Chapter 182: Companionship, the Longest Confess of Love ①
That evening, Nie Aifang woke up. Because she needed to stay in the hospital for observation to see if there were any other after-effects, she would have to stay for a few more days.
As the final exams were approaching, Nie Qiu wasn’t in a hurry to find a place to rent. Nie Aiwen had also said that after Nie Aifang recovered, he would let them move into his house. Nie Qiu didn’t plan to refuse, but whether they would ultimately live at Nie Aiwen’s place, Nie Qiu knew, depended on Nie Aifang’s willingness.
Due to the intense studies, after school each day, Nie Qiu would go to the warehouse to put away the vegetables, then head to the hospital to do her homework and chat with Nie Aifang. Nie Aiwen would also come to the hospital after work, bringing their dinner with him.
At night, Nie Qiu would sleep in a hospital room next to Nie Aifang’s, and they often talked until past eleven before sleeping.
After school this day, Nie Qiu went to the warehouse and then to the hospital. Nie Aiwen was already in the hospital room peeling fruit for Nie Aifang. Seeing Nie Qiu arrive, he couldn’t help but smile, “How was your studying today? Is there anything you don’t understand?”
Hearing Nie Aiwen ask, Nie Aifang quickly said to Nie Qiu, “Yes, yes, Qiu Qiu, your uncle went to junior high school. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask your uncle.”
“Okay,” Nie Qiu nodded with a smile. “Mom, I understand. If I don’t understand something, I’ll ask Uncle.”
Although she usually arrived at the hospital first every afternoon, she knew that Nie Aiwen was with Nie Aifang at the hospital every morning. Whether a man loved a woman usually depended on whether he had the patience to care for her when she was sick. Nie Aifang couldn’t get out of bed yet and had a urethral catheter. Every day, Nie Aiwen would help Nie Aifang with her bodily functions, and Nie Aifang would feel shy, but Nie Aiwen didn’t show any disgust; he did it very naturally.
She had once heard the saying that companionship is the longest confession of love.
Perhaps Nie Aifang understood Nie Aiwen’s feelings and knew about his feelings, but… Nie Qiu knew that Nie Aifang cared about her feelings.
In Nie Aifang’s heart, she was still just a child, sensitive and worried that her mom finding someone else would lead to her mom distancing herself, and that her mom would forget her biological dad if she found a partner.
But she wasn’t a child. Of course, she understood more than a child, so… she also hoped Nie Aifang could find her own happiness.
When Nie Aifang began to let Nie Aiwen get close to her, Nie Qiu knew that Nie Aifang was slowly starting to accept Nie Aiwen’s kindness, which made her very happy. Nie Aifang was only thirty-eight years old; it would be too lonely to be alone for the rest of her life. Children couldn’t accompany their parents forever, but a lover was a lifelong companion.
After Nie Qiu finished her homework, Nie Aiwen went to the hospital canteen to get food. After the three of them finished eating, they chatted for a while. Because Nie Aifang had her urethral catheter removed today, Nie Aiwen rented a wheelchair from the hospital, helped Nie Aifang into it, and then pushed her to the hospital park for a walk.
Nie Aifang wasn’t unable to walk; her injury wasn’t to her legs. However, she had been in bed for days and had a urethral catheter, so walking after getting out of bed was still a bit uncomfortable. Therefore, when Nie Aiwen brought the wheelchair, she sat in it.
The hospital park had excellent landscaping, and many old men and women were dancing and practicing Tai Chi inside. It seemed to be the elderly from the nearby residential area exercising. Nie Aiwen lowered his head and looked at Nie Aifang, “Sister, when we’re old, back in our hometown, let’s buy an antique radio, and we can do fitness exercises and Tai Chi at home.”
Nie Aifang nervously clutched her hands, not replying.
Nie Aiwen pushed Nie Aifang to a spot, then walked in front of her, knelt down, and smiled at Nie Aifang, “Sister… let me take care of you, okay? And…” And, I love you… he wanted to say it, but didn’t know how. If he blurted it out, perhaps he and Nie Aifang wouldn’t even be siblings anymore. Last time he got by with a fake girlfriend; this time, if he confessed, what excuse would he have to shamelessly cling on?
“Hmm?” Nie Aifang raised her head, which had been lowered, and looked at Nie Aiwen.
Nie Aiwen swallowed and closed his eyes resolutely, “And… Sister, I love you.” He should have said this twenty years ago.
Nie Aifang’s face turned red, but she couldn’t help but smile. She reached out and placed her hand on Nie Aiwen’s cheek, gently stroking it, “I like you too.” Whether it was to the point of love, she didn’t know. She only knew that after their parents passed away, he stood before her like a man, puffing out his thin chest, shielding her from wind and rain.
She hadn’t expected to be in a relationship at her age, but… why not? No one wanted to grow old alone!
Nie Aiwen opened his eyes and reached out to touch the hand on his cheek, saying softly, “Sister, I didn’t mean it like that…” He thought Nie Aifang was referring to sibling affection and began to explain with some difficulty, “Sister, what I said, ‘I love you,’ is a man’s love for a woman. It’s wanting to be close to you, wanting to kiss you, wanting to hold you, wanting to be with you… it’s romantic love, sister. What I said isn’t the kind of love between siblings, do you understand?” Once the most difficult words were spoken, the rest became much easier.
Nie Aiwen had considered that if Nie Aifang truly couldn’t accept his love, he would stay by her side as a younger brother. His world wouldn’t be drastically different.
However, greed and selfishness are human nature! He still wanted more, he wanted to be with her.
“Then… what about that girl, Li Mingxue?” Nie Aifang thought for a moment and asked, “What are your plans?”
“That… that was just an employee from my company. I asked her to pretend to be my fake girlfriend. Last time… after that incident, I didn’t know… I didn’t know how to see you, but I thought, I couldn’t… I couldn’t avoid seeing you forever, right?” Nie Aiwen swallowed, “I’m sorry, I was wrong. I’ll never do that again. From now on, I’ll only be for you…”
Before he could finish speaking, Nie Aiwen suddenly stopped. He suddenly realized, did Nie Aifang understand what he meant by her question? Then that “like” just now…
His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Nie Aifang. Nie Aiwen seemed to have an epiphany and quickly asked with a look of surprise, “Sister? You… do you like me too?”
