```
As time queries the nature of love, it teaches the bitter longing in life and death's hard parting, and only through heaven's gap does regret dawn.
Years of accumulated guilt and intense torment took their toll, and Qian Xiaoyun fell seriously ill, exhausted in body and soul, her heartache leading to a hospital stay.
Qian Xiaoyun's illness lay heavy in her heart. She blamed herself incessantly, withdrew into seclusion, and hardly spoke a word for days. In her lucid moments, she would silently weep to herself, sometimes crying into unconsciousness, tears and blood streaming down.
In such straits, Ye Xiaofei could only stay and help Lin Qianxi take care of Qian Xiaoyun.
However, what troubled both of them was that if they weren't careful, Qian Xiaoyun would rush to the hospital morgue and weep holding Professor Qian's body.
That afternoon, while Qian Xiaoyun was deep in sleep, Ye Xiaofei accompanied Lin Qianxi outside the hospital to sit for a while and breathe some fresh air. Since it was also lunchtime and they were hungry, they ordered boxed meals to eat there.
"Ye Xiaofei, thank you for these past few days. If you weren't here, I really wouldn't have been able to hold on," Lin Qianxi said as she took a bite of white rice, which felt incredibly dry and hard to swallow.
As she thought about everything that had happened in the past few days, a sour feeling welled in her heart, and tears began to spin uncontrollably in her eyes.
Her mother and father loved each other when they were young but were separated due to her maternal grandparents' disapproval. After countless pleas and fruitless efforts, they were lost in a haze of a car accident. Her mother thus resented her grandparents and chose to leave home alone to make a life in Shaoyang City.
Seventeen years flashed by, and her mother started from scratch, enduring unspeakable hardships to build the success she had today.
Lin Qianxi thought of the excessive words she had said to her mother that day and felt immense regret and self-reproach.
Lin Qianxi had always known that her mother was hiding something from her, and she was eager to know the truth. Yet, the truth turned out to be so cruel that even her strong-willed mother couldn't bear it.
Lin Qianxi panicked and was at a loss. If Ye Xiaofei hadn't been there these past days, she really wouldn't have made it.
"Hey, we are classmates, and we should help each other out, why mention it? You're being too formal," Ye Xiaofei said magnanimously. Although his face showed nothing, his heart was blooming with joy.
In the past few days, he had been inseparable from Lin Qianxi, the goddess idolized by many high school boys in Shaoyang City. Occasionally, they even had chances for intimate contact, such as holding hands and hugging.
If this were to spread, it would surely make many others green with envy.
Moreover, after spending these few days together, their relationship had progressed significantly, evolving from strangers to good friends.
During these days, Lin Qianxi had even been obedient to him.
With such a good start, it was already half a success. With a little more effort, winning the heart of the school's beauty was not a dream.
However, seeing Lin Qianxi clearly worn out and deeply troubled, Ye Xiaofei felt a pang of distress. He sighed, "Looking back, I feel responsible too. If hadn't been so talkative, neither you nor your mother would have been so heartbroken. Aunt Qian wouldn't be in such despair now."
Lin Qianxi's expression darkened, and she tried to muster a weak smile, "No, it's not your fault. My mother and I should thank you for bringing the news. Without it, how could the grudge between my mother and my grandparents be resolved?
Now that my grandfather has passed away and my grandmother is in such a state, utterly helpless and without care, my mother would definitely die of remorse if she ever found out. A lifelong torment from a guilty conscience is worse than a brief pain, so once my mother recovers a bit, we'll take my grandmother back home. That way, my mother's deep-seated issue could also see a day of healing."
What an understanding and kind-hearted girl!
Ye Xiaofei inwardly praised and hesitated before asking curiously, "Don't you bear any grudge against your grandparents? Your father's..."
Lin Qianxi, lacking any appetite, simply put aside the boxed meal. Shaking her head slightly, she said, "At first, I was truly shocked and couldn't comprehend it. But now I understand. Just like you said, my grandparents were simply fulfilling the duty of a father and a mother, which isn't wrong in itself.
Besides, my father's car accident was just that, an accident. It had no direct connection to my grandparents. Maybe because I never saw my father as a child, I don't have the intense emotions my mother has.
Moreover, what's the use in blaming anyone since the accident has already happened? My dad won't come back to life. Instead, it is the living relatives who need understanding and compassion. If one can't let go of the hatred, just like my mother, all they end up with are regret and self-rebuke."
Ye Xiaofei nodded thoughtfully, "Lin Qianxi, you truly are a kind-hearted and wonderful girl. If one day..."
"If what?"
"If someone marries you, they will definitely be very happy, so very happy!" Ye Xiaofei's heart skipped a beat, wanting to say: If you could be my girlfriend, I'd be ecstatic to death, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.
Damn it! My mouth failed me at such a great opportunity. What am I so afraid of?
Ye Xiaofei internally screamed in regret, but not having misspoken, he felt a sense of relief.
This contradictory feeling was new to him. Could this be what liking someone feels like?
```
Lin Qianxi let out a snort of laughter, "You really have a sweet mouth, always knowing how to cheer people up."
"No, I'm serious, I really think that."
The two locked eyes for two seconds before simultaneously blushing and looking away. Their hearts were beating fiercely, and both were overwhelmed with awkwardness.
"Uh, you should eat something, don't neglect yourself to the point of exhaustion!" Ye Xiaofei urged.
"Hmm!"
Lin Qianxi softly agreed and took a couple more bites of her boxed meal. Ye Xiaofei sneaked a glance and thought even her eating was beautiful, staring openly with his eyes straight.
"Grandpa, the grandson is calling again. Grandpa, the grandson is on the phone again..."
Just then, a cellphone ringtone awakened Ye Xiaofei, who fumbled for his phone in a panic, "Hello, Mom? Didn't I tell you? I don't know when I can come back. Studying, well, you don't have to worry about that..."
Lin Qianxi couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth to stifle her giggles. Ye Xiaofei was really full of laughable moments.
After ending the call, Ye Xiaofei saw Lin Qianxi giggling and felt puzzled, then he remembered his ringtone.
Damn it, why did I forget to change my ringtone?
"Cough cough!" Ye Xiaofei purposefully coughed twice, picked up the half-eaten boxed meal, and hid his face behind it as he ate.
"Here, have this drumstick! I don't like greasy food, and you've had a rough few days, you must be exhausted!" Lin Qianxi placed the drumstick into Ye Xiaofei's boxed meal apologetically, "Also, it's our senior year, and I've delayed your studying, I'm so sorry. Why don't you go back? I can take care of things here. The college entrance exam is coming, and we can't afford to mess up your studies."
Uh...
Ye Xiaofei was momentarily stunned, he struggled to swallow the food in his mouth and started pounding on his chest with a thud, "Don't worry, it won't affect my studies, I am a genius, after all! And look at you, you've been looking haggard these past days. You can't just eat vegetables; they have no nutrition. You should eat the chicken drumstick!"
With that, Ye Xiaofei returned the drumstick to Lin Qianxi.
"What? You're a genius? I've never heard that before. I heard you're the one dragging down your class!" Lin Qianxi furrowed her brow and opened her mouth, intending to persuade Ye Xiaofei to leave.
As if I'd leave, given such a good opportunity! After this village, there isn't another shop, I must stay by the school beauty's side when she needs someone the most, fostering our relationship to the death, never leaving.
Making up his mind, Ye Xiaofei spoke first, "That's because I disdain to compete for grades and don't care about hollow fame. I plan to shock everyone at the college entrance exam, making jaws drop. Besides, didn't I solve the calculus problem you set the other day? That wasn't fake, right? If you don't believe me, you can test me with another one."
"That's true, there aren't many people in the whole school who could solve that calculus problem, I believe you!" Lin Qianxi smiled sweetly, feeling relieved.
Although she was putting on a brave face and didn't want to trouble Ye Xiaofei by making him stay and neglect his studies, she was, after all, just a girl. If Ye Xiaofei really left, she really didn't know what she would do.
Therefore, when Ye Xiaofei decided to stay, the tension that had been knotting Lin Qianxi's heart finally eased. Moreover, she felt a long-missed sense of security from Ye Xiaofei.
Even she herself didn't realize that she had developed a dependence on Ye Xiaofei, who had been inseparable from her these past days.
After talking for a while, the gloom in Lin Qianxi's heart dissipated a bit, and her appetite improved. Following Ye Xiaofei's suggestion, she ate some of the chicken drumstick. But since it was big, she ate a bit and then gave it back to Ye Xiaofei.
Wow, this is, this is the drumstick the goddess has eaten from!
Ye Xiaofei's mind went wild. This was like an indirect kiss, and there was no way he could let this opportunity slip by.
His eyes glinting, he seized the drumstick and began gnawing on it without any regard for his image, as if he hadn't eaten in three days.
Unaware of Ye Xiaofei's "dirty" thoughts, Lin Qianxi watched him eat ravenously and thought: Ye Xiaofei has had a hard time these past few days, not even having a decent meal. It's all my fault; I never considered his feelings, always ordering only one boxed meal. It seems he has a big appetite; I should order an extra box from now on.
If Ye Xiaofei knew what Lin Qianxi was thinking, he would surely cry with joy.
His "dirty" actions had unexpectedly earned Lin Qianxi's goodwill and guilt—a figurative case of digging yams and catching grasshoppers, reaping multiple rewards in one fell swoop.
"Alright, let's go see Mom. Hopefully, she will get better soon. It's not far from Grandpa's cremation day, what are we going to do if things continue like this?" Lin Qianxi sighed deeply, her face full of anxiety.
The two ordered another takeout and headed back to the hospital ward.