When Lili's mother pushed open the door, she saw her daughter huddled under the covers, motionless, with only her eyes showing as she stared at the ceiling, her face as red as a freshly cooked shrimp.
She placed the fruit she had bought on the bedside table, walked over, and touched Lili's forehead. " Lili, what's wrong? Why is your face so red?"
The more she touched it, the more something felt wrong. She turned to leave, thinking, "Why is it so hot? Could the incision be infected? I'll go call the doctor."
Lili grabbed her mother's clothes, her voice trembling with anxiety, "It's okay, Mom! It's just from being suffocated by the blankets, it's really nothing!"
Inside, I was screaming like crazy, "Mommy!! Stop talking! All the embarrassing things your daughter has ever done in her life have happened today!!!"
Her mother, still somewhat doubtful, touched her forehead again, and only after confirming that she didn't have a fever did she breathe a sigh of relief and sit back down on the edge of the bed.
Lili buried her face in the pillow, feeling like she needed to live on a different planet.
Song Shi'an glanced at the time; it was almost six o'clock.
He stood up and said, "Mom, you stay with Auntie for a bit, I'll go buy you dinner. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Mother Song said, "Anything is fine, just do whichever you think is best."
Song Shi'an nodded, put on a mask and hat, and went out.
As soon as the ward door closed, Lili collapsed onto the bed as if her bones had been removed, letting out a long sigh.
She grabbed her phone and sent over thirty beating emojis to her second best friend's chat window. The screen was filled with fists and bombs, leaving the other person no time to react.
The Gossiping Roe Deer: I'm cutting ties with you for two days!
Best Friend #2:?????
The Gossiping Roe Deer: Do you know that An'an herself heard your thunderous shout just now?! And her family heard it too!
The other end remained silent for a long time before sending a meme of a little person hanging themselves.
Best Friend #1 quietly chimed in: emmm, don't be sad, only Lili is the one who's going to die. Song Shi'an doesn't know who's on the other end of the phone, your image is still intact.
The Gossiping Roe Deer:??? So the world where only I am injured has been achieved?
Lili doesn't want to deal with these unreliable best friends for the time being.
Her mother handed her a slice of peeled apple, saying, "Alright, stop fussing. You haven't finished watching that show yet; I've only watched about ten episodes."
Lili grabbed the tablet from the bedside table and handed it to her mother. "There's a viewing history; just click on it to continue watching." Her mother took the tablet, put on her glasses, and started watching the show again.
Lili was leaning against the headboard scrolling through short videos when a newly released behind-the-scenes clip was pushed to her homepage.
The video was just posted by the official Weibo account of " The Aspiration to Reach the Clouds ".
In the scene, Ying Qi lies in a pool of blood, her gold-threaded mask slipping off her face, which is splattered with bloodstains.
After the director yelled "Cut!", the boy, who was supposed to be lying still, suddenly opened his eyes, looked up at Xu Che with a grin, and said, "Your Highness, I'm alive again!"
Xu Che's eyes were still red, and he was both amused and exasperated by his shout. He raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder.
The guy holding the reflector next to me was laughing so hard he was shaking, and the camera shook several times because of it.
The comments section is already buzzing with excitement.
"Ah! This vibrant young man is the true essence of Ying Qi!"
"Who would have thought that one second I was crying, and the next second he opened his eyes and said, 'I'm alive again,' and my tears and laughter burst out at the same time."
"I haven't watched this show. Is it good or not? Is he the male lead? Does he die or live in the end?"
The comments below this post were all in unison. "Sister, it's really good, not at all cheesy, trust me!"
"+1, it's a complete comedy, highly recommended!"
"+10086, it's so beautiful it's unbelievable! A sweet treat throughout!!"
Lili's lips twitched as she looked at the row of comments that were blatant lies.
These people are really good at fooling new viewers without batting an eye.
After scrolling through the comments section, she put down her phone, and some random thoughts suddenly popped into her head.
Logically speaking, given Song Shi'an's qualifications—signing with Stars Entertainment and having over 800,000 Weibo followers—how come there's still no news about him being a lead actor?
She was concocting all sorts of conspiracy theories in her mind when her mother suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
" Lili, look at that person! Isn't that the one from just now?!"
The paused image on the tablet was exactly at the frame where Ying Qi was taking off his mask. The camera zoomed in on his face, and the moment the mask slipped off, it revealed a face splattered with blood.
Lili quickly covered her mother's mouth. "Mom, keep your voice down!"
Her mother quickly lowered her voice and whispered in her ear, "No wonder you were staring at him like that earlier, he's an actor. This young man is really handsome, much better looking than that Lei guy you were chasing last time."
Lili's ears turned red from her mother's words. "Mom, what are you saying? Let's watch the show." She pushed the tablet towards her mother's hand.
When Song Shi'an returned, his aunt was already asleep.
Mother Song sat in the accompanying chair, her head against the wall, her eyes closed, and her breathing very light.
He gently placed the packed lunchbox on the bedside table, and Mother Song woke up as soon as he put it down.
When she saw her son return, she rubbed her eyes and said, " Shi'an, you're back."
Song Shi'an nodded and said in a low voice, "Is Auntie asleep? You eat first, and we'll heat it up for her when she wakes up."
Mother Song nodded. Song Shi'an opened the lunchbox, broke the chopsticks, and handed them to his Mother Song. He then took a portion of his own lunch and sat down beside her.
The mother and son ate their meal quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words about trivial matters from their hometown.
When the nurse came in to check on him, Song Shi'an was drinking soup with his head down.
The nurse walked to Lili's bedside with the ward round record book, and as usual asked a few questions about her temperature and wound condition; everything was normal.
She turned and walked towards the opposite bed, about to ask about her aunt's diet, when her gaze swept over the young man sitting in the chaise lounge, and she paused for a moment.
The warm white fluorescent light shone down from above, clearly outlining the contours of his profile.
The nurse finished her rounds without batting an eye, made a few notes in her notebook, calmly explained some precautions, and then pushed the medical equipment cart out the door.
The moment the door closed, she pushed the cart back to the nurses' station quickly. After completing the handover procedures, she took out her phone, her fingers trembling, and opened Song Shi'an's Weibo super topic.
My Unstable Mental State: Sisters! I saw Shi'an! It's definitely worth investing in! She's so much prettier in person than in the TV series, the photos are a complete scam!
Comments immediately appeared below.
"Sister, are you hallucinating from working overtime tonight...?"
"What sleeping position will make me dream about something? I'll try it tonight."
"!! But please upload a picture!!"
Upon seeing the comments, the nurse quickly typed an explanation.
Unstable Mental State: Due to professional ethics, I cannot take photos indiscriminately; I can only say that I saw it in the hospital.