Strangers

When Bai Lin woke up again, she was lying in a hospital room, surrounded by a sea of white. Her eyes, which had just caught a bit of light, turned dark again. Her mood sank because of this. Bai Lin raised her hand to touch her left eye by feel, only to meet bandages.

"Bai Lin, your left eye just underwent surgery, don't touch it."

Lu Weilai's gentle voice echoed, and only then did Bai Lin realize she wasn't alone in the room. Dimly seeing Lu Weilai's face filled with worry, Bai Lin felt her mind grow muddled, as if remembering something very important.

She remembered clearly that she was bathing Chi Qing when she was chased away by the other woman. She felt tired, returned to her room to wash up, and then went to sleep. But why did the bedroom turn into a hospital room when she opened her eyes? Where was Chi Qing now? If she was lying here, who would take care of her?

"Where is she?"

Even with her body in this state, Bai Lin's concern was still only for Chi Qing. Unafraid of what would happen to her left eye, and with no strength left in her body, as long as she had one breath left, the first person Bai Lin thought of was always Chi Qing. So even though she didn't ask clearly, Lu Weilai knew who she meant.

"Elder Sister had to go abroad for some business. Yesterday, you had a high fever, so she brought you to the hospital and immediately boarded her flight."

Lu Weilai explained patiently, also noticing the worry and disappointment in Bai Lin's eyes when she heard the other woman had gone abroad.

Chi Qing's sudden departure was something Lu Weilai hadn't expected. After all, both of her hands were injured, making actions inconvenient. Going to a foreign place was truly dangerous. But Lu Weilai also knew that once Chi Qing made a decision, it was useless to persuade her. And the person accompanying Chi Qing was Su Aoning, a girl who appeared and disappeared like a ghost, making Lu Weilai even more worried.

Having lived with Chi Qing for over ten years, although she didn't know what kind of sacred figure Su Aoning was, she knew Su Aoning had always pursued Chi Qing. But what was more surprising was Chi Qing's attitude; her treatment of Su Aoning was different from her previous pursuers, seemingly a bit different.

No matter what Su Aoning did or said, or even how she provoked her, Chi Qing had no reaction. This made Lu Weilai think Su Aoning would be the one beside Chi Qing for the rest of her life, but honestly, she didn't hope that would happen.

Because if Chi Qing chose Su Aoning, Zeng Kehen would be lonely.

That thought made Lu Weilai feel she was truly foolish. There was probably no one more foolish than her in this world. Clearly unwilling, clearly loving Zeng Kehen so much, yet time and again wanting to push the person she loved into someone else's arms; perhaps they were truly destined to be together but without fate.

"Sister Weilai, my left eye..."

Lost in her thoughts, Lu Weilai snapped back upon hearing Bai Lin's question. She stroked Bai Lin's head, helped her tuck in the blanket, and then spoke.

"Bai Lin, you are a smart person. There are some things I don't need to say for you to understand. Your left eye was affected by the previous injury. Back then, Elder Sister spent a lot of effort to find a doctor abroad to treat you, which was why your retina recovered."

"Over the past few years, you've taken good care of it, but during the examination just now, I found that the condition of your left eye isn't as good as it was initially. I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately and keep getting hurt. I'll tell Elder Sister not to hurt you anymore, and not to assign you missions. Don't think too much, just rest well, protect your head, and don't let your eyes get hurt again, okay?"

Although Lu Weilai's words were very tactful, Bai Lin still caught the underlying meaning. She had long noticed signs of relapse in her left eye, specifically after she was injured at the villa that time, everything had become blurry.

Bai Lin hadn't told anyone—or rather, she didn't know who to tell or how to speak of it. Lu Weilai was busy every day, not only at the hospital but also discussing organizational matters with Chi Qing. As for Chi Qing, except in special situations, Bai Lin didn't actively speak with her, so the condition of her left eye had dragged on until now to be resolved.

Sighing inwardly, Bai Lin gripped the sheets painfully. She knew her body could no longer move as freely as before; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to help Chi Qing with anything else. Thinking that she would be like a useless chess piece discarded by Chi Qing, Bai Lin closed her eyes, her heart filled with pain.

She would not easily compromise, let alone bow to fate.

"Bai Lin, what do you want to eat? I'll buy it for you."

It was already nine in the evening. Thinking that Bai Lin hadn't eaten anything, Lu Weilai asked softly.

"No need, thank you, Sister Weilai. I want to sleep for a bit."

She hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a day and a night, yet her body didn't feel hungry, only extremely tired. She felt so tired, only wanting to sleep and never wake up again.

"Okay, then go to sleep. I'll find a nurse to take care of you. If anything happens, just press the button by the bed, don't move around too much."

"Okay."

"I'm leaving now, get some rest."

Checking her body once more and finding no obstacles, Lu Weilai turned to leave. As her figure gradually vanished and her footsteps grew distant, Bai Lin moved her right hand, lifting her patient gown.

Looking at her upper body, there were a few red marks on her chest. Bai Lin placed her hand on her lips, rubbing them back and forth as if trying to recall her memories, but finally sighed, her arm falling weakly beside the bed.

Was everything last night a dream? If it was indeed a dream, then it was truly a very beautiful dream.

Leaving Bai Lin's room, Lu Weilai didn't go home but went straight upstairs to another ward. To make patients feel warm, most hospital rooms kept the lights dim. Currently, this room only had the faint light of a dim ceiling lamp diffusing throughout, illuminating the pale face of the sleeping person. Seeing her from a distance, Lu Weilai only felt a pang of sorrow in her heart, her eyes turning red.

Without a doubt, the person lying on the bed was Zeng Kehen, who had still not woken up.

In the past, Zeng Kehen had been injured many times but always recovered quickly. Let alone a day and a night, even after just finishing surgery, she would wake up within a few hours. But now, she showed no signs of waking.

Standing by the bed, looking at Zeng Kehen's face, which lacked her usual charm and was only left with elegance and peace. She looked painfully at her furrowed brows, proving that she wasn't comfortable right now either.

In fact, Lu Weilai wasn't unaware of why Zeng Kehen's constitution had become so weak. After she and Zeng Kehen were rescued by Chi Qing, she had always seen Zeng Kehen hiding in a corner alone, smoking and drinking.

When Zeng Kehen was still a child of over ten years old, every time she smoked, Lu Weilai would feel very angry seeing it. Angry because she was harming her own body, and even angrier because she had promised her not to do it again, yet she still hid in a corner to smoke and drink, each time worse than the last.

Until now, Lu Weilai had never understood Zeng Kehen's thoughts. She didn't understand why she loved Chi Qing, let alone why she gave her body to her when she already had someone she loved in her heart. This question had lingered in Lu Weilai's mind for seven years.

Logically speaking, a child taken by Bai Jun would lose her virginity, but when she first had relations with Zeng Kehen, Lu Weilai found that the other woman was still a virgin. That narrow place had not been explored by anyone, her entire body carrying the breath of innocence.

Initially, when she discovered this, Lu Weilai was extremely surprised and puzzled, but mostly joyful. She loved Zeng Kehen, wanted to have her, wanted to keep her. In this world, wasn't it the happiest thing when the person you loved belonged entirely to you, reaching pleasure and blooming beneath you?

Lu Weilai had asked Zeng Kehen more than once why she still kept her virginity. But the other woman only laughed upon hearing it, saying it was because she wasn't favored. Bai Jun tortured her day and night but refused to bed her.

Every time she heard this explanation, Lu Weilai always felt a sense of powerlessness and failure, not believing the answer was true. She had long noticed that Bai Jun treated Zeng Kehen very differently. Although Bai Jun was a beast, he was very generous, just as he used all his cruelty on them.

He would deal vicious blows to Zeng Kehen, and those methods always made others shudder. Once, after Zeng Kehen returned from being tortured by Bai Jun, while helping her treat her wounds, Lu Weilai clearly saw the cuts from the blade deep into the bone.

That time, Lu Weilai had almost cried while treating Zeng Kehen's wounds. Every time she asked Zeng Kehen if it hurt, the other woman only laughed heartlessly and replied that it didn't hurt at all.

But Lu Weilai still understood that Zeng Kehen was trembling at her fingertips because of the pain.

Now, Zeng Kehen lay before her again, still covered in wounds, but her past innocence had been replaced by maturity, and their relationship had shifted from close friends to an awkward situation she didn't know how to name.

Lu Weilai didn't know what word to use to define their relationship. They had grown up together, gone through life and death together, and had relations in bed. So they couldn't be said to be purely friends; in that friendship existed countless ambiguities. But if they were lovers, the person Zeng Kehen loved was Chi Qing, not her...

She only went to bed with her simply to satisfy her desires. If it were someone else with a good face and figure, Zeng Kehen would also be willing to go to bed with them. In fact, Zeng Kehen had never lacked bed partners.

So, what was her relationship with Zeng Kehen? Not friends, nor lovers. Then, they could only be strangers. But Lu Weilai didn't like these two words, nor did she admit that she and Zeng Kehen were becoming increasingly estranged.

"Hey, you've been staring at me for so long. You're not planning to take advantage of me while I'm asleep to do something bad, are you?"

While she was still dazed, the person on the bed sensed her gaze and woke up. When Lu Weilai raised her head, she saw Zeng Kehen grinning at her. Although her expression was weary, it couldn't hide the charm in her eyes.

"You're awake? Is there any discomfort in your body?"

Seeing Zeng Kehen wake up, her resolve to draw a clear line with her vanished in an instant. Stroking her face, she lifted the blanket to check her abdomen, which was wrapped in bandages. Seeing everything was normal, Lu Weilai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah... so adorable."

Amused by Lu Weilai's anxious look, Zeng Kehen curled her lips and smiled.

"What did you say?"

Hearing Zeng Kehen use the word "adorable" to describe her, Lu Weilai's expression turned sour. She didn't like the other woman describing her like Elder Sister did; after all, she was three years older than her.

"Oh my, I accidentally spoke my mind. But, blame it on little Weilai being too adorable, I couldn't help but say it. Just now, I had a very long dream. In the dream, I was sitting on the grass alone, and suddenly a chubby rabbit jumped into my arms, rubbing against my chest as if acting spoiled. But uniquely, that rabbit looked a lot like you."

"Zeng Kehen!"

Hearing Zeng Kehen compare her to a chubby rabbit, and a spoiled one at that, Lu Weilai cried out, standing up to leave. But just as she stood up, she was pulled back by a great force.

Losing her balance, Lu Weilai fell directly into Zeng Kehen's arms, hearing the other woman's soft groan as she pressed against her.

"I like a rabbit like that, can you let me hold you for a bit? At worst, I'll let you rub against my chest."