Chapter 242

Wan, recalling the night she'd bumped into Li Xue and learned about her entrepreneurial journey from Landmine, felt a slight smile rise in her heart. Yes. Sister Li Xue and Brother Shan Qing were still alive. Alive... those two words seemed to possess a Magic Power, causing the girl's eyelashes to tremble slightly, and her head to turn instinctively. But when her gaze passed through the car window, she could no longer see Xia Yan, who had just been by the fountain. Hua Xin felt as if a void had opened up in her heart. But she didn't know why she felt this way. "He and I are already over thirty years old." "Counting the days, since we met as children, for these thirty years, we've always had each other's shadows." Li Xue's voice brought the girl back to her senses, and then, suppressing the strange emotions in her heart, she looked into Li Xue's eyes again. But this time, she seemed to... see a different emotion. "After that car accident, my stubborn old man finally relented, and about six months later, Shanqing and I got married." "Doesn't that seem fast?" Hua Xin looked at Li Xue, who still had a smile on her face, but the girl felt that the smile was somewhat forced. "Because of the car accident?" The girl said her answer softly, but there was a slight doubt in her eyes. If we follow common sense, a car accident that didn't involve any major incidents shouldn't be the reason for such a significant change in events. So... "Yes, because of the car accident." Li Xue sat up straight, placed her hands lightly on the steering wheel, withdrew her gaze from the window, and lowered her eyelids to look at her legs on the accelerator and brake pedals. She leaned back tightly in the seat, seemingly savoring something. The girl hugged the seat in front of her, rested her head on it, and quietly watched Li Xue sitting in the driver's seat. Hua Xin knew that at this time, she should be a good listener. A listener who could listen to the other person pour out their feelings. After a slight pause, Li Xue's voice sounded somewhat disjointed, her eyes glazed as she looked down. "I was unconscious at the time, it's kind of funny now." "When the truck collided with our car, I don't remember anything. Everything went black, and I have no recollection of anything after that, as if it was erased from my mind." "When I woke up, it felt like a dream." "I was fine, just some minor injuries." She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her voice gradually becoming choked with emotion. "At the time, I foolishly thought Shan Qing was alright too, and he was still by my side telling me about his near-death experience." "It wasn't until my father, whom I hadn't seen for years, surprisingly didn't speak ill of Shan Qing when I mentioned him, but instead fell silent, that I realized something was wrong." Li Xue slowly rested her head on the steering wheel, her legs gradually blurring in her vision. Hua Xin stared at her, momentarily lost in thought. "That idiot..." "When the truck hit us, it flipped our car over, and he shielded me with his body, struggling to keep me safe." "When the rescue team arrived, he said he would save me first, but he was probably already numb from the pain." "I don't know what the scene was like, how much pain he was in, how much blood he lost, or how much pressure he was under." She let out a soft sigh, her tone gradually returning to calm, forcing herself to seal away the emotions that had been building up inside her. Because as an adult, she was no longer the little girl who would only cry when things went wrong. "In the end..." "Shan Qing's lower leg was amputated." After she calmly uttered these words, the girl could clearly feel the heavy weight they carried. In a daze, Hua Xin seemed to recall that Li Xue had mentioned something similar before. She had said that Brother Shan Qing had difficulty walking, that his business had failed, and that he had returned to the countryside to farm... but the girl had only thought it was a joke at the time. "I'm sorry, Sister Li Xue..." Hua Xin apologized subconsciously. She understood all too well the indescribable emotions that came with bringing up those painful memories deep within people. In fact, this whole affair was started out of her curiosity and desire to see the drama unfold. So... Hua Xin's eyes inexplicably welled up. She didn't want to hurt the few people left around her. "Silly girl... it's all in the past." "What's there to apologize for?" Li Xue chuckled and gently ruffled the girl's hair, her face devoid of sadness. She withdrew her hand and continued slowly, "Afterwards, Shan Qing seemed to change in other people's eyes. His ideas weren't as imaginative anymore, and his dream of living in a big city wasn't as firm. Even when I told him I would listen to him, he no longer wanted to return to Beijing to continue working; instead, he resigned." She paused, her words containing a particularly firm trust: "But in my eyes, he hasn't changed." "He still loves me so much." "I still..." "I thought his physical defect had caused his personality change drastically, and he had lost hope in life. I wanted him to continue working with the same confidence as before, to get promoted and receive a raise..." Li Xue looked at Hua Xin, her expression a mixture of helplessness and emotion, and said softly, "Shan Qing said he didn't want me to wait any longer." "He said... for the past few years, from university to work, I've always been the one waiting for him, accommodating his dreams and ideas, but after this life-or-death experience, he didn't want me to wait anymore." "Let's go back and open a Milk Tea Shop together. I'll make the milk tea, and you count the money." "He said this earnestly to me while doing rehabilitation training for his prosthetic leg." "After that, he especially liked taking pictures—scenery, cats and dogs, even the flowers we kept at home..." "Later, I understood him, and we recorded our little moments together on our phones." Li Xue had a faint smile on her face, like a young girl in love, her lips curving into a smile as she spoke. "When I woke up in the hospital, I felt like I was doomed for this man." "In life, there are many choices and hardships, many compromises and accommodations, even intense conflicts and frictions." "But in the face of life and death, all of these seem insignificant." "This intense love isn't just about repaying a debt of gratitude, but..." "Trust." ... Li Xue left the car, went outside to buy something, gave a simple reply, and leaned against the window, her eyes slightly lowered, lost in thought. Now only Hua Xin remained in the car, silently sitting, Li Xue's words still echoing in her mind. The story of Brother Shan Qing and Sister Li Xue deeply moved her. She hadn't imagined that these two loving and usually optimistic people had gone through something so unbearable. Perhaps everyone encounters an unspeakable difficulty in their life. But whether one has someone always there to accompany and "wait" for them depends on luck and fate. And... alive...? Unbeknownst to Hua Xin, that thought had long been...