Chapter 52

  He Sheng was taken aback, "What's going on?"

  Shen Yan glanced around and pulled people to the corner, whispering: "Last night at midnight, Chen Jiaoyan had a massive hemorrhage and fainted in the toilet. Someone went to the toilet and found her, but didn't scare her to death."

  He Sheng was shocked and anxious, "Massive bleeding? How could she suddenly have massive bleeding?"

  Shen Yan looked at her with a strange expression, "She's pregnant, and it seems like she took an abortion pill! That's why she's bleeding so heavily."

  "Pregnant?" He Song was shocked, "How could she possibly be pregnant?"

  Shen Yan covered her mouth with one hand, "Hey, please keep your voice down."

  There are many students coming and going on the campus road next to the teaching building.

  He Shuang hummed a few times and quickly nodded. After the other person withdrew their hand, she grabbed her clothes and said, "Are you misunderstanding something? This news must be wrong! She's only a few years old, how can she possibly be pregnant?"

  Shen Yan looked even more surprised, "Aren't you good friends? How could you not know? This is definitely true, during the dorm inspection, she dropped the medicine hidden under her pillow, it was an abortion pill."

  He Shuang was dazed and it felt like a dream, until the bell rang and she still couldn't come back to her senses. Shen Yan pulled her to run to the classroom, "First class is with Lao Ban, we'll be late if we don't hurry, quick quick quick!"

  He Sheng followed her and asked, "Do you know which hospital Jia Yun is in?"

  "It's not very clear." The stairs turned a corner and she panted, "Ask the old teacher after school, she must know."

  He Sheng had no choice but to stay in school, during which time many people came to ask her about Chen Jiaoyan's news. The honest girl rarely lost her temper and pulled a face, ignoring everyone.

  A day passed in a daze, and as the school was about to let out, He Song became increasingly restless. As soon as the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and rushed out under Shen Yan's astonished gaze.

  Several teachers were in the office, some correcting homework, others just chatting.

  He Sheng knocked on the door and walked up to the class teacher with his head down.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Teacher, I want to know which hospital Chen Jiayin is staying in."

  "I know you and Chen Jia-yin are close, but the college entrance exam is just around the corner. You should go home and focus on your studies instead of getting distracted by other things." She patted He Song's shoulder and smiled: "Remember to greet Mr. Yan for me."

  "Alright, you can go back now!"

  He Sheng's face showed obvious anxiety, "Teacher, I'll go take a look and come back home right away, just tell me the address!"

  He shook his head, uncompromisingly saying: "Not everyone can be taken as a friend. Don't mention now, but one day when you go out into society, having such a person will not guarantee that they won't hold you back, whether it's in terms of benefits or reputation."

  His tone was indifferent, and his words were not unpleasant, but they were enough to insult people.

  He Sheng knew that saying more would be useless, so he pursed his lips and turned to leave the office, preparing to personally visit each family.

  The whole city is just this big, and it won't take much time to search through it all.

  Almost two hours later, He Sheng found Chen Jiayin at the Third Municipal Hospital, thanked the nurse's station and went straight to the inpatient department according to the room number.

  It's a twin room, near the door is an elderly couple, the husband had appendicitis surgery, and his wife is cooking.

  Chen Jiayin lay alone on the bed, her back to the door, wrapped in a quilt, with nothing around her, feeling desolate and cold.

  He Sheng walked in, put down her backpack, and slightly panting, picked up an empty water bottle to get hot water. When she came back, she was already awake, leaning against the headboard, with a waxen face that had no expression.

  Put the thermos next to the cabinet, "Are you hungry? I'll go buy some food."

  Chen Jiayin shook her head.

  "Then I'll wash your face first." Only then did she realize that there was no basin here, and she said, "I'll go buy one."

  He Sheng went out again.

  She didn't bring much money, and she has already spent a lot on the bus ride. Now she can only pick the cheaper ones to buy.

  The small supermarket was brightly lit, and it was already very late. Most of the customers were relatives of hospital patients. He Sheng bought a basin and then bought several cans of eight-treasure porridge to take back with him.

  Back in the ward, he helped her wipe her body and warmed up a bowl of eight-treasure porridge with hot water before handing it to her. He himself silently lowered his head and ate from another bowl.

  The patient in the clinic coughed from time to time, and his wife's voice also became cautious with the eerie silence between them.

  After a good while, He Song asked, "Did He Shouci know about this before it happened?"

  Chen Jiayin's hand stirring the porridge paused, nodded, and said in a hoarse voice: "Uh-huh, got it."

  "What did he say?"

  Chen Jiayin finally smiled and looked at He Sheng, "What can be said? He's just a student, what can he do?"

  He Sheng threw the empty can into the trash can and said after a moment of silence, "Students are not an excuse. Before doing something, one must be prepared to take responsibility for the consequences that follow."

  Chen Jiayin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to have so much grand theory."

  He Sheng's expression didn't ease up at all due to her words, and he looked at her with a very serious face, "If you don't want to laugh then don't laugh, what exactly did he say?"

  Chen Jiayin's expression froze, the corners of her mouth slowly drooping down, she lowered her head and began stirring the canned goods again, saying: "Take it away, I'll pay you."

  He Shousi's tone was slightly reserved, but overall it meant the same thing, without any difference, and what could she blame him for?

  The woman pulled up the curtain between the two beds, and there was no more noise from that side.

  The fluorescent light in this half of the room wasn't turned on, but with the help of the curtains and the bright moonlight outside the window, it wasn't too dark, and they could still see each other's faces clearly.

  "I had to undergo surgery and be hospitalized, I didn't have time, and I was too scared to even buy the medicine. The seller said it would only hurt a bit, that I just needed to endure it and it would be fine, so I believed him, but look what happened."

  It seemed as if she had thought of the nightmare-like scene at that time again, Chen Jia-yin's hand tightly grasped the quilt and shook with force.

  Her eyes stared blankly ahead, numbly opening her mouth: "I didn't want anyone to know, but now it's like a broadcast loudspeaker, they threw me into the hospital and ran away, notified my mom, she came too, threw half of the medical expenses and left, I've become a tumor to them, no one wants to see me."

  He Sheng got up and walked over, covering her eyes with his hand and gently patting her back. It was this action that finally crushed Chen Jiaoyan's already weak spirit, which had been barely holding on until now.

  Tears gushed out like a flood, she suddenly turned sideways and tightly hugged He Sheng's waist, burying her face in his abdomen, wailing loudly.

  A muffled voice came out, making He Song's stomach slightly itchy. She said, "He Song, I'm done."

  He Sheng didn't know whether her words were referring to her studies or her feelings for He Shouci, or perhaps both.

  On the other side, Yuan Zhi called back to learn that He Sheng was gone and drove directly from Linshi, urging the driver to step on the gas as if he wanted to turn the car into an airplane.

  What was originally a three-hour drive had been reduced to two hours, and by the time he got home, it was already pitch black outside. The round moon hung lazily in the air, but He Sheng still hadn't returned.

  Aunt Wu said that all the places they could find had been searched, and the school gatekeeper checked the entry and exit situation and also left early. She also said that Yan Bai had already been notified by phone.

  Yuan Zhi didn't refuse for the first time, and he was so anxious that his face turned pale. When did that child ever not come home without a reason? Even if something came up, she would definitely call ahead of time to notify him. This kind of situation was unprecedented in years.

  It's impossible for Yuan Zhi to sit still at home, and he starts running around in circles outside like a headless fly.

  When Yuan Zhi felt like his heart and lungs were about to explode, he saw He Sheng walking slowly towards him from the end of the fork in the road. Under the streetlight, the child was slouching with his shoulders down, looking very depressed as he walked.

  Yuan Zhi let out a hum from his nose, exhaled a mouthful of air, and for a moment, his vision blurred. His turbulent heart finally calmed down a bit before he rushed in that direction.

  The sound of footsteps in a hurry suddenly stopped beside his ear, and He Sheng raised his head to see Yuan Zhi, who was usually calm and collected, looking flustered. However, the next second, his expression returned to its usual calmness.

  Yuan Zhi didn't notice her abnormality, pointing at the tip of her nose and shouting loudly: "Where did you go? Do you know how many people are worried about you? You think you have a tracker on your body that can be found wherever you go? What if something happens to you, what will you do? I'll tell you, this little arm and leg of yours is only good for being broken by others!"

  The other's flustered and exasperated expression didn't elicit any reaction from He Song, who simply buried his head deeply, leaving a black silhouette for him.

  Under the serene street lamp, tiny insects occasionally flapped their wings and flew by.

  Yuan Zhi's anger was rising, and he poked her shoulder with his finger, shouting: "Speak up, have you become mute?"

  He's really anxious, otherwise he wouldn't have yelled at He Sheng like that.

  He Shuang stopped in his tracks, staring at his toes, still not making a sound. After a long while, Yuan Zhi lost patience and was about to speak again when he heard a faint sobbing sound.

  He was taken aback and, realizing he hadn't misheard, couldn't help but widen his eyes. He stuttered, "W-what's wrong with you? I didn't even say anything about you!"

  He reached out and patted her head, then stroked her face with one hand, which was wet. This time he was really startled. He himself wasn't the kind of person who would easily shed tears, and in the past, he had scolded people for worse things without seeing them cry like this. His earlier anger suddenly vanished, and he wrapped his arms around He Song's shoulders, pulling him into a hug.

  "Why are you crying? Alright, alright, I won't scold you anymore. Stop crying, stop crying, or your eyes will get puffy and look ugly."

  He Yisheng wrapped his arms around his waist and rubbed his face against his chest, crying even louder.

  Yuan Zhi's heart was all twisted, and he held the person, swaying from side to side, and began to coax: "I was wrong, wasn't I? I won't scold you again. This is also because I'm worried about you, right? Look at a little girl running out late at night, it's not safe at all. When I couldn't find you, I was so anxious that I almost died. Aiyo, baby, don't cry anymore, you've exhausted me."

  He Sheng wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and said vaguely, "Jia Yun has had an accident."

  "What's wrong with her?"

  "She took an abortion pill and had a massive hemorrhage in the middle of the night, her teacher sent her to the hospital." He Song retreated a step back, muttering: "This is all because of the upcoming college entrance exam."

  Yuan Zhi didn't even care about the clothes on his chest, which were stained with tears and saliva. After being shocked, he frowned tightly, "Dumpling?"

  Such a question seems quite naive, who else could it be besides this person?

  As expected, He Sheng nodded his head.

  "What did he say?" Yuan Zhi asked again.

  He Sheng clenched his fists and whispered: "Take it away, he can give you money."

  Yuan Zhi cursed under his breath, finding it hard to accept He Shou's irresponsible behavior. But thinking about the other party's slightly childish personality, there seemed to be no better way. He was only 20 years old, still a half-grown child himself, and hadn't even prepared to become a father yet.

  As for the relationship between those two, he didn't find it unexpected either. In the dormitory, some of those guys would occasionally go out and open a room, and when they came back, they would be flushed with excitement, telling dirty jokes. In today's society, such phenomena between men and women are not uncommon. He himself wasn't completely clueless, but he was willing to continue living a miserable life as a monk only because He Song was still young.

  Yuan Zhi patted her head and suddenly didn't know what to say.

  "After a while, he slowly said: 'Go back first, let's talk about it tomorrow. You're anxious here, but it's useless, you can't help with anything. Let's think of a solution later.'"