Thankfully, there was no awkwardness in their trip to the hospital. They acted like nothing happened as they made their way to Dai Bolin's room.
"Come to think of it, when you visited my father last time, didn't you come with Senior Meng?"
"Yeah. Brother Renshu helped me find out which room your father is in."
"Hmm," Dai Zhiqiang made a hum of acknowledgment. "Senior Meng, what kind of person is he?"
Li Caiyi stopped to think for a moment. "He is an enigma and hard to predict. He can act kind one time and cold the next time. However, he isn't inherently a bad person. On the contrary, he always tries to help people around him as much as possible, as long as he knows the person pretty well."
"You seem to be very close to him."
Li Caiyi could sense a prickling sensation from his tone, so she stared at him before saying firmly. "We are because we are childhood friends. Nothing like those rumors in the school said."
"Senior Meng clearly expressed his interest in you. What do you think of it?"
"There is nothing to think about because I don't see him that way. I believe Brother Renshu is misunderstanding his feeling of guilt towards me as liking someone."
Li Caiyi stopped herself when she realized she might have spoken too much. "That's just the feeling I get. It's a bit hard to explain."
"I see."
"But why are you asking about Brother Renshu suddenly?"
"I was curious about what you think of him. Senior Meng is very popular and well-liked by students and teachers in our school, so I wanted to know your opinion of him as a woman to man."
Li Caiyi grimaced at how straightforward he was. Wouldn't most people try to hide their intention, even if it was only a little?
"It's as I said before. I saw him as my childhood friend and nothing more."
This time, Dai Zhiqiang stopped walking and stared at Li Caiyi instead. "Are you sure you felt nothing towards him?"
There was something different in the way he looked at her that made her scoot away uncomfortably.
"I'm telling the truth."
Dai Zhiqiang was silent for a few moments. "Forget what I said, then."
Li Caiyi almost sighed in relief when he dropped the topic. Dai Zhiqiang was scary when he was interrogating a person. That gaze of his was like a slicing blade. It made people feel on edge.
When they arrived in front of the door of Dai Bolin's room, they could hear the sound of people talking inside. Li Caiyi's brows raised when she vaguely registered the voice as a woman's voice. Definitely wasn't Dai Shenqiang's voice.
"Someone is visiting Uncle? Should we enter now or later?" Li Caiyi looked toward Dai Zhiqiang, waiting for his answer, but his ashen expression stunned her.
"Zhiqiang?" She called out to him, but it didn't seem like her voice reached him, despite their distance.
Blood drained from his face as his hand hovered above the doorknob. His breath was labored, and his eyes shook wildly. Li Caiyi was confused and alarmed simultaneously by his abnormality.
"Hey, Zhiqiang? What's wrong with you?!"
Li Caiyi shook his body, and Dai Zhiqiang flinched as though it had just snapped him out of his reverie. Now she became even more worried about him.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so shocked?"
"Caiyi…" Dai Zhiqiang said in a shaky voice.
"Yes, I'm here. What is going on? Do you feel sick somewhere?"
Dai Zhiqiang grabbed her hand tightly to the point it almost hurt her. She suppressed the urge to grimace in pain and stroked his back.
"There, there. It's okay, Zhiqiang. Tell me slowly about what happened."
As her gentle tone and touch calmed his nerves, he took a deep breath. "I think…my mother is inside."
Li Caiyi gasped in surprise. Out of all times, they just had to encounter her here, after Dai Zhiqiang just opened up to her about his unhealed wound. She didn't know if her rotten luck was finally influencing the people around her or not, but this was definitely bad news.
"Zhiqiang, what do you want to do?" Li Caiyi asked unsurely.
The boy could barely think, let alone give out a response. He was utterly shaken by the presence of a person he hadn't met for years beyond this door.
Li Caiyi couldn't bear to see him like that, so she pulled his hand. Like an obedient chick, he followed her and went away from that place.
Li Caiyi brought him to the hospital's garden and made him sit on the bench. Dai Zhiqiang covered his face with his hands.
"I'm sorry for showing you this lame side of mine. I just didn't expect…."
"No, don't apologize. It's a perfectly normal reaction from you. There's no need to feel ashamed about it."
"Caiyi, I need to charge myself."
"Huh? Eek!"
Before Li Caiyi could respond, Dai Zhiqiang had pulled her down and made her sit on his lap. He wrapped his hand around her and buried his head on her shoulders, inhaling the fragrance of lavender mixed with a sweet scent that only belonged to her.
Li Caiyi was flustered and looked around in a panic. Thankfully, she chose a relatively secluded spot because she wanted to give Dai Zhiqiang some privacy. However still, this was a very embarrassing position to be seen. If people saw this, they would undoubtedly think they were doing something indecent.
"Zhi-Zhiqiang, I don't think this position is…."
"Stay," Dai Zhiqiang stubbornly held on to her like his life depended on it. "Please, just for a moment."
His voice trembled ever so slightly, and it sounded so fragile, with winds blowing past them. Li Caiyi's heart ached for him. So instead of pushing him back like she intended to, she wrapped them around his head, pulling him closer to her.
"It's alright, Zhiqiang. You'll be fine. I'm here with you. I won't leave you alone."
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