Chapter 37

◎ “Why wasn’t it you who died?” ◎

The moment those words were spoken, Yu Ran’s mind short-circuited.

Jian Ming and Jiang Shiluo?

Jian Ming and Jiang Shiluo!

How could Jian Ming and Jiang Shiluo end up in bed together?!

In Yu Ran’s mind, they didn’t belong to the same world. Even if they got together, it wouldn’t have happened so quickly.

Yu Ran slowly sat on the bed, her face turning pale. Jian Ming glanced at her.

“Isn’t it ridiculous?”

“……”

Yu Ran lowered her head slowly. “I think it’s ridiculous, too.”

“What exactly happened?”

Jian Ming opened her mouth but no sound came out. She looked a bit embarrassed to speak.

Yu Ran sharply picked up on her emotions and said, “If it’s too difficult for you to talk about, you don’t have to. I just can’t believe it.”

She paused and then asked, “Can you handle it?”

Jian Ming smiled faintly, but it seemed forced. “What’s so difficult about it? We’re both women, so there’s no worry about pregnancy.”

“I wasn’t talking about that,” Yu Ran replied. “Once your bodies are involved, it’s hard to escape. Either your body or emotions will be affected, and sooner or later, you’ll get tangled up together.”

And with Yu Ran’s understanding of Jiang Shiluo, she knew that once something like this happened, Jiang Shiluo wouldn’t just brush it off and pretend it never occurred.

Was it because of Shen Suhui?

The two happened to meet at a bar, both drunk, so…

But Jian Ming had been off for several days now.

“You don’t have to worry, Yu Ran,” Jian Ming suddenly spoke up. “I’m very open-minded. I know how to handle it. I don’t take feelings seriously, you know that.”

“……”

Yu Ran murmured an “Mmm,” feeling that Jian Ming seemed strange, but she didn’t want to press the matter. In the end, she could only say that Jian Ming could come to her if she needed anything or had any questions.

After all, one was her colleague, and the other was her friend. She had to care about both of their situations, emotionally and personally.

Yu Ran had been busy all morning and hadn’t had time to check her phone. When she opened the living room surveillance, she noticed there was no one there. Shen Suhui was nowhere to be found, and Lucky was sleeping on the carpet.

Not seeing anyone, Yu Ran felt uneasy and was about to call Shen Suhui when her phone rang. It was Jiang Shiluo.

Ever since the last time Jiang Shiluo caught her kissing Shen Suhui, Jiang Shiluo hadn’t contacted her. This time, seeing Jiang Shiluo’s name on the screen, Yu Ran couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

It just so happens that I might ask about Jian Ming’s situation.

“I haven’t been following the news these past few days. What’s going on with Du Qiuyan? How is Shen Suhui doing?” The tone was accusatory and unfriendly.

Yu Ran furrowed her brow, about to explain.

Jiang Shiluo continued, “I told you, Yu Ran, you haven’t even sorted out your own feelings, so how can you be with Shen Suhui?”

“…”

Yu Ran frowned and let Jiang Shiluo finish speaking.

“You know how much you liked and cared about Du Qiuyan before, right? She just needed to beckon, and you’d go back to her, wouldn’t you? If your last relationship wasn’t working out, why start a new one?”

Yu Ran smiled, annoyed.

“Jiang Shiluo, what do you think of me?” Yu Ran coldly replied, “We’ve practically grown up together. Am I really such a despicable person in your eyes?”

“If not, then why did Du Qiuyan have a chance?”

“You never gave me a chance to explain. Du Qiuyan thought I would go back to her. After the incident, I dealt with it immediately. This time, it’s my fault. But Jiang Shiluo, what right do you have to criticize me?”

Faced with Jiang Shiluo’s absurd arguments, this was the first time Yu Ran lost her patience. “You say I don’t deserve it, say I should let go, and then what? Let you have a chance to approach Shen Suhui?”

“…”

“That’s not going to happen, Jiang Shiluo. I’m not some good person, but what about you?”

Yu Ran didn’t know where all her anger came from, but it was the first time she argued with Jiang Shiluo, the first time she said harsh words. Perhaps it was because she had been suppressing too much—the matter with Shen Suhui, her parents, and so much more…

“I won’t let go, Jiang Shiluo. You better give up on that idea.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, but Jiang Shiluo’s breathing was rapid and uneven, clearly a sign of anger.

Yu Ran felt a sense of relief.

“Besides, you have no right to pursue Shen Suhui anymore.”

“…”

Jiang Shiluo became noticeably nervous, her voice trembling as she murmured, “What…”

“About you and Jian Ming, Jiang Shiluo, shouldn’t you explain that too?”

“…”

“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine.” Yu Ran pretended to be magnanimous, “Shen Suhui is my girlfriend now, so stop thinking about her. If you’re concerned about her as a normal friend, I welcome that, but if you’re always thinking of ways to harm me, then I’ll cut ties.”

Jiang Shiluo was left speechless, gritting her teeth and calling Yu Ran’s name angrily.

“By the way, Dr. Jian has a high fever today. If I hadn’t gone to the duty room at work, I wouldn’t have known when her fever would end. At this point, shouldn’t you be concerned about Jian Ming?”

“…”

This sentence successfully captured all of Jiang Shiluo’s attention. The phone finally quieted, and Yu Ran hung up first.

She dialed Shen Suhui’s number twice, but no one picked up.

Yu Ran became thoroughly uneasy. By the afternoon, she had called multiple times, but still no response. Checking the security footage, Shen Suhui had left at around 10 AM, dressed and looking anxious, as if she was in a hurry.

It was only when work was about to end that Yu Ran received a call from Shen Suhui, but she didn’t say anything, only crying.

“What’s wrong, baby? Can you tell me slowly?”

She was crying so hard, struggling for breath, nearly suffocating. Yu Ran guided her step by step, “Breathe in, breathe out… Take it slow, baby. Tell me where you are… Don’t move, I’m coming to get you.”

Before work was over, Yu Ran asked for leave from Director Yin, rushed to the parking lot, and got in the car. During this time, her phone stayed on the line, Shen Suhui kept crying, then quietly sobbing when exhausted.

“Yu Ran…”

“I feel like I can’t hold on anymore…”

“My brother… he got very sick, and the doctor said he might not survive the year… woo woo woo woo woo…”

The crying on the phone sounded sorrowful and helpless. Yu Ran pressed the gas pedal, wishing she could reach Shen Suhui faster. With every word Shen Suhui said, her crying became more intense, intermittent, as if there was not enough air.

Finally, they reached the community where Shen Suhui was. Her mother and brother were at home, preparing hospital admission papers. Everything had happened too suddenly and was too unbelievable.

Shen Suhui was squatting at the bottom of the building stairs, alone, looking lonely and pitiful.

Yu Ran rushed over, stood in front of her, and carefully called her name.

Luckily, Shen Suhui listened, got in the car, but her tears kept falling silently.

That afternoon, just as she was about to cook, Shen Suhui had received a call from Wang Lanzhi. The woman was hysterically shouting and insulting her, then crying over the phone.

“What should I do? Why is my life so miserable… What will we do when Dong Ting is gone? Can we rely on you, the useless one?”

Shen Suhui completely ignored these words, just repeatedly asking, “Mom, what’s going on? What happened?”

Wang Lanzhi replied, “Dong Ting has leukemia. He’s dying soon.”

“…”

This sentence hit Shen Suhui like a thunderbolt. From childhood to now, no matter what, her brother had always been the closest person to her.

Shen Suhui didn’t know how she managed to drive back to her parents’ house, a place she hadn’t visited in a long time. When she arrived, Wang Lanzhi was screaming hysterically, and her father, Shen Suhui, sat silently on the couch, staring into space like he had lost his soul.

Meanwhile, Shen Dong Ting was comforting his parents, but after realizing there was nothing they could do, he collapsed on the couch.

When Shen Suhui saw him, his mood seemed to improve a little. Shen Dong Ting showed a look of grievance and called out, “Sis.”

“What’s going on? How did this suddenly happen… Didn’t I give you money for a check-up not long ago? You said it was just an infection at the time. Was that all a lie?”

Shen Suhui grasped Shen Dong Ting’s hand like a lifeline, her face full of disbelief.

Shen Dong Ting, in pain, replied, “After I had a fever, I got better, and I thought it was nothing serious, so I didn’t need to spend money on a check-up… I just bought some game skins…”

As he spoke, Shen Dong Ting’s voice trailed off. He was still the same as before, afraid his sister would scold him for spending money. But this time, Shen Suhui didn’t scold him. She just weakly collapsed onto the sofa. In the future, she might not even have the chance to scold her brother anymore.

Wang Lanzhi looked at her with contempt and shouted angrily, “What are you doing back here now? How dare you come back! If it wasn’t for Dongting coming back on the weekend, we wouldn’t even have discovered he was sick…”

“You’re the one who contacts him the most. Why couldn’t you have cared more about him? He’s so dependent on you, are you dead or something?”

Even at this critical moment, Wang Lanzhi didn’t stop belittling her own daughter. However, Shen Suhui had no energy to argue back. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of Shen Dongting’s illness. She needed to find a way to cure him, no matter the cost or effort.

Wang Lanzhi didn’t know what Shen Suhui was thinking. She continued to hurl malicious words without thinking.

“Why couldn’t it have been you who got sick? Why couldn’t it have been you who died… wuwuwuwu…”

“Enough, stop!” Shen Suhui cried out.

She hugged her head in despair, feeling like she just wanted to curl up and disappear. She was the one in this world who least wanted anything to happen to Shen Dong Ting, so why did she deserve this?

Shen Dong Ting kept trying to stop Wang Lanzhi from spiraling into madness. He said bitterly, “I’m dying, can you just be quiet? I love my sister so much, please treat her better…”

But no one could stop Wang Lanzhi from losing control. Shen Suhui felt dizzy, and the world around her became a blur. She thought of escaping from this environment, from this world, but she couldn’t…

She had to find a way to save Shen Dongting.

She managed to get in touch with Shen Dong Ting’s attending doctor and researched a lot about blood cancer. After she made all the arrangements, she called Yu Ran back.

Everything felt like it was happening in a dream.

How could Shen Dong Ting have blood cancer?

He was always so healthy and so full of life.

Shen Suhui sat in Yu Ran’s car, tears soaking her cheeks as the sound of her sobs filled the entire car.