When Shen Kuangye went back inside, he found the atmosphere among the three still heavy, clearly following a heated argument.
Xu Wen kept her eyes down, her lips pale, fingers twisting the stick of her candied hawthorn absentmindedly, her gaze vacant.
Lu Ning looked at her with a face full of concern, still holding her hand and softly trying to console her.
Lu Xiangyang, meanwhile, leaned to the side, pouting and deliberately turning his head away from Xu Wen, his eyes red.
Shen Kuangye walked over to Lu Xiangyang and suggested he take Lu Ning out for a walk while he stayed behind to talk with Xu Wen.
Lu Xiangyang lifted his misty, teary eyes and nodded.
"Mom, Xu Wen hasn't eaten yet. Let's go buy her something," Lu Xiangyang said.
Lu Ning glanced at them, released her hand, and slowly got up.
After the two left, the room fell silent.
"Are you here to persuade me too?"
Xu Wen let out a low laugh, but her expression was full of desolation.
Shen Kuangye looked at her: "If you give up treatment now, you'll be dead before long."
"Staying here is also death, isn't it?" Xu Wen retorted.
"But what I want to tell you is, shortly after you die, Xia Zhan will attempt suicide too."
As soon as he said this, the weariness and sorrow on Xu Wen's face vanished. Her voice suddenly rose: "What do you mean? Don't curse Xia Zhan!"
Shen Kuangye's expression remained calm, his dark eyes serious: "I have no interest in doing such things."
Xu Wen's expression was complex; it was clear she was struggling internally. After a long silence, she asked, "How do you know?"
"That, I cannot tell you."
"Xia Zhan…"
Xu Wen murmured the girl's name softly. Her usual calm facade completely melted away in that moment.
Even the strongest she could muster was still just a girl who had just turned eighteen. How could she not be afraid in the face of death? She still had hopes for the future and unfinished regrets.
Tears fell from Xu Wen's eyes, soaking the blanket one by one. Shen Kuangye handed her some tissues, silently waiting for her to vent.
"I… I'm not refusing treatment," she admitted.
Perhaps it had been too long since she'd confided in anyone, too long since she'd truly opened up, and she couldn't help but speak.
But the reason was too hard to say aloud, too humiliating for her pride.
Her lips trembled, but in the end, she couldn't say a single word.
"I've already paid your expenses," Shen Kuangye spoke for her.
Xu Wen suddenly lifted her head, her swollen eyes staring at him in surprise: "You… how—"
"Not just today. All your expenses until you recover, I can cover them."
Xu Wen stared at him for a long while, murmuring: "We're strangers. Why would you take this on for me?"
"People only live once. Don't give up so easily."
Shen Kuangye looked at her, his tone unusually gentle: "Xia Zhan, Lu Aunt and Lu Xiangyang—they're still waiting for you to get better, aren't they?"
"Xu Wen, if you give up now, it'll really be too late for everything."
This completely broke down Xu Wen's mental defenses. She covered her face and cried uncontrollably.
Shen Kuangye watched her and recalled when he was eighteen, receiving the notice of Lu Ning's critical condition and the looming huge medical expenses. He had felt helpless and lost then.
But now, he had the ability. Since he could help, why not reach out to someone equally lost and in pain as he once was?
He understood his power was limited, but he would do what he could to help.
"Thank you," Xu Wen finally managed, wiping her tears and looking up at him seriously. "Consider this a debt. Once I recover, I'll repay you."
Shen Kuangye nodded: "Alright."
He quickly added: "Actually, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
His tone grew serious, and Xu Wen became attentive: "Tell me."
Shen Kuangye hesitated briefly before saying: "If one day I suddenly disappear, please look after Lu Xiangyang for me."
Xu Wen frowned, puzzled: "What do you mean? Suddenly disappear?"
"I'm not certain. It could be tomorrow, in a few years, or maybe never at all."
"You're already dating him, aren't you? Why would you leave?" Xu Wen gripped this question, unwilling to let it go. "Lu Xiangyang would be devastated!"
Shen Kuangye lowered his gaze: "I know."
Because he knew too well, he couldn't be at ease. He always held himself to high standards. Noticing Xu Wen's misstep, he corrected her: "We're not dating yet. He still has a choice."
Even saying that, Shen Kuangye felt a twinge of guilt.
Rather than saying they weren't dating, it was more like a deadline he had set for himself.
He knew that once that line was crossed, everything—including himself... would be difficult to recover from.
"You're not dating?"
Xu Wen's voice rose, her confusion deepening.
"Shen Kuangye, have you seen the way he looks at you?" Xu Wen asked.
Shen Kuangye stayed silent.
Xu Wen spoke for him: "Let me put it this way: anyone can tell from his gaze that he likes you."
Unlike Shen Kuangye, Lu Xiangyang wasn't skilled at hiding his feelings. His likes and dislikes were always visible in his eyes.
When he hated someone, he would be cold and confrontational in reality.
But when he liked someone, his eyes would light up every time he saw them, and his gaze would linger on that person.
"I don't know why you said what you did. Even if you helped me and became my benefactor, I still have to say this," Xu Wen's voice was serious. "Lu Xiangyang is innocent. If you're just playing with him and plan to leave him later, you should let him go now."
She expected Shen Kuangye to be angry or displeased, but after she finished, he lightly curved his lips.
"Looks like I found the right person," he said.
Xu Wen's expression tightened; she didn't quite understand his meaning.
Shen Kuangye didn't explain and repeated once more: "If this ever happens, please take good care of him."
Just as Xu Wen was about to speak, someone knocked on the door.
"Kuangye-ge, we're back."
Lu Xiangyang had actually been waiting outside with Lu Ning for a while. Though he couldn't hear their conversation, he waited obediently.
Shen Kuangye glanced at him and naturally went to help him carry the bag filled with several boxes of food and placed it on the table.
He noticed some marks on Lu Xiangyang's fingers and said lightly: "If it's too heavy, don't carry it."
"I know. I just didn't want it to get cold on the ground," Lu Xiangyang said, carrying the top box that was packed to the brim.
He handed it to Xu Wen, still a little upset from their earlier argument, and said: "Here, hold it."
Xu Wen took it, and Lu Xiangyang, still pouting, helped her unfold the folding table on the bed.
She placed the food on the table, sat quietly for a while, then looked at Lu Xiangyang and Lu Ning:
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
"It's me who didn't think things through," Lu Ning said, her brows full of concern. She hugged Xu Wen: "Now that you've thought it through, let's focus on getting better."
Xu Wen choked and nodded.
Lu Xiangyang's expression softened a little at this moment.
He slowly stepped out of the room and found Xu Wen's attending physician: "Dr. Xu, I'm here to pay for Xu Wen's expenses."
Dr. Xu raised his glasses in puzzlement: "That young man just paid."
Lu Xiangyang blinked in confusion: "Was he wearing a white shirt and black pants?"
Dr. Xu nodded: "Yes."
After saying goodbye to him, Lu Xiangyang stood there dazed for a moment, then returned to the ward.
Xu Wen slowly ate, Lu Ning watched her, and Shen Kuangye sat beside her, head down, playing on his phone.
He was calculating future expenses when suddenly an Alipay notification popped up: a transfer of 20,000 yuan.
Sender—Xiangyang.
He frowned, about to transfer it back, but Lu Xiangyang pressed his hand down.
The two of them locked eyes, neither speaking.
By the time they left the hospital, it was nearly midnight.
Lu Xiangyang was the first to hail a car, insisting: "Hurry, brother, ranked matches are about to start."
On the way back, traffic jammed, so Lu Xiangyang drove part of the way. Upon arriving at the club, he was immediately matched in a game and started playing while walking, but Shen Kuangye had to hold him to prevent him from falling.
There was a regular match in the afternoon. After ranked matches, Lu Xiangyang and Shen Kuangye watched the game.
Today's teams were all ranked high in the IVL. Shen Kuangye observed and analyzed each team's strategies attentively.
In the evening, during team training, Yishui reminded them: "Tomorrow we face Ella. Don't stress too much, just relax."
Ella consistently ranked in the top two. Beating them would be difficult for EAR, but the experience would be valuable. Yishui's only requirement was that they try their best.
Considering the next day's match, they ended training at eleven.
Shen Kuangye went upstairs, returning the money to Lu Xiangyang.
Just as he put down his phone, he heard Lu Xiangyang running up the stairs.
"Brother, why did you return it?" he asked.
"Just keep it for yourself. No need to give it to me," Shen Kuangye said flatly.
"And you?"
Lu Xiangyang couldn't help but say, "You didn't even discuss it with me and went to pay Xu Wen's fees on your own. I know medical expenses aren't cheap. Brother, why do you take everything on yourself?"
His tone was full of helplessness.
Shen Kuangye lowered his gaze and met Lu Xiangyang's eyes, lips moving but silent.
"Do you think you can handle everything alone and I don't need to know anything?"
Lu Xiangyang frowned. "Brother, I'm not a child anymore. I can help share the burden now. Besides, Xu Wen is my friend. She's in trouble, and I want to help too."
He transferred the money back to Shen Kuangye, firmly: "If you transfer it back again, I'll be really mad."
To show his seriousness, Lu Xiangyang added: "I won't let you hug me to sleep tonight."
Shen Kuangye immediately said: "Don't be mad."
Seeing Lu Xiangyang nearly turning into a little puff, he explained: "I just don't want my decisions to affect your life."
He knew how hard Lu Xiangyang had it before, and that taking on Xu Wen's medical expenses was enormous, so he didn't want him involved.
"Affect my life?"
Lu Xiangyang repeated, incredulous: "Aren't we supposed to live together in the future? Why separate things so clearly?"
Shen Kuangye's indulgent attitude lately and occasional unconcealed displays of love had made Lu Xiangyang indulgent. Though he referred to it as a boyfriend trial period, he treated it as a six-month platonic relationship.
But Shen Kuangye's words were like a bucket of cold water. For the first time, Lu Xiangyang realized Shen Kuangye never truly trusted him in this way. He was just a well-behaved younger brother, someone to be protected—not someone who could share worries.
This was not what Lu Xiangyang wanted.
He now realized Shen Kuangye always considered others in everything, but never himself.
Shen Kuangye would notice every detail, cold hands at night, red marks on his fingers from carrying a bag—but what about himself?
Lu Xiangyang felt lost.
T/N: Don't worry, dear. Loving you is basically and literally... also loving himself.🤣