NASAY CH 50

Luo Xing glanced at his watch. It was already 12:30.

It was time for him to leave.

“I only asked the teacher for half a day off. If there’s nothing else, my classmate and I will head back to Jiangcheng. Please take care of yourself.”

Luo Xing looked at the man, who was drenched in cold sweat but gritted his teeth and endured the pain. He lowered his gaze slightly.

He already looked so miserable. Saying anything more wouldn’t bring him comfort, nor would it change the reality of the situation.

Luo Xing had come to Beishi today for answers, and he had gotten them. As for the rest…

Luo Xing thought for a moment. The best thing in the world that he could wish for—he already had it.

He was content.

Those things that were in the past should stay in the past. He had survived 17 years without a father.

As soon as Luo Xing finished speaking, an awkward silence filled the room.

Luo Zhiyuan didn’t seem to expect him to be so calm—no blame, no resentment—just quietly finishing a story, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Then, he prepared to leave.

“W-Why don’t you stay for a meal before you go? The hospital food might not be great, but… I…”

Luo Zhiyuan clutched the blanket tightly, his face pale.

“I just… want to spend a little more time with you, is that okay?”

Luo Zhiyuan looked at Luo Xing almost pleadingly.

He had a lot of small gestures, ones that were very similar to Luo Xing’s—pressing his lips together, clenching his fingers—struggling to suppress something he couldn’t say out loud.

Luo Xing couldn’t hear his voice anymore, only saw his lips move silently, the unspoken words wrapped in a suffocating stillness.

“Actually, there’s so much I want to tell you—starting from when I met your mother, and from the moment you were born.”

Luo Zhiyuan smiled faintly, lowering his head before raising it again, looking at Luo Xing with anticipation.

“I also want to hear you talk about the first day of school, the first award you received, your first essay…”

Luo Zhiyuan stared at his own hands and whispered with closed eyes,

“I want to experience every step of your life.”

In the end, Luo Xing even felt like Luo Zhiyuan was only talking to himself, weaving a dream for himself—a fantasy where he could start over from the beginning.

Luo Xing looked at his gaunt face. Despite his deathly pale complexion, he could tell that this man must have been quite handsome when he was healthy.

Luo Xing had never seen death with his own eyes, but looking at him now, he couldn’t help but ask,

“Leukemia can be treated with stem cell transplants. Didn’t your family apply for one for you?”

Luo Zhiyuan shook his head and smiled faintly. Even that simple action seemed to exhaust every bit of strength he had left.

“I tried, but none of the matches were compatible.”

Luo Zhiyuan chuckled bitterly,

“Maybe it’s just fate.”

Luo Xing frowned slightly as he looked at him. In those eyes—so similar to his own—he saw nothing but despair. He was a man waiting for death.

“…..”

Before Luo Xing could speak, the door burst open from the outside. It was Ye Qiaoqiao.

“Luo Xing, the teacher said there’s an exam this afternoon and asked when we’re heading back.”

Ye Qiaoqiao didn’t even glance at Luo Zhiyuan in the hospital bed and spoke directly to Luo Xing.

“Let’s go.”

Luo Xing took one last look at Luo Zhiyuan and bowed slightly.

“Take care of yourself.”

Luo Zhiyuan nodded, exhaling quietly, though his heart ached.

It seemed that he and this child had no fate in this life. Being called “Dad” was probably something that would never happen.

He watched Luo Xing’s departing figure, his lips moving slightly before he whispered,

“Okay.”

—

Luo Xing and Ye Qiaoqiao stepped out of the inpatient building. The weather had cleared up. The gloomy sky tore open a small gap, letting sunlight pour through fiercely—it was a little blinding.

“What exam do we have this afternoon?”

Luo Xing asked as he checked his phone.

“I didn’t hear Mr. Cheng mention any…”

“There’s no exam. I lied.”

Ye Qiaoqiao clasped her hands behind her back, laughing without the slightest guilt.

Her gray-blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, like fine gemstones, dazzling and radiant.

After listening at the door earlier, Ye Qiaoqiao had returned to witness this heart-wrenching and helpless drama. Both of them were worthy of Best Actor awards—better performers than Ji Chang’an.

Luo Xing chuckled but didn’t expose her lie.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

Ye Qiaoqiao froze, hearing the subtle sadness and bitterness in his voice, which made her heart ache unexpectedly.

She had been an orphan since childhood, raised by Ye Wang, and had never suffered much. But in that moment, she inexplicably felt Luo Xing’s deep inner pain.

She hesitated before softly asking,

“Then… do you know they tricked you into coming here to donate bone marrow?”

Luo Xing nodded gently, sighing as if speaking to himself.

“At first, I didn’t know. But later, the private messages on Weibo became more and more frequent. The person was desperate to get me here. If it wasn’t convenient for him to come to Jiangcheng, I should go there. The goal was clear—they needed me to meet that man.”

A dying man wouldn’t keep moving around unless there was someone in a particular place who could save him.

Luo Xing was just a student, with no fame or wealth. The only thing he could offer someone—perhaps even his “father”—was the flesh and blood in his bones.

He let out a soft laugh, not knowing if it was mocking or something else. Then he suddenly looked up at the sky, which had finally cleared a little.

“I’m probably his last hope. That’s why he…”

Luo Xing sneered.

“He used every trick just to make me see how much pain he’s in… to see if I’d feel soft-hearted.”

Ye Qiaoqiao didn’t catch the last part, but judging from his expression, he was obviously in a lot of pain.

To meet his father for the first time, only to find out it was because his father needed him to go under the knife… what a bitter reality.

Ye Qiaoqiao hesitated for a moment. Family matters were complicated, and it wasn’t her place to meddle in someone else’s choices.

“What about you? Will you donate?”

Ye Qiaoqiao asked cautiously, afraid of touching a nerve.

“I…”

“Excuse me, you two.”

Lin Xicheng approached, holding a bag in his hand, the same gentle smile on his face as when they first met in the hospital room.

“Luo Xing, may I take a bit of your time?”

Lin Xicheng didn’t even glance at Ye Qiaoqiao. His eyes stayed fixed on Luo Xing’s face.

Luo Xing finally took a moment to size him up. Lin Xicheng was about the same height as Luo Zhiyuan, with long, clean fingers. Despite staying in the hospital day and night, he kept himself well-groomed and neat.

“I want to tell you something… something your father didn’t mention,”

Lin Xicheng said, his gaze calm as he looked into Luo Xing’s eyes.

Lowering his head in thought, Lin Xicheng sighed inwardly. Luo Zhiyuan had softened at the last moment. He hadn’t mentioned anything about the bone marrow donation at all.

Lin Xicheng looked utterly exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, with red veins weaving across the whites like a net.

“I had no choice… I know I shouldn’t have disturbed your peaceful life, but…”

Lin Xicheng took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before continuing.

“You’re the only person who can save him now…”

Luo Xing’s mind was in chaos. He quietly lowered his gaze to look at the man in front of him. Lin Xicheng’s hands were trembling violently, and it seemed like he was on the verge of tears.

Lin Xicheng gripped his hair tightly, as if trying to tear apart all the emotions he had been suppressing.

“You probably don’t know… When the pain flares up, he says it feels like every bone in his body is shattering. I couldn’t do anything but watch him suffer…”

As Lin Xicheng spoke, his voice began to crack. His hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.

“I can’t let him wait for chemotherapy until there’s nothing left of him. But after all this time, we still haven’t found a suitable match. He can’t hold on much longer.”

He grabbed Luo Xing’s thin wrist, his voice filled with desperation.

“I’m begging you, for the fact that he’s your father, the one who gave you life—please save him. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you, as long as you’re willing to save him.”

Ye Qiaoqiao swallowed a curse that was stuck in her throat, but before she could say anything, Lin Xicheng suddenly knelt down in front of Luo Xing.

In front of the main entrance of Beishi First People’s Hospital, a slender man knelt straight before a student-like young man.

“I’m begging you, please save him.”

Lin Xicheng had chosen a terrible spot to stop them—people were coming and going, and many were now staring at them. Some even started pointing and whispering.

“As long as you’re willing to help, I’ll agree to anything,”

Lin Xicheng pleaded, his fingers gripping Luo Xing’s wrist so tightly it hurt. But as Luo Xing looked down at him, the pain seemed to disappear.

People always said Luo Xing was smart, but right now, he felt completely clueless. Faced with this scene, he couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.

Luo Xing felt exhausted. He wanted to sleep—just find a spot and sleep endlessly. His brain felt overloaded with too much information, struggling to function under the heavy pressure.

All he could do was stare blankly at Lin Xicheng, watching the large tears fall onto the back of his hand.

Luo Xing lowered his gaze, thinking randomly: His tears have shattered—into so many pieces.

He watched quietly for a while, listening to Lin Xicheng’s trembling voice.

“When someone dies, everything disappears—love, hatred… even hatred. Please, I beg you, give him a chance to make up for what he’s done.”

Ye Qiaoqiao let out a cold laugh.

“Enough with the act,” she said.

Lin Xicheng froze, glaring at her with a frown.

“What did you say?”

Ye Qiaoqiao widened her pretty eyes in feigned innocence.

“Oh, just that you’re taking advantage of someone’s kindness, deceiving them into donating bone marrow, and now trying to emotionally blackmail them in front of the hospital.”

Her words left Lin Xicheng speechless, and some passersby who overheard started looking at him with contempt and disgust.

Lin Xicheng hadn’t expected the girl accompanying Luo Xing to be so sharp-tongued. His face darkened with anger, and he got up abruptly, raising his hand to hit Ye Qiaoqiao.

But Luo Xing caught his wrist in time.

“No one is allowed to bully my friend.”

He pulled Ye Qiaoqiao behind him, shielding her with his body. Luo Xing raised his eyes to meet Lin Xicheng’s, his tone cold and deliberate.

“Mr. Lin,”

Luo Xing said, enunciating every word carefully,

“may I ask you a question?”

Lin Xicheng’s throat bobbed as he swallowed nervously, his pale fingers trembling as if he wanted to wrap themselves around Luo Xing like vines and hold him tight.

“Did you… and he… know that I can’t hear?”