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When Zhuang Zi’ang returned to his rental apartment, he found Li Huang Xuan standing at the door.
He smiled and asked, “Son, what brings you here?”
Li Huang Xuan replied irritably, “You didn’t come to class again this afternoon. I was worried about you. Why couldn’t I reach you by phone?”
Zhuang Zi’ang suddenly remembered that he had set his phone to Do Not Disturb mode earlier to avoid Zhuang Wen Zhao’s calls.
He quickly apologized, “That was my bad.”
“Son, you’ve been skipping class and taking leave frequently these past few days. Is there something you’re hiding from me?”
Even though Li Huang Xuan was usually carefree, he noticed Zhuang Zi’ang’s unusual behavior.
The top student in the entire grade skipping class so frequently was unprecedented.
Facing his best friend, Zhuang Zi’ang decided to temporarily conceal his illness.
The later he knew, the later the sadness would come.
Li Huang Xuan, such a carefree person, would look anything but cool if he were to cry.
“My dad came to school to cause a ruckus, and I wasn’t feeling well, so I asked Old Zhang for leave,” Zhuang Zi’ang said. It was the truth, but a carefully guarded truth.
“That gambling addict, your dad, even dared to show his face at school? If you’re afraid of being accused of filial impiety, I’ll help you beat him up!” Li Huang Xuan said indignantly.
“Forget it, I’m afraid you can’t beat him.” Zhuang Zi’ang felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
It’s enough to have one true friend in life.
Zhuang Zi’ang had planned to eat a simple dinner at his apartment, but Li Huang Xuan insisted they go to his house for dinner, saying it was a rare weekend.
He called his mother, Fan Ling, on the way, asking her to prepare a couple of Zhuang Zi’ang’s favorite dishes.
Zhuang Zi’ang liked Li Huang Xuan’s parents very much; they were sincere, kind, cultured, and amiable.
Unlike his own father, Zhuang Wen Zhao, who was full of hostility.
And unlike his stepmother, Qin ShuLan, who was sinister and cold.
“Zhuang Zi’ang is here! You two sit down; dinner will be ready shortly,” Fan Ling greeted warmly as Zhuang Zi’ang followed Li Huang Xuan into the house.
Zhuang Zi’ang politely replied, “Uncle, Auntie, I’m sorry to trouble you again.”
Li Tian Yun, sitting on the sofa watching television, smiled and said, “Zhuang Zi’ang, we can’t thank you enough. Huang Xuan’s grades have improved a lot since he started hanging out with you!”
On the TV, the evening news was playing.
Medical experts stated that due to environmental degradation and increased stress in modern life, there is a trend of younger people being diagnosed with cancer.
Many young people, in the prime of their lives, are falling victim to incurable diseases.
Li Tian Yun sighed and reminded, “Huang Xuan, Zhuang Zi’ang, you both need to eat well at school and take care of your health.”
“Dad, don’t worry, I’m healthy enough to be a pilot,” Li Huang Xuan confidently patted his chest.
Zhuang Zi’ang bit his lower lip tightly, remaining silent.
Meanwhile, Zhuang Wen Zhao spent the entire afternoon dealing with the fallout from Zhuang Yu’hang’s fight.
He paid a hefty sum in compensation and forced Zhuang Yu’hang to apologize before the matter was finally settled.
By the time he got home, it was completely dark.
“Yu’hang, try to stay out of trouble in the future,” Zhuang Wen Zhao said with unusual sternness.
“Why are you shouting so loudly? What if you scare Yu’hang?” Qin Shulan immediately defended her son.
She said sarcastically, “It’s all Zhuang Zi’ang’s fault. He bullied Yu’hang the day before yesterday, upsetting him, which led to the fight at school.”
Zhuang Yu’hang seized the opportunity to shirk responsibility. “That’s right, it’s all Zhuang Zi’ang’s fault. He should just die out there and never come back.”
“He shouldn’t be back for a while,” Zhuang Wen Zhao felt utterly exhausted.
Looking around the house, he saw various items piled up in a mess, the floor dirty, making him even more irritated.
In the past, Zhuang Zi’ang had silently cleaned and tidied up.
How could the house become such a mess in just two days since he’d left?
At that moment, Zhuang Wen Zhao’s phone rang again.
He picked it up; it was his father from the countryside. He quickly answered, soothing him with kind words.
“He’s just a child throwing a tantrum. He’ll be back home in a few days.”
“I’m his father; it’s my duty to discipline him.”
“Sick and hospitalized? What could be wrong with him at his age?”
…
After placating his father, Zhuang Wen Zhao collapsed onto the sofa.
The scenes from the classroom and the teacher’s office that afternoon flashed through his mind.
Was Zhuang Zi’ang really that outstanding?
How come he, his own father, never knew?
Qin Shulan complained from the side, “Zhuang Zi’ang studies so well, yet he doesn’t help Yu’hang with his homework, letting him be at the bottom of the class.”
“He has no sense of responsibility as an older brother. He’s ultimately selfish.”
“No matter how well he studies, what good is it if his character is bad?”
A nameless fire ignited in Zhuang Wen Zhao’s heart, and he slammed his hand on the coffee table.
“He’s my son. When did it become your place to criticize him? Manage your own son and keep him out of trouble!”
He had thought that once Zhuang Zi’ang was gone from the house, they would become a happy family of three.
Now it seemed he had been too naive.
After dinner, Zhuang Zi’ang and Li Huang Xuan slipped into the bedroom.
“Son, confess honestly, where did you go this afternoon?” Li Huang Xuan looked at Zhuang Zi’ang with the eyes of someone interrogating a criminal.
“I sat by the river with Xiao Yudie for the afternoon,” Zhuang Zi’ang admitted.
“Xiao Yudie again?” Li Huang Xuan stared into Zhuang Zi’ang’s eyes for a long time, then sighed, “You’re in trouble. You’ve fallen in love.”
Zhuang Zi’ang quickly denied it, “Stop talking nonsense; we’re just good friends.”
“Ask your own heart. Do you only want to be good friends with her?” Li Huang Xuan chuckled mischievously.
“Well…” Zhuang Zi’ang felt a little guilty.
Xiao Yudie was such a lovely girl; any normal boy would be attracted to her.
But he wasn’t a normal boy; he was sick.
He didn’t deserve to fall in love.
“Son, she’s a good girl, a hundred times better than Lin Mu Shi. Give it your all, and I’ll be your best man,” Li Huang Xuan said, full of hopeful anticipation for the future.
“Best man?” A wave of bitterness washed over Zhuang Zi’ang.
That future was too beautiful; he dared not imagine it.
He realized he was becoming increasingly attached to this world.
He didn’t want to leave Li Huang Xuan, nor Xiao Yudie.
But the disease wouldn’t allow him to have such a long life plan.
It seemed like fate was playing the cruelest joke on him.
Remembering his date the next morning, Zhuang Zi’ang didn’t stay at Li Huang Xuan’s house but returned to his own apartment.
He looked up at the night sky, filled with stars.
They say that people turn into stars after they die. Which star would he become?
He picked up his phone and, almost without thinking, dialed Xiao Yudie’s number again.
“We are sorry, but the number you dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”
The same message as last time.
Every night, Xiao Yudie disappeared, unreachable, only to reappear suddenly the next day.
Like an unpredictable meteor, she streaked across the sky, illuminating the darkness of Zhuang Zi’ang’s life.