Chapter 11, Broken Promise_1

After an indeterminable amount of time, Meng Xun was wheeled in by a nurse. He had just woken up and was lying immobile on the bed. His eyes, bloodshot under his dark eyelids, were searching the ward for Meng Xiao. Upon spotting Meng Xiao, Meng Xun managed a weak smile, grimacing as the expression tugged at his face, causing him to wince from the pain.

"Sis, you're back." The nurse hadn't lied to him. His sister had really come back.

Meng Xiao didn't want to get closer to him, but he insisted on grabbing her hand with his other less-injured hand. Meng Xiao retreated half a step back, and Meng Xun managed to grab her sleeve weakly.

"Don't move around! You're about to undergo surgery," the nurse scolded.

But Meng Xun didn't care, and even cheerily introduced his sister to the nurse. "Aunt, look, this is my sister. Isn't she beautiful? She's a top student at Hai City Art University. The type who gets scholarships every year."

The nurse merely nodded indifferently. Hai City Art University was indeed a leading arts institution in the country, a basic fact she was aware of.

But so what if she is a top student? Her character left much to be desired. After going to college in a big city, she didn't recognize her family anymore. The sister didn't want to take care of her brother at all.

But such incidents were common in the hospital, she was no longer surprised. Except for giving Meng Xiao a cold look, she carried on with her duties as usual.

"My sister is different, she gets a first-class scholarship every year, and she even earns her own money to support me..." Meng Xun went on and on.

Meng Xiao couldn't stand him boasting about her and asked him to rest.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. You're about to go into the operation room, save your strength."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Meng Xun obeyed and lay down contentedly without uttering another word.

Meng Xiao went to the doctor's office to check the result. Fortunately, there was no internal injury, but the fractures were severe and surgery inserting steel pins and hospitalization were necessary.

Given the severity of his injuries, he would definitely require someone by his side during his recovery. The doctor recommended Meng Xiao to put aside her commitments and stay until Meng Xun could move freely.

When Meng Xiao returned to the ward, Meng Xun was still awake, his eyes fixated on the door, only lying back comfortably when she appeared.

Meng Xiao approached him and extended her hand. "Give me your keys. The doctor said that you have to be hospitalized. I'll go and pack some clothes for you."

If possible, she didn't want to go back to that house again. however, Meng Xun was still wearing his old school uniform stained with blood. She had to go back and get some change of clothes for him.

"Sis, the keys at home haven't changed," Meng Xun said weakly.

Meng Xiao's actions faltered, then resumed as usual. She acknowledged with a hum.

"Give me the keys; I don't have mine anymore."

She had thrown away her own keys a long time ago. After she'd given him fifty thousand yuan in child support, she discarded everything related to her family, breaking ties with her past.

...

The hospital wasn't far from the house, just three bus stops away.

The old factory district where they resided was filled with old neighbors, many of whom had lived here their entire lives.

Meng Xiao didn't care whether she met anyone familiar. When she opened the old security door and walked into the room, she found it cleaner than expected. Other than some uneaten noodles in the kitchen, though the places were old, they were very clean.

Meng Xiao looked around her former home. The living room had a larger TV than before. The shelf where she used to place her dolls was removed, replaced with Meng Xun's basketball and other sports equipment.

All these were changed after she was sent away. The house immersed in mundane life carried no traces of her. The little princess and prince images she had once drawn on the wall with crayons had long been wiped off, replaced with posters of basketball stars.

If first-time visitors were to come, they might think that this family only had a son. The traces of the daughter had long been completely eradicated.

Following her memory, Meng Xiao went to what used to be her room.

The bed in the small room was covered with standard blue sheets and duvet provided by the school. The desk was filled with books, and an old pink lamp decorated with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck stickers sat on top of it— a lamp her mother had bought for her.

The wardrobe that her mother had chosen for her was now filled with Meng Xun's clothes. Few ordinary t-shirts, a spare school uniform, and only a couple of cotton jackets.

After packing a few pieces of Meng Xun's clothes and toiletries, Meng Xiao turned to leave the room and spotted their family portrait.

The photo had been enlarged and framed, hanging behind the front door, visible every time someone left the house.

Meng Xiao remembered the empty call history on Meng Xun's phone, the unfinished bowl of noodles in the kitchen, stark white and without a drop of oil.

In the end, she softened, put down Meng Xun's clothes, and went out to buy a few large bones.

...

Yang Yi only fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, and by the time he woke up, it was already afternoon. He had planned to meet Meng Xiao, quickly got up, changed clothes, and left.

He was planning to buy a car that suited his current status. It would make his commute easier in the future, and he had enough of riding public buses in front of Meng Xiao for years. He also didn't want to wrestle with the subway anymore.

He had already picked out a car. It was affordable, around one hundred thousand yuan, and the model was unisex. It was perfect for him and nothing too overpowering. All that was left was to take Meng Xiao to choose the color the next day.

Meng Xiao had a driving license but had never driven. In a couple of years, when she wanted to drive, he would buy a better car for her.

When he arrived at the gate of Art University, Yang Yi called Meng Xiao, "Xiaoxiao, I'm at the school gate. Are you ready to come out?"

On the other end of the phone, Meng Xiao was removing froth from a pot of bone broth when she remembered she had planned to go car-shopping with him the next day. She was about to mention Meng Xun's situation, but knowing how much Yang Yi disliked Meng Xun, she could only provide an excuse, "I might have to substitute teach tomorrow, so I can't go to look at cars."

Yang Yi was unhappy, "Are you working part-time again? Didn't we agree that you wouldn't do that?"

"This..." For a moment, Meng Xiao couldn't think of what to say, and hastily lied, "It's a tutoring job Zhou Yao found. But she has to go somewhere this week, so she asked me to cover for her for one class."

Knowing she was busy and couldn't come, Yang Yi thought it didn't matter. He could take Yang You car shopping tomorrow, and maybe it would be even more surprising to Meng Xiao.

"Alright then, I'll go back first. We'll go look at cars when you're free." Yang Yi had long since accustomed to her always working, and usually didn't intrude upon her time.