Su Jin had never married and had no children. Only her few disciples were by her side, so they naturally had to be attentive.
“Don’t change the subject. What exactly did the doctor say?”
Su Jin pointed to her casted foot. “It’s really nothing. Just a sprain. If your senior sisters hadn’t insisted on me staying in the hospital, I’d be home by now.”
Jian Ran turned to look at Xiao Ning, who nodded.
“The doctor said Teacher Su’s sprain isn’t too serious. She needs to keep the cast on for a while, but her blood pressure is a bit high, and with that fall this morning, it’s safer to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days.”
Jian Ran finally relaxed. “Have the senior sisters all come?”
Su Jin said helplessly, “They’ve all come. I just shooed them away. So many people in the hospital, making a racket and disturbing other patients.”
Jian Ran smiled. “Alright, they all have families, so it’s inconvenient for them to stay. Since I’m alone, I’ll stay overnight with you.”
Su Jin waved her hand. “There’s no need for that. I have Aunt Wu here. She went back to get me a change of clothes. You should go back too. Aren’t you tired from the long flight?”
Jian Ran didn’t respond. Aunt Wu was a live-in nanny they had hired for Su Jin a few years ago. As Su Jin got older, it wasn’t safe for her to be without someone to look after her.
Speak of the devil—just as they mentioned her, Aunt Wu pushed open the ward door and walked in.
“Oh, Xiao Ran is back too.”
Jian Ran nodded at her. “Aunt Wu.”
Aunt Wu put the two bags she brought into the cabinet, then hurried to the bedside to check Su Jin’s foot. Seeing nothing wrong, she relaxed.
“I left in such a hurry today that I didn’t have time to cook. It’s almost mealtime now. What do you want to eat? I’ll go check the hospital cafeteria.”
Su Jin said she wanted some porridge, something light. Jian Ran said anything was fine, just whatever Aunt Wu thought was good.
“Aunt Wu, I’ll go with you,” Xiao Ning said cheerfully, following behind Aunt Wu as they left.
The ward was left with just the master and disciple.
Jian Ran noticed a fruit basket on the cabinet—probably brought by the senior sisters. “Want an apple? I’ll peel one for you.”
Su Jin nodded noncommittally.
“Okay, I’ll peel one.”
Jian Ran went to wash her hands, then peeled one for Su Jin and one for herself.
She had been rushing for the morning flight without eating, and now she was so hungry she was past the point of feeling it.
Su Jin watched Jian Ran eating her apple with a carefree air, a hint of worry in her eyes. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked, “Xiao Ran, are you okay?”
Jian Ran looked up, confused. “What could be wrong with me? I eat well and sleep well. I’m doing great. Why do you ask?”
Seeing that she was still hiding her troubles and only reporting the good, Su Jin sighed. “Don’t hide it. I know about your breakup.”
Jian Ran paused in her apple-biting, then put on a nonchalant expression.
“Oh, that. Young people break up all the time. Master, do you think your disciple is that fragile?”
Su Jin looked at her quietly for a few seconds. “If it were just a simple breakup, do you think I’d be this worried?”
Jian Ran’s expression froze as she suddenly realized. “You fell because of this, didn’t you?”
She had wondered how Su Jin could have tripped on flat ground at home for no reason.
Su Jin didn’t deny it.
Jian Ran saw there was no point in hiding anymore and stopped beating around the bush. “Don’t worry. I’m different from my mom…”
In her world, love was the first priority; without love, she couldn’t live. But Jian Ran could.
Still, Jian Ran knew why Su Jin was so worried.
Her mother was Su Jin’s first disciple. Su Jin had witnessed everything during her parents’ divorce—the mess, the depression, and eventually her mother’s suicide. She had seen it all.
So when something similar happened to Jian Ran, Su Jin’s concern was natural.
Su Jin held Jian Ran’s hand and patted it gently.
She had watched Jian Ran grow up and was her master, so she genuinely cared for her. She had always worried that Jian Ran would be disillusioned with love because of her parents’ situation and close herself off.
When she heard Jian Ran was dating someone, she had been a little relieved. But then this happened.
“Don’t bottle things up. You know your mother kept everything to herself, making us all think she was fine, until it led to that tragedy.”
Su Jin’s eyes reddened at the memory. “Xiao Ran, don’t make your master worry.”
Jian Ran’s nose stung. She knew this would happen.
Because of her mother, her maternal grandparents and her master were all extra sensitive about her romantic relationships.
That was why, even though she and Zhou Yu had been together for so long, she had kept it from her family.
If Su Jin hadn’t accidentally found out a while ago, she wouldn’t be worrying now.
“Master, I won’t lie to you. I was indeed pretty miserable right after the breakup, and I was stuck in a rut for a few days,” Jian Ran chose to lay her heart bare, hoping to truly reassure Su Jin.
“Mainly, I felt like fate was playing tricks on me, replaying the same ‘white moonlight’ scenario over and over. He doesn’t get tired of it, but I quickly realized I couldn’t fall for it. No matter the reason, breaking up in a relationship is normal. So I have to take it on its own terms and not let the pain pile up…”
“But don’t worry. I’m really fine now. If you don’t believe me, look at the photos from my trip to Yuncheng.”
Jian Ran pulled up the photos Chu Lulin had taken of her. “You know me. If I were truly upset, I’d just stay in bed and sleep. There’s no way I’d go out and travel.”