"Xiao Shu, stop waiting. Go back to sleep."
Ji Shuhe was leaning against the window, lost in thought. Startled by the sudden voice, she turned around to find Ji Shulang emerging from the next room.
Caught off guard, Ji Shuhe felt a bit awkward. "Brother, you misunderstood. I... I wasn't waiting for him."
Neither of them said who they were waiting for, but both knew the only person it could be was Wen Shaoyu.
Ji Shulang didn't say anything. He stood beside Ji Shuhe, his gaze also fixed out the window.
They were on the second floor. From this window, they could see the narrow passage in front of the door. Though the alley was still dim, it was easy to spot a familiar figure from above.
"Yesterday, Grandma and Grandpa went with Uncle next door to see Granny Zheng. When they came back, they said the surgery didn't go well. The brain was deprived of oxygen for too long. She still hasn't woken up."
Ji Shulang couldn't help but sigh as he said this. "I know Wen Shaoyu. He's stubborn but meticulous. He's been living with Granny Zheng for so many years, and she's the one he cares about most. There's no way he'd leave her alone with the caregiver his father hired."
His words were indirect, but Ji Shuhe understood perfectly. "I know."
She lowered her eyes, her fingertips resting on the rusted green metal window frame. The window was probably older than the two of them combined. A touch left her hand coated in rust. Ji Shuhe rubbed her fingertips together, still trying to explain.
"I really wasn't waiting for him. It's just too hot to sleep, so I came down to get some air."
Of course, she knew what was important. So even though she was concerned, she dared not even send him a message to ask.
A few days ago, after answering that call at the library, Wen Shaoyu had bolted without even packing his things, rushing home in a panic.
Left behind, Ji Shuhe only knew it was urgent but had no time to ask for details. She gathered Wen Shaoyu's belongings and hurried back as well. But before she even reached the alley entrance, she spotted an ambulance with flashing blue lights from afar.
A crowd had gathered—people she knew and didn't know. Wen Shaoyu and her grandparents were by the stretcher bed. Before getting on, they exchanged a few words. In the end, Wen Shaoyu grabbed a pillow and boarded the ambulance alone.
The ambulance's piercing siren wailed, and the crowd dispersed to let it pass. Ji Shuhe rushed over to her grandparents, watching the ambulance disappear into the distance. The elderly pair let out heavy sighs.
The three of them walked back into the alley. A neighbor who hadn't caught the commotion came over to ask Grandma Ji for details. Several different dialects reached Ji Shuhe's ears at once. She couldn't fully understand, but she grasped the gist.
From the fragmented words, Ji Shuhe learned that Granny Zheng had suddenly suffered a stroke in her first-floor room, collapsing unconscious. No one was home, and it was only discovered when Grandma Ji went to find her to check the relocation compensation notice.
Granny Zheng had underlying conditions—hypertension, heart disease, all common ailments for the elderly. She usually went to the community hospital every few days to get her medication and have her blood pressure checked, kept under control with medicine.
A stroke. No one knew how long she had been unconscious when found.
Ji Shuhe had looked it up on her laptop. A stroke causes cerebral hypoxia. The longer the oxygen deprivation, the more irreversible the brain damage. Hemiplegia, aphasia, or a vegetative state—every possible outcome was a devastating blow to Wen Shaoyu.
Since that day, Ji Shuhe hadn't seen Wen Shaoyu again.
"Not waiting for him, huh? Your eyes are practically glued to the window." Ji Shulang huffed twice but, for the sake of his birthday sister, held back his teasing.
"Xiao Shu, go to bed early. Maybe Granny Zheng will wake up tomorrow morning, and that kid can come back and make it up to you for your birthday."
Ji Shuhe wanted to laugh, but her heart felt heavy. In the end, she could only force a stiff smile. "Okay, I'll go up soon. Brother, you go to sleep first. You have class tomorrow."
Gently rebuffed, Ji Shulang had nothing else to say. He patted her shoulder and turned back to his room.
The night grew deeper, and the summer heat had mostly dissipated. The night breeze, still carrying some lingering warmth, brushed against her skin, leaving her feeling restless and irritated.
She took out her phone from her pocket. The lock screen showed a notification of a new message. Excitedly, she unlocked it, only to find a red envelope from Ji Xiangjiang with birthday wishes.
The word "happiness" in white against black seemed to stab her eyes. She didn't open the red envelope or reply. She simply closed the chat window.
Today was her birthday. Her aunt had ordered a cake, her grandfather had cooked Xinhai-style fried noodles, and Ji Shulang and his parents had prepaid their allowance to give her a fancy chocolate and necklace gift set—something she'd never use.
The taste was truly vulgar. Ji Shuhe acted delighted, but inside she was already worrying for everyone who would ever receive a gift from Ji Shulang.
But the first person to suffer Ji Shulang's bad taste wasn't her—it was Wen Shaoyu.
Ji Shuhe's expression darkened. She opened Wen Shaoyu's chat box again. She wanted to ask how Granny Zheng was, if he had eaten. Line after line was typed and deleted, eventually reduced to nothing.
She pressed the power button, and the screen went dark. Ji Shuhe looked up to close the window and saw someone in the shadows by the door downstairs, looking up at her.
It was Wen Shaoyu.
Ji Shuhe hurried downstairs, quickly crossed the courtyard, and unlocked the door from the inside.
Wen Shaoyu stood at the door in a black T-shirt and jeans, dark circles prominent under his eyes. In just a few days, he seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
"I was about to message Ji Shulang to come down and open the door. Didn't expect you to still be awake."
"Mm-hmm. Grandma and Grandpa go to bed early. They thought you weren't coming back tonight, so they locked the door first." Ji Shuhe stepped aside to let him in. The words stuck in her throat, rolling back and forth. Finally, she couldn't help asking, "It's late. You... are you not going back to the hospital tonight?"
"No. There's a caregiver on duty tonight. I'm just grabbing a couple of things and heading back early tomorrow."
"Okay." Ji Shuhe closed the door, lowering her head to lock it. "And Granny..."
She wanted to ask about Granny Zheng's condition, but seeing Wen Shaoyu like this, she felt there was nothing to ask. She cut herself off mid-sentence and swallowed the words.
Asking now would be pointless, only stirring up his sadness.
But Wen Shaoyu understood what she wanted to know. "Granny is stable, but she hasn't woken up. The doctor said the brain was deprived of oxygen for too long. The damage is irreversible. As for when she'll wake up, and whether she'll recover after waking..."
He tried to keep his voice calm as he answered, but still, his throat tightened. "...no one knows."
Ji Shuhe felt she should say something comforting—like "Heaven helps the good" and that Granny Zheng would wake up the next morning.
Pitying, consoling, but false words—Wen Shaoyu had probably heard plenty of those lately. But Ji Shuhe knew that false hope hurts more than cruel reality.
First seeing hope turn to dust, then facing an even worse reality—it's a double blow. Ji Shuhe had experienced it herself, so she knew exactly what would make things worse.
So the two walked silently into the living room. They should have gone upstairs, but Wen Shaoyu stopped in front of Granny Zheng's closed door.
Ji Shuhe let out a barely audible sigh. She tugged on Wen Shaoyu's sleeve and shook it. "Have you eaten dinner? Are you hungry? I saved you some cake. Do you want to eat that before going up?"