Chapter 556: 493 Heartbreak? How did you find out?
"Little Ear... I want to ask you one last question."
"You ask."
Lu Xiaoer looked at her own toes, her response was quite casual.
"Have you ever thought about marrying Zhongli Wuzhi?"
"..."
After Song Lili asked this question, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
Lu Xiaoer quietly stared at the sleek floor, rubbing her foot back and forth on it, as if she was struggling with something or perhaps...
"Xiaoer..."
Song Lili’s heart skipped a beat, she thought she heard...
Lu Xiaoer bit her lower lip tightly, and with a "plop," tears fell on the floor.
She bit her lip so hard it was almost bleeding but dared not let go.
Because she knew, once her teeth relaxed, she couldn’t suppress her sobs.
The slight cry that seeped through her teeth reached Song Lili’s ears...
Even over the phone, Song Lili could feel Lu Xiaoer’s distress.
She knew...
"It’s okay, Xiaoer, it’s all right..."
"..."
"I’ll hang up now. You have a night shift, try to get some sleep, and don’t tire yourself out too much. I’ll come to see you in a couple of days."
"...yeah."
As Lu Xiaoer responded, a simple monosyllable was accompanied by a pitiful sob.
Song Lili listened, her heart aching.
After hanging up, Lu Xiaoer’s body slid down against the wall until she was sitting at the corner, her entire face buried in her knees.
Have you ever thought about marrying Zhongli Wuzhi?
To Lu Xiaoer, that question truly struck a chord.
How could she not have thought about it?
She, a person with extremely strong prejudices against marriage, a staunch independent advocate of singlehood...
If she had never thought about marrying Zhongli Wuzhi, why would the pain feel so intense?
Lu Xiaoer vigorously wiped away her tears, sniffed, and returned to her duty room to continue the night shift...
The night was tiring, and staying up was harmful.
Lu Xiaoer naturally wanted to steal a little sleep, but closing her eyes brought back every scene of that night. As soon as she closed her eyes, Zhongli Wuzhi’s forceful and overbearing cruelty appeared vividly before her, impossible to escape.
Even on the previous days when she managed to fall asleep, she would wake from nightmares.
And upon waking, she would feel a fresh wave of gut-wrenching pain.
She regretted, deeply regretted, having given her heart.
———
Heartbreak always easily debilitates a person.
Lu Xiaoer was hurt inside, but she never showed it in front of others.
She didn’t know how Song Jing had found out.
"Here, cake."
There were fewer things to handle during the early morning shift.
At a little past five, Lu Xiaoer managed a short nap, and at six o’clock she woke up to find Song Jing placing a cake box on her table.
"It’s from your favorite bakery. There’s also this."
Song Jing had only one hand free to carry things, but the milk and cake were separate, the milk cup was in a bag hung on the wrist of her injured right hand.
So it wasn’t very convenient to take it down.
"Be careful."
Lu Xiaoer was fully awake as she watched him struggle to remove the plastic bag from his wrist.
She quickly stood up to help him get the milk down.
"Song Jing, you don’t need to bring me things."
"I haven’t seen you eat much these past few days. If I didn’t buy you something, you’d really become a celestial being living on air," Song Jing said jokingly.
Lu Xiaoer laughed, "How could it be as exaggerated as you say? It’s my own body, how could I not cherish it!"
"Finally, I see you laughing again."
Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, Song Jing’s eyes revealed a relieved and reassured smile.
Lu Xiaoer was stunned for a moment.
"Breakups are always like this. When I went through a breakup before, I looked even more haggard than you do now."
"Break...up...?"
Lu Xiaoer blinked.
"Did I observe wrongly? You didn’t go through a breakup?" Song Jing said casually.
Lu Xiaoer swallowed, forcing a dry laugh,
"I just think that Director Song, your observational skills are really terrifying, even noticing this..."
"This doesn’t need any observational skills, right?"
Song Jing chuckled.
He had been standing, and Lu Xiaoer quickly moved a chair over for him,
"Have you eaten yet?"
"I have."
"Do you want to eat a little more? The cake you bought is a bit large."
Lu Xiaoer washed her hands, rinsed her mouth, came back, and brought out the cake, a six-inch red velvet cake.
"Then I won’t be shy, I’m actually quite hungry."
Lu Xiaoer laughed playfully, then cut a slice for Song Jing and another for herself.
"Having this in the early morning feels quite luxurious, haha."
Lu Xiaoer laughed to herself as she spoke.
"In reality, when you’re feeling bitter inside, you don’t need to force a smile, at least not in front of me."
Song Jing said lightly.
Lu Xiaoer’s facial expression stiffened for a moment.
Indeed, she felt very bitter inside, a bitterness that had seeped up to her throat, felt every time she swallowed.
With Song Jing saying this, she couldn’t manage her expression anymore.
Lu Xiaoer was a straightforward person, and maintaining a facade was really hard for her.
"Song Jing, how... did you realize?"
"Before, no matter how busy you were, you would still check your phone now and then, even if cellphones weren’t allowed in a whole afternoon meeting, you would still take a peek during a five-minute break."
"..."
"Being a doctor is busy, especially a surgeon, and even more so a gifted, outstanding surgeon, particularly an outstanding surgeon from Anlin Hospital."
Song Jing looked at Lu Xiaoer,
"For someone as disciplined and ambitious as you, you will be even busier. You don’t even let yourself off the hook, how could the nurses below you, the patients in the ward, spare you?"
"Pfft... you make them sound like they’re my enemies."
Lu Xiaoer ate the red velvet cake and drank her milk.
This time her laughter came from the bottom of her heart.
"Why do you push yourself so hard? You look... really anxious."
Song Jing asked.
Lu Xiaoer held the fork in her hand, paused, and her gaze fixed on the cake.
"I’ve always been curious about this, but never had the chance to ask. My feeling should be right... you work harder than most people."
Song Jing went on making his judgment.
Lu Xiaoer smiled gently,
"Right. I’ve indeed pushed myself too hard."
"Why? Is there a burden at home? Or is there some other reason?"
"If I say... it’s to get married sooner, would you believe me? Hehehe..."
As soon as Lu Xiaoer asked, she started laughing first.
"...get married sooner?"
Song Jing was also taken aback by the answer.
Lu Xiaoer waved her hand, "Eh, let’s not talk about it..."
"Go on, I think I’d be quite fortunate, before this, probably no one has heard you talk about these things, right?"