Chapter 184: Shakespeare’s Love Letters ①
As they neared the hospital room, Nie Aifang hit the parking brake. “Aiwen, our situation…” Nie Aifang looked up at Nie Aiwen and said, “Can we not tell Qiu Qiu about us for now?”
Nie Aiwen was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. “Okay.” He knew Qiu Qiu was an understanding child and would definitely not object to him and her mother being together, but… if Nie Aifang wanted to tell Qiu Qiu herself, he would respect her wishes.
Nie Aifang smiled with relief and had Nie Aiwen push her into the hospital room.
Nie Qiu had already finished her homework and was sitting by the hospital room window, reading novels she had rented from a street stall. All the novels she read were famous original foreign novels. Because they were in a foreign language, Nie Aifang couldn’t understand them. Seeing the confusing characters that looked like Sanskrit, she thought Nie Qiu was studying a foreign language and was happy.
“After I’m discharged, I’ll go to the market first to collect a month’s salary from the boss. I need to find a place to live first,” Nie Aifang said, getting out of the wheelchair herself and then lying down on the hospital bed, speaking to Nie Qiu and Nie Aiwen.
Nie Qiu hadn’t reacted yet, but Nie Aiwen smiled and said, “Sister, I bought a house in this city. Why don’t you and Qiu Qiu move in with me! It’ll be convenient for the three of us to live together!”
Nie Aifang glared at Nie Aiwen, secretly warning him not to reveal their relationship, then looked at Nie Qiu. “Qiu Qiu, your exams are coming up soon. I want to rent a house in a residential area closer to your school so it’s convenient for you to get to school. Every day when you go to school, look for advertisements for rental houses on the way and write down the information in a notebook. When I’m discharged, we’ll go look at houses together.”
Nie Qiu glanced at Nie Aiwen and nodded with a smile. “I understand, Mom.” They both felt a lot of reluctance about the house that had been demolished. Nie Qiu didn’t have deep feelings for the house, but… like a newborn baby, perhaps she had a nestling instinct. Leaving the hospital, any house that brought her warmth, though ordinary, was precious.
Nie Aifang felt the same way. That house held too many memories, good or bad. But it was her home in this city for so many years, her home. After leaving her hometown to work, she had lived in that residential area. Whether she was working in a factory or setting up a stall at the night market, that small place held all her memories of striving in the big city. When she was tired, sleepy, hurt, or in pain, and the city life made her fed up, as long as she returned to that small place, she would completely relax, then take a bath, cook something, sleep well, and when the sun rose again, it would be a brand new day for her.
This is home, a place that allows one to forget the hardships of life and feel warmth.
But… that house had already been demolished. Even if it were rebuilt, it wouldn’t be their old home anymore. They understood that no matter how reluctant they were, they couldn’t go back. They also knew that as long as the people were well, that was what mattered, and that home is where family is.
Nie Aifang, Nie Qiu, and Nie Aiwen were chatting in the hospital room when they heard a commotion in the corridor outside. Soon, several young people walked into the room, laughing and talking. It was Huang Yan, Zhang Haiyang, and Li Kai.
“Auntie, we’ve come to see you,” Huang Yan said, placing the fruit in her hands on the bedside table and smiling at Nie Aifang.
Seeing that everyone behind her was carrying beautifully packaged fruit baskets and flowers, Nie Aifang couldn’t help but chide them. “It’s enough that you came! Just spending time with me is fine, why bring gifts? It’s a waste of money.” She was also a parent, especially a frugal one. She had considered giving her child pocket money but had never acted on it, so she knew that no matter how much pocket money students had, it wouldn’t be much. Seeing that Huang Yan and the others had brought gifts, she said, “If you have this money, you might as well buy more pens and more reference books to study.”
“Auntie, eating fruit is good for your health, it supplements vitamin C. Don’t talk about buying pens and reference books. The amount of pens and notebooks we’re using lately is double what I used in all three years of junior high school!” Huang Yan sat by the hospital bed and said to Nie Aifang, “Auntie, I’m telling you, we all wanted to come see you when you were hospitalized, but our final exams are coming up soon. The homework each day is three times the usual amount. We have to do homework until midnight after evening self-study. We didn’t have time to visit you. Auntie, you won’t blame us, will you?”
“You little girl, how could Auntie blame you?” Nie Aifang had met Huang Yan several times and had become quite familiar with her. She knew that Huang Yan was a lively and cheerful person, so she wouldn’t blame her after hearing her explanation.
Zhang Haiyang, Li Kai, Wang Chaolei, Luo Xu, Ma Xin, and Peng Yuyang also placed their gifts on the bedside table. Anything that didn’t fit was placed at the foot of the bed. They all respectfully greeted her, “Hello, Auntie!”
Nie Aifang smiled and nodded continuously. “Yes, good, and you all too.” She always felt that letting her daughter stay in Class 10 was the right decision. While Class 1 might sound better, she definitely wouldn’t have so many friends now, nor would she be this free and at ease. In Class 1, her daughter might have just finished evening self-study like these children, instead of being able to come to the hospital to accompany her every day after school at five o’clock. Although this was better for her studies, life is only a few decades, not even a century. In youth, one should also live freely and as one pleases. What kind of youth is it if it’s only about studying?
And she didn’t necessarily need company in the hospital, but she was very happy that her daughter could come and talk with her early on.
Most of Nie Qiu’s classmates knew what had happened to her family and had offered their condolences. However, most of them didn’t know that Nie Aifang was in that big hospital. There are many large hospitals in City A, and only Li Kai knew that Nie Aifang was in this particular hospital.
Nie Qiu didn’t want to trouble her classmates, so when they asked, she just thanked them for their concern and refused their requests to visit, citing her studies as the priority.
But Huang Yan was different. Huang Yan was now dating Zhang Haiyang, and Zhang Haiyang and Li Kai were close buddies. If Huang Yan wanted to know which hospital Nie Aifang was in, it would be as easy as pie. So today, there wasn’t much homework. As soon as evening self-study ended, they came to the hospital together.
As for Peng Yuyang, when Nie Qiu repaid him, Peng Yuyang had asked about Nie Qiu’s family situation and knew that Nie Aifang was in this hospital. Like the others, he hadn’t visited Nie Aifang before due to his heavy studies. It was only today, with less homework, that he took a taxi to the hospital to see Nie Aifang.
When they met at the hospital entrance, they all ignored each other. Usually, people visit patients during the day, but they were visiting at night, so the hospital wasn’t noisy. Only Huang Yan and Zhang Haiyang could be heard chattering in the hospital corridor.
