Green plums cannot become lovers.

The school is too small; even if everyone likes him, there are only a little over a thousand students. The spectators and referees at the competitions are too serious; dealing with them requires a lot of effort, and the effort often doesn't match the reward.

Therefore, the easiest option is the last one.

The next day, An and Asuka composed themselves and went out, heading towards the girl's house.

Braving the cold wind, they transferred trains all the way, but when they arrived at the girl's house and rang the doorbell, they didn't see the girl at all.

Only the girl's mother stood at the door, looking exhausted. Her eyes were slightly red, and she looked extremely haggard.

Anhe and Asuka felt a bad premonition, but they still pretended to be calm and greeted the woman with a polite smile.

"Hello, Auntie."

"Oh, it's Anhe. Hello."

The woman was also taken aback when she saw An and Asuka, but then she mustered her spirits and responded.

"I came to see Miyazono-kun."

An and Asuka stated their purpose directly, but the woman did not invite them in. Instead, her expression stiffened, and she forced herself to remain calm, saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry, An, Kaoru is out and not home right now."

"But we made an appointment yesterday."

It's only been a day since he received the mission, has such a change already happened to that girl?

It was so sudden, like a torrential downpour suddenly falling from a clear summer sky, catching everyone off guard.

At this moment, An and Asuka were absolutely certain that something must have happened to the girl, so they wanted to know which hospital she was in.

"I'm so sorry, Anhe, things were really urgent, so Xiaoxun didn't have time to contact you."

The woman's voice trembled almost imperceptibly, and An and Asuka couldn't bear to press her for anything more.

"I didn't care." He suppressed his discomfort and forced a smile. "In that case, I won't bother you any longer."

"However, could you please tell Gongyuan that I'm waiting for her to come back so we can play together?"

Before leaving, An and Asuka made one last request to the woman.

Watching the boy's departing figure, the woman couldn't help but cover her mouth and sob softly.

Why must her daughter suffer such a misfortune? And who can save her?

Volume 1: Chapter 119 Please take better care of yourself.

"Mom, did Anhe come to see me today?"

On the hospital bed, the blonde girl looked at her mother with a haggard expression. Although she asked the question aloud, she knew in her heart that the boy would definitely come looking for her.

"They're here..."

"So, Mom, you didn't tell her about my situation, did you?"

Kaori Miyazono asked with some concern. She had already told her mother that the boy should not know about her situation because she didn't want him to look at her with pity every time they met.

They are friends, two people of equal status. She doesn't want to be pampered and cared for just because she has an illness; such a relationship would be very boring.

"No."

"That's good, thank you, Mom."

The woman's tone was filled with sorrow. She looked at her daughter, who, despite her pain, seemed relieved upon hearing her words, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

She recalled what the doctor had told her the day before, and felt an immense pang of heartache. Her daughter's illness had suddenly relapsed because she had overexerted herself recently.

"Xiao Xun... can you please take better care of your health?"

Why is her child so concerned about that boy? If she had just rested and relaxed on time, things wouldn't be like this today.

"Huh? I'm already very concerned about myself."

Kaori Miyazono didn't understand why her mother suddenly said that, but she was indeed very concerned about her health. It was just that she had been a little tired this month because of the competition.

"..."

The woman fell silent, completely at a loss for words. Just then, Kaori Miyazono asked again:

"Mom, when can I be discharged from the hospital this time? Has the doctor told you?"

She has experienced many times suddenly fainting and waking up in the hospital. Except for one very serious case when she was a child, she usually only needs to stay for ten days to half a month before she recovers, although she is very busy during that time with various treatments.

Hearing her daughter's question, the woman nearly broke down again. The doctor had told her yesterday that the situation was very dangerous; if she didn't rest properly, the next attack could be life-threatening.

"Xiao Xun, please stop thinking about other things, okay?"

The woman said to the girl in a pleading voice, "Just rest well, your father and mother will always be with you."

"But if that's the case, I won't be able to participate in the competition in January. I've been preparing for this for a long time, and it would be such a pity if I couldn't participate."

"Besides, didn't my parents also say they wanted to see me perform on stage and were looking forward to my performance? I don't want to let them down."

"Besides, I've already made plans to participate in the competition with Anhe. If I withdraw halfway through, wouldn't that be deceiving her?"

"..."

The girl spoke innocently, but the woman felt no warmth; instead, she felt as if her daughter's words were knives, cutting wounds into her heart.

"Xiao Xun... all we want right now is for you to be alright." The woman's voice was choked with tears, her eyes stinging. "Let's not think about the competition anymore, and let's not think about that boy anymore, okay?"

"You should rest and recover well. I'm counting on you, Mom."

She knew her daughter's personality; outwardly she seemed lively and cheerful, but inwardly she was sensitive and delicate. Yet, despite this, she cared deeply about her promises to others, and was a good child who would keep her promises even if it meant hurting herself.

Kaori Miyazono looked at her pleading mother and was stunned for a moment. Then, as if she had guessed something, she asked softly, "Mom, is my illness very serious this time?"

The voice, which had been trying to be energetic, now carried a hint of uncertainty and trembling.

But her mother didn't answer her question; she simply lowered her head and looked away. This scene confirmed the girl's suspicions.

"Is it more serious than the one when I was a child?"

Seemingly not wanting to negatively impact her daughter, the woman immediately shook her head upon hearing the question, saying, "No! It's just a little more serious than usual, which is why I wanted you to rest and not think too much."

"Is that right?"

"Yes, that's how it is. So you need to rest well and get better soon, okay?"

"Yes, I understand."

Looking into her mother's pleading eyes, the girl slowly nodded, even though she already knew her mother was lying to her.

She thought this situation would be similar to usual, and planned to stay in the hospital for a few days until she recovered before seeing the boy. She thought she could just tell a little lie to get by after she died.

The result seems to be just as serious as the one I had when I was a child, which is a bit worrying. I don't know if I can be discharged from the hospital before December.

After all, the competition is around mid-January, and if she is discharged from the hospital any later, she might not be able to make it. So far, she hasn't had a few duets with that boy.

The girl slowly looked out the window. The sky was still gray and there wasn't a ray of sunshine in sight, and her mood became somewhat disappointed.

This scene brought tears to the eyes of the woman beside the hospital bed.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. She knew that her daughter was still thinking about that match and that boy.

Why can't people take better care of their bodies?

The woman thought with a touch of sadness.

She ultimately chose not to tell her daughter the words the boy had asked her to say.

A cold wind blew by, and Anhe Feiniao tucked his head further into his scarf.

This winter is colder than usual.

After leaving the girl's house, he did not go home, but followed the girl's mother to the hospital entrance.

This is the only hospital in the city. He had been here when he was very young. But back then, he was with his father, who had been severely injured in a beating, and it cost a lot of money to treat his injuries.

But what couldn't be cured was his already rotten heart.

He never came back after that, because he was in good health and had never had any serious illnesses; he could even tough out minor ailments.

Sometimes he felt very fortunate about his health, otherwise, if he had also gotten sick, not to mention whether his parents would have spent money to treat him, even if they did, it would have cost a lot of money.

Life will become even more difficult then.

So at that time he thought it would be best not to come to the hospital in the future, but he didn't expect to come here again today.

This time, I've come to visit a young girl.

Volume One: Chapter 120 Our Past

The girl's ward was at the very end of the corridor on the third floor. It was a quiet little corner in the noisy hospital where few people came and went.

An and Asuka leaned against the white wall by the slightly ajar door of the ward, listening to the girl's voice coming from inside.

Weak yet full of energy—these should be contradictory descriptions, but to him they truly sounded so.

He heard the girl's desire to meet her parents' expectations, and he also heard her determination to keep her promise despite her illness.

How could he possibly stand by and watch a girl like that die?

An and Asuka looked up at the hospital's stark white ceiling and let out a long sigh. He stood at the door for a long time, until the conversation between the girl and her mother in the ward gradually came to an end, before he finally started to leave.

Although he really wanted to meet the girl in person and check on her health, he decided to pretend he didn't know anything for now, since that was the outcome the girl wanted.

Only after her mother left did the girl's upturned lips slowly fade, and finally the smile on her face disappeared completely.

She turned to look out the window. From here, apart from the gray sky, she couldn't see any other color. It seemed as if her whole world had turned gray overnight.

Her memories of hospitals are very vivid, because she spent a significant portion of her elementary school years there.

Two moments left the deepest impression on me. One was when the illness first broke out, and I heard my mother crying, my father talking, and felt the excruciating pain that made me feel like I was dying.

I saw the boy again in a hospital corridor. He was still carrying his father, his small shoulders supporting the tall man, and with a determined look on his face, he did everything he could.

His small body seemed to contain great energy; after doing so many things, he was still full of energy and even had time to care about others.

For example, he would talk to lonely elderly people who came to the hospital alone, comfort uncles and aunts who were sitting dejectedly in chairs, and wish everyone who was sick a speedy recovery. He would play beautiful music with his hands, and the melodious sound seemed to come from a distant and beautiful place. He would even help the people in the same ward by serving tea and water, massaging them, and chatting with them, giving them a lot of help.

This also includes Yueyi Shanling, a teacher who has worked with her.

When the boy sat by her bedside, his eyes sparkling as he told her jokes, she felt he was truly shining.

That was the first time she had ever felt treated differently by her peers. It wasn't pity for the weak or schadenfreude for the sick, but a completely new feeling of being treated as a normal person.

She was happy at the time, but also a little unhappy. It was because the boy seemed to have forgotten her; they had met at a clinic just a year earlier, in the same winter.

She remembered him deeply, but he seemed to have never remembered her.

She had initially intended to tell him that they had met before. But then she thought, wouldn't it be more interesting to wait until he finds out himself?

As a result, before the boy could even notice, she was discharged from the hospital because she was recovering well. When she left, the boy went to get hot water for an old lady, and she left without even having a chance to say goodbye.

Every time she was hospitalized afterward, she would think about whether she would ever see him again. But the boy's good-for-nothing father seemed to have become more virtuous, and he was never hospitalized again for fighting with others.

She was very disappointed.

One night, she overheard a conversation between the boy and his father, so she knew that his father was a bad guy, and bad guys should be taught a lesson!

But she was also very fortunate that if his father got better, then he wouldn't need to use his savings to pay for his father's medical treatment.

She saw him again at a competition in fifth grade. However, because she would sneak out of the venue after each performance, she didn't find out that the boy was also participating in the competition until the final round.

He had grown a little taller than last year, but his appearance hadn't changed much. In that competition full of top talents, he and his partner achieved a commendable third place, and the music they played was one she had never heard before, yet it was incredibly beautiful.

He is indeed very capable.

She was filled with the joy of reunion and wanted to see him, but he didn't come on stage for the awards ceremony, and in the end, she didn't get to say a word to him.

Then came sixth grade. That time, she didn't sneak away at all, and sure enough, she saw him walk onto the stage and perform a piano piece.

He had no partner, but it seemed he was illegally teamed up with the girl who came in second place! But none of that mattered to her most; what surprised her most was that the boy could play the piano!

That's wonderful, because the piano and violin are a perfect match.

After the competition, he still finished third.

She had lost to him twice in a row and wanted to show off to him, but during the awards ceremony, he acted as if he didn't even notice her. Even though he was right next to her, his eyes were only on the girl who came in second place.

She was clearly there first... Shouldn't it be?

In any case, he shouldn't forget her, because she has always kept him in her heart!

So in the end, she could only fum and praise him once, but the guy still didn't remember.

She was so angry that she ran away and vowed never to think about him again.

But their connection seemed to continue, or rather, it had never been severed. They met again when the last cherry blossoms had fallen.