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Thirteenth Period (1)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Whenever the two of them argued, Jiang Huihui was forever caught between them.
If they really were to get in a fight, she won’t be able to stop them either and can only do her best to calm them before they start fighting.
Right now, it was clearly Zhou Yanli who was worked up, so after a moment of deliberation, Jiang Huihui decided to first start from Zhou Jinwei’s side.
She mustered her courage and tugged his sleeve.
The latter noticed and lowered his eyes, seeing her pleading eyes, staring at him with a pitiful look.
Jiang Huihui was the very typical little white flower type look, and because of her personality, she always gave people the feeling that she was easy to bully.
Although she was indeed easy to bully.
At the bottom of the food chain, where anyone can take a bite…..
Zhou Jinwei disdained the weak. This was probably the inherent flaw that existed in his bones. Being in the kind of position he was in, he can easily look down on anyone.
But the feeling that Jiang Huihui gave him was very strange.
As for exactly where it was strange, he was unclear. Just, occasionally, he would produce this kind of thought, because feeling she was pitiful, so can tolerate her temporarily intruding into his territory to seek shelter.
Jiang Huihui’s pleading lasted for a very long time.
Zhou Jinwei wouldn’t go as far as to stoop that low, where just anyone was able to anger him.
He placed his hand on the back of her hand that was clinging to his sleeve, lightly grasping, “Let’s go see a doctor, the flu has been widespread lately.”
His palm was warm, but Jiang Huihui felt as if getting burned.
She didn’t dare to look at him, lowering her eyes and nodding her head.
The driver drove the car over, taking them to the nearest hospital.
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Even at this hour, there were still a lot of people in the IV treatment area[1].
Looks like the flu this time came like a torrent. In merely half a month, it just swept through nearly half of Pingjiang City.
Zhou Jinwent went to handle the hospital admission procedures.
As for why it was him going to handle it, that’s because among the three of them, only he had money. The other two were both broke students, whose pockets were cleaner than their face.
Zhou Yanli can back from waiting in line, holding a few bottles of medicine in hand and an unopened pack of IV tube.
His and Zhou Jinwei’s height both stood out very much in a crowd, so Jiang Huihui didn’t need to look too hard for them, only needing to look up to spot them.
Compared to the people around them, they felt like cranes standing among a flock of chickens.
Someone next to him had stepped on his shoe but didn’t apologize, just walking away without even glancing to the side.
If in the past, based on Zhou Yanli’s temper, he definitely would’ve grabbed the other party by the collar with a mean look and have them pulled back, letting them obediently apologize to him and his shoes.
But now, he seemingly had something even more important to do.
He asked Jiang Huihui how she was feeling, “Do you feel better?”
Jiang Huihui nodded, just a bit…..unable to move.
She was wearing too much.
Aside from her own clothes, she also had two coats on her. One was Zhou Yanli’s, the other one Zhou Jinwei’s.
Originally, Zhou Jinwei’s coat was worn on the inside, but Zhou Yanli felt increasingly annoyed looking at it, so switched the order for her, letting his coat be on the inside.
Jiang Huihui inwardly called him childish.
However, a surge of warmth strangely welled up in her, a warmth that didn’t match this cold winter.
She glanced at Zhou Yanli who was sitting beside her checking the medication, then glanced at Zhou Jinwei who was at the hospital admission counter handling the payment.
It seemingly was the first time in her life having this many people accompanying her to the hospital.
Ever since she was little, whenever she was sick, she’d always gone to the hospital by herself. The neighborhood was full of old employees of the former porcelain factory. Everyone all knew each other, including those from the nearby staff hospital.
Although the porcelain factory closed down, the hospital stayed behind.
Every time Jiang Huihui went to get her shots, the doctor will always ask her, “How come you’re alone again today? It’s already this late; when you go back later, it won’t be safe. Remember to give your mom a call and let her come pick you up.”
Jiang Huihui had her head down, saying in a soft voice, “Mommy is very busy with work. I don’t want to trouble her.”
Afterwards, the doctor uncle would praise her, saying that she was really sensible, “If our family’s little girl was just half as sensible as you, how great would that be. She even needs to be coaxed to take her medicine.”
Jiang Huihui lowered her head and no longer spoke.
She knew, even if she called, it would still be useless. Her mom would only scold her for being needy, even needing someone to accompany her for a shot.
After taking care of the hospital admission procedures, she got a private VIP room.
It was the call Zhou Jinwei made just now that had an effect. Originally, the hospital director planned on personally coming over, but got turned down by Zhou Jinwei.
It was just a small cold.
He indeed didn’t understand Zhou Yanli’s overreaction. In his view, this was an ordinary cold.
After receiving the IV, Jiang Huihui lay in bed, feeling drowsy. Not long after, she just fell asleep.
After she fell asleep, Zhou Jinwei stepped out for while midway. He went downstairs to smoke, wanting to relieve his fatigue.
Having been running around all night, he indeed was a bit tired.
Not long after, Zhou Yanli also came down. The doctor said to let the patient nicely rest, no need to constantly watch over her.
The night was cold, the cold wind blowing through occasionally.
Zhou Yanli this time didn’t ask Zhou Jinwei for a cigarette.
He had his own.
He lit the cigarette and squat down by the roadside, silently smoking it.
One standing, one squatting.
Zhou Jinwei glanced in his direction, seeing him holding a cigarette between his fingers, with a worried look.
This guy was usually carefree and aloof, always with an unreliable look, very rarely this solemn and serious.
The hospital’s emergency room was never peaceful at night.
Every now and then, an ambulance would return, the doctors and nurses pushing the gurney as they rushed inside, racing with the death god. Behind them followed the distraught family members.
“This illness isn’t easy to treat.”
After a long silence lasting several minutes, Zhou Yanli deeply inhaled a puff of smoke.
He’d suddenly opened his mouth.
Zhou Jinwei once again looked towards him, “What illness?”
He knew what Zhou Yanli was referring to.
He’d told him once before that he would lose his wife in middle age, also saying that his wife would die of illness.
Given the context, he should be referring to Jiang Huihui.
He although still felt that this matter was absurd, but at least, he can now patiently listen to him finish what he has to say.
Zhou Yanli had a solemn look as he stubbed out his cigarette on the ground, “Cancer, lung cancer.”
Zhou Jinwei retracted his gaze. He lowered his head and looked at the cigarette in his hand, silently extinguishing it too.
Zhou Yanli sometimes also wondered, since he can come back, then did his dad ever come back before?
But, if his dad had really returned to the past before, then why did Jiang Huihui still die?
Could it be that he failed?
Zhou Yanli always questioned his dad’s feelings towards his mom. After all, in his view, it was very hard to imagine someone that cold-blooded and heartless loving another person with all his heart and soul.
But Zhou Yanli was also certain that his dad was unable to let go of his mom’s death. Otherwise, for that many years after his mom’s death, he wouldn’t have continued to allocate large amounts of sponsorship funds every year to the various major research institutes.
…..and even to charity organizations.
After all, Zhou Jinwei was the one that had experienced all of this.
His wife had died in his arms, and he had walked through twenty long years alone.
–
Zhou Yanli stood up and dusted off the snow on him. It was getting late, “Why don’t you go back to rest, I can take care of things here.”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Jinwei seemingly didn’t plan on leaving now, “In any case, it’s almost dawn.”
Zhou Yanli looked him up and down, his eyes slightly narrowing, “It can’t be that you’re worried about Jiang Huihui?”
He didn’t admit, but didn’t deny either, instead asking back, “I can’t worry about her?”
Zhou Yanli also returned to his usual carefree demeanor, “You can, of course you can. If you can stay behind, I’d be overjoyed. Without you, we won’t even be able to afford food tomorrow.”
Zhou Jinwei immediately understood, “The money I gave you last time, you already spent it all?”
Speaking of this, Zhou Yanli just got angry, “Spent it all on buying clothes for your wife. Those clothes of hers were all hand-me-downs from her older cousins, having her treated as garbage dump, throwing all sorts of f#$%ing trash at her.”
Zhou Jinwei recalled, he seemingly very rarely saw her wearing anything other than her school uniform. In the few occasions that he did, those clothes indeed didn’t fit her.
He took out his wallet from his coat pocket. Just as he pulled out that no-limit card from inside, he suddenly thought of something. He slightly frowned and had it put back.
Why does he need to keep giving this person money?
Just based on the nonsense he’d spouted?
He rubbed his brows, feeling that he was also about to go crazy.
[1] Examples below, IV treatment is very common in China.
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