so intently?"
Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes flickered uncontrollably toward Su Li, then he shook his head. "Nothing."
Wu Sheng saw his movement clearly. He lowered his gaze and continued to drink his water.
Seeing Wu Sheng’s reaction, Tang Yuanxiao realized his own gesture had been a dead giveaway, only making things more obvious.
He hesitated, opening his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
Tang Yuanxiao silently began to drink his water faster.
The water was hot. It should have been sipped slowly to let his body warm up gradually; drinking it quickly would make it feel scalding.
But Tang Yuanxiao sped up anyway, gulping it down, one large mouthful after another, finishing the rest in just a few swallows.
"Since you’re awake and all right, I’ll be going now."
Tang Yuanxiao stood up.
"It’s almost dinnertime. Stay and eat before you go. My mom will be here with food soon, and she’s bringing Little Point with her."
Wu Sheng urged him.
"No, I’m going to the sanatorium." Tang Yuanxiao glanced at Wu Sheng and shook his head.
When he said "sanatorium," he was referring to Mrs. Tang. Wu Sheng didn’t press him further. Hearing the word, Su Li also swallowed the words she had been about to say.
"I’m leaving." Tang Yuanxiao gave them one last look and, without any more fuss, turned and walked out.
Su Li stood and took two steps forward, then stopped.
"Aren’t you going to see him out?" Wu Sheng asked, noticing her movement.
Su Li shook her head. "No, I won’t."
"I wouldn’t mind if you did," Wu Sheng said.
"I know, but I’d rather not." Su Li’s brow furrowed slightly.
’For some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Tang Yuanxiao’s gaze was strange.’
’She didn’t know how to describe it, but she’d felt something was off these last few times.’
’It seemed complicated, laced with confusion and a kind of unspoken hesitation. Today, it was even more pronounced.’
Su Li couldn’t figure out why Tang Yuanxiao was acting this way. He probably wouldn’t tell her even if she asked, and seeing him out would likely just prolong the silence from the room.
Wu Sheng watched Su Li frown and space out, his gaze finally resting on the doorway of the room.
Wu Sheng had also seen the complexity in Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes.
He hadn’t just seen the complicated way Tang Yuanxiao looked at Su Li; he’d also noticed that the man’s gaze toward him was just as complex.
’He had no idea what Tang Yuanxiao was actually thinking about.’
Neither Wu Sheng nor Su Li could possibly imagine or guess what was on Tang Yuanxiao’s mind.
How could they? Tang Yuanxiao himself couldn’t quite figure it out.
He had previously heard that Bai Xinyue had gone blind in one eye and had only thought of it as retribution. But in the hospital room, after Su Li handed him that cup of hot water and he glanced at her through the steam, some intangible images and thoughts had inexplicably appeared in his mind.
It was Bai Xinyue who had gone blind, but for some reason, the words that flashed through Tang Yuanxiao’s mind were: ’Su Li’s right eye is blind.’
The images and thoughts flashed through his mind and were gone in an instant, impossible to grasp, yet the idea itself was incredibly clear.
Lately, Tang Yuanxiao’s dreams had been intermittent.
The dreams about Qin Shanshan had stopped after she left, but he was still dreaming about Su Li.
They just weren’t as frequent anymore. He would usually dream again only after seeing Su Li. Sometimes it was a repeat of that dream where he was choking her; other times, it was something else.
But just like before, he knew he had dreamed, yet his mind was a complete blank upon waking.
Tang Yuanxiao had a gut feeling that the dreams were important, but he just couldn’t remember what they were about when he woke up.
For this reason, every time Tang Yuanxiao saw Su Li now, he would have a conditioned reflex, a momentary trance.
But today was the first time he’d had such a clear thought.
For a moment, Tang Yuanxiao couldn’t make sense of it. It was Bai Xinyue who had lost an eye, and she was the one connected to Wu Sheng, yet he was the one who inexplicably had that thought.
Tang Yuanxiao left the hospital room, his steps quick.
The hot water he had gulped down earlier suddenly flared up inside him, and even his face felt scorching hot.
Tang Yuanxiao hurried downstairs and out of the inpatient building. The moment he stepped outside, a blast of cold air hit him.
Tang Yuanxiao felt instantly refreshed. He exhaled, looked up at the inpatient building, then at the sky, and after a moment, strode away.
「It’s going to snow...」
The snow came faster than expected. Halfway to the sanatorium, snowflakes began to drift down.
The flakes went from small to large, and in just a short while, they were coming down in sheets.
A vast expanse of white filled his vision.
Tang Yuanxiao quickened his pace. About a hundred meters from the sanatorium, his gaze swept casually over the people standing on the side of the street.
After a couple of steps, Tang Yuanxiao slowed down, hesitated, and looked back again.
He looked again. He hadn’t been mistaken.
The person standing ramrod straight on the street, staring directly ahead, was Lin Huanzhu—the female police officer.
Lin Huanzhu had been standing there for who knows how long; a layer of white snow had already settled on her head and shoulders.
Tang Yuanxiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to greet her.
"Lin Huanzhu?"
Tang Yuanxiao called out, but Lin Huanzhu didn’t seem to hear him, her gaze remaining fixed straight ahead.
She was like a statue, seemingly unaware, but if you looked closely, you could see—or feel—the aura of sorrow surrounding her.
A deep, painful sorrow.
Watching Lin Huanzhu’s back, Tang Yuanxiao found himself unable to move.
He didn’t understand the source of her heavy grief, but suddenly, he felt a pang of sorrow in his own heart.
Tang Yuanxiao stood there for a moment, looked at the ever-thickening snow, and then began to walk toward Lin Huanzhu.
"Xiao Lin... Lin Huanzhu."
Tang Yuanxiao stood beside Lin Huanzhu and called out again.
Lin Huanzhu’s eyelashes trembled. A snowflake resting on them fell, instantly melting into water. It mixed with whatever was in her eyes as it streamed down her face, making it impossible to tell if it was tears or just melted snow.