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11:00 p.m. in the hospital emergency room.
Qin Juran sat on a hallway bench, nervously clasping and unclasping her hands.
Once the doctor walked out, Qin Juran rushed over and quietly asked, “What’s the condition, Doctor?”
The doctor looked up and down at Qin Juran’s getup: “Were you guys doing some kind of performance?”
“Mhm.” Just before on the rooftop, Ran Nan had suddenly fainted. Thankfully, Qin Juran had hidden her phone in the pockets of her skirt and was able to immediately call for an ambulance.
“Did you guys not eat before the show?” The doctor asked, hitting the nail on the head.
“We had to start getting ready right after lunchtime.”
“That explains it. The patient has severe hypoglycemia. Since she is already so thin, forgetting to eat must’ve caused her to faint. But this incident is not very serious; we have already administered glucose for her, so I estimate that she will wake up in a bit.”
“Hypoglycemia…” Qin Juran murmured. She thought of Ruan Nan’s thin body and sucked in a breath.
The doctor peered at Qin Juran’s worried expression from over his glasses, raising a brow: “What’s wrong?”
Qin Juran asked cautiously, “Um…besides the lack of food intake and glucose, could there be an emotional factor behind this incident as well?”
“Emotional factor? What, you made her faint out of anger?”
Qin Juran frantically shook her head
The doctor didn’t press further. “That shouldn’t be much of a problem. But it is always healthy to maintain good spirits at any time.”
After this, he tucked the notebook and pen in his hands into his pocket and glanced towards the clock: “Alright, if that’s all, then why don’t you just wait here. If anything happens, just press the alarm button. Oh right – there are vending machines downstairs, so you can go buy some snacks for yourself, as well. We wouldn’t want you fainting later too!”
Qin Juran thanked the doctor, then walked inside the hospital room. Since it was already nighttime, and the room was shared by multiple people, Qin Juran decided to take off her heels and trod barefoot through the room. She touched the cup of water beside the bed, and feeling that it had cooled, she walked outside to refill the glass with hot water.
At that moment, Qin Juran’s phone suddenly rang. As soon as she stepped out into the hallway and answered the call, the school counselor’s anxious voice blared out: “Qin Juran, you finally picked up! What happened? Where did you and Ruan Nan run off to in the middle of such an important performance?”
“My apologies, teacher. I meant to go up to the rooftop storage to get a prop, but I was mistakenly locked out.”
“Locked out? Why did you decide to go to the rooftop all of a sudden? Did someone do this on purpose? Was it Ruan Nan? You can tell me, us teachers will not tolerate this!”
As the old man’s furious voice screeched from the phone, Qin Juran looked through the doorway towards Ruan Nan’s bed, and replied, “Not at all, teacher. It was just an accident. Ruan Nan was also locked out with me.”
“Huh? She was also locked out? Ai, no wonder you both were nowhere to be found…”
“Teacher, we’re truly sorry.”
The old man sighed: “Alright, alright, it wasn’t your fault. Anyways, Fan Chuan managed to save the show in time; everyone was captivated by his finale act. I honestly thought it was better than your original play! All that Spanish jabber – and we don’t even get subtitles – who’d actually enjoy that? Anyways, as long as I know that you’re alright, I feel much better.”
Qin Juran felt that the old man really didn’t mind, and also let out a sigh of relief: “Thank you, teacher.”
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“Also, teacher – Zhou Ziqing, Lin Wei, and Wang Yuanyuan – would you happen to have their contact info?”
The counselor thought for a moment: “I have Lin Wei’s WeChat. I can send that to you?”
“Sure, thank you, teacher.”
After Qin Juran ended the call, she received the WeChat id from the counselor. Lin Wei probably didn’t notice the request, as he didn’t accept it until a while after.
Qin Juran returned to the room. There were three beds within, Ruan Nan’s being the one closest to the door. She carefully eased herself onto the side of the bed and calmly watched over Ruan Nan.
Her makeup and costume were still intact. Lying still on the hospital bed, smokey grey hair splayed around her, her small, delicate face looked especially pale. Seeming to be in some bad dream, the furrows between her brows deepened in her sleep.
A small needle poked into her fingers. Qin Juran’s eyes traveled along the tube trailing from the needle up to the top of the IV drip.
Was there really no emotional factor?
Qin Juran thought back to Ruan Nan’s distraught words on the rooftop. Throughout the entire The Haughty Businessman and the Charming Campus Belle novel, it was stressed that Ruan Nan was a type of character who wore her heart on her sleeve.
So…did that mean she really cared?
Qin Juran once again studied the girl lying peacefully on the bed, her eyelashes twitching in rhythm with the slight parting and closing of her lips. Every tiny movement seemed to remind Qin Juran that the girl wasn’t just a character in a novel that she had come to like –
She was a girl who could also react and respond of her own will.
Qin Juran gulped. Just then, she noticed Ruan Nan’s fingers twitching, and walked closer, softly calling out. Seeing Ruan Nan’s lips move slightly, Qin Juran leaned closer and closer to hear until her ears were practically on Ruan Nan’s face, but she still couldn’t make out what she was saying.
As Qin Juran meant to raise her head, the ends of her hair brushed against Ruan Nan’s face. The princess laying on the bed faintly furrowed her brows and scrunched her nose in response, as if holding in a sneeze. The sight was so adorable.
Qin Juran remained hovered over Ruan Nan’s face, staring at her naturally plump lips, still glossed with berry-colored lipstick. She was so close that she could feel her warm breath, and as the faint citrusy scent of lime tickled her nose, Qin Juran almost drooled.
She was right within reach.
Qin Juran sucked in a deep breath. She quickly snapped upright and looked around at the other two hospital beds, then lightly pecked Ruan Nan’s cheek where her hair had brushed past moments before.
The sound of footsteps echoed from the hall just as she came into contact with the soft skin. Qin Juran’s heart raced, feeling a brief sense of victory, then quickly shifted back in her seat and shut her eyes.
Only when the footsteps receded did she let out a breath. Come to think of it, what was she so panicked for?
She was only helping relieve the itch on Ruan Nan’s face.
After a short while, a notification popped up on Qin Juran’s phone. Lin Wei had sent a message in response to the friend request:
【Why, if it isn’t the campus belle top student Qin Juran! What made you suddenly decide to start conferring with us mere mortals?】
Qin Juran ignored his question and raised her phone to take a picture, then sent it along with the hospital address. The response was immediate:
【Wait, I’m coming ASAP. If you were the one who sent Sister Nan to the hospital, then you’re gonna have to deal with me.】
【What I meant was – if you did anything to put her there, then you got it coming to you.】
Lin Wei arrived within half an hour. He walked in heatedly, out for blood, but when he saw Qin Juran sitting by the head of the bed carefully watching over Ruan Nan, still dressed in her full costume, he immediately lost most of his steam.
He and Qin Juran walked out into the hallway. Lin Wei immediately asked, “What happened? Sister Nan hadn’t responded ever since the show ended. What the hell happened?”
Qin Juran answered directly: “Low blood sugar. They already gave her the IV drip, so she’s fine now.”
Lin Wei peered at Qin Juran suspiciously: “You brought Sister Nan here by yourself? You’re really that considerate?”
Qin Juran didn’t bother addressing his accusation: “Go inside and accompany her. If anything happens, just press the call button for a nurse. I’m going to get something to eat.”
Her tone of voice was firm, so Lin Wei felt embarrassed to press on, and only shook his head and walked inside. Only when he entered and noticed the high heels stashed in the corner did he realize – she was walking barefoot?
He thought to chase after her, but was also afraid of disturbing Ruan Nan. After a long while, Qin Juran came back, carrying a bag of food. The hospital room was dark and her long skirt also obscured her feet.
As Qin Juran gently placed the food beside the bed, Lin Wei whispered: “Sister Nan woke up for a moment before, but she was probably so exhausted that she went back to sleep. The doctor said not to disturb her.”
Qin Juran sighed in relief, then whispered back while nodding: “Her phone is still with the crew members, so you guys can contact them tomorrow for it.”
As she said this, she seemed to remember something else. She pulled out a piece of candy from the bag, reached into the cabinet for a pen, then, under the dim light pouring from the hallway, she jotted down a few words. Lin Wei tried to scoot closer to make the words out, but nearly got poked by Qin Juran’s pen.
“Then I’ll be leaving now.” Qin Juran tucked the candy by Ruan Nan’s pillow and turned to tell Lin Wei.
“It’s the middle of the night, how do you plan on going? It’s too dangerous to call a cab. Why don’t you wait until morning?” Lin Wei frowned.
Qin Juran glanced at the time. It was already 2 in the morning, so she nodded: “Then I’ll rest outside for now.” She picked up her heels and walked out.
At 6 o’clock in the morning, rays of sunshine were pouring in through the windows. As Ruan Nan turned over in bed, she felt a slight pain in her hand and drowsily opened her eyes to see Lin Wei’s head leaning on the bed, asleep.
Ruan Nan propped herself up and strenuously pushed against Lin Wei, but he only mumbled something and shifted positions, continuing to sleep.
Ruan Nan gave another shove, to which Lin Wei finally woke up: “What happened, what happened? Who dares touch our Sister Nan?”
Taking in Ruan Nan’s disheveled hair and disturbed face, Lin Wei rubbed his eyes and slapped his thigh: “Ah, Sister Nan! Did you know you fainted yesterday?! You almost scared me to death!”
Ruan Nan looked down to see that she was still in the same costume as last night: “Low blood sugar?”
“Yea! Can you make sure to eat something next time?! Thank god Qin Juran has some heart in her – if she didn’t bring you here in time, who knows what could’ve happened.”
Ruan Nan tried to think back, but the last thing she could recall was that she and Qin Juran had been locked out on the rooftop. When she fainted, and how she got to the hospital was all fuzzy in her memory.
She grunted lightly, feeling thirsty. Lin Wei quickly refilled her glass with hot water. As he handed the glass over, he got a better look at Ruan Nan’s face, and couldn’t help sputtering in laughter: “Sister Nan, you seemed to sleep pretty well; your lipstick is smeared all over your face!”
Ruan Nan peeked at the mirror beside her bed. There was indeed a lipstick stain on her cheek.
Lin Wei quickly called for the doctor to make sure that she was ready to check out. The doctor only suggested once again that she gain a little more weight and carry candy or chocolates around with her.
Ruan Nan noticed that Lin Wei seemed to be searching for something, and questioned him as she was tidying up. Lin Wei responded: “I’m looking for Qin Juran – she didn’t even give me a heads up before she left.”
Ruan Nan frowned: “She was here all night?”
Lin Wei replied offhandedly, “Yea, she waited all night last night. She only left your room after making sure you were awake.”
As he said this, he pointed his chin towards the bag of snacks on the table: “She was the one who bought all of that. Sister Nan, I gotta say, Qin Juran’s behavior last night was really thoughtful. She must’ve taken her heels off so that she wouldn’t wake anyone up, and even went out barefoot for a long time.”
Ruan Nan’s eyes suddenly widened as she looked towards the head of the bed. Aside from the bag of food, there was a lime-flavored candy by the pillow that she had previously been laying upon.
On the candy wrapper was a small lopsided drawing of a bear face.
On the back were two succinct words:
“Take me.”
Ruan Nan squeezed the candy, deep in thought, then walked over to the mirror. It seemed to her that the color of the lipstick on her lips didn’t quite match up with the stain on her cheek…