Sunlight shines into the room through the glass windows, giving the cold ward a touch of warmth.
The man on the hospital bed was thin and pale, holding a book in his hand. He was leaning on the bedside and looking attentively at the woman sitting beside the bed peeling an apple.
Huo Xiao stood outside the door, hesitating for a moment whether to disturb this beautiful and peaceful scene.
It had been a while since he moved out of his home. His busy work made him distracted from daydreams, and his chaotic emotions gradually calmed down.
But his brother's condition suddenly showed signs of deterioration and he was undergoing chemotherapy in the hospital. After hearing the news, he hurried over to visit.
"elder brother."
Huo Yan looked up and saw him, smiled and waved, and Huo Xiao opened the door and entered.
The woman stood up from the stool. Her long hair was braided on the side and fell on her chest. She was wearing a white shirt and skirt. She smiled at him and said, "Brother."
Huo Xiao only glanced restrainedly and then looked away.
He sat down and asked a few questions about Huo Yan's physical condition.
The woman walked out with the kettle.
Huo Yan's expression changed, his brows furrowed, he covered his mouth and stood up from the bed.
"What's wrong?"
Huo Xiao was startled and quickly stepped forward to help him into the bathroom.
Huo Yan lay on the toilet and vomited, but all he vomited out was water. His face was pale, and the veins on his slender neck were bulging. Huo Xiao frowned, feeling uncomfortable, and patted his back gently with his palm.
"Why didn't you say it just now?"
Huo Yan rinsed his mouth with water and washed his face.
In the mirror, his face was pale, and even his lips had no color at all. His brows and eyes were full of illness, and drops of water fell down his pointed chin. The large hospital gown on his body made him look particularly thin.
Huo Yan lowered his eyelashes and looked away, his bright eyes becoming dull.
He could feel his physical condition himself. He was just lingering and couldn't hold on for much longer.
"I just... don't want to leave her with the last memories of darkness, physical torture, and repressed pain. Sometimes, I would rather end it quickly than it is now... "
Before he finished speaking, he covered his mouth and started coughing.
Huo Xiao felt as if his heart was tightly grasped by something, and it shrank into a ball in an instant.
Stepping forward to support his body, Huo Yan's skin was cold and there was no warmth at all. Huo Xiao touched his wrist. The joints were prominent and it was thinner than it looked.
Huo Yan leaned lightly on Huo Xiao's shoulder, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, and his voice was slightly hoarse.
"Brother, I have worked hard for you all this time. Because you are here, I don't have to bear so much pressure. I can do what I want to do and live a relaxed life..."
Hearing his last words, Huo Xiao felt as if he had been stabbed with a knife, and unbearable pain surged into his throat, "You..."
Huo Yan raised his head and looked at Huo Xiao quietly. His eyes were like a lake under the setting sun, sparkling with waves.
"Brother, you will have to worry more about your parents in the future. There is one more thing..."
"I want to ask you to help me take care of Mingyao after I leave. She is introverted and not sociable. I'm afraid that she will--"
Before he finished speaking, the door to the ward was pushed open by a nurse.
The nurse signaled to Huo Yan that it was time for an examination.
Huo Xiao looked at Huo Yan's retreating back. The bones on his back were clearly protruding from the thin hospital gown.
Thinking of what he just said, Huo Xiao felt as if his heart was pressed down by a heavy stone, and every breath he took felt suffocating and weak.
He touched the cigarette case in his pocket and endured it again.
The ward door was pushed open again, and Mingyao walked in carrying a kettle and a bouquet of blue and purple platycodon flowers.
She was startled when she saw Huo Xiao standing alone in the ward. Huo Xiao told her that Huo Yan had gone for a check-up.
Mingyao said "Oh", pursed her lips and smiled at him, then she didn't know what to say.
To avoid embarrassment, she found things for herself to do.
Sitting on the stool, he opened the bouquet and inserted it one by one into the transparent long-necked glass bottle.
"..."
A light aroma penetrated into the nostrils, I don't know if it was the scent of flowers or the smell of a woman.
Haven't seen her for a long time.
Huo Xiao couldn't help but stare at her.
She lowered her head, and her profile was delicate and soft.
The appearance slowly overlapped with Huo Xiao's appearance when he first saw her.
The two of them were very close, and Huo Xiao saw the small down on her cheeks, her full lips with a light pink color, her focused and calm expression, revealing a section of her fair and slender neck. Against the background of gorgeous flowers, it is as quiet as an oil painting.
The window was opened a crack, and a gust of wind blew over. The broken hair on her temples swayed slightly, and it seemed to fall on her heart. Her heart beat violently out of her control, and Huo Xiao was in a trance for a moment.
"Ah, you're back?"
Mingyao turned to look at the door, "What are the test results?"
When Huo Xiao raised his eyes, he found Huo Yan standing at the door of the ward, looking at the two of them quietly for an unknown amount of time.
"The results haven't come out yet, nothing's wrong, you don't have to worry..."
Huo Yan smiled at Mingyao, and then turned his eyes to Huo Xiao.
Huo Xiao lowered his eyelashes.
For a moment, I didn't dare to look into his clear and calm eyes.
Feeling confused inside, Huo Xiao stood up and left.
Before leaving, he looked back at the ward.
The two people in the room are like two gravitational magnets. Whenever the other person appears, their attention will be attracted to them. Everything around them is like a background, and no third person can be allowed to intervene.
Huo Xiao turned and left.
I didn't want to go back to the company, let alone go home. I had nowhere to go.
Immediately, he thought of a place, stepped on the accelerator and drove out of the city.
An hour later, the car stopped at the foot of the mountain.
Huo Xiao got out of the car and climbed up the long stone steps.
The distant mountains are like black daisy, and the setting sun is setting alone.
The temple is on the top of a mountain with deep mountains. The magnificent temple is antique and solemn.
There are many people in the temple, but it is not noisy. There are tourists and pilgrims, and most of them have pious respect on their faces.
A tall Buddha statue stands in the main hall of the temple, the fragrance of Buddha is lingering, and the bells are ringing melodiously.
Huo Xiao has no religious beliefs and never believes in fate.
He only believes in himself.
Only by trusting your own mind and hands can you create your own value.
But in the face of life, old age, illness and death, no matter how capable he is, there is nothing he can do.
Sometimes, a kind of sad and angry question arises in my heart.
Why, why Huo Yan?
He has a good nature and has never done anything bad.
Why take away his life when he was in his prime and found his true love?
At this moment, everything was silent, no one responded to his questions, only the sound of ringing bells and chimes echoed.
Huo Xiao cleared his mind, burned incense, put his hands together, and closed his eyes.
Bow down devoutly, kowtow, and recite silently in your heart.
Please wish Huo Yan's condition to improve and turn the crisis around.
I am willing to exchange my life...
The Buddha statue in the main hall is lightly dusted under the setting sun, looking at all living beings, holding flowers and smiling.
