Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

Page 17

The strange platypus doll was placed beside her, while the ground was still littered with paper rabbits.

"So, old John put the rabbit and platypus in the basement because he missed his deceased wife so much that seeing these things would trigger his memories?"

A mournful piano piece slowly began to play, accompanied by a gentle heartbeat, as if telling everyone about the little life the stream had left.

Seeing this, Xilin felt a lump in her throat for no apparent reason.

At this moment, John spoke up: "It's still enough."

He spoke to his wife, Xiaoxi, who was lying on the bed.

"Even after paying for the surgery, there will be more than enough money left, so... don't worry."

But the stream closed its eyes and stopped looking at John: "A white lie."

"That's what people call it, isn't it?"

As soon as Xiaoxi finished speaking, John immediately interrupted her: "That's not true, I'm sure there's enough money!"

"do not talk."

Xiaoxi reopened her eyes and slowly said, "...I don't want to see you lie. I know the family's financial situation very well. Why can't you stick to my ideals?"

"We need this money to pay your medical bills, Xiaoxi!"

“I understand that Anya is important to you, but... don’t you think you’ve already gone too far?”

"She, she's not even..."

"Do you know what can make me happy, John?"

Xiaoxi suddenly turned around and looked at her husband by the bedside.

"......What?"

"You know, right?"

John fell silent.

Seeing that John remained silent for a long time, Xiaoxi seemed quite depressed. She lay back down, no longer looking at John, staring at the sky, and slowly spoke.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"I just... hope you can help me with this."

“Little Creek…” John called out his wife’s name softly.

As if she had run out of things to say, Xiaoxi closed her eyes again.

"I will not sign the treatment plan once it is submitted."

"As for what we do with our money, that's up to you."

"But if you can agree with my ideal, I hope you can use it to build that house, and then, as long as you can be there for a day, you can take good care of her."

"Spend more time with her, talk to her, and make sure she's doing well. I hope she's no longer lonely."

"And what about you?" John couldn't help but ask back.

"Happiness...this is where my happiness lies."

After a moment of silence, Xiaoxi suddenly took out a paper rabbit.

"John?"

"Ok?"

"I made this."

Like presenting a treasure, the stream handed it to John.

This is the special yellow and blue paper rabbit that Celine found at the very top of the lighthouse.

"Tell me, what is this?" Xiaoxi asked expectantly.

"What is it?" John was still puzzled.

"I want you to tell me, what is it?"

John could only reply, "It's a rabbit, just like any other paper rabbit you've folded."

"anything else?"

"Hmm...it's made of paper."

"anything else?"

"Its body is yellow, and the rest of its body is blue."

"That's right, is there any more?"

Xiaoxi seemed quite excited, and she couldn't wait to ask her husband.

However, John could no longer see any other distinguishing features in the rabbit.

So he had to change the subject.

He casually placed the paper rabbit on the floor and then walked over to the piano.

"Take a look at this first, Little Creek."

I composed a piece of music for you.

"pretty good."

Xiaoxi's initial excitement cooled down.

"Then, would you like to hear it?"

"Okay~"

Not wanting to spoil her husband's mood, Xiaoxi's tone softened.

"The name of this piece is 'For the River'."

"Why is it so unfashionable?"

"Hmm... well..."

John, somewhat embarrassed, slowly explained, "Just think of it as a placeholder."

Chapter Twenty-Two: At least for this moment, they are happy.

"It seems like she has something she wants to tell her husband."

The break time happened to coincide with the start of the mini-game festival, so Eden was excitedly dragged by Ellie to open the game made by Nangong Yu together.

According to Ellie, this contains works created by both of them, so of course they should share it!

So even though Eden wasn't interested in games, he couldn't resist Ellie's coaxing and was dragged to sit in front of the computer with her.

As it turned out, the two of them quickly became engrossed in a small game.

Seeing John and Little Creek's conversation by the bedside, Eden frowned and voiced his doubts.

"Yes, whether it's 'she' or the paper rabbit, they seem to be subtly reminding John of something, but John seems completely unaware."

Ellie frowned, her pretty face showing some distress.

Why not just say it directly?

"Yes, if you have any thoughts, just say them. Open and honest communication between people is the key..."

Ellie suddenly stopped talking. She immediately turned her head to look at Eden, who also looked at her at that moment.

"It's Xiaoxi's illness!" *2

Having already guessed what was going on, they couldn't wait to watch, even ignoring the pieces John was playing for them.

Sure enough, the subsequent memory travel plot quickly answered their questions.

Asperger's syndrome, the name of the disease Xiaoxi suffers from.

This is a type of autism spectrum disorder, typically characterized by social difficulties, accompanied by narrow interests and repetitive specific behaviors.

As Ellie read the description from the Destiny Encyclopedia, the answer became clear.

Why does the interaction between Xiaoxi and John seem so awkward?

Why does the stream keep folding paper rabbits?

Why did she always ask John the same question so tirelessly?

All of this was answered at this moment, but Ellie was not happy to know the answer; instead, she became even more silent.

Especially after seeing John confess to Xiaoxi that he pursued her only because he felt she was special, Xiaoxi cut her long hair and sat silently at the table.

Folded paper rabbits were scattered all over the ground, while she continued to fold them in her hands.

"See the rabbit I left for you? Tell me about it."

"Uh, it's yellow."

"anything else?"

"It's a bit fat."

"anything else?"

"..."

Those expectant "And what else?" finally brought tears to Ellie's eyes. One, two, three times, one day, two days, three days.

Before you know it, half a lifetime has passed.

Even after repeated disappointments, even on her deathbed, the little stream stubbornly kept asking John the same question.

"anything else?"

"..."