This morning, Quach Phuong didn't expect the person she bumped into would be Cao Vien Thanh. While they weren't exactly strangers, they weren't close either. They could be considered acquaintances, but not particularly close friends.
The both of them grew up in the same orphanage. Her impression of Cao Vien Thanh back then was that he was eccentric and difficult to approach. He was always alone, even the foster mother back at the orphanage couldn't hold a conversation with him for more than five sentences.
The first time Quach Phuong and Cao Vien Thanh met was when she was being bullied by the other kids in her room. Cao Vien Thanh had appeared out of nowhere, rescuing her, and beat those children to a pulp.
One detail she remembered very clearly was that Cao Vien Thanh's venomous tongue was comparable to the poison of a puffer fish. As the children lay moaning on the floor, Cao Vien Thanh stood tall and looked at them with disdain in his eyes, and said: "We were all abandoned by our parents, what makes you think you're superior?"
After that fight, they were all lectured for a while, and were also punished with cleaning duties. Thanks to that, she realized that Cao Vien Thanh wasn't as unapproachable as she thought.
Coincidentally, during their school years, Quach Phuong and Cao Vien Thanh both attended the same school.
It was July, one step forward was autumn, one step back was summer. Underfoot, there lingered a faint smell of wet mud from last night's heavy rain. Quach Phuong sat on a stone bench under an almond tree outside the hospital. She reached out to take the glass of hot milk from Cao Vien Thanh.
"Thank you."
Cao Vien Thanh silently stuffed a tissue into her hand, the corner of his lips curled up: "No need to thank me, I was afraid Miss Ngo might stir up trouble again and make the hospital director come out to appease her personally, so I sacrificed myself."
Quach Phuong couldn't help but burst into laughter, her eyes still warm and moist. "After three years, you're still as unpleasant as ever," Pausing for a moment, she reminded him: "Call me Quach Phuong."
"Oh, classmate Quach Phuong knows how to flatter." Cao Vien Thanh took a sip of coffee and casually asked: "Did you find out you had an incurable disease or something, to be crying so fiercely?"
Quach Phuong savored the warmth of the hot milk in her hand, letting the heat seep into her body. If the person standing in front of her were her parents or Tan Duat, she would have definitely kept this matter a secret. But facing Cao Vien Thanh, for some reason, she felt relieved, as if she could tell him everything regardless of the consequences. Perhaps deep down, she truly saw Cao Vien Thanh as someone capable of confronting this harsh world.
Quach Phuong's voice was as gentle as the early-spring breeze: "It's true that nothing can get past you."
Quach Phuong smiled softly: "I have late-stage cervical cancer."
Cao Vien Thanh was stunned, his pupils shrank in shock. He quickly hid his trembling hands in the pockets of his blouse, and reprimanded her in a scolding tone: "This brat, do you even realize how bad your joking skills are? Even a child could tell you're lying."
"Vien Thanh, I'm not lying. It's true," Quach Phuong looked at him seriously, her dove-like eyes, now reflecting neither joy nor sorrow.
Quach Phuong was always like that. She always treated what happened around her with indifference, yet she was also more resilient than anyone. Cao Vien Thanh vividly remembered the moment when Quach Phuong was beaten by those kids; she didn't cry or make a fuss, she had only bitten her lip tightly without letting out a single sound of pain. After all these years, he had always wondered whether Quach Phuong was incredibly strong, or just incredibly good at enduring pain and being foolish.
"Then why haven't you admitted yourself to the hospital for treatment, you stupid kid!" Cao Vien Thanh knelt down in front of her, bent his finger, and gently tapped Quach Phuong's forehead.
Quach Phuong touched her head. "Hey, we're both 26 now, you can't call me a kid anymore."
"Just accept it, whoever is smarter is the older one. An idiot like you needs to get used to it."
Remembering Cao Vien Thanh's extraordinary achievements back in school, Quach Phuong felt truly disappointed and had to admit defeat. Even though she had studied day and night, she was only able to rank second in the entire grade, right after Cao Vien Thanh.
"You smart, foul-mouthed guy..."
Before Quach Phuong could finish her sentence, Cao Vien Thanh interjected: "Quach Phuong, even if you had only one day left to live, you must live. You have to live for me no matter how long!"
Cao Vien Thanh's tone was so serious that Quach Phuong didn't dare to joke around anymore. She nodded: "I will get treatment, but not right now."
"Are you going to wait until you're lying in a coffin before you want treatment?"
"It's not that bad, just about a week, I promise." Quach Phuong looked at the clear sky: "I want to settle everything first, and then recover in peace."
With that, Quach Phuong stood up and said goodbye to Cao Vien Thanh; she had to go home.
Quach Phuong had just turned around when Cao Vien Thanh instinctively grabbed her hand, and asked: "Quach Phuong, have you been happy these past three years?"
She stood still, and said: "Vien Thanh, ever since I discovered I was seriously ill, I realized that simply being alive is a kind of happiness." Quach Phuong withdrew her hand from his grip, and walked out of the hospital gate, slowly disappearing from Cao Vien Thanh's lingering gaze.
***
Quach Phuong looked into the mirror, her pupils reflected a haggard figure. She touched her face, feeling that her skin seemed drier, rougher, and noticeably duller lately. Quach Phuong frantically smeared skincare products all over her face. Suddenly, she clutched the toilet and vomited violently. Nearly an hour later, Quach Phuong dragged her body out of the bathroom, now changed into a comfortable nightgown.
Opening the bedroom door, Quach Phuong saw Tan Duat lying peacefully on the bed, the blanket had fallen to the floor. Tan Duat had many bad habits, the first being that he often kicked the blanket off while sleeping.
Quach Phuong quietly walked over, picked up the blanket, and carefully covered him with it. She found the air conditioner remote and adjusted the temperature a little bit higher.
She had been doing these things for the past three years, it felt so familiar that even the position of the remote control never shifted an inch. Quach Phuong lay down beside Tan Duat, facing his broad back. Suddenly, Tan Duat turned around, and the man's handsome features appeared clearly in front of her eyes. Quach Phuong couldn't help but trace his features with her hand, as if trying to engrave the image into her head.
Tan Duat, if I die, I hope you could feel a little bit of sorrow for me. Life is truly too short to contain this love of mine. Once you have Nhan Tinh, you won't have to secretly eat red bean paste buns and cry, nor do you have to come home in the middle of the night to avoid someone you don't love.
In just seven days, your beautiful dream will come true.
YOU ARE READING
Waking Up From A Dream, The Person Beside My Pillow Was No Longer There|✔️
Romance**NOT MINE ** !FOR OFFLINE READING PURPOSES! "You're such an old-fashioned person. You still wear the same shirt you bought in the first year of college even after graduation. You liked someone from when you were sixteen, and you still like them ten...
