Heart Flutter

Chapter 51

The hospital room had been well heated, yet Aunt Ji’s hands still felt icy. Tang Yan tried her best to warm them with her own furnace-like palms. She cherished this kind of closeness but wished it had not happened under such circumstances. She truly did not want to see Aunt Ji in this state; she would have much rather been the one injured herself.

She prayed repeatedly in her heart for Aunt Ji’s quick recovery, silently and devoutly wishing for her to get better soon.

“You did not have class today?” Ji Yuqing suddenly asked.

“I asked a classmate to request leave for me,” Tang Yan replied, somewhat flustered.

“Listen to me. At noon, let Sister Pei Wen take you back to school. You cannot afford to miss your classes.”

Without hesitation, Tang Yan shook her head, the look in her eyes revealing a rare kind of stubbornness. “I am not going back. I want to stay here and take care of Aunt Ji.”

“Silly child. Aunt Ji has plenty of people to take care of her. Look, even Aunt Zhang Miya is here,” said Ji Yuqing gently.

Tang Yan bit her lip and refused to give in. At that moment, Pei Wen came in carrying a cup of warm water, ducking through the doorway. “Hope I am not disturbing you?”

Tang Yan immediately stood up and took the cup from her with a smile. “Not at all. You are not bothering us in the slightest.”

Seeing this, Ji Yuqing swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Zhang Miya returned after finishing a phone call. “I have taken care of everything with the lawyer. There should not be any problem. The odds of winning the lawsuit are at least ninety percent.” She then stole a furtive glance at Tang Yan. “You do not mind if we go after your cousin, right?”

“Not at all,” Tang Yan answered with a dismissive wave. Then she added coldly, “Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with me. If he can be punished severely, all the better.”

“All right then.” Zhang Miya breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried you might care, seeing as you two are related. This case is a bit tricky, but if you have no objection, it will make things a lot easier.”

Turning back to Ji Yuqing, who lay in the hospital bed, Zhang Miya continued, “You just focus on resting these next few days. I will handle the running around for the case.”

Pei Wen quickly volunteered, “Me too!”

Ji Yuqing could not help but laugh. “Why are you all treating me like I am some sort of victim?”

“You actually are the victim right now!” Zhang Miya exclaimed. Then, pointing from head to toe, she continued, “Just look at you. There is not a spot on your body that is not injured. It breaks my heart. We definitely will not let him off this time!”

“Yes, Sister Miya is right,” Pei Wen chimed in. “Sis, just lie down and rest well. Whatever you need, just tell us. We are your family.”

However, Zhang Miya could not stay long. Even though her child was at home with the nanny, she had only managed to slip out after lulling the child to sleep. The child would cry and fuss if she woke up and found her mother gone.

Pei Wen also needed to return to the company to handle some leave paperwork. Consequently, the responsibility for looking after Aunt Ji temporarily fell on Tang Yan’s shoulders, which she gladly accepted.

Apart from a nurse coming in occasionally to change the IV drip, only Tang Yan and Ji Yuqing remained in the hospital room. Perhaps because of the medication, Aunt Ji slept most of the time. Tang Yan sat quietly by her bedside, cautious not to make any noise that might disturb her, and idly passed the time on her phone.

Her roommate, Xia Zihan, sent some clandestine photos from class that day and mentioned that the teacher had taken attendance.

Xia Zihan wrote: Class was so boring. I was about to doze off. How are things on your end?

Tang Yan replied: I am probably not coming back to school any time soon.

Xia Zihan: Huh? Are you at least returning to the dorm tonight?

Holding her phone, Tang Yan glanced at Aunt Ji, who was sound asleep, and then looked back down to type: No, I am not coming back.

Xia Zihan: You need to request official leave from our counselor. I could only cover for you in this one class. I cannot do more than that.

Tang Yan: Understood. I will call the counselor soon.

Scrolling to the bottom of her contacts, Tang Yan hesitated briefly over a number she had never dialed before. Eventually, she stepped out of the room to make the call.

After introducing herself and detailing her department, class, and name, she was surprised to learn that the counselor already knew exactly who she was.

“Tang Yan, what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to request at least one week off.”

“…Why do you need that long? You know that more than three days of absence requires approval from the department. I cannot approve this on my own.”

“My aunt is hospitalized, and I have to look after her. She has no other relatives here,” Tang Yan explained, biting her lip.

“Your aunt?” The counselor sounded surprised. “Is it the one we met at the campus clinic that time?”

“Yes, her,” Tang Yan confirmed.

“Ah, I see. I will help you submit an application to the department. But tell me, is your aunt really that sick? If it is serious, maybe I could come visit tomorrow.”

“No, really, that is not necessary. I know you are very busy, Professor,” Tang Yan declined without a second thought.

“Showing concern is part of my job. I do not have any classes tomorrow. Just send me the hospital address and room number.”

Tang Yan fiddled with her fingers, feeling uneasy, but since it was her counselor, it was hard to refuse outright. Once she hung up, she obediently sent him the details.

It bothered her the more she thought about it. Why was the counselor so concerned? Maybe it was not about her at all.

Right then, her phone rang again, nearly making her drop it. The caller ID read: Uncle.

After a moment of indecision, Tang Yan answered and held the phone to her ear.

Her uncle spoke first. “Yanyan, did your cousin get into some kind of trouble in Huadu? The local police just called the house. Your aunt and I are packing and getting ready to head over there.”

Tang Yan rested her free hand on the windowsill, her fingers digging into the frame. “I…only found out about it today myself.”

She really did not know how to respond or how to explain the situation. Over the years, her uncle had helped her quite a bit, both openly and in secret, though he often got chewed out by her aunt for it.

Her emotions ran complicated, torn, and anxious.

“That rascal,” her uncle muttered. “Of all the places he could go, he had to run off so far, then land himself in trouble as soon as he got there.”

Before he could say more, her aunt’s voice boomed on the other end, “Who are you on the phone with now? Is it that brat Tang Yan? What good is talking to her? There is nothing to discuss!”

Then came the abrupt click of the call ending. As the dial tone beeped in her ear, Tang Yan slowly lowered her phone. She turned it off and gazed out into the night sky. Only a handful of stars twinkled, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.

Memories from years before welled up again.

Tang Yawen had never been one to behave. He had been unruly since childhood, constantly picking fights with other boys in the village. He acted like a thug at school, intimidating everyone and hitting anyone who provoked him. His most serious offense had been beating another boy so badly that the boy ended up in the hospital, requiring multiple stitches. Her uncle and aunt had managed to settle that incident by making countless apologies and paying medical fees. But before long, her cousin caused more trouble—big enough that he wound up in juvenile detention for a while.

It turned out none of that changed him. After he was released, he remained as he always had been and even bragged about his record to his friends, becoming the center of attention.

Tang Yan despised this. At school, she never wanted to mention that they were related. She was a prideful person, and it was a small town with only so many students. She was a top student year after year, so any comparison to Tang Yawen felt like a personal insult.

She took a deep breath by the window. Now her aunt and uncle were on their way to Huadu. She had hoped that by leaving home for the city, she could escape her origin and everything that came with it, but it seemed she would still have to face it eventually.

Slipping back inside the room, Tang Yan gently closed the door behind her and jumped to see that Aunt Ji was awake, standing there like a statue. “Aunt Ji, you are awake.”

“I thought you went back already,” Ji Yuqing remarked.

“I got permission from my counselor,” Tang Yan replied. “He approved my leave…”

Ji Yuqing did not insist that Tang Yan return to school. Instead, she asked, “Did you eat dinner?”

“Yes. Sister Pei Wen took me somewhere near the hospital,” Tang Yan said.

“I was thirsty. Could you help me drink some water?” Ji Yuqing asked.

Tang Yan paused, obviously surprised but also happy. She hurried over to pick up the water cup, inserted a straw, and brought it to Ji Yuqing’s lips.

Before long, she had finished the entire cup. Tang Yan then set it aside and stood quietly, ready to help with anything else.

Ji Yuqing’s expression seemed a bit awkward, as though she felt embarrassed to speak. “Normally I would ask the nurse for this, but since you are here, I guess it is fine to ask you.”

She blushed the moment the words left her mouth.

“I can help you with anything!” Tang Yan answered quickly.

“I wanted to… well…” Ji Yuqing hesitated for a while before continuing in a quiet voice, “I needed to use the bathroom.”

“Ah?” Tang Yan clearly panicked, standing there, unsure of what to do. “H-How do I help you?”

Bright red by then, Ji Yuqing quietly instructed her, “You have to help me take off my pants first.”