Chapter 198: Chapter 198 She’s Afraid He’ll ntion Divorce Chapter 198: Chapter 198 She’s Afraid He’ll ntion Divorce That was Granny Qiao’s “death certificate.”
Qiao Xi’s tears soundlessly rolled down, smacking onto the paper.
She had always felt it wasn’t real, as if Granny was still by her side. Only when she saw this “death certificate,” clearly written, did it hit her.
Where and why she had died were specified.
“Doctor Qiao, are you okay?” a nurse said softly, “Please take care.”
The whole hospital knew that Doctor Qiao’s Granny had died in a fire, and her clinic had also been destroyed. Everyone had once envied her for being able to open her own clinic, but now everything had changed.
Qiao Xi wiped away her tears haphazardly, sniffed, and took the black ballpoint pen.
Her fingers trembled as she signed her na at the bottom right corner, crooked and distorted.
It didn’t even resemble her usual handwriting.
“That’s it,” she said hoarsely.
The nurse organized all the paperwork and certifications, then spoke to Qiao Xi, “Doctor Qiao, I ran into Dean Xu on my way here. He asked to tell you that Hai City Hospital will always welco you, and you can co back to work anyti.”
“Thank you.”
Qiao Xi said flatly.
She had developed an instinctive dislike for the Xu family, even for Xu Xiuyuan, with whom she had no quarrels.
She always felt incredibly unlucky whenever she encountered them, as if her life were about to reenter its darkest monts.
“I’ll be going then, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
The nurse left with her things.
Shu Xue gently patted Qiao Xi on the shoulder, “I’ll take so leave, and I’ll go with you to the countryside to send off Granny.”
Qiao Xi shook her head, “I’ll handle Granny’s affairs myself.”
She wanted to quietly send Granny on her last journey and did not want to trouble her friends.
“Then if you need any help, please don’t be shy.” Shu Xue was about to say more when she saw a tall man walking into the ward with a takeout container in his hand.
Shu Xue changed her stance, “I’ll leave first.”
In tis like these, it was better to let Huo Xingzhou be with her.
Huo Xingzhou set the takeout boxes on the coffee table, opening them one by one; the rich and enticing aroma of the food filled the entire ward. The pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was still steaming, its broth golden.
“Eat sothing first.”
Huo Xingzhou handed a spoon to Qiao Xi, his voice soft.
Qiao Xi obediently sat opposite him, chanically sipping the soup with the spoon he gave her. Even the most delicious food tasted like wax in her mouth.
It seed she was only eating to keep her bodily functions going.
Obedient on the outside, but her soul was lost.
She no longer showed her usual intimacy in front of Huo Xingzhou; others didn’t think much of it, assuming she was just struck by the great change.
Huo Xingzhou pursed his thin lips, thinking she was upset about the eleven missed calls.
He slightly furrowed his brow and started to speak, “Last night, you called …”
Clang!
Qiao Xi released her grip, and the spoon clattered against the edge of the bowl.
She looked up, her voice slow and hoarse, “I don’t want… to talk about last night.”
She wanted to hide in a thick shell for a while before facing reality again.
She didn’t want to hear his evasions or his lies.
She feared hearing him say that he had decided to be with Xu Xingluo and felt guilty about it.
“Alright, we won’t talk about it.”
He cajoled her, “Eat a bit more.”
He picked up a slice of lotus root with his wooden chopsticks and brought it to her lips. Qiao Xi’s hands fell by her sides, her body stiff as she stared at him.
Eventually, she turned her face away.
“I’m… full.”
She stood up from the small couch and lay back down on the hospital bed. She closed her eyes, pretending he wasn’t there.
Huo Xingzhou put down the utensils and walked to her bedside, “I’ll step out for a bit. You rest here nicely. Call if you need anything; it won’t be unreachable.”
Huo Xingzhou must have found out so news about Wang Lang by now.
He paused for a while, then left the hospital room.
…
Qiao Xi slowly opened her eyes, watching his retreating figure. She took out her cellphone, got up, and changed out of her hospital gown, braving the heavy rain to hail a taxi.
She was headed to Cheng Acupuncture Clinic.
It was very dark, and the taxi stopped at the entrance of the clinic.
The clinic was burned beyond recognition, with the front door wide open and the white walls turned pitch black.
The dicine cabinets she had carefully maintained were now charred remains. Qiao Xi stepped in, the ground covered in ruins.
None of the cleanliness and brightness from before were visible.
She turned on her cellphone’s flashlight for illumination, tears falling drop by drop. She felt remorse deep in her heart, wishing she hadn’t gone out to buy atballs at that ti.
She walked towards the back of the clinic to her grandmother’s bedroom.
Faint noises ca from inside, and Qiao Xi stopped in her tracks.
She stared at the door with alertness and gently pushed it open; the door clanged against the wall.
In the darkness,
heavy clouds obscured the moon.
A dim yellow light was lit.
A young man with a delicate and handso face leaned against the corner, by a cloud-shaped night light that could be charged. Qiao Xi blinked her eyelashes, recognizing it as the one she had bought for her grandmother, fearing she might fall when going to the bathroom at night.
She covered the lost brilliance in her eyes and asked softly, “Why are you here?”
The sll of the burned remains filled the air, unpleasant.
Not a place where a rich young man would co.
“Nowhere else to go.”
Xu Yunye was still wearing the clothes from last night, the white gauze all stained with dust and looking dirty.
“I felt you would co here, so I ca here to try my luck,” Xu Yunye’s voice was slightly hoarse as he sat on the ground looking up at her, like a forsaken Samoyed.
Helpless and pitiful.
Qiao Xi felt very uncomfortable, a heavy, suffocating pain in her chest.
“This place… does not welco you.”
Qiao Xi closed her eyes and said coldly.
She didn’t want to see anyone from the Xu family ever again—perhaps it was misdirected anger.
“Qiao Xi, I went ho and asked my mom. The fire had nothing to do with her, she wouldn’t do…”
“So you think my grandmother caused the fire due to negligence? My grandmother wouldn’t burn paper money in the clinic either.”
Her eyes glazed with a cold layer, “Did I force Liu Huimin to say those things? She said she wanted to ensure my clinic couldn’t operate anymore, whom should I suspect if not her?”
She was emotionally agitated.
Xu Yunye drooped his head and said, “I’m sorry.”
Qiao Xi didn’t respond, sidestepped him, and dusted off the nightstand completely. She opened the drawer; inside were so of her grandmother’s personal items, which hadn’t been burned.
She bent down and carefully picked up a peach wood comb.
The teeth of the comb were smooth, its touch warm, as if it had been used for many years. Old and laced with the scent of aged wood, she held it treasuredly in her hand.
Neatly folded clothes were also in the drawer, all made of sumr fabrics.
In Qiao Xi’s mory, her grandmother always wore old gowns in shades of blue or gray and rarely bought new clothes. If necessary, she would have a local tailor make a set.
She looked fondly at these items.
When soone is alive, these are called clothes. After death, they beco relics.
The distinction between life and death.
She bent down to carefully pack away Granny Qiao’s things, the yellow jade hanging around her neck fell out.
Dangling in mid-air, it swayed.
Xu Yunye stared at the piece of yellow jade.
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