"How has your health been lately?"
In the original text, Ji Xingzhi's inheritance was left to Ji Yanyi. Had he not compromised before that? No wonder people often said that the words of a dying man are good.
Ji Xingzhi: "Trying to play the emotional card?"
Bo Xin unconsciously tapped the receiver. That really wasn't it.
"I'm just genuinely worried about your health."
That was a lie.
Ji Xingzhi remembered that during the month he lay in the hospital, she never came once. That didn't look like someone who cared about his health.
Even if they were just friends, that coldness was uncalled for.
But...
Ji Xingzhi lowered his eyes, then raised them again. "I can send five thousand yuan a month for living expenses, but the task of raising the kids is yours."
In short, "I won't be coming home anymore."
Anyway, she probably didn't want him to disturb her peace.
Nor would she allow anyone to interfere with her education.
Bo Xin clearly had something to say. "Then you should still come back once."
Five thousand yuan to raise two kids was nowhere near enough.
Not counting tutoring fees, food, clothing, housing—kids grow up and need bicycles eventually, and a nice meal when in a good mood.
Over the past half month, she had almost spent fifteen thousand.
What could five thousand do?
But the phone had already been hung up. She didn't know if he had listened.
At that moment, she looked toward the door. The sound of a lock turning came from outside. Ji Yanyi was home from school.
"What would you like for dinner?"
Ji Yanyi wiped his mouth, but there were still red marks from eating spicy food. This kid loved junk food.
He quickly clarified, "A new stuffed bun shop just opened near the tutoring center."
Meaning he wanted to try something new? But he'd already eaten, anyway.
Bo Xin put the phone back. She wasn't in the mood to scold him for eating junk food now.
It seemed she needed to be more careful about the timing of her conversations. It wouldn't be good if the kids overheard.
—
Ji Xingzhi hesitated as he hung up. He rubbed his temples. His originally muddled head throbbed with pain.
In the drawer lay a medicine box.
A random assortment of pills made up a small handful.
Late at night, Ji Xingzhi walked to the balcony. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, but he didn't light it.
He didn't smoke often, but sometimes he really wanted to try that feeling people talked about—the one that eased gloominess.
The door was knocked lightly, but then opened without permission, as if the knock was just a formality.
He Mingqiao glanced around the room, finally settling on the balcony.
"Are you crazy? Standing out here in the cold wind."
Ji Xingzhi shrugged. His usually indifferent face now had a hint of defiance. "I won't die from it anyway."
He Mingqiao remembered the car accident. People said that surviving a disaster brought good fortune, but with all these aftereffects, Ji Xingzhi's whole demeanor had changed. His jaw was thinner from eating only liquid food, giving him a gloomy air.
Good thing his facial features could still pull it off.
He Mingqiao wanted to ask something but felt it wasn't the right time. "What's troubling you?"
It couldn't be that he was thinking of jumping, right?
But this was the second floor. He wouldn't die. He Mingqiao nodded to himself.
Ji Xingzhi was a bit stumped. In the past, when he wanted to go home, he always met with resistance and impatience.
And now she was actually asking him to come back?
He frowned. "You know, I think I might be the one with the head injury."
He Mingqiao's eyes widened in shock. "Who else would it be? That sentence you just said proves it's you."
He Mingqiao wanted to say that, but out of goodwill toward a patient, he held back.
He became more serious. "Who were you talking to just now?"
"Home."
He Mingqiao was taken aback. Lately, Ji Xingzhi and his family seemed like parallel lines—neither side willing to give in. The telephone, such a great invention, had become a decoration.
When Ji Xingqiao was in a coma and the hospital issued a critical notice saying he might become a lifelong vegetable, Bo Xin didn't visit. She was busy outside, reportedly transferring assets.