TGSS - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Bone Fracture

Liang Zhouyi stared quietly at Chu He. It was so long that Chu He thought she would not speak again before she finally heard her let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Do you think you're a lucky koi?"

Hearing this, Chu He could not help smiling, her long eyes curving. Even with dirt smudged on her exquisite face, it did nothing to diminish her beauty. It was as if Liang Zhouyi was discovering for the first time how breathtakingly beautiful she was. She had always known Chu He was beautiful, but she had never had a real sense of that beauty, like looking at a movie star on screen or on a poster, beautiful, yes, but nothing to do with her.

But now this Chu He, usually admired by everyone and imperious as a goddess of war, was crouched in this pitch-black pit, her smile close enough to touch, and she suddenly wished time would pass a little more slowly.

"Liang Zhouyi." Chu He felt a little uneasy under her burning gaze. She lowered her head to glance at her phone and said, "I told Tan Qing before I left. They should be finding us soon."

As she spoke, she pulled her leg back and lowered her pant leg, feeling a little sensation return to her limbs. Chu He sneered inwardly. By now they should have been found long ago. The mountain was not that big. Her intuition told her the System must have been up to something, but she had no proof for the moment.

Liang Zhouyi caught Chu He's comforting look and sighed inwardly. Chu He probably had no idea that she was not worried at all about whether she could get out. Even when she realized she was trapped with no way to save herself, she had felt a strange, unsettling flicker of delight.

Lying in the dirt, looking up at the azure sky, she felt an unprecedented lightness and tranquility, as if she had become a tree that needed only to photosynthesize, taking root and sprouting right there in the earth.

There was no need to face her hysterical mother, no need to repeat that dull, monotonous life. Just as she thought she could simply drift off to sleep like this, Chu He had appeared.

Tan Qing and the others did not make them wait much longer. They soon arrived with help. After Chu He and Liang Zhouyi were pulled up, they were both lifted onto stretchers and taken to the hospital.

After a flurry of full-body examinations, Liang Zhouyi was completely unscathed, while Chu He had a cracked rib.

Chu He: ... That didn't make sense. Liang Zhouyi had clearly been cushioning her underneath, so how was it her rib that had cracked?

After her CT scan, Chu He lay dazed on the hospital bed, as if she simply could not accept this reality. Looking at Tan Qing, who seemed to radiate black fumes, she gave an awkward light cough and, as if to cover it up, reached for the water cup on the bedside table. Liang Zhouyi stepped forward and handed the cup to her first.

Tan Qing gave a cold laugh. "You're the most capable, aren't you? Going off alone to play the hero and getting yourself stuck. If you hadn't insisted on joining in, neither Liang Zhouyi nor I would have to be waiting for you in the hospital now."

Chu He puffed out her cheek, turning her face away unhappily, clearly not wanting to listen to his sarcasm.

"Heh." Seeing her like that, Tan Qing could not help laughing in exasperation, his handsome, refined face full of exhaustion. He glanced at the IV bag and said to Liang Zhouyi, "Then I'll leave Chu He in your hands. I have something to take care of, so I'll head back first."

Liang Zhouyi nodded to him, stood to see him to the door, then returned to the bedside. She had just pulled out the armchair and sat down when she met Chu He's fixed stare, her expression tinged with teasing.

"What's wrong?" Liang Zhouyi picked up the kettle to refill her cup, her expression a little helpless.

"What do you think about me setting you up with someone?" Chu He asked, blinking, quite serious.

Liang Zhouyi was startled by her train of thought and nearly lost her grip on the kettle. Her fingers tightened around the handle as she answered flatly, "Not great."

"Don't be like that, I'm serious." Chu He twisted slightly and earned a cold glare from Liang Zhouyi. She did not dare move again, placing her hands on the blanket as she said solemnly, "If there were someone who understands you very well, knows exactly what you need most, who would stand by you unconditionally, and who is also rich, powerful, and very handsome, wouldn't you like him?"

The conditions Chu He listed felt all too familiar. Images immediately surfaced in Liang Zhouyi's mind, and her lips trembled slightly before she said, "I don't like him."

Don't like him? Chu He was very puzzled. Without her glasses, her eyes looked even sharper and clearer. "You would rather go on blind dates with those losers than accept a normal person?"

Liang Zhouyi set down the kettle, sat back in the chair, looked at her for a long while, and finally said, "I only go on blind dates for my mom."

Hearing this, Chu He frowned, her expression turning stern, her tone taking on a lecturing edge. "There is no such thing as living your life for someone else, Liang Zhouyi. You shouldn't be that kind of person."

"Sorry to disappoint you, President Chu, but that's exactly the kind of person I am." Chu He's tone made Liang Zhouyi slip into sarcasm. "My mom gave birth to me and raised me. My life itself was given by her. She just wants me to go on blind dates. What harm is there if I go?"

"You're not." Chu He's chest rose and fell sharply, her tone utterly certain.

Liang Zhouyi was amused by her. "Chu He, I just want to listen to my mom, find someone, get married, have children, and live out this life steadily and peacefully. Do you understand? That is my plan for my future."

These words made Chu He's temples throb. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then said with a forced smile, petulant, "Do whatever makes you happy. Then just live for your mom."

Liang Zhouyi lowered her head, her expression unreadable, only a soft, low laugh could be heard. If the first half of her life could be considered living for herself, then the second half was no longer under her own control.

After lying in bed stewing for a while, Chu He came to her senses. Wait, why couldn't she and Tan Qing be together and still get married and have children? Wouldn't that also fit her life plan?

She was just about to say something to Liang Zhouyi when she saw her slender fingers holding a knife, carefully peeling an apple for her, and the words that had reached Chu He's lips suddenly would not come out.

A perfect, unbroken peel slid smoothly into the trash can, and a smooth, gleaming apple appeared in Liang Zhouyi's hand. She handed it to Chu He, her expression as calm as lake water, and the anger in Chu He's heart vanished without a trace.

"You really are dexterous, graceful in the parlor and capable in the kitchen, even peeling an apple so elegantly."

At the thought that Liang Zhouyi would one day take care of her future partner just as gently, Chu He felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest. Even though she herself was imagining the scene, she still bit angrily into the apple.

The IV bag above her was almost empty. Liang Zhouyi pressed the call button, then said to Chu He, "What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you tomorrow."

A smile flickered at the corner of Chu He's mouth. She quickly suppressed it, pressing her lips tightly together, thinking she could not be coaxed so easily, so she pretended to be indifferent. "Up to you."

"Okay."

The nurse removed Chu He's IV. Liang Zhouyi thanked her and pressed down on the needle site for Chu He, her palm dry and slightly cool, giving Chu He the illusion that her hand was being held.

She had not had time to savor the feeling before she saw Liang Zhouyi stand as if to leave, and she immediately grew anxious.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Liang Zhouyi said matter-of-factly. "I'll come see you tomorrow morning before work."

Chu He stared at her in disbelief. "You... I'm like this and you're still thinking about work?"

"If I don't work, where will the money come from? Don't you know how much work I still have?" Liang Zhouyi glanced back at her, amused.

Chu He recalled Liang Zhouyi's performance review form and, remembering its almost harsh criteria, fell silent.

"Besides, you only have a slight crack in your rib, it's not broken. Just get some proper sleep and I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning." Liang Zhouyi frowned, thinking about what breakfast to make for Chu He tomorrow.

What did she mean, just a crack? Chu He clutched the blanket tightly, her face black as soot.

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