Those naive and innocent years have passed, but what about me?

  Tian Tian was ill, she curled up in her blanket, wrapping herself into a small ball, and fell fast asleep. Her forehead was burning with fever, her face stiff, eyes tightly closed, mouth pursed, and her disheveled hair tangled with the pillow. Every day, she relied on intravenous drips to sustain her life.

  Alan sat in the chair watching her cry silently, Old Zhang's eyebrows were also furrowed together, he scolded Alan more than once, his tone was sorrowful and angry. They didn't know when she would wake up, so they could only wait. They all knew that she had suffered too much, and simply didn't want to face this world.

  After Zong Zhong received the news, he would go to the hospital every day to accompany her, wiping her pale face with a towel, saying nothing, and being as quiet as if he were transparent. He would put one earphone on Tian Tian's ears and wear one himself, sharing those pure and refreshing songs with her. He knew she could hear him, and in his heart, she was so strong that no matter what setbacks she encountered, she would always stand up again.

  He knew that she would wake up on a sunny day, smelling the elegant lily fragrance in the glass bottle, blinking her eyes lightly and smiling at him. He knew it would eventually happen.

  Yao Le Tong and Bai Xiu also occasionally came to visit her. At the moment when Tian Tian's calm face was imprinted on Yao Le Tong's retina, the boy who always had a mischievous smile on his face could no longer maintain the fake smile at the corner of his mouth, and he turned his head to one side.

  Damn it, he said, when did I become so girly?

  Bai Xu sat on the edge of the bed, holding Tian Tian's hand which was covered in needle holes, and said sorrowfully, "How could you fall down like this? Weren't you very strong? I didn't even have a chance to say thank you to you. Look, the scar on my face has faded a lot. You should get up and take a look at me, I'm still as beautiful as ever."

  But she seemed to have not heard, still lying quietly, except for the faint breathing, almost no trace of her existence could be felt. Her faith was gone, her motivation was gone, how should she go on living? How to maintain her own life? No one can tell her.

  No matter what, life must go on. No matter how much pain you've suffered, no matter how many people have trampled, abandoned, used and despised you, as long as you still have a breath of air in your body, you must open your eyes to face reality, to face those filthy, hypocritical people or things.

  Then, slowly but surely, you also learn to use the same tactics on others, and so you become one of them. Later, suddenly it dawns on you that everyone is actually the same as each other.

  Tian Tian woke up five days later, on a sunny yet still chilly day. She slowly opened her eyes to see the boy putting fresh lilies into a glass vase.

  Tian Tian blinked his eyes, wanting to see more clearly. He seemed to have grown taller and his shoulders were broader. Boys really do grow up fast!

  The young man turned his head, saw that she had opened her eyes, and almost immediately stopped the movement in his hand. He was stunned, motionless, with a sparkling light still lingering in his eyes. Tian Tian didn't know if she had seen it wrong or not.

  For just half a minute, he looked at her and she looked back at him. Then, Tian Tian opened her dry mouth with difficulty, her lips were stuck together and needed to be torn apart. Her voice was hoarse and low, "I want to drink water."

  "I'll go get you some water." With that, Zong Zhongjian picked up the cup and darted out like an arrow.

  When he came back, his eyes were red, and he was still holding a spoon in his hand. He sat on the stool, scooped up a spoonful, put it to his mouth, blew on it, felt that the temperature was about right, and then fed it to Tian Tian's mouth.

  "You're just like a rabbit," Tian Tian said with a smile.

  "The rabbit is cuter when you're praising me." As he spoke, he propped up the pillow so Tian Tian could lie down more comfortably.

  "How many days have I slept?" Tian Tian asked.

  "It's been five days."

  "It's been such a long time!" Tian Tian sighed, "So, you've taken care of me for five days?"

  "You still have a conscience," Zong Zhong said with feigned nonchalance.

  "Thanks," Tian Tian swallowed the water, "I didn't know you were still here."

  "Hmm, I've been here all along," Zong Zhong smiled slightly, "Didn't you know?"

  "I know, so I'm touched."

  "Yao Letong and Bai Xue have come to see you, but you didn't notice. Yao Letong cried so much that it was like pear blossoms in the rain, making people think you wouldn't wake up again, it's really funny."

  Tian Tian smiled lightly and said weakly, "I seem to have dreamed of them, dreamed that the scars on Bai Ju's face had faded a lot."

  "That's true, idiot."

  Two people were chatting and laughing when Alan walked in with a bag of fruit. She raised her eyes to see Tian Tian waking up, her hand naturally slipping from the door handle and "thud" kneeling on the ground, tears falling one after another. She choked out unclearly, "Sorry, sorry, miss, sorry..." She was tongue-tied, not knowing how to express her apology, and could only repeat this sentence over and over again.

  Every night that Tian Tian was in a coma, she suffered from the condemnation of her conscience. She couldn't sleep, with eyes full of bloodshot and tears at the corners, taking care of her deeply loved mistress. Every moment she regretted why she didn't stop Madame when she took away Young Master, knowing that Madame had put medicine in the milk but pretending not to know. She regretted why she was so timid, weak and incompetent, and could only use this humble method to seek Tian Tian's forgiveness.

  "Get up, this isn't something you can decide," Tian Tian said.

  "Miss, you can hit me or scold me, as long as it makes you feel a little better."

  "I won't hit or scold my family members, don't kneel down, Alan," Tian Tian said. "I'm hungry, can you cook porridge for me?" Perhaps only in this way would Alan not feel guilty, her existence still had some value, and she didn't want to make her feel like she owed her anything. What Lv Yanlan wanted to do, Alan couldn't stop anyway.

  "Alright, alright, I'll go now," Alan stood up, wiped away the tears on his face and went to cook porridge with a happy expression.

  Tian Tian gazed at Alan's receding back, let out a sigh, and ultimately didn't say anything.

  "Some people will always leave, no matter how tightly you hold on, no matter how well you protect them. They'll take everything with them when they go, leaving not even a familiar scent behind. The next time you meet, it might just be a simple greeting, and you'll find that life goes on just fine without them.

  But there are also people who will always be by your side, leaving their mark on your life. Whether in the freezing cold or scorching heat, whether you're crying or laughing, as long as you reach out and dial a few numbers, they'll appear before you in the fastest way possible, to share in your sorrow or joy. If you want them to, that is.

  So don't worry too much about it," said Zong Zhongyan, "just relax, everything will be alright."

  Tian nodded and said, "I'm sleepy, I want to sleep."

  Zong Zhong nodded, stood up, and gently closed the door, letting her think carefully. After all, that young man had accompanied her for dozens of years, and he needed to give her time to sort out her thoughts. He sincerely hoped she could be happy, in his own name.