Chapter 17: A Sister’s Visit and Future Plans

Reacquainting herself with drawing tools and working at the cafe, she processed and embraced life.

After two days of serene tranquility, Thursday arrived.

Qian Surou had arranged with the shop manager to leave work early today, and the thirty-seven-year-old male pastry chef had specially prepared a lemon cream scone and a raspberry chocolate cake for her.

In return, she offered him a cafe au lait.

For the pastry chef, who was aging and beginning to put on weight, his stomach was always the most vulnerable part of his body.

It was the tail end of August, with the sun blazing fiercely, and two o’clock in the afternoon marked a point where one could feel utterly drenched in sweat.

Even though Qian Surou was not prone to excessive perspiration, the blinding sunlight and her damp eyelashes made it difficult for her to keep her eyes open.

Securing the dessert package with an art clip featuring animal patterns, Qian Surou emulated the middle school students in their blue and white uniforms, scanning a code to board a vehicle.

Although shared bicycles offered better value than electric scooters, Qian Surou was simply unable to ride a bike.

Her terrible sense of balance was an insurmountable chasm; for Qian Surou, the challenge was no less daunting than a novice juggler being thrown onto a tightrope to ride a unicycle.

She certainly didn’t want to spend the prime of her life in a hospital.

The ornamental clock tower in the district chimed twice.

As if answering the call of the bells, Qian Surou stopped and gazed intently at Huimin Plaza.

Looking up at the Yujing Medical University Affiliated Hospital, she noticed the spire of the adjacent Baptist Chapel ruins.

Though tall, the spire lacked any aesthetic appeal, resembling a long nail driven into the sky, yet it evoked a profound sense of familiarity within Qian Surou.

“Sis, why are you spacing out? I thought you’d be feeding the pigeons.”

A road bike braked beside her, and Qian Xidong’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Why didn’t you find a shady spot? Even if your skin is fair, you can’t endure this kind of abuse.

Since you’re here, why didn’t you call me?”

“If I were feeding pigeons with little kids in split-crotch pants, you’d definitely laugh at me.”

Qian Surou, valuing her elder sister’s dignity, offered an explanation for the latter question:

“I just arrived myself, and for a moment, I was captivated by the scenery.”

Yet, the sun-drenched, barren plaza offered no noteworthy sights; the dried-up central pond resembled a sinkhole, and the workers distributing flyers nearby seemed to suffer under a scorching curse.

What truly held Qian Surou captive was that indefinable sense of familiarity.

“Haven’t you been coming every two or three days lately? You could at least come up with a better excuse.”

Locking her bicycle beneath a tree, Qian Xidong urged her sister to return the bike.

She continued:

“You told me that once Mother was discharged, you’d never step foot in this place again.

You said our family would all be healthy.”

“Of course! Who would want to reminisce about a place like a hospital?”

Qian Surou deftly led Qian Xidong towards the inpatient department, navigating through the connecting corridor and passing several departments illuminated by red and green signal lights, unsure if any were operating rooms.

After locating the on-duty doctor and requesting a visit, they took the quiet, specialized elevator.

‘Don’t mention him,’ Qian Surou whispered as a reminder.

Qian Xidong nodded awkwardly, trailing a body length behind, cautiously peeking her head around the door of the ward like a SWAT officer on a rescue mission.

The situation was better than Qian Surou had anticipated; her mother had not been physically affected by the grim news.

In fact, she was quite cheerful, asking if she was about to be discharged and amusingly feigning ignorance about Qian Xidong’s whereabouts.

Zhu Ying rose to her feet, meticulously observing Qian Xidong.

Standing together, the height difference between mother and daughter was amplified.

Qian Xidong, tall and slender at around 175cm, possessed a powerful beauty in her physique from years of ballet, while her mother, petite in stature, appeared elongated by the emaciation caused by her illness.

Though barely over forty, she seemed as fragile as glass on the verge of shattering, only able to stand by spreading her feet and bending her knees to maintain her balance.

“I’ve decided to rent a new three-bedroom apartment, right near Duyou University and not far from Linhua High School.

I managed to take a look yesterday and have already settled terms with the landlord.

Once the new place is ready, I’ll hire a caregiver, and then I’ll bring you home, Mother.

Then, I’ll be able to see Xidong every day.”

As Qian Surou spoke, she peeled an apple, completing the task in a single, unbroken spiral.

“Hmm, being closer to the university is good; it’ll be convenient for you too.”

“No, I’m not moving there just yet.

I’ve paid half a year’s rent on my current place, and it wouldn’t be easy to get it back.”

Qian Surou didn’t want to be timid and indecisive like ‘her former self.’

“I plan to convert my bedroom into a studio and work as a freelance artist.

Besides, I’m already a university student.

If my classmates invite me to activities or want to visit my place, I can’t always disturb Mother.

Don’t worry, I’ll come to see you and Xidong often.”

Deeply aware of the importance of money, she knew that at least one million was earmarked for surgery and absolutely could not be touched.

With medication, rent, live-in caregiver fees, living expenses, and various other costs amounting to nearly forty thousand a month, finding new sources of income was an urgent necessity.

Although her personal savings added another nearly one million that could be spent, it wouldn’t last for more than a few years.

Neither education nor medical care were areas where one could afford to economize.

“Sis, couldn’t you just break your lease? Even if we lived together, I wouldn’t bother you.”

Certainly not motivated by profound sisterly affection, Qian Xidong spoke without much thought.

Her intense desire to spend the night in the same house as her sister, to observe her up close, was palpable, and even if her words carried a hint of childish pleading, she uttered them without hesitation.

The intersection between her structured high school life and her sister’s university life was pitifully sparse; they might only see each other on weekends, and there were no excuses to contact each other during the week, making their separation not much different from that of a long-distance couple.

Qian Surou, finding it rather amusing, gave Qian Xidong a hug.

Who would have thought her ice-cold sister would suddenly transform into a clingy, sweet-and-sour ice cream?

Thinking this, the changes in their family’s circumstances weren’t entirely without their advantages.

She clapped her hands lightly, presenting the brilliant idea she had just conceived:

“Xidong, if you miss me, you can always come over!

I’ll keep your bedroom ready.

And sometimes, I’ll come to stay the night, and then I’ll have to rely on you to put me up, my dear sister!

You wouldn’t mind sharing half your bed with your older sister, would you?”

“If you replace Aldrich, I’ll consider it.”

Aldrich was a giant bear plushie.

In Qian Surou’s eyes, while Qian Xidong always maintained a cool demeanor, she was unexpectedly childish.

She wasn’t entirely frank, often tsundere, but ultimately a sensible and good child.

Perhaps due to her more mature heart, she couldn’t view her younger sister as a peer.

“As a body pillow, then?”

“What, not satisfied?”

“No, no, as long as you don’t mind me being bony,” Qian Surou joked.

While she had developed in all the right places, her body remained somewhat slender.

This made her envy the curvaceous, slightly plump older sisters, finding them more appealing to men.

This playful exchange put Zhu Ying at ease, improving her appetite to the point where she ate every piece of apple Qian Surou had peeled.

Throughout their visit, Qian Surou seemed to have an endless supply of interesting topics, prompting Qian Xidong to playfully remark that she possessed a talent comparable to a spymaster from an older era.

Offering a grateful look to her sister for not exposing her romantic feelings, Qian Surou was not yet ready to come out.

Moreover, she didn’t even have a partner at the moment, making the upcoming Qixi Festival, just around the corner, feel incredibly irritating for the first time.