The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 69
After completing the vision test with the doctor, Shen Jixue calmly returned to the ward. Many people had gathered there, presumably Lin Qiao’s relatives, creating a lively atmosphere. They warmly greeted Shen Jixue upon seeing him.
Lin Qiao was the first to approach. “How did it go? Shen Jixue, what did the doctor say?”
Shen Jixue forced a smile. For some reason, now that he could clearly see others’ expressions, his own didn’t feel as natural. Perhaps it was because there were too many of Lin Qiao’s family members, making him uncomfortable with the situation. “It went well.”
“That’s good.” Lin Qiao had already noticed Shen Jixue’s despondency. She stepped closer and whispered in his ear, “Did you not explain things clearly to Chen Xian?”
Shen Jixue pursed his lips. Hadn’t he been clear enough that day? Moreover, Lin Qiao was present when he told Chen Xian not to forget, who had confidently affirmed that he heard it.
Forget it.
Feeling annoyed, Shen Jixue didn’t want to discuss Chen Xian anymore. Seeing Lin Qiao and her family happily together, he didn’t want to dampen their mood. He tactfully said, “I think I’ll take a walk downstairs.”
“Have we disturbed your rest? We’re too many. We’ll just say a few words and leave,” said an elderly man with gray hair, likely Lin Qiao’s grandfather.
Shen Jixue quickly waved his hand. “I just had eye surgery and wanted to take a look around.”
With elders to attend to, Lin Qiao reminded Shen Jixue, “Don’t go too far, just stroll in the hospital garden.”
Before leaving the ward, Shen Jixue retrieved his phone from under the pillow. He casually walked through the corridor, stealing glances at everyone he passed.
Each person had a different expression—some anxious, some flustered, some sorrowful, and some joyful. Hospitals were indeed places filled with both death and hope.
Finding the small garden Lin Qiao mentioned wasn’t difficult. Before his vision had recovered, Shen Jixue had been here a few times. He and Chen Xian had sat on that bench, where he kissed Chen Xian and received no rejection. Chen Xian had asked for time to think.
The confusion and excitement of that moment were still vivid in Shen Jixue’s mind, but in just a few days, everything had changed drastically.
He took out his phone. Even without looking, he dialed Chen Xian’s number accurately. After pressing the number, his finger hesitated on the dial button, reluctant to press it.
“Shen Jixue?” A familiar male voice sounded. “You’re really here?”
Familiar, but not Chen Xian’s voice. Shen Jixue hesitated for a moment, turned around, and saw Shen Jun, as persistent as ever.
Shen Jun angrily approached Shen Jixue, as if ready to interrogate him. Shen Jixue, who had been blind for so long, didn’t follow people’s habits with his eyes, which still seemed somewhat vacant. Without a close look, one wouldn’t notice anything different, Shen Jun even preconceived that Shen Jixue hadn’t regained his sight.
“Shen Jixue, how dare you! You fooled me into running up and down like a dog and in the end, you just leave!”
This was a hospital; Shen Jixue doubted Shen Jun could do anything here. Besides, he was no longer the weak blind kid he once was. He could trick him when he couldn’t see; now that he could, he could do even more.
“Uncle, I was also deceived by Chen Xian,” Shen Jixue said calmly, showing no signs of being caught in the act.
For a moment, Shen Jun almost believed him, but he quickly sobered up. “You’re talking nonsense. You and him were in cahoots, playing me for a fool. Do you think I don’t know?”
“I didn’t deceive you,” Shen Jixue looked as though all hope was lost, genuinely upset with Chen Xian’s betrayal. “He deceived me.”
Clearly Chen Xian had promised to think about their matter, and had promised to be there when he removed his gauze. What a liar! Shen Jixue’s words were passionate and emotional, his dark pupils shimmering with moisture, his expression filled with immense injustice.
“Really?” Shen Jun was skeptical.
Shen Jixue looked innocent, eyes moistened with tears. “What could a blind person like me possibly do?”
Sitting alone on this cold bench, Shen Jixue looked indeed helpless as a blind kid. He couldn’t do anything, not even leave on a distant journey.
Shen Jun remained silent. From his expression, Shen Jixue could tell he hesitated. Shen Jixue continued to reason with him, appealing to his emotions.
“My eyes can’t be healed anymore, and I don’t want to try.”
Shen Jun scrutinized Shen Jixue’s eyes carefully. After all this time, he feared Shen Jixue had spent the compensation money for eye treatment. “You don’t want to try anymore?”
“Yeah, the doctor said it’s hopeless, so spending money doesn’t make sense.”
“What about your father’s compensation?”
“It’s in my savings account.”
“Where’s your bankbook?”
Even now, his mind was just fixated on money.
Shen Jixue sighed bitterly, “It’s at Chen Xian’s place. I can’t go back. What should I do? Uncle, could you help me retrieve it? My identification and bankbook.”
Shen Jun hesitated. He was a man who liked to take advantage of situations but was also timid. However, with enough money involved, he would be tempted.
“All the compensation money is in there. If you get it, we can leave. Uncle, please?”
Shen Jun seemed perplexed, but his fear persisted. “How do I get in? If there’s a commotion, others will hear. What if they mistake me for a thief?”
He was worried about being mistaken for a thief, a legitimate concern considering his own shady behavior.
Shen Jixue pretended to strategize with Shen Jun, “I’ll ask him. Ask him to take me back tonight. There are too many people in the dormitory during the day. You can come at night. I’ll be home. When he’s asleep, I’ll open the door for you. Once you have the bankbook and ID, we can leave.”
Afraid that Shen Jun wouldn’t come, Shen Jixue pleaded, “Uncle, you must come. Otherwise, the money will belong to someone else. I don’t want to give the money to outsiders. You must come and take me away. Even if I get the bankbook, I have nowhere else to go.”
Shen Jixue’s tearful plea moved Shen Jun, who gritted his teeth and agreed, “Okay, tonight we’ll take the bankbook and leave. You must come and open the door for me.”
As soon as Shen Jun left, the smile on Shen Jixue’s face froze. Expressionless, he watched Shen Jun depart, unable to shake him off like a piece of toffee.
…..
Zhang ge was delayed for a while. Chen Xian hurriedly bought vegetables and rushed back, calculating that if he moved faster, he could reach the hospital around midnight.
Carrying bags made it inconvenient for him to open the door. Just as he took out his keys, the iron door next door opened from inside. He greeted Aunt Wang and was about to enter when she stopped him.
“Chen Xian, after you all left this morning, Xiao Shen’s uncle came by again.”
Chen Xian froze, the action of opening the door halting. “Did he say why he came?”
“No, he didn’t admit it when I recognized him. He ran off fast.”
Chen Xian’s face turned pale. He closed the door and stuffed all the bags into Aunt Wang’s arms before she could react. Without hesitation, he vanished from her sight, leaving hurried footsteps echoing in the hallway.
“Eh?” Aunt Wang quickly leaned over the railing to look. She only saw Chen Xian rushing out of the dormitory compound.
Chen Xian sprinted all the way, narrowly avoiding collisions several times. He didn’t know what Shen Jun was up to, but it couldn’t be anything good. Last time, he had been deceived into leaving; this time, coming back for revenge was not unlikely.
Shen Jixue was alone in the hospital. What if… what if something happened…
The sound of cars roaring past his ears, Chen Xian arrived breathlessly at the hospital gate. Without stopping, he quickened his pace towards the building.
During his journey, he hadn’t seen anyone familiar. He silently prayed that Shen Jun hadn’t found Shen Jixue yet.
With the hospital room door in sight, he pushed it open. Inside, only Lin Qiao and her father were present.
“Eh? Chen Xian, why are you just coming now?”
Chen Xian’s heart jumped to his throat. “Where’s Shen Jixue? Did someone come looking for him? Where is he?”
“Yeah, just now someone claiming to be his uncle came.”
Chen Xian urgently grabbed Lin Qiao’s shoulder. “Where are they?”
“Oh.” Lin Qiao winced in pain. “His uncle went to the garden downstairs to look for him.”
Chen Xian apologized hurriedly and quickly regained his composure. He turned and ran out, ignoring Lin Qiao calling after him.
Chen Xian didn’t know how long Shen Jun had been here, and whether Shen Jixue was still in the garden. He suddenly remembered the existence of a phone, and ran downstairs while calling Shen Jixue. When he came out of the hospital gate, he vaguely heard the sound of a cell phone ring. He followed the source of the sound and found a familiar figure sitting on a bench in the corner of the garden.
“Xiao Shen!” Chen Xian put away his phone and hurried to Shen Jixue, holding his arm with both hands, left and right, trying to see if he was injured, “Your uncle came to see you? What did he say to you? Did he bully you?”
The warm body temperature was passed to Shen Jixue’s arm through the palm of his hand. The man in front of him was panting, sweating, frowning, and his eyes were red.
He had short hair, fair skin, deep, unexpectedly gentle eyes, distinct features, a straight nose, slightly swollen lips, and a neck with bulging veins, hands somewhat rough, which didn’t quite match Shen Jixue’s imagined image of someone roughing it out on a boat, but he did resemble the Chen Xian he had imagined.
Two eyes, one mouth, nothing special, Lin Qiao’s words were in his ear.
Shen Jixue’s heart was still beating wildly. He not only smelled Chen Xian’s scent, touched Chen Xian’s body, but also saw him clearly.
A voice in his heart shouted, ecstatically questioning how there could be nothing special about him? Clearly, he was different from others, he was Chen Xian.
“Xiao Shen?”