I Heard You're Hard To Chase - Chapter 24

Xie Huai was awakened by a sudden ringtone on his cell phone. He had a slight headache, and it took him a few seconds to realize something was off. After all, he was supposed to be dead. Where was this ringtone coming from?

Xie Huai suddenly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.

He looked around at everything around him with a blank expression. The layout and decoration were exactly the same as his bedroom in junior high school.

Xie Huai was shocked: “Holy crap, I was reborn and traveled through time?”

He quickly grabbed the phone from the bedside table and checked it. The date displayed was from the summer vacation after his junior high graduation.

This was obviously not a prank. He was dead, so how could there be such a thing as a prank?

Therefore, he Xie Huai was truly reborn!

The joy of being alive again filled Xie Huai’s mind.

He was about to call Jiang Xu and tell him that he was alive, but he hesitated just before dialing the number.

He was reborn and returned to the past. What about Jiang Xu? Did Jiang Xu also travel back in time? If not, if he calls the other party now and tells the other party all this, will he believe it?

Xie Huai hesitated and finally did not call Jiang Xu.

In order to prevent those bad things from happening again, Xie Huai got up and washed up before going to the hospital.

He did a full body examination and checked everything that needed to be checked.

The results should be that he was still in the early stages of bone cancer, which meant that with prompt treatment, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

The doctor told him to return in two days for the reports, so Xie Huai headed home.

As soon as he walked into the gate of the community, Xie Huai saw a familiar figure walking in front of him.

Xie Huai’s heart beat violently and his breathing became a bit irregular.

“Jiang Xu?” He tentatively called out the name.

The figure ahead of him suddenly stopped in its tracks, then slowly turned around.

The teenager was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and held a cell phone with earphones plugged in. He was only wearing one earbud, while the other dangled naturally over his chest.

When he raised his head and looked at Xie Huai for the first time, his eyes were indifferent and distant.

When he saw that the person calling his name was Xie Huai, Jiang Xu’s facial expression changed noticeably, and that distant look in his eyes was quickly replaced.

Jiang Xu seemed somewhat surprised. “You remember me?”

How could he not remember that when Xie Huai saw his beloved appearing in front of him again, and he wanted nothing more than to rush over and hug him regardless of everything.

He knew that Jiang Xu also liked him now, but if he really rushed to hug Jiang Xu now, Jiang Xu would probably be scared to death by him.

Moreover, it appeared that the Jiang Xu who had been with him didn’t return, which left Xie Huai feeling somewhat disappointed.

“Yes, I remember,” Xie Huai smiled.

Jiang Xu was suddenly at a loss. He didn’t even react when the other earphone fell off: “You…”

Xie Huai’s cell phone rang suddenly. He answered the call and nodded repeatedly.

“I’m leaving first. See you when school starts.” Xie Huai waved to Jiang Xu and ran back home.

Jiang Xu stared at Xie Huai’s retreating figure until he disappeared from view. He then turned around, plugged in his earphones, and continued walking.

Xie Huai promptly went to the hospital as scheduled to collect his test results. The doctor raised an eyebrow and discussed his condition with Xie Huai, suggesting that he inform his parents.

Xie Huai had expected this. He took out his mobile phone, called Mrs. Zhao, and told her the situation. Mrs. Zhao asked Xie Huai to wait for her in the hospital and she would be there soon.

The doctor looked at the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in front of him with some surprise. Hearing that he had heart problems and early-stage bone cancer, he didn’t react at all.

And it seemed he was a little… expected it?

Mrs. Zhao came quickly. She asked the doctor worriedly about Xie Huai’s condition. Fortunately, these problems were discovered relatively early, and they were very easy to cure.

The doctor looked at Xie Huai’s condition and told Xie Huai’s mother that Xie Huai’s condition could be cured with surgery.

After listening to the doctor’s words, Mrs. Zhao was still very worried. The doctor assured her that this kind of surgery was not life-threatening, so Mrs. Zhao was slightly relieved, but she still felt guilty.

If they hadn’t discovered this early, she couldn’t bear to think about the future.

Xie Huai saw Mrs. Zhao looked like she was about to cry, and quickly comforted her: “Mom, it’s okay. The doctor said surgery will fix it.”

“I’m sorry Huaihuai, it’s because mom didn’t give you a good body.” Mrs. Zhao covered her eyes.

Xie Huai also wanted to cry, but he held it back. He hugged Mrs. Zhao gently: “Mom, please don’t cry.”

There were still a few days before the start of school. In order not to delay the start of school, Xie Huai asked the doctor if he could arrange for surgery as soon as possible.

The doctor glanced at Xie Huai, and then jokingly said that as long as Xie Huai paid the money, he could do it on the same day.

Xie Huai and Mrs. Zhao were both dumbfounded.

After going through the hospitalization procedures, Xie Huai had already been pushed into the operating room before his father arrived at the hospital.

The operation lasted for more than four hours and was finally over.

As soon as the door of the operating room opened, Mrs. Zhao ran over and looked at Xie Huai worriedly. He was still quite clear-headed. He shook his head at Mrs. Zhao, indicating that nothing was wrong with him.

The doctor took off his mask and smiled: “The operation went well and the tumor was completely eradicated. He will be discharged after just one to two weeks of hospitalization and observation.”

Mrs. Zhao and Father Xie were completely relieved.

Since Xie Huai also had a heart problem,in order to avoid any other conditions from occurring, Xie Huai had taken more medicines in the past few days than he had taken every day in his previous life.

He now feels like vomiting when he sees these medicines.

Finally, after enduring until the beginning of the school year, Xie Huai was ready to be discharged.

Xie Huai couldn’t help but think that he was healthy now and Jiang Xu no longer had to be sad.

The first day of school, many students in the class didn’t recognize each other, and it seemed like everyone was a stranger to one another. But not Xie Huai; he glanced at the class list and immediately memorized their names. He even called them by their names.

How did he recognize them?

Xie Huai looked at these familiar faces and suddenly smiled. He hadn’t seen these old classmates and friends for a long time.

Especially Lu Yi. Xie Huai had known him since primary school, and while they weren’t in the same class until middle school, they did share classes in high school.

He directly stuffed Lu Yi with a large bag of lollipops. Lu Yi was stunned by Xie Huai’s strange operation.

Lu Yi hesitated and said, “Brother Huai, what’s this for?”

Not only Lu Yi, but Xie Huai also gave lollipops to every student in the class.

Xie Huai raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s the first day of school, a gift for my old classmates.”

Lu Yi didn’t understand what he meant by “old classmates.” Except for a few students who had known Xie Huai for a long time, most of them were newly acquainted.

When Jiang Xu heard Xie Huai’s words, he suddenly paused at the front door.

The entire class fell silent.

Someone exclaimed, “Damn, it’s Jiang Xu!”

When Xie Huai heard this, he looked toward the door. The other party was also looking at him, with a look that Xie Huai was all too familiar with.

Xie Huai almost shed tears.

This was the Jiang Xu who had shared so much with him.

Jiang Xu stood at the door with a smile in his eyes and did not move.

Xie Huai walked towards him, holding a dolphin gummy that no one else had in his hand, and handed it to Jiang Xu.

“Jiang Xu, do you want to eat this?”

Jiang Xu took it, touched Xie Huai’s palm with his fingertips, and said softly in a voice that only Xie Huai could hear: “Thank you, baby.”

After school, as soon as they finished eating, Jiang Xu took Xie Huai to a secluded pavilion near the back gate of the school.

There was no one around and no surveillance cameras. It looked like a spot intended for couples’ dates.

The cicadas chirped happily, the yellow oak trees provided shade from the scorching sun, and the branches rustled in the wind.

Jiang Xu hugged Xie Huai tightly, as if he was afraid that Xie Huai would leave him again.

“Baby, do you know how much I miss you,” Jiang Xu’s voice trembled, but his heart was full of uncontrollable excitement and joy, “Please, don’t leave me again, okay?”

Xie Huai returned Jiang Xu’s embrace, resting his chin on Jiang Xu’s shoulder, tears trickling down his cheeks. “Jiang Xu, I won’t leave you anymore. I’ve had the surgery, and now I’m perfectly healthy. I won’t leave.”

Jiang Xu buried his head in Xie Huai’s neck and whispered, “Don’t lie to me again.”

Xie Huai had lied to him last time and agreed to let him continue telling stories the next day, but he left without saying a word. No matter how he called, Xie Huai didn’t respond.

Xie Huai was almost heartbroken. He asked Jiang Xu in a hoarse voice: “How long have you been alone?”

“Not long, just a few days, and I regressed after that,” Jiang Xu didn’t want Xie Huai to know the truth. He didn’t want his baby to feel sad anymore.

“Jiang Xu,” Xie Huai suddenly let go of him, looked at Jiang Xu and said, “You asked me not to lie to you, so why did you lie to me? Has it been a long time? Five years, ten years?”

Jiang Xu’s fingertips tightened slightly.

“Baby, you…” Jiang Xu had a hint of helplessness in his eyes, “You are so smart.”

Ten years…

Has Jiang Xu been alone for ten years?

Xie Huai felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. How did Jiang Xu spend those ten years?

Jiang Xu wiped away Xie Huai’s tears and said softly: “Baby, let’s not talk about this, okay?”

“Yeah.” Xie Huai closed his eyes and nodded.

Then he unconsciously fell asleep on Jiang Xu’s shoulder.

Jiang Xu carried Xie Huai back to class at noon.

The whole class was dumbfounded.

Why did these two seem so intimate?

Getting intimate on the first day of school, isn’t that a bit too much?

The whole class looked at each other, but no one dared to speak.

After evening self-study, Xie Huai followed Jiang Xu back home.

Back to Jiang Xu’s home.

This place looks exactly the same as when Xie Huai first came here. The piano room has not changed, everything was just as it used to be. But Xie Huai noticed a pen on Jiang Xu’s desk in his bedroom.

It was the pen he had given Jiang Xu as an eighteenth birthday gift.

Didn’t expect that he could bring this back?

This pen with Jiang Xu’s name engraved on it seems to have been used for a long time, and some of the paint has peeled off.

He wondered if Jiang Xu had been using this pen for all those ten years.

Xie Huai’s nose felt a little sour. He put the pen back and walked out of the bedroom.

Jiang Xu stood on the balcony, feeling the night breeze and holding two cans of lemon tea.

He opened a can with one hand and handed it to Xie Huai as he approached.

Xie Huai accepted it, took a sip, and then placed a lemon candy in his mouth, biting it into pieces.

He grabbed Jiang Xu’s sleeve and pulled Jiang Xu over, tilted his head and kissed Jiang Xu on the lips.

After a few seconds, Xie Huai stepped away, leaning on the railing with one hand and holding lemon tea in the other. He looked a little nervous and raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xu.

A few seconds later, Xie Huai stepped back, leaning on the railing with one hand and holding lemon tea in the other. He looked a bit cocky as he raised an eyebrow at Jiang Xu.

“Is it sweet?”

Jiang Xu lowered his eyes and smiled softly. “It’s sweeter than anything.”

—END—