UI Chapter 58

That night, while reviewing his notes in the dorm, Shen Ran received a call from Aunt Wen, a neighbor from his hometown. After just a few words, he suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair. His roommates all turned to look at him.

Yang Yi, the person on the upper bunk, leaned over and asked, “Are you okay?”

Shen Ran’s face turned pale. He shook his head, quickly packed up his bag, and walked out hurriedly. On the way, he called his academic advisor to explain the situation, then took a taxi to the bus station. After getting on the long-distance bus, he was about to call Aunt Wen to check the situation when she called him first.

“Ranran,” Aunt Wen knew he was anxious and tried to comfort him,
“Don’t worry, your mom’s condition has stabilized. Just be safe and don’t rush.”

Shen Ran had sweat on his forehead, and his fingers were still gripping the phone tightly without realizing it.
“Aunt Wen, what exactly is wrong with my mom? Isn’t she on medication?”

“Your mom said her blood sugar has been stable lately, but I think she may have missed her medication. The doctor said something about… acid poisoning,”
Aunt Wen recalled the complicated medical term with a sigh.
“A few days ago, she wasn’t feeling well, and I kept reminding her to see a doctor, but she wouldn’t go.”

Thinking back to the phone call he received on the yacht a few days ago, Shen Ran nodded and Aunt Wen continued, “Fortunately, she went to the village to pick something up today, and Yang was with her. They immediately took her to the county hospital.”

Last year, after Xu Huijuan’s blood sugar levels stabilized, the doctor switched her insulin injections to oral medication. Over the past year, her blood sugar control had been very good, so Shen Ran hadn’t expected such a sudden and serious change.

Opening a bottle of mineral water, he took a large sip and asked,
“What did the doctor say now?”

“The doctor gave your mom an IV and some medication. She said her fainting might also be related to the heat and dehydration,”
Aunt Wen recalled, trying to comfort him.
“Ranran, your mom is still asleep. Don’t worry too much and be sure to stay safe on the road.”

Aunt Wen had known Shen Ran since he was a child, and her care for him was like that of a second mother. Shen Ran thanked her and hung up the phone. Finally, his heart settled a little. He sat on the bus seat for a while before reaching behind and fastening the uncomfortable seatbelt.

Opening his phone’s WeChat, he searched for “Xie Heyang” and sent a message: [Heyang, thank you so much today.]

Xie Heyang replied quickly: [No need to thank me, don’t worry too much, Auntie is fine.]

The bus had entered the highway, and the outside was pitch black. The only thing visible were the silhouettes of nearby plants. After more than an hour, the rain started falling heavily, and everyone on the bus was drowsy. Only Shen Ran remained awake, and by the time he got off the bus, it was already past nine.

Outside the bus station, the rain was pouring heavily, and the only lights visible were from a few motorcycles. He didn’t have an umbrella and couldn’t be bothered to avoid the rain like the others. He stepped through the puddles, ran toward a motorcycle, and negotiated a price before getting on.

By the time he arrived at the county hospital, he was soaked through. His jeans and shoes were covered in mud. Aunt Wen was sitting in the ward. When she saw him walk in looking so disheveled, she hurried to find a clean towel to help him wipe off. Shen Ran walked to his mother’s bedside to check on Xu Huijuan’s condition.

His mother looked frail, and the IV needle was inserted into the back of her hand, but her condition had stabilized.

He stepped out to confirm the situation with the attending physician and returned to the ward about ten minutes later. He said to Aunt Wen,
“Aunt Wen, thank you for everything.”

Aunt Wen handed him the glass of warm water she had prepared earlier.
“You don’t need to be so polite with me, drink the hot water before you catch a cold.”

Shen Ran took it and drank, hearing Aunt Wen ask,
“Did you manage to sort things out with school?”

Wiping the water droplets from his eyes, Shen Ran replied,
“I asked my teacher for leave.”

“That’s good. Your mom will need to stay in the hospital for a few days. Can you arrange your time to stay here?”

“I can. Don’t worry,” Shen Ran said,
“It’s getting late, let me call a car for you to go back.”

“No need,” Aunt Wen stopped him,
“Just stay here and keep her company. Heyang hasn’t left yet, I’ll go back with him.”

When Shen Ran heard that Xie Heyang was still there, he wanted to thank him in person. Xie Heyang was Aunt Wen’s son, but Aunt Wen insisted that he stay and pushed him back into the ward.

The eight-person ward was full of patients, and several beds had family members accompanying them. When Shen Ran arrived, he had already attracted the attention of everyone, and now he didn’t want to cause any more noise. He pulled up the electronic curtain next to Xu Huijuan’s bed, sat down, and gently touched his mother’s pale face, softly calling out, “Mom.”

No one answered him.

He held his mother’s other hand, the one without the IV, and pressed his face against it, feeling the warmth in her palm.

His mother had always been in good health. Before she was diagnosed with diabetes last year, she rarely even caught a cold. This was the first time he had been in the hospital since his father passed away. In that moment, he suddenly noticed a few strands of silver hair at his mother’s temples.

A growing feeling of bitterness pressed in on his chest. Shen Ran pulled the large towel off his shoulders, stood up, and tried to calm himself. But just then, the curtain behind him was pulled open.

He turned around to see Xie Heyang meeting his gaze. There was a moment of surprise.

Shen Ran quickly turned his face away, wiped his eyes swiftly, and smiled as he said, “Water got in my eyes.”

Not addressing the lie, Xie Heyang handed him a bag with clean clothes and pants. “Where are you going to sleep tonight?”

The county hospital was small, and family members were usually not allowed to stay overnight. Shen Ran looked at his mother’s sleeping face. “There’s a guest house nearby. I’ll go and book a room.”

Xie Heyang then handed him a key.
“I’ve already booked it for you. It’s at Rongxin Hotel across the street, room 302.”

Shen Ran opened his mouth, stared at the key for a moment, then managed to squeeze out a “Thank you,” and added, “How much is the room fee? I’ll transfer the payment along with the medical expenses later.”

His voice was hoarse. Xie Heyang, who was six years older than him and was like an older brother, smiled and ruffled his hair.
“It’s fine, you don’t need to be so polite with me.”

Aunt Wen was waiting outside, so Xie Heyang didn’t stay long. However, it wasn’t long before a portion of fried noodles and a bowl of beef steak soup were delivered to the ward. The delivery person said the payment had already been made, and the specified location was Xu Huijuan’s bed.

Looking at the plastic bag next to him containing a clean set of clothes and pants, Shen Ran silently opened the takeout box and took a sip of the warm beef steak soup.

The unease that had plagued Shen Ran on his journey here was soothed by the warmth of the soup. Staring at the beef in the bowl, he thought of another person who knew about his love for beef.

Walking to the window, he looked out at the mountain city shrouded in rain. Most of the small shops along the street below had already closed, with only a few scattered signs still glowing, a stark contrast to the bustling nighttime scenery of Xiamen.

— I wonder if this heavy rain will reach Xiamen too.

---

“Old Zhao, your grandson is really quite a catch. If Old Yu hadn’t gotten there first, I would’ve introduced my precious granddaughter to him.”

Zhao Xinhong lifted his glass with a smile, taking a small, symbolic sip of red wine. His gaze then shifted toward Zhao Jiyu, who was drinking with two older men nearby.

Standing beside Zhao Jiyu was Yu Xuetong, dressed in an elegant white evening gown. Her long hair was styled in a loose updo, and her makeup was both sweet and sophisticated. Standing next to Zhao Jiyu, who was dressed in a black suit, they made a striking pair.

Secretary Lao Tang approached and quietly took Zhao Xinhong’s wine glass, whispering in his ear, “President Li from Guankai and his fiancée have arrived.”

Zhao Xinhong looked toward the entrance, where a greeter was pinning a boutonniere on a tall, model-like man. Beside him stood Wang Jiaying, the daughter of Wang Dong from Hong Kong’s Juheng Group, who had just gotten engaged to Li Zhi last month.

She was over 1.7 meters tall, wearing a high-end, gray-green gown. Her delicate features carried a distant, aloof expression as she lightly held her fiancé’s arm.

Li Zhi was the second son of the chairman of Guankai Group in Hong Kong. He had been invited to this domestic new energy industry summit as a representative, and Guankai had been making major moves in the new energy sector in recent years. His arrival naturally drew a lot of attention. As one of the event’s co-hosts, Zhao Xinhong greeted Li Zhi with a handshake and engaged in conversation with a smile.

Zhao Jiyu glanced at the group surrounding Zhao Xinhong. Li Zhi stood out with his height, appearing to be a few centimeters taller than him. His neatly tied black hair and strikingly handsome features gave him an air of composure and elegance. Even the silver-framed glasses he wore couldn’t mask the charisma in his eyes.

“He’s so handsome,”
Yu Xuetong suddenly remarked beside him.
“He wears glasses like you, but he feels completely different.”

Taking a sip of champagne, Zhao Jiyu looked amusedly at Yu Xuetong, who was openly admiring another man.
“How is he different? Am I not handsome enough?”

“It’s not that you’re not handsome,” Yu Xuetong covered her mouth and leaned in with a playful smile. Her eyes curved in amusement.
“You’re just too good-looking. A wild little wolfdog who hasn’t settled down yet. He, on the other hand, is the mature type.”

Zhao Jiyu had already seen the guest list for the night. Li Zhi was six years older than him, and the age gap spoke for itself. He placed the rest of his champagne back onto a waiter’s tray and turned to leave.
“I’m going to the restroom.”

Yu Xuetong whispered behind him,
“Come back soon! Your grandfather is definitely going to drag you over to meet people later.”

The event was a casual cocktail reception, creating a relaxed atmosphere. After using the restroom, Zhao Jiyu walked through the rear hallway into the garden and found a quiet spot to smoke.

As he lit his cigarette, his phone buzzed. It was Huang Qianxu in their five-person group chat, tagging him and Tang Jiayi to ask how they were holding up tonight.

Seeing the message, Zhao Jiyu suddenly realized that he hadn’t spoken to Tang Jiayi at all since arriving. That guy was having an even worse time—his father had kept him by his side the entire evening. By the time he finished making the rounds, he was probably done for.

Before Zhao Jiyu could reply, Tang Jiayi sent a jumping emoji in the chat in response to Huang Qianxu.

Wei Qi had been lurking in the group chat, observing silently. Seeing an opportunity to stir things up, he immediately jumped in to cause some mischief. Qiao Xu happened to be free as well, and soon, the four of them were having a lively time in the chat.

Zhao Jiyu found it boring and pressed the back button. Then, his eyes landed on the only pinned chat in his list. He couldn’t resist clicking into it and then tapping on the profile picture.

Shen Ran rarely updated his Moments; it was normal for him to go ten days or even half a month without posting anything. But this time, when Zhao Jiyu opened it, he saw that Shen Ran had posted a photo just over half an hour ago.

It was an image of a dark, rainy mountain city at night, taken under a heavy downpour. There was no caption.

The photo was taken through a glass window. When Zhao Jiyu zoomed in, he could faintly make out Shen Ran’s silhouette, but not much else.

There was no location tag on the post. Just as Zhao Jiyu was wondering where Shen Ran had gone, a WeChat message from Tang Jiayi popped up, asking where he was and saying he was coming over to help him sober up.

[In the back garden.]

Zhao Jiyu replied casually, then went back to examining the photo. Unfortunately, even after turning his screen to the highest brightness, he still couldn’t make out what was behind Shen Ran. He had no choice but to save the image for later.

Returning to his chat with Shen Ran, Zhao Jiyu scrolled through their past messages.

The last message was from the day of university registration. He had asked Shen Ran why his phone was off. That night, Shen Ran had rejected him, and after that, they hadn’t talked on WeChat again.

Without realizing it, his cigarette had burned down to the very end, and the heat against his fingers made his skin tingle. He flicked the cigarette butt into the ashtray and lit another one, glancing down at the base of his right thumb as he did.

When Tang Jiayi arrived, he saw Zhao Jiyu leaning against a tree, staring intently at his right hand.

Approaching him, Tang Jiayi took the pack of cigarettes from Zhao Jiyu’s left hand, lit one for himself, and took two drags before saying,
“That so-called President Gao inside is basically a walking liquor barrel. Who the hell forces people to chug red wine like that?”

After speaking, Tang Jiayi hiccupped, covering his mouth with his hand. His face didn’t look great.

Zhao Jiyu flicked off a bit of ash. He didn’t need to ask to know exactly who this “President Gao” was. He reminded Tang Jiayi,
“Last time I saw him, he was forcing people to down whole bottles of Dream Blue. Tell your dad to keep his distance. The guy’s drinking habits are terrible.”

“Mm.” Tang Jiayi exhaled, glancing around the back garden. After finishing most of his cigarette, he finally turned to Zhao Jiyu and asked,
“Did you break up with Xuetong?”

Zhao Jiyu nodded slightly.

Tang Jiayi hesitated before asking again,
“Was it because of Shen Ran?”

Hearing that name so suddenly, Zhao Jiyu let out a low chuckle. Seeing the puzzled look on Tang Jiayi’s face, he said,
“It was for him before, but now, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Tang Jiayi wasn’t as close to Huang Qianxu and Zhao Jiyu, but they had also grown up together as good friends. He frowned and asked,
“Did you two have a fight?”

“It wasn’t a fight,” Zhao Jiyu replied calmly.
“He rejected me.”

Tang Jiayi froze mid-motion as he was about to light a cigarette. “What? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Zhao Jiyu tilted his head back and gazed at the dense tree canopy above.
“He wouldn’t say.”

Tang Jiayi didn’t press further. He stood beside Zhao Jiyu, silently finishing the rest of his cigarette. As he flicked the cigarette butt into the ashtray, he licked his lips and muttered, “Could it be because of what Wei Qi said that night?”

Zhao Jiyu turned to look at him. “What?”