Seeing him so suddenly, Chen Luoqiu's heart was filled with extremely complex emotions. But hearing him say that, she couldn't help but find it a bit funny and asked curiously, "Why did you think that?"
Alex explained, "I heard the nurse say a girl named Chen was rushed into the ICU, and someone else said she looked like you, so I thought it was you. You really surprised me."
Chen Luoqiu watched him speak quietly. The expression on his face was one of joy mixed with a sadness that hadn't yet faded, which gave her a strange feeling. There seemed to be a wave of warmth, and noticing that the corners of his eyes were even slightly damp, a ripple of emotion rose in her heart.
This person was worried about her. They had been apart for several days, and her frantic behavior before they parted had scared him, to the point that he had been searching for her all these days.
Understanding this, her gaze softened considerably, and she said softly, "The girl inside is named Chen Suyun. She lives in the same building as me. I've seen her before. From the side, she looks a bit like me, but everyone says she's not as pretty as I am."
Alex couldn't help but glance at her. Chen Suyun's family was right behind them; Chen Luoqiu really dared to say such things, and with such a matter-of-fact tone. Fortunately, no one was paying attention to them at the moment.
Alex said, "Let's go outside. This isn't a good place to talk."
Chen Luoqiu nodded.
The two walked slowly, without speaking, toward the hospital entrance.
Alex suddenly had a sense of unreality. Everything around him felt like a dream. The hospital and the people walking about were slowly fading away, as if leaving all the bad things behind.
Sometimes a hospital represents a certain negative meaning; only sick people come to hospitals. Walking with Chen Luoqiu toward the main entrance filled with warm sunlight, Alex felt as if he were walking from illusion into reality. Granted, reality wasn't necessarily beautiful, but it was real.
At times, he suspected he was still in the dream world, thinking that all of this was just a dream constructed by Chen Luoqiu or himself. Otherwise, why would it be so smooth?
Maybe when he woke up, he would still be blindly searching, and there would still be no news of Chen Luoqiu. She might die in the dream without him even knowing.
This terrifying thought almost made him stop breathing. At that moment, a small hand reached out and gripped his large hand, holding on tightly as if grasping something precious.
Her palm wasn't as perfect as it was in the dream; he could clearly feel the traces of hard work on it. But her skin still possessed the smoothness and tenderness of a young girl, along with a warmth that couldn't be felt in the dream.
Alex instinctively squeezed her hand back and turned to look at her. She was looking at him too, her eyes hiding a moving charm, like the joy of a reunion.
Alex slowly broke into a smile, and the two of them held hands and smiled at each other.
After leaving the hospital, Chen Luoqiu's bicycle was parked in the parking lot outside. She told him that she had found a part-time delivery job near her home, and the hospital happened to be within her delivery range. If Alex had been any further away, he would have been out of her range, and they might not have met today.
Alex also marveled at their fate. However, once he knew the hospitalized girl wasn't Chen Luoqiu and had a general idea of where she lived, finding her would have been a matter of time.
Outside the hospital, Alex watched as Chen Luoqiu unlocked her bike and pushed it out of the parking spot.
She kicked down the kickstand, stared at her phone for a moment, frowned, and said to him, "I still have a few orders to deliver. I have to go now, or they'll deduct money for being late."
"I'll go with you."
Alex said this subconsciously. Having finally found Chen Luoqiu, he wasn't about to let her leave so easily.
Chen Luoqiu didn't say anything, but a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes as she looked at him.
Alex wanted to ride the bike, so Chen Luoqiu gave it to him and sat on the back seat, holding his waist with both hands. Once the bike started moving, she naturally pressed her face against Alex's back, softly murmuring something.
Alex didn't catch it at first, but feeling that she was a bit tired, he didn't ask.
The addresses for the several deliveries were all in one place, so the distribution wasn't too troublesome.
Soon, Alex waited for Chen Luoqiu to come back down. When she went up, she wore a hat to hide her face and avoid trouble. Now, she took the hat off in front of him, and it was like a great beauty had suddenly appeared, giving him a sense of stunning amazement.
Alex couldn't help but grab her hand, rubbing it with heartache, and asked her, "No more after this, right?"
"I'm just part-time; I don't have to be busy anymore," Chen Luoqiu said.
"Then don't be busy. Let's find a place to sit for a while."
Alex said.
The two of them walked hand-in-hand to a nearby park. The way they held hands was very natural, as if they had practiced it countless times. They sat down on a deserted patch of grass, slowly leaning toward each other until they were snuggled together.
Alex held her body a bit tightly, as if afraid she would suddenly disappear, breathing in the faint scent of her hair from up close.
Chen Luoqiu didn't resist his intimacy; she even leaned her face gently against his chest, closed her eyes, and smiled slightly. Listening to the powerful heartbeat in his chest, her expression held a sense of contentment.
Alex couldn't help but ask her, "When did you wake up?"
"Shortly after you left."
Chen Luoqiu said softly.
Alex was a bit surprised. In the dream, Chen Luoqiu's behavior had been so frantic that he even thought she would never want to wake up.
"Without you, that world felt meaningless. I gradually began to feel bored, plus I remembered that I still needed to take care of my mother. I couldn't leave her, so I woke up. After that, I couldn't dream of you anymore."
She murmured, her small hand tracing Alex's face as if trying to memorize the contours. Her beautiful eyes gazed at him dreamily as she whispered, "I'm very happy to see you in reality."
"I'm very happy too," Alex said with some excitement. After a pause, he continued, "I've been looking for you. I even had someone get a list of all the high school students in the city, but you weren't on it. I thought you weren't from our city and almost felt hopeless about finding you. I was afraid you'd never wake up from the dream and that no one would take care of you."
He poured out his anxious feelings from the past few days.
Chen Luoqiu listened to him quietly, touching his face with even more affection.
"I've taken a leave of absence from school. That list probably only has the names of students currently enrolled, so you couldn't find me."
"You won't enter that dream again, will you?" Alex asked, staring into her eyes.
For some reason, Chen Luoqiu fell silent.
Alex placed his hands on her shoulders, turned her body so she was facing him, and said seriously, "In any case, I won't let you enter that dream again."
Chen Luoqiu looked at him and said, "I like the dream where you exist."
"Then that will be reality," Alex said.
Chen Luoqiu added, "Reality has many frustrations."
"All of those can be changed. I'll make you fall in love with the dream that is reality."
After Alex finished speaking, he leaned in. Chen Luoqiu didn't say anything more; she just closed her eyes, making her feelings clear.
Their lips touched in reality.
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