Chapter 1265: The Events of Those Years
Zhou Chengchen didn’t rush off to find Xi Siyan because of Liu Xiaoyu’s words. They had been apart for three years, and some things had indeed changed.
After parting ways with Liu Xiaoyu, Zhou Chengchen didn’t hesitate to dial An Rui’s number.
She wanted to know what had happened to Xi Siyan back then!
Liu Xiaoyu didn’t know, but someone did. There’s only a handful of people around Xi Siyan; if one doesn’t know, another surely does.
By the time she met with An Rui, it was almost four in the afternoon. Zhou Chengchen wasted no time and got straight to the point: "What happened to Xi Siyan back then?"
They were meeting in a cafe, and hearing Zhou Chengchen’s straightforward question, An Rui almost spat out his coffee.
"Cough cough... Why... why are you asking about this?"
"Tell me."
Zhou Chengchen’s expression was very serious, serious enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
An Rui gradually collected his thoughts, was silent for two seconds, and then smiled a bit: "You should ask him about it yourself."
"Speak!"
The Zhou Family’s young lady wasn’t just for show. She rarely threw her weight around, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t. Now both her hands were resting on the table, her gaze steady and determined, her imposing aura spreading instantly.
An Rui opened his mouth, took a moment, then cursed under his breath: "Damn."
Then he looked at Zhou Chengchen, his tone returning to normal: "He went for surgery back then."
"Surgery?"
"You know Xi Siyan’s identity, right? Then you should also know he has a half-sister. That girl got sick and needed a bone marrow transplant. Xi Siyan was a match, so after the college entrance exams, he went to the hospital."
An Rui spoke plainly, but Zhou Chengchen felt like she’d been hit hard by something.
She felt as though her soul had left her body, not knowing where it had gone, leaving only a shell, mechanical and rigid.
An Rui shared everything he knew, just as Zhou Chengchen had suspected. What Liu Xiaoyu didn’t know, An Rui did.
Leaving the cafe, Zhou Chengchen didn’t know where she should go or where she should head.
What must he have felt back then, being forced into compliance by his own parents in such a manner?
No wonder, during that period, no matter how they gathered, Xi Siyan would never drink. He had already been bearing all that alone since then?
Donating bone marrow wouldn’t be life-threatening, but being coerced into donation, how cold must his heart have been?
"Xi Siyan didn’t want you to worry, nor us to worry, so no one said anything. The surgery itself wasn’t supposed to be major—he could have been discharged the next day. But as always, unexpected things can happen. He developed complications, started running a fever post-surgery, and was sick for quite a long time, so he stayed in the hospital."
An Rui’s words echoed in her ears. Zhou Chengchen bit her lip hard. Why was he so foolish? Didn’t he know that his disappearance would make her worry too?
Didn’t he like her? Then why did he have to shoulder all these messy things alone, when they clearly could have faced them together?
At this moment, Zhou Chengchen had completely forgotten about the messages and missed plans. Her heart was spinning with countless emotions, chaotic and without any logical order.
Until her phone rang, only then did Zhou Chengchen realize she had unknowingly walked to a place she herself didn’t know. She reached out to answer: "Hello?"
"Cheng Chen? Why haven’t you come back yet? It’s already so late, don’t forget your flight later."